Song Stuck In My Head: “Call
Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepson. We are all allowed to fall in love with one
corny pop song per year. I have chosen my one.
Well, this is it guys…the
last of our series on how season finales teach us so much.
So let’s finish with less
scripted (not unscripted, just less scripted) shows, AMERICAN IDOL and SATURDAY
NIGHT LIVE.
AMERICAN IDOL teaches us DON’T
FORGET ALL ENDINGS HAVE TEARS.
We usually expect a sad
ending to be the one with waterworks. The hero died, the hero lost, the hero
failed (at least until the next book) so let’s all cry. But as Phillip Phillips
(should I keep a tally of how many times I blogged about this dude?) proved,
even the happiest ending of your life means tears.
After winning the eleventh
season of American Idol (out of who knows how many more seasons) Phillip
Phillips has a lot of expectations. The past few seasons, we hadn’t had a mega
successful winner. So maybe Phillip squared won over the majority of the
American Idol audience with his soulfulness and mad guitar-playing and “artistry”
and the veins that pop in his head when he sings. But will he win over all of
American music-listeners? Lot of pressure for a dude.
But then we forget that
sometimes, no one cares about the future. Humble Mr. Phillips only knew that he
had made it through weeks of rehearsals, boot camps, nail-biting, product
placements, friendships, eliminations, and critics…to WIN. That’s a lot of
emotion. So during his final song, Phillip didn’t even bother to finish. The
second the necessary confetti started to stream down, he just left the stage to
go hug his family, who’d been with him throughout it all. Even with a
beautiful, happy ending…tears happen.
It’s his party, he’ll cry if
he wants to.
Harry Potter translation:
Remember the end of Deathly Hallows? Not the epilogue. The happy ending. When
everyone is relieved for it all to be over, and is crying and hugging their own
family. When all the headmasters of Hogwarts clap and cheer Harry, and
Dumbledore wipes away a tear of pride? It may be a happy ending, but there’s
still going to be tears and emotion. You know it.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE teaches
us… DO SAY YOUR GOODBYES.
After a wild season finale
filled with Mick Jagger poking fun at everyone from Steven Tyler to himself,
Stefan’s plans for a fun New York summer, a triple threat with Foo Fighters and
Arcade Fire and Jeff Beck, SNL had a surprise ending for one of its departing
alumni Kristin Wiig.
Kristin was one of the
actresses there when I started watching the show a few years ago, so it makes
sense she’s my favorite SNL actress. All you have to do is take one look at her
million or so reoccurring characters, all the fan favorites. The Target lady.
Travel expert Janet. The bigheaded actress who is both horrible at playing
Password and somehow the only celebrity they could get to play. GILLY! Even
though SNL actors do come and go, you know Kristin, who had recent success with
Bridesmaids and all, will stand out as one of the special ones.
So what did SNL do? Mick
Jagger started what seemed to be a graduation skit, calling Kristin Wiig to the
stage. But then it turned out to be a send-off for the actress. Each cast
member and even some of the producers came up one by one, saying their
goodbyes. It was all sweet and nostalgia-heavy.
In a series, not all the
characters go on. If there’s a character leaving, don’t just tick them off like
flies. If they mattered to the story, give them their own proper send-off.
Having everyone come onstage to hug them might not be possible, but give them
the recognition they deserve. After all, like how SNL alumni host the show
sometimes, you never know when you might need to bring a character back. So end
on a good note, okay?
Hunger Games translation: I
know it isn’t at the end of the book, but Rue. That’s all I really need to say.
But Katniss was pretty good at giving almost all the contestants a send-off,
whether it be a silent goodbye to Thresh after he saved her or not letting Cato
suffer. They were all important characters, whether good or bad, and they all
got a proper ending.
Yep. That’s it.
Really. We have to say
goodbye. But just for now, I promise!
DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!
YOU KNEW WHAT THIS WAS!
YOU’LL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH
10-12 WEEKS OF SYNDICATED EPISODES OKAY? THAT’S HOW IT IS!!!
Wait, this is a blog, not a
TV show? Oh. Whew. Okay then.
Later.
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