Well, I must say I am both sad and relieved that two shows Carolyn & I watched religiously for 8 years (actually only 7 for Malcolm) are both over. (Malcolm In The Middle, That 70’s Show).
Malcolm In The Middle always annoyed me by being so family-oriented, but as the show progressed, the boys got older, the plots grew even more twisted, and as much as I tried not enjoying it, and stopping watching it, I couldn’t help it: It was always on before King Of The Hill and/or The Simpsons, and it always made me laugh despite me wanting to think it wasn’t funny. It was. The finale was really just another episode with a goodbye speech thrown in at the end. It wasn’t really much in the way of a series-closer, but it did give some slight closure.
That 70’s Show did indeed jump the shark before the final season. When Eric Foreman (Topher Grace) and Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) both left the show, everyone kinda felt like “what the hell? How can the show even go on with 2 of the 4-or-so main characters going AWOL?”. However, the season was still mildly entertaining. And the finale provided a lot of closure. Maybe not as much as the Six Feet Under finale (um — I’ve neverwitnessed a finale as thorough on closure as Six Feet Under. Never.), but at least we get a sense of who ends up with who.
As all sitcoms must eventually denegrate into soap opera-ish love triangles, it is important that these triangles at least conclude before the series ends. They are a waste of time enough, but without closure it would be a damn insult.
Anyway, I am very happy that by That 70’s Show ceasing to exist, I no longer have to deal with having two shows that I like (Smallville, That 70’s Show) come on at the same time. And I’m very happy that by Malcolm ending, we are one step closer to a Fox sunday night that will start with The Simpsons at 8PM. instead of starting at 7PM. All we need now is for King Of The Hill to be cancelled, and then 7PM-8PM will be totally free.
I’m trying not to watch shows on TV as they air anymore. We’re down to: Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, King Of The Hill, 24, South Park, Drawn Together, and Smallville. Once upon a time, the roster was twice as large. But we’ve avoided taking on any new network shows. Frasier has filled the void nicely as we’ve watched 200 episodes since January.
Anyway, I want the shows I like to end so I can move on to new stuff. But I’m a religious completist when it comes to television, and I absolutely will not abandon any show I really like.
SPOILERS: STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS FOR 70’S SHOW OR FRIENDS. So, I was happy to see that Eric came back, Kelso too, and Donna & Eric got back together at the last minute. No real reason, and it was totally contrived, but hey — hit me with a contrived feelgood moment anytime an I will probably be entertained if I care about the characters.
I was glad to see them back together, just like I was glad to see Ross & Rachel back together (again) at the end of Friends.
And I was glad to see Malcolm graduate and get the hell out of his mom’s roof.
A lot of good shows have ended recently, and not as many replacements have filled the void. This will allow us to watch more off the wall stuff that people haven’t heard of with the spare time left over. Yay.
May 21, 2006 at 2:39 PM
Are there people still out there who would be taken offguard by a Friends spoiler?
May 21, 2006 at 3:25 PM
Well… after the “MORE” link, I talked about 2 (well, 3 really) shows in a way that would ruin the finale. It seemed incomplete to mention 70’s without mentioning Friends. (I didn’t mention Malcolm because it’s not really serialized.)
Besides, not everyone is a member of the herd. Some people, gasp, actually wait until things come out on dvd to view. Some countries don’t get shows until years later. They can’t buy the dvd releases because of Hollywood’s dvd region encoding scam.
I also think the average reader wouldn’t know the ending, because the average human does not watch friends. I wouldn’t want to ruin it in advance if they decided to watch Friends later… (A photographic memory must be really terrible for spoilers.)
We still haven’t watched the last 62 episodes of Frasier yet, so… I wouldn’t want any spoilers from that, and that ended before Friends. :)
January 9, 2007 at 5:12 PM
Yeah I am a huge fan of Malcolm in the Middle mainly because I admire Justin Berfield a great deal, but also because it has this feel to it that I enjoy. The sad thing is it wasn’t until right before season 7 ended that I really started liking it this much. It was actually sometime in late 2005 that I started noticing repeats of season 5 and enjoyed it so much I watched it everyday. I now have 4 out of 7 seasons on this computer(my laptop) and enjoy watching all of the episodes I have missed.
On another note I really loved that 70’s show until Eric left. Then it wasn’t as good from a personal point of view.
It was still sad that the show had to end.
And once I finish watching every episode of Malcolm in the Middle, I am sure I will miss it even more and wish for it to come back. =(
January 9, 2007 at 6:55 PM
@Vicky: See? Not everyone watches in sync. ;P
@Jimmy: Justin Berfield?! I had to look him up to realize he was “the violent one” (Reese). Well, to each his own. He’s had a career with 17 roles, we’ll see if he goes anywhere from MItM. He was funny, but I thought he was the least talented of the 3 ‘main’ brothers, in terms of acting. Or maybe that’s just my opinion of his role…
That 70’s Show without Eric did indeed suck. But it was worth having that sham of a season, if that’s what it took for them to write a real finale. Series that end without finale suck!
January 9, 2007 at 7:20 PM
Touché! :)
February 17, 2007 at 9:12 AM
If you like Malcolm in the Middle, you should check out Fox’s new show The Winner by Seth McFarlane (of The Family Guy & American Dad). It stars Rob Corddry and is bound to be great! Check out clips at http://www.fox.com
February 22, 2007 at 3:36 AM
Malcolm In The Middle is and always will be the best show ever.
June 23, 2007 at 3:30 AM
That 70’s show is my favourite show ever. Malcolm in the middle used to be until I discovered That 70’s show. I’m sad they’ve both ended but I’ve only seen seasons 1-6 of That 70’s show and season 1 of MITM so I still have a while to go until I have seen them all.
July 9, 2007 at 9:17 PM
I think that 70’s show was the most retarded, unfunny, slowpaced show i’ve ever seen w/ forced comedy.
Malcolm >>> 70’s show
‘cept topher grace OWNS :D
August 22, 2007 at 2:28 PM
“Besides, not everyone is a member of the herd. Some people, gasp, actually wait until things come out on dvd to view.”(Clint)
Clint, I am one of the people who are very careful not to watch shows like Prison Break, or 24 or Lost, unless it was on DVD. However, malcolm in the middle and 70’s show are the kind of shows that I can not eat my lunch without watching them; but I don’t need them to be on DVD because I record them on my DVR and I don’t need them to be as good quality needed for Lost or the others.
November 18, 2007 at 9:56 PM
the guy that said malcom in the middle is and always will be..well he s a very smart person lol
January 3, 2008 at 9:26 PM
im quiet depressed that malcolm in the middle finished i lovedand think it the best sit com ever i know it sound sad but i miss it
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