Is ‘killing the dog’ TV’s new strategy to keep viewers watching? (review)

TV shows have long been challenged, particularly network and basic cable series, by technology, ever-expanding viewing platforms, limited attention spans, etc. And with things like “binge watching” and “speed plotting” entering the lexicon, what used to be the zeitgeist and tomorrow’s watercooler talk are so five seconds ago. Spoiler alerts are still expected, but we also live in an age of “you snooze, you lose.”

What’s a poor program to do? One answer is to go for the ultimate shock and awe. Just this past week alone saw three established series – “Person of Interest,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “Boardwalk Empire” – kill off major characters who had been on the show since episode one. And last night…, “Family Guy” bid a fond farewell (sincerity on “Family Guy,” whodathunkit?) to a member of the Griffin family. SPOILER ALERT (as if you haven’t seen it taking over the internet all day) ………. RIP Brian Griffin. (Methinks his voicer, Seth MacFarlane, will be OK.)

And that’s not even taking into account the weekly body count leading up to last night’s five-and-a-quarter-season in the making Red John reveal on “The Mentalist.”

In that vein of cutthroat creativity, we’re wondering what other characters you would send to eternal (digital) sleep. All in the interests of juicing up the plots and action, mind you; we’re not just talking about characters you hate (although a few of them do dovetail nicely).

Are you hoping to never again hear a voiceover from Meredith Grey on “Grey’s Anatomy“? (Think it’s impossible to off the title character? Just ask Valerie Harper of
“Valerie”“Valerie’s Family”“The Hogan Family.”) Should Ice T’s Finn Tutuola from “Law & Order: SVU” leave the groaning one-liners to other detectives? Is it time for Randy Jackson from “American Idol” to prove that all dawgs do indeed go to heaven? (That guy is fictional, right? I mean, he can’t be real.)

We came up with a random sampling of 20 characters from across the dial whose deaths could jump start their shows. Vote for one or give us an even better example.

What TV character should be killed off to juice up the plots?

• Glenn from "The Walking Dead"
• Frank from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
• Meredith from "Grey's Anatomy"
• Fitch Cooper from "Nurse Jackie"
• Butters from "South Park"
• Pierce Hawthorne from "Community"
• Betty Draper from "Mad Men"
• Finn Tutola from "Law & Order: SVU"
• Ted Mosby from "How I Met Your Mother"
• Castiel from "Supernatural"
• Sue Sylvester from "Glee"
• The entire cast of "Two and a Half Men"
• Bill from "True Blood"
• Jay from "Modern Family"
• Mrs. Wolowitz from "The Big Bang Theory"
• Randy Jackson from "American Idol"
• Marnie from "Girls"
• Brodiy from "Homeland"
• Kalinda from "The Good Wife"
• Abby from "NCIS"
• Other (Tell us who in the comments)

View Results

SRC: blog.timesunion.com/