THAT'S how it ends?!?! REALLY?!?!

[Drtooth]

Cuz the producers are idiots that didn't learn their lesson from The Neighbors?

Totally should have renewed Galavant as an online exclusive series, but you know that won't happen.

Back to Two and a Half Men, though. While I've pretty much stopped watching the series and have unfortunately caught bits and pieces, I'll give the last episode a shot. Caught the ending of the penultimate one and it ended with such a poor and self serving fourth wall leaning. Not quite as bad as the arrogant fourth wall leaning of the last episode of the previous season. But the same "See? We TOTALLY had 4 more seasons worth of show when we kicked out Charlie and left the series on as a personal favor to Jon Cryer" message was still there. I bet they're going to botch another "we're winking at the audience" message here. I just want to see how they plan to end it this time. It's been like Daffy Duck tapdancing on stage, narrowly avoiding the hook and trapdoors. Embarrassing.

 

[Oscarfan]

Was Galavant officially cancelled? I can't find anything on it.

 

[Drtooth]

On a technicality, it hasn't, but I doubt there's much hope to hold out. ABC waits until May, like the article about The Middle said.

 

[Gonzo14]

I'll never complain about Lost's "everyone was dead to begin with" ending ever again.

Sorry I'm late to the game with this comment, but the ending of Lost is often misinterpreted. (btw I 100% agree with you about the How I Met Your Mother Ending)

Everyone wasn't dead the whole time on Lost, that had been a popular theory ever since the show began, but that's not what happened. ONLY the Flash-Sideways world was Purgatory. Everything that happened on the island actually happened, then when they died they went to the Flash Sideways world where they had to find each other, remember their REAL lives, then move on together.

I'm not saying I'm a huge fan of how they ended it, (I'm kind of in the middle of Lost fans as far as the ending goes, I didn't love it, didn't hate it) but people often see the ending and they think that everyone was dead the whole time. If you listened closely to the conversation between Jack and his dad, he clearly tells him that everything that happened to him was real and that the most important part of his life was the time he spent with these people (Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, etc). and that even though they all died at different times, they all ended up in the Flash Sideways/Purgatory together.

Plus, if everything that happened on the show was Purgatory, then what was the Flash-Sideways world? Extra Purgatory?

 

[Drtooth]

Ah. Well, that's indeed a better explanation. I never got into the show myself, but gauged the really bad reaction from some who really hated that ending.

Anyway, yeah. The last episode of 2.5 is called "Of Course He's Dead" and from what I read it's all about secrets about Charlie coming to light. Bet that's going to be treated with a lot of not passive aggressive dumping. I know I've been heavy referencing that show and all, but it's the closest one to a finale, so someone has to bring it up.

Plus I was also on the TV listings to look up the titles of Thursday's CN line up and the upcoming Archer episode. Figured might as well check that out for any spoilers.

 

[Drtooth]

So, anyone catch the Parks and Rec finale? I really liked it, and I missed the obvious Actor Allusion Easter Egg until I had to read about it on Comic Book Resources. One of the Trick or Treaters Andy was handing candy out to was wearing a Star-Lord costume.

I really like how everything was a flash forward past the flash forward they already had. They went all out with the aging make up. But my complaint is this.

NBC is the least watched network. Parks and Rec has a dedicated cult fanbase. Bad Judge was the most hated show of the year. So my question is, why did they basically just jumble up and get rid of a show people actually watch and like, forcing the ending to run at 10 PM on a Tuesday (because "The Voice") only a few weeks after its premiere, when they had nothing but unwatchable garbage on Thursday Nights? They totally could have slowly rolled these episodes out at one a week. Seems like they couldn't wait to get rid of a show people actually like for yet another klunker.

Seriously, I'd say in a year does anyone even remember A-Z, but I can barely remember it now.

 

[charlietheowl]

What a magnificent finale, the individual time jumps weren't gimmicky and true to the characters, plus of course they were funny. It was a culmination of the journeys each character has been on since the show began back in 2009. Seeing Ron canoeing through the national park was amazing.

Without getting too sappy, what made Parks great was that at the core of the show was a faith in humanity and the people around you. No matter how stupid or annoying the outside world could be, you always had your friends to count on to have your back. It was committed to that belief, which is commendable.

NBC did treat the show rather poorly over its run, as I'm pretty sure the show set the unofficial record for number of episodes that could have been series finales but suddenly weren't. But I think NBC is looking for "mainstream" popular shows and not "niche" popular shows, as evidenced by them running off Community. It was painful to see the promos for their new comedies during the commercial breaks, it was like they came from different planets than Parks.

