Life on Mars, ER, House

[ghost2]

I have a few thoughts about the (U.S.) Life on Mars finale, the ER finale, and the April 6 House episode. Spoilers!



Dear TPTB at Life on Mars,
The ending of your last episode sucked. If I wanted the "It never really happened" explanation, I could just re-watch Dallas's dream season or the entire run of St. Elsewhere. Yes, your final scene was a surprise. But you know what? While some surprises are good (winning a laptop in a contest), other surprises are bad (the dentist telling you that you need to have a root canal). Your laughable concluding scene was the "bad" kind of surprise. You should have just ended it with Sam hanging up the phone. I might have been a bit disappointed, but I wouldn't still be laughing about your "gene hunt."

No love,
Me




Dear TPTB at ER,
After learning of the cancellation of Guiding Light (which debuted on radio in 1937!) and watching that final dreadful scene of Life on Mars, I really needed you to come through. I watched your finale when it aired, and then I watched it back on Saturday night, and I liked it even better the second time. That type of ending is what fans deserve.

Much love,
Me




Dear TPTB at House,
Well, Kutner's death was a positive step. I'm a little disappointed that you didn't dump Taub first, but I'll take what I can get. See, I never cared about Kutner, so his suicide left me cold. The character was a bore, and Kal Penn's awful acting didn't help. I just hope you write off that other dullard, Taub, by the end of the season. (You can keep Thirteen, I suppose, if you really want to.) Also? Much less Cuddy; much more Cameron, Chase, and Wilson. I hope you're heading in the right direction now.

Optimistically,
Me

Comments

[stellastars]

Trying to do a bit of flist catch-up and yay, someone on my flist who watched ER! It was a really great ending, wasn't it? Perfect blend of new and old characters and really, the most perfect last line possible.

There has also been much woe in my household regarding Guiding Light as it is the soap-of-choice for my mom and sis. But don't give up hope -- there's talk that P&G might look into another network to air it on!

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

The last thing I wanted on ER was for the hospital to close (or for there to be any major deaths). I think it was time for the show to end, but now I find myself imagining what happens to the characters "after." And it seems like no one is writing any decent fanfic about it! I'd do it myself, but I don't have the time and would suck at writing medical stories.

As for Guiding Light, the ratings have been so bad for so long that I'm surprised the show lasted this long. I just don't see any other network wanting to pick it up. It wouldn't make financial sense. But yeah, they have to at least try.

[thisbluespirit]

How different was the LoM ending from the UK one? *is curious*

I mean, if you've seen the UK version, that is. I can't remember... And it's unlikely that I'll see the US version at any time soon. If ever. Especially if not worth it.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

The UK version had that ambiguous ending where Sam jumped off of a building and apparently committed suicide.

The U.S. version... well, I thought many of the individual episodes were really good. The final scene, though, ruined it for me. It turned out that Sam (and the other characters) were all astronauts in the year 2035 on a scientific expedition to Mars, a "gene hunt" (groan), and Sam's life in 2008 was some virtual-reality program that he had selected to play. A meteor storm in space caused a glitch in the program that threw him back into 1973. So nothing that happened in the series was "real" and ultimately, as a viewer I felt cheated.

[thisbluespirit]

Sorry, I didn't mean I'd forgotten the ending. Not sure that's possible!! Oh, dear, oh dear. I see what you mean. Aargh.

I'm just happy to hear that we're finally getting S2 of Ashes to Ashes very soon.