As expected, 24 sucked.  It was a dreadful piece of American propaganda.  Wasn’t this how pretty much every season ended?  This was the series finale, wasn’t it?  Oh, of course, Jack Bauer has to make his big screen debut being chased by the Russians all over the world (in real time, of course) while being helped by reluctant yet loyal Cole and Chloe.   What will it be called, 88 Minutes 84 Minutes?  1:24?

They should have gone out with a bang.  The IRK declaring war on Russia, Russia threatening the US, the Americans retaliating, a briefcase bomb here and a tactical nuke there all leading to full blown world wide nuclear war.  China.  India.  Pakistan.  Israel.  Cuba.  Even New Zealand.  All played out to some old school classic like Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again.”

Well, at least Jack didn’t end up in a church only to walk toward the white light.  Though at least that would have made me feel better in that I wouldn’t have a movie to not look forward to.

Well, I sat through the finale of Lost and I have yet to see the finale of 24.

I was actually quite disappointed with Lost.  Of all the choices they had, they went with possibly the most predictable one:  Religious mumbo-jumbo.

It was a six-year-long episode of The Ghost Whisperer.  Big secret!  Well, at least we got to spend six years watching Evangeline Lilly, Emilie de Ravin and Elizabeth Mitchell (Okay, okay, and Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia)  instead of Jennifer Love Hewitt.

It isn’t as if they really answered any questions.  Why were there two bodies in the underground cavern next to the heart of the island?  Who were all the other people?  What’s with none of the black men going to “heaven”?

I suppose it was one thing for characters believing things about the island that were religious/spiritual and another for that ending being thrown in our faces.   I’d have preferred this aspect being left a mystery.

Anna Naranja held a contest where people had to write her to tell her what they thought the island was. This was my entry:

The island is a representation of the super-id or, in other words, the collective subconscious.  While the super-ego may be expressed as a conscience in search for moral utopia, the super-id embraces positive AND negative aspects of karma.  The island is where flawed people go for the healing of self-realization; to learn there are no absolutes and there is no such thing as perfection.  Finally leaving the island means to accept ourselves, and each other, for all our qualities –
good and bad — and for what we really are… complete people.

Translate the psychobabble into mumbo-jumbo and I was pretty much right.

Lost took us all on a very interesting journey.  I applaud the show for pushing the envelope and not treating us like seven-year-olds.  We were given lots of meat to chew and digest over the years.  Maybe my expectations were just too high but this might have been a suitable ending had Lost been cancelled after the second season.  You gave us too much over the years for it to end like this.

I suppose the real question here is how does Lost rate amung the decade’s top five television shows?

1. The Shield.  There is no doubt for me on this one.   Going from the surprised look on Terry Crowley’s face in the pilot to Vic’s agony in the finale was an epic seven seasons.   The season five finale left me staring at snow on the television screen for an hour in disbelief.
2. The Wire.  Perhaps the most intelligent television show ever written, don’t let the gritty police drama fool you.  It’s so much more than that.  The show tackles some difficult and topical issues of crime and opportunity, education, the media, and all it means to live in a big city.  (NB: If you liked The Wire, you better be watching Treme)
3. Dexter. Who doesn’t want to root for Dexter?
4. The Office.  Can’t really argue with a show that so redefined a genre.
5. The Tudors. Originally I thought this was a lame period piece produced by the CBC.  Then I watched it.  Wow.  The worst part about the show is having to choose between Natalie Dormer and Sarah Bolger.  That and loving how sympathetic they’re portraying Princess Mary and knowing full well how that turns out.

Honourable mentions…

• Lost.  You were close.  You would have made the top 5 with a better ending and if I didn’t have a sneaking suspicion JJ Abrams got the idea while getting stoned watching Survivor.
• True Blood.  I get the feeling you’ve started to lose your way.  Otherwise, you’d be top 5.
• Heroes.  The first season was very special.  The rest sucked.  I almost wish you’d been cancelled so I could talk about how mad I was that such an amazing show got cancelled after one season.
• NCIS.  Seriously.  How can you argue with a show whose ratings have gone up each season to reach number 1 in its 7th season?
• Wonderfalls.  Cute little show met an early demise.  Imagine… Freaks and Geeks meets X-Files.
• The Unusuals.  Quirky cop show that paid homage to Douglas Adams and The Wire.  Should have lasted more than a season.
• Community.  Hilarious new comedy.
• Survivor.  If you hate reality television, you can’t really dismiss Survivor’s role in giving us far too much reality television.  Colleen Haskell, you’re still number one!  (Chacun cherche son chat!)

I started this post talking about a show that redefined the continuity error and I’ll end with a show completely based on them.   24 is so full of holes you sometimes forgot that you weren’t watching Lost or Quantum Leap even.  I’m so glad 24 is over as it lasted about 6 seasons too long.  Had it been cancelled after one season, that season might have made the honourable mention list but  eight seasons and a TV movie (and more to come it seems) was far too much.  How many times do we need to be told what is happening?  We get it, Jack has to do something morally suspect to overcome the unsurmountable odds in order to save the United States.   You don’t need to tell us that 8 times an episode.