TV: what have you been watching?
I think The Walking Dead may be the best drama thats currently airing/in production.
There, I said it.
oh one show I forgot about that I absolutely love is big time in hollywood fl.
it was only one season because true genius is so rarely recognized in its own time but godamn it was so hilarious and even tho it was technically a comedy I would have had to include it cuz it's a crime how few ppl have heard of it.
I had no problem with the sopranos ending never saw BG also didn't have an issue with the lost ending.
I must be one of the only peeps in the world that actually really liked GOT's last season, didn't mind Soprano's ending or Battlestar Galactica's for that matter.
I'll agree with this as well, but with the caveat that while I was OK with the ending of GoT, the final season was a not close to as good as the others.
Sopranos and BSG were both fine.
I had no problem with the sopranos ending never saw BG also didn't have an issue with the lost ending.
Thats because the Lost ending is actually great, just the last season isnt that good. Im rewatching it right now, top 3 all time show.
GOT ending ruined pretty much the whole show for me, can't see myself rewatching that at all.
Let's be honest, the worst final season/ending is obviously Dexter. Pre-reboot.
I am really on the other side of the spectrum where there are not many endings that bothered me - if any, tbh... But I can say this : the most memorable ending of a series ever for me, especially as a kid, was Sledge Hammer
Spoiler
"Trust me, I know what I am doing" 😉
Now finding the best ending ever to a series, on the other hand, is hard af, at least as I am concerned...
Sopranos, on being the best tv finale ever : "‘The function of network TV is to make people feel that everything is OK, and they should buy the product that we’re selling during the commercials,’” Sopranos writer Terence Winter said in 2021. “Very often on The Sopranos, things were not OK in the end, and then there was nothing to sell.”
The Shield's finale imo. Real gut punch.
I was not aware that BS:G's finale didn't go over well. Definitely had no idea it was up there with something like GOT.
I was not aware that BS:G's finale didn't go over well. Definitely had no idea it was up there with something like GOT.
Interestingly, upon investigation today on the best finale's ever, Battlestar did get a #1 on one list, and top 10 in others, even if it did not sit well with so many fans!!! The problem with the narrative in Battlestar - and I couldn't care less -, is that they built up expectations so SKY FRACKING HIGH with those dreamy premonition visions, for an epic ending. A bit of a letdown, as even if the ending did turn out in fact to be very good, it just couldn't meet the build up hype for a lot of folks.
That makes sense, thanks for looking it up.
Any long TV series is not going to be planned out from the beginning. Each season will have an arc, sure.
BSG, Lost, And GoT are fantastic series...with some disappointment in the endings. So what? Still great shows.
The Sopranos is a perfect ending.
The Sopranos ending may have been divisive at the time, but I don't think anybody sees it as anything but brilliant nowadays.
Dexter was an entertaining show that was also ridiculous and funny. The ending was so silly that I don't really think about it as part of the show.
The season with John Lithgow was brilliant, tho.
Speaking of Dexter, it looks like the prequel spinoff is in the works, and will take place 15 years before the original.
Patrick Gibson (?) - Dexter
Molly Brown (?) - Deb
Christian Slater - Harry
Really hard for me to imagine anyone other than Michael C. Hall as Dexter, but I'll still give it a try when it comes out. Also not nearly as bad as the ugly Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill in the Witcher.
Any long TV series is not going to be planned out from the beginning. Each season will have an arc, sure.
BSG, Lost, And GoT are fantastic series...with some disappointment in the endings. So what? Still great shows.
The Sopranos is a perfect ending.
Disappointment is an understatement for GOT. So much build up for the night king, 'winter is coming' for 8 seasons / 10 years from the very first episode to end with those stinkers? Ruined the whole show for me. The whole last season was terrible.
Its different with a show like Dexter. Awful series finale ofcourse, but each season has a very contained arc, so i can still enjoy them on a rewatch.
Speaking of series finales, im gonna have to mention Spartacus to. They absolutely nailed that ending
For my money the best series final episodes were The Wire and Six Feet Under. They both nailed it absolutely perfectly. Both series were tired by the end but they hit home runs on the finales.
Sopranos ending did make multiple lists as well for best finale ever, so those lists do like polarizing endings!!!
I think The Sopranos ended perfectly. But after teaching film and literature for a long time, I find students hate open-ended films and stories. They mostly all like City Lights but want to know what happens after the final shot. Same with open-ended short stories.
Chekhov's story "The Lady with the Dog" ends with this:
"And it seemed as though in a little while the solution would be found, and then a new and splendid life would begin; and it was clear to both of them that they had still a long, long road before them, and that the most complicated and difficult part of it was only just beginning."
Students hate that ending. They prefer the happily ever after ending instead of the lady or the tiger kind of story.
Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk
Yeah. Chekov was an absolute master of the short story vignette.
Talking of endings I saw Remains Of The Day for the first time last night, and found it pretty good overall, if a little shaky in places.
John, I'm slowly getting my students to accept more open-ended stories and movies. I think they enjoy discovering new stuff (to them.)
