TV Finale's (From The Madeley Archives)

A kids’ drama that ends with aliens, zombies, dinosaurs and a bomb. A sitcom that turns into a war memorial in slow motion. A sketch show that finishes on a moment about dementia so quiet it stings. We go hunting for the best TV finales and the worst TV endings, and we do it the only way we know how: arguing, laughing, and then getting properly caught off guard by how dark some of these “nostalgia” picks really are. 

We start with the Biker Grove series finale, which might be one of the most baffling tonal swerves British television has ever attempted, then move through the emotional send-off of Richard and Judy’s This Morning. From there, we talk about why the final Mitchell and Webb sketch works as drama, why Life on Mars still splits viewers, and why Quantum Leap’s ending feels like the cold reality of cancellation landing on your lap. 

Then it is the heavy stuff: Blackadder Goes Forth, Dinosaurs somehow killing everyone in a family sitcom, One Foot in the Grave opening with its own main character already dead, and MASH delivering a reveal that explains why its finale is always near the top of “greatest TV series finales” lists. We finish by defending, and questioning, The Office Christmas specials as one of the neatest pieces of UK comedy closure ever put on screen, plus a run of honourable mentions and a few dream-ending rants. 

Subscribe for more UK nostalgia deep dives, share this with the mate who always bangs on about finales, and leave us a review if you want us to cover more full shows like The Office. What TV ending do you still think about years later?

Transcript

Welcome To Who Remembers

SPEAKER_08 0:00

Hello and welcome to the UK nostalgia podcast, Who Remembers? In this episode, we are looking back on the Living May episode TV finales. We're back in the archives, we're rooting around in the mainly archives.

SPEAKER_06 0:53

Yeah, this is another one that we've not listened to before we've put it out, which we said we were gonna do, didn't we? We said, Oh, we'll go through so I don't know what this is like, but I do report. Pause show, Peter. Pause show, appalling behaviour. I think the this was a long one, if I remember rightly. Um because I the thing what strikes me about this episode, or the rem the memory of this episode, is you getting really angry with the biker biker grove funnel. And somehow blaming it on me, if I remember rightly.

SPEAKER_08 1:18

Yeah, I think I think I didn't like where it went. When you get to it, I I can't quite remember it, but the the ending of Biker Grove is absolutely ridiculous.

SPEAKER_06 1:26

Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:27

I remember because I did the sort of research for it as well, finding the goodnight sweetheart really interesting. Was that was that part of this one?

SPEAKER_06 1:34

No, we we did that as a as its own episode, so this is not featured in this one, but we will share that so great remembering from great remembering, great can't remember his own yeah, can't even remember his own podcast.

SPEAKER_08 1:43

But yeah, yeah, so uh we'll we'll we'll do that one then. I thought I thought one of the reasons that I thought do that is because I thought, oh yeah, that that bit was interesting, and that's not even in this episode.

SPEAKER_06 1:52

No, that's not in it. It uh the the one that sounds about this is Biker Grove, and uh I I can't remember anything. When were it when did we release this? This this piece of shit. When did it come out?

SPEAKER_08 2:05

Uh hold on. I've got the uh got the information to hand.

SPEAKER_04 2:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 2:11

This was uh TV finales was uh June July 2022. So we're talking uh four years ago, almost to the day, not quite.

SPEAKER_06 2:23

Yeah, that's good then. That I mean uh the fact that we can't remember anything suggests that maybe it was but it could still be a lot of fun. But no, I do remember I do I think if you if you've not listened to this before, then I do think you will be stunned by the end of biker growth. It's almost like one uh it's if if people have like come on to uh obviously we had a uh someone who said that the first uh episode they ever listened to with buyers was the Chucklevision prank one. They might think that's a prank, because it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_08 2:52

Yeah, and and yeah, if you haven't heard that and you don't know how it ends, just just think to yourself now, have a little think. Think what could be this sort of maddest way at end. You might think, does PJ or Duncan get his sight back? Um, does Jeff return from the grave? It's more ridiculous than than either of those options.

SPEAKER_06 3:07

I love how you said PJ or Duncan gets his sight back. I don't know which one, yeah. One of them already had his sight. Imagine if the other were like one of them, like the one you want to keep blind. Yeah, but if he got double vision, like he could like sort of see better than anyone.

SPEAKER_07 3:21

I'd say you know what, man, I can do this for you. PG on Duncan's eyes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:27

I don't know, Jamaican again, I keep doing that. But yeah, it should be good. We'll get off Leon because I do remember this being quite a long episode, so we don't want to be we don't want to be hanging around. Um but yeah, enjoy and let us know your favourite TV finales. Did

How We Pick A Finale

SPEAKER_06 3:46

you find this a tough task? We haven't we haven't conferred about this or anything, so we've got a few backups.

SPEAKER_08 3:50

So No, I think we've we've had a couple of clip-heavy ones, so this is this is not gonna be really clip heavy. I think I think the only thing is that it'd possibly be disappointing if everybody knows all these anyway. I'm hoping I'm hoping I've got at least one, possibly two, that I'm gonna spring on you, something you didn't know or you might have forgotten.

Biker Grove Goes Fully Meta

SPEAKER_06 4:08

Well, uh excellent segue into my first one, Matt, because this one we're actually I can't find who sent us this. I I typed it into Twitter. I don't know if the guy's been removed or removed his and I don't mean he's been killed, but he's like uh like he's removed his Twitter account or something. But someone told us to look at the last episode of Biker Grove. Can you remember this? Yeah, I think was that uh might be. I think that was after the goodnight sweetheart. Yeah, someone messaged on Twitter and said, take a look at and I'd never seen this before. Jesus Christ, Liam. This is insane. So Biker Grow, for those who don't know, ran between 1989 and 2006. They were about a youth club in Newcastle. You remember much about it?

SPEAKER_08 4:46

No, I used to watch it on and off. I weren't a massive fan. We've talked about doing a full episode on it purely because of the A canny Sea Man.

SPEAKER_06 4:54

You can see man. Well, that's the known for the controversial storylines. They featured the first gay kiss on UK children's television. I don't think so. It can see man. Um yeah, they they they covered child abuse, homelessness, abortion, and then obviously made one of its most popular ever characters go blind. It can I see man. Um probably one of the most famous TV moments in UK history, I think that's kids TV. It's amazing, it's kind of ruining it if we ever do it as a full full episode, but how does he get shot in both eyes? Does he get shot twice? I love Anton Deck, really, but the acting is terrible. How does it hit him in both eyes though? The paintball. Good shot. Fantastic shot.

SPEAKER_08 5:37

I think it's funny does he get shot twice? Does he does he like have one eye a turn to look who shot him and get shot again? What how does he get shot in both eyes?

SPEAKER_06 5:45

I don't know if they go into that, but what I do think is really good from the person who shot him is that he only had his glasses off for about a second as well. Do you think he just took him off? Did he just like rub his eyes or something?

SPEAKER_07 5:54

Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_06 5:55

It might have been following him around all the time, waiting for glasses to come off. But this is gonna be a massive, massive moment in TV history. It was a massive moment in TV history. I think everyone remembers it. But it was basically aimed at older older teenagers and younger adults rather than children. It's quite known for being downbeat, I think. Like a lot of characters were killed rather than just leaving. And it were quite gritty for a I find it quite hard work to watch, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 6:17

It was quite grungy and scummy, like a bit like I don't know. I don't I don't remember it being that happy almost.

SPEAKER_06 6:25

The reason I'm bringing all this up, by the way, is because this if people aren't seen it, it were basically probably the most gritty children's drama on TV, probably maybe ever that I've seen in my lifetime, anyway. I think it was just Jeff walking around with big sideburns, wasn't it? He got killed as well, Jeff. Did he? Yeah, he was killed as well. So yeah, like that's what I mean. Like it would there were a lot of heartbreaking and horrible storylines. Like I say, someone had to have an abortion and all sorts, someone went homeless, child abuse, horrible. But so if I'm saying that to you, Liam, what do you think happened in the last episode? The final episode ever at Biker Grove, if you just had to have a quick guess.

SPEAKER_08 6:59

Uh the youth club blows up.

SPEAKER_06 7:02

You're actually right, but not in the way you might think. The last episode is called Deuce Ex Manchina. I think that's how you pronounce it. I can imagine it's certainly not how you pronounce it, but yeah, well, probably not. Deuce ex manchina. Anyway, basically basically the the Grovers, like the the people, the kids in the U Club, learn that they're actually fictional characters in a TV show. Think how realistic Michael Groves, this is what's blew my mind. Do you like the League of Gentleman movie? Like where they all realise that they're fictional characters and they have to stop the writers from killing them off. Yeah. Yeah. This this is that this is the same storyline. Obviously, the difference is League of Gentlemen hadn't spent the previous 17 years trying to be a hard-hitting drama. So the characters learn that the writers are about to kill them off, so they set about trying to stop it. So this means these fictional kids write the last episode, if that makes sense. So they know it don't make any sense. Isn't that right? So the right they find out they're actually fictional characters, the the Grovers, the bike the the What do you mean? Well I don't know what what I think therefore I am. If they if they if they exist, then they exist. Well, you're going into complex metaphysics. Uh but basically they find out um oh my god, we're actually just a TV channel. How would you what what do you mean? What how does this go?

SPEAKER_07 8:30

No, that's the writer, but this is exactly what happens. They do find out You keep saying they find how do they find out? They just they just like it's kind of DVD of them.

SPEAKER_06 8:41

Basically, the writer is gonna kill them all off in the last episode. This is all you need to know, and let's not get into your rules of of science. Right, the characters learn that the writer is about to kill them off with it being the last ever episode of Black of Grove. So they step out, they they they set out to stop it. So these fictional kids write the last episode themselves, so they're not getting killed off, but they get a bit carried away, and Black of Grove is attacked by aliens, zombies, and dinosaurs, and it sort of ends with Stumpy. Remember Stumpy? A fairly famous character. Yeah, I know the name, I can't picture him. Stumpy finds some buried treasure which he uses to buy Biker Grove and save everyone, and they and you think, yeah, but and you think, oh well, fair enough, it's an upbeat ending, it's absolutely insane, but it's an upbeat ending, but then if you find out that the grove's actually been laden with dynamites and it goes off and kills everyone anyway.

