Seven veteran shows are leaving the air this month, all but one having lasted seven seasons or more: The West Wing (NBC, May 14, 8 p.m.) and Malcolm in the Middle (Fox, May 14, 8:30 p.m.) after seven seasons; That '70s Show (Fox, May 18, 8 p.m.), Will & Grace (NBC, May 18, 9 p.m.) and Charmed (The WB, May 21, 8 p.m.) after eight; and the youngest, Alias (ABC, May 22, 9 p.m.), after five. The WB's 7th Heaven, which lasted a whopping 10 seasons, had its finale on May 8.
Many fans may be saddened by their demises, but I'm not writing any eulogies. All of these shows (even Alias) should have gone off the air years ago, when they were at their peaks creatively and popularly (although it's arguable whether 7th Heaven ever had a creative peak). That's not to say that this year's crop of departing shows are of particularly low quality, but to point out that almost every show that makes it to the grand, oversized farewell episode (and isn't just cancelled with little fanfare) has been on the air for too long.
The cause of this problem isn't hard to pinpoint: It's greed, as any network wants to keep a successful show on the air as long as it's successful, regardless of whether it's working creatively. Producers who try to maintain some degree of integrity and bring their shows to a close while still at the top of the ratings heap can be easily outvoted by the networks—and replaced if necessary. Only when shows get as popular as Seinfeld or Friends can the creative forces involved (usually the stars, not the writers) dictate the end.
Or, as Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof put it to entertainment website Zap2It back in January: "The reality is that ... the creative brains behind the Lost universe, we could all band together and say, 'We're ending the show after three seasons because that's the arc. They get off the island, and we reveal all the things we want to reveal.' And the network would say, 'No, you won't.' They will hire somebody and do Lost, with or without you." For fans of a show like Lost, which has to be intricately plotted and planned to work at all, circumstances like this are devastating.
None of the shows saying goodbye this month (save Alias) is as complex, plot-wise, as Lost, but even a sitcom with a simple premise like Will & Grace wears thin after a few seasons, and anyone who's been watching that show knows it lost whatever charm it had long ago.
Sadly, greedy network executives aren't the only ones who won't let go: When the WB announced that 7th Heaven would end this year after becoming the longest-running family drama in history, fans launched a massive campaign to save it. Sometimes people become so attached to the familiarity of spending every week with their favorite characters that they can't move on, even when those characters have become tired and unpleasant.
That's not to say that these shows, or others that have gone off the air after long runs, were never any good.
The West Wing started out as one of the most intelligent and well-written dramas on television, even if it was always a bit preachy, before losing its way after the departure of creator Aaron Sorkin. Alias was a bright spot on ABC's schedule before they crawled out of the ratings dump, and its complex spy vs. spy machinations were fascinating before they collapsed in on themselves after too many twists and turns. I could never stand Malcolm in the Middle or Will & Grace, but both deserve credit for innovation—Malcolm as a single-camera comedy before the style was in vogue and Will as the first network show with a gay lead character.
And maybe one of this year's finales will capture what was special about these shows way back when they started. But I doubt it. Since the final episode of M*A*S*H became the highest-rated show in television history, the "final episode" has become an art unto itself, an event greeted with great anticipation even for shows whose ratings have dwindled. Usually this means the writers spend too much time crafting something meant to be meaningful and lasting, only to end up with bloated and self-important. Sitcoms whose greatest strength is brevity expand to three times their regular length, and complex dramas try to wrap up years of dangling plot threads in a single episode.
Sometimes, of course, final episodes work exactly as they should. The dark and cynical finale of Seinfeld, much-maligned by critics and fans, is a masterful repudiation of all the conventions of the grand finale, staying true to the show's pessimistic spirit, even if it's not as funny as most of the regular episodes. After losing creator Kevin Williamson and descending into soap-opera absurdity, Dawson's Creek went out on a high note by enticing Williamson to return and setting its final episode years after the one that immediately preceded it, allowing Williamson the chance to jettison the extraneous characters that had built up in his absence and focus on what made the show work in the first place. It played almost like a stand-alone Dawson's Creek movie.
Even if one of this year's departing shows manages a feat like that, I am still glad to see them fade away, and I would be even gladder to see a few others head off the air as well. I won't even be too upset if one of my favorites, Veronica Mars, doesn't survive past its second season, since at least then it will be going out while it still has some creative life left.