Why do HBO Series end so poorly

[Worf101]

I love HBO, I really do. They've given me some of the best Television viewing I've ever had over the past 30 some odd years. But the way they end their series just plain suck. I give em a pass for "Rome" and "Carnivale" because they were cancelled early. But the final episodes of.

"Dream On" - Silly beyohd words.

"Six Feet Under" - The penultimate Episode was superior than the finale. Ending ranks as one of the worst ever.

"OZ" - Better than most of HBO's endings but still disappointing.

"The Sopranos - Is without a doubt the most succesful HBO Series ever and it's finale was almost as bad as the last episode of MASH. God just plain torture. Why can't these folks find a way to end a series gracefully?

Da Worfster

[kexodusc]

What?
With the exception of Six Feet Under, I couldn't disagree more. I wouldn't say they all ended on super high notes, but I didn't think they ended badly. Then again, I can't really think of any series that ended in an agreeable conclusion off the top of my, head. Hundreds that didn't. I give the above full props for ending at all, though, instead of dragging on until they ultimately are cancelled.

Why does everyone want the typical, wrap-up, the end style finale? That's been done far too much and is just boring now. I kind of like knowing my favorite characters live on forever even if they're not on TV.

PS. Rome was cancelled? (gets on knees, shakes fists at the sky)

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

[Duds]

I wasn't impressed with the final Sopranos either. I was glad Phil got whacked, but overall it was quite boring.

What's everyone's opinion as to what happened to Tony? Was he whacked in the restaurant?

[Troy]

For me the worst one was "Deadwood" because it was just dropped so Milch could do his surreal surfing show.

Deadwood is far and away my favorite HBO series and I was devastated that it's last season was ended as a cliff-hanger. Yeah, there's talk of theatrical movies, but I'm not holding my breath for that unless "John form Cincy" tanks.

The last episode of the Soaps. Hmmmmm, it's still early here so I haven't read anything yet so I have no idea about public consensus, but I thought the ending was ok and simply one of the expected scenarios.

I LOVE that it was left up to interpretation with all the shady characters wandering around in the cafe. Did they get whacked as a family?

The whole thing was left wide open to the strains of "Don't Stop Believin'" simply so they can resurrect it someday. My wife called that one. After the last few episodes filled with so much death of key favorite characters, I'm frankly glad Tony and his family didn't get outright whacked.

I'm ok with the ending becuase the journey is more important than the destination. In time we will all agree that this show had 6 amazingly tight seasons and that there really is no way to end a TV series like this that everyone will like. The ending just isn't that important to what the series accomplished as a whole.

[PeruvianSkies]

I love HBO, I really do. They've given me some of the best Television viewing I've ever had over the past 30 some odd years. But the way they end their series just plain suck. I give em a pass for "Rome" and "Carnivale" because they were cancelled early. But the final episodes of.

"Dream On" - Silly beyohd words.

"Six Feet Under" - The penultimate Episode was superior than the finale. Ending ranks as one of the worst ever.

"OZ" - Better than most of HBO's endings but still disappointing.

"The Sopranos - Is without a doubt the most succesful HBO Series ever and it's finale was almost as bad as the last episode of MASH. God just plain torture. Why can't these folks find a way to end a series gracefully?

Da Worfster

While I have never been a faithful viewer for any of these shows and no longer even get HBO the only explaination that I can offer with my outsider perspective on the subject is that (like with many TV shows) there is always an initial concept that gets the show started, but there is often very little thought put into how to 'slow the train down once it gets rollin'. All of the focus is on making the show successful, but how to tie up all the loose ends for a finale are typically not thought out as much. Unlike a movie, which has a definite beginning and ending, a TV show is always working on a sliding timeline never really knowing when the last episode might be. Even when a show knows it's going into its last season, they still have to write to fill a season, but still end it at the same time. Very difficult to do well.

[GMichael]

Why bother to take the time to make the ending unforgetable? It's not like they have to worry about their ratings. They've already been canceled.

[PeruvianSkies]

Why bother to take the time to make the ending unforgetable? It's not like they have to worry about their ratings. They've already been canceled.

