May 22
2010
Ten memorable TV show endings.
Guess what Yahoo UK puts at #5.
Shiai
| BtVS
| 23:13 CET
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17 comments total
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But I did like "if you haven't watched the show you probably won't understand a word of that".
Ashley | May 23, 01:31 CET
kishi | May 23, 02:12 CET
cardea | May 23, 02:15 CET
Yeah Ashley, i'd go even further and say the whole point is that she wasn't beaming (certainly not out of relief), her smile was bittersweet - the battle's won but at what cost, the future's open but now what does it bring ? The series has been about Buffy's road to adulthood, the smile is her arriving.
I'd probably put 'Angel' higher but the end of Buffy was also near perfect for that show. And they're spot on about 'Blackadder Goes Forth', not a dry eye in my house (interesting that, as it turns out, the ending was meant to be much bigger and more epic and that initially no-one was happy with what they'd filmed but because of a scheduling problem - they were kicked out of the studio and didn't have enough time or money to re-shoot it - they were forced to improvise and make do with the few seconds they could salvage. From which came the slow-mo, the freeze frame and the field of poppies. A very happy "accident").
Saje | May 23, 02:36 CET
Like the best of Whedon plot twists you didn't see it coming but afterwards you can't imagine it being any other way.
It also meets Joss' criteria that the last episode of a show should solve the problem that brought the main character into the first episode.
The question all through the two shows has been about Gene Hunt, in many ways dominating the story lines of the two main characters. Is he a hero or is he a thug? Unlike many shows, where we would never find out, there is an answer to this and it's not the one we expected.
There's a post finale interview with one of the writers (Spoilers !!!) here. He even reveals that the writers had a bit of fun hinting to the audience that they were going to use the ending of the American version of 'Life on Mars'.
Alternatively there a 'spoiler lite' interview given before the finale here with some interesting thoughts about series finales.
I'll certainly be nominating it for next years Hugo Awards but I'm not sure if anyone who hasn't seen both of the two British series will be able to fully appreciate how well it works with the history of those shows.
Let's see if 'Lost' can do as well.
[ edited by Simon on 2010-05-23 14:15 ]
technovamp | May 23, 02:41 CET
brinderwalt | May 23, 05:13 CET
Numfar PTB | May 23, 06:55 CET
Also, this is such a highly subjective list. I started reading through the comments and then stopped when I saw there were more than 10 pages of them. As a long-time SF fan, the final episode of Babylon 5 did pop into my head.
And I really find it odd that The Colby's makes it onto this list but M*A*S*H does not. The finale for that series was the most watched of all time, and after it aired ... everyone knew they'd got the story, the tone and the goodbye just right.
As I say, a very subjective list.
blanetalk | May 23, 08:11 CET
electricspacegirl | May 23, 08:13 CET
quantumac | May 23, 11:45 CET
The Buffy ending was fantastic on the other hand. I watched it again about a year ago, as I was starting to enter the final stage of Master's degree, and it moved me so much. I was watching it at the perfect point in my life and it had a real affect on me, more than any previous time I had seen it. I had always loved it, but that just made that little bit more special (and I agree with Saje on his description on the smile completely. I've heard people saying that she "has become cookies", but that isn't the point. The point is she is just another step closer to being cookies.)
Can't fault them with the Blackadder pick. One of the greatest comedy show endings ever.
@technovamp
Agree completely with you on 'Ashes to Ashes'. Absolutely brilliant ending. I particularly liked the way they brought a certain character from 'Life on Mars', who had always seemingly filled that role. I'm not sure whether the ending actually does make sense looking at what had gone before, but I definitely can't wait to go back and watch it all with it in mind.
Edit: I just read the article you linked to before posting this and realised that they talk about the main piece I thought that didn't fit with the ending. Very interesting stuff. Kind of blown away that they actually did intend the ending from the beginning and were able to keep it so underwraps.
Vandelay | May 23, 12:14 CET
NFA is the reason we got After the Fall and now have this continuity crisis with Angel/Twilight and Dark Horse/IDW.
Riker | May 24, 06:05 CET
DaddyCatALSO | May 24, 06:46 CET
[ edited by Riker on 2010-05-24 17:12 ]
Riker | May 24, 08:12 CET
@theonetruebix | May 24, 09:21 CET
Riker | May 24, 10:12 CET
My understanding has always been that the comics written by, plotted or overseen by Joss are canon and nothing else can be assumed to be unless it's specifically, explicitly stated to be so (so anything post 'After the Fall' is borderline at best). If there's a contradiction between something Joss wrote/oversaw and another writer's work then, frankly, there IS no contradiction - the other writer's work may as well not exist (as far as the "actual" Buffyverse goes - the story may well be great as part of a standalone, separate reality).
Saje | May 25, 08:17 CET