All Good Shows Must Come To An End

Sorry to tell you this, but shows cannot go on forever, they just can't...Over the past week or so, I have received quite a few comments about the season ending episode of The Sopranos (HBO).

I was out having Sushi with some friends the other night and the subject progressed to The Sopranos. More specifically, the ending...

Although I am an HBO viewer, I have never seen the show. However, I know how the show ended thanks to the endless recap provided by the media. The ending was BRILLIANT on the part of Matthew Weiner (Executive Producer) and about 4 other writers this season.

Really, the fact is no matter how the 'show du jour' ends, we as viewers are never really satisfied - There is simply not a perfect ending for our favorite shows.

Is it Over Already?

So, let's look at some famous endings. Before we begin, just to clarify, season enders such as the 3rd season of Melrose Place (Darren Star/Fox) with the misguided Dr. Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross) wasting the apartment building does not count....Oh man, I LOVED that show and it was mandatory viewing during my college years - we would have Melrose Place parties every Monday night! Ah, the best years of my life...

Another infamous Dallas season ending, "Who Shot J.R.?" (Larry Hagman)(CBS) was the first cliffhanger that produced a season return with the highest rated television episode. At the time more than 80 million viewers tuned in to see the culprit revealed, ultimately the episode's ratings were upstaged by TV mini-series Roots and the final episode of M*A*S*H.

Around the Old Water Cooler

The final episode of M*A*S*H (1983, Directed by Alan Alda) with that memorable final salute, was listed as one the more satisfying, next to the final episode of Cheers (1993) where Sam (Ted Danson) says, "We're closed", The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1992) where Johnny sits on stage on a stool thanking everyone, and the Mary Tyler Moore show (1977) where new management came in to boost low ratings, but everyone simply left station WJM-TV for good.

On the list of "Worst Endings" according to fans would be St. Elsewhere (1988), Seinfeld (1998), The X-Files (2002), Angel (2004), and now THE SOPRANOS.

Jump the Shark or End with Dignity

Again back to the point, would it really matter if the main character was whack (whacked?), if the main characters rode off into the sunset, or if our main character was exonerated, or leave their job at a television newsroom - would we be happy and accept closure? I think not.

Consider the alternative, rather than having to painfully watch a show languish into what could be considered "Jump the Shark" territory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark), embrace the finale to be a great opportunity for closure...Now you can get back to doing whatever you were doing before you began watching the show.

Out With The Old - In With The New

Sooner or later it will be time for your favorites to move on: Lost, 24, ER, Heroes, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Smallville, Desperate Housewives, House, and Law & Order.

Someday, the before mentioned shows will just become syndicated re-runs. It is inevitable: Writers land bigger gigs, Producers are suddenly in demand for hot new projects, Networks change management to refresh vision. After all, this is a business of ambitious, creative people - it's not about job security for 30 years where you get a moderate pension and a gold watch, it's about upward mobility and opportunity to express your creative talent. Moving onward and upward is the name of the game (Excelsior! - The Amazing Stan Lee).

Besides look on the bright side, with all of that scripted drama off of the schedule, that will present more openings for REALITY SHOWS - I could not be more hopeful and quite frankly I---Fade to Black---