The Grounder Gazette: the 100 in the Media

[maraleia]

This is another reason for the backlash. Check out this article detailing the dead lesbian trope that this show contributed to http://www.autostraddle.com/all-65-dead-lesbian-and-bisexual-characters-on-tv-and-how-they-died-312315/.

[Gabe Torres]

This is another reason for the backlash. Check out this article detailing the dead lesbian trope that this show contributed to http://www.autostraddle.com/all-65-dead-lesbian-and-bisexual-characters-on-tv-and-how-they-died-312315/.

When I first read this article it was at 70 but now it has reached 90. Leading cause of death is being shot, followed by cars for the UK lesbians and bi girls since no guns there. There is also a disturbing amount of deaths related to a disgruntled male character. This shit is just draining.

 

What the ever loving fuck with this one "Cause of death: Died while birthing a child conceived from rape". What a wonderful way to die /sarcasm

At a con in London there have been reports of shit talk about Rothenberg from particularly Ricky Whittle. I would take the reports with some grain of salt, but several people in attendance of the con tweeted the same story so likely to be some truth to it all.

 

On another note BBC has also picked up on this entire mess: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35786382

Edited March 12, 2016 by Gabe Torres

[kdm07]

At a con in London there have been reports of shit talk about Rothenberg from particularly Ricky Whittle. I would take the reports with some grain of salt, but several people in attendance of the con tweeted the same story so likely to be some truth to it all.

 

I'm trying so hard to disengage from this show but the BTS stuff that's slowly coming out keeps me in it. The stuff from the con is true. One of the people there posted a video with Lindsey Morgan saying what she was tweeted as saying which...1) she's still contracted to the show so why is she being so bold? 2) If even 50% of what was said turns out to be true than the show-runner is more toxic than I thought.

[blixie]

Does any one have links to the stuff Ricky/Linds have said, or a recap? What I've found sounds little...lame, on both sides.

[Cranberry]

I did a quick look through Tumblr. I'm not going to watch all the videos for "receipts," so I can't vouch for the authenticity, but here are some tweet roundups:

 

http://llcoolade.tumblr.com/post/140879364782/i-am-living-for-these-tweets-right-now

http://307hollis.tumblr.com/post/140879255713/i-am-living-for-this-right-now

[Gabe Torres]

Those are similar to what I have seen around. This is probably the largest round up I have found: http://clarkeofthebikru.tumblr.com/post/140920407195/survival-con-receipts-shade

 

For trustworthiness anything from LinzzMorgan is where I would place my money. She is a huge Lindsey Morgan fan, and while I haven't always agreed with some of the stuff I have seen from her on Twitter, I got the impression she is the type of superfan that wouldn't lie about what Ricky or Lindsey would say.

 

Some of it seems pretty disturbing like Jason's hunger for followers and also the cutting of Ricky's scenes. That is so petty and vindictive. Also this bit never fails to piss me off "Not from the con, but in the past has said Jason made him wear a beanie all of season 1 so “the audience could tell him and Lincoln apart”". Because all black people look alike to Rothenberg's white fucking ass.

 

I am guessing that with 3x16

some Clarke/Lexa and Lexa stuff is being cut away right now. I've read that 3x16 had been declared completely done including editing by one of the writers, but 1 day ago or so Layne Morgan talked about seeing Jason Rothenberg editing 3x16.

. He seems to have zero interest in understanding why he upset so many LGBT* fans and is doubling down on it all considering this rt: http://i.imgur.com/2X4b4Qu.jpg

 

Also the Brazilian twitter sphere have zero damn chill. Current world wide trend: "CW Stop Jason Rothenberg". They have been creating daily world wide trends since Ep 7, but they were mostly supportive ones towards ADC and such. Now after the con with Ricky and Lindsey sharing stuff, they have changed gear. I'm just going to get pop corn ready because that side of twitter can create world wide trends so fast and easily and things are just continuously spiralling.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Gabe Torres

[Lion]

Sorry, but no.  There is nothing 'childish' or 'immature' about the public being informed when an employer is mistreating their employees.  A personal grievance might warrant discussion behind closed doors, but a problem that affects many isn't something to be swept away.  I can't imagine any decent person would claim that it's childish or immature for workers to protest Wal-Mart for any variety of things including low pay, discrimination against women, etc.  A huge problem in the entertainment industry is that the careers of workers is often held for ransom should they speak out about harassment, abuses, discrimination and more.  Kesha's recent court battles is but one example (I'd challenge anyone to even so much as imply that Kesha's abuses should have been handled completely behind closed doors).  

