Sopranos Finale Ends With No Bang
Is a Series Finale a Friend or Foe for Loyal Viewers
Soprano's season finale didn't give viewers the closure they desired which begs the question of whether finales are better with closure or more unanswered questions.
It’s that time of year again when it starts to get warm and television shows are ending their season, if not their series. Sunday night, June 13, 2007, was the series finale of The Sopranos on HBO and there was a large buzz about who’s going to die, who’s going to get arrested or who’s going to get off completely free.
At the end of the hour-long finale the screen went black right in the middle of a scene. Or at least what seemed like the middle of a scene. Many viewers were afraid their cable had gone out or their television broke at an extremely bad time. Well, that was the ending. The writers had decided to leave the ending up to the viewers own creative devices, or left it wide open for a movie. Either way, viewers were angry at the ending and bombarded the HBO website. The series finale had created more questions than answers.
That brings up memories of other finales that have left viewers wanting more or completely content. Most recently, the new CBS show Jericho’s season finale left many questions unanswered for viewers, like any good season finale does. The town was in the middle of a war against the next town over and a main character had just died. But just as viewers were contemplating next season, CBS announced there would be no next season. Viewers revolted and started a grass roots mission against CBS to bring the show back. So far it has worked since CBS just announced via its website they're going to bring Jericho back for seven episodes sometime in late 2007 to early 2008.
The old Thursday night line-up on NBC was a staple for prime time television. Will & Grace and Friends were two of the most popular shows during the early 2000’s. Viewers loved these shows because of the comedy and wit that came from the characters. However the series finales got very different reactions from loyal viewers. Friends ended its 10 year run with a series finale many fans felt was justified. Rachel and Ross ended up together, Monica and Chandler got their babies and everything was wrapped in a figurative bow and came together nicely. Will & Grace is another story. Fans seemed confused at the finale because they find out the quirky pair don’t remain friends through the adversity of babies and boyfriends. They lost almost 20 years of time together and fans felt let down by the lack luster finale.
The former WB’s token family feel-good show, 7th Heaven, announced last year it was ending its run. The network made a huge deal out of the departure of their beloved show. The WB did a “countdown to goodbye” for weeks complete with sappy montages. Although, once the countdown was over the network announced it was coming back for another season. Many former loyal viewers only watched the first finale since the story line had waned greatly from the original plot line and few original characters were left. Viewers were still disappointed at the second time around as well. It was not a justified end to a show that used to be so popular.
This subject begs the question of which ending is better. Is it better for the writers to tell the viewers what’s going to happen to their beloved characters or should the writers leave it up to people’s imagination? Should they wrap things up in a little bow and serve up the feel-good ending viewers seem to always want or should they leave the viewer with more questions to prompt discussions (and possibly a movie deal)?