SPEAKER_08 9:37

Yeah, but they've written it, why why did they write that in? We don't know, nobody knows.

SPEAKER_06 9:41

Does anybody before that happens write it so that Anne or Dek or whichever one can see again? No, but the show ends like imagine that how mad this episode is. You're thinking oh the last episode of Viking Grove, I remember this being quite audited, and this happens, then it's a mad like episode, and then it ends with In My Life by the Beatles uh as the soundtrack, and then a montage of all the characters from across the years. What an insane way to end a show that's a serious show.

SPEAKER_08 10:08

Yeah, I can't get my head around it. Um But we know they're not real people, it's not a documentary. We we know it's a story. So why Well like a s you've seen League of Gentleman film, aren't you? Yeah, I've seen like like you say, I've seen a spoof two-hour sort of film. I've not this is crazy, this is how they ended this. I had no idea that's how that ended.

SPEAKER_06 10:29

Yeah, so well, I'm just gonna read what what Den of Geek wrote here, and it says, uh, the Groves learned their characters of a TV show who have been manipulated for the entertainment of a writer who is bringing their story to a close. Now they are self-aware, the crew are given the ability to write their own endings by their creator who can't bear to kill them off himself.

SPEAKER_08 10:47

It's making my head what does it mean to become self-aware if they're just characters? Self-aware.

unknown 10:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 10:52

Well then how are they in the real world all of a sudden if they're just characters?

SPEAKER_06 10:56

I d I don't know. I I can't I cannot the guy who wrote it, Brian Johnson, the photo show's final script editor, said he didn't want to end the story. He says he loved those characters. This is mental. Should we scrap all the other things and just go into this for this for episode? What's going on? It is incredible, isn't it? It blew my mind. He said he wanted like the characters to uh you know go out uh in their own way. Uh and the the the people producing it said, hang on, this is insane, this is ridiculous. But then they said, Well, you know, it's it's everyone's gonna remember it, which we didn't, weirdly enough. We should have remembered it. But I think I would have if I'd watched it, because I don't I it's genuinely I'm I'm just sort of got my head in my hands as you're talking, I don't know what's going on. Matt Bloom, who was the director, said when he read the script, he said, This is fucking insane. He says there was silence in the room and his jaw dropped, and then he thought, Well, the audience is gonna love it, and I'm gonna love directing it, and the cast's gonna get a kick out of it, so let's do it.

SPEAKER_08 11:54

And then he realised that he was a creation to write it, so he tried to direct his way out of it.

SPEAKER_07 11:59

Yeah, I just yeah, and that's it. That and that's that's that's what happened.

SPEAKER_06 12:03

So they all died, they kill the cells off, yeah. Spuggy innit? Spuggy was not in this one. They may have come back. There were a couple people who came back with none of the big it is that I that I know of, anyway. But yeah, so they finished uh an incredibly serious children's document uh uh drama with some sort of sci-fi bullshit, really.

SPEAKER_08 12:26

Yeah, I I did not see that coming. I kind of wish you'd save that till the end because it's it's I don't know how to follow this.

SPEAKER_06 12:33

The writer said the most insane thing when I look back is you went from Ken Loach, Mike Lee, Shane Maddow styled uh socially realistic drama, and then bang, none of you are real. Praising himself a bit there, isn't he? Well, anyway, so that's that. That's my first one. I don't think you'll get any more insane. I thought I open we'd bang, very much like how Bike Grove finished.

SPEAKER_08 12:56

Yeah, I don't know, I don't know how to follow it. I'm gonna I'm gonna go route one.

Richard And Judy Say Goodbye

SPEAKER_08 13:00

Um I don't know if you've got this. I thought it's only right because it's the theme of the show that we do. I'm gonna start with how did this particular show go? Which anyone listening to this show presumably knows it, but is a bit of the soundtrack.

SPEAKER_06 13:29

This is a fantastic shout from you. Very clever, I think. Very, very clever shout. I didn't even consider this to be honest. No, but it's still on air, isn't it?

SPEAKER_08 13:39

But yeah, but so this is this morning with Richard and Judy. So yeah, it's still this morning, but it's no longer they did actually do a special after this episode. So it was on for 1988, it was the first time they were ever on TV, um, and it finished in 2001. They had 13 years. So the first thing that I found funny, I watched nearly all the last episode ever, actually. It's on YouTube, it's an hour and a half long. Um it's clearly an emotional day. You can tell Judy's struggling to keep it together. This is uh this is how Richard starts the ball rolling.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Hello, good morning. All right, I'm alright.

SPEAKER_05 14:16

No tears.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

No, not yet.

SPEAKER_05 14:18

No, no, there were a few a minute ago. I know, I'm all right. Good morning to all of you. Thank you for tuning in. Uh, lots of good.

SPEAKER_08 14:24

I love how smuggy is when he says we weren't before. Yeah, he's uh he's he clearly knows Judy could be upset, so rather than sort of supporting her, he's he's desperate to point out that she might get upset. Um it's brilliant though, it sort of sums up that style of of TV. On on this last ever show they did, they've got uh Des O'Connor's on there, you've got Boy George doing some cooking, I think. Uh Paulo Grady makes a guest appearance. You've got the the fantastic Les Dennis does a video link Family Fortunes. Oh man I've not seen this. Obviously, I've watched a lot of the Maidley family, which is like some of the some of the past sort of the the doctors and the chefs and stuff on there. Is he on there?

SPEAKER_06 15:04

Against uh what's his name who likes to touch your balls, that doctor. Yeah, he's on there, the old uh the oldish sort of he he got did he get did he get did he get breasts out live or it balls out live? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_08 15:17

Like definitely balls, not sure and then they're playing against the Finnegans, but it's funny because they introduced the teams like Dennis through the video link. He says, uh we've got the Maidleys and and they go, Hey, and then they introduced the Finnegan's junior team, and Richard boos them. Nobody else does, but yeah, Richard booze their team.

SPEAKER_06 15:37

Um brilliant, he's absolutely brilliant at putting it down. I love like when she says something and he says, Your point is not valid, Finnegan.

SPEAKER_08 15:44

Yeah, there's a I mean, there's various stuff out there about you know their relationship, and we we've touched on it before. We might even do an episode with discuss next series with another feature-length maidly special just because it is the theme, and you know, I think we have to we have to remember that sometimes some people come into it.

SPEAKER_06 16:01

I also want to just just remind me another thing that he said about Jude is when he said, Remember that suit you made last week? And just knock and he goes, It was horrible, weren't he? I had to throw it outside. Throw it outside, it was that bad, he couldn't put it in the bin. He has to go outside.

SPEAKER_08 16:14

Yeah, we've we've got a few things we might do coming up with Richard and Judy. We're attempted to to have a look at the book club. We we might read one of Richard's books. We're not sure where we're gonna go with the maidly theme. Um yeah, but yeah, I'm not gonna dwell on this one. I I am gonna play uh the sort of last ever clip, which is them closing down the show and saying goodbye. Um, and that's it for this one, really. I'm I'm I'm just gonna leave it on Richard and Judy closing down the show for the last time ever.

SPEAKER_05 16:40

So many times people have said, you know, how how come this extraordinary thing, this the shouldn't fly, you know, weird show has been on the air for 13 years and people still watch it. Um I think on my feet here, but it is in the words of the guy who helped launch the show, Michael David Liderman, um, the best programmes and the ones that people love most are those which they they believe truly are theirs. And I seem to remember that one of the first things that we said in Liverpool in 1988 to the audience was about halfway through, we snatched it. We said, by the way, this isn't our show, this is this is your show. It really is, it's yours.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

And the greatest, the greatest aspect of it for us, the thing we love more than anything else is the phone-ins that we all do. And the way that you all talk to us now, you know us, in fact, it's such a privilege, and it's so fantastic. And you've been a fantastic audience, and we've loved you all very much. I'm gonna miss you like hell.

SPEAKER_08 17:33

Right.

SPEAKER_06 17:33

Okay, so that yeah, that was a bit brief, that one, but what's what's your second one?

Mitchell And Webb End On Dementia

SPEAKER_06 17:37

This is the only one we've sort of conferred with because I sent you the sketch because I want you to see it. Yeah, so it's the Michelin Webb look. It's I know this is odd to have a sketch show, but the last ever sketch of this I think was superb. I'll don't tell them what you think of it just yet. I'll go through it and you'll let me know what you you think. So you I think you've never seen it before, had you, until today.

SPEAKER_08 17:54

No, and and summarize-I won't mention the actual sketch, but summarise anybody who hasn't seen it like me. I thought this was crazy that you were gonna finish on essentially a sketch show because yeah, how does it end? But but they choose a particular scene that you wanted to discuss as a way to end their show, didn't they?

SPEAKER_06 18:12

So this sketch is basically Dr. Watson gonna visit Sherlock Holmes in a care home, and it becomes clear early on that Sherlock's got dementia, it's making no sense, and it seems like this is just a fairly funny if you know, maybe a touchy subject, but you know, fairly funny sketch, imagining, or imagine if Sherlock Holmes had lost his mind. There's someone for the government comes in and asks Holmes for help trying to track someone down. Holmes puts is it something on his face, like is it jam or something on his face?

SPEAKER_08 18:38

Yeah, I don't know if it's some sort of cake or something. Yeah, he rubs something on his face, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:42

Yeah, and he says, like, I'll I'll play a little clip of it here.

SPEAKER_12 18:45

Mr. Holmes, uh, some bullion has disappeared from the vaults beneath the Bank of England. An inside job, we reckon. Discord for a disguise.

SPEAKER_11 18:57

I'm a Chinaman!

SPEAKER_12 19:03

Where's Holmes gone? Uh yes, where is Mr. Holmes?