 

This isn't just a little minor argument a single cast member had with a director.  It's not some petty difference of artistic opinion.  These cast members are fucking brave for speaking out about mistreatment on set.  They don't have the sort of clout in the industry that would insulate them from this.  They aren't Leo diCaprio, for example.  They are letting the public know that a product we consume is being created with questionable ethics.  This is not dissimilar to something like an Apple employee blowing the whistle on sweatshop labor creating our ipods.  Perhaps you've decided that you don't care how a product ends up in your home so long as it does, but to claim that it's childish to reveal possible abuses is sickening.  It's the same sort of rhetoric that comes from the crowd who says Kesha should shut up and be grateful her abuser made her famous.  

Edited March 13, 2016 by Lion

[feverfew]

I would agree with you, Lion, if they did in fact speak out. But throwing shade online, 'speaking in private' with fans at conventions or getting your mom to post second-hand information (without ever going into details on what exactly Rothenberg has done) on twitter has nothing to do with protesting workplace abuse. That's demeaning everybody who has to stand up for themselves in real life. What Amy Adams did in that Vanity Fair article was brave; this just muddies the waters. My feelings for Rothenberg nonewithstanding, I think what they're doing (if in fact they're saying stuff like that for real) is incredible immature, and will probably hurt them in the long run. Talking to the right people (yes, even the established media), quitting your job - that's one thing. Turning it into a spectacle on social media is another. Or what nosleepforme said.

 

ETA. Do we even know what he allegedly has done? Or is this just fans extrapolating from what people on twitter has hinted at? I feel uncomfortable with accusing him of sexual harrasment, vis-a-vis the comparison with Dr Luke, and overt racism, without knowing what in fact went down.

Edited March 13, 2016 by feverfew

[Lion]

Wow.  Yeah, when these actors have the clout to be on Vanity Fai, maybe you'd have a point.  Until then, their platform is twitter and cons.  Despite what some claim, twitter isn't some childish platform.  There isn't some guidebook that says speaking up must only be done in certain types of ways.  Sometimes in happens in courts, sometimes in Vanity Fair, sometimes at little-known conventions, sometimes even by accident.  The fact that what they are doing will likely end up hurting them in the long run is what makes it brave.  They are saying what they can, where they can, when they can, probably pushing the limits of whatever their contracts stipulate, and knowing full well that their careers are likely to suffer for it.  

 

Further discussion on this will be nothing but ongoing disagreements so I'm no longer going to engage.  There is simply no way that I would ever agree, in any way, that people speaking up about bullying or discrimination is childish.  The very thought violently disgusts me and I can't see the point in further discussing with those who thinks speaking out against bullying and other forms of mistreatment is immature.  Gag.  

Edited March 13, 2016 by Lion

[Minneapple]

On Veronica Mars, Logan and Duncan had a color code in their clothing to make sure people wouldn't confuse them and those two characters were white dudes.

On Stargate SG1, they made Michael Shanks grow a beard because they thought he and Ben Browder looked too much alike. Also two white guys.

These cast members are fucking brave for speaking out about mistreatment on set.

On that tumblr, I see people mostly complaining about their characters' storylines. And Lindsey Morgan living in a hotel, oh the suffering. It doesn't really fill me with a lot of rage. I mean it's one thing if you're actually like Kesha and you step forward and go to court and put your entire career on the line. These people are making snarky remarks on social media and at cons and encouraging eyeroll-worthy twitter trends. And this is coming from someone who thinks Rothenberg is a total douche.

The show has been renewed. Maybe Rothenberg has learnt his lesson about whipping a fandom into a frenzy but I doubt it since he's done this before and it seems like he has a massive ego.

