Not Over Till It's Over: TV Finales and Cancellations

[Baby Fish Mouth]

No finale has ever come close to Six Feet Under for me. I still watch the last 6 minutes occasionally when I need a good cry.  I agree that the Dawson's Creek finale was surprisingly touching and well made.

The Sopranos finale was utter b.s., but not as bad as Roseanne's "it was all made up" concept. And I still haven't gotten over My So-Called Life being cancelled in the middle of the first season.

[divasahm]

I've been thinking about this lately, from a late night talk/news show POV--with all the personal loss I've experienced this past year (12 funerals and counting, including my dad's, and ds1 getting ready to leave for college), having Craig Ferguson, David Letterman, and Jon Stewart leave their respective shows has been painful for me. And Stephen Colbert cannot return fast enough--I literally sobbed through his last show on Comedy Central.

[LurkerNan]

This is my opportunity to complain about the hundreds of science fiction/fantasy shows I have become invested in and supported throughout the past three decades, that rarely get any sort of closure. Everything from big budget network shows to the cheapos on SciFi - so few of them ever get to finish the story. Sometimes I rationalize that it's my viewing that becomes the kiss of death.

[mrspickles]

Jul 29, 2015 15:42:56 GMT -4 LurkerNan said:

This is my opportunity to complain about the hundreds of science fiction/fantasy shows I have become invested in and supported throughout the past three decades, that rarely get any sort of closure. Everything from big budget network shows to the cheapos on SciFi - so few of them ever get to finish the story. Sometimes I rationalize that it's my viewing that becomes the kiss of death.

I thought it was Adam Baldwin?

[FotoStoreSheila]

Jul 29, 2015 12:43:01 GMT -4 Baby Fish Mouth said:

No finale has ever come close to Six Feet Under for me. I still watch the last 6 minutes occasionally when I need a good cry.

I am permanently scarred by the SFU series finale. I have never cried so much for so long about fictional characters. I remember watching it and sobbing for hours. Then waking up in the middle of the night, remembering what I'd watched and starting up all over again.

BTW-- I am in complete and total denial about the cancellation of Hannibal. In my mind, I'm certain someone will save it.

[smitten]

Jul 29, 2015 15:41:42 GMT -4 divasahm said:

I've been thinking about this lately, from a late night talk/news show POV--with all the personal loss I've experienced this past year (12 funerals and counting, including my dad's, and ds1 getting ready to leave for college), having Craig Ferguson, David Letterman, and Jon Stewart leave their respective shows has been painful for me. And Stephen Colbert cannot return fast enough--I literally sobbed through his last show on Comedy Central.

You've been through so much. And I totally get those other losses being a big deal. My mom died in early 2001 at a time when I watched nascar and the dale Earnhardt thing was hard to experience as well as 9/11 - like it was for everyone I know!

Colbert's last 3 shows were on my DVR for about 6 months before I could bring myself to watch them. Yes, it was last month. It just felt like such an end of an era. I remember his first show! His first better know a district and Word! Sept 8 will be here before we know it. And if the podcasts are any indication, he's not in character and he's still awesome and hilarious.

And Jon Stewart is SO ready to be done. I know that feeling, so I'm actually more happy for him than sad. And lately Larry Wilmore has been on fire.

[Mutagen]

I just blew through all six seasons of Oz on Amazon. I know a lot of people complained that the show started to suck after seaons 3 or 4, and they're not wrong (IMO the clear shark jump is midway through season 4). But there were some interesting plot threads going on all the way up to the finale that it's kind of a bummer to think about what could have been. 

It was also kind of funny how the finales of seasons 4, 5 and 6 all could have served as series finales. You could tell the showrunners weren't 100% sure if they were coming back.

[Ripley]

I always liked how the Kids In The Hall wound up their TV show. I also loved the finale for Rome ("You're swearing that someday you'll destroy me. Far better women than you have sworn to do the same. Go and look for them now." Atia of the Julii)

[Atreides]

Jul 29, 2015 15:42:56 GMT -4 LurkerNan said:

This is my opportunity to complain about the hundreds of science fiction/fantasy shows I have become invested in and supported throughout the past three decades, that rarely get any sort of closure. Everything from big budget network shows to the cheapos on SciFi - so few of them ever get to finish the story. Sometimes I rationalize that it's my viewing that becomes the kiss of death.

I'm a big Trekkie. I thought TNG had a great finale, tying together three timelines and so on. The final scene with Picard finally(!) joining his crew to play poker was beautiful. However, with the knowledge that the TNG movie was just months away didn't make it a real finale. DS9 on the other hand had a tremendous finale with the knowledge that this would probably be the last time I ever saw that crew again. The final few minutes, including that gorgeous shot of the station, were just perfect.

Jul 29, 2015 18:34:29 GMT -4 Ripley said:

I always liked how the Kids In The Hall wound up their TV show. I also loved the finale for Rome ("You're swearing that someday you'll destroy me. Far better women than you have sworn to do the same. Go and look for them now." Atia of the Julii)

Squee! A fellow Rome lover! Atia's final scene was so bittersweet and Polly Walker just nailed it. As far as I'm concerned, Rome was the proto-Game of Thrones before HBO knew what to do with shows like that.

[CAgirl]

I loved Dexter, but the series finale was awful and a disappointment.