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Here!

unknown 19:09

Shh!

SPEAKER_12 19:09

Oh god. Well do it, Mr. Holmes. I think you've cracked it. Have I? Of course you did, as like always. Yes, indeed, Mr. Holmes. Uh well, I'd better be getting back to the yard and tell everyone that once again Sherlock Holmes has saved the day.

SPEAKER_06 19:25

The governorman realizes that Holmes has lost his mind, and him and Watson, to to make him happy, pretend that he's saved the day, and you're just to keep him happy. Yeah. Then as Watson sits down, we get this what I I'm just gonna play the clip, what I think is an unbelievably heartbreaking moment.

SPEAKER_12 19:41

Well, well, Holmes, another successful case for me to write up. Isn't that right? I know, John.

SPEAKER_11 20:05

I do know I can't get the fog.

SPEAKER_08 20:17

I don't I don't know what I think of this. I it it is it's it's w well done and it is moving and it's I think it's brightly acted. It is, yeah, and and it did surprise me. It wasn't what I expected, it caught me off guard a little bit. And it is a genuinely sort of touching moment. Um my my brain likes to ruin things for myself, so I start overthinking it. Why, if he knows, why is he making him carry on this this facade?

SPEAKER_06 20:43

Because I mean I I I thank you.

SPEAKER_08 20:45

They're doing it for him.

SPEAKER_06 20:46

If he knows what's the point but but but from looking at I've talked to people who who have got family members with dementia and stuff, and I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I believe that they do have these moments of yeah, well well, this is it, this is how I kind of resolved it with myself is that in that moment he realizes this is a bit of a sham, but actually he he then maybe in the next minute he does think he's the the greatest round assault.

SPEAKER_08 21:12

So so yeah, um if you've looked into it and that's kind of what people are uh speculating. I'm happy to go with that, in which case I I do, I think it's it's brilliant. And actually, do you know what? Yeah, I have seen these videos where people sort of film them and they're talking to the mum, and and there's a moment. And I I had one with my grandma where she didn't really know who I was, she thought I was my dad, and then yeah, there was a moment where she talked to me just for about 30 seconds and knew I wasn't yeah, in in that sort of very much in in that style of sort of sort of emotive I I don't know, I don't know how to describe it. It it's a brilliant it's a strange way to end a sketch show. Yeah, yeah. But at the same time, I see why you've gone for it because it it it's it is, it's very clever, it's very memorable now I've seen it.

SPEAKER_06 21:54

It's one of those moments of TV that proper stuff. I remember watching it live, so I do like Mr. Meb sketch show and um And I remember like thinking, do you know that when you you sort of turn it off, you think, bloody hell, that were a bit. Do you know what I mean? That's a weird. I mean, obviously, I didn't know that were going to be the final ever episode. Maybe they will come back, but they've not done one for like 10 years, whether it's been odd.

SPEAKER_08 22:11

I mean, there's a couple of bits in there, and like you say, uh Peep show's great, it's very distinctive style, but there's some really good bits of acting in it where the the government man who comes in, it sort of uh Robert Webb is trying to catch his eye as as Dr. Watson to almost sort of say to him play along with it, and and he realizes and and he goes along, and yeah, it's it's quite touching how how it's done.

SPEAKER_06 22:36

You can't tell on audio, but I think Robert Webb's expressions when he says I do now are fantastic. He tries to speak, but there's something else to come after that, and it and it just finishes, and it it's not funny.

SPEAKER_08 22:48

I think it's quite brave for a sketch show to finish it, definitely.

SPEAKER_06 22:51

So, yeah, and that's why that's why I've picked Ziggs, that's why he stood out for me.

SPEAKER_08 22:54

Yeah, a really good choice. That one I didn't expect it. I I don't know if it's a it is an ending because they deliberately picked it as their last sketch, but it doesn't close out a storyline, does it? It's just it's just quite a moving sort of three-minute piece of drama, really.

SPEAKER_06 23:08

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, uh, what's your number true number duh?

Life On Mars Ending Debate

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Is that how it's pronounced again? Yeah, is it duh and duh.

SPEAKER_08 23:18

Um second one I'm gonna go with is I'm going a bit ad hoc here on on the order. Um I'm gonna go with a show that I sort of struggled to get into a little bit at first. I thought it was a bit overhyped, and everybody jumped all over it. But then when I did, I thought it was brilliant. Here's the soundtrack. I keep saying soundtrack. Here's the title music. Life on Mars, which was shown from January 2006 until April 2007. It had two series. Um it's basically it's a guy in 2006 played by John Sim, and he's he's a policeman and he's hit by a car. And it the story progresses. That the next thing he knows he wakes up and he's in 1973. And we go back to this kind of hard-hitting uh I mean, obviously, uh Philip Glenister plays Gene Hunt, who is the kind of hard-hitting smashing doors down, driving fast cars, smoking.

SPEAKER_06 24:42

It's basically like the Sweeney and uh and base, but but you know, with a modern twist, obviously, that is actually time travel to to go back into this era. I also think I wonder if it's uh uh um and it's used for the writers to just put in sort of sexist jokes and stuff as well.

SPEAKER_08 24:56

Yeah, maybe so. I don't know. But I mean it's described quite well by John Sim. I've seen an interview with John Sim when he talks about the series and he says, you know, we're watching all this kind of really inappropriate stuff going on, but it's okay because he is there as us, he is there uh disgusted and appalled by the way he acts that you can't say that, you can't do this. Yeah, and and he represents the viewer in a sense that God, if we were dropped back into that time, this is this is outrageous.

SPEAKER_06 25:23

Yeah, I mean I think it's a brilliant show, by the way. Life of Mars. I watched everyone, I thought I think it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_08 25:28

It's really well done. The acting's great, there's some brilliant characters in there, there's some actual kind of great storylines, and obviously the the ending is what we're here to discuss. So uh this is another one that's confuses me slightly. Endings confuse me, don't they? Um yeah, uh this confuses me though. I'm interested to see where you go with this. So the the ending as as it happens on camera is we start to see signs that some of the things going on around him are actually uh doctors in the present day trying to wake him up from a coma. So he he's in a coma and he's he's starting to hear voices and lights and things, and it these relate to uh a kind of you know hospital in the modern day. And what happens is he actually he's in a chase, I think he's running through a tunnel trying to shoot some bad guys or something, and the the tunnel obviously there's light at the end of the tunnel, which represents come coming back into his body almost, and he wakes up in the present day. So he wakes up in 2006. The story is then that actually, do you know what he's he's bored with modern life? So a lot of police work these days is sighting meeting rooms, is is discussing things and with men dressed in suits. Uh yeah, so so basically he decides he preferred it back in 1973. This is the bit I don't care what's coming next. So uh how he knows he can do this, I'm not sure. I I'm not entirely sure. He decides he's gonna go up on top of a building, jump off to try and get back to 1973. Now, there's uh something like 50 Great TV endings or something that was on a few years ago, and on that, John Sim actually says he wanted it, and I think initially they directed it as well, that it ends where he jumps off the building. So yeah, you don't know, but actually what they were persuaded to do was to show this scene where he is back there. He does meet a girl. In fact, you know what? I'll I'll play the the ending. So this is when he's back in 1973 and it's kind of all everything's back happening again.

SPEAKER_06 27:29

It's a brilliant ending, and I'm gonna disagree with you there. I was really unsatisfied with this ending because I watched Yeah, all too sick. I hated how it made no sense. I know it doesn't make any sense anyway, and it I suppose that when he woke up, if you've watched the whole thing and you've accepted all that, do you not? I understand this. I think I were expecting something better than all right, we're all in his head, and now he's he's gone back into a coma or whatever, and he and he's in it's in his head again. I don't know what I wanted, but I was quite disappointed.

SPEAKER_08 28:00

But is it in his head? Is it that he can time travel with major trauma? I I yeah, I don't know. I mean, you you liked it when they realised there were characters who who woke up and writ their own stories.

SPEAKER_06 28:09

I didn't like it, I never said I liked it.

SPEAKER_08 28:11

I just this is not as mad as that, I don't think. But I see what you're saying, because it it doesn't make sense, and I get that, and you kind of have to accept that it doesn't make sense, which is difficult. Um what I mean by I think it's a brilliant ending is not necessarily the fact that you have to interpret in your own way, but is the fact that he gets to go back, he kisses the girl that he's been after, Gene Hunt turns up in the car, get in, we all jump in, speed away. I think that's what I mean by if you're gonna stick with Life on Mars for all that time, it's quite a satisfying ending to know that speed off to another sort of shoot and high-speed chase somewhere.

SPEAKER_06 28:49

Yeah, as you'll know from uh as you'll realize from the other ones I'm gonna pick, I like depressing endings, and I don't know if I'd have liked it better if it'd just been him really bored in his in his normal life and he couldn't get by, like he he wakes up and he's back in hospital, and that that's you'd have liked it if he broke all the bones in his body and he would just sat in a hospital room.

SPEAKER_08 29:08

Yeah, couldn't speak, that'd be good, nil by mouth. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 29:11

And there's a radio one just playing some old songs, not nil by mouth, uh locked in syndrome.

SPEAKER_08 29:16

That would have been my perfect ending for uh and every now and again someone just comes in and says to him, Gene Hunt's not real, it was all fake.

SPEAKER_06 29:22

Yeah, it's all fake, and he's just like I wasn't in a sequel, Ashes to Ashes, which I have to admit I didn't watch. I I started watching it, but I think I'd done I think they perfected Life on Mars, and I think that uh I wasn't as interested in the in the Ashes to Ashes. I didn't watch Ashes to Ashes, I think was it Keely Hawes who's in that Keely Hawes, yeah. Fantastic actress, actually. But I I didn't watch that one because I think I'd have my film, if you know what I mean, of like alright, it's gone back. Yeah, I think and you sort of know the ending because yeah, they've already sort of pushed the boundaries.

