I just read your Dispatch on ...
Question: I just read your Dispatch on the
Sopranos finale, as well as the reader comments afterward. You said you wouldn't rate this episode among the best of series finales, so which ones would you include on that list? Thanks for a great column. I always enjoy it!
Answer: I often try to avoid these "best ever" sort of overview questions, because I fear leaving out something obvious. But in this case, I asked for it, and now I regret writing that line in my recap. To be very honest, the first shows that come to mind when I think of great TV finales tend to be comedies, not dramas (so many of which end
after their prime). My very favorite final episodes ever would have to be
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which ended with such tender and funny finality, and
Newhart, with its incredible surprise gag at the end in which Bob was in bed with first TV wife
Suzanne Pleshette. More recently I also loved the
Everybody Loves Raymond finale, in which a momentary health scare for Raymond reestablished all of the family conflicts one last time, and that scene of Marie climbing over Debra in the bed to get to her beloved son was a classic. The show ended as they all gathered around a crowded table for breakfast, leaving them just as we always knew and loved them... no big deal, no life-changing event. Made me feel good for having watched, which is probably the best thing a series finale can do.
