Would you rather have a TV/anime/cartoon show you watch have a bad ending, or cancelled? -

[Thiletonomics]

Given that both options can be seen as bad (or not in some cases), if this were to happen to your favorite show, would you rather have it end on a bad note, or cancelled?

In regards to the bad ending option, it reminds me about how Total Drama World Tour (the 3rd season of the Total Drama series) ended. The ending goes like this:

Spoiler

A feral Ezekiel (don't ask, as the producers of the show had their heads way up their asses even way before this point) snatches the million dollar prize, and falls into a volcano with it. Also, apparently in the Total Drama world, throwing pineapples into volcanoes (which was the objective of the final stun for the grand prize) causes volcanoes to erupt violently. The volcano erupts, forcing everyone to flee into the ocean. Alejandro ends up getting burned by the lava, ala Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, and the same said Ezekiel gets shot out of the volcano, crashing it into the boat that Chris and Chef were on, sinking it. And the contestants all have to swim away. To follow up on the Anakin part, after the credits, a parody scene of Star Wars is played, as Alejandro gets put into a robot suit, and yells "NOOOOOO!" when he realizes that the grand prize money is gone.

Note also that no one ever dies in the Total Drama series, I think, even with all of the ways that the contestants have gotten injured during the series.

And in regards to the cancelled option, the premature cancellation of Young Justice is well-known, and the reasoning for it (due to the show not drawing in the merchandise sales that they wanted) infuriated the fan base.

 

[Bassomatic]

Canceled and left dead.
Cowboy Bebop (the movie wasn't bad) vs Fire Fly trying to cover years in 2 hours.

Sometimes you just have only so much and end it vs drag out.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

Bad ending maybe?

The problem with I have with cancellation is that it leaves me feeling more empty. A bad ending at least is an ending to the story. If it's cancelled then why bother?

Granted, I typically avoid shows with bad endings, so I'm talking out of my ass.

 

[Oh Long Johnson]

Archer had three seasons worth of material that's been dragged out for an eternity. It actively causes me to view the good seasons in a lesser light.

Frisky Dingo lasted just as long as it needed to. This causes me to overlook the weak episodes and remember the whole thing fondly.

 

[The Fifth Waltz]

Bad Ending because you actually get an ending rather THAN PANTY AND STOCKING ENDING ON A CLIFFHANGER AND NEVER MAKING A SEASON 2

 

[Golly]

Canceled so you can remember the show fondly all the way through.

 

[QB 290]

Cancelled; a cancelled media will leave you wanting more but a media with a shit ending will wish you'd never picked it up (cough the walking dead)

 

[RG 448]

I’d rather all cartoons and anime get cancelled now but with actual TV shows I’d rather have subpar closure than no closure at all.

 

[R.A.E.L.]

Cancelled, easily.

 

[Nekromantik]

Cancelled, I wish Grimm had been cancelled and not had the girlfriend turn in to a super evil mega witch. Don't forget the spunky punk sidekick with a tragic past.

 

[Audit_The_Autist]

Give me a bad ending rather than no ending. At least a bad ending means I won't be waiting for it to be finished and I never have to give the series another thought.

 

[TheClorax]

I’d rather take a Bad Ending because at least I know how it ends.

 

[Quijibo69]

Or be like Futurama and have both like 2 or 3 times.

 

[Shokew]

I like a lot of the responses here, regardless of what side you're on. However...

"Cancelled" is the ultimate way to go for me... Especially since there are plenty of fucking cartoons/anime/etc. out there asking for it, nowadays (not saying examples; leave that up to yourself.). However, more so especially if the show was actually good, but just couldn't win, like it needed to.

If something ends on a bad note for me, it just leaves me personally wishing it had been cancelled instead, TBQFH.
That way, I can come up with my own ending (having an imagination is awesome for that, because fuck you, that's why!) and get on with my life, as in not be concerned with time wasted, as much as it otherwise was on what was likely something that wasn't even Good Bad.

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

 

[Tragi-Chan]

Cancelled. Always leave them wanting more.

Take Family Guy. That show was originally cancelled after season 3. Had it been left there, it would probably be a well-regarded animated sitcom with a unique voice. Then they brought it back and it turned out that the formula they perfected in the third season was all they had. And now it’ll never stop.

 

[MysticMisty]

I'm leaning more towards cancelled. On the one hand you're left wondering what next, or in the case of an adaptation, how they would've covered the end. But on the other hand, they can take it in an undesirable direction and then you won't even care how it ends after you stop watching it.

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

I'm leaning more towards cancelled. On the one hand you're left wondering what next, or in the case of an adaptation, how they would've covered the end. But on the other hand, they can take it in an undesirable direction and then you won't even care how it ends after you stop watching it.

I would always rather mourn a show's end than resent its continued existence.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

I use to actually enjoy How I Met Your Mother(mainly due to being fans of most of the actors on it) but the ending has altogether ruined the show for me so I can’t even watch it anymore. So I’ll go with canceled.

 

[Trilby]

I’d rather all cartoons and anime get cancelled now but with actual TV shows I’d rather have subpar closure than no closure at all.

At least with an anime, they could nudge you to try reading the manga/graphic novel for the rest!