(I think that actually WAS the title of a TV series finale...)
One of my favorite shows ended its official run on television last Friday evening. Stargate SG-1 ended after an impressive 10-season run. Save two movies that are scheduled to run this fall, the adventures of Jack O'Neill (aka McGyver), Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, Cam Mitchell, General Hammond, General Landry, Vala (what a babe), and Sam Carter (what an even hotter babe), have come to a bittersweet end - although Sam will be starring on Stargate Atlantis starting this fall, for which I am very thankful.
The series finale wasn't impressive. They could have at least given us a two-hour event. Instead they utilized an hour to tweak sci-fi elements of a previously used story (Stargate fans will know what I'm talking about) into another story that resolved almost nothing -- and left many unanswered questions.
Thankfully in Stargate's case, the upcoming movies should bring additional closure to the show. But it seems to be a trend now that when shows are ending, they just end badly. If they know ahead of time the show is ending, they tend to write some lame finale, resolving some questions but leaving many unanswered. If they're just pulled off the air, we don't get any resolution.
And it seems that the biggest offenders are sci-fi and action shows. Threshold, Surface, and Invasion were all pulled with no warning. Star Trek Enterprise's finale was just lame, as was Star Trek Voyager's. JAG's was okay, but still pretty bad.
The Wonder Years, one of my other favorite shows of all-time, ended with perhaps the one of the biggest questions in television history: Did they or didn't they?
Quantum Leap had one of the most frustrating series finales. It was bittersweet, answered many questions, reunited lost loves (Al and Beth -- still one of my favorite television scenes ever), but Sam never got to go home. I've been hoping for years that they would resolve this show with a movie. The lobbying efforts do still continue for this....
Viewers like myself often spend years watching a show evolve and change, and at the end hope for a farewell worthy of their respect. Whatever happened though to putting heart into the end of an era, a chapter in someone's life and in a television show's life? Growing Pains, Family Ties and MASH had excellent finales. My favorite all-time finale is probably that of Cheers.
Here's to Norm, Sammy, Diane, Fraiser, Rebecca, Carla, Cliff, Woody, and Coach.
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