is there any other show that even comes close to your obsession with TP?

[Audrey Horne]

I'd probably go with The Mary Tyker Moore Shiw as the best finale... Comedy or drama. I'd probably would have wanted Diane's whole life go south again and have that pregnant pause if she's going to actually work at Cheers again.

[Agent Sam Stanley]

I've given up on it. I'm not going to pick up The Winds of Winter when it's released either. I'll buy it when A Dream of Spring is published and read the whole series again from start to finish, assuming ADoS is confirmed to be the end. By then, I'll probably close to retirement age anyway! I'm not going to buy TWoW only to wait another decade for the next book. I have the distinct feeling George RR Martin has got hopelessly lost in all the plot threads and is waiting to see how the TV show finishes so he can use it to help work out how to pull it all together in the books.

I wish I had your determination, but TWoW comes right after TP S3 in my list of biggest anticipations.
To wait until Martin is done with the books is like sitting back and waiting The Final Dossier to hit bookstores before I start watching S3. Can't be done lol

[Agent Sam Stanley]

or in the alternative, as a cynical affirmation of Weiner's stated belief that people don't really change, with Don incapable of thinking about more than jingles even in his moment of spiritual enlightenment, and co-opting a pure message of love to sell sugar water.

Yep, advertising is Don's drug of choice in life. He can't disconnect. At least that's the way I saw it. Loved the ending btw.

As to the latter, Weiner has said that the other writers had to convince him to go with the Peggy & Stan plot, and it really doesn't feel of a piece with the rest of the episode or the series.

Well that explains a lot. It's the only thing I felt was a little 'off' in the last episode. Not a big deal, but I would never have gone for that if I were Weiner.

[djerdap]

I like both the Mad Men and the Breaking Bad finales, but there are far better episodes of both series. I find the MM ending perfectly ambiguous in a Sopranos sort of way: it can be read as redemptive, with Don finally making peace with his place in society as an upper-middle-class corporate schill and using his platform to spread a message of love; or in the alternative, as a cynical affirmation of Weiner's stated belief that people don't really change, with Don incapable of thinking about more than jingles even in his moment of spiritual enlightenment, and co-opting a pure message of love to sell sugar water.

I think it was a brilliant choice to have all of Don's last interactions with the main cast be by telephone. It's a perfect commentary on the evolution of relationships throughout the 20th century, which is so much of what the show is about. Was I hoping for a final Emmy-worthy Hamm-Moss scene? Of course. But we have plenty of those -- the telephone device was a great subversive choice (and Hamm is incredible as usual).

As far as the rest of the MM finale, I found most of the endings fulfilling and approriately open-ended. Pete and Roger are starting new chapters, but I think it's extremely likely they'll continue making the same mistakes (Pete is going to get bored as hell in Wichita away from his beloved NYC, and we don't even know if Roger ended up acquiescing to Marie's desire to move to Canada). Joan's ending is a bit neat and tidy, but I don't mind: it feels well-earned and I find her character arc the most satisfying on the series.

The only storylines that feel somewhat pat are Betty's cancer and Peggy & Stan. I appreciate what Weiner was going for on the former, but it was jammed in way too late in the series -- if introduced a season earlier, it could have given a compelling (albeit potentially distracting) storyline to a character the audience had long since stopped caring about. As to the latter, Weiner has said that the other writers had to convince him to go with the Peggy & Stan plot, and it really doesn't feel of a piece with the rest of the episode or the series. I still don't mind it: the groundwork was certainly laid for several seasons, and I find the scene charming. It's nice for Peggy to get a victory, particularly in the romantic arena; but it definitely feels more like a traditional TV series moment than almost anything else in the rest of the series. It would also be less jarring if it didn't occur while Peggy should be worried about Don potentially committing suicide.

BB's finale was far too neat and tidy, and slightly disappointing in light of the all-time great run of episodes that preceded it. I would have preferred for Jesse to play a much larger role in the final season and especially the finale, but the last several minutes (from Jesse & Walter's last stand-off to the end) were perfect.

Honestly, I can't think of too many series finales that I would call truly great. TP has probably been my favorite, but of course Episode 29 won't be a finale for much longer!

I agree with pretty much everything stated here.

I also think The Shield had an excellent series finale which had the right combination of closure and openendedness.

[Trudy Chelgren]

I wouldn't call it anywhere near 'obsession', but The Rockford Files. For a show of it's time, the core performances are so heartwarming and naturalistic. I swear James Garner deserves more credit for his work, he was such a talent. The whole Jim/Rocky relationship is one of the most authentic father-son relationships I've ever seen on TV. It's dated, sure, but the writing is so timeless.

[Agent Earle]

I also think The Shield had an excellent series finale which had the right combination of closure and openendedness.