As a woman of color I've seen this tree before. They killed Carter on Person of Interest, I stopped watching. They made (black) Abbie background noise to (white) Katrina on Sleepy Hollow, I stopped watching. If you really hate what they did with Lexa (or any storyline), the best thing to do is to stop watching the show. And maybe step away from fandom, which gets out of control really quickly these days.

[Lion]

As a woman of color I've seen this tree before. They killed Carter on Person of Interest, I stopped watching. They made (black) Abbie background noise to (white) Katrina on Sleepy Hollow, I stopped watching. If you really hate what they did with Lexa (or any storyline), the best thing to do is to stop watching the show. And maybe step away from fandom, which gets out of control really quickly these days.

Sure, things we see on screen can turn us away from a show.  But things that happen in the background can be equally important to people.  People can stop watching the show for whatever reason.  My issue is with this disgusting assertion that speaking up about bullying and other mistreatment is childish.  I can't even....Just because YOU think that twitter trends are eye rolling doesn't mean that they actually are.  There is a right and wrong here, and I'm sorry and shocked that so many here don't seem to understand the wrong.  It's genuinely disturbing.  I guess now I'm starting to understand why so many didn't get why Lexa's death was problematic.  

Edited March 13, 2016 by Lion

[Minneapple]

Yes, twitter trends can be eyeroll-worthy. I see BELIEBERS WANT JUSTIN IN BRAZIL and DIRECTIONERS UNITE 4 NIALL and I roll my eyes hard. Today I saw the Rothenberg one and I rolled my eyes again.

There is a right and wrong here,

Right and wrong about what? That people didn't like their storylines? Isn't that a matter of opinion? That Rothenberg doesn't allow backstage pics? That is kind of douchey but we all put up with some degree of stupid from our bosses. Not allowing bts pics doesn't equal bullying. I read the tweets from Ricky's mom and she rants about bullying but doesn't specify what constituted the bullying. I mean tell us what sort of mistreatment is going on.

[Lion]

Anyone that has to wonder whether or not bullying is wrong has a problematic relationship with ethics.  smh.  Gonna have to stick with my previous stance of no further engagement because conversations with these sorts of people never fail to make decent people ill.  

[Minneapple]

I agree bullying is wrong, I just don't know where the bullying is in this case.

[Lion]

To those of you who have suffered extreme emotional distress due to these posters who believe speaking about bullying and other mistreatment is childish or immature or the poster who is now denying that allegations of bullying have even been made, know this - you are not alone.  You are not childish.  You are not at fault.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  You do not need to prove anything.  If you have been bullied, there are many of us who are decent and who believe you without requiring you to jump through hoops. I'm sorry you've had to be subjected to the terrible, disgusting commentary from the posters in this thread. 

[Stinger97]

Y'all, move along from this "bullying" commentary and implying that others are not "decent" because they disagree with your point of view. It's completely off-topic and actually quite rude. This will be the one and only warning. 

[Cranberry]

According to this Tumblr post, Apple is refunding fans who purchased a season three subscription and no longer want to watch.

[loki567]

It just all sounds ridiculous to me. Somehow in the age of camera phones and everything going online, there's really not one shred of proof of any of this happening and it's all coming from second hand posters who have obvious biases? The cast trashing their show runner at a con? No proof. A periscope where The 100 writers drunkenly proclaiming their love to Bellarke and that Clexa was just a stepping stone to their love story? No proof.

 

And now Jason Rothenberg's a racist too? Yeah, that's totally information that should be believed from second and third-hand sources. It's not like people are absolutely overreacting because he made a story decision that was based off of an actress' availability or not. 

 

 

Jason says cast have to be less interactive with fans and can’t post bts photos because he wants to have more fans

 

That is the stupidest thing I've ever read. 

[kdm07]

I don't know about the tweets (although I am inclined to believe them since it came from multiple accounts) but the writers' periscope did happen. I watched the first five minutes and decided I didn't want to hear any more.

 

I don't think Jason is racist at all but his ego is or has become an issue. His arrogance has probably ruined the quality of his show because he truly believes his vision/writing is above tropes, clichés, replicas of other shows etc.

[pennben]

 

The only thing that people should be angry about is.....

