We could spend days coming up with a list of great endings. And whichever ones we propose, you'll have plenty of others to counter ours. The ending we most wanted to see but didn't was the finale to the "Murder, She Wrote" series. It would have been much better, in our opinion, to learn that Jessica Fletcher had, in fact, committed the murders herself (after all, she was there every time), and the episodes were brilliant exercises in pinning the blame elsewhere.
Of endings that did come to pass, here are three of our favorites:
TV: One of the best television finales has to be "Newhart," in particular the moment he wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette, thus turning the entire series into a dream of the character from "The Bob Newhart Show." Genius.
Movies: We sometimes think term Capraesque, often used as a synonym for 'feel-good', isn't the right one for It's a Wonderful Life, since much of the movie is actually quite dark and despairing. But, by the end, when friends and neighbors turn up with those bushels of dollars, the movie earns its title, and its distinction as one of the greatest endings in movies.
Theater: As 11 o'clock numbers go, it's hard to think of anything that can top "Rose's Turn" from the musical "Gypsy." It's been described as a musical breakdown (and keep in mind that the musical premiered in 1959) -- a gut-wrenching paroxysm of missed opportunities and familial wounds. See for yourself when the show returns to Broadway next month starring Patti LuPone.
written on Friday Feb 8, 2008
3 great endings.