Yep, The Shield is definitely a contender for the best series finale of all times! What a way to go out. Come to think of it, that whole last season dissecting Mackey's downfall was a DYNAMITE.

Regarding the Six Feet Under finale someone has mentioned, which was also great - I, too, cannot remember much of anything from the finale itself save for the final montage (though I first saw the whole of the series less than a year ago, as a part of my grand Great Television Shows of the 21st Century Watch; I've since seen Breaking Bad, The Sopranos (again) and am now third way through OZ, so I can maybe be forgiven for having a hard time keeping all the data in my head ). I do, however vividly remember the endgame which began with (SPOILER!!!) Nate's death a handful of episodes before the finale and carried us through to the show's conclusion - those 3-4 episodes with characters dealing with the central character's demise and its aftermath were some of the most devastating, emotionally draining times connected with TV viewing I've ever experienced; truly, I was a psychical wreck! During it, I was downright sorry for watching the series, in the do-I-need-to-do-this-to-myself-or-am-I-crazy sense. Well, come (final eps of) Breaking Bad, I was up and ready to go through it all over again, eventually bawling my eyes out over the fate of a mass murderer and child-poisoner, basically

[claaa7]

I also think The Shield had an excellent series finale which had the right combination of closure and openendedness.

Yep, The Shield is definitely a contender for the best series finale of all times! What a way to go out. Come to think of it, that whole last season dissecting Mackey's downfall was a DYNAMITE.

The Shield was one of those series that started out pretty decent but as it went along it just became better and better.. The last three seasons i was on the edge of my seat damn near the entire time, and the finale was perfect.

[Gabriel]

I also think The Shield had an excellent series finale which had the right combination of closure and openendedness.

Yep, The Shield is definitely a contender for the best series finale of all times! What a way to go out. Come to think of it, that whole last season dissecting Mackey's downfall was a DYNAMITE.

The Shield was one of those series that started out pretty decent but as it went along it just became better and better.. The last three seasons i was on the edge of my seat damn near the entire time, and the finale was perfect.

Yep. Beautiful. Vic wins, but loses everything in the process. Amazing finale.

[Agent Earle]

The Shield was one of those series that started out pretty decent but as it went along it just became better and better.. The last three seasons i was on the edge of my seat damn near the entire time, and the finale was perfect.

I agree - the moment the series introduced lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, brilliantly played by Forest Whitaker, as Vic's nemesis, we were (again) on a roll. In my opinion, the series' weakest point was the preceding Season 4, kinda slow and meandering, and they didn't make the best use of should-be-golden character of Monica Rawling (Glenn Close) - it's not that she didn't have fine scenes, particularly with Mackey, but she just kinda petered out by the end. She did, however, instigate a chain of events that would eventually bring Vic and his Strike Team down three seasons later.

[Agent Earle]

Vic wins, but loses everything in the process.

Kinda like Walter White, wouldn't you agree?

[tmurry]

That show became fan service festival.
It keeps getting worse. I watch it basically to see how the hell they're gonna end all that mess. Winds of Winter can't come soon enough.

Last season (6) was a step down, but I thought the prior few were very good in proportion to how much they deviated from the books. It seemed like, after the seriously disappointing season 2, they discovered how to make layered TV during the 3rd season (as opposed to just an adaptation of a book series) and continued that very well for 4 and 5. Season 6 reminded me of Lost season 3 - unsure of itself as it made the painful leap from one type of thing (open ended serial/unfinished adaptation) to a final approach to its own ending. Go back to seasons 1 and 2... 1 was a great adaptation of a closed work and functions like mini-series used to. 2 tried the same thing and didn't work (largely because of the strangely underwhelming handling of Tyrion's incredible machinations, the underfunded Blackwater battle, and the botching of all the vision/prophesy stuff at the end). Paradoxically the lack of structure in the 3rd book allowed them to restructure the series to achieve thematic and symbolic resonance within each episode while still maintaining/building the sense of scale and sweep. Last season was just them losing their footing as they move from the more anemic parts of the last 2 books to the run up to their own ending.

[djerdap]

That's too big of a spoiler for folks who might be interested in The Shield I think.

[Agent Earle]

They shouldn't read it, then. For instance, I skip all posts or parts of them that deal with a show I have yet to watch, like Mad Men - it's the safest bet. Just as soon as I read the title, I "turn it off".

[djerdap]

They shouldn't read it, then. For instance, I skip all posts or parts of them that deal with a show I have yet to watch, like Mad Men - it's the safest bet. Just as soon as I read the title, I "turn it off".

I wish everything was that simple. You never accidently read something you didn't want to on a message board by simply scrolling?

A spoiler tag would perhaps be useful here.

[Agent Earle]

Well then, maybe stay out of the thread where shows are being discussed in detail. My discussion about The Shield wasn't the first such discussion here, and it wasn't the most concrete plot points-heavy of them either.