TMC
02-14-2020, 05:08 AM
Instead, the writers bring in this other friend of Laura's named Josie (played by a pre-Boy Meets World Trina Magee-Davis) who we had never seen or heard about prior to this episode. Wouldn't it had worked better in terms of wanting an emotional attachment if it had been some what a regular on the show getting shot?
"Very Special Episodes" seem to often be guilty of just making disposable characters for these things, which seriously hurts their potential for impact. Like remember that Family Ties episode "A, My Name is Alex" (https://tv.avclub.com/family-ties-a-my-name-is-alex-1798226185), where Alex Keaton is grieving over the sudden death of a friend who up until then, we never heard about or seen?
Maybe it would've been too extreme to have a Winslow family member or even Urkel get shot. But still, had it been a character that the viewers already know beforehand (if not Maxine, then maybe even Waldo or Weasel), we would actually have some genuine emotional investment in their survival.
The one problem with Maxine getting shot though is would've likely been completely out of character for Max to have a gun or to tell Laura to buy a gun for protection. And since this was a Laura-centric episode, it's doubtful she's not going to be influenced by Weasel to get a gun.
"Very Special Episodes" seem to often be guilty of just making disposable characters for these things, which seriously hurts their potential for impact. Like remember that Family Ties episode "A, My Name is Alex" (https://tv.avclub.com/family-ties-a-my-name-is-alex-1798226185), where Alex Keaton is grieving over the sudden death of a friend who up until then, we never heard about or seen?
Maybe it would've been too extreme to have a Winslow family member or even Urkel get shot. But still, had it been a character that the viewers already know beforehand (if not Maxine, then maybe even Waldo or Weasel), we would actually have some genuine emotional investment in their survival.
The one problem with Maxine getting shot though is would've likely been completely out of character for Max to have a gun or to tell Laura to buy a gun for protection. And since this was a Laura-centric episode, it's doubtful she's not going to be influenced by Weasel to get a gun.