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With the recent finales of LOST and 24, and the attendant discussions of great series finales through the years, I got to thinking about a few things:
1.) When folks recall the great series finales, they always seem to value the finale by the last 5 to 10 minutes. The Sopranos finale is characterized by Journey and the cut to black. Newhart is characterized by the dream. Six Feet Under is characterized by Claire's drive away and "Breathe Me."
But what about the rest of the episode? I don't think finales like Seinfeld's get enough credit for the fact that the entire episode was truly a thoughtful finale for the show. The Newhart ending was brilliant, but was the rest of the episode truly the greatest finale of all time? I honestly don't know. I do know that the Sopranos finale, other than the great diner scene, was relatively nondescript.
2.) Not all series are free to end with an out-of-left-field twist. Again, I come back to Newhart, which is often heralded as the greatest finale of all time. The writers of the show were free to come up with a huge (and yes, very clever) twist like that, because the show didn't have a build-up of important plot points to resolve and the very fine contours of a thematically heavy show to stay within. To me, that takes a little some away from that kind of an ending.
3.) Why is the Roseanne finale never mentioned in great series finales? It was brilliant. If you're not a fan of the show, that's fine. But if you were, and you stuck through the bizarre, over-the-top final season, you were richly, RICHLY rewarded in the finale.
I guess I'm just trying to cope with the ending of LOST. Still quite sad.
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I thought Seinfeld's finale sucked total ass from beginning to end.
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i've been thinking about this same thing the last two days and even tried to talk to some friends about it the other night but they don't watch lost so it didn't get too far. i was thinking about how i loved 6 feet under and the sopranos finales but then i realized, like you said, that i really only remember how the shows actually, literally ended. the last few shots. i just watched lost again (my wife hadn't seen it yet) and i can safely say, in my tv watching lifetime, it's my favorite finale from start to finish. so awesome.
Life is a bitch, but she's totally doable.
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Six Feet Under finale was the best, imo... I liked The Wire's series finale as well... and the suspense from he sopranos finale has never been matched for me... I imagine millions of people freaking out when the screen went black thinking something had happened with their tv or signal...
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<!--quoteo(post=98522:date=May 27 2010, 03:03 AM:name=satchel)-->QUOTE (satchel @ May 27 2010, 03:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Six Feet Under finale was the best, imo... I liked The Wire's series finale as well... and the suspense from he sopranos finale has never been matched for me... I imagine millions of people freaking out when the screen went black thinking something had happened with their tv or signal...<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I didn't appreciate the Soprano's finale until about a week after I watched it.
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I can't think of many, if any, series finale in the history of TV that I genuinely loved. I never watched Lost, so I can't comment on it. Seinfeld's was a bit contrived. I'm having a hard time thinking of many memorable finales of dramas where I thought, yep I'm satisfied with how things were resolved. The Soprano's finale, like the final season itself, was a letdown for me. And I'm sorry, I hate that fucking Journey song, so it made the conclusion even harder to swallow.
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<!--quoteo(post=98548:date=May 27 2010, 10:09 AM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ May 27 2010, 10:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I can't think of many, if any, series finale in the history of TV that I genuinely loved. I never watched Lost, so I can't comment on it. Seinfeld's was a bit contrived. I'm having a hard time thinking of many memorable finales of dramas where I thought, yep I'm satisfied with how things were resolved. The Soprano's finale, like the final season itself, was a letdown for me. And I'm sorry, I hate that fucking Journey song, so it made the conclusion even harder to swallow.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Really, the last 2.5 seasons of The Sapranos were let downs for me. The first 3-4 seasons were the greatest.
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<!--quoteo(post=98554:date=May 27 2010, 09:45 AM:name=Coldneck)-->QUOTE (Coldneck @ May 27 2010, 09:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98548:date=May 27 2010, 10:09 AM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ May 27 2010, 10:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I can't think of many, if any, series finale in the history of TV that I genuinely loved. I never watched Lost, so I can't comment on it. Seinfeld's was a bit contrived. I'm having a hard time thinking of many memorable finales of dramas where I thought, yep I'm satisfied with how things were resolved. The Soprano's finale, like the final season itself, was a letdown for me. And I'm sorry, I hate that fucking Journey song, so it made the conclusion even harder to swallow.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Really, the last 2.5 seasons of The Sapranos were let downs for me. The first 3-4 seasons were the greatest.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think the series as a whole was extremely overrated. I started watching it sometime during the 2nd season. A lot of it was just insulting to me personally, but for whatever reason I kept watching until the end. I think this was mainly because for a long time, Sunday night TV was just awful and this was the least bad of the bunch.
