On endings...
POSTED BY: BlackoutNights
UPDATED: Friday, May 20, 2005 17:46
VIEWED: 4323
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A recent post got me to thinking about story conclusions. You know, the Empire falls apart at the end of Star Wars, Frodo destroys the ring in Mt. Doom...etc, etc.
I was wondering what type of endings Browncoats prefer...definite conclusions, or open-ended...and what type of ending you'd like Mal and the gang to have.
Personally, I prefer definite conclusions. I think those make the best stories. However, to have such a story, there also has to be a beginning. Frodo has to get the ring before he can destroy it.
So...I guess it really depends on the type of story that's being told. I hope Serenity is well rounded though. I'd hate to be left hanging if another movie doesn't get made.
"You're either in or you're out, and I'm playing to the in."—Greg Dulli.
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I think Serenity will end like Buffy's Prophesy Girl in S1, it'll end, but with it open for so much more (hmmm, didn't Star Wars do that?).
As for a real ending, well I don't ever want it to.
Eternal Chrisisall
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Ooops - Ignore this one it doesn't count! 
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Yes, I want it all. I want a sense of completeness/conslusion when the ending credits start to roll but I like to be able to wonder what our surviving heros, heroines and villians will be up to next.
I'm also cool with ambiguous endings, e.g., my exhusband thought Total Recall had a happy ending. When I told him that Arnie was lost in a dream, he got mad at me. Probably a clue there about OUR ending... 
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"Appears they've canceled the show and we're still here. What does that make us?"
"Big damn junkies, Sir!"
"Ain't we just."
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Endings are problematical for me.
On one hand, I like a sense of closure, but I also want to retain the possibility of revisiting the world.
Frex, the finale for Deep Space Nine ("The Things You Leave Behind") is my idea of a perfect series finale. It wrapped up the Dominion War, resolved most of the big character arcs, and ended this chapter in the lives of pretty much everyone. But, the Station is still there. Kira's in charge. Cardassia is in need of rebuilding. The Dominion's gonna go through some social revolutions. Worf is stuck playing diplomat. . .
There're more stories to be told; and the novel series that continues past the finale (DS9: Avatar onward) is as close to a series of DS9 movies as I'll need. Unlike the novels that co-exist with the TV show, these ones are under no obligation to keep things static. Folks die, return, change, and evolve. Worf returns to the Enterprise (as seen in Nemesis), O'Brien isn't on Earth anymore, we've visited Andorr and found it completely different from Shran's homeworld in Enterprise.
The Voyager finale, OTOH, ended with the sound of a guillotine. Christie Golden had to spend much of her "reboot" novel (Homecoming) undoing the events of the finale.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Joss is not one for 'endings' he never has married off his characters,
or indicated any nice neat 'completion' to the story...
and I agree with the open-endedness:
Joss is only 40 years old,
and he hasn't closed the book on any of his creations.
He can always return to any of the stories and continue (which I think is a very good thing).
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As I understand it, when Joss first took the "Serenity" screenplay to Universal, it was written solely as an ending to the series - just a one-shot wrap-up that would end the Firefly story completely. Universal actually had him re-write it so that it would be open-ended to allow for sequels. Those people (unlike the ones at F*X) aren't stupid. They know when they've got a good thing...
Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.
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I haven't seen those Trek endings. Loved DS9 when it first began. There was so much potential there, but somewhere along the way I lost interest. Sounds like a good finale, though.
Shows and books whose endings I appreciate include:
• The first Highlander
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which seems to indicate he gets the gift of mortality. Actually offers closure which is becoming a rare thing.
• Quantum Leap.
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One of the most orginial conclusions I've ever watched. Sam's last mission reunites his friend (the name escapes me at the moment, think it's Al) with his first wife. Fade to black with text messages, last one reads something like "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." No closure for Beckett ... but wow.
• Cheers!
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One last sling at the Sam and Diane relationship. Rebecca marries Tom Berenger. Sam realizes his true love is his bar. I think it's the only time in the series we hear him tell someone the bar is closed, and he straightens a picture in the back that's a reference to the old bartender Coach, who died irl while Cheers! was in production. Could be revisited, but no real reason to go back other than maybe a reunion. Closure here.
• Along those same lines, Frasier.
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Interesting they chose to go with a 'write your own ending'. I loved it. It took guts to do that. We don't know if Frasier went to the girl or not. Fun series.
• Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'.
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Our hero Roland goes back to the beginning, but with the potential for another ending the next time around. I've got to reread those books soon.
•Philip Jose Farmer's 'Dayworld' books.
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Originality doesn't begin to explain it. I was disappointed with the Riverworld conclusion, but here Farmer gets it right and gives us a surprise ending along the way. Good ride.
I'm sure there are others, but those are a few examples. So, I guess it's not so much the type of ending, but whether or not the ending is appropriate for the story; if that makes any sense.
"You're either in or you're out, and I'm playing to the in."—Greg Dulli.
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The trailer appears to make it seem like a self-contained story. My bet seems right.
Brttin' man Chrisisall
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