 

Just using this as a jumping-off point.  I don't watch this show, but a lot of tv critics I follow do, and reading them thinking through it, as well as to links they provide,  has been fascinating.  I mostly appreciate those critics using this episode as a way to listen to perspectives that aren't theirs and understanding things from different points of view.  Some of the best I've seen:

 

Mo Ryan for Variety had a great column where she didn't think the show fell into the trope, but could understand how others did:

 

 

The point is, these angry and disappointed reactions are rooted in reality..... This is one of those cases in which it’s helpful to listen to others extensively and not start in immediately with recommendations on how they should think and feel. That rarely helps in general, and it certainly won’t help viewers of this show now.

 

Ryan McGee who does a podcast with Mo Ryan also had a couple of great posts on the topic:

 

 

What makes it problematic is the sheer rawness of the responses I’ve received, the incredible autobiographical detail, the sheer tonnage of words that accompanied these responses. These weren’t off-the-cuff “fuck this show” type of rants, but carefully laid-out, multi-paragraph descriptions of an entire life of feeling marginalized, ostracized, and neglected both by the world around them and the world of pop culture. It reinforced what I suspected–that Lexa’s death meant something very different for me than for many that watched–but in a way I couldn’t have really understood without asking for feedback.

[Stinger97]

Alright, so, here's the deal. If you want to talk about what's going on behind the scenes of The 100, feel free. But the "bullying" line of commentary is causing flare ups and pushing some posters' buttons, which isn't helpful to the conversation. So, let's agree to disagree about what constitutes bullying in this situation and move along. Thanks.

[Halliwell]

The information was coming from different sources. Why would all those accounts lie. The girls who got to talk to Lindsey deleted the tweets refering to Lexa later on so she wouldn't get in trouble. But it was already out, so... what's even the point. But people can believe what they want. This is such a mess.

I don't know about the tweets (although I am inclined to believe them since it came from multiple accounts) but the writers' periscope did happen. I watched the first five minutes and decided I didn't want to hear any more.

 

I don't think Jason is racist at all but his ego is or has become an issue. His arrogance has probably ruined the quality of his show because he truly believes his vision/writing is above tropes, clichés, replicas of other shows etc.

[blixie]

 

Why would all those accounts lie.

 

I don't think anyone is lying, I just don't find the commentary about his behavior to be as lame as his behavior. Jason Rothenberg seems like a dick, but nothing said by anyone Lindsey or Ricky rises to the level of hostile workplace IMO. Is Jason Rothenberg a petty douche? Yes. Is he an arrogant bastard? Yes. Is he problematic employer exploiting his workers, violating their rights and humanity? Not enough data.

[Kate213]

Follow up Variety article by Maureen Ryan: 

 

What TV Can Learn From ‘The 100’ Mess

http://variety.com/2016/tv/opinion/the-100-lexa-jason-rothenberg-1201729110/

 

"If you wanted to come up with a playbook for how to handle TV promotion and publicity in the age of social media, a few of the major rules might look like this:

 

• Don’t mislead fans or raise their hopes unrealistically.
• Don’t promote your show as an ideal proponent of a certain kind of storytelling, and then drop the ball in a major way with that very element of your show.
• When things go south, don’t pretend nothing happened.
• Understand that in this day and age, promotion is a two-way street: The fans that flock to your show and help raise its profile can just as easily walk away if they are disappointed or feel they’ve been manipulated.

 

It all sounds like common sense, right? Except that “The 100” managed to break all those rules and more in the last ten days or so. And the tumult surrounding the show contain lessons that other shows and showrunners could learn from."

[Halliwell]

That article is perfect. Very thankful for Mo Ryan. 

[Ravenya003]

Brilliant article, and one EVERY show-runner and writer needs to read. The days of social media is still Wild West territory in a lot of ways, and it's about time some proper guidelines were set down for people to negotiate it properly.  

 

The saddest thing is, regardless of what The 100 has already done or will do in the future, THIS is what it will be remembered for: Lexa's death and the subsequent fallout. Which is a shame, as it was (is?) a pretty great show. But as someone said on another thread, "Buffy" defined the Lesbian Death Trope for an entire generation of genre fans, and now Lexa has codified that trope for the current generation.

