What.  Was.  That.  Stuff!?  It was awesome.

In all seriousness though, I was so excited for this show when I first heard about its premise this time last year, and the anticipation grew once the first teaser was released, and then again when NBC.com decided to leak an eight minute preview of the pilot episode.  13 episodes later, I still marvel at the fact that a series as creative as this made it to air.  I’m grateful for every second, even the episodes where nothing really happened, because of Awake’s innovation, originality and successful dramatic elements.

Just a quick summary on the premise of this show, in case you’re reading this even though you’ve never heard of or seen Awake; Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) was in a car accident with his wife, Hannah (Laura Allen), and his son, Rex (Dylan Minnette).  After the accident, Michael existed in two realities.  In one reality, his wife survived and his son died; in the other, Rex lived and Hannah perished in the accident.  He switches between these realities whenever he falls asleep.  In each of these realities, Michael has different partners, different cases, and different psychiatrists, each of whom are trying to convince Michael that the other reality he’s experiencing isn’t the real one.  It can get tricky.

WARNING: THAR’S SPOILERS IN THEM THAR PARAGRAPHS BELOW!

Throughout this season, we learn that aspects of Michael’s cases in one reality, can tie-in and help him solve different cases in the other reality.  We also start to see some breaks in the realities when Michael starts hallucinating a penguin, going days without switching realities, and ultimately having a conversation between himself in one reality and himself in another…in the same room (yeah, that bonkers).  The show as a whole was an interesting look into dealing with loss and some of the things we do to cope with it, all the while maintaining its footing in the realm of a procedural cop drama.  

The over-arching story for this season, other than the fact that Det. Michael Britten is convinced he lives in two realities and doesn’t care why or how, is the conspiracy behind his car accident.  We aren’t led onto such a malevolence ‘til the second or third episode, but that story gave us another reason to be hooked by the show.  I mean, the conspiracy itself wasn’t something spectacular, but inside the world of Awake it was something that became personal to the viewer because of the premise of the show.  The case tie-ins between realities helped the dramatic effect of the final conspiracy reveal.  Come to think of it, every thing that would’ve have existed in a normal, over-arching cop drama existed in this show, but because of what this show was, these aspects were inherently more intriguing.

The whole run of Awake culminated into a fantastic final episode.  We learn of the extent of the conspiracy involving Hawkins, Kessel and Harper, and of course this wouldn’t be a show about split realities if the conspiracies didn’t go opposite directions in their respective realities.  In the world where Hannah survives, Michael is jailed for killing Bird, and no one believes his conspiracy theory.  Meanwhile, in the Rex-is-alive reality, Hawkins dies, Bird finds the drugs, and Harper kills Kessel before she is brought to justice.  

Through several scenes that can only be described as Michael losing his mind within his mind, we are led to specifically and purposely debate on which reality is the true reality.  Scenes where Michael is followed down a prison hallway by both shrinks, and Vega, half-dressed in a penguin suit that plays and rewinds Harper killing Kessel in the motel room for Michael, make us question everything about the realities.  I tend to talk a lot out loud when I’m watching television by myself, so the fact that I was kept saying, “What in the hell,” over and over again really wasn’t that out of the ordinary for me…but it was for the show.  Awake had reached a Lost-level of frustration for me; I loved and hated it.

By the end of the hour, it appears that the Rex reality is the true reality.  Michael sits in his shrinks’ office as she tries to convince him that it’s good that he’s possibly accepting this reality as the only reality.

Then she freezes in time.  Michael then gets up, walks out of the door into his bedroom, wearing no colored wristband.  The color of the scene is neutral and corrected; not overly warm or cool (Hannah/Rex realities respectively).  He walks downstairs to be greeted by both Rex and Hannah, as if it was just another morning.  Michael smiles and briefly blinks, and in that blink, we cut to black.  The show is over.

AAAAGGHHH!!!

I was flipping out, and loved every minute of it.  Some people would be upset by the ambiguity of the ending, but I love the questions it raises, and the trust it puts in the audience to come up with their own conclusion.  Was it all a dream?  Are all three dead? Has a third reality been created?  What!?

I’m not telling you what I think.  It doesn’t matter.  I did some research, a.k.a. following show-runner Kyle Killen’s Twitter feed, and it turns out that regardless of whether Awake had been picked up for a second season, the ending would have been the same. Interesting.  But, personally, I’m glad the show ended when it did.  It was a great idea, but for a long-running series, I just don’t see that concept carrying on that long.  Awake went out strong, and that’s how every great show should go.

I felt my title pun appropriate.  If you’ve seen the episode then you should get it.  If not, well, go download it or something.

So last night, for the first time in a long while, I actually sat down to watch House during it’s regular scheduled air time, and not eight days later on Hulu.  I’ve already covered one series finale this season (Rescue Me), and I watched that when it originally aired as well.  My schedule’s pretty busy, but I specifically make time to watch finales of shows I have grown fond of over the years, and especially ones that last as long as House.  After eight seasons, it was time for Dr. Gregory House to say good-bye, for better or worse.

