Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/'Til Death Do Us Part (American TV series)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep‎__EXPECTED_UNCONNECTED_PAGE__. Liz Read! Talk! 07:00, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

'Til Death Do Us Part (American TV series)

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

Appears to fail WP:NTV and WP:GNG. Tagged for notability since 2019 Donald D23   talk to me  12:27, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Television, Law, Canada,  and United States of America.  Donald D23   talk to me  12:27, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of programs broadcast by TruTV as an ATD (and yes, knowing it's an incongruent mess of two networks' unrelated programming). Surprised this John Waters show doesn't have many sources remembering how it was a big deal at the time (though his segments wrapped around a generic true crime show so that may be why).  Nate  • ( chatter ) 16:23, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Per below and the new sources, Keep and retitle; glad to see we're able to save this rather than leave it to a redirect (though I'll note many Canadian shows in the 2000s were made as co-productions with American networks to get them Canadian content credit, but it still originated in Canada and should be retitled as such).  Nate  • ( chatter ) 01:20, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.  The review notes: "Finding humor in real-life tales of abuse and murder is tricky and not for everyone. Some will find 'Til Death Do Us Part sick and deplorable, while others will treat it like any fictional thriller. The acting and writing is mediocre, but it does the job, and you don't expect much more from a show like this anyway. The sexual elements are played up dramatically, and they're definitely not for kids."   The review notes: "The tone is high camp, with Mr. Waters’s influence always present even when he himself is not. Few architects of popular culture have made the habits of heterosexual life seem sillier, and here the mere sight of Mr. Waters’s fixed smirk reminds us that smug marrieds have no real claim to their smugness. The show makes fun of striver partners, supplicant partners, old men who chase young flesh."   The review notes: "John Waters, who hosts Court TV's new docudrama series {'}}Til Death Do Us Part, isn't a mogul, and he's not really an animatronic ghoul, either. But he's an inspired choice to host this docudrama series based on real-life crimes of passion -- or, more precisely, crimes when all the passion has seeped out of a marriage.  Unfortunately, the series isn't written sharply enough to fully exploit Waters' dry sense of humor. He plays the Groom Reaper, who introduces and closes each episode with snide insights into the pitfalls of betrothal."   The article notes: "Every Monday night, Waters stars as the Groom Reaper on Court TV's " 'Til Death Do Us Part," a scripted half-hour series based on true cases about wedded bliss gone so bad one spouse offs the other. (The violence is inventive -- one hubby bludgeoned his better half with their kid's lunch pail). Much like Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock, a campy Waters pops in at the beginning and end of episodes, which have titles like "The Pond Scum Murder.""   The article notes: "The writer-director of Hairspray, Cry-Baby, Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom and other films plays the "Groom Reaper," the host and narrator of Til Death Do Us Part, a 13-episode dark comedy premiering at 10 p.m. Monday on Court TV.  Inspired by true stories, the series presents tales of married couples, one or both of whom decide that "happily ever after" involves putting a mate in the grave."  <li> The review notes: "That's why I rejoiced -- not too strong a word -- when I heard that Waters was going to provide commentary for a Court TV series called " 'Til Death Do Us Part." There, I said to myself, is a media marriage made in heaven -- Court TV and shock auteurist Waters, the possessor of one of America's truly unique brains. ... And then I saw the show.  It's, hands down, the most wretched TV waste of talent in the new millennium thus far. The show is a godawful crime-fiction series about homicidal marriages in which Waters, with his 1954 pimp mustache, plays the "Groom Reaper," an inane variation on the Crypt Keeper in those old "Tales of the Crypt" numbers. The show is like something profoundly awful from the '50s but without anything even resembling the screwball camp twist Waters would have given it. It needs, frankly, to never see light of day again." </li> <li> The review notes: "Never quite real, yet uncannily authentic, Waters cuts just the right bloodless figure to host 'Til Death Do Us Part. He's got that walking-corpse-like aura so down pat.  