 

[Drtooth]

Running off Community was more or less due to their disdain for Harmon. That message was clear.

And Totes (burrrrp) Malotes they're trying to get a mainstream audience. Problem is, they couldn't fail harder at it if they tried. their latest line of new sitcoms is poor. They didn't even last the season. I don't see why a show no one watches is better and more fiscally solvent than a show with a devoted, yet kinda small, fan base. NBC has been struggling for years and got lucky hits with The Voice and Biggest Loser, which I'm suspect is only watched by rail thin fratboys eating the entire Taco Bell menu and laughing at the gross fatties sweating and crying in between Halo games and beer pong.

They really liked giving the screws to shows that won awards and had a genuine audience, all the while thinking loser concepts will be beloved. I hate to drag the old Seinfeld dead horse out, but that show was almost cancelled several times. What's the most overly beloved, massive hit of a sitcom of all time now? That exact one that was going to be cancelled, but they gave a shot to.

While I can't say I'm the hugest Parks and Rec guy out there, I did quite enjoy what I've seen since the unfortunate first season. Not that it was bad, but it really couldn't climb out of The Office's shadow and didn't come into its own in terms of style and humor until the second season. I think because they ended The Office, they wanted to groom anything for the next The Office, even though they wanted the next Friends/Will and Grace when The Office premiered. But I stand firm. I didn't see A-Z or Bad Judge trading cards at Target a year ago.

Oh, and because I brought it up a hundred times, I felt 2.5's ending was fitting, pretty satisfying, and perfectly passive aggressive. SPOILERS, but then some of you would have to care anyway... It doesn't exactly solve Alan's story arc of needing a place to live, but I think the plot twist that Rose was imprisoning Charlie Silence of the Lambs style made up for the fact the character had no comeuppance or even a reprimand from any of the characters. And taking as many jabs at Charlie Sheen as humanly possible and leaning at the fourth wall seemed a lot less sloppy and genuinely funny this time. And I totally called that they'd get a Fake Shemp. Supposedly they tried to get Charlie, but negotiations fell through. It almost makes up for the fact the last few seasons of the show sucked. They even did the "call back as many characters as possible" anime ending type thing too.

 

[charlietheowl]

While I can't say I'm the hugest Parks and Rec guy out there, I did quite enjoy what I've seen since the unfortunate first season. Not that it was bad, but it really couldn't climb out of The Office's shadow and didn't come into its own in terms of style and humor until the second season. I think because they ended The Office, they wanted to groom anything for the next The Office, even though they wanted the next Friends/Will and Grace when The Office premiered. But I stand firm. I didn't see A-Z or Bad Judge trading cards at Target a year ago.

The show picked up in the second season, but basically trading Paul Schneider for Adam Scott and Rob Lowe was perhaps the best casting decision a TV show ever made on the fly and led to an amazing third season. Schneider fell off the face of the earth after leaving Parks, to say he pulled a Shelley Long would be kind.

 

[Drtooth]

It's times like this I'm glad we never got that horrid "The Farm" spinoff. Parks and Recs was the spinoff of The Office, just more of a spiritual successor than a direct spinoff. And while that did hamper them that season, trying to ape the characters and situations from the other show, they came into their own by doing their own thing connected to, but different than The Office. I especially like how it's more exaggerated, and the political commentary gave it a punch the Office didn't have. Something to be expected for a political show.

But The Farm would have killed both shows. The repurposed pilot that aired was cartoony. Parks and Rec was exaggerated by all means, but still had a grounding in reality. All The Farm had going for it was Dwight's kookier relatives that made him look sane. I don't think that humor could have sustained itself. It would have essentially been like "I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, this is my other brother Darryl, this is my other other brother Darryl, this is my cousin Darryl, this is my aunt Darryl..." etc. And each episode would be more cartoony than the last, thoroughly pulling apart any semblance of reality The Office had. I just see NBC forcing P&R off the network to force that down, and it just not connecting.

The thing that bugs me about P&R is that the network pushed the heck out of it first season, but it really didn't get a following until after. I mean, after all this was the project Amy Pohler headed up after leaving SNL. They kinda pushed "My Name is Earl" off the network for it. One of the reasons why I couldn't get into first season, actually. But once it started getting really good and getting that audience, they were less than enthused, at least until awards came in. Same deal with 30 Rock. They forced it first season, it pushed some away, but some people stuck it through, spread the word it got much better, but NBC was very ambivalent about it. Like they weren't instant successes when, have you looked at instant successes ? They barely have enough concept for one season, and the show slowly deteriorates instead of building up. Heroes and Glee especially.