By now most Sopranos fans have seen the series finale and have reacted to the mysterious ending. David Chase talks about the ending but offers no clues other than “It’s all there.”

“I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there,” he says of the final scene.

“No one was trying to be audacious, honest to God,” he adds. “We did what we thought we had to do. No one was trying to blow people’s minds, or thinking, ‘Wow, this’ll (tick) them off.’ People get the impression that you’re trying to (mess) with them and it’s not true. You’re trying to entertain them.”

Come on – only a fool would think that fans wouldn’t be disappointed by such an ambiguous ending.

Therein lies the problem with the show – it’s now obvious that the showrunners had no end game in mind. Plot lines were set up but never concluded, nothing built up, and there was no satisfying wrap up.  It seems to be the norm these days to tease the audience with endless mystery, but a series finale should serve as the grand finale and at least wrap up the major plotlines of the show.

The first season finale ended well. Tony’s hidden rage against his mother boiled into a near-suicidal hospital attack, and concluded with a combination of his two “families.” With all the dream episodes, Johnny Sack misadventures, and Steve Buscemi diversions of the past few seasons, I almost forgot that the show was originally about a mob boss trying to balanace his personal family (Carmela and the kids) with his mob family (Paulie, Silvio, and the other ne’er do wells), while trying to keep the overlapping family (Junior and Livia) from taking him out.

Hard to believe that a show that came in with a bang would go out with such a whimper.  However, at least it resulted in this hilarious mashup of Battlestar Galactica finale as directed by David Chase.

The setting sun is reflecting directly into my new office, shining into my eyes and casting a shadow on the wall.

8:30pm on Friday in Boston; time to go home.

Visiting South Bend for the weekend, stopped by Steak & Shake for a delicious vanilla shake and double steakburger, and saw this ad in the drive-thru:

Bible readers will recognize the ad as a pun on Genesis 1:28:

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and  multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over  the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living  thing that moveth upon the earth.”
- King James Version, Genesis 1:28

Only in Indiana would such an ad be approved; I doubt Massachusetts or the Northeast would approve an advertisement based on knowledge of a Biblical quote.

Heroes has ended, more with a whimper than a bang.  After building all season to a major showdown between the villainous Sylar and the multi-powered Heroes of the title, Sylar was dispatched with a quick 10 minute finale that wrapped up all the plot threads in a pretty unsatisfying manner.

But I had lowered my expectations before the finale aired, so I wasn’t too underwhelmed.

It happened during the “grand” finale of the episode set in the future – where Hiro Nakamura (the hero who can travel in time) traveled to a future where the explosion wiped out most of New York and caused a slightly dystopian future.  The future episode ended with a showdown between Sylar and Peter (the ultimate hero of the show, if there is one).

The last scene of the show had several heroes barricaded inside a room, with Sylar trying to break in.  Peter shows up and challenges Sylar. Sylar taunts Peter and ignites his fists in blue flame, and Peter responds by producing red fireballs around his hands.  They stride towards each other – and the camera cuts back inside the room, where the heroes inside talk while blue and red flashes begin pounding behind the metal barricade.

And at that moment I set my expectations for Heroes lower, because I saw that the showrunners needed to create a visual that accommodated the show’s budget rather than one that would impress the viewer.

Sure enough, the finale of Heroes should have been a half hour epic showdown between the multiple powers that had been showcased throughout the season, but was instead a standard television fight that involved the superpowered Peter punching the superpowered Sylar punching each other in the face.  These guys can throw people around with telekenisis – aren’t they way too advanced for a fistfight?

So, Heroes was a bit of a letdown.  You only get the chance to tease the audience once – I doubt people will be as fanatic about Heroes Season 2 as they were in the first season, which built the story up to an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion.

They installed huge torches by the Fort Point Channel in Boston. Adds some ambiance, though the water is dirty and it faces the Children’s Museum (currently under construction).

Still, nice to see the area being developed. Seems like an attempt to simulate the fire on the water in Providence.