Monday, June 11, 2007

Big TV Night

Yes, the state of events in my hometown is such that television is currently a highlight of my life.

Tonight, of course, was the series finale of The Sopranos. If you actually care about the show but haven't seen the finale yet, stop reading now because I'm about to spoil it for you.
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I told you to stop reading.
So here's the thing: I didn't love the ending. Obviously. I don't know if ANYONE will claim to love the ending. In fact, my initial reaction--after determining that the TV hadn't suddenly gone out because of the torrential rain storm we were having here at the time and that the ending actually was supposed to be that way--was to yell, "What the fuck, David Chase?!"
But then I thought about it for a while, and now an hour later I'm thinking that while I don't love the ending, I didn't entirely hate it. The thing is, by opting not to have an actual ending, the show was able to avoid the cliches of a)gigantic, Hamlet-esque slaughter of everyone or b) family driving off semi-happily into the sunset [to join the witness protection program], which when you think about it were the only two possibilities for complete closure (I suppose there is option c) Tony goes to prison, but in my opinion that would have been even more anticlimactic than the actual ending). And absolutely nobody could have seen that ending coming. So I guess I have to give the show some credit for pulling one over on everyone and for escaping a cliched ending.
Also, the last five minutes of actual show were incredibly suspenseful. I spent the whole ending peering out at the TV from begin my fingers, wondering which person in the diner was going to be the hitman and whether Tony was gonna get it, or Meadow out in her car, or maybe the whole entire family. That was quality TV.
But to leave us hanging was ultimately a cop out, and that's the problem with the ending. It leaves you the opportunity to make your own conclusions--which I might point out is much more revolutionary for television than it is for theatre; endings like that happen fairly often in plays--but it doesn't give the closure one expects after investing in something for seven seasons. I'm okay with not having that closure, but I'm betting 90% of fans are going to HATE it.
The Tony Awards were also on TV tonight. Spring Awakening swept them, which doesn't surprise me at all because it's a fantastic show. So I'm happy about that.
Tonight was also another basketball playoff game, which I don't care about at all whatsoever.

As for the parts of my life that don't involve television, I'm still enjoying this bartending gig. I really thought I would hate the part of the job where you are expected to chat with your customers sitting at the bar, but I have been surprised to find out that I kind of like meeting new people and hearing what they have to say. Mostly I'm just amazed at the fact that I like this job so much more than I liked waiting tables. I hope the novelty doesn't wear off right away, I would actually like to enjoy this job for at least another week or two.

Also, I have been making a conscious effort to eat healthier and work out a lot ever since I have been home, and it's probably my imagination since it has only been a week, but I swear my jeans are already fitting better. I don't think I could possibly have gotten more toned or even lost an entire pound in just a week, so it's probably just a placebo effect, but it's making me happy either way.

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