This is the End.
I love watching series finales. Even if I haven’t watched the show very much, I’m pretty likely to tune into the finale if I’ve ever had a remote interest in the show. I did that with Smallville a few years back. I had a cursory interest in the series but never really had the opportunity to dedicate much time to watching it. Even so, I still made sure to watch the finale and see Clark finally become the Super Man he was destined to become.
I remember when I was a young’un in the house we lived in before my parents’ current home. I was heartbroken because some crazy educational show on PBS that involved a woman and a green puppet – I think it was a green puppet. I remember it as a green puppet. I think they were on Mars. And they had to leave for the summer. I bawled my eyes out as their rocket took off and I had to say goodbye. I remember tugging on mom’s leg while she was on the phone. She had to get off the phone because I was in hysterics: Because I had to say goodbye to the Martian puppet for the Summer. I honestly don’t remember if that show ever came on again.
Goodbyes can be tough. They’re part of life, though. Everyone goes through it. At its core, the art of storytelling is the art of dealing with the human experience. I guess I love series finales because when they’re done right, they can be the perfect example of great storytelling. And as you know, I love a good story. A final story told well can tug at the heartstrings. It can resolve conflict. It can leave some tension unresolved. It can make you wish you didn’t have to say goodbye. It can make you want more.
Some of the finales I’ve watched do this really, really well. Others? Not so much.
With all of this talk about tonight’s series finale of The Office, I’ve been thinking a lot about the memorable series finales I’ve seen and why they’re so memorable.
M*A*S*H
I was seven when they aired the M*A*S*H finale. I have no idea if we watched it that night. While I have a pretty vivid memory of my childhood, this is something I just have no recollection of whatsoever. That probably means I didn’t watch it, but you never know, I guess.
I have, however, watched the finale since its initial airing. Holy cow. What an ending. In my mind, this still sets the standard for television series finales. I have never really had a strong attachment to the 4077th – it was probably just a little bit before my time – but even so, I still find myself tearing up as the helicopter flies away for the last time.
Friends
We watched Friends pretty religiously in college. I was living off-campus when Ross flubbed his wedding vows and you could hear screams all throughout the apartment complex. It was pretty crazy.
I was disappointed when I had to work during the series finale. I really wanted to be curled up on the couch with Christy while we watched. Instead, I was busy delivering pizzas. It turned out that I didn’t actually watch the finale until almost ten years later.
Seinfeld
A bunch of my college buddies and I gathered together at a friend’s house for one of our last hurrahs before everyone graduated. We had high expectations for this finale.
It was underwhelming. That’s about all I can say.
The Wonder Years
Christy’s still mad about this series finale. That was twenty (!!!) years ago this week. I guess you could say that time doesn’t heal all wounds. She happened to watch this episode again a few months ago. She was depressed for weeks. I don’t think she can watch any episode of The Wonder Years ever again because she’s still so angry/depressed about how they ended the story.
She’s convinced Kevin and Winnie should’ve gotten married. I, however, think it’s better that they didn’t. After all: how many people actually marry their high school sweethearts? I didn’t. Christy didn’t. I’m pretty OK with that. 😉
Boy Meets World
I think some of that emotional bitterness that Christy experiences with Kevin and Winnie’s breakup has been eased by the finale of Boy Meets World. The fact that Cory and Topanga actually got married and appear to be living happily ever after is a bit of a healing salve.
Cheers
Man. What a great finale. I think it’s my favorite. It’s another finale that aired twenty years ago this month.
What season finales stick out as your most memorable? Which one’s your favorite? Do you have a least-favorite?
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I was in China for the first time when Seinfeld aired its last episode. We had my Mom tape it with her VCR….so I could watch it when I came back to America!
Cool!
I enjoyed this. I watched many of these finales myself.
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I, too, loved the MASH finale. Sad, but great. I was a LOST fan, so I was riveted by that finale. The most shocking finale – St. ELSEWHERE. Did you watch that? The ending had the autistic boy looking at the snow globe with the hospital inside. He had imagined the entire series. SOOOO shocking, but very creative.
YES! Lost is another finale that I watched without watching a single episode during its run. Boy, was I confused. 😉
Never saw the St. Elsewhere finale, but I’ve definitely heard about it. Quite a twist at the end!