As true as this may be, and for some shows it is a matter of being cancelled and they are left as fairly forgettable shows, but things like The Sopranos have been an investment in peoples lives for a number of years and just like any book, it needs a great beginning and a great ending. Why bother getting us all absorbed in the world that you created if you can't afford us the decency of a sufficient ending?

[GMichael]

As true as this may be, and for some shows it is a matter of being cancelled and they are left as fairly forgettable shows, but things like The Sopranos have been an investment in peoples lives for a number of years and just like any book, it needs a great beginning and a great ending. Why bother getting us all absorbed in the world that you created if you can't afford us the decency of a sufficient ending?

They shouldn't take the money and run. After all, who's gonna buy the DVD's if the ending sucks?

[GMichael]

Oh yeah. For the record. I kind of liked how it ended. Everyone was trying to guess who would or wouldn't get whacked and BAM! We, the audience gets whacked. Lights out for us baby.

[Troy]

Important to differentiate- the show was not cancelled. The production team just decided to end it. HBO would show new Soaps forever if they kept making them.

TV shows are not books, Peru. Character arcs on most TV shows are very long compared to movies and even books. It can take years for the story to play out. A series is not judged on it's first and last episodes. It just doesn't work that way.

The beauty of the Soaps is that each episode is a full hour, no time lost to commercials. This extended format (for TV) allows for a lot more character development and overlapping storylines. Each episode plays more like a little movie than a traditional TV show on virtually every level. Amazing writing and dialogue.

I came to this show late (5th season?) and ended up renting each disc from netflix consecutively. We'd watch 3 or 4 episodes a week for a few weeks, then take a couple months off and then watch the next season the same way. It was a fantastic way to absorb all the subtle continuity, inside jokes and generally immerse yourself into that world. I highly recommend this technique for "Deadwood" and "Band of Brothers" as well.

[PeruvianSkies]

TV shows are not books, Peru.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering why my remote control couldn't open up my copy of The Catcher in the Rye.

[Woochifer]

I wasn't exactly expecting that The Sopranos would end with all loose ends neatly tied up (that would be an even worse copout than what aired last night), but this was a big-time headscratcher. It's almost like David Chase was telling the audience that life with the Sopranos is going on, but we're no longer invited to tag along and peep in on the action. I know from interviews that he almost revels in defying fan expectations, but this kind of ending was borderline contemptuous of the audience.

I can safely say that this ending was unprecedented, never to be duplicated. But, there is a reason why no other TV show or movie I've seen chose to end in the middle of a scene and fade to black -- because it's copout that doesn't even try to deny that it's a copout. Any number of different endings could have disappointed, but IMO at least a different approach could have tried to create some semblance of an ending (without even having to create closure). I know that The Sopranos is a remarkably dense show that packs any number of elements that readily make for repeat viewings, but even with this track record, the writers dissipated a lot of good will with the viewers last night.

OTOH, last night's episode had a lot of interesting takes and ways of leaving the characters behind. Phil's demise was vintage Sopranos, and the plot thread with A.J. was another interesting progression very much in line with the Sopranos' cynical worldview. Tony had a rather remarkable turnaround in that he has his criminal empire back, but only because he was willing to put a price tag on personal loyalty (how much was Bobby's life worth?) whereas Phil was not.

But, the writers were setting up Tony's impending demise, but I guess they just didn't want to choose what form his demise took. The FBI gave, but they are just as swiftly about to take away. BTW, was that FBI agent celebrating Phil's death or the fact that they have more that they can pin on Tony? I didn't even mind the focus on the Soprano family last night, but I just think that any number of other scenarios could have made for a more fitting ending for a great series.

Just one potential ending could have Tony sitting at home watching TV with the news of his pending arrest, and him just changing the channel to any number of TV show or movie scenes that can tie together the end with more meaning.

So, now we're back to Big Love, which I am totally looking forward to. But, I'm not altogether sold on John From Cincinnati. Just a lot of angry, dysfunctional characters, with this bizarre "John" character in the middle.