Well we are finally here - the last round. Thanks to everyone who has participated by voting and commenting. You have made this competition fun. Congratulations to Dean Winchester and Kate Beckett for getting to the final round. To get to the finals, Dean won over Mary, Queen of Scots, Daryl Dixon, Melinda May, Felicity Smoak, and Patrick Jane. Kate won over Lagertha, Norma Bates, Barney Stinson, Chandler Bing, and Vincent Keller. I'll be back tomorrow with one final post, including some contest statistics for those who requested them. If there are any stats you are particularly interested in, let me know in the comments below. Until then, happy voting!
Updated to add the contest rules one more time: The goal is for us to pass the hiatus time with great TV talk and loads of fun. Alas in every internet contest ever, there are always things that come up and ruin the fun for everyone. In an attempt to shoot for the stars and miraculously avoid these, here are the rules:
1. The Aliens Haven't Landed. There's No Conspiracy Here - I have no hidden agenda. Everything is placed in brackets based on number of nominations and ranking polls. If your favorite show goes against a giant, it's nothing personal. There's also no secret underground of people cheating polls. Nobody gets paid for that so nobody has time for that. Especially since this contest means absolute squat. It's just for fun.
2. Leave Sour Grapes on the Vine - Yeah, it sucks when your favorite gets kicked off by a show you hate. Yep, the winning character will come from the most organized fandom that works the hardest to get the word out. Them's the facts of life and internet, folks. It doesn't mean we can't have fun. So discuss why you love your favorite instead of vetching about life's unfairness and bringing down the room. I promise we'll all have more fun that way.
3. It's Not 2048 and My Name's Not Dorian - I will do my very best to keep the contest running smoothly and let you know the approximate time each poll ends. However, I occasionally do silly things like put the wrong date on a poll so it doesn't end the exact time I thought. Again see #1. Let me know and I'll fix it. I apologize in advance for any technical difficulties.
4. Comments are the Wellspring of Hiatus Life - Most of us anxiously await a favorite show's return and if you're like me, right about now is when I start feeling the wait the most. Why not distract yourself with a little TV talk? So explain your voting choices. What is your favorite thing about a character? Your favorite character arc? What are your hopes for him or her? The conversation is endless as long as someone starts it.
Previous contest results - Final rankings for all characters out in the fifth round now up. Final rankings have been moved to the top. Inital rankings below
Polls end - Wednesday around 5:00 pm CST
Prediction contest results - Toni is the only one with a perfect bracket this time and also the only one with a shot at getting the final winner correct. The majority of people whose final winner was still in the running had the final between Jane and Vincent. Janna however still leads the pack with 13 misses. Congrats to both!
TV Talk Topic - Before we get to the last topic, I just want to say how much fun it has been reminiscing about old TV shows, talking about how TV has enhanced lives, and debating the finer points of character building with you. I appreciate everyone who has participated in these. They have been my favorite part of the contest.
So without further adieu, our last TV Talk Topic has....nothing to do with TV. Sorry. Since it is the end of the contest, it makes sense to review it as a whole. What, besides poll results which we don't control, did you like and not like? How do you feel about only one contestant being allowed per show? Did you like the timing of the contest or would you prefer it to be earlier or later in the summer? Do you like having 4 polls per day or would you prefer there be more or less? Instead of pictures, would you like to see fanvids of the characters? Did the pictures slow down loading time too much for you? Should we not have pictures polls or did you like thatfeature? Did you participate in TV Talk Topics, and if so, would you like to do them again or drop them? What TV Talk Topics do you wish we had covered that we did not? Was there enough time to nominate? Did you like having 2 males and 2 females in nominating or would you prefer to just nominate 4 no matter the gender? Did you participate in the predictions contest, and if so would you like to see that again next year? Would you like to see the final poll last 48 hours instead of 24? How do you feel about the idea of the winner of the contest being retired so they cannot be in it the following year? Overall how did you feel about the contest?