 

Hey, at least it provides a perfect case study for future show-runners/marketeers about what NOT to do. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

I agree with just about everything in that article except "And then Lexa was gone, just like that, via a death that in no way reflected her status as a leader who would risk everything to protect her people." I mean, this isn't automatically a bad thing. The Wire, one of the most critically acclaimed show of all time, killed its most popular character (who was a real badass) in a similarly undignified fashion - but that (arguably) worked within the context of the show. A banal, pointless death for Lexa could have worked in theory.

 

The article also has a link to an earlier interview with Rothenberg which made me even less hopeful for the rest of the season. Why is he comparing the destruction of Mt. Weather to 9/11? 9/11 changed so many things because it was in many respects something that had not happened before in the USA. In the show, on the other hand, the Arkers have been fighting grounders on and off for a while now and have never really felt all that safe since making it to the ground. Three months is not nearly long enough time to instil a sense of "this cannot possibly be happening here". The betrayal at Mt. Weather should have been at least as big of a shock as the following destruction of that base.

 

 

At some point, it’s just a numbers game and you cannot win that game.

Right. Or you can fight until the other side feels like they’ve lost too much to take out this little group of people, and then you’ve won your independence. That’s sort of what Pike’s position is.

 

In what universe a culture where warrior pride is so paramount will give up because they have lost too many people? Those are the very cultures who keep on fighting when they really should be cutting their losses - Japan in World War II comes to mind. You will never convince them they don't have a shot of eventually winning, if your people are only a few hundreds and theirs (at least) tens of thousands. Not unless you are hiding in a fortress they cannot possibly access like Mt Weather, that is.

[kieyra]

I agree with just about everything in that article except "And then Lexa was gone, just like that, via a death that in no way reflected her status as a leader who would risk everything to protect her people." I mean, this isn't automatically a bad thing. The Wire, one of the most critically acclaimed show of all time, killed its most popular character (who was a real badass) in a similarly undignified fashion - but that (arguably) worked within the context of the show. A banal, pointless death for Lexa could have worked in theory.

 

Sorry, but can you remind me of who you're talking about in the Wire? I assume you don't mean

Stringer Bell

, since he went down in a way that was fitting and quite climactic. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

Sorry, but can you remind me of who you're talking about in the Wire? I assume you don't mean

Stringer Bell

, since he went down in a way that was fitting and quite climactic. 

 

Omar

[Artsda]

The 100's Executive Producer Breaks His Silence About Lexa's Death

 

http://www.tvinsider.com/article/81017/the-100-jason-rothenberg-on-lexas-death/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tvi

[Halliwell]

I thought my hate for this guy couldn't increase but it did. Groundbreaking interview. 

[Lion]

Yup, that was seriously infuriating.  I can't imagine a way I could possibly continue watching the show now.  

[stealinghome]

Ha, I was actually thinking that it was more graceful that I would have guessed he'd be (though I doubt he truly gets it even now).

He needed to give this interview a week ago, though. You SO know that the only reason he gave it at all is because the con they mention is upcoming and they don't want his first comments on the whole thing to be off-the-cuff, unscripted, un-vetted by PR people comments. It's pretty transparent (and I can't believe they're letting him go to that con, btw. The smarter play is to pull out because the potential for that con turning into a shitshow is SUPER high).

Edited March 21, 2016 by stealinghome

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

It tapped into the real world, it tapped into their lives, and as a straight white male, I obviously didn’t anticipate how deeply it would affect certain people. I look at it now and I realize that if somebody had that kind of a reaction and then were to look back at the way I behaved on Twitter leading up to it, which was celebrating this relationship that then crushed them, I can understand why they would find that reprehensible.

 

Not just on Twitter, remember the After Ellen interview on the day before the episode aired? And honestly, the intensity of the backlash was extremely predictable. I am a straight white male too and I saw it coming a mile away (and so did most posters on this board, it seems). I know Rothenberg can't very well say "we knew we would make a lot of people very sad and angry but decided it was worth it" but I think that's probably the case. I can't believe that a guy who seems addicted to twitter can be so deluded about exactly whom he was pandering to and whom he risked pissing off very much. I wish someone would ask him if he knew about the backlash after Tara's death on Buffy since it is so well known and this infamous episode copied that infamous episode so much.