WARNING: BEYOND HERE LIE SPOILERS, MATEY!

It seems almost mandatory that a series finale of a show lasting as long as House has, and having gone through a collection of memorable characters as many as House has, would have reprising roles from afore mentioned characters.  For the majority of this episode (which is called “Everybody Dies;” a play-off of one of House’s favorite mantras.), House is trapped inside a burning building and is visited by people in his head that have been important at some point in his life.  First we see Kutner (Kal Penn), then move on to Amber, aka “Cutthroat Bitch” (Anne Dudek), followed by Stacy Warner (Sela Ward), and finally Cameron (Jennifer Morrison).  As these different “Ghosts of House’s Past” visit him, they bring with them arguments and points of view that allow House’s internal monologue to be externalized as he attempts to go through with his suicide by staying inside the burning building.

During these events, we’re treated to flashbacks of the case-of-the-week, which at this point, isn’t vital to the show at all.  It’s just something that is familiar that keeps us grounded.  This week, the patient is a drug addict in a business suit who happens to actually have something wrong with him, you know, other than the whole “I’m jonesin’ for a taste, man!” thing.  These flashbacks are presented from House’s point of view, which is fitting because the show has become solely about him and nobody else, kinda like that character’s outlook on life.  

Meanwhile, Wilson and Foreman are running around looking for House because no one’s heard from him in two days.  They know House has pretty much lost it all; his job, his best friend, his freedom, and because of this, they worry that House may have done something stupid or suicidal.  Well, they’re right.  He’s done both, or in the process of such actions.

After arguing with his hallucination buddies, House has gone from suicidal, to wanting to escape, back to suicidal, and then back again to wanting to live.  The whole process is kind of silly, but we really get to see the struggle House is going through, and we get to see Cameron again, whom we’ve all missed very much.  She’s pretty.

In the climax of the episode, Wilson and Foreman finally find House inside the burning building as the fire trucks arrive.  We see House hobble towards the front door, but then a fiery beam collapses, cutting off his exit.  Wilson starts to run toward the inferno, but Foreman holds him back seconds before a massive explosion rocks the building and throws the wannabe rescuers to the ground.  At this point, I’m thinking it very appropriate for House to die.  While we all love a happy ending, it suits House’s character perfectly that someone as selfish and angry would go out with a bang as his spirit ventures on to…nowhere…because House doesn’t believe in an afterlife.

Coming back from the last act break, all of House’s current colleagues are standing and sitting outside of the smoking and water drenched abandoned remnants of the conflagration that had apparently taken the life of Dr. Gregory House.  Afterward, we see Foreman and Wilson in the morgue waiting to hear the confirmation of their friend’s dead body.  And from there, we are at House’s funeral, with colleagues and “friends” putting in their two cents about what the late doctor meant to them…

And it’s at this point that I say out loud, “He’s not dead.”  I thought it totally right up House’s alley to fake his own death, especially after we consider his eight years of pranks and ill-advised jokes that have made his character so memorable.  At one point during Wilson’s eulogy to House, Wilson lets loose; calling his departed friend everything short of an “asshole.”  At this point, his phone receives a text message from an unknown number.  ”Shut up, you idiot,” it reads.  And it was at this point that I said out loud, “I knew it!”  I then realized that I was the only person in the room.

Wilson then drives to House’s apartment, and sees House sitting on the stoop.  Wilson gets upset at first for House putting him and all of the people that cared about him through the ordeal of dealing with House’s death, but in one final gesture that is both selfish and caring at the same time, House asks Wilson what he wants to go do for the last five months of his life.  For those of you not keeping up at home, House will no longer go back to prison after his “vandalism” stunt because everyone thinks he’s dead.  Now it’s all about Holmes and Watson - err, I mean, House and Wilson.

Lastly, we see a montage of all of House’s colleagues moving out without him in various scenes showing how they have learned from the great doctor all while Mr. Warren Zevon plays his beautiful “Keep Me In Your Heart For A While.”  House and Wilson ride off into the proverbial sunset on motorcycles and all is well with the world.

Phew, okay, enough summary.  If you’re still with me, time for analysis.  I’ll keep it brief.

The majority of critics are extremely dissatisfied with this finale, and how the series has progressed in general.  I am not one of those critics.  I feel like many people have missed the point of House.  What began as a medical show about an eccentric doctor with a pill addiction who took on strange and unusual cases, successfully evolved, or devolved, into a character study on one Dr. Gregory House.  The show became like its title character; selfish.  But this isn’t something to be mad about; it’s flaws that we, as an audience, oftentimes find endearing.  We fell in love with the character, thusly falling in love with the show.  House never changed, and we didn’t care.  We loved his brilliance, quick wit, sarcasm, pain, and struggle.  For us, and the show, it became less about the medical mysteries, and more about the characters.  I mean, it’s hard to take the hospital aspect of the show seriously when after four seasons the jokes start about, “I hope I’m never a patient in that hospital.  They really suck at finding out what’s wrong with people.”