SPEAKER_08 29:55

Yeah, you've gone with it once, it's it's hard to do it again. Apparently, in in that Ashes to Ashes, it's revealed that he lived for another eight years, he died in 1981. Um, the character played by John Sim. I can't remember his name.

SPEAKER_06 30:10

And what happens to him then?

SPEAKER_08 30:11

He's killed uh chasing some criminals.

SPEAKER_06 30:14

But I wonder whether, like Oh, I think I might have even watched that episode and he's on it actually.

SPEAKER_08 30:18

I think if you I wonder if in in that moment he goes back like another 25 years. Perhaps every time he dies, he keeps going back, like he's a caveman now.

SPEAKER_06 30:26

That'd be terrible, wouldn't it? Imagine him gonna kick with his leather jacket on.

SPEAKER_08 30:29

Yeah, dinosaurs outside soon with his leather jacket running around. That's called Bike a Grove Tort it out. Yeah, um So that's it. It's I I think it's uh for me, it's it's a it's a good ending. I understand anyone who finds it frustrating. There's definitely that element to it, but I liked it. And like I said, I I was kind of a bit behind on this one. A lot of people had seen the ending before me. I watched it a little bit after it was on TV, and yeah, I sometimes do this to myself. When everyone's saying something's brilliant, I kind of took myself out of it because I can't be doing with it. I have to watch it a bit later. So late to the party, enjoyed the end of the party.

SPEAKER_06 31:04

That's my review. Fair play. Well,

Quantum Leap And The Crushing Tag

SPEAKER_06 31:06

I'm gonna change the order of mine because I weren't gonna go for this until number four, but it's a very similar show, and I just want to play the theme tune before we start, and anyone who were around when this were on TV will know what this is, I reckon, for a theme tune. So Quantum Lee, this is Quantumly. I know you remember it, Lane. We talked about um I do.

SPEAKER_08 31:40

I used to watch it, I love it. Brilliant to be honest now, you you told me not to look into any of this sort of stuff, so I don't know how this ends. I know I've got a feeling someone once said something to me, but I don't want to say in case it's right or wrong, so I'll I'll let you take me through the ending.

SPEAKER_06 31:56

Quantum Lee, those who don't know, five series, 97 episodes, and it sees Dr. Sam Beckett, um, a physicist who involuntary time travels by temporarily taking the place of other people to correct historical mistakes. Think that's about right, innit? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 32:12

So he jumps into people's bodies. He jumps into bodies and he's he's got something he needs to do before he can then jump out of that body again.

SPEAKER_06 32:20

Yeah, he has to complete a task and then he can go into a different body. Uh when he goes into a different body, he says, oh boy, all the time.

SPEAKER_04 32:29

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

SPEAKER_09 32:45

No, I told you, it's a girl.

unknown 32:52

Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_06 33:09

So in past episodes, he's leaped into the body I'll I didn't I ain't seen all these, but I um a lot of the time he leaps into a body of a mental patient who he needs to like prove he's actually sane. That happens seemingly in about 15 episodes where he has to like all the time that seems to happen. But he does things like someone who's been wrongly accused of murder and he has to prove their innocence, and he even became a chimp in one episode and he had to stop animal cruelty. Really? Yeah, brilliant. Yeah, but he's he's helped out on his journey by the Admiral Al Calavise, I think that's Abraham terrible with names. Uh he's a cigar smoking hologram who uses his supercomputer Zigge to tell Sam what he needs to do in his mission so he can swap bodies. And the whole show is basically about Sam doing all these things so he can finally return to his his own body.

SPEAKER_08 33:55

Yeah, yeah, it's not hard one to describe, but yeah. Ziggy kind of works out percentages of what he's there to do, and yeah, and it always ends up that the first thing he thinks he's there to do is not the thing he's there to do, and he it takes a bit of time to figure out what he's there to do, and then yeah, I never I never kind of understood the is it Al or Hal? Al. Al and Ziggy thing. What Al from Chef United, why are you following him around? Yeah. Where where does what is he? What is he doing? Why does he pop up there?

SPEAKER_06 34:25

Al's a hologram who died, um, but he's part of the team. Oh, he said that's sort of a matter of fact. Al is a hologram who died. Alright, yeah, yeah. But he's part of the uh the the team.

SPEAKER_08 34:37

He can travel through time as well, can't he?

SPEAKER_06 34:39

He can travel through time because he's a hologram. So they've like this, yeah. This side is a dead hologram, of course. He's a dead hologram, yeah. And he's supposed to cigar as a hologram. Anyway, so it but he's there because he can travel through time with Sam and he can help him. And the whole thing, because it goes back to the base and stuff where they're all trying to get Sam back into his.

SPEAKER_08 34:57

I can't believe you told me life on Mars ending was was not plausible. What yeah, listen.

SPEAKER_06 35:02

Listen to this. This is how this ends. So the old show is basically about him trying to get back, obviously, to his own body. The last episode's called Mirror Image, and he finally gets back into his own body, but not in the present day, and he actually leaps into his adult body on the day he was born. So he's really confused. He looks in a mirror, it's brilliant, brilliant acting. He's a baby version of himself. No, it's him as a human, like as an adult, but on the day he looks at a paper and it's the day he was born, so he's like, hang on. Do you know what I mean? So he looks brilliant actor, he looks in the mirror, and he's never he has seen himself for five years or whatever. So he's like, Oh my god, it's me. So he's like, Oh boy, you know what I mean. Uh, and then the plot is basically that he needs to save Al, the hologram,'s first marriage, and he manages to do it, and he manages to save Al's first marriage, and then but then the show ends so quickly. This is another disappointing ending, I think. The episode ends, and a tag card just comes out and says, Al's first wife, Beth, never remarried, so they were still married in the present day and had four daughters. And then, really quickly at the end, it just says, Sam back Sam Beckett, if they spell his name wrong, Sam Beckett, 1T, never returned home. That's it. You've done it again, you blunt. Why have they spelled his name wrong? I don't know why they spelled his name wrong. He's his his name is Sam Beckett Double T. Definitely.

SPEAKER_08 36:23

So does Sam Beckett double T return home then? What I think it's just a mistake. So what's the why end it like this then? What's the purpose of this then?

SPEAKER_06 36:33

Well, there were 97 episodes of this, and obviously it ends like So does that mean he's not hologram anymore? No yeah, he's I I think I think Sam Beckett is now travelling around time without Al. But Al would never be there though, because if he if this means he doesn't become like a lot of things like that. No, because Al don't exist, because Al's a hologram, so he doesn't inf interfere with the history, he's just there to help.

SPEAKER_08 36:58

Yeah, but if he only becomes in that role because his marriage fell apart, then in all the stories we've just watched, he's not there anymore.

SPEAKER_06 37:07

But he he I think because he he personally doesn't interfere with history, that's how they sort of get around it. I think. I mean, he has the writers, but basically obviously you want you will need to get an happy ending, and then he never returned home and he's still jumping about now, basically, into different things.

SPEAKER_08 37:28

Which is fine. I think if if that's how they want to end it, just as he never went home, that's great. The Howl thing owl thing, sorry, almost suggests that he's he's done something quite major, but if he just carries on, what's what why is that the last one? Right, they didn't Is that just coincidence that he that Howl is the last owl? Why does he keep saying Howl? Howley's the last episode.

SPEAKER_06 37:52

Is that pure coincidence then in your mind? No, they they didn't know if this was gonna be the last episode, they thought they were going to get another series, but they weren't sure. So they wanted to go out right on a big episode, and then it got cancelled. And then they put in, presumably that's why they put in this And that's why they put it in at the end, right? But at the same time, they must have had an idea for him to go back into his own body and then try and save Al. Because I don't know, it's just bad.

SPEAKER_08 38:18

How can he be there if he's a baby? What what how did they justify this bit then? So he jumps into somebody's body all the time and he looks like them at the time.

SPEAKER_06 38:27

Whenever he looks in the mirror, it looks like whoever's why he was so confused.

SPEAKER_08 38:31

As far as I know So, in this last episode, then is he a baby walking about? No, he's him.

SPEAKER_06 38:36

Yeah, but he can't be him, because on that day, he is a baby, isn't he? Isn't that the day he's born? But I think what they're basically saying is because he never returned to his own body, he never actually existed. Right, shall I go on to my next one? You're talking as if I write I didn't write these things. I'm just telling you.

SPEAKER_08 38:57

I don't know what's going on.

SPEAKER_06 38:58

Don't shoot the messenger. You keep shooting the messenger. I didn't write all these fucking programs.

SPEAKER_08 39:03

I'm saving my two favourites for last, so I'm gonna jump in now with another good ending,

Blackadder Goes Over The Top

SPEAKER_08 39:08

I think. I'll try and get this one in quick because we've we've rambled on some of your stuff's mental. So this is Black Adder. Um I'm aware that actually they did a Black Adder back and forth or some sort of comic relief special. I'm not counting that, I'm counting the end of series four as the end of Black Adder. This was broadcast in 1989 on BBC One, uh, second of November. It's called Goodbye, as in like there's some extra E's on the end.

SPEAKER_06 39:34

Yeah. Um brilliant this. I we watched this uh in history class. Uh that's how like good it is. If you know what I mean. I remember watching it in history at school. Some some really well-written stuff in there.

SPEAKER_08 39:44

Obviously, Black Adder is is well, I say obviously, for me, it's one of the best comedies. I I think it's fantastic. Um, there's some really good writing in this this last one, particularly about the the nonsense of of sort of these guys being sent over there to be killed, basically. And yeah, Black Adder's got a plan where he's trying to get out of it by being mad with putt socks on his ears or something up his nose or something. Yeah, there's some sort of plan they've got to get out of it.

SPEAKER_06 40:09

Do you think this is the best series of Black Adder?

SPEAKER_08 40:12

Uh no, I think probably number three.

SPEAKER_06 40:15

I like the I like the Prince. I think this is just shades it, but yeah, those two. Because I think Melchit by Stephen Fry in this is unbelievable. He is brilliant, actually. Yeah, he is fantastic in this.

