I have a weird relationship with TV shows that last a while. On many occasions, I have quit shows because they slowly lost the quality I believed they once had. Maybe they got really cheesy. Maybe they lost their heart or the characters that made them great were eventually written out (looking at you, Degrassi). Maybe they went farther than they were ever, ever intended to (that’s you, Supernatural). Typically, for a while, I preferred to find a stopping point where I could keep shows in a golden place, where they could stay good and I could stay unashamed I watched them.
I have even been known to say that I would prefer a show get canceled than get bad.
That being said, there have been a few shows I have watched until their designated end. Friday Night Lights had a few bumps along the way, but it finished strong. It took me 1000 years to finish Buffy, but it was good (almost) the whole time. Gossip Girl faltered and then faltered some more, but I kept the faith–only to be sorely disappointed by the finale. And then, of course, there was How I Met Your Mother, a highly entertaining show right up until the premiere of the Worst Series Finale of All Time.
And now, I’m at the end of two more shows I have dutifully watched: NBC’s Parks and Recreation and Fox’s Glee. And man, am I being taken on two completely different final rides.
Honestly, I didn’t watch Parks and Recreation for most of its run. Only within about the past two years have I binge-watched the eps that were already out and then started to devour new ones weekly with everyone else. But I have loved every bit I have seen. It’s such a charming, well-written, hilarious show. Even the unlikable characters are enjoyable and Leslie Knope is one of the best TV protagonists I have ever seen. It’s a show where it’s consistently obvious that the creators really love their characters, the world they've created, and–most importantly, as the show comes to a close–the show’s fans.
When it was first announced that Parks and Rec would be jumping ahead three years at the end of season six, setting season seven entirely in 2017, everyone was a little apprehensive. What a weird move, right? Leslie’s having triplets and we won’t even see her pregnancy! We only have a handful of episodes left with these characters and they’re cutting us out of part of their lives! But, amazingly, the jump is working out great so far. The final season is doing exactly what a final season should. It’s taking time to wrap up every characters’ stories, big and small. It’s referencing old jokes, rewarding the fans for sticking around. It isn’t taking any big, weird risks that leave the audience wondering where it’s all going, how it’s all going to end. The creators of Parks and Rec are doing everything they can to make it a little easier for us to leave Pawnee and for that, I am grateful.
And then…there is Glee.
Oh, Glee. Sweet, sweet, misguided little Glee. I understand that a lot of people never watched this show, never liked it. They thought it was dumb, campy, a little offensive. And it was! And I loved it anyway! I really, really did. I was such a fan for so long. I still love the first two seasons. I still love a lot of the third. I still love–in spite of myself–so many of those dumb, campy characters.
I have tried to quit so many times! And I just. Can’t. Do it.
It is a sick, twisted relationship.
So, honestly, I don’t know what I expected from the show’s final (finally) season. A show so riddled with plot-holes, confusing characterization, and often unintelligible plot direction, you would have thought I would be used to it all. But, still, I hoped.
Still I hoped that Glee would do the things a final season is supposed to do, the things Parks and Rec is doing. I hoped they would put all the focus on my beloved core characters, let them find happiness and success, like we all assumed they would eventually have from the beginning. “Don’t Stop Believin’” and all that.
And that might happen eventually. It might. Who knows–the last few episodes of Glee could be everything I’ve ever wanted (to the best that they can–Cory, my love, you are missed every minute). But it isn’t happening yet. And it should be. This 13-episode final season should have been 13 episodes we battered, bruised survivors of this ridiculous show could be proud of and they just haven’t been so far. Right now, I'm more than ready to say goodbye to Lima, Ohio for good.
So, word to the wise: if you ever create a show and it becomes amazing and you have a loyal fanbase that sticks with you to the very end (even if you don’t deserve it) and then one day, you have to say goodbye anyway–follow Parks and Recreation’s example. Don’t follow Glee’s.
And let’s all just cross our fingers than Rachel Berry somehow gets an ending as good as the one we know Leslie Knope will. Cross them tight.
No comments:
Post a Comment