Now for the purpose of equity, none of my top 5 are series finales and all are from broadcast networks. There is no good answer as to why I did that, but it seemed like a reasonable set of parameters for crafting the list. What show made your jaw drop open or scream at the television in their final episode? What show left you completed pissed off that you were going to have to wait a full summer (if not year) before learning the fate of a beloved character? What is your favorite Season Finale?
Just a quick observation on my best season finales - all but one have a common thead - they were game changers.
5. Castle: Always (Season 4) I have been on the Castle bandwagon since Season 1. I bought into the destiny of Richard Castle and Kate Beckett from that first interrogation scene and have never doubted this couple’s eventual coming together. What made this love story work is that it is built on a natural progression, terrific chemistry between the leads and character flaws and strengths that make the culmination of this particular arc feel earned and satisfying. More importantly it felt like a beginning, not an ending. Yes the scene that consummates this transition is fantastic, however it is 33 minutes into the episode that the leads share a confrontation that ticks of all the emotions this series had built towards. It was an exhilarating scene the perfect payoff for the viewer.
4. Designing Women: Reservations for 8 (Season 2) This comedy had so many well written episodes in building out these four women of the south. But crafting a finale that brings the women together with the men they love and pitting them into a Venus vs. Mars showdown gave everyone a turn in the spotlight and fed the qualities we most loved in these women and most wished we had in ourselves. Dixie Carter’s delivery of Julia’s monologue possesses a cadence that is both extraordinary and hilarious. It is a classic moment because even if you never saw an episode of this show this exchange would ring true. It is one of the singular best runs in TV history.
3. Law and Order: Aftershock (Season 6) This episode marks Jill Hennessey’s last in the series. She wasn’t the first replacement in the show and her departure was far from the last this two decade procedural would endure, it was however the best one. One of the elements that made Law & Order a great procedural that was ‘cast proof’. The creators found a way to form depth and complexity to the series regulars without ever giving us much in their back histories. This episode is a departure from that rule because the entire episode is based on the fallout of an criminal execution. We see for the first time in the show’s history an episode without a new case and wholly based on the personal reflections of our main characters. We get a peek behind the curtain of their lives through how they come to terms with the issue of capital punishment. It is a raw look at the sacrifices and compromises ‘the job’ has caused for all our main characters. It also marks the last time the strongest primary cast was together in an episode. It’s a thoughtful, ponderous and shocking episode that punched the viewer in the gut and left us to ponder all that had transpired for the duration of the summer.
Sorry folks, I couldn't find a clip. But trust me it's worth watching.
2. LOST: Through the Looking Glass (Season 3) Regardless of LOST’s faults and missteps (I could have easily selected the Season 1 or 5 finale for this list). They knew how to close a season. Walt being ripped from the raft as our introduction to the "Others", Juliette falling down the shaft after her devesatating declaration of love for Sawyer or something as simple as the light in the hatch turning on. LOST set a mood for the unknown like no other series and the mysticism while confusing and fascinating did not hold a candle to the emotional connection they built with their character development. So for that reason I chose Through the Looking Glass for best LOST finale. As a viewer we were put through the ringer by the surprise of learning that Penny had found Desmond, that she was not on the boat and that Charlie would not survive. Charlie's death was wrenching because it was heroic, understated and devestating all at the same time. Say what you will about LOST, but this show understood how to draw the viewer into emotionally investing in their characters. This was a great payoff to that investment.
1. 24: 11:00PM - 12:00AM (Season 1) Nobody, and I mean nobody saw Teri dying. In a show that made a point all season long of giving us unexpected twists and turns so we didn't know who or what to trust the creators put an exclamation point on that fact in the finale. So at the end of season one we end watching Jack cradling Teri who was executed at the hands of Nina. It was a game changer. The producers brilliantly proved to the audience in no uncertain terms that no character was sacred and that this was a show that was changing the rules of storytelling on television not just in its use of the real time device, but in it's willingness to be bold and buck traditional sacred cows of television. Unlike the crass disposibility of people in the Following, 24 went on to use character demise in a way that was both shocking and pivotal. This final act for a season freshman was a stroke of genius. Just look at the clip below and I ask you would 24 have been the same show if Teri had lived?
Honorable Mentions:
Desperate Housewives: Free (Season 4) Marc Cherry found one of the single best ways to write his show out of a hole and hit the reset button on a show that had failed to recapture the quirky intrigue of Season 1's central mystery around Mary Alice's death. Jumping the show forward 5 years was a bold move and a great surprise twist that nobody saw coming.
Murphy Brown: Birth 101 (Season 4) Murphy Brown was a great show for a host of reasons. Independent of the political lightning rod this show became, Candace Bergen’s portrayal of a woman whose life is monumentally shifted as a result of her child’s birth stands the test of time. The last shot in the episode of Bergen singing Natural Woman is both gut-wrenching and poignant. It is 23 minutes that hit all the right notes of comedy, sincerity and believability. It was the best season finale for the series and one of the show’s best episodes ever.
Charmed: Witch Way Now (Season 4) I will not apologize for two things, loving this show and loving it even more after Shannon Doherty left. The show had an uncanny knack for creating really strong season finales with and without cliffhangers throughout its run. I ultimately chose this episode because after a good deal of suffering has happened to these characters the Angel of Destiny provides an opportunity to start fresh and it becomes a surprisingly thoughtful episode about how our identities are intrinsically tied to all the experiences we endure and relish, ultimately concluding that changing course changes who are, regardless of that change. Pretty profound for a show about witches.
The West Wing: Two Cathedrals (Season 2) Mrs. Landingham was the surprising conscience of the show and all the characters who were occupying the West Wing. This episode is also Martin Sheen at his very best and sadly the last time in this series that the show felt clear and focused in its storytelling. I think the first two seasons of West Wing are some of the finest in TV, this episode while being a great season closer also marks the end of its greatness.
No comments:
Post a Comment