Favorite moments from TV finales:
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008 10:34 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV
Almost all the TV finales have aired ("Lost" comes next week), and looking back, only a few great moments stick out in my mind. (What about "CSI," you ask? Well, I'm not a devotee, but we're already having that discussion here -- and I'm not sure a brutal shooting of a favorite character counts as a "favorite moment" anyway.)
"Grey's Anatomy" -- Meredith lights up her house plan
The SuperCouple issue has always dogged "Grey's Anatomy." Meredith and McDreamy were set up to be together from the pilot, but like every good romantic drama, they get together, they break up, they date others, they vow never to see each other again, lather, rinse, repeat. Yet the final scene of Thursday's season finale, where Meredith used luminarias to lay out the floor plan of the couple's future house, was a romantic scene to weaken the knees of even the most jaded. (Although I live in Seattle, and I had trouble getting a dozen luminarias to stay burning for a party a few years back -- it rains and blows here, Hollywood!)
"Grey's Anatomy" -- Alex shows his vulnerability
But to me, the best scene and acting performance on the "Grey's" finale came from Justin Chambers as Alex Karev. Torn in many different directions as he tried to help a troubled Rebecca, he spilled the fact that he'd taken care of his troubled mother when he was young, and he insisted he could care for Rebecca. Seeing this powerful, cocky doctor break down and admit that he was unable to help his mom, but insist that now he was older and could do the job, was a real tear-jerking moment.
"The Office" -- Holly and Kevin misinterpret each other
I'm a huge Jim/Pam fan, but since Jim's proposal was stymied by Angela/Andy, I can't give that a "favorite moment" award. Instead I have to say the one plotline that had me laughing for the entire episode was how new HR rep Holly was led to believe that Kevin was working for Dunder-Mifflin under a special-needs type employment program, and Kevin's naturally ultra-laid-back personality did nothing to dissuade her from that belief. Meanwhile, Kevin had his own misunderstanding -- thinking Holly's solicitous attitude towards him meant she wanted to date. More Kevin, please. Less Jan. That's just my opinion...
"My Name is Earl" -- Earl gets back to the List
I love the gentle, goofy humor of "My Name Is Earl," having watched the first two seasons in giant chunks while on maternity leave. This season started off promisingly -- with Earl in prison, where, as it turned out, he knows a heckuva lot of other inmates and is quite adept at getting along behind bars. But when he left prison, landed in a coma, having 1950s-sitcom style daydreams of being married to Billie, and then came out of the coma and really married Billie, I started to lose interest. Now that the annoying Billie has joined the Camdenites and Earl and Randy are back to actual list business (as creator Greg Garcia promised on Television Without Pity), next season looms bright as Camden County's endless baking sun.
Share your favorite moments from TV season finales in the comments.
