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Waiting for the fate of Jack Bauer, answers to “Lost”
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Sure, TV networks may already be looking ahead to the fall — they’re all gathered in New York this week unveiling next season’s line up to advertisers – but viewers are still anchored firmly in the present, waiting with bated breath to see how their favorite TV shows will leave them hanging through the summer — or, in some cases, permanently.
CW’s freshman breakout hit “The Vampire Diaries” was one of the first shows to wrap for the season last week with a heart-stopping finale that the New York Post’s PopWrap said set the bar “for which all other 2010 season finales will be judged.”
This week, season finales ramped up with more than a dozen dramas saying au revoir until the fall. Among those include “Desperate Housewives”, “Brothers and Sisters”, “House”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Mentalist”.
But what a lot of fans are likely waiting for is the line up next week, when long-running hit shows “24″ and “Lost” both bid a final farewell with 2 hour finales.
After eight seasons of fighting terrorism and losing nearly everyone close to him, what’s left for Jack Bauer? Has he finally reached the breaking point?
And what about “Lost” fans? Will they get a Sopranos-like ambiguous ending? Or, will they learn what the island’s mysterious light source represents and which one of the Oceanic Six will be chosen as its protector?
Many of TV’s top rated dramas are also wrapping up for the season next week: “NCIS”, “NCIS: Los Angeles”, “Criminal Minds”, and “The Good Wife”.
Meanwhile, networks are finally deciding the fate of “bubble shows”. Unfortunately for viewers, cancellations don’t always equal good riddance, meaning loyal fans will likely be left hanging — forever.
If you follow “FlashForward”, for example, be prepared to be frustrated by unanswered questions after the last episode airs on May 27th: ABC has canceled the promising, much-hyped sci-fi serial, opting to keep “V”, it’s other sci-fi drama, instead.
And what about “Heroes”, which aired its last episode of the year in early February? After a groundbreaking first season, the show’s ratings steadily eroded and NBC finally decided to let it go. (NBC, incidentally, also called it quits on “Law & Order” after a marathon 20-year run.)
Which finales are you looking forward to, or did you love? And did networks blow it with the shows they chose to ax? And what will you do during the long summer hiatus?
Me — at least I’ve got “True Blood” and “Mad Men”.
Cast members Paul Wesley (L) and Nina Dobrev (R) participate in the panel for the CW series “The Vampire Diaries” during the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California January 9, 2010. REUTERS/Phil McCarten
Cast member Cherry Jones (L) of the series “24″ participates in a panel discussion with co-star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland at the Fox Broadcasting Company Winter 2010 Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, January 11, 2010. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
Cast member Jorge Garcia of the series “Lost” participates in a panel discussion about its final season at the Disney ABC winter 2010 Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, January 12, 2010. REUTERS/Danny Molosh
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I began watching 24 with the beginning of Season 7 and since then I have watched a few of the early Seasons. I have found the show as being prophetic politically and even though it is a fantasy it has a “real” feel to it. In addition I have found it to be one of the most exciting TV series I have ever watched and I have been watching TV since the late 50s. I have read some articles that speculate that the next 24 will be a movie most probably made in England or Europe. I am looking forward to it.