SPEAKER_08 40:26

Um yeah, they're all good. It's all just the same old cast. You've got obviously uh Tony Robinson, um, you've got Stephen Fry, you've got Hugh Laurie. I never know the name of the guy who plays Darling, actually. I can never remember his name. Uh Hugh Hugh Hugh. Hugh Hugh, but yeah, you've got him.

SPEAKER_06 40:44

You carry on, I'll have a look who he's called.

SPEAKER_08 40:46

And obviously, uh we've got uh Rowan Atkinson as as the lead. Yeah, it there's some really poignant writing in in this particular not well the whole series really, but in this last. It's not called Hugh. It's called Tim.

SPEAKER_06 40:58

Tim Mc Tim McEnare. Right. Tim, I'm not convinced that's his name either, is it? Tim McEnare. McAnere? McInare.

SPEAKER_08 41:08

Right. Yeah, so so I'll play you a clip from this last episode where they're sort of talking about the almost the ridiculousness of the whole situation, really. You know, which is what happened where where they're gonna be told there's a time coming where they're gonna have to go up over the um kind of up out and out of the trench and run at the enemy. And this happened to to thousands of sort of young kids particularly, but they're just running towards gunfire.

SPEAKER_06 42:07

It's it's absolutely ridiculous. It is, and it is fantastically done. And and uh I'm sorry, but I was stealing your thunder. It wasn't it like a mistake this ending or they weren't gonna have it.

SPEAKER_08 42:18

Yeah, I don't I don't think it's kind of initially what was planned, but they basically just it's just a slowed down Blackadder theme music as they run towards seemingly their death, and and it's yeah, it's it goes black and white and it's slow. And I I'll I mean I'll play a little bit of the ending, but but yeah, it's it's a sad one, this it's not especially funny, but it is a great ending to a fantastic series.

SPEAKER_12 42:41

Good luck, everyone.

SPEAKER_06 43:37

And then obviously the the thing that really puts it sort of uh I don't know, the the emotion into it is obviously then we see a better roses, don't we?

SPEAKER_08 43:46

Yeah, the the actual field, sorry. Yeah, I think the field that they've gone on becomes a a sort of modern day field of poppies, I think. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and and like I say, it's not it's not the funniest one we'll we'll do, far from it. Uh it's just a very good ending.

SPEAKER_06 44:01

It might be

Dinosaurs Ends With Extinction

SPEAKER_06 44:02

the funniest one out of ones I've got left because my next one is it uh have you heard dinosaurs before? Have you ever used to be on that sort of Saturday tea time, didn't it? I think so, yeah. It's basically it was by Jim Ensign. Um created by Jim Henson. Yeah, he died before it actually came on, but it only ran for three years, but I do remember it being on.

SPEAKER_08 44:21

I don't think I watched it all that often, but I do have don't remember being that big a fan of it, but I remember people around me sort of really liking it. I just it's thinking one of them things. I never really probably sat down and watched a full episode.

SPEAKER_06 44:34

I just I was aware of it, but I didn't watch it. Well, basically it's dinosaurs, it's set in 60 million BC, I think it is, something like that. And it it centers on the Sinclair Sinclair family. Uh and they're dinosaurs living in prehistoric times, but they're more advanced and you know.

SPEAKER_08 44:49

It's almost like if dinosaurs had evolved into people, like they're kind of people dinosaurs, aren't they?

SPEAKER_06 44:54

People dinosaurs, yeah. Like he says in the thing, a million years earlier, the di the dinosaurs behave like animals, eating their offspring, living in swamps, but now they've evolved, they raise families, they live in houses, they pay taxes, they work. So it's just like a it's like a family sitcom with a bit of a twist that they're all dinosaurs, or a massive twist, that they're all dinosaurs. A little bit of a twist. Slight twist. Royal family, yeah. They live in Manchester, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 45:17

But the twist is they're all dinosaurs.

SPEAKER_06 45:19

Yeah, it's a little bit like the Simpsons in the sense that it's about an eccentric but relatable family. These guys happen to be dinosaurs, they're yellow, the Simpsons. Um, you do not see this ending coming based on the previous 64 episodes because dinosaurs are the only sitcom, I think, where everyone in it dies. Can you think of another sitcom where everyone die everyone in it dies? Not just the main characters. What happens is a plastic fruit factory uh destroys a breathing ground for beetles by building on it. The beetles were keeping a breeder creeper vine in check, which quickly spreads out of control. The lead guy in the sitcom Earl tries to wipe out these vines by spraying loads of chemicals on it. Unfortunately, that ends up killing all the plant life on Earth, so the dinosaurs try to revive plants by creating rain clouds, but they confuse rain clouds with smoke clouds, and they end up causing major volcanic eruptions. The volcanic eruptions then cause global cooling. The sun's been blocked out, which is going to last for tens and thousands of years, and everyone dies. Is it hint and that this this could have been what killed off the dinosaurs? Yeah, and I think it's also hint about what we could do as well. You know, like I think it's environmental sort of you know, stop fucking about. So it's it's good, brave, because it were a family sitcom. And right at the end, the dad tells his family what's happened, and there's a there's a baby in it. I don't know if you remember that baby.

SPEAKER_08 46:46

Yeah, I do actually, yeah, I do remember the baby, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 46:47

And everyone loved this baby, like, oh cute baby, brilliant. And she or is it she or he can't remember where any asked what's gonna happen, and the show ends like this.

SPEAKER_10 46:56

Well, little guy, what happened was Daddy was put in charge of the world, and he didn't take real good care of it. And now it looks like there won't be much of a world left for you or your brother and sister to live in. Are we gonna move? Well, no.

SPEAKER_09 47:15

There's no place to move to.

SPEAKER_10 47:18

This is the only world we got.

SPEAKER_09 47:21

Well, what's gonna happen to us?

SPEAKER_08 47:29

Well, I don't exactly know. But whatever it is, nobody's gonna leave you.

SPEAKER_11 47:37

That's right, little guy. We'll all stay together.

SPEAKER_09 47:42

Yeah, yeah, and hey, I'm sure it'll all work out okay. After all, dinosaurs have been on this earth for 150 million years, and it's not like we're gonna just disappear.

SPEAKER_06 48:07

Sad, sad, a very sad ending to a family series. Imagine if Simpsons ends like that, it might have. How would you go out on the Simpsons? I know I'm massively putting you on spot here, but how would I write? How would you end the Simpsons? Uh just right, fair enough.

SPEAKER_08 48:32

Your next one, Liam.

One Foot In The Grave Turns Dark

SPEAKER_08 48:34

I've got two to go. I'm struggling to split these in terms of which one I prefer. I'm gonna end on the probably most poignant one, I think my favourite. So first of the first of the two best, I would say, and that's the ending to let's hear the title music. This is the fantastic uh uh One Foot in the Grave, which I'm not sure kind of gets the uh the credit.

SPEAKER_06 49:29

I've loved that one.

SPEAKER_08 49:30

Yeah, it's brilliant. It's such a well-written sitcom. I mean, we mentioned uh the mastermind sketch that I had last week for two runnies was written by the writer of One Foot in the Grave, David Renwick. Uh it's such a good sitcom. I mean, this this is not about our favourite sitcoms, but it probably, if it was, it would be in my top five. I think it's so well written. Um some of the ridiculous situations he gets himself into and how they're kind of justified through absolute mad. I mean, uh Mrs. Warboys goes to collect his suit from a dry cleaners and comes back with a gorilla suit. It's it's it's mental, it's supposed to just be a normal suit. Obviously, we've all seen him picking up a dog as a telephone. That's that's not one of the best sketches. There's a brilliant bit. I tried to find it to play it where I think he's got his headphones on and he's listening to some comedy tape, and uh and she's come around Mrs. Woolboys to tell him about some really sad news she's had, and he's sat laughing, like clapping his knees. There's some ridiculous situations he gets himself into. Yeah, it's it's crazy. Yeah, it is, it's brilliant. And actually, it's one of the few sitcoms where there's an episode, I think they're in a doctor's waiting room, uh, but there's only two characters in it. It's just Victor Meldre and his his wife in it, um Margaret, who's played is it Annette Crosby, I think it is. Um but yeah, so so there's it's quite rare that you get this on a sitcom uh where it's it's just two actors and they held it brilliantly. So absolutely fantastic. I'm a massive fan of the show. Um the last episode ever, it was first ever was it. Yeah, so it's shown from 1990 to 2000.

SPEAKER_06 51:07

The show, sorry, not the ending, sorry. Yeah, go on.

SPEAKER_08 51:10

Yeah, it had six series, and the last episode was called Things Aren't Simple Anymore. Uh November and actually apparently the BBC wanted to show this at Christmas time, but uh I don't know if it's David Renwick or the producers, but they they didn't want to cash in on the sort of sentimentality of it being a Christmas thing. They were they were quite keen for it not to just be a an attempt to pull in ratings for Christmas. So it's shown in November 2000. Um do you remember anything about the last episode?

SPEAKER_06 51:39

Obviously. The only thing I remember about this, and I don't know why. What what year were it? Sorry, again. 2000, this was shown. Oh, later than I thought. I remember her hold holding his hat and sort of did he get run over?

SPEAKER_08 51:52

Yeah, you you you're along the right lines, so she doesn't hold his hat. Um it does get it goes to a like a reunion in a pub. Uh well actually let's let's tell the full story. So it starts off with her speaking to someone, and apparently there's some sort of court case coming up because Victor's thrown a syringe into someone's someone's arse or something. I I forget the full thing, but she says, Well, that's difficult because he died a few months ago. And then we go back in time to to the events leading up to his death. So the first thing is you know straight away Victor Maldu has died, which I quite like as an ending, I quite like it. If you're gonna end it, it it doesn't leave it open. Well, there's something we're gonna discuss once we've covered all our episodes, but it doesn't leave it open to to coming back and and sort of damaging it further down the line. So we know he's died, we know this is it. And the story is he goes to a reunion in a pub, and I think most of the people don't turn up, and it it's a bit you know, it's not really happening. So he goes outside to phone his wife to come and pick him up, and he's hit by a car and he dies on the side of the road. And the the hat bit, I presume, that's linked to your memory. There's a hat kind of floating in a puddle on the floor, and his arm sort of falls out.

