A Season/Series Finale: Scrubs

The SCRUBS finale was as classy as a finale as you can ask for. It featured call backs to the very first episode, gave each character a moment to shine and say goodbye, and looked to a future where the characters lived their lives until the end, happily. It was JD’s final and finest moment, as he took the time to say goodbye to those last eight years of his life, and leave/end the show with a memorable, perfect ending that had me laughing at times, and crying during the final 15 minutes.

Then I heard yesterday that not only was the show coming back, but both Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke had signed on for 6 more episodes.

COME. ON.

The whole point of a finale is to bring closure for the viewer, and the Scrubs finale was borderline perfect! Coming back for more nullifies the effect of that finale, especially since most of the emotions hinged on the fact that you were watching THE END. 

I don’t think I’ll watch any more Scrubs if this turns out to be true. I am done with the show in the best possible way, and don’t want to ruin the emotions that the finale evoked.

If that was the end, I give it a solid A, if it comes back for more, I give it a D- for toying with my fragile emotions.

LOST: I Just Want to Love You!

 

I don’t want to be indifferent about LOST.

We have to go back!

I’ve been watching since day one, and back in 2004 I tried to get as many people that would listen to get into it. The first season was great, the second one was just ok. Season two had some of my favorite moments on the show, from the revelation of what was in the hatch, to Ana Lucia and Libby’s death, to the spectacular finale. Season 3 had an extremely weak first half, but a strong second half with a heartbreaking and game-changing season finale. Season 4, in my opinion was fucking fantastic. ‘The Constant’ was and still is one of my absolute favorite hours on television ever. And the ending was awesomely action-packed. Yet it was a little underwhelming. Where the finale of season 3 changed everything about the show, the finale of season 4 was almost expected, with a random ending that was just slightly shocking. See, at the end of season 3, we learned that the castaways, somehow, managed to get out of the island, but that it was a mistake and they ‘HAD TO GO BACK!’. Season 4 was all about showing us just how they got to that moment and how Jack hit rock bottom. We learned all that by the end of the season, and then they revealed that the person that started Jack’s decline into hysteria was none other than Locke, who somehow is off the island, calling himself Jeremy Bentham, and oh yeah, dead. Oh and Ben turned a wheel and made the island ‘move’, which was never explained whether it was moved in time or space.

 

That’s where we left off on LOST. So from that, we assumed that this season was about getting back to the island and figure out exactly where the island and the people in it went. Well, the ride has begun, and it’s not as awesome as I thought it was gonna be. It was definitely an enjoyable premiere, but it didn’t have the sense of urgency that I figured it would have, and had barely any truly shocking moments. I figured that since they only had 16 episodes this season, they would avoid plot meandering devices, yet when the writers give, they must take away. While giving us an awesome time travel story to introduce us into where we’re going this season, they then spend an hour dragging a comatose Sayid around Los Angeles, trying to wake him up. It was an amusing plot device, that just dragged on and could have been avoided. Oh well. No season is perfect, and if they get even near the brilliance that was “The Constant”, I will be satisfied. 

More thoughts:

• Time travel: I love that this is where this show is going without being apologetic. It’s a big shift into Science Fiction, and I hope they pull it off. However, I could have done without the constant hand-holding and exposition during the first half hour. They might as well have had a disclaimer telling people: “We’re doing SciFi now, but we won’t make it weird. It’ll make sense. We promise.”
• Sayid: My second favorite character (after Desmond of course), spent the first hour kicking ass and being just an all around badass… Only to spend the second hour in a coma, being dragged around by Hurley.
• Daniel Faraday – I love this character.
• Arrow Attack! – I knew Frogurt was gonna die. Too much screen time. Flaming arrows FTW? Yes please.
• Ana Lucia’s return – I did NOT enjoy this. It was the only moment that truly shocked me, only for her to spit out an extremely awkward line about being dead. Lame.
• Hurley – The second hour was a lot of Hurley running around, but it was worth it for the scene when he tells his mom everything that really happened. He’s really the most grounded, sympathetic character on the show.
• Jack, Kate, Sun – I really don’t care much about Jack and Kate anymore, and these episodes did nothing for their characters. And while I love Sun, it would pain me to think she’s trying to harm Kate because of Jin’s death.

 

While I don’t think these were bad episodes, I do think they were underwhelming. Coming from last week’s BSG high, a show that has definitely gotten better with time, LOST was just not as good as it should have been. 

Finally, one of the things that I do love about LOST is reading Doc Jensen’s recaps the day after. They truly enhance the experience of watching a show, and can sometimes allow me to see an underwhelming episode in a new light. Find the recap to the premiere HERE, and to the second episode HERE.