Individual Entry: 2006 Spring Finales, part 1
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May 18, 2006

TV : 2006 Spring Finales, part 1

The 2005-2006 network TV season has nearly come to a close, so I thought I'd make a few comments on shows I was still watching at the end of the season and their finale episodes.

The West Wing
Farewell. The final episode of the series was what was needed and expected, but no more. Each of the characters had their moment in the spotlight. Each was given a chance to comment on "what's next". One reviewer describes it as "dignified", which sounds about right. Safe might be more apt. Boring even. For a show that started out by challenging so many conventions, it was sad to see it go out with something which said so little. The show was just not the same after Season 3 when Sorkin left and Schlamme found himself in the back seat as "Executive Consultant". There were moments of greatness; but never as good as what can be found in the first three seasons.

Grey's Anatomy
Wow. It's interesting to have seen the season finale of Grey's Anatomy so soon after the final episode of The West Wing. In many respect the writing and direction of GA reminds me of those first three seasons of WW. I loved the fact that the opening voice-over monolog (usually done by the main character Meredith Grey) was done by all of the interns this time. The sequence where Dr Webber questions the interns was a wonderful. Each giving an almost non sequitur monolog response to Webber's question; but in doing so revealing so much about how that character has changed over the season. Great TV. On the flip side, the show once again shows why Meredith may be the lead character; but she is certainly no role model. While the reasons for her lack of discipline with men are by now well established in the series, it is still hard to see her making mistake after mistake in her relationships.

Bones
I was very surprised that they'd start to resolve the big background mystery of the show (what happened to the main character's parents when she was a child) at the end of the first season. That's the kind of thing you drag out as long as possible and start to resolve when ratings go down. However, given that they decided to jump into that now, I have to say their (partial) resolution was well conceived. Here you have a character whose whole life has been built around finding people's true identities so that justice can be done. Having her find out that her own identity is false and that her parents were criminals is a brilliant move. For a character that has been established as being "tightly wound", this kind of thing should have lasting consequences. We'll see if the writing staff is up to that challenge next season; but cracks are already showing. I appreciated the fact that Ms. "let the evidence speak for itself" initially refuses to believe what her staff is telling her about the movie ticket.

Lost & Alias
The Lost finale is next week; but the producers are promising that we finally get some answers (accompanied, I am sure, by more questions). In addition, the final episode of Alias comes next week. This show dropped off my list a couple years ago; but I'm certainly interesting in how they try to wrap it all up (or if they do). My best guess is still that Sloane and Rambaldi are the same person; but don't ask me how.

Posted by Steven at May 18, 2006 06:06 PM