I’m as sad as anyone to see this show go, but in all honesty, it was time.  It’s not that we grew tired of House’s antics or saw the show spiraling down the drains of the creative television industry, but I like to think that because House and the characters have been through so much, it was time to put an end to it all; have the characters move on.  And after Lisa Edelstein’s departure from the show last season, this season was inevitably destined to be the final chapter.  We should be fine with that.  All good things must come to an end.

And that’s that.  Play us out, Hugh.

I’ve been waiting for inspiration to post again another the moniker of “Through the Box,” and it finally hit me today.

Earlier this week it was announced that the critically beloved and fanatically adored meta-sitcom, Community, would be coming back for a fourth season.  Upon hearing that initial news, any fan of the show would be grateful.  However, there are a considerable number of catches that come with the renewal, many of which will affect the show creatively and jeopardize fans’ hopes for the now well known Twitter hashtag, #sixseasonsandamovie.

The first piece of less-than-desirable news that came with the renewal announcement was that the episode order only included 13 episodes.  Personally, I don’t see this as being too much of a problem.  Granted, it’s disappointing to hear that we won’t be getting 20+ episodes of television’s smartest sitcom, but 13 is better than zero.  I regret I haven’t written anything about Lost yet, even though I’ve mentioned it quite a bit, but the last three seasons of that epic drama were short episode orders, and the show did fine.  Some could see an order that short on a basic cable network as an indication of a show’s end, but there’s been no news of cancellation, so let’s try and stay positive.

But it’s hard to stay positive when it was announced on Friday that Community showrunner and creator, Dan Harmon, would not be returning to his post as captain of the S.S. Greendale.  Some reports say Harmon was “fired,” while others simply stated that he was “stepping down.”  The majority of reports do say that Harmon will still be a part of the show in a “consulting” capacity, although he will be less in charge of the day-to-day goings on.  NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt spoke to members the press earlier in the week and was quoted as saying, “I expect Dan [Harmon]’s voice to be a part of the show somehow.”  So I guess that’s not the worst thing in the world.  

The two men taking over the reigns of Community are David Guarascio and Moses Port. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know their names, but their body of work is very admirable.  Both have worked as consulting producers on the ABC comedy hit Happy Endings and the fantastically funny Just Shoot Me for NBC back in the late 1990s.  Although I’m concerned that under this new direction, Community won’t be what it has been in the past, I’m fairly confident that Guarascio and Port will keep the ball rolling and produce successful and funny content.

The last hitch that came with Community’s renewal was probably the most disappointing.  When NBC released their television schedule for the Fall of 2012, Community was placed at the dreaded “death slot” known as Friday night, with a freakin’ Whitney lead-in of all things (adding insult to injury).  Friday nights are where shows go to die, i.e. Firefly, Chuck, Fringe.  However, I can somewhat understand this move after last year’s mid-season announcement that Fringe would be moving to that time slot.  FOX’s reasoning was that basically Fringe had acquired all of the audience it was ever going to get that mattered for ratings, and that moving it to Friday nights would neither help nor hurt the show because of its already loyal fanbase and DVR/Hulu viewership.  The same case could be made for Community; the viewers watching it now are probably the viewers that will keep watching it ‘til the end.  This is not a show that people watch just because it’s on, i.e. Two and a Half Men, Law & Order.  Those are the types of shows that make money for networks and advertisers, and unfortunately a lot of those aren’t spectacularly creative investments.  The Friday death slot will not harm Community, in my opinion, but it is an indication that NBC has given up on making money off of the show, but wants to keep the audience happy, which is somewhat admirable.

I just watched Community’’s third season finale, and honestly, as much as I’m looking forward to brand new episodes in the fall, I would’ve been completely content with having “Introduction to Finality” being the episode that ended it all.  It was dark, yet heartwarming and as funny as ever.  The characters have grown so much since we first were introduced to them in that study room in the Greendale library back in 2009.  And if we can take anything from just the fact that this show has been renewed for a fourth season, let it be hope.  When there’s a glimmer of hope for a show of this caliber, hold on to that for dear life and embrace it.  After all, it’s fans like us that have really kept this show going.

Also, Leonard had a fantastic and riveting review of Let’s Potato Chips.  I’m gonna go grab a bag right now.

criticalfilmstudies:

paradigms-of-a-time-lord-memory:

lizayzay:

grace-violets:

jelly-babies-to-manual:

Maybe the reason why Community is on hiatus is because NBC is doing an experiment on us all. They’re just waiting for our breaking point.

i reached the breaking point the day they announced the hiatus…