 

 

To be honest, Clarke is experiencing the loss of someone she loved, and you know, this is a show where people don’t just get over things quickly.

 

Like Clarke spitting at Lexa at the end of one episode and making googly eyes at her in the next? Or like Clarke mourning Wells and Finn for like three minutes of screen time? If the characters didn't get over things quickly there would be no show because nobody would have tuned to watch everyone behave like season 3 Jasper.

 

And I still don't understand why Rothenberg (and many fans and critics) are so proud of the equality in the world of The 100 - as he put it: "we’ve created this world where it doesn’t matter what color you are or whether you’re a male or a female or who you love, whether you’re gay or straight." I mean, that's great but it's a rather common sci-fi trope, the way you hear him say it you would think one hardly ever sees anything of the sort. Admittedly, it's more common in science fiction books than TV shows, but still...

Edited March 21, 2016 by Jack Shaftoe

[stealinghome]

More articles on the troubling trend of lesbian TV deaths (note that all three of these contain spoilers for TWD):

 

EW

 

Variety

 

Vanity Fair

 

Also I think the math re: number of characters is off, but this tumblr post's pointing out that a queer female character has died every 10 days on TV this year is o.O. (Though the math is still kind of horrifying if I'm right: I count 98 lesbian or female bisexual characters in 2015 in broadcast and cable both, and 2.5 months into 2016, 8 deaths. That means that 2.5 months into 2016, 8.16% of wlw characters have been killed off. [if TV keeps up that average it would be just shy of 40% by year's end.] If there were 881 series regular characters on broadcast, let's round that to (say) 1000 with recurring (which is probably low), and let's toss in another 500 for cable (again probably way low but I can't seem to find the info in the source). So my calculations give me about 1290 straight characters; proportional deaths would be about 105. Does anyone have any idea how many straight series regulars/recurrings have been killed off in 2016 for comparison?)

Edited March 21, 2016 by stealinghome

[wevel]

You SO know that the only reason he gave it at all is because the con they mention is upcoming and they don't want his first comments on the whole thing to be off-the-cuff, unscripted, un-vetted by PR people comments. 

 

Yes, it's clear timing-wise that only because Wonder Con is upcoming this weekend did this interview happen now.  I wonder how tightly the Con moderators will control fan questions, e.g. vet them beforehand, or whether it will be more or less open.  

 

I know Rothenberg can't very well say "we knew we would make a lot of people very sad and angry but decided it was worth it" but I think that's probably the case. I can't believe that a guy who seems addicted to twitter can be so deluded about exactly whom he was pandering to and whom he risked pissing off very much. 

 

Well, until I read this, I had previously thought that he genuinely *didn't* realize what the reaction would be.  But yeah, something like this is possible, i.e. he thought, "Yep, there's going to be a lot of grief and anger, but it'll generate great buzz for the show a la a Game of Thrones shock-death does."  He most likely didn't expect the level of condemnation not just from Lexa/Clexa fans, but also respected entertainment critics.  

 

As for the pandering, to me he sounded somewhat sorry in the interview that he'd done that, although who knows if that reflects his actual feelings.

 

I wish someone would ask him if he knew about the backlash after Tara's death on Buffy since it is so well known and this infamous episode copied that infamous episode so much.

 

I think Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who wrote 3X07, was asked about the dead lesbian trope in general and said *he* was aware of it, and since he's good friends with Amber Benson (Tara), it seems impossible that he wasn't also aware of that particular Buffy storyline (and fall-out).  Which would make you think that Rothenberg must have known about it too ...

Edited March 21, 2016 by wevel

[stealinghome]

I think Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who wrote 3X07, was asked about the dead lesbian trope in general and said *he* was aware of it,

Actually, he has said that the writers' room discussed it. So all the writers, including Rothenberg, were aware of the dead lesbian trope.

 

I don't see how they could be unaware of Tara's death. It's a blatant ripoff. It's just that usually the show gets patted on the head for ripping off other shows (BSG, GoT, etc), but this time they're getting raked over the coals for it so they don't want to own it.

