Some thoughts on three season finales, two of which were also series finales:
The West Wing (“Tomorrow”)
A little more sentimental and a little less witty than the usual WW episode, but still good. I particularly liked the behind-the-scenes view of Inauguration Day, and appreciated that the writers tried to wrap up loose ends. (Though they never did tell us what Bartlet wrote in his letter to Santos. And have Will and Kate formally broken up, or are they going to try the long-distance thing?) I also enjoyed the acting, which on the whole was subtle rather than schmaltzy. Fortunately for Aaron Sorkin fans, some of the cast members will move on to his new show. As for the WW characters, there’s always reruns and season DVDs.
Boston Legal (“Spring Fever”, “Los Angeles”)
Ick, ick, ick. If you took out the sex, this two-hour finale would’ve been 45 min. Not that I object to sex being part of Boston Legal (and it usually is). But the episodes I enjoy most have a balance between interesting legal stuff and outrageous character stuff. When sex instead of cases drives the plot, that balance tilts too much in one direction. That being said, this was funny in spots, with William Shatner and Robert Wagner doing excellent jobs as East Coast/West Coast mirror images.
Will and Grace
Very well done, with a nice blend of the silly and the serious. I’m a sucker for happy endings, and this series finale delivered what I hoped but still threw in some surprises. Who knew Jack could play piano — and sing?
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