television endings - accompanies reading for jason mittell's work on complex television and...
TRANSCRIPT
The Ends
Complex TV
All Ends, But Not All Ends ConcludeThe Final Part of Anything The Sought Part (Finale)
Stoppage
– Abrupt and unplanned
– Extratextually motivated
– Enigmas that may have been central remain unresolved
Wrap-Ups
• Not completely arbitrary narratively but unplanned endings nonetheless
• Usually at season’s end, with natural stopping points, some resolution reached
• Lack of finality
Wrap-ups are partial resolutions especially concerning complex series with seasonal arcs!!!
Conclusion
• Full intend to create a finalizing episode and statement,
• Resolutions can be offered since the end point was given in due time
• RARE: working against industry standards, but becoming normalized by cable series (BB, BSG) and event series (Fargo, Lost, AHS)
Variations Cessation
• The End is unannounced, stands without clarity (often fleeting)
Resurrection
• A clear End was announced, but circumstances warrant the material to be revived (same or other medium)
This is a FINALE
• Conclusion that is hyped, awaited and anticipated, celebrated, and turns into a cultural event: discourse over narrative
This conclusion is NEVER Thrust on Creators
Fan expectations and authorial delivery supersede narrative form and content.
Making it WorkMeta-Storytelling or “Nostalgia”
• Inward look at the series,
• Often during last season
• Often addresses audience through content breaking its own former conventions and intrinsic norms
• Providing “closure”
What is happening? Left Hanging.
• Enriching a discussion, keeping the narrative and cultural phenomenon going
• Maintaining a discussion by providing no clear or full resolution but refraining from a clear end