SPEAKER_06 53:07

Yeah, that makes more sense to me, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 53:09

Yeah, so so that's it. So we know Victor's dead, so obviously, from then it's just it's just about his wife and and the stuff.

SPEAKER_06 53:16

It's quite brave to open it with yeah, the main character's dead, right? This is what happened, if you know what I mean. Rather than it's not.

SPEAKER_08 53:22

And it's also quite brave to do your last episode with with your star not really in a major role in it. I mean he is he is in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And where we go from here, so you know, again, I'll sort of try and be reasonably brief. Um, through sort of the the process of dealing with her grief, she she gets to uh befriend uh another woman who recently lost her husband as well. And they become quite good friends, and she's round at this other woman's house and she's making her some sort of uh I think she's getting her medication ready for her for the night because she's not feeling well, and she opens a drawer and finds loads of clips from the press about uh uh Victor's death. So she knows actually it was this woman who killed him. Yeah. And there's a sort of pause over, she's she's getting this medication ready, she's got all these painkillers in front of her, she's making a drink for her, and then there's a bit of a moment where the the other woman realizes that she now knows, so she admits, yeah, my husband was dying, my head was all over the place. I I hit him, I I didn't mean to do it. She she confesses that the reason she befriended uh befriended her was to try and help her deal with her grief. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it ends with this other woman drinking this drink that she's prepared for her, and then she kind of walks away. So the implication is that Margaret's killed her. Wow.

SPEAKER_06 54:47

I did not expect that. I shouldn't have been.

SPEAKER_08 54:50

It doesn't, I mean, to me, apparently there's some big ambiguity because not everybody takes it that way. But there's a bit earlier on in the episode where she says if she could find who did it, she'd kill him with her own hands. Uh and I think it's to me, it's perfectly clear that she's made the decision, right? If you you know you took his life, I'm gonna take yours, and that's it. We don't see anything after that, we don't see any implications. I think that you know some something that I read on this by the way, and I couldn't actually confirm this, but someone said apparently there's something they'd seen on a DVD or in an interview or something where there was supposed to be that they they'd had a kid um that was abducted from hospital by a woman who couldn't have a kid, and and when she eventually gave it back to uh Victor and Margaret that it it had a hole in his heart or something and it died the kid. So that's kind of why they're this awkward couple who never sort of moved on. This I did not know this was so sort of deep, if you know. No, well, I mean, apparently no, I I didn't. Apparently, the backstory is fantastic that you know he's he's this sort of miserable old twat, but you you can find him quite likable. But you know, there is some sort of tragedy in that past, and yeah, I I didn't know that bit until I read this, and I've not had that confirmed, but yeah, it's I I kind of quite like the ending that you know, for all the time she's so frustrated with him, and and it looks like she wants to kill Victor herself that actually at the end, you know, nobody else gets to sort of enact that, and and she takes revenge upon somebody for doing it basically. So yeah, I thought I thought it was quite a good ending of a fantastic show, and yeah, I like the fact that it closed the door, it couldn't come back, which stops any potential sort of future damage happening, really. Yeah, fantastic that. I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_06 56:32

I might actually go back and watch that. I didn't realise it were that sort of dark.

SPEAKER_08 56:35

Well, I might actually go back and watch the whole I think that I'm not sure where, but as somebody said on a forum, you can watch them all. So I might go back through them all again because if you've never, you know, if you like sort of quite dark humour, and I say quite dark, not not in a sort of nasty way, it's just no, no, it's not like jam, is it? No, it's just ridiculous situations he gets himself into. But yeah, I I want to go back. I mean, it's almost the kind of never thought about it that way, but it's sort of an early Kirby enthusiasm type of thing, really.

SPEAKER_06 57:04

Yeah, true, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna segue again from uh where you're saying something that people should look back at that. This

MASH And Hawkeye’s Breakdown

SPEAKER_06 57:11

is a show that I've not seen every episode, but I've everyone I've seen I've found them brilliant, and I think it were too heavy for me as a kid. But whenever I've come across it as an adult, I've really, really loved it. Um I'm gonna play the theme tune. This is Mash. Just a little thing on the theme tune. I was gonna have it for our uh best theme tunes, but it already come out before it were used on MASH. Lyrics for that, Suicide is Painless, were um written by a 14-year-old. Really? MASH, anyway, I'm sure people know what this is, even if they've never seen it, and it's about a group of doctors in the Korean War. Uh 11 seasons of 256 episodes, and the final episode is called Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen. And this is a two and a half hour series finale.

SPEAKER_04 58:37

Wow, that's full, isn't it?

SPEAKER_06 58:38

Yeah, which aired in 1983, and it was the most watched television broadcast in American history from 1983 until 2010, and remains the most watched finale of any television series and the most watched episode of a scripted series. So, I'm not obviously gonna go through the two and a half hours because that'd be ridiculous, but I want to concentrate on one storyline because I have seen this um and it would grip him. Um I want to remember Captain Hawkeye. I don't how did you watch Marsh first?

SPEAKER_08 59:05

I don't know anything about Marsh. It came up in my research for this. I was looking at best ever endings, um quite a few mentions of Marsh. It's I've never seen it. I don't I don't know of it. I I think it was uh too early for me, and I've I've it's never kind of grabbed me on its reruns, or I'm I'm very much aware of it, and I've seen it be parodied in various different things. But I just don't know anything about it. I I couldn't tell you anything about any of the characters. Yeah, don't know about the story. I all I know it was I thought it was Vietnam, it was sitting if I'm honest.

SPEAKER_06 59:36

Korean War. But anyway, Captain Orkha, you'll you will have seen the guy. I'm sure you you if I show you a picture of who he is. He's the most popular character in the national funniest. He's like a lovable robe, quite a cool customer, brilliant sense of humour. But in this episode, he starts with he's been treated in a psychiatric hospital because he's revealed he suffered a nervous breakdown while working in an operating room. Um, he tells a therapist about when he picked up some refugees and a wounded and wounded soldiers on a bus. One refugee had a chicken, and Hawkeye was forced to pull off the road to avoid an enemy patrol. So Hawkeye tells this refugee, you have to keep this chicken quiet because the chickens went, wow, bah, wow. You see sort of flashbacks as he's speaking. So this chickens went, wow bow-bow. So the refugee smothers a chicken and kills it. And you know, and as I say, it shows you the pictures and it the images and it shows you this woman killing a chicken. Anyway, then we go to the other characters, blah blah blah. But when we return back to Hawkeye, he reveals that the refugee on the bus hadn't actually smothered a chicken, she'd smothered her own baby.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:40

She killed it. She killed it. She killed the chicken.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:48

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:49

Oh my god. I didn't mean for her to kill it. I I just wanted it to be quiet. It was a baby. She's the kid's mother in her own baby.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:10

Or Kai's fuming with the therapist for making him remember what had actually happened. Or Kai's brain had obviously made him think, I made her kill a chicken, not a kid. He couldn't sort of take the fact that his orders meant that she killed her baby. He's like going, just shut back, shut it up, shut it up. So she killed a baby.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:29

Again, this could be some sort of parody I've seen of it. But yeah, that the story rings a bell, even though I've never seen my, so yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:36

Yeah, really, really brilliant acting again. And the rest of the episode is Hawkeye struggling to come to terms with what happened, and he he is still unable to operate on people. There's a young girl who comes in for an operation, he can't do it. But then a ceasefire is announced, and hostilities of war are over, camp staff say like the goodbyes, Hawkeye kisses his love interest, and then in the final scene, Hawkeye is on a on a uh a chopper on his uh on a chopper uh a um a helicopter, and they say they shout down and say, 'Look, we've left a note for you,' and it's the word goodbye spelt out on rocks. Um, and Hawkeye smiles and it carries away. I just think it's a really fucking beautiful ending of a show, and I've seen loads of this show, but I've not watched everyone, but I watched this not really knowing much about it, and I was genuinely moved. I thought it was fantastically well done. So that's the reason she's listed. Who's left the rocks message? The the the the rest of the team, because obviously the war's over, so these people have spent I think Korean War were five three years. I think Korean War was three years. These people have spent three years together every single day, and then it were over. So the although they're all happy that the war's over, they're leaving all the friends behind and stuff like that. So So what is he still mental then now, or does he we're not entirely sure? You get the idea that he's actually coming through it, but you're not actually told. Yeah, so that's it, basically. It's a short and sweet one, but I I really, really, really like that ending. Would it work as a standalone, or would you have to know what's going on? I think it works as a standalone, definitely. Because I didn't know I I don't know much about Marsh, but I remember watching that and thinking, wow. I always remember my dad watching Marsh and saying, like, best show on TV this. And obviously, I've seen episodes like Re well later as an adult, and it is really, really good. Yeah, so that's so that that's my final one. Um, a really, really good ending. Yeah, interesting.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:26

It's a weird one for me, Marsh. I'm aware of it, but I I don't ever remember it being it's not like I've turned it off, turned it over and sort of thought, oh, and what's this? I don't ever recall it being on TV, but yeah, I'd I'd I'd have to look into it and I know nothing about it. I'm gonna finish on what I think is the best TV ending ever, I think.

