I'm a sucker for finales.
I still remember the last words on Cheers: "Sorry, we're closed." I loved the final moments of Family Ties, when the camera pulled back, breaking the fourth wall of television sitcoms, and the cast came out for a last bow. I watched the Seinfeld finale with hundreds of other people at my college student center, then rushed upstairs to write about it for the school paper. I sat on the edge of my couch and trembled at the last minutes of Six Feet Under. And the ending of The Wonder Years ("After all these years, I still look back with wonder") captured the heart and wisdom of the show in perfect measure.
Naturally, then, I had high expectations for last night's series finale of The O.C., a show that burst into popular culture in 2003 with a first season that was nearly flawless. The premise was original, the writing sharp, the setting gorgeous and the emotions heartfelt. It was clever and funny and surprising. The popular school jock Luke (who delivered the show's trademark line) turned out to have a tender side. The ditzy Valley girl Summer fell for a comic-book loving, Shins-listening dork (as did the rest of America).
And it didn't hurt that so many episodes ended with hilarious fistfights.
But not a punch was thrown last night. No one got drunk and passed out in an alley. Not a single model home was set on fire or coffee stand mounted in impromptu declaration of love. Instead, we got a house-hunting expedition, two weddings, a childbirth and an undercurrent of homophobia. A gay couple in Berkeley decide to sell their house to Sandy and Kirsten Cohen, who have just had a baby and are therefore so much more of a real "family" than the gay couple could ever be. Even better: One of the men is a wedding planner, the other a midwife. I'm sorry, but I thought Will & Grace had been canceled.
The show had its moments, scarce as they were. The scene where Frank bursts into the church and yells "JULIE!" was a clever nod to The Graduate. And Ryan's final tour of the Cohens' O.C. house, in which he flashes back to his arrival there and reluctant transition to Newport, was touching almost in spite of itself. But the flash-forward that assures us everyone lives happily ever after was trite and insulting for a show that once expected its audience to know who Michael Chabon is.
My friends and I sang the theme song again last night, but when it was over Abby delivered the unfortunate but inescapable verdict: "Worst. Finale. Ever."
5 comments:
So in one fell swoop you admit that you fondly remember the Family Ties finale and were looking forward to the O.C. exclamation point -- and not because you are coming from some hip isn't-it-awful place. Oh Steve...
I know, I'm a hopeless sentimentalist, and nothing brings it out like television. But you knew that!
i thought that was a group picture of the fellas.
see, kiehl ... i have the first season of the o.c. on dvd. to me, the "finale" was the last episode of season one. rest of the series ... dead to me.
For me, the 'finale' might have been the season 1 episode when Seth said goodbye to Anna at the airport. She was adorable, and seeing poor Seth press his nose against the glass as "If You Leave" played was teen drama at its finest.
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