Why Movies Mar the Memory of the Shows They Were Based On

"Sex and the City 2" is expected to make $75 million alone this Memorial Day weekend. But it won't see a dime from me. I learned my lesson the first time around. As an avid watcher of the show, I realized when the first movie dismantled everything that the series had neatly wrapped up that I was no longer interested in seeing movies based on shows I love.

Making such a movie is a bit of a catch 22. If they make a boring epilogue with no drama but that stays true to the show's happy ending, people will hate it. But if they create a good entertaining film, they ruin the memory we had of our characters. And to be fair, we all root for it because we hate to see beloved characters go. And I'll admit, I'm dying to see "Arrested Development" on the big screen, but I know I'll probably regret it. I know that the series ended perfectly well with the show not only coming full circle but also staying hilarious all the way through. A movie will probably feel like an awkward extended episode, the way "The Simpsons Movie" did.

"The X Files" is also guilty of this, having spawned not one, but two, movies, neither of which did justice to the TV series. It just ends up feeling unnecessary, when I know the shorter episodes within the series pack more of a punch. The movies always end up trying too hard to be epic, as a way to justify its own existence, and ends up being completely mediocre.

And serials and sitcoms aren't the only ones that have fallen prey to the public's desire for more. "Saturday Night Live" is the biggest culprit. They've turned every remotely popular sketch into a feature film, most recently with the release of "MacGruber." It simply doesn't work. These characters range from funny to tolerable during a five minute long sketch, but for a full two and a half hours, they are unbearable. And over time we forget that the Night at the Roxbury guys were really hilarious on SNL before the movie came out.

Viewers have a hard time saying good bye to their favorite shows and characters and movie studios capitalize on that by giving us a chance to see them in action again in new wacky situations. But we can see these characters any time, that's what the DVDs are for! Sure, I could spend my weekend at the movie theatre watching the memory of Big and Carrie continue to get butchered or I could pop in season two and see them at their finest.