The Office Gets Its Last Word

SPEAKER_08 1:03:48

Purely because it it's got a bit of everything. It's it's a TV show that I absolutely loved. It's a TV show that didn't outstate its welcome. It's a proper ending, it's got that little bit of sentimentality, it's got some music in there that I really like. This is the ending of the UK version of The Office.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:23

I'm I'm interested to see where you go with this because I've I I've got a few questions gas myself.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:28

Yeah. So obviously, we've we've watched the office for two series. It was shown from 2002, sorry, 2001, July to September 2002. We've seen two series of Brent, who has been a successful manager, but as soon as the TV cameras have come in, he's you know, he's he's kind of lost the plot. I don't want to go too much into it because I think we both at some stage would love to do something with the office.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:53

Yeah, we're gonna have to do the office at some stage. I think like basically I'm not gonna play clips from the series.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:59

I'm not gonna even mention much about the storylines, other than to say that we've we've had two series of watching these characters. You've you've got Brent, uh Tim, Gareth, Dawn, and we've kind of watched their progression, how how they've gone on or or not gone on, really. Um by this point in time, Brent has lost his job, they've got rid of him because he cannot manage when the camera crews are around, he just he's not capable of doing that. He's become unprofessional, um, he's been laid off, uh uh given his redundancy money, and Gareth has sort of stepped up into his role, although not in the same role as we're told.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:35

Uh this is a Christmas special, isn't it? I think.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:37

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so there's there's a two-part Christmas special, and it was shown 23rd and the 26th of December 2003.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:44

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:45

I remember what why I think it's it's brilliant is because uh it was shown, so it's a year after we'd seen the the series. It's not been done ten years later as some sort of throwback special, it's it's still relevant. And what I think they're doing. Fantastically well, is they actually close out some storylines. So it's quite short-lived, as I said, it's only two series, but but there's the kind of Tim and Dawn thing that you know they're they're obviously they like each other, they they probably should be together, but Dawn's with this other guy, this Lee, and it doesn't quite work out. So we've we've got that hanging over us. We've got Brent who struggles to sort of leave the office behind and can't get on with this life that he's now living, which is being a celebrity, but not really a celebrity. You've got sort of things like Finchie, who's been brought in as a character who uh, despite being really funny, is essentially a pretty horrible character.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:38

He's become really good mates with Neil Antie in this, which is obviously.

SPEAKER_08 1:06:41

Yeah, so they've become really pallet. Yeah. Now now, really, it's all building up. You know, I don't know if you want to sort of mention anything because I'm I'm just gonna sort of jump to the end of the end almost.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:51

I think it's all building up because obviously Brent's on trying to get loads of dates, and you're not really sure how it's gonna end the office because it it the the original series they weren't gonna do a Christmas special, it ended quite sad to obviously he'd lost his job, friend. So he's like, please, please just give me one. And it sort of ends on and and Donna uh turned Tim down as well.

SPEAKER_08 1:07:10

Dawn turned Tim down and gone off to live in America, that's how that ends. So she's going over there, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:15

So and then Tim asked her out the final episode, and he says, Oh, she said no. So you're not sure. I think it's really good because you're not sure how it's going to end the off-hate.

SPEAKER_08 1:07:22

And actually, that's a good point to mention there. So the the way this works is we the the camera crew who filmed the first two series are getting everybody back together for a special, that's the premise. They just want to get everybody together to to meet once more. They've gone over to America to meet Dawn, and they've actually said to Dawn and Lee, we could fly you back for the special if you wanted to come. And despite Lee's sort of claiming how happy he is over there, he he jumps at the chance. I think they're basically just babysitters for Lee's brother over there, so they're not leading a particularly great life. She's gone to be an artist and it's not working. Um and that's the whole setup, you know. I I'm sure everybody knows the office. We may well do stuff and play some some of our favourite moments. We may well try and pick some subtle that are not the obvious moments that we like, maybe at some point, but this is all building up to the end where and and I suppose again, sorry, I know I'm going back a little bit. What I think's great about it being a two-part special is they don't just force the sentimentality down your throat, it still stands up as an episode, it's still funny. I mean, when he's going on his dates and when he's doing his sort of you're the one can mate, if anyone is, it's it still holds its own, it's not just being written to to give us an ending. I think it could be an episode, or it could be two episodes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:38

And the brilliant ending, there's the sentimental piece. There's a good there's a good bit by the way, just before you go, so I think you're gonna talk about a Tim and Dawn, but is where Gareth, I think brilliant acting from Martin Freeman, where Gareth says, and Tim uh Tim and Leah sorry, Dawn and Leah coming back, and it's like sort of doing these really weird sort of nervous not bothered, but clearly it's it's a massive reaction.

SPEAKER_08 1:09:00

Yeah, yeah, good action.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:01

And then Gareth says something like, Yep, so you know, don't ask her out again.

SPEAKER_08 1:09:07

Um and yeah, so so she comes back. We what we find out is that Tim had got Gareth on the Secret Santa, but he's swapped because he wants to have Dawn, so he's got Dawn. They come back, they have a bit of chit-chat, blah blah blah blah blah. Like I said, I'm I'm being careful because I don't want to go into any of the yeah, too much of the humour because I think we we may well use it again, but yeah it's all building up to this particular scene where Dawn's got to go. And it's it's this I presume this was the ending. I think this this would have been a perfectly satisfactory ending. This is Tim giving his thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:41

Obviously, when someone comes in who you uh you have a connection with Yeah, and Dawn was a ray of sunshine in my life, and it meant a lot. But if I'm really being honest, I never really thought it would have a happy ending.

unknown 1:09:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:09:59

What they do brilliantly, and this is where I think Gervais' solo can be so over sentimental, but it's this is this is where I'm gonna disagree with you.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:07

I think it would have been a better ending if it ended there.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:09

Possibly so, but I think for me, uh you know, I I certainly shed a tear at the end, and I think it's really well done. It's a song that I love as well.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:16

So Dawn's driving off opens her secret centre.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:20

It's a message from Tim saying, you know, don't give up, never stop believing whatever it is he's put in the card. I can't remember the exact words. And she realizes that actually, do you know what? I want to be with Tim. So it cuts back to the office. You've got Brent, Gareth, and Tim, the kind of three main characters from the start, having a laugh talking together. Gareth's confused. This great song's playing, and I'll play it now. Dawn comes back in and walks over to Tim, and they they can't what's brilliant as well is they have this really sort of awkward, very realistic.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:49

Yeah, it's brilliant, it is really, really well done. Yeah. So here's the here's that moment.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:38

You then have this moment afterwards, which it it could easily be overdone, but Brent's sort of playing up to everybody and everybody's laughing almost like they used to, and he's doing his impressions and getting his reactions, and yeah, to me, that is the best TV ending I've ever seen, I think.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:55

A few questions. Um did she get just say to Lee, that's it's over, and he just accepted it in the taxi.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:03

Well, yeah, we don't know. I mean, uh the implication is that yeah, she says, I I don't want to go back to America with you, I want I want to stay here. But this happens so quickly, so they're still at a party.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:12

Surely you'd say No, they're just driving, they've not gone too far in a taxi down the road.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:17

That's what I mean. Surely Leah comes storming back in. Like No, because I think I think she's basically split up with him. I I I don't think Lee had accepts a long-term relationship ending that quickly. I think they've got a flight to catch, he's loving the easy life in America. She basically says, I don't want to be with you anymore.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:37

I mean, yeah, whether whether he gets on the flight, whether he I think it should end with with Lee brutally murdering both of them, actually.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:44

Oh I need it was to love you again.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:47

Yeah, I just don't know.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:48

I don't I think it's really well we don't know that doesn't happen after, do well. I suppose we do because because uh Ricky Gervais single-handedly sabotaged all things like ruined it.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:58

Well I think to be fair, he never actually mentions whether they both got brutally murdered, didn't he? Could have been brutally murdered to Yazoo, couldn't they? Yeah, oh Lanny. I don't know. I what I don't like about it is I always felt the office were unbelievable unbelievably realistic, and I thought everyone getting a happy ending, which which does happen.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:16

Yeah, but I don't think it's it's not ridiculous in a sense that you know they don't Tim doesn't end up running down the airport and and writing in flames. I agree, I think it's brilliantly done. If you're gonna be able to do it, I think it sort of all works. He's given her a gift, he's not even written in his message, you know, whatever, yeah. Please please come back, or anything like that. It's just a really nice gesture, and he is he is perfectly prepared to leave it at that, just that things didn't work, you know. It it's a shame, it's it's shit, but it's his life. I think she just has that moment that you've almost been wanting her to have for the whole show, which is where she thinks, no, I don't I don't really want to be with her. I think that in itself is is plausible. I know what you're saying, but you know, just because Brent gets a couple of laughs, he's still out on the road.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:02

You know, see he he finds a girl, uh a good-looking woman who likes him as well. Which likes Smash the One Day, but again, yeah, I understand, I understand, but it ends on such a high for everyone, and it ends on a low for um the woman who takes Dawn's place was really unlikable. Um takes Darrow's place, actually. And like obviously uh Jay's dad off in between us, who plays same characters. Um he like says, Do you think anyone gives a fuck about your baby? She gets a come up once almost. Um, I don't know, it's just too perfect.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:36

It is a little bit I accept that, but I don't think it's it's not ridiculous in a sense that you know Dawn and Tim, like I say, it's it's not some Hollywood ending where he stops the plane, or no, I agree, I think he's well done, brilliantly done. It's not that Brent all of a sudden finds some woman who's who's madly in love with him and he's he's settled down and he's she's pregnant with my kid and everything's great. You know, he's had one good day, but to him that is that is a massive sort of lift. Yeah, Garrett's not really achieved anything. Alright, he's had a bit of a go at Finchie and Neil, he's he's sort of said, you know, what is it? Fuck up.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:10

Why don't you just I'm telling you now, I'm telling you now, if Merchant had wrote the ending on his own, all this wouldn't have happened. Some of it might have.

SPEAKER_08 1:15:19

Yeah, but I think if Merchant had written it on his own, it had Merchant brings the awkwardness, Gervais brings the sentimentality. I I think, and I think this is a bit of a mixture of both. We've got all the awkwardness building up to the sentimental ending. I I personally think it's a fantastic, well-written, plausible, if you know, yeah, alright, a few things have to fall into place. But and also you know, it's it it's either side of Christmas Day. It was written as a Christmas piece of TV, but but not in a sort of forced oh wow, everything's great. You know, what they've not done is the office is closing, everyone's bankrupt, we've got no jobs. Oh, Brent's won the lottery and he's gonna pay everyone to be in his comedy club, and it it's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_06 1:16:00

I don't I wasn't I wasn't disappointed with it at all when I saw it, but when I keep seeing people, you obviously you now as well, it always comes up like the best TV ending. I'm like, maybe I'm just being a bit bitter and being a little bit um sort of oh, here we go. Why can't you know more people just get uh you know killed at the end?

