Ending a Series Is Hard to Do

Sunday, 23 May 2010 | by Pat's Picks

Ahead of tonight’s “Lost” finale the Chicago Tribune takes a look at what it takes to successfully end a series. Reporter Christopher Borrelli describes the hard task of summing up a show this way: “A TV finale is a staged mercy killing that has become so hyped that by the time the moment arrives, one gathers the feeling that the entire worth and importance of a series somehow rests in its end.” Borrelli looks at some great ones, like “Everybody Loves Raymond” and ones that left us wanting more, e.g., “The Sopranos.” He points out the final episode of “Rosanne” as an example of one that overreached, “The Wire” as one that “neither hurt nor help,” and “The Cosby Show” as an ending that “no one remembers at all.”

Tvseriesfinale.com is a site dedicated to chronicling last episodes.

And if you feel like being frustrated all over again, scroll down for “The Sopranos” finale.