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.