In honor of the much anticipated series finale to Breaking Bad, Professor Frost will discuss the power of television and the special relationships we make with our favorite characters as well as the grand importance of the finale.
Television has an interesting ability to connect to an audience unlike any other medium. I remember Wednesday nights as a kid, watching The Wonder Years with my Dad. I couldn't have been more than seven years old, but week after week we invited Kevin Arnold and his family back into our home until the show came to its inevitable end years later on a thundery May night. It sounds almost ridiculous to say it, but I grew up alongside these characters, and when I was no longer able to watch them continue on their journey, I felt like I was losing something. This is why I believe the finale to every television series is the most important (and remembered) component to a show's legacy, not only because it's what it has been building to week after week, year after year, but because it must send the viewer on a path that made the journey worth it.
The finale of The Wonder Years, which I've seen probably half a dozen times over the years, is a home run...and you should watch this show on Netflix spoiler free if you haven't! Some other finales have unfortunately left a bitter taste. (SPOILERS TO COME) The Seinfeld finale, which was universally lambasted, functioned as more of a clip show/recap than a conclusion. In a show that was essentially about "nothing," the final episode became about something. Although the finale didn't exactly tarnish its legacy because at the very least, these beloved characters didn't behave in a manner different from any other episode, a show of such greatness should have rode off into the sunset. Friends and Sex and the City were enjoyable but predictable, based largely on giving its audience what it wanted. Whether they were a good couple or not, it was a given that Ross and Rachel were going to end up together....and a small, somewhat tiresome miracle that their dance went on for two seasons even after Emma was born Carrie needed to stop putting her faith into men, and yet, it's the former bad boy (now lonely) lover who has suddenly changed, who rescues her. The Sopranos implemented water cooler vagueness with it's shocking cut to black. On one level, it was the perfect ending to the continuously drifting existentialist show, but it also reminded me of the greatness within the first couple of seasons was rooted more in great story, rather than unease and malaise. Entourage and Weeds fell apart over their last few seasons, so it was hardly a surprise that their tie everything together finales were anything but overreaching and unnatural. I haven't watched Dexter's finale yet, but I have high hopes for Breaking Bad. This is the one show where I think every season has been better than its predecessor. But, in a show that has been methodically building up to tonight for five years, its legacy and place in television history is definitely on the line.
TV is evolving, or at least the way we view it is. Between TiVo, Netflix, On Demand, etc., the idea of watching a show week after week, year after year, might not be the way "television" is consumed years from now.* I hope there are still Monday mornings like tomorrow, where everyone will be talking about Breaking Bad, but we shall see...
*There are signs of this already with strong Netflix original content that can be consumed all at once.
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