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.

Warning: This is a satirical post that pokes fun at the alternative ending of D.I.E. and suggests an ulterior motive for its production. Spoilers regarding the fate of Roger Kwok’s character in both the original and alternative endings are revealed.

In the official ending of the highly-rated series D.I.E., Yue Sir (Roger Kwok) sacrificed his own life to save Ching Ching (Sonija Kwok), leaving her to care for their daughter. Due to the pensive nature of this closure, Hong Kong viewers were outraged and demanded that TVB produce an alternative ending, particularly one in which Yue Sir survives the car crash. They argued that since TVB series have always ended on some kind of a happy note – lost lovers reunite, villains are cleansed by the power of an imaginary force, infertile women are suddenly blessed with the ability to bear children, and fathers and sons reconcile – this one should have followed the trend. Obligingly, TVB released a special 30-minute gag ending that revealed Bobby Auyeung’s character from Dicey Business to be the driver who hit Yue Sir on his way to making bootleg copies. Various D.I.E. characters traveled back in time to prevent the accident.

However, this alternative ending was actually a derivative of the one TVB had intended to air as the original. The purpose was to take advantage of a high-profile finale in order to promote the company’s anti-piracy agenda. In the original version, Bobby’s character was made an example of the uploaders/downloaders who continue to participate in illegal activities.

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