Favorite (or Least Favorite) Series Finale

[jekylljuice]

Originally Posted by koosie

There was documentary on over Christmas that showed the filming of the final sequence of Blackadder Goes Forth. The original scene showed them falling one by one in real time and it looked pretty unconvincing. It was supposedly a complete afterthought to slow it down and fade into another image yet it really is a powerful and memorable peice of television.

Originally Posted by taranchula

It's amazing how the least thought of option, turned out to be the best one. And as I've said before made one almost forget they were watching a comedy.

Father Ted is another example in which a quick last minute tweaking went on to produce a much better and more satisfying conclusion than was originally planned. Believe it or not, the final episode, "Going to America", was originally set to end with a despondent Ted rejoining Father Kevin and the two of them jumping from a window ledge, presumably to their deaths. However, the sudden and extremely tragic death of Dermot Morgan a day after the completion of the series' filming prompted them to abandon this ending, and instead we got the classic montage sequence, topped off with one final shot of the parochial house and the overheard sounds of Ted and Dougal wishing one another goodnight. In my opinion, a perfect and really very touching ending to a truly wonderful show. It's just sad that it took the death of the actor in question for it to come about (though the show's writers have stated that they didn't feel happy with the original ending regardless).

Spoiler Below

The writers have pointed out that, for all the warmth and reassurance of those final moments, it remains, from Ted's perspective, a pretty darned bleak conclusion, since he's finally forced to resign himself to the probability that he'll never escape from Craggy Island. But there is nonetheless something beautifully bittersweet about the implication, in the revised ending, that he will tolerate his situation and continue to put up with the frustrating likes of Jack, Dougal and Mrs Doyle (as opposed to the deadening sense of finality which the original would undoubtedly have brought about). Added to which, this ending really successfully managed to emphasise the tragedy of Dermot's death (it still puts a lump in my throat whenever I see it), and provided him with the most beautiful send-off imaginable.

RIP Dermot, you are still very sorely missed.