Past Finales

[Rose___]

Okay the finale is hours away here and it may be a little perverse to
post this now, but...

I'm trying to think of a sitcom finale that I've liked...
Still trying....

I'll be the first to say that I've probably missed a lot of them, but
I'll mention a few I do remember:

The Odd Couple: Felix remarries his estranged wife. Not too bad
though obviously you can only do this in a final episode. (BTW for
those who don't remember, Tony Randall finally won the Emmy that year
and said "I'm glad I won.
Now if I only had a job!" (lol))

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The station goes out of business or
something. Everyone gets teary-eyed and leaves (as far as I remember).
Not terrible but not great.

Newhart: The hotel is taken over by Japanese businessmen.
Surprisingly tasteless. IIRC, the final gag is that Newhart wakes up
in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette, his wife from the first show. Not
good.

Seinfeld: Everyone goes to jail for being rude to a stranger in
Boston.
Seemed clever at the time, but I doubt it's anyone's favorite ep now.

The more I think of these, the more I think the JSM finale has half a
chance of being better. I hope it's not too sad!

Wouldn't it be nice if someone like FOX came along and put up the
money for a reunion ep (maybe an hour long)...I know, dream on....

Rose

[J44xm]

["Rose___"; Sat, 16 Aug 2003 14:45:22 GMT]

Post by Rose___
The more I think of these, the more I think the JSM finale has half a
chance of being better. I hope it's not too sad!

Was the one where Jack retired (which I just saw) the last aired episode?
Are there still eps. that haven't been aired? I'm shocked it was cancelled!

[Rose_]

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Post by J44xm
["Rose___"; Sat, 16 Aug 2003 14:45:22 GMT]

Post by Rose___
The more I think of these, the more I think the JSM finale has half a
chance of being better. I hope it's not too sad!

Was the one where Jack retired (which I just saw) the last aired episode?
Are there still eps. that haven't been aired? I'm shocked it was cancelled!

Yes, it was the last filmed. There are 2 or 3 that NBC never aired.

I can understand your reaction, the 2 tonight were possibly the best in
the last 2 years. I really think television is going to hell when the
people in charge don't want a show like this anymore.

I'm just glad it was the kind of finale it was. Strangely, I had kind
of guessed something like what did happen. But I will post more when
everyone's seen it.


Rose

[J44xm]

["Rose_"; Sun, 17 Aug 2003 01:26:06 GMT]

Post by Rose_
I'm just glad it was the kind of finale it was.

I thought they might have explained Jack's decision better. I mean, all of a
sudden like that?

[Rose_]

Post by J44xm
["Rose_"; Sun, 17 Aug 2003 01:26:06 GMT]

Post by Rose_
I'm just glad it was the kind of finale it was.

I thought they might have explained Jack's decision better. I mean, all of a
sudden like that?

Hi J44xm

(by the way, did you post here last year, we called you "JD"? Just
wondering)

Well, I can see your point of view about that. You could say it
happened that way because they only had 22 minutes and they wanted to
concentrate on the farewells and all.

But they almost seemed to be deliberately making Jack's departure a
mystery. Finch even mentioned something like "where he's going we don't
know."

What I had imagined before I saw it - since the executive producer Steve
Levitan had dropped a hint about the management of the magazine -
was that Jack would, for some reason, decide that life was passing him
by and it was time to retire and give the magazine to Maya (I imagined a
comic scene with him explaining to Nina, Elliot and Dennis why they
weren't qualified for the job). So basically my guess was something
like this, but at the end of the ep, not the beginning.

But what I loved about it was the way they managed to combine the sad
farewells - which seemed completely heartfelt on the part of the cast -
with the same irreverent humor they'd always had. For instance:

Nina to Jack: When I needed a kidney, you gave me one.
Finch: Excuse me, I think that was *my* kidney.
Nina (snaps at him): Yes, but Jack made you do it!!!

They knew how to go out.

Rose