Bang Bang, Kiss Kiss, but Not For Long, because it will end in a Major Letdown.

You have to keep your audience fairly unhappy when writing a T.V show. If everything that you wanted to happen happened on the television programs you love, then you wouldn't love them at all. Lets take the show Cheers for example. The whole show was built around the sexual tension between Diane and Sam, and when they finally did get together, the show fell apart. My personal favorite way of keeping your viewers unhappy, but still very much addicted, is what I like to refer to as the 'Not For Long' Rule. The Not For Long Rule consists of two separate parts. The first is when something you really want to happen finally happens (most of the time this consists two characters finally realizing their undying love for each other). The second part is where almost immediately afterward something tragic happens to one or both of the characters, leaving you with the feeling that you're being stabbed poetically. This rule has happened in many shows including, the show Angel, when Cordelia and Angel finally are about to profess their love for one another, and then Angel is trapped in a box at the bottom of the ocean and Cordy becomes one of the powers that be. What I will always say is the saddest death in the history of television is Tara's from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I will from now on refer to as BtVS). Willow and Tara, who make up the least dysfunctional couple in the history of BtVS, have finally gotten back together after a rather painfully long breakup (they were the only constant thing on the show), but less than a day after their reunion Tara is accidentally shot. The saddest part about this death is that as Tara is dying, the only thing she's worried about is that Willow's shirt is covered in blood. Making her last words "Your Shirt". It is a scientifically proven fact that chemicals released in near death situations, such as adrenaline, increase your attraction to the people you are experiencing it with. This is used to keep your viewers unhappy in the "Bang Bang, Kiss Kiss Rule" which is kind of the opposite of the Not For Long Rule. It's when a near death situation (bang bang) makes a character realize that they love another character (kiss kiss). So in other words, the realization usually comes too late to do anything about it. This happens multiple times in Doctor Who. The best being with Rose and the Doctor, and perhaps the worst being when Rory's death in an alternate universe makes Amy realize she loves him. But the Bang Bang, Kiss Kiss Rule does not necessarily have to end in tragedy. For example, Simon and Kaylee in Firefly. One of the most annoying ways of keeping your audience unhappy is the "Major Letdown Rule". The Major Letdown Rule is often confused with the Not For Long Rule, but in reality are two totally different things. The Major Letdown Rule is when nothing terrible happens to stop a relationship, the relationship is simply a major letdown. This happens with Barney and Robin in How I Met Your Mother, whom I think would've made an awesome couple, but the relationship just didn't work. This also happens with Buffy and Spike (on a lesser degree), because all they did was beat each other up. We crave the pain our writers give us. Screw them.