Finale Roundup - Part 2

Thoughts on the season finales of Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, and Parks and Recreation.

Chuck - "Chuck vs the Cliffhanger"
This season of Chuck had it's ups and downs, mostly in the back half after the 11 extra episodes were ordered, but they certainly finished strong.  Bringing Timothy Dalton back is never a bad idea even if he was no longer Alexei Volkoff.  Chuck and Sarah's wedding was just as sweet as we all expected it to be.  Having their vows spread out over the episode also helped it to be less diabetic than it could have been.  We all knew Chuck was going to save Sarah's life, but the journey there was a fun ride, especially with Chuck losing his Intersect powers.  The gang now working freelance, a la the A-Team, is a wonderful setup to the miracle final season next year.  Morgan as the new Intersect left me pumping my fist in the air with excitement at the possibilities.

How I Met Your Mother - "Challenge Accepted"
Bad ending to a bad season.  Never liked Zoey, and just when we seemed to be rid of her, she's back again this episode.  The only good parts of this season were Marshall dealing with his father's death, Barney reconnecting with his father, and Jorge Garcia (The Blitz!).  And they got Chi McBride to just call Ted a hotshot a few times, he deserves so much better than that.  Not even sure if I'm gonna keep up with this one next year.


The Office - "Search Comittee"

Did anyone, anywhere really expect this calvalcade of high profile guest stars to actually work?  Will Ferrell was a bust, but then Dwight's stint as branch manager turned into a wonderful episode.  No guest stars, just a great ensemble.  Then we come to the cumbersome finale.  It just didn't work.  It was funny, sure, but most of that came from the people we know.  Darryl and Andy trying too hard, Gabe berating Andy, Kelly winning over Jo, and Phyliss mothering Erin.  The only applicant I enjoyed was James Spader.  And then, of course, zero resolution on who will get the job.  I know they can do better than this, but a dissapointing finale.

Parks and Recreation - "The Bubble" & "Li'l Sebastion"

Parks and Rec has finished a perfect season.  Sixteen episodes without a single bad one in the lot.  They were on a great run at the end of season 2, as well.  This show is, hands down, the best comedy on TV right now. "The Bubble" handle very well the beginning stages of a relationship, even a secret one.  Leslie and Ben romance has played out perfectly this season, never seeming to have the arbitrary roadblocks shows like to put up between couples just to keep them apart a little while longer.  Meanwhile, Chris trying to change things up leads to antoher look at the amazing weird and creepy 4th floor and Ron's hilarious circular desk.  "Li'l Sebastion" sees some of our characters moving into new chapters of their life, Tom's quitting, Chris is questioning his mortality, Leslie is going to be running for office, and Li'l Sebastion is moving on to little horse heaven.  Ron now knows about Ben and Leslie, as does the maintenance worker, leading to all sorts of hijinks for the memorial service, the best of all being Ron having some of his moustache burned off.  Most intriguing thing of all is Tammy I, so scary that even Tammy II runs away from her, can't wait to see who they get to play that role.