No fanfare. No huge surprises. NO JERRY/ELAINE WEDDING! No huge reunion of minor characters. No special "Thank you, to you, the viewers" message at the end.
Just the 4 of them, sitting in their booth at Monk's, discussing something trivial.
I figure their lives keep going on just as they would, except that our little 'window' on their world had just been closed. Just because we're no longer there to see what happens, that doesn't means it's not still happening.
Yeah. This is how I think it should end. By NOT ending.
That is how "Cheers" ended. As you said, our little window to their world was closed but you knew the characters would be back at the bar the next day, probably STILL trying to figure out how many bolts were in the floor of the old Boston Garden or something crazy like that. A brilliant idea, Ratboy, and one that would do the show justice.
Argh! Boy, will THAT be frustrating! And the next thing you know, they'll be cheaping out on a plot, and filling out the hour with clips from past shows.... ARGGH! What cheapskates! Now, if THAT is the case, maybe advertisers will be better off bidding on the show(s) just PRECEDING the very last show!
-------
Actually, the actors appearing as themselves, and discussing the show, and what it means to be an actor that is STEREOTYPED, complete with outtakes & bloopers, that might be more enjoyable than a re-hash of the same-old same-old.
Jerry: A lot of people don't know this, but I lost a toe in the "Race"
episode. So many people don't realize what goes into (and out
of) a show of this kind of caliber. [Takes off shoe to show
off.] It all happened when a boom got knocked over, and hit
me in the foot-
Jason: -In fact, there was one scene where I was supposed to be
barbecuing a shishkabob, and the whole scene wasn't even
USED! The whole scene was thrown out, and I still have
the scars to show for it. That was a scene originally
intended for use in "The Hand." I still don't have any
sensation in three of my fingers. (Well, part of that
was my own fault. I should have pulled my hand away
when they sprayed kerosene and vodka on the shishkabob.)
Julia: I should have been cast in that role. I would have been a natural. Most of the audience has a dirty mind anyway.
Michael: And what about "Little Jerry" --- the cockfighting episode?
The writers didn't even warn me that those damn birds claw
like devils on the warpath. We had to use a gallon of make
up to cover up the little scratches and welts. I was on
the verge of quitting right there and then! I swear, next
time they set me up with some damn chicken, they can do it
with my double!
Wayne: Well, I am pretty happy the way things went. I always had some spare time to take out roles in major motion pictures.
"Ratboy" has probably just figured out what the final scene of the final episode will be like. It'll be preceded by an hour-long plot with a lot of characters, complications and gags, maybe something like the hours that have con- cluded prior seasons. There might even be some loose ends left at the end for a future theatrical or TV film to resolve (or just be left unresolved, just like real life). But he's got it right in this sense...the best ending is one that isn't really an ending, just a reminder that life goes on for everyone, and it goes on in the same mundane, sometimes irritating, "nothing" kind of way.
All of you have good ideas. For "Seinfeld" to end on a major note (e.g., Jerry/Elaine wedding) would run counter to the show's nature in the first place. However, I do know what the show's final line should be: Jerry saying, "Goodbye, Newman!"
I'm in favor of ending with a funny-but-typical episode, but I suspect a lot of fans will be disappointed if there's not some kind of attempt at doing something spectacular in the finale.
Maybe the series finale could be a flash-forward episode, like The Simpsons once did with "Lisa's Wedding." The episode could take place in the distant future, with Jerry, Kramer, Elaine and George all living together in a nursing home in the year 2038.
Despite the passage of time and the advancement of age, the show could illustrate that the characters will never really change. Kramer would still be mooching from Jerry, George would still be going to outrageous lengths to cover for lies he's told, Elaine would make some kind of faux paux to embarass herself, etc.
Whatever they do, I'm sure Seinfeld will have a better series finale than Roseanne.
Exactly. I don't want it to have a 'final episode' feel to it.
And if the whole cast addresses the audience at the end,
and thanks us all for making the show so special, I believe
I would vomit.
--------------------------------------------
[email]
(Hammer nail here--> <-- for a new monitor.)
(Remove XXXX to reply)
Not me. I like 'final episodes' and when a show's last episode doesn't have the feel of 'this is it, folks and good night', I feel that I've been cheated-in that, I've watched this show for a long time and never seen it come to it's proper conclusion-such as the final episodes of Wings and Cheers.
My feeling is that they'll do something like that at the end of the show but it'll be in a sardonic way. Who nows ? The whole cast might just yell and curse at us for all of those years of watching this show about nothing, when we could have been doing something.
Yeah, I was thinking about someting along that line, too. I guess we know for sure that it won't be your typical teary-eyed cheesy series finale. I guess they have to do something a little different - not necessarily wrap up anything, but at least give us some idea about what happens to everyone. It'll be interesting to see...