
“Thank you, America, that’s our show. Not a lot of people watched it, but the joke’s on you, ’cause we got paid anyway.” – Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
I have lost many television shows in my day. I think back to the montage of flashbacks at the end of Lizzie McGuire right before Gordo kisses Lizzie. I asked two of my roommates for my privacy during the finales of Desperate Housewives, 30 Rock, and The Office. While I’m content with the TV shows in my life at the moment, I realize I’ll have to face the grief of watching another series finale episode and saying goodbye to the characters who have become part of my weekly life. Here are the well-calculated stages of grief of losing a TV show.
1. Denial. You hear the show is ending, and you scour the web to see if the rumors are true. Not my show! Not now! It could be canceled mid-season. There were signs, you think to yourself. It was eventually moved to a time slot where it was usually followed by infomercials or dated syndicated shows. Other times, you could tell the end was coming. The story line started dragging or becoming more absurd. In the most hopeful cases, the writers choose to end it on their own terms, giving them time to bring back your favorite characters and start to tie up loose ends in the story. But still, the end is inevitable.
2. Anger. How will I fill that one hour of my time?! Who will I turn to for life advice now that Liz Lemon is gone?! What will I base my relationships on without Jim and Pam?! I WAS A FAITHFUL AND LOYAL VIEWER. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME AGAIN?!!? Continue Reading