My Five Favorite TV Series Finales

PART OF A CONTINUING SERIES.

In light of The Sopranos finale last night, here are my Five Favorite TV series finales of all time.

I was fortunate enough to see each show live the night of its last first-run episode, except for my tentative pick for Number 5, The Fugitive. The night it aired, Aug. 22, 1967, I was too busy soiling my diapers to worry much about what the one-armed man was up to.

Here's my favorites:

1. Newhart. (1990)

2. Mary Tyler Moore Show. (1977)

3. St. Elsewhere. (1988)

4. The Tonight Show (1992)

5. I'm leaning toward The Fugitive (1967). But I'm taking nominations (and reminders) for No. 5 in the comments. After I rewatch the episode, I may even consider .... The Sopranos.

More on The Sopranos Finale

Having just watched the series finale, I have to say that there is only one way that I'd wind up being upset at how The Sopranos finale turned out, and that would only be if they make a movie version.

Last night's ending -- with no "big finish," no deaths in the Soprano family, no jail time, and an intentionally unclear final few seconds -- works just fine with me. It's not a cop-out -- as long as it's not setting up a movie.

The viewers did not get whacked last night.

The producers do not tell us explicity what's going to happen to these characters. Rather, like a poem or short story, they leave it to our imaginations, giving us just enough information and clues about what is going to happen in the near future, while also setting a chilling mood that terror and ruin are just around the corner. Is somebody in the restaurant about to kill Tony? What happens after Meadow goes through the door? Who is that guy sitting at the counter? What about the person lurking about who just went to the bathroom?

My conclusion from the final scene is that Tony is headed to jail (if he's not about to get shot by the guy at the counter) and that his family will continue to live a life of paranoia, not knowing whether that suspicious looking guy in the next booth is just a random stranger, or someone else ready to inflict a brutal "Leotardo-like" (and "Tony-like") act.

In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, you never see a knife enter Janet Lee's body during the famous shower scene. But your mind fills in the blanks, and the result is terrifying.

The Sopranos is over, and I hope they never shoot one additional minute of film about this family.

It's time for you to fill in the blanks. That's all, folks.

The Sopranos Finale

Having just watched the series finale, I have to say that there is only one way that I'd wind up being upset at how The Sopranos finale turned out, and that would only be if --



ENTRY TO BE CONTINUED LATER TODAY. MAYBE.

... And The Tony Award Goes To

One of the interesting things about The Sopranos, during its eight-year, six-season run on HBO, was that even though Tony Soprano was a thief and a murderer, and not above killing family and friends, he somehow remained likable.

The fact that he saw a psychiatrist and relied on Prozac and anti-depressants to get through life made him more human, more accessible, more like the rest of us.

Following last Sunday's episode, however, and with three more episodes to go, I don't think we've ever seen this character so completely amoral, so completely empty of human goodness, so self-absorbed and immature and so completely, completely unlikeable.

I only have one message for the character of Tony Soprano, and it involves me doing that "Italian thing" by flicking my hand to the chin.

***

Where should James Gandolfini pick up his Emmy?

I mean, really, why even both with the nominations? This is one of the best leading male performances I've ever seen on TV. I completely buy every single moment of his performance.

A Writer Who Makes Me Say 'Yikes!'

Fred Barnes, the guy who wrote the hagiographic biography of George Bush ("Rebel in Chief") that Carm Soprano is a big fan of, recently wrote an essay called "Can Bush Recover?" for the Wall Street Journal, where he offered some advice for Republican presidential candidates: "The best tactic is to build up the president, not tear him down."

Barnes' argument is based on what Republicans need to do to ensure they win the 2008 election, not necessarily about doing the right thing or following one's convictions.

Karl Rove must be proud. Carm, too.

In other words, don't mention that the emperor has no clothes if it'll hurt your chances to win an election.

YIKES.

Carm and The Rebel

Two shows to watch closely: The Simpsons and ... The Sopranos.

Both shows throw in nuggets and details, and very funny ones, that you may miss if you don't watch closely.

For example, on Sunday night's episode of The Sopranos, Tony's wife Carm was reading in bed a book, Rebel in Chief: How George W. Bush Is Redefining the Conservative Movement and Transforming America, by Fred Barnes.

This was a laugh-out-loud moment.

Written when Bush was still popular, Rebel in Chief should go down as a complete embarassment to Barnes for its hagiographic, uncritical views of Bush.

It also makes me laugh, as Carm has pointed out before, that the Soprano family is ... Republican.

Here is an excerpt from the book in which Barnes compares George Bush to ... Franklin D. Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt:

Bush is actually a mixture of FDR and TR, with FDR's cool optimism and TR's pugnacity and determination. This combination strikes some, especially critics, as arrogance. A more charitable view is that Bush has the temperament of a self-assured Texas male. To those who insist he swaggers, Bush responds, "In Texas, we call it walking." Bush has a penchant for embracing big projects. He dismisses many issues as "small-ball" or "mini-ball" -- not worth a president's time and attention. One of his favorite sayings is "We didn't come here to do school uniforms." It's a dig at Clinton, the master of the mini-proposal.

I'm happy that the Sopranos writers don't ignore "mini-balls," or should I say "the details," when they write.

Details are important, don't you know, in writing and in running a country.

If Bill Clinton had the exact same record as George Bush, Fred Barnes would have absolutely blasted Clinton. So why does he love Bush so uncritically, just because he has the label "Republican"?

***

The Sopranos: A Guess About How It Ends

It's the final season for The Sopranos, and the first three episodes have been better than my grandma's spaghetti sauce.

But how will it end?

I haven't bothered to look up any internet spoilers, or to read any of the fan sites on this, but my guess is that Tony Soprano won't die.

I suspect this won't be true of many others, though.

***

Often, on long-running shows, characters start becoming a parody of themselves. Or the character changes in a way so that you no longer buy it: You start seeing the actor, not the character. Think Fonzie from Happy Days or Hot Lips on M*A*S*H.

Not so for Tony Soprano.

James Gandolfini might be doing his best work ever this season on the show. His performances have been oh so good, better than my Uncle Dino's meatballs.

***

How will it end? I can see the closing shot with Tony quietly (but not necessarily happily) picking up his morning newspaper, only from a lawn or location far, far away from Jersey.

We'll know for sure in six weeks.

***

Game Night on The Sopranos

The last time my friends and I thought it was a good idea to play Monopoly, I believe it was sometime around 1998. I won't go into the reason why we stopped playing, other than to ask: Did you see The Sopranos tonight?

Tony landed a hotel ... on his cheek.

Fast Forward: The Sopranos in Seven

The final episodes of The Sopranos will begin airing April 8 on HBO.

If you've never watched the show, but would like to start, all you need is 7 minutes. Watch below.

I agree with one of the people who commented on the below YouTube video. He or she observed that whoever put this 7 minute and 36 second recap together "deserves a nice big Lasagna."



You'll also notice that The Gays have played an important part of past seasons, as noted in the video, but not exactly in the best, stereotype-free light.