Tuesday, December 4th, 2007...11:21 am
The greatest season finales in history: A Blogger Happy Hour
While catching up with a certain TV show on Netflix a few weeks ago, I told a friend who was a fan of the show that I had one episode to watch. And not just any episode. The season finale. He looked me right in the eye with excitement and asked, “Oh, so you already know that Rosebud was the name of his sled?”
Now, he didn’t really say that. But what he did say was the end-of-the-season twist ending to a show I had invested a lot of time in. (I don’t want to mention which show it was in case some douchetard finds it funny to ruin it for readers who might want to see the awesome show.)
“Uh, no, I didn’t know that,” I told him incredulously.
“Oh,” he replied.
“I can’t believe you just ruined it for me.”
“I thought, I mean, um…sorry.”
People love season finales because they are fraught with hope, expectation, cliffhangers, and surprise twists. Even people born in the 1980s understand the implications of uttering the phrase, “Who shot J.R.?”, perhaps the symbolic archetype of the pop culture phenomenon known as the “season finale”.
Season finales carry with them the weight of anticipation built up often over the course of many months. They often end with landmark events that mirror everyday life, such as a wedding, a birth, or the killing off of a beloved character. No one that I have ever read has analyzed season finales as a concept in American culture, but I think someone should (I’m looking at you, ).
The Blogger Happy Hour crew is throwing its own season finale but hopefully with less bloodshed or gestational expulsion. This happy hour is not only the last of 2007, but may be the last for a while as bloggers flock home to their families for the holidays. The plan: Friday, December 7, at 8pm, at the Four Fields (it’ll always be the “4 Ps” to me) in Cleveland Park.
The usual cast (INPY, Kassy K, , and ) is hosting, with a special guest host cameo by Roissy, who is vowing his own brand of controversy.
After the amazing turnout of the last happy hour at Chi Cha Lounge, this one promises to be one spectacular finish to an outstanding season, one whose finale may be discussed during the summer break.
Aside from this happy hour, here are my top five season finales of all time:
1. Kirk Gibson, 1988.
Gibby caps off his 1988 season by doing his best Roy Hobbs impression and belting a homerun off the best closer in the game, creating the greatest moment in Dodgers history and spiraling Big Blue into a 19-year spell in which they don’t win one playoff series.
2. Cheers, Season 5, 1987.
Diane leaves Cheers in the final episode of the show’s seminal season as Shelley Long wisely moves on to other illustrious projects like “Troop Beverly Hills” and “Don’t Tell Her It’s Me”. Never heard of those movies? Exactly.
3. Myself, Karate, 1987. At the age of 12, I cap off my final season as a karate student by successfully testing for the Tang Soo Do green belt. I abandon a prominent career in karate and the promise of many cheap, plastic trophies. Last time I tried a flying leg kick I broke a hip.
4. End of Spring, every year.
Is there any better time in the year than the end of spring, which harkens the beginning of summer, warm weather, the beach, and, most importantly, my birthday? Nope, didn’t think so.
5. Oregano.
What? This is a seasoning? Not a season? Oh well, it’s my favorite seasoning and should be added to everything. I love putting it in Ramen noodles with a fried egg on top, Frosted Mini Wheats, and my hand. I think I’ll have some tonight when I eat some pancakes.
Heroes is over, The Office is no more, and summer is a looooong way away. So come join us for this season finale.
Because the next day, everyone will be talking about it.
14 Comments
December 4th, 2007 at 11:42 am
don’t hate on people born in the 80s!
Me? Never.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
troop beverly hills was a favorite movie among my group of friends growing up. sometimes we still reference it.
Really? That’s what The Princess told me last night. I didn’t think anyone had ever heard of it. Is it supposed to be a classic coming-of-age thing for girls or something?
December 4th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I hope it’s better than last night’s Heroes season finale. (Just because they had to to shoot an alternate ending for season 2 due to the writer’s strike is no excuse; all of season 2 was horrible.)
I disagree about all of it being horrible. I thought the last three episodes or so were great but they definitely started to devolve into nonsense. When last night’s Heroes finished, I said aloud, “Lame.”
December 4th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
For you it’s Oregano. For me, it’s cilantro. Can’t help the Mexican in me.
Cilantro’s not bad, but you can’t add it to everything like you can with oregano, which, until just a few years ago, my Spanish-speaking background caused me to pronounce it ore-GAH-no.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Gotta back you up on the cilantro thing, Arjew…I find it way detectable in everything, which can be great or a very bad thing. Oregano is more adaptive, IMHO. Oh yeah, and happy hour…really gonna try to make it. Hopefully my pregnant friend won’t mind me ditching her for a bunch of drunken bloggers.
Pregnant friends are invited as well, except drunk ones.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I think I’ll be stopping by this one as well, it’s been a while since I was at an “official” HH
I think your last one was at Grand Central, right?
December 4th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Jenny Lewis, of Rilo Kiley, was in Troop Beverly Hills. That’s the only reason I know of it.
The only reason?
December 4th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
I’m black and from the country, so I’d have to substitute Lawry’s in that number 5 spot instead of oregano. Lawry’s Seasoning Salt: A tasty reddish-orange heart attack waiting to happen!
I have to admit, I had to look that up.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
So according to Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_shot_jr
US viewers had to wait from March (season finale) until November (when the show returned) due to the 1980 writers strike. Hopefully we won’t be waiting around until November of 2008 to find out what happened to this year’s crop of finales.
At least that year the writers struck near the end of the TV season. This time it happened not even halfway through the season.
December 4th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
oh, the excitement…
December 4th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
happy hannukah!
December 4th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Fucking Dexter.
December 5th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Speaking of booze and the end of things, I just want to wish everyone a Happy Repeal Day!
http://wonkette.com/politics/excuses-to-drink/happy-repeal-day-330154.php
And Happy Hanukkah as well, G-d bless the Hebrew Hammer for saving it for us all!
December 5th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Oh yeah, that Kirk Gibson home run is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen, and that’s coming from someone who was never really much of a Dodgers fan. I the only time I ever watched their games was when Darryl Strawberry was there.
Yes, my favorite baseball player growing up was a crackhead…
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