Sunday is the series finale for both Lost and Law and Order. Monday is the series finale of 24. In a span of twenty-four hours, three of the most influential television shows of the past twenty years (all-time too I would argue) will be over. That is really something when you think about it.
I never did care for Lost or 24 but I will agree they were influential. Both probably should have ended a couple years back, though. 24, by what I've read from fans, had passed its sell-by date around the time they did that TV movie. Lost, to its credit, announced an exit strategy well in advance. More shows should be as bold. Not that I want to see it happen, and boy people would bitch about it, but if Steven Moffat were to say "We're ending Doctor Who at the end of Season 33" (they're in #31 now) it would be sad, but also quite exciting. Sort of like how Lost fans no doubt feel.
As for Law & Order as far as I'm concerned that show was timeless. Arguments over "it overstayed its welcome" I think are pointless because the series continually reinvented itself with new cast, and with plotline ideas being provided mostly by the daily news. Some combinations of actors worked better than others - no one could top Jerry Orbach as the veteran cop, while the Sam Waterston/Jill Hennessey team should have stayed together for a few more years. And having real-life senator Fred Thompson play the DA was just cool.
The sad part is we'll never see a scripted show make it this far again. The Simpsons made it, of course, and will continue to be the standard bearer for long-lived American shows probably for a few more years (I expect it'll make it to 25). But even though we have a few shows entering their second decade like the original CSI I don't expect to see it go the stretch.
I was thinking back to where I was and what I was doing when L&O first went on the air (I don't recall watching the first episode, though I did start watching not long after). I was midway through my B.A. in university. I'd never encountered the Internet (though I think we were just playing around with dial-up BBS'es in the days when it took an hour to download a JPEG if a heavy truck didn't pass down the street outside). Bush Sr. was president. Mulroney was Prime Minister. Terms like global warming, collateral damage and weapons of mass destruction were unknown to most people. 9/11 was just a typo for the emergency phone number (and many places didn't even have 911 yet). Videogames were clunky cartridges. I still had a full head of hair and the energy to go all night without sleep and still work a full day afterwards.
It's amazing how much water has passed under the bridge since L&O (and for that matter The Simpsons) started. How many people we know (famous and not famous) who weren't even conceived when L&O hit the air.
So, yeah, it's definitely a major end of an era. Inevitable, but still sad. I read that there were some people upset that L&O didn't get a finale episode. I'm actually glad it didn't because its strength was the fact it thrived on completely standalone episodes with little or no backstory or ongoing continuity. There was some, and the writers tossed in tantalizing clues here and there (most notably the love affair between Jack and Claire), but for L&O to just end with no great "going off into the sunset" moment, I think is completely appropriate for the show.
And we also don't know yet what the plans are for LOLA. If all they end up doing is transporting characters from L&O out west, then it could be argued that LOLA could really be simply Season 21. Which is great if it doesn't turn into the 21st century equivalent of AfterMASH...
Alex
