TV Talk: Finales and Cancellations 2012

Edited Friday, May 18, 2012 two of the shows that aired their finales hadn't the episodes were just set ups for this week. I'm going to write a Finales Part 2.

The leaves are out, the weathers warming, summer plans are being made. Meanwhile back in TVLand show are wrapping up for the season....or forever. Various shows have already started airing the big finales and with networks announcing their fall line-ups most doomed shows have already learned their fate.

After watching The Finder's last episode I wondered what makes a for a good finale. Faithful fans expect so much from the last episode. We want to see the major story arches wrapped up often with couples finally getting together, characters making big decisions, questions answered, and secrets revealed. At the same time there has to be a reason to come back next season (if there is a next season). Often it means a major cliffhanger like "Who shot J.R?" (from Dallas 1980). Only it seems the longer a show has been on the more ridiculous the cliffhanger becomes. So what makes a good finale?

These are finales I've seen and how good I thought they were on a scale of 1-5.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD :

Bones = 3.6: I found the start sudden and confusing. I hadn't remembered Chris Pelant's character or crimes but I might of missed that episode. Those details made the first part of the episode frustrating. The rest was okay but like the season something was missing. It was a Wendell in the lab week but he didn't have any great scenes which felt unusual. Also that the Pelant case was something they were all working on...felt too sudden. Brennan being a suspect was neat but the ending seems out of character.

The Finder = 3.5: I really liked this show. It was fun and quirky and cancelled -for which I am disappointed. For a season finale it was okay...for a show finale it was disappointing. The side quest of the painting was fun but that wasn't what the show was about. Walter agrees to track down his mum as his dad's dying request, his mum whose in witness protection. It seemed out of the blue, the pulling in of family ties. I would have rather seen something with Leo or Willa. Walter finds her because that is what he does but it ends with him getting arrested and Isabel losing her badge. It also has Willa running away to get away from an arranged marriage. The lack of Walter and Leo's involvement in Willa's problems seemed to go against the rest of the season.

Biggest problem is I feel unsatisfied and even disappointed. There cliffhangers with no possible resolution -BOO show being cancelled. There were a few other cancellations that make me sad: Chuck, Eureka, and In Plain Sight. It also looks like Sanctuary could be cancelled.

There are a few more finales to air before dry wasteland of summer programming. Only summer TV isn't as bad as it use to be. The finial season of Eureka just started airing. I expect Warehouse 13 will return soon with Alphas, Haven, and there is always SYTYCD.