Category: TV finales

‘Glee’ unsuccessfully strives to gain viewers back in Fox show’s final season

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on Jan. 29, 2015.

Gleeks, rejoice!

“Glee” is back for its sixth and final season. And many of the main actors have returned to the Fox show at McKinley High.

Wait. Back up. How does that work? Wasn’t Artie (Kevin McHale) in film school? Wasn’t Rachel (Lea Michele) on her way to L.A. for a career in TV? Weren’t Blaine (Darren Criss) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) at the fictional NYADA? Wasn’t Mercedes (Amber Riley) about to go on tour?

That’s how season 5 ended … with tons of possibilities.

But that’s all been left behind for season 6. Because as the show lost viewers and focus, it has grasped on to old concepts, which is not a good thing.

After a time jump, Rachel is back leading the new New Directions, which means Sue (Jane Lynch) is back tormenting the glee club. Kurt is back, too. And Quinn (Dianna Agron). And Puck (Mark Salling). And even Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), who, let’s face it, never really had much to give to the show after her character admitted she lied about having a lisp in season 1.

Even stranger? Kurt and Blaine are no longer engaged. OK, that’s not strange considering the characters are around 19, but Blaine is now with Dave Karofsky, an old bully of Kurt’s. The relationship feels forced because, although Karofsky (Max Adler) had an important supporting storyline in season 3, his character didn’t need to come back. But he’s recognizable on the show, so why not bring him back? Almost every other character is back, as per showrunner Ryan Murphy’s not-so-wise plan to return focus to the original characters.

I’ll admit, I’ve seen every episode of “Glee” at least once. But I’ll also admit that somewhere around seasons 3 and 4, it lost its spark.

I hate to say this, but the show was hurt by the death of Cory Monteith, who played the lovable Finn Hudson. Obviously it was a shock. The tribute episode they did for him was stellar, but he was a huge component of the show. And his character’s relationship with Rachel was a key moment to the show’s series finale Murphy had originally planned.

But to go back to the old ways of the show feels stale and backward. Season 6 comes back to auditions, rival glee clubs and weekly themed lessons. The show was progressive in how it handled music and storylines, but now it’s just a rehash of season 1.

This show is supposed to be about dreamers. But with season 6, it’s just starting over with a new cast mixed with old stars who have lost focus. It’s not enjoyable anymore.

They should’ve just canceled “Glee” after season 5. Or found better ideas.

‘How I Met Your Mother’ wraps its run with an unsatisfying end

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on April 2, 2014.

Going into Monday night’s series finale of the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” I expected mixed feelings.

Two days later, and I’m just confused. And I’ve watched the episode twice.

If you haven’t watched the finale yet, please stop reading, because there are spoilers.

Overall, the series finale felt rushed and unsettled.

The show is called “How I Met Your Mother.” But in the end, Ted goes to Robin’s apartment with the infamous blue French horn to ask her out, so maybe the show should’ve been titled “How I Decided to Reunite with My Ex.”

It’s such a letdown.

For years my friends have wondered why Ted and Robin’s romance lingered long after they broke up at the end of season 2. If Robin wasn’t the mother, why was she always in the back of Ted’s mind? And why was Ted always mentioning her?

In the last moments of the show, Ted’s kids told their father to go after Aunt Robin since the Mother had been dead for six years.

So, all that Ted/Robin stuff was kept in the show’s run for a reason. But that doesn’t mean it should’ve been that way.

To reiterate, the show is called “How I Met Your Mother.” Yes, in season nine, viewers saw key moments of Ted and the Mother’s relationship — their engagement, their first date and, in the finale, their first meeting.

But in the end, they weren’t together.

Viewers, myself included, anxiously waited to see Ted meet the Mother. While we finally saw that moment, it was skewed by the fact that he goes back to Robin.

Plus, the last few seasons have focused more on Robin and Barney. We see them get married, after some expected freak-out moments, at the end of the penultimate episode. Then, less than halfway through the series finale, they announce their divorce.

What? After the elaborate engagement, all the arguing, etc., they only last three years? The whole ninth season was about Barney and Robin’s wedding…and then it ended in 20 minutes.

Truly, though, the story always was supposed to be about Ted. And that was missing a bit in the last episode. I was hoping to see more of his life and his relationship with the Mother. But in the finale, we were updated on everyone in the MacLaren’s gang relatively equally. It would’ve liked to see more of Ted’s life than Barney regressing to his playbook-using days.

Also, I wanted to see the Mother more. I loved the character; she complemented Ted and all of his quirky habits, including his detective skills. While viewers were told they would see a lot of the Mother in season nine, the character was barely seen. And then she dies, which is a bit depressing for a sitcom. Wasn’t the death of Marshall’s father in season six enough?

I didn’t expect to see the gang stick together once they were in their 40s because that’s unrealistic, but I did expect to see Ted and the Mother evolve and grow in more than a few snippets.

I feel a bit betrayed that in the end, Ted goes to win back Robin. Nine years of waiting for the Mother led to one season of moments with her and then her death. I will say, though, that at least Ted’s kids made fun of the fact that Robin is in the overarching story more than the Mother.

I won’t go as far as to say the series finale of “How I Met Your Mother” ruined the show. But I will say I was dissatisfied with how the show ended.

What do you think? Were you happy to see Robin and Ted end up together? Let me know.