Michael John Petty

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters.

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters.

When it comes to television, we all have that favorite character who we desperately don't want to die. It's not uncommon for fan-favorites to be taken out by the latest big bad or written off entirely for behind-the-scenes reasons audiences aren't privy to. What's less common, of course, is for those same sorts of characters to be ultimately spared due to their popularity — either with audiences or the creators themselves. But it does happen.

Quantum Leap's finale gave Sam Beckett a controversial fate, but the final moments also contained an embarrassing error that eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed.

When it comes to television, we all have that favorite character who we desperately don't want to die.

The possible Antichrist was the least of Dr. Kristen Bouchard's (Katja Herbers) worries by the time the "Evil" series finale came around, but things could have been much stranger had creators Robert and Michelle King gone with their original plans for antagonist Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson). During that first season, the CBS program may not have been afraid to get weird, but it still had yet to shed the weight of its network television shackles. Back then, there were talks of killing Leland and replacing him with, well, himself.

Back in the mid-1960s, the Adam West-led "Batman" took the world by storm. Even though the show only existed because other characters'rights with unavailable, "Batmania" entrenched the nation in a way that would not be seen again until Tim Burton's big-screen take in 1989. "Batman" changed the game for superhero TV, parodying comic antics with a straight face and quick PSAs for young viewers.

The possible Antichrist was the least of Dr. Kristen Bouchard's (Katja Herbers) worries by the time the "Evil" series finale came around, but things

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters.

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters.