[Televisionary]

  Farewell, Team Braverman. It couldn't be more fitting that  Parenthood , which wrapped up its six-season run on Jan. 29, ended with a baseball game. The pilot episode of the Jason Katims-created show ( very  loosely based on the 1989 feature film) ended in the same fashion: After a negative experience, Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) doesn't initially want to play in his baseball game, but when he changes his mind, the entire Braverman clan races to get him there in time.  There's a beautiful sense of symmetry, therefore, to how  Parenthood 's final episode ended, with the Bravermans uniting to celebrate one of their own, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson), on the baseball diamond, fulfilling his wishes and bringing each other closer together in the process. With the series bookended both by the most American of sports — Crosby (Dax Shepard) once refers to baseball as the Bravermans' "religion" — and by Sarah (Lauren Graham) finding her true place (moving in with her

Was it all just a terrible nightmare? Malcolm in the Middle ’s Hal may have eaten too many fried Twinkies before bed, according to a new DVD extra. [UPDATED] At BuzzFeed, you can check out my latest post, "This Breaking Bad Alternate Ending Must Be Seen To Be Believed," in which I take a look at an alternate ending for AMC's Breaking Bad , one that invokes Newhart and, well, Malcolm in the Middle . Fans of AMC’s Breaking Bad continue to mourn the death of the antihero drama in their own unique ways, but thanks to this DVD extra — from the Breaking Bad: The Complete Series DVD box set, out November 26 — fans of the science-wielding antihero have yet another chance to imagine a different fate for Bryan Cranston’s Walter White. In this case, an alternate ending to the show itself, which — heavily borrowing from the iconic ending of Newhart (which referenced the earlier The Bob Newhart Show ) — imagines that the entire narrative of Breaking Bad was a dream exper

Blerg. 30 Rock will end its seven-season run later this month, meaning that we'll have to say goodbye to Liz Lemon, Jack Donaghy, and the TGS crew... though the show's creator, Tina Fey, isn't going anywhere just yet. In this week's Newsweek (and over at The Daily Beast), you can read my latest feature, " 30 Rock Wraps Up Seven Iconic Seasons," in which I examine the comedic legacy that the show leaves behind. Back in 2006, one of the year’s most highly anticipated new shows was a roman à clef set at a Saturday Night Live–style sketch comedy show. No, it wasn’t Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, but Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which also aired on NBC and died in 22 episodes. In fact, 30 Rock was very nearly canceled right out of the gate, with nearly half its 8.2 million viewers fleeing by the fourth week. But instead of being axed, 30 Rock became a sleeper hit. The show that gave us Liz Lemon and launched a thousand catchphrases (“Blerg!”) wraps up

"I may not always love you But long as there are stars above you You never need to doubt it I'll make you so sure about it God only knows what I'd be with you." Saying goodbye is never easy, particularly when it's a series as deeply nuanced and as emotionally resonant as HBO's Big Love , a groundbreaking series that subtly shifted our perceptions of what the television family drama could accomplish. Over five seasons, the audience witnessed the struggles of the Henrickson clan as they attempted to seek out their own destinies, both as a group and as individuals. This was a series that was centered around hearth and home, sex and salvation, faith and family. It was at times hugely operatic (Season Four, I'm looking at you), Shakespearean, or pared-down (the final season). But what Big Love accomplished was to deliver a look into a family that was markedly different, perhaps, than our own, but which also had the same growing pains, the same fears, the same

HBO's landmark drama series Big Love ended its run tonight with a fantastic series finale. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, " Big Love Series Finale: Its 12 Most Memorable Moments," in which I select the twelve best moments from Big Love 's entire run, including tonight's series finale, and allow you to relive these searing moments, thanks to our wonderful video team. Did your favorite moment make the list? Head to the comments section to discuss.

HBO's landmark drama series Big Love wraps up its run tonight with a fantastic series finale. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, " Big Love Series Finale: Its Ten Most Memorable Moments," in which I select the ten best moments from Big Love 's run ahead of tonight's series finale and allow you to relive these searing moments, thanks to our wonderful video team. Be sure to check back after the episode when I unveil my two additional moments from the series finale, which is gripping and emotional, to say the least, as well as my thoughts about the show's end. Did your favorite moment make the list? How do you think tonight's series finale will wrap up the last five years of storylines? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Yes, last night marked the end of Friday Night Lights and television--and perhaps the world--is a little sadder for its loss. I have two connected features over at The Daily Beast that tie into last night's series finale ("Always") of Friday Night Lights . The first is "Goodbye, Friday Night Lights ," a eulogy for the show, in which I examine the series' legacy and talk (briefly) to executive producer Jason Katims and series lead Connie Britton about the show's influence and its passing. The second is a fan-centric gallery-style feature , in which I talk to Katims and Britton about some of the more nitty-gritty aspects of the show. Just what was the deal with Hastings Ruckle? Why wasn't there a finale scene between Jason Street and Tim Riggins? Do they think the Julie/Derek storyline worked? Does Katims still stand behind Season Two's controversial Tyra/Landry plot? Was it tricky to play with the dynamic of Tami and Eric this season? How import

"Texas Forever." Those words have been spoken quite a few times throughout the five-season run of Friday Night Lights and each time they've been said with a slightly different meaning in mind. Early on, they represented the optimism and vitality of youth, of dreams for the future that were spoken by those who had yet to learn the lesson of loss. But here, they're some of the last words spoken in the series, a statement of freedom and happiness, yes, but they've been tempered by the experiences of the last few years for Tim Riggins. It's with a great deal of emotion that we've reached the end of the road with Friday Night Lights , which wrapped up its storylines and left the door open for the viewers to imagine the future ahead for the Taylors, for Julie and Matt Saracen, for Vince and the super-team of the Panthers, for Luke and Becky, and for Tim Riggins himself, finally able to build his house on his land. The series finale of Friday Night Lights (&quo

Welcome to this week's second look at Lost , in what will be my final column on Lost for some time to come now that the series has wrapped, amid some controversy (those ABC-inserted final shots!) and viewer polarization over the reveal of just what the Sideways/ Lost -X storyline was really about. As I have throughout this season, I'll be taking a second look at this week's episode of Lost ("The End") by responding to reader questions and comments submitted via comments, Twitter, and email. While I discussed "The End" in full over here (as well as a shorter piece over at The Daily Beast ), it's time to dive deeper and get to some further theories, doubts, and questions. (You can also catch me on this week's Instant Dharma critics roundup as well.) So, without further ado, let's pull the cork from the bottle, lay down in the bamboo grove, and discuss "The End." As I stated in my 4500-word review of the Lost series finale (which

"No one can tell you why you're here." I'm of two minds (and two hearts) about the two-and-a-half hour series finale of Lost ("The End"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender, which brought a finality to the story of the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 and the characters with which we've spent six years. At its heart, Lost has been about the two bookends of the human existence, birth and death, and the choices we make in between. Do we choose to live together or die alone? Can we let go of our past traumas to become better people? When we have nothing else left to give, can we make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good? In that sense, the series finale of Lost brought to a close the stories of the crash survivors and those who joined them among the wreckage over the course of more than 100 days on the island (and their return), offering up a coda to their lives and their deaths, a sort of purgatory for found, r

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my broad thoughts about the divisive series finale of Lost ("The End") before I post my detailed thoughts here. Head over to The Daily Beast, to read my piece, "The Infuriating Lost Finale," where I talk about my issues with the narrative and thematic conclusion of the series after six years. Do you agree? Disagree? Head to the comments section to discuss your take on Lost and "The End." (And the end.)

"A word in your shell-like, pal." With those final words, BBC One's extraordinary drama series Ashes to Ashes faded into the ether, offering a stunning series finale that was equal parts mythology and mystery, grounded in an emotional context for each of the characters that had me shamelessly weeping on the sofa by the end. For those of us who have been following the struggles of many of these characters since they first appeared on the scene in Ashes 's predecessor, Life on Mars , anticipation was running high that the end to the series would not only provide some vital answers to come of the central mysteries of these two series--such as the identity of Gene Hunt and the nature of this world--but also provide a sense of closure that befitted the legacy of Life on Mars and offered a catharsis of sorts to the viewers. It managed to accomplish just that and so much more, offering a series finale that I loved every second of and never wanted to end. Throughout its rem