May sweeps continue on TV
J.P. Laub
Issue date: 5/21/04 Section: Entertainment
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May sweeps entered its second week recently with some highly anticipated finales; namely Frasier and ER. There were also some not so highly-anticipated but still popular ones, such as Gilmore Girls and The Practice. In case you missed them, here's the lowdown:
Frasier (Series Finale)
The episode is a flashback retold on a plane ride. Frasier is offered a huge job opportunity in San Francisco, but his girlfriend Charlotte is going to Chicago. Martin and Ronee have their wedding before scheduled and are married by Frasier. Niles and Daphne have their baby and name it David. Roz is named station manager of KACL. Frasier says goodbye to his listeners and then gets on the plane, but not before Ross comes to talk him out of it. Just kidding. The show ends with Frasier's plane landing - in Chicago. Some consider this finale to be the end of the sitcom genre in its purest form.
ER
ER ends its most ridiculous season yet with a few plot resolutions and a few more mini-cliffhangers. Luka stops to help a woman fix her car, but she is then hit by a reckless driver. Neela withdraws from the residency program at the University of Michigan with the knowledge that she can't be licensed without an internship. Abby gets the results of her boards - she's now Dr. Abby Lockhart.
Sam's ex-husband Steve has found a job in Chicago, so she decides to leave the city with her son. Dr. Weaver's custody battle goes to court, but we'll have to wait until next season for the judge's decision. In the final minutes, doctors Pratt and Chen are driving a patient home when they encounter another driver with road rage who pulls a gun on them.
The season ends with a gunshot. This season had a helicopter fall on Romano - the best episode ever, in my opinion - a tank almost destroy the hospital and Dr. Corday dating two boyfriends at the same time. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up.
Gilmore Girls
In an attempt to help her parents reconcile, Lorelai invites them along with some friends to a test run of the opening of the Dragonfly Inn. Unfortunately, there are more problems with their marriage than she thought. Her preparations for the inn also keep her from seeing Luke's growing affection. Jason shows up, convinced it was a mistake for him and Lorelai to break up. Meanwhile, Rory goes to great lengths to salvage her friendship with Dean. This season ends just in time, as the characters were running low on the wit juice that they drink every morning to keep their dialogue clever and snappy.
The Practice (Series Finale)
The members of the firm must say goodbye, with the help of Bobbie Donnell. Denny Crane and Alan Shore appear before Judge Eugene Young. The episode is focused on not only bidding farewell to the departing Practice characters, but also on segueing to the spin-off The Practice: Fleet Street.
As this season did, the new spin-off will have William Shatner as the head of a law firm. It's been a bad year for David Kelley - Boston Public is cancelled, and now The Practice is off the air. On a related note, it's been a good year for people who hate Kelley.
That's all for now. My next column will have such big-name finale summaries as CSI, CSI: Miami, Angel, Smallville, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle and Alias.
Frasier (Series Finale)
The episode is a flashback retold on a plane ride. Frasier is offered a huge job opportunity in San Francisco, but his girlfriend Charlotte is going to Chicago. Martin and Ronee have their wedding before scheduled and are married by Frasier. Niles and Daphne have their baby and name it David. Roz is named station manager of KACL. Frasier says goodbye to his listeners and then gets on the plane, but not before Ross comes to talk him out of it. Just kidding. The show ends with Frasier's plane landing - in Chicago. Some consider this finale to be the end of the sitcom genre in its purest form.
ER
ER ends its most ridiculous season yet with a few plot resolutions and a few more mini-cliffhangers. Luka stops to help a woman fix her car, but she is then hit by a reckless driver. Neela withdraws from the residency program at the University of Michigan with the knowledge that she can't be licensed without an internship. Abby gets the results of her boards - she's now Dr. Abby Lockhart.
Sam's ex-husband Steve has found a job in Chicago, so she decides to leave the city with her son. Dr. Weaver's custody battle goes to court, but we'll have to wait until next season for the judge's decision. In the final minutes, doctors Pratt and Chen are driving a patient home when they encounter another driver with road rage who pulls a gun on them.
The season ends with a gunshot. This season had a helicopter fall on Romano - the best episode ever, in my opinion - a tank almost destroy the hospital and Dr. Corday dating two boyfriends at the same time. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up.
Gilmore Girls
In an attempt to help her parents reconcile, Lorelai invites them along with some friends to a test run of the opening of the Dragonfly Inn. Unfortunately, there are more problems with their marriage than she thought. Her preparations for the inn also keep her from seeing Luke's growing affection. Jason shows up, convinced it was a mistake for him and Lorelai to break up. Meanwhile, Rory goes to great lengths to salvage her friendship with Dean. This season ends just in time, as the characters were running low on the wit juice that they drink every morning to keep their dialogue clever and snappy.
The Practice (Series Finale)
The members of the firm must say goodbye, with the help of Bobbie Donnell. Denny Crane and Alan Shore appear before Judge Eugene Young. The episode is focused on not only bidding farewell to the departing Practice characters, but also on segueing to the spin-off The Practice: Fleet Street.
As this season did, the new spin-off will have William Shatner as the head of a law firm. It's been a bad year for David Kelley - Boston Public is cancelled, and now The Practice is off the air. On a related note, it's been a good year for people who hate Kelley.
That's all for now. My next column will have such big-name finale summaries as CSI, CSI: Miami, Angel, Smallville, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle and Alias.
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