Why was the ending changed?

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electrictroy

Project QL Intern
Aug 26, 2005
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Original Ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdW1aK_SIjY

Why?

That would have been a PERFECT ending to the series..... along with maybe a quick 30 second caption stating "Al and Beth are happily married." "Sam continued leaping and putting right what once went wrong."

Instead we got a blank screen; no photo.

I don't comprehend why Bellisario felt it necessary to delete this beautiful photo from the series? It was, and still is, the perfect final shot. Why did he delete it? Makes no sense.
 
Read the Mirror Image script here at Al's Place. It gives a whole other canonical scene bridging 5th and the cancelled 6th season.
 
There is also an alternate ending that trails into a series with Al as the leaper. They were just toying with ways to make it look accuratly like the story can contiune because they were at the time anticpating a second series.
 
Unfortunately neither of those posts answered my question. Perhaps I wasn't clear? (shrug). I wanted to know WHAT WAS WRONG WITH the original photo of Al's Family as an ending? Why was it deleted and replaced with a black background?

Read the Mirror Image script here at Al's Place. It gives a whole other canonical scene bridging 5th and the cancelled 6th season.
Click to expand...
How do I know this is the REAL script, and not some homemade fan fiction? Where did the script come from?

thanks,
troy :)
 
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electrictroy said:
Unfortunately neither of those posts answered my question. Perhaps I wasn't clear? (shrug). I wanted to know WHAT WAS WRONG WITH the original photo of Al's Family as an ending? Why was it deleted and replaced with a black background?
Click to expand...

Maybe no one knows. I don't know. When networks or producers make decisions like this, they don't explain them to the fans. I did read somewhere that the decision to put in that last black screen came from the network (which explains why Sam's name is misspelled). But I couldn't tell you where I read that now, so you'll have to look elsewhere for a definite answer.

How do I know this is the REAL script, and not some homemade fan fiction? Where did the script come from?
Click to expand...

If you distrust this site, I suggest you do your own research on the scripts. I've been around for a while and I trust Brian and co. to be honest about the site content. So I believe it's DPB's tentative ending if there was going to be a season 6.
 
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Everything on this website is genuine, Brian knows what he's doing :)
He has access to genuine sorces.

Who knows why they changed it, I thought it was great too. But thewy went through a few endings I think because there is also an alternate script here for a scene that trials into a series with Al leaping. So I guess they were toying with a good way to end it going into a new series but they didn't have an exact idea for a new series yet so they did not want anything that appeared absolute. The photo scene does not do that I don't know why they removed it.
 
I completely agree with the orignal poster - I think they should have used the family portrait of the Calivicci's instead of the blank screen and let the ending card read "The End?" instead of "Sam Becket (sic) never returned home." I think it was an intentional twist of the knife to the loyal fans that supported the show during its 5 year run, which is why it makes me so angry!
 
cookiemom6067 said:
I completely agree with the orignal poster - I think they should have used the family portrait of the Calivicci's instead of the blank screen and let the ending card read "The End?" instead of "Sam Becket (sic) never returned home."
Click to expand...

I think they should have used the picture too. I can't imagine why they cut it. But I think if they used "The End?" people would be left saying, "But what happened to Sam?!"

I agree with SBF here--"Sam Beckett is still lost in time" would be a better ending. It could end up meaning the same as "Sam never returned home" if the series was never continued in any way. But it leaves open the potential for a continuation too.
 
Yeah the changing Photo was a great Idea and it was only a two or three second sequence so I don't see why it was removed.

Here is how I see it being better.
They show the photo changing and then they go to blank screen and say

"Al and Beth will be Celebrating their 29th wedding annavesery this June"
Which they do already say.
then
"Sam Beckett's eyes have been opened anew about the meaning of what he does....And so He's still out there putting right what once went wrong"

It's a perfect ending or a new beginning to another series and its much gentler on Sam than saying he never returned home thats just freaking sad. :cry
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Here is how I see it being better.
They show the photo changing and then they go to blank screen and say

"Al and Beth will be Celebrating their 29th wedding annavesery this June"
Which they do already say.
then
"Sam Beckett's eyes have been opened anew about the meaning of what he does....And so He's still out there putting right what once went wrong"

:cry
Click to expand...

It's too long. "Sam beckett is still lost in time" is shorter and better.
 
I think the twist of the knife was the words "never returned home." I agree that "lost in time" is softer, but it's just as hopeless.
 
No its not. Never came home suggests that he's going to be out there forever, Still lost in time could be eaither that or he could still make it home.
 
I wrote a real nasty, unappreciative letter at the time to Warren Littlefield, er, or is it Little- never mind. Yeah, I was plenty mad, and I didn't care how it was ended... it was over. Sucks :banghead to :banghead this :banghead day!
 
cookiemom6067 said:
I think the twist of the knife was the words "never returned home." I agree that "lost in time" is softer, but it's just as hopeless.
Click to expand...
Frankly, I don't really care what the final words say, I just want the photo back in there.

Why Don Bellisario thought he needed to cut the photo does not make any sense to me. It's always better to SHOW THE CHANGE (al's happily married), rather than use words.
 
The irony is Sam couldn't be "lost" in time, since he now knows that he has a choice in the matter. The show would have taken on a different quality at that point, with Sam choosing to keep leaping. Really it was a huge change when you think about it and I am not sure what kind of conversation Sam and Al would have had -- maybe some fights about it. Would Sam keep this information from Al?
 
Perhaps the addition of 2 simple words could have softened the blow and made more sense the the viewers...

Instead of "Dr Sam Becket never returned home" it should have read
"Dr Sam Beckett never CHOSE TO return home."

Then the viewers would have realised "Oh, he must have decided to keep leaping and putting wrongs right" as opposed to the vision of him being lost in time despite how much he wanted to return home.
 
feldon30 said:
The irony is Sam couldn't be "lost" in time, since he now knows that he has a choice in the matter. The show would have taken on a different quality at that point, with Sam choosing to keep leaping.
Click to expand...

I gotta say i never "bought" the idea,that Sam is the one who controls his leaping,sorry.
 
electrictroy said:
Original Ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdW1aK_SIjY

Why?

That would have been a PERFECT ending to the series..... along with maybe a quick 30 second caption stating "Al and Beth are happily married." "Sam continued leaping and putting right what once went wrong."

Instead we got a blank screen; no photo.

I don't comprehend why Bellisario felt it necessary to delete this beautiful photo from the series? It was, and still is, the perfect final shot. Why did he delete it? Makes no sense.
Click to expand...

I agree. That would've been awesome!

Matthew
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
No its not. Never came home suggests that he's going to be out there forever, Still lost in time could be eaither that or he could still make it home.
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, perhaps they could've borrowed a phrase from the theme song, using Pratt's voice "..and so Dr. Beckett continues to leap through time, putting right what once went wrong..hoping each time, that is next leap..will be the leap home!"

I was originally very confused about the ending when I frst saw it and I kept thinking about how it could've been done better or ended more nicely. When my confusion finally resolved and I understood about the ending, it hit me, hard! Like my fellow fans, I just cannot watch the ending without crying!

Matthew
 
I tried to suggest something just as long and people told me it was too long. I guess it's best to keep it short and simlple and to the point.
 
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