Knowing when to end the storytelling
Last January 10, the last season of “Glee” premiered by way of a two-hour special. We caught the show, not out of excitement to see what would happen, but due to a sense of duty as a media commentator.
We used to watch the trailblazing program quite regularly before, but its last two seasons have been going through pretty much the same admittedly important territory, so our delight has been “dulled down.”
Whenever we did catch the show, we sensed that even the people behind the production had lost some of their original edge, surge and moxie, which used to practically reach out from the TV screen—and grab viewers by the throat!
So, why stretch a show’s life out if it’s no longer a should-shoot and must-share producing and viewing experience? The answer is purely—or impurely—most pragmatic: The money’s great!
Another long-running TV show that’s lost some of its ability to excite and delight is “American Idol,” which also started its new season recently. It’s not about to fold up its tents, just yet, despite its loss of energy, so we’ll just have to (occasionally) watch it to see how it unreels, this nth time around.
Contrast the “(show) business as usual” attitude that these two “stretched-out” productions represent with the famous instance of “Seinfeld,” the “sleeper” (unexpectedly popular) sitcom that remained a hit on the small screen for over a decade:
It’s creator, Jerry Seinfeld, was offered a “renewal bonus” of $20 million to keep churning out new episodes of his extremely popular program—but, the time came when he felt that he had nothing more to say and share—so, he ended the show when it was still at its zenith! —They don’t make them like him anymore, obviously.
Very rich man
Cynics would point out that Seinfeld could “afford” to end his show, because it had already made him a very rich man. But, other TV producers want to keep raking all the moolah in while the sun shine on their own hit shows, so he’s clearly made of sterner and better stuff.
As a result, after he pulled the plug on “Seinfeld,” he became a much-admired icon in the entertainment industry, and many young comics professed to have been inspired by his “more than just money” mind-set, and also favor quality over profit in their own careers.
For quite a number of years, Seinfeld focused on his family, who benefited a lot from his now constant presence as parent and spouse.
In the last couple of years, however, he’s slowly re-launched his comedic career, but much more modestly, by way of live stand-up shows here and there, and a budget podcast that shows him “just” driving around town and shooting the breeze with other comedians.
That’s much less exciting than having a big, hit sitcom—but, for the amazingly and inspiringly focused Jerry Seinfeld, it’s a snug fit!
