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Doctor Who: The King of the Happy/Sad Ending, a guest post by author Leah Rae Miller

November 18, 2013 by Karen Jensen, MLS   Leave a Comment

What do these Doctor Who scenes have in common?


Do you know yet?
In my opinion, all of these are perfect representations of the happy/sad ending. The happy/sad ending is when things don’t work out perfectly, they might even make you cry, but they work out the way they need to.

Rose on the beach, for example. She didn’t get what she truly wanted, but she did get Ten2 and Ten2 got her. Of course, the Tenth Doctor got the poop-end of the stick, but he’s used to that.

Think about all the Doctor’s regenerations. Yes, we lost the Doctor we had grown to love, but we got another just-as-amazing Doctor. When Martha left, she found her backbone, but didn’t get the guy. Donna’s departure? Well that one’s a bit more sad than it is happy, but she survived and that’s what matters. The Ponds got to live a normal life together. The Doctor got screwed over in the process again, but he has to realize it all worked out for the best.

I think the happy/sad ending is one of the reasons so many people connect to Doctor Who. Sure, it’s super science fictiony, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Plus, you have to suspend disbelief sometimes (apparently, everyone has a British accent in the space/time continuum except for Captain Jack, but then again, is that just the TARDIS imposing a British accent on all the languages they come across?). But the happy/sad ending makes the show feel realistic despite its unbelievable nature. Life doesn’t always work out perfectly, we all know this. Things might not work out the way you want them to, but in the end, they work out the way should…

Most of the time…

I mean, I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t have had to buy another brand new pair of glasses because the puppy decided to chew up my first pair. Nothing good came out of that situation, but you get what I’m saying.
This is something we as writers should keep in the back of our heads if we want to write realistic endings that won’t completely shatter our readers’ hearts. Realistic doesn’t always have to mean super-sad-everyone-dies-even-the-dog endings. Those are great, but before you kill off your main character, maybe contemplate a happy/sad ending. Do it for me, please, or do it for fish fingers and custard.


About Leah Rae Miller, author

Mother, wife, and YA author living on a windy hill in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I love fuzzy socks, comic books, cherry coke, and brand new office supplies. THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD debuted Summer 2013 from Entangled Teen. Stay cool!

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Twitter: @LeahR_Miller
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leah-Rae-Miller/234175919994575 

This post is part of TWO marvelous blogging events!



Sci-Fi Month is brought to you by Rinn Reads. Check out the full schedule of Sci-Fi Month posts! There are reviews, discussions, giveaways, and more!



Doctor Who Week is a joint venture between  Maria’s Melange and Teen Librarian Toolbox. We have a full week of fun posts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.



Filed under: Doctor Who, Leah Rae Miller, The Summer I Became a Nerd

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About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

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