Bonus Content: Issue 14

This coming Tuesday sees the finale of the BBC 1 series Luther. Have you been watching? If the answer is no, then you have been missing some seriously good TV.

Luther is one of those shows that grabs you from the very start and provides episode after episode of suspenseful, gritty and brutal cases for Detective John Luther and co to overcome. Superb acting, even better writing and some of the best characters on TV at the moment. Luther is, simply put, amazing. The only problem with this series is that there are only 6 episodes. That’s far too little. But it’s clearly a case of quality over quantity…unlike a certain programme about a bunch of models that survived a plane crash and were left stranded on an mysterious island somewhere.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers here for those that either have yet to watch the final or those that might only just be making their way through the DVDs.

Fans of this show followed it for 6 long years. 6 years that saw smoke monsters, polar bears, ‘Others’, hyroglyphics, numbers, buttons, initiatives, submarines, villages, heroin-filled statues, Jacob, ships laden with dynamite and a crazy French lady. A cocktail of elements that, at times, made for compulsive viewing. A cocktail of elements that also made it too big for its own good.

I don’t know about you, but, for me, Lost was about 3 seasons too long. The finale of a series is supposed to resolve issues, introduce new ones, entertain and amaze. The finale of an entire show, the finale of Lost, should have answered many many questions and provided a true unmissable TV event. It didn’t, in my opinion. Taking an ending that millions had thought of half way through season 1, an ending that the writers at one time said they would never use, didn’t provide any answers and came as a complete let down. There are going to be people who agree with me and there will be people who were satisfied with how the show finished, but, ultimately, Lost went out of control years ago. I can’t help but think that if the writers  and the studio hadn’t have pandered  to the hype and concentrated solely on making the best possible show, Lost could have become a legendary programme. Some may say it is a legendary programme already, but is this down to the name?

Fringe and Doctor Who will also soon be reaching the end of their current run and these are two programmes that could go either way. Both are leading up to a storyline based on alternate realities and the impending doom that they might bring, and this is a subject that has the potential to ruin all of the work that has gone before it. It also has the potential to provide a thrilling, entertianing conclusion for millions of fans.

So just how do you get a finale right? I feel a little guilty about being harsh on Lost as it started out with amazing ideas and brilliant scripts that had obviously been miticulously planned and carefully written. I don’t like saying it lost its way a long time ago but I’m just giving my honest opinion. When a programme has gained a huge number of fans, like any of those mentioned above, it will always be hard to please everyone all the time. It depends on the type of programme but the majority of finales need to take the information from anything between 6-24 episodes, give answers, introduce a new plot for a follow up (if applicable), build upon the relationships between characters, perhaps kill off a character and introduce a new one and maybe even move the action to a different location, all the while maintaining the episode’s own storyline.

But it can be done. Dexter, Mad Men, Six Feet Under, Ashes to Ashes  and The Wire to name but a few, and they all share something in common. They aren’t trying to be some form of massively popular, critically acclaimed, award-winning show. They naturally are thanks to the quality and the passion that has gone into them. Their main focus has always been the story and the characters, not the headlines or press coverage.

Good TV series are still hard to find when you take into account the sheer number of shows that actually manage hit our small magic picture boxes. The writers and producers of programmes such as Dexter shouldn’t need to aim for the press coverage as they gain legions of devoted, loyal and passionate fans, which, in my opinion, should give anyone involved in making it a much more rewarding feeling.