Here I am again, prepared to ask your forgiveness for not keeping up with the blog so well. Again I plan to do better, starting with a brief look at finale season, which it is for just about anyone who watches TV.
I’m sort of on a TV-show-finale kick. I'm tempted to watch the last 10 minutes of shows I don't even see otherwise. It’s kind of exciting to be ending a season that’s included many shows I’ve felt compelled to watch (or, in a few cases, that I’ve watched regularly out of a sense of obligation). I have TV show finales listed on my computer's iCalendar so I can keep track. I’m also picking up a few shows I rarely if ever watched before. It’s interesting to see how each show goes about its ending, most of which employed a cliffhanger or long-time-coming plot development.
So far, I’ve seen (spoilers ahead):“Gilmore Girls” (A — excellent final scene wrap-up; see mini-review below)
“The Office” (A — see mini-review below)
"Friday Night Lights" (A- — this was on how long ago?)
“Prison Break” (B+ — OK, so it's been awhile since this was on)
“Bones” (B — a little blah compared to regular episodes; the ZZ Top guy felt like stunt casting and the final scenes felt both rushed — with Angela and Jack — and stunted, like they couldn’t quite stick the ending with the “What do we do now?” question, as if the answer would be anything other than “Go eat at the reception.”)
“How I Met Your Mother” (B)
“Jericho” (B — I’m pretending Johnston didn’t die.)
“Scrubs” (B- — Totally over J.D. and Elliot as a maybe-couple.)
“Crossing Jordan” (B-)
I also saw some/bits of:“My Name is Earl”
“ER”
“CSI: New York”
And I recorded, but have not yet watched, the "Smallville" finale, despite not having seen an entire episode this year. And I read a recap of the "America's Next Top Model" finale to see who won. Thank you, VH1, for your attention-sucking "ANTM" marathons.
“Gilmore Girls” — YES to including so many minor characters in the final show. YES to spending the episode in Stars Hollow, which of course is a character all by itself, the sort that makes viewers want to live there even if we’d complain that there isn’t a chain restaurant or store in town. And a final YES for these “GG” faves: Luke and Lorelai! Emily! Richard! Paris! Lane and Zack! Ms. Kim! Kirk! Practically everyone!
“The Office” — I recorded the show while watching it and willing it to stay on the air until 9 p.m. (the thunderstorm mid-show made the TV blink a few times). I plan to rewatch it soon, as in tonight, but in the meantime ... YES. Excellent final scenes. I knew there’d be a BIG twisty bit at the end, but I never expected what happened. Never, ever.
(Major to mild spoilers ahead; if you didn’t see the episode yet but you might one day, maybe you should watch it first before reading — feel free to come over to my place if you didn’t record it.)
The more I think about it, the more believable it is that Ryan would get the job. Who knew back in season 1 what the temp would become? He’s a bit of a punk. I like him best when he isn’t actively looking down on everyone else for working at the paper company (where he works, too), though I have copped a similar attitude when stuck somewhere I didn’t want to be. I like that he turned out to be different than I first expected. I look forward to seeing how the Ryan-as-boss dynamic works with Michael. My guess was that Michael would get the job. (I also entertained the idea of a Dwight-Angela development, considering their personalities and that they've been together for more than a year. Given their fondness for rigidity and structure, I would expect them to advance to the "institution-of-marriage" stage, particularly Angela. Not that marriage is just that, a rigid structure; from their perspectives, though, I think it would be appealing. And if Angela is a "Christian" as at least one other character has called her, engaging in pre-marital sex with Dwight doesn't jibe with her strict nature. Even Christians without her flair for the legalism honor the Bible and its guidance on sexual relationships as God-given and right.)
But back to the ending ... It was better than anything I thought up, for sure. It's nice to see a show step up to the plate and deliver something unexpected like Ryan's scene and the Jim-and-Pam scene. I knew something was coming in this episode, but didn't know what it would be. I expected Jim and Karen to still be together at episode's end. I still get nervous about impending Jim-Pam developments, but again the show’s writers proved to be on their A game (is that the right phrase?). Gold stars all around for the writing, timing and acting. The change in Jenna Fischer’s face after Jim walked back out of the room — excellent, excellent, realistic, lovely and wonderful. I would have worn my
Team Pam shirt today, if it weren't too casual for work.
I did think the tone of the show was a little ... brighter, maybe? Not bright-happy, but bright-lively sort of. It was almost more like a regular TV show at times than a “documentary” (which “The Office” is, in a fictional sort of way) in which the “characters” are real people being themselves. I think of Jan crying in the car, mostly for its loudness (which is common in the real world, of course). And Pam was really talking, all bright-eyed and louder, too. Maybe it was partly the way the show looked — a little nicer, maybe? Less documentary, more TV sitcomy? I’ll let you know if I change my mind after watching it again.
I like that Pam’s standing up for herself more and not being so meek, but I also wondered if any of it last night was her trying to show a brave face (to herself moreso than the cameras), like when you want to hold on to the resolve and confidence you had before that’s now waning a bit. I love that she had time to not be in a relationship — particularly, to not be in a relationship with Jim. Relationships are so, so important, but we can’t place our contentment or values on one person (well, unless you count God as a person).
I also do feel sorry for Karen. Is she stranded in New York? That was/will be a super-fast breakup, no? While she isn’t as sentimental or vulnerable as some characters, she has still invested herself in the relationship with Jim. I don’t want her to get burned. Jim can be a little mean in a joking way, like when he gets a laugh at Dwight’s expense, but in general he’s comsiderate of other people. Though he broke up with Katy suddenly in season 2, and with no visible concern for hurting her feelings (though that was a much shorter relationship).
What about you? Any finales you've found particularly good, or disappointing? Are you done with TV already? Are you desperate for something to fill the time until next season?
Coming soon: A look at the recently released network fall schedules.