[lovemytvshows]

Not sure if this has been posted but J-Roth's reply to the backlash. A kinda non-answer answer of sorts: http://tvline.com/2016/03/21/the-100-lexa-death-interview-jason-rothenberg-lgbt/

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

I don't see how they could be unaware of Tara's death. It's a blatant ripoff. It's just that usually the show gets patted on the head for ripping off other shows (BSG, GoT, etc), but this time they're getting raked over the coals for it so they don't want to own it.

 

Until yesterday I hadn't realized how much the ALIE storyline resembles the Cylons storyline in BSG. AI kills billions with nuclear weapons, a new version of the AI emerges and tries to make amends, the original version is none too pleased. There is even ALIE wearing red and "living" in Jaha's head like Caprica Six and Baltar.

 

In other news, apparently some people with much more patience and Twitter skills than me compiled a huge list of the "leaks", the lies and other ways Rothenberg and company used to mislead the fans. Personally, I don't use twitter much but am I starting to wonder if all showrunners are so obnoxious on Twitter or I have just encountered a few of the worst examples (cough, Marlene King, cough).

Edited March 22, 2016 by Jack Shaftoe

[RedKeep]

Most of the showrunners I encountered on social media over the years had their moments and eventually started sounding more and more obnoxious, but even then... Rothenberg easily takes the cake. I've never experienced anything quite like this in online fandom before. And he stills manages to dig himself in even deeper just about every other day. It's quite fascinating, but mostly sad.

 

WonderCon should definitely be a very awkward affair. For his own sake, I hope Rothenberg is smart enough to let his cast do most of the talking, but his problem seems to be that he just can't stop himself. And while print interviews can be edited and revised before they're published, the Dropship Podcast that came out after 3.07 aired served to underline how Rothenberg unfiltered in a situation like the one he's currently in is... not a good idea. Lindsey Morgan repeating what Alycia Debnam-Carey said at PaleyFest last weekend almost word-for-word on Twitter sounds like there's something along the lines of a rehearsed party line they're all expected to stick to now, but I still expect Jason to put his foot in his mouth either during the panel or while talking to the press later on.

 

It's a bit like a car crash. I noticed again today that I'm not interested in watching any new episodes of this show, but I just can't look away from the PR disaster.

 

[stealinghome]

It's a bit like a car crash. I noticed again today that I'm not interested in watching any new episodes of this show, but I just can't look away from the PR disaster.

Same here!! My interest in the actual show is negligible (an entire hour of Pike+Bellamy? PASS), but holy hell, the PR nightmare is must-see TV. It's fascinating in all the worst ways. And more entertaining than the actual show tbh.

[Lion]

 

 

It's a bit like a car crash. I noticed again today that I'm not interested in watching any new episodes of this show, but I just can't look away from the PR disaster.

Ditto. I've lost complete interest in this show, but am sort of fascinated by the fallout from the showrunner's horrible gaffe.  

 

ETA: Was perusing that wedeservebetter.com site and got to the part where the #ClexaForMe day happened and seeing the showrunners and writers encouraging it and soothing everyone's fears despite already having filmed Lexa's death is really sickening.  I don't think I can read on. 

Edited March 23, 2016 by Lion

[RCharter]

Same here!! My interest in the actual show is negligible (an entire hour of Pike+Bellamy? PASS), but holy hell, the PR nightmare is must-see TV. It's fascinating in all the worst ways. And more entertaining than the actual show tbh.

 

 

Ditto. I've lost complete interest in this show, but am sort of fascinated by the fallout from the showrunner's horrible gaffe.  

 

ETA: Was perusing that wedeservebetter.com site and got to the part where the #ClexaForMe day happened and seeing the showrunners and writers encouraging it and soothing everyone's fears despite already having filmed Lexa's death is really sickening.  I don't think I can read on. 

I still like the show, but I absolutely agree that this thread/drama is much more interesting.  I love it when people are so passionate about something, keep fighting the good fight y'all!

[kdm07]

ETA: Was perusing that wedeservebetter.com site and got to the part where the #ClexaForMe day happened and seeing the showrunners and writers encouraging it and soothing everyone's fears despite already having filmed Lexa's death is really sickening.  I don't think I can read on. 

 

I decided to go onto the site after reading your post and even though I knew that this is what Jason and the writers had been up to, I had no idea it had been this extensive! The stuff about the writer going onto that forum and constantly reassuring them all the while knowing that they had killed the character is quite honestly, disgusting. On top of that, the writer kept coming back!

