And now I Face the Finale Curtain.....

Over the past week, we have had two of the most popular shows on television wrap up their runs. The Big Bang Theory ended on Thursday night, to mostly positive reviews, I would say. And then there is Game of Thrones which ended last night and created a nuclear explosion on Twitter.

Television series finales have a tendency to be very hit or miss. And there is reason for that. You are wrapping up stories and characters that audiences have come to know, love and hate over the years the show has been on the air. And most of the time, fans come up with their own ending in mind or predictions based on how they want the series to end. Which creates a massive set of expectations that programs have to meet. And, as it turns out, they very rarely do.

When you talk about series finales, IMO, the best and most remembered has to be the finale of M*A*S*H, which was for many years, the highest rated program in the history of American television. What I think helps that finale is that the show is built in with a ready made climax. They're in a war so the logical finale would be that the characters get to go home. With that out of the way, the writers can focus more on the characters and how to wrap up the relationships with each other. The result is a great character piece which is fondly remembered by all who saw it.

Newhart is also up there for a very different reason. I'm going to spoil it so if you don't want to know what happens...too bad. Anyway it turns out that the entire series (Bob Newhart as an innkeeper in a quirky Vermont town) is a dream of Bob Hartley's, Newhart's character from the classic Bob Newhart show. While a show like Dallas was lambasted for making an entire season a dream, Newhart was praised for it. The reason is that the show itself was quirky enough that it could probably be believed as a dream, plus Newhart's dead pan charm was able to carry it through. I don't think any other TV show could pull it off now which makes that finale stand out as unique.

On the other side, there are other finales that didn't fare so well:

Seinfeld- Simple expectations, plus its very hard to wrap up "a show about nothing"

Lost- The complicated plot that made the show formidable came back to bite it at the end. Hard to wrap up

How I Met Your Mother- A case of setting an ending in stone early on and not letting the show breathe and grow

St. Elsewhere- Look up Tommy Westphall. On the surface, it's cool, but when you start to to analyse it, you get a headache

There are, of course, other finales that fall in the middle of not outstanding but not horrible. And in a way, those might be the worst type of the 3. Because one thing that a series finale should be is memorable. And by going to the opposite ends of the spectrum, you ensure that the finale is at least memorable. Now die-hard fans will probably remember it, but to capture the general public's attention you really have to make a show of it. So being top notch or hilariously bad will leave a lasting memory And that allows the TV show in question to live long after its demise, whether aided by syndication or not.

Talk to you later.

FanFiction (or a bit of self promotion)

I have just done something that I thought I would not do for a long time.

I wrote a fanfiction.

This was not the first time I wrote one, and the ones that I had written in the past were received well. But my problem with writing fanfiction was finishing them. I always had the great gem of an idea. But I could not flesh it out properly. That's why, if I were to write one again, it would be a one shot.

And that is what I have done.

The story is called Elemental Magic and it involves the television show Merlin, combined with Sherlock Holmes. Mainly it involves Holmes, as portrayed by Jeremy Brett, the man in the picture, above, as he encounters Morgana Pendragon, as portrayed by Katie McGrath, who now plays Lena Luthor on Supergirl. It is a simple tale with a hint of romance (Not with Holmes, perish the thought!).

Anyway, If you would like to read it,  please do and if you want to review it, do that too. Remember this is my first fanfic in a long time so be kind with me.

Thanks and I'll talk to you later.