Because You Asked What I Think About...The Office Series Finale

It wasn't perfect, you know.  But it was pretty damn close.  I really think the last three episodes should be considered the finale, because they did such a wonderful job of closing the characters' stories in appropriate and satisfying ways.  Was there a bit of wish fulfillment going on?  Obviously.  But I think it was earned.

The character of Andy has been so fucked with that any real redemption for him was impossible, but at least the Baby Wawa thing was hilarious.  I really, really love how Dwight matured in a perfectly Dwight way so that he finally was the right man for the job.  I thought all of the work done with Jim and Pam was pretty beautiful.  It was awesome how Angela basically became Meredith for a couple episodes there.  I liked all of it, really.  And there was definitely some commentary on television and on The Office as a show going on in the writing of the finale, but I mostly didn't mind it.  At its best, The Office was hilarious and smart and heartfelt and a little uncomfortable, and all of that came through in these final episodes.  Do I wish Season 8 didn't exist?  Yes.  But Season 9 did an excellent job of closing out the story arcs for these characters that we've come to care so much about in one way or another, from Darrell to Kelly to Creed.  And the finale left me satisfied and smiling.

"I just want to lie on the beach and eat hot dogs.  It's all I've ever wanted."
- Kevin Mallone

An Expert Discussion On The Closing Of The "Gossip Girl" Ouvre

Lauren: Ok so seriously I did not even know about Gossip Girl ending until this morning when I read this article:http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/12/xoxo-conspicuous-consumption-how-the-economy-killed-gossip-girl/266181/

Lauren: Otherwise I would have been texting you much more often about it than I already have

Lauren: That, for me, is the saddest part about this whole thing...the end of our texts about Gossip Girl

Lauren:  "UGH SERENA'S DRESS IS THE UGLIEST DRESS THAT HAS EVER EXISTED"

Lauren: "I am riding the Dan & Blair train all the way to Awesomeville. DAN+BLAIR4EVA"

Lauren:  "Chuck has a dog. Its name is Monkey"

Lauren: “uggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh Serenaaaaaaaaaaaa”

Lauren: "ugh, serena ruins everything."

Lauren: "CHUCK+MONKEY4EVA"

Lauren: But I have to say that as someone who was initially not only resistant to, but actually disgusted by Gossip Girl, the show, in all its multifaceted horribleness, has really come to grow on me

Lauren: I went back and found all my posts tagged "Gossip Girl" - this first one is worth reading. And you HAVE to watch the video, the video is still amazing: http://the-hedgepig.blogspot.com/2010/08/you-cant-make-me-love-gossip-girl-if-i.html

Lauren: And the show came back from that and was on my "The Best" list last year:

"Dan and Blair (and Chuck?)
I know that it is never to be and that Chuck and Blair are meant to be together, but Dan's love for Blair and the possibility of them boning has kept me watching Gossip Girl even after I stopped reading Richard's Gawker TV recaps. And while Dan and Blair (Dair? Blan?) may never be a couple, that doesn't mean a future plot twist won't involve them knockin' da boots and putting everyone into a tizzy. MAKE IT HAPPEN, writers. Honestly, maybe THEY should all be polyamorous, Chuck and Dan seem to be getting pretty tight with all that talking and bonding they've been doing. Dan got him a DOG and Chuck named that dog MONKEY. That's at least worth a handy during a three-way."

These Are Links!

Just some stuff worth checking out.

First is this excellent interview with Tony Hale, whom we all know I adore, and he talks about The Creek!  It's awesome.

Next, also from the AV Club, is a really good article about ending shows before they get sad and terrible, much like we were just talking about.

And lastly, did you see Jason Segel be stoned and/or adorably nervous on The Daily Show a few weeks ago?  Priceless.

Go forth and see these things!

Save Charlie Sheen - Boycott Two And A Half Men!

Maybe I haven't expressed my disdain for Two And A Half Men on here before. It's a pedantic, sexist, moral vortex of a show that stars a pedantic, sexist, moral vortex of a human being. I can understand why ignorant people watch it, but I really don't understand the awards it's been given over the years. It sucks, basically, but both the show and its star have been given a pass for their repeatedly awful behavior because they make people money.

Charlie Sheen is clearly in need of a serious wake-up call, which he's not going to get when surrounded by enablers who are solely interested in having his warm, famous body available for filming. Someone needs to stand up and put the show on hiatus and get that dude some really, really intensive therapy.

EDIT: The president of the network won't do it, so it's up to us, folks.

You heard it here first: Boycott Two And A Half Men (not that you were watching it anyway, but it's the thought - and emails to CBS - that count) and save Charlie Sheen. As an added bonus, TAAHM will fade from our screens like the sounds of a siren coming to haul your violent, drug-addled naked body from the room with a prostitute that is next to the room where your children are sleeping, yet somehow, you do not get arrested. Enablers.

I like when doing the right thing coincides with doing the right thing for my TV.