SPEAKER_08 1:16:19

If when our mate Russ, who has provided us with so many comedy moments in our life, I reckon if when he left Sainsbury's for the third time, if you'd turn back round and Yazoo was playing, he'd have come up and not necessarily kissed you, maybe just put his arm around you and said, I'm staying. I think I think you'd you'd say, Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:16:37

Yeah, if it yeah. Um that's it, mate. So that's the five we've picked, but I know we've you've got some backups and I've got some backups. Honourable

Honourable Mentions And Bad Dream Endings

SPEAKER_06 1:16:45

mentions, Liam.

SPEAKER_08 1:16:46

Anything you want to mention that well, the main one, as and I suppose the the tie-in to the office is I'm gonna contradict myself here because the office David Brent, Ricky Gervais, did try to do it again. I don't count Life on the Road as a follow-on to the office because he did it without merchant. It's just Brennan, it's not office, it's not no other character in it. I think they took a character and and almost took him on a different trajectory. I think that's fine. He has he's entitled to do that, but I don't see that as a follow-on of the office. I'm sure Gervais would massively agree. Disagree, sorry. Um nodding, nodding as I'm talking. But the reason why I think the office was great there and why Victor Meldrew kill him off is because you can't do what Only Fools and Horses do, which is the last ever episode, time on Time on Our Hands, I believe it's called.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:38

This would have been in mine, but I'm just gonna let you know.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:41

Find an old watch in the garage that there's a little bit of cliche writing in there that he's got some paperwork because around this time Rodney had been doing it and told him you've got to keep the right paperwork. And they've got this watch that that they take to an auction and uh it sells for I can't remember the final amount, 30 million or something like that. And it's the perfect ending. We we've watched these guys struggle with nothing for all this time, uh and they've made it, they've got everything they wanted. So yeah, you've got this uh you've got this fantastic, amazing ending, and it's perfect. They walk off into the sunset together. Dell's giving it all this time. We could be this and that, and but actually they've they've done it. Everything we've done.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:56

The best thing about that is when the the final scene where someone phones and he says, Oh, yeah, you've got that. I can't remember what they're selling him. And then he's and then like Rodney's like looks or says something like Del, he's I know Trotter's independent traders are now more brilliant.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:09

There's a brilliant bit where Rodney goes to buy uh Rolls Royce, I think, for Dell. And yeah, you know, it's like employee say, Yeah, yeah, and yeah, you know, you haven't got the money or whatever, and it's quite it's quite smug, bad acting actually, from Nicholas Linders, but he sort of says, It's yours. I've got it. Well, what do you mean it's mine? I've bought it for you, it's yours, gives him the keys. But yeah, anyway, it it's a fantastic ending. And if it had finished there, I think we'd have both had that as number one. I think we both like it. I don't think either of us would have Only Fools as our top sitcom ever. Although it stands the test of time. I can still laugh at it now. Yeah, but what an ending that was. But then you ever seen Del Boy falling through a bar? Yeah, I have seen Dell funnel enough fall through a bar. But but yeah, there's some brilliant moments we've talked about loads of them. What an ending! But then they come back, they've lost the money. The back, you know, it's basically just just looking for viewers to me. It's it's almost like you've you've written something that's so well done. Why do we why do we need to reinvent it just to get it?

SPEAKER_06 1:20:08

And I think he started quite well that episode. I remember like they made the money and Dell were bored because he it didn't have the chase anymore. And he's playing Snooker and stuff, and he's like, Oh god, I'm I've just got everything, I want to go back. But the fact that they lost all the money and it was just yeah, just fucking leave it, mate.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:22

They get so Uncle Albert had put some savings in something, so they've got a little bit of something, but essentially the skin, and it it just feels like you know, we've watched this journey to this point, and and let's let's knock it all over.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:34

And everyone knew I think I imagine everyone who's watched Folds and Horses sort of knew how it were gonna end if it were gonna because it'd been going that long. You knew they were gonna get the happy ending because it's that sort of sitcom.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:44

And it's done, and it was done brilliantly. And that's exactly it. I think there was no nothing needed to be done or resolved or closed out. It finished, it was great. Let's move on. Brilliant. We can still watch the repeat. The memories were there, we've it's great.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:59

Oh enjoy the memories, but move on.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:02

We don't we we shouldn't then get a new Christmas special out the next week and reinvent it, and that that's what it felt like they did.

SPEAKER_06 1:21:09

Yeah, yeah, I agree completely. I think he should have, if anything, come back and he he is Inspector Jack Frost. What he turns in because he's got money now, his ball becomes and it's they link him together, and it turns out that Jack. Yeah, there's a crossover episode where he Yeah, there's a cross crossover and and look and Linders comes in and Goodnight Sweet, or he's come from 60s or whatever. It's amazing. Um the only other sort of things I want to mention is uh remember the Britass Empire. I know you know what I'm gonna say because we've spoken about this. Yeah. British Empire were five series, and I sort of remember. Yeah, yeah. Um, and the final episode, and this happens in a lot, which I'm gonna just gonna mention briefly, Gordon British, like the main episode uh the main uh character in it, played by Chris Barry. We're all a dream. He he's on a bus, on a train, sorry, going to a job interview at the the Ledger place that he works, or he owns, in fact, in the in his dream, and that's it. Ridiculous. And all the people on the train are the characters uh in the you know, so there's like a woman serving him tea, she's like the the secretary for him and all this sort of stuff. So he's dreamt it all. Terrible ending.

SPEAKER_08 1:22:22

Um, weren't it?

SPEAKER_06 1:22:24

Uh yeah. Is Crossroads Is this another dream one? Yep, Crossroads, right? This is even better because Crossroads ended as a dream. It were all a dream, absolutely, everything were a dream. But this was on the Crossroads revival, so the previous Crossroads from the set everything were a dream. She's been dreaming for like 40 years worth of episodes, yeah. And uh Roseanne series finale goes a step further actually, because he it it's revealed Roseanne's husband, Dan, doesn't survive his heart attack that happens at the end of the previous series, and he's actually dead. And this is just Roseanne's imagination, it's not a dream, just her imagining what things are doing pointless.

SPEAKER_08 1:23:06

But was everything real up to the heart attack then?

SPEAKER_06 1:23:09

Everything's real up until the heart attack, then the final series, it turns out oh he did die. So that whole series is just you may as well just say, Well, what's the fucking point of watching it?

SPEAKER_08 1:23:20

I suppose I don't know, I suppose it what's the difference her imagining it, or the writers imagining it, or biker grove imagining it.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:26

Yeah, I suppose. I suppose another two that really come close to me were Cheers last episode where he said we're close, that's really good, and thick of it, where Malcolm Tucker is finally silenced.

SPEAKER_08 1:23:36

But I've I've come across that one by the way, in looking at this, the Cheers one. I didn't know how Cheers ended. Um Diane comes back for anyone who's This is why I like Cheers. It's a bit a bit of a snip a sneaky one, this because I'm we're sneaking an extra one in here, but yeah, I I didn't know, and it they summed it up quite well on what I was watching. So Diane from the early ones comes back, she's gonna take Sam with her to Washington or some somewhere else.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:58

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:24:00

And he he leaves and he has a bit of a go at everybody saying, you know, I'm I'm not your dad, this is not your house, you need to get on with your lives. And then he realizes that he can't he can't leave them or the bar behind that he's so kind of entwined within cheers that he is cheers, so he comes back.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:18

Yeah, and it's quite a sad ending because he he leaves it behind. Is he his truth?

SPEAKER_08 1:24:23

Well it is sad actually, yeah, because you kind of feel like again, that's another thing where would it have been better him just telling him, but he he he can't pull himself away from cheers, so yeah, well done on foot.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:33

Uh and another thing I want to uh do you know Father Ted's an alternative ending? Uh the the the actual ending. I don't I can't remember the actual ending if I'm honest. The actual ending is like there waiting, he goes, uh you're gonna be living with me, me and Mrs. Dell forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Because he goes, he's he's supposed to go in America, isn't he? Then it turns out that's the last one. That's the last ever one, yeah. Right, okay, yeah. So obviously David Morgan uh died before the final series were was released, and the original ending of that series, which were gonna be the final episode anyway, they decided to like knock it on the head, that got cut because they said it were uh disrespectful to his memory, but no one's really sure what happened there. I presume he committed suicide or something. Really? Yeah, so that'd have been interesting, and all we get in the original forward said is like a montage of all the episodes that have gone before. Um, and another thing just want to end on, and I've talked to you about this before. I once listening to a radio show about 20 years ago, which said you talk about TV for knowledge best and worst. And so you remember Bagpus? Yeah. Well, yeah, I I'm aware of it. Yeah, it's basically a toy, and every time the shop closes, Bagpus wakes up, and everyone else, every other toy in the shop wakes up. Yeah, yeah. So bagpuss like wakes them all up. Someone said that the final episode of Bagpuss, someone bought Bagpus, and the toys in the shop never woke up again because obviously Bagpus had gone. And I thought, what a fucking unbelievably good ending that is. That's absolutely fantastic. Turns out it's a lot of shit. It's just an unbelievable. So I made it oh, what an unbelievably good ending.

SPEAKER_08 1:26:08

Yeah, it's like I I never know whether this is true or not. We've discussed this before, but it's supposed to be uh last ever heart attack, isn't it, with Neil Buchanan, where he he draws himself and then he can't remember which one's him when it ends.

SPEAKER_06 1:26:22

Yeah, and he's like getting confused and he screams at camera, doesn't he, for like about ten minutes. Thank

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SPEAKER_06 1:26:29

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