 

I'm suddenly very glad I quit cold turkey and decided to binge any episodes that might interest me during the summer because the only thing keeping me from dropping this show altogether is Clarke and even that's wavering right now.

[Delphi]

Yeah, I'm not really invested in the social media aspect of the show so I looked through all of that. When viewed all together it's absolutely revolting that they did that to all those fans. No wonder the backlash has been so intense.

[Misty79]

I stopped watching two episodes before Lexa's death, just because it was being so obviously telegraphed and I hate seeing characters I love die. If the show had maintained the standard it set last year overall I would have kept watching anyway, but it had lost its way. It had devolved into a show focusing on a predictable love triangle and lost all the really interesting dynamics that made it what it was. I don't know what it was they got right in S2 (a certain combination of writers I suspect) but it was a big step forward on what was a marginally watchable S1. S1 at least had the Lord of the Flies element to it, S3 is just a hot mess.  

 

Such a terrible waste. 

[Carrie Ann]

If the show had maintained the standard it set last year overall I would have kept watching anyway, but it had lost its way. It had devolved into a show focusing on a predictable love triangle and lost all the really interesting dynamics that made it what it was.

 

What love triangle are you referring to? I know there are a lot of shippers for two ships that include the same person, but I wouldn't say that it's been handled as a love triangle at any point on the show.

[blixie]

Agreed I think they killed Lexa, well for a lot of reasons both good/understandable, and bad/unjustifiable, but at least one of them was to *avoid* a love triangle. I think they wanted to remove any sense that Clarke would choose between the "sides" of her sexuality, and both advance the Bellarke story (Bellamy abandoning girlfriend we met for two episodes to save Clarke was clearly meant to emphasize how SPRUNG he is for Clarke), while also having good reasons to move forward slowly (too bad Bellamy slaughter innocents - OFF CAMERA, but BY GODS he'll realize the err of his ways and make it up to everyone!).

 

A dead Lexa is forever perfect Clexa, you can choose to believe she is the one true love of Clarke's life, only cruel fate/tragedy prevented their epic love, instead of massive misguided contrivance.

 

But yeah at no point was a triangle every portrayed on the show, other than Lexa/Clarke/Clarke's loyalties to her people generally.

[wevel]

at no point was a triangle every portrayed on the show, other than Lexa/Clarke/Clarke's loyalties to her people generally.

 

Yes, for all the storytelling ills of this season - and however much the show *seems* to be moving Clarke from Lexa back to Bellamy - I have to agree.  While Lexa was alive, Clarke was never shown as Torn Between Two Lovers.  The closest to that for me was at the end of 3X03, when Bellamy was trying to persuade Clarke to return to Arkadia and she chose to stay in Polis/with Lexa.  But at that point, a clear non-personal reason was to do with strengthening the brand new Skaikru/Grounder alliance. 

 

To get this back on topic re media coverage, I was another viewer who before 3X07 was fairly unaware of the social media interactions, and can't help shaking my head at HOW MUCH the show's creative team went out of their way to court LGBT viewers/those invested in Clarke/Lexa - seems unprecedented.  But given that there's been so much mainstream coverage, you'd have to think that showrunners from now on would have to be very leery of such tactics, even if they do still want to go after the LGBT segment.  So amidst this PR shitstorm and narrative wastage, there's that.

[RedKeep]

Don't know if everyone was already aware of this already, but I just read a long post about it, complete with screencaps, on Tumblr. One of the show's staff writers, Shawna Benson, went as far as posting in The 100 thread on a message board specifically created for a lesbian audience in order to court/bait those fans. When she shared a picture of a poster Alycia Debnam-Carey had signed and personalized for Jason Rothenberg while stopping by his office and fans were quick to figure out that her words could be read as a goodbye message, Benson went ahead and lied to them in order to keep pretending that Lexa wouldn't die this season (and they would keep watching). That in itself is mind-boggling stupid and unprofessional already, but she also publically confirmed on her Twitter that she is/was the person posting as "Your Friendly Neighborhood Lurker" on said message board.

 

Full story: Your Friendly Neighborhood Lurker