Grading the Season Finales

OK. Not sports or even GM related, but I thought I'd share my long-winded thoughts on some of the TV season (and in one case Series) Finales. Enjoy. Or don't. Whatev.

AMERICAN IDOL
I’m leading off with this show, not because it was the best one (far from it) but because it affords me the opportunity to brag. I CALLED IT. Kris Allen wins, upsetting the heavily favored Adam Lambert. With 8 people left in the show, I predicted Allen would win. "America will NOT let another Archuleta lose" was my quote. Last season the 12 year old girls of the USA were devastated when David Cook beat David Archuleta. They were NEVER gonna let that happen again, so I had a gut feeling the baby-faced Allen would survive over glam-rocker Lambert. Now, I brag because I was right, but don’t be confused. The wrong person DEFINITELY won, as Allen was talented, but Lambert was head and shoulders above and beyond anyone else on the show this season. It shouldn’t have been close, and America got it wrong this season. Plus all the lucky contestants got to sing along with classic rock legends like Queen, KISS, Santana, and Steve Martin. C-

THE OFFICE
The Office wound things down in fairly typical fashion. A Company Picnic where the Scranton branch went toe toe toe with other branches in a beach volleyball tournament. While it gave the opportunity for Dwight to be Dwight, Meredith to do her thing, Pam to do something unexpected, etc etc, it wasn’t as fall-down hilarious as many of the episodes this season, concentrating more on Michael and how he would react by seeing Holly again. (For the uninformed, Holly was transferred early in the season by Corporate after she and Michael started dating.) The reunion was as cheesy and awkward as one would expect from the show, as their sketch of "SlumDunder Mifflinaire" was both squirmingly awkward and funny, and had an unexpected and chaotic finish. (Add to the pile another instance where in real life, Michael Scott would be fired on-spot). At any rate, the show sacrificed laughs for plotline, but it was good plotline, and the surprise ending with Jim and Pam was well done. For an regular episode of the Office, I’d give this one a B+, but as a finale, I’d have to go A.

SURVIVOR
This show is amazing. After 18 years of fundamentally the exact same format, it never gets old for me. Human nature at it’s best. It never lies, despite the amount of actual lying and backstabbing that goes on. The most honest and emotional part of the series was Stephen admitting he’d have taken Erinn to the finals. I don’t think JT was that good of an actor. There was real heartbreak on his face there, no matter what he says in the reunion show about pretending to be upset to sway the jury. I’m sure he and Stephen are best friends now, since time heals all wounds, and it’s been months since they left the island, but for me, it’s the true human nature that makes the show so riveting, and infuriating. The next day, they were showing a Season One marathon on TVtropolis. I watched a few episodes. Remarkable how, aside from production value, the core of the show is exactly the same, yet no less watcheable. Even knowing the results of the show I found myself drawn in. One of my alltime favourite shows. I’d do Survivor in a second if given the opportunity, though my wife says I’d last no more than 3 days. I don’t necessaily disagree. A.

HOUSE
Second last episode, House finally seals the deal with Cuddy after almost 5 seasons. Come to find out he’s losing his mind as his addiction to Vicodin is messing with his mind, and it turns out the affair was a dream, or a hallucination. The visions of Amber return in the last act, along with Kutner too, and the episode, and season, end with House checking into a psychiatric hospital. I kind of always thought this was how the series would end, not just a season, but it should be interesting to see what direction they take next season. Is House still in the psych ward? Do we get to see his interaction with other crazy people? Or does his trip to rehab cure his addiction to pain meds, and he comes back to Princeton Plainsboro a new man? Considering the show’s fairly rigid story arc from episode to episode, I don’t expect things to change too much next season. Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of the "it was all a hallucination" twist, but it ended well, which is what you want out of a finale, so I got to give it an A-. Oh, and Cameron and Chase got married.

24
This season was up and down for me at times. Every episode was ludicrous, but it was at it’s best when it felt like I was watching The Fugitive, as Jack Bauer struggled to not only save the world, again, but also avoid getting apprehended for being framed for murder. Some good stuff there. The Finale did all the things a frustrating but successful finale should do. Tie up the immediate stuff, but leave the ongoing serial stuff as a cliff-hanger. Will Jack live after being exposed to the nukes? Will his daughter be able to save him? Will the red headed chick go off the handle and torture the bad guy? What’ll happen with Tony? I guess we’ll have to tune in next season. A solid B+.

PRISON BREAK
I confess I did not see the finale of the show, but since I did follow the show all the way through, I’ll comment on the Episode summary I read online. Ummm, yikes. I think I would have been pretty pissed had I watched it. It did all the things a Series finale should do. It righted all wrongs, all the bad guys ended up dead or in jail. All the good guys got exonerated. They brought back series regulars from seasons past (Sucre, C-Note and Kellerman in a shocking twist). But what pissed me off the most was that the whole reason people watched the show was to see Michael and Linc go free. Not Michael and Linc go free but Michael dies soon after from some genetic illness he supposedly shared with his mom. It felt like a kick in the crotch after putting up with a mostly exhausting 4th season. (Not as bad as season 3 in Taco Hell, but pretty bad. Seasons 1 and 2 were what the show was supposed to be. It should have ended soon after. Killing the main character in the final sequence was a horrible decision. No one would have cared if it was Linc that died But why Michael. D.

LOST
Once again Lost answers a question and poses 3 more. Typical fare for the mystery series, as one character is left to certain death, the island supposedly gets blown up, and if everything went according to Jack, everyone should end up back the way the series started, on an airplane, heading safely to LA. Why do I get the feeling that come January 2010, we’ll find out this is not infact what happened. I won’t even begin to theorize what’ll happen next as there are Lost fans out there that will tear me to shreds. I long ago gave up trying to piece everything together, and just try to enjoy it on a show-to-show basis. Half a year off before a new season will give me time to clear my head and get ready for the final season. B

SNL
Since Will Ferrell was host, and it was Daryl Hammond's last show, they did one last Celebrity Jeodardy. "And finally, we have Sean Connery with a score of 69." "I scored in a 69 with your mother last night Trebek!" Classic. Don't really remember any of the other sketches. Doesn't matter. A++

WORTH MENTIONING:
I also saw the finales to 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. They came off mostly as normal episodes, not really like finales, but solid nonetheless. I also saw the season finale of Big Bang Theory, where the gang’s heading up to the Arctic for the next few months. Well, oddly this was the first ever epiosde of this show I’ve ever watched. And will likely be my last. Ever since I first saw The Office and Arrested Development, and after that 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Parks and Rec, etc, etc, I just can’t get into a laugh-track comedy. How shows like Sit Down, Shut Up die because of ratings, but tired sitcoms like Rules of Engagement, Til' Death and every other horrible CBS and ABC sitcom live on stiffles me. I guess it’s why I’ll never work in television.

M@

PS. Family Guy and Simpsons were OK. Kinda disappointing for finales. Plus I slept through parts.