Recently, TVB has been producing alternative endings by popular demand. Viewers elected not to kill off Roger Kwok’s character in D.I.E., the highly-rated detective drama that peaked at 44 points. As a result, a silly and senseless ending featuring Bobby Auyeung was released. Again last week, an online clip of another Catch Me Now ending was made available; Jack Ko (Damian Lau) did not take a bullet but was arrested by Kwong Yeung (Joe Ma).

“Happy” endings are often favored by many viewers, but they don’t always make for realistic representations of life. Tragedies, suffering, and pain are unavoidable and occur in every part of the world; the recent devastating earthquake in China and cyclone in Myanmar are two unfortunate examples. At the same time, television shows not only provide an outlet to convey lessons and information, but the power to infuse us with fantasies that may never materialize. We are given the chance to momentarily escape our own realities and live through those of fictional characters. In a way, these are reasons some people are disappointed when a certain character dies or a couple don’t end up together: they invest a lot of time, energy, and emotions into a series that a “good” result is expected.

While I’m glad to know that TVB knowledges the importance of its audience, somehow I feel that it purposely produces these “sad” endings as an excuse to show us “happy” ones. It’s killing two birds with one stone. Those who like perfect endings opt to see the alternative ones and those who don’t can ignore them. But unless an original ending is very sloppy or poorly written, the addition of an alternative ending is unnecessary and likely ruins the impression of the series as a whole due to a lack of definite closure to the storyline.