Court TV's first scripted series is an anthology of ironic half-hours purportedly based on real-life stories of wedded ends. (The show premiered Monday with back-to-back installments that will repeat at 11 tonight.) ... No, it's an ever-shifting blend of duplicity, wit and, at times, even PG-13 slasher gore. The stories are plainly written and somewhat cheaply filmed." </li> <li> The article notes: "The first season had 13 fun episodes, but they may have used the best of the spousicide tales, Waters says. "It's hard to find something that is intriguing and has plot twists." Besides, the original show was on Court TV. Now that channel calls itself Tru TV and avoids anything that requires actors. So the original series now is a being treated as a one-time event.  The 13 episodes have been packaged into a three-disc list, including outtakes of the elegantly macabre John Waters at work." </li> <li> The article notes: "The Groom Reaper opens and closes `Til Death Do Us Part, an anthology series that debuts with back-to-back episodes. First up is "The Airplane Murder," explaining how one spouse has trouble disposing of the other's body. That episode screens in the show's regular 10 p.m. Monday slot. Then "Funeral Parlor Murder" premieres at 10:30 p.m. Law & Order takes a serious approach in telling stories ripped from the headlines. 'Til Death Do Us Part travels a darkly comic route." </li> <li> The review notes: "The absence of his usual in-depth participation clearly shows.The program doesn't quite hit the marks one anticipates from the Waters brand. When he pops up at the wedding scene that starts each show with his arch double entendres and mischievous gleam, the anticipation mounts and the danse macabre begins. But the show that follows offers rushed scenarios, flat characters and obvious twists - all hampered by its half-hour format." </li> <li> The review notes: "Waters, with his trademark pencil-thin moustache and by now gaunt face, is the perfect host for the ghoulish goings-on, which begin with our host attending a wedding. ... That's just the opening of this tongue-in-cheek production that has one of the more brilliant commercial break graphics: A lovely rose fading quickly, then covered in blood, with the graphic: "I Love You to Death," while The Wedding March plays briskly in the background, then is suddenly silenced." </li> <li> The article notes: ""'Til Death Do Us Part" presents stories inspired by true cases of marriages gone bad - very bad - with each episode bookended by introductions and sign-offs by Waters in the guise of the Groom Reaper, a spectral figure on hand to kiss the bride. Unfortunately, it's a kiss of death." </li> <li> The review notes: "'Til Death Do Us Part, which debuts on Court TV at 10 p.m. Monday, is the perfect vehicle for his macabre glee. An anthology series with fictionalized scripts based on real cases, every episode starts with a wedding, then skips forward to the exact moment the marriage irretrievably breaks toward homicide. The fun comes in guessing who's going to murder whom: the greedy, lecherous old doctor or his gold-digging trophy wife? The creepy undertaker or his cheating spouse?" </li> <li> The article notes: "This "'Til Death Do Us Part," not to be confused with the short-lived Carmen Electra reality series of 2004, checks in with a different set of newlyweds each episode. Happy couples may be all the same, but unhappy to the point of murderous couples are unhappy/murderous in their own ways. That's what makes an anthology." </li> <li> The article notes: "The network's first-ever original scripted series, premiering 10 tonight on cable channel 41 in Batavia, features an inspired performance by Waters as The Groom Reaper, a wry harbinger of incidences of marital bliss doomed to unholy homicide. In each of the series' 13 episodes, Waters' Reaper weaves these twisted, true-life tales from wedding to morgue, giving his two cents -- and then some -- to the camera." </li> </ol>There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow 'Til Death Do Us Part to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 08:37, 22 October 2023 (UTC) </li></ul> Keep - in addition to the references listed above, there's also one in the Hollywood Reporter]. Though I'd support renaming it to 'Til Death Do Us Part (Canadian TV series). Time and time again, I see User:Donaldd23 nominating Canadian TV shows for deletion - which invariably fail. And when they don't fail, Redirect is a better outcom. Perhaps they should be avoiding this topic area. I don't see that redirecting a Canadian TV show to a foreign network is appropriate. Nfitz (talk) 23:28, 22 October 2023 (UTC) Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 13:47, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
 * <p class="xfd_relist" style="margin:0 0 0 -1em;border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 2em;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * Keep: With the extensive sourcing given in the above !vote, notability is established. Oaktree b (talk) 15:31, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep Per Oaktree. Bookworm857158367 (talk) 01:38, 26 October 2023 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.