I agree entirely /\…

I very often say that where the hell have all tragedys gone?? I tuly think that people have become so used to the idea of a happy ending, that they just naturally expect that everything they watch, read (insert other entertainment types here…), will have a happy ending. But then when something like Dr. Horrible comes along and all of a sudden it's not what they expect to happen (Dr. Horrible kills/subdues Capt. Hammer and he and Penny ride off into the sunset), they can't deal with it.

Personally this is why I LOVE Joss soo much! He's willing to kill off the love interest and send the "hero" into a spiral of self destruction (AKA, the complete and udder destruction of whatever was left over of Billy, leaving only the evil of Dr. H).

I just think it's kinda funny that if someone attempted to make something like MacBeth today, everyone would probably hate it, loathe it, try to ban it (Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a touch but you get my drift). It's just modern audiences can't handle the idea of walking out of a theater (Away from their computer) without an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness at the ending of a movie. It frankly pisses me off sometimes.

Anyways I've gone off topic. So I'll shut up now.

I strongly disagree with the notion that American audiences can't handle a sad ending. The biggest movie of all time is "Titanic."

The current top-grossing movie is "The Dark Knight," which doesn't exactly end with hugs and puppies.

The reason people complained about the ending of "Dr. H" is that it started out cute and fluffy and goofy, setting up a comic tone, which leads to the expectation of a happy ending. The turn into tragedy in Act 3 was startling, a twist that most were not expecting.

Some people loved that unexpected twist; others found it jarring and unpleasant to see a beloved character die in something that initially appeared to be a lighthearted comedy. Is that really SO hard to understand?

There's no rule that anyone HAS to do anything. But movies have genres for a reason. If you're in the mood for a comedy, you go to see a comedy. If you're in the mood for a horror movie, or a romance, or an action flick, then that's what you go to see. And if you DO see a movie of a particular genre, then you're in the frame of mind for that genre: you go to a comedy ready to laugh, you go to a horror movie ready to scream, etc.

Many movies blend two genres successfully: "Shawn of the Dead" was horror/comedy, many movies are "romantic comedy", etc.

But if a movie appears to be one genre, and the audience goes in expecting that genre, and is in the frame of mind for that genre…but then, at the end, it suddenly turns into something else, it can feel like a bait-and-switch. You signed up for one thing, but suddenly it changed to something else you were NOT in the mood for and were NOT expecting (for example, you specifically chose a comedy because you were in the mood to laugh and feel good, but instead it suddenly ends in death and leaves you depressed).

Now, obviously you, and many others here, enjoyed that unexpected switch. Great! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Others, however, found the unexpected switch to be a jarring, unpleasant surprise, like biting into a chocolate and finding a sour lemon inside.

Why is it so impossible to understand that not everyone shares your tastes and preferences? It's one thing to say "I loved the ending, and here's why," and I completely respect that. But I just don't get why people who liked the ending are so utterly baffled as to how anyone could POSSIBLY not like it, nor why they feel the need to put down people who didn't like it (i.e. saying Americans can't "handle" an unhappy ending, saying that's it's a PROBLEM that people don't like movies that suddenly switch genres at the end, etc.)

Okay, that's all cool then. Different strokes for different folks.

Sorry to snap at you!

Ok, ^ I agree with a lot of what you've said but the bait 'n' switch IS there. The 1st & 2nd acts I think (& there's no way to know this) only appear dark to you now having seen the 3rd, but that's just IMO. As for the "greek tragedy" element, yes this does fulfill many of the requirements to be considered a true tragedy, in the classical sense. The death of Penny does happen as a result of DH's actions, he posesses both a hamartic flaw (his belief that evil is the way to save the world) & hubris (that Penny will still want to be with him after he kills CH). However consider if you will one of the most famous of classical greek tragedies, the tale of Oedipus. This story does not end when Oedipus takes his fathers throne & his mothers bed. The truth of what has happened is revealed to him, his mother/wife kills herself, he blinds himself & lives the rest of his life in exile & finally his two sons/brothers kill each other on the battlefield. My point is that for it to be a true classical tragedy DH must suffer consequences for his actions, be it death or dishonour. DH cannot get "the world he wanted", however hollow the vicory may feel . Of course there will be more DH but I doubt that Joss will end the next installment with the death of DH, though you never know with that dude ! The "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern" quote is very apropos, there were MANY occasions in the first two acts when DH could have just rubbered his plans & gone for it with Penny (& the character clearly knew this, "and Penny doesn't seem to care that soon the dark in me is all that will remain") but this is where you would introduce the concept of hamartia, the tragic flaw. As a Shakesperian tragedy the analogy doesn't hold, not enough bodies. If it was Shakesperian in design, DH, CH, Penny, Moist & the groupies would have to have been killed. I guess the assumption that DH is a tragedy is more what I'm trying to dispel. It has a tragic event but it is still a comedy, a tragic comedy I suppose. That is what Joss does better than any screen writer around. The Greeks, Shakespeare, they all understood the symbiotic relationship of tragedy & comedy but no-one commits to it like Mr Whedon who has been known to kill people with sight-gags(Wash). That is why we who love him, love him so.