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<!--quoteo(post=98554:date=May 27 2010, 10:45 AM:name=Coldneck)-->QUOTE (Coldneck @ May 27 2010, 10:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Really, the last 2.5 seasons of The Sapranos were let downs for me. The first 3-4 seasons were the greatest.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, the <i>Sapranos</i> went really downhill after Tiny Saprano, Saulie Pecans, and Goldio killed off that rat Big Dick. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/grin.gif[/img]
One dick can poke an eye out. A hundred dicks can move mountains.
--Veryzer
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<!--quoteo(post=98498:date=May 26 2010, 09:58 PM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ May 26 2010, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I thought Seinfeld's finale sucked total ass from beginning to end.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I really liked the <i>Seinfeld</i> finale and like it even more in reruns. What were people expecting from sitcom that refused to let you get close to the main characters? I thought it was clever. And the clips weren't all that lengthy.
One dick can poke an eye out. A hundred dicks can move mountains.
--Veryzer
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<!--quoteo(post=98564:date=May 27 2010, 10:03 AM:name=VanSlawAndCottoCheese)-->QUOTE (VanSlawAndCottoCheese @ May 27 2010, 10:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98498:date=May 26 2010, 09:58 PM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ May 26 2010, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I thought Seinfeld's finale sucked total ass from beginning to end.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I really liked the <i>Seinfeld</i> finale and like it even more in reruns. What were people expecting from sitcom that refused to let you get close to the main characters. I thought it was clever.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was expecting to laugh at least once.
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<!--quoteo(post=98565:date=May 27 2010, 11:04 AM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ May 27 2010, 11:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98564:date=May 27 2010, 10:03 AM:name=VanSlawAndCottoCheese)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (VanSlawAndCottoCheese @ May 27 2010, 10:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98498:date=May 26 2010, 09:58 PM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ May 26 2010, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I thought Seinfeld's finale sucked total ass from beginning to end.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I really liked the <i>Seinfeld</i> finale and like it even more in reruns. What were people expecting from sitcom that refused to let you get close to the main characters. I thought it was clever.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was expecting to laugh at least once.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You again with the standards.
One dick can poke an eye out. A hundred dicks can move mountains.
--Veryzer
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<!--quoteo(post=98565:date=May 27 2010, 10:04 AM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ May 27 2010, 10:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98564:date=May 27 2010, 10:03 AM:name=VanSlawAndCottoCheese)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (VanSlawAndCottoCheese @ May 27 2010, 10:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=98498:date=May 26 2010, 09:58 PM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ May 26 2010, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I thought Seinfeld's finale sucked total ass from beginning to end.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I really liked the <i>Seinfeld</i> finale and like it even more in reruns. What were people expecting from sitcom that refused to let you get close to the main characters. I thought it was clever.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was expecting to laugh at least once.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And I was also expecting the characters to not become extreme caricatures of the caricatures of the caricatures (not a typo) of themselves that they had become during the final few seasons. The only enjoyable part of the finale for me was when the plane almost crashed, and everyone came close to revealing a bit about themselves, but ultimately didn't.
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I didn't like the writing of the last couple seasons of <i>Seinfeld </i>on the whole myself.
But what I loved about that finale is that Seinfeld and Davis and crew are practically admonishing the audience for being such fans of such hedonistic misanthropes. The characters are judged unfit for society, but the jokes on us, as we followed them along for 8(?) years. They sit in the holding cell at the end and revive a conversation from the first episode. They've grown nada. They defied all expectations for TV shows, and fans stuck with them. And for that loyalty, we're repaid by being reminded that the characters are indeed caricatures who have held our attentions prisoner for nearly a decade. No, I thought the ending was a marvelous tweak of my and other fans' noses.
One dick can poke an eye out. A hundred dicks can move mountains.
--Veryzer
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I know tons of critics consider the MASH finale to be the best, but I never saw it. Quite frankly, I don't think I appreciate MASH the way a lot of people do. I thought it was okay at times, and flat out boring at others. Maybe I haven't watched it enough in my adult life to understand it as well.
And I thought the Six Feet Under finale was fantastic. Ball could have let that series go on a few more years, and it may have lost it's luster. As much as I miss it, I think he did the right thing by pulling it while it was still great, and his ending was perfect.
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