There are certain things in life that only those who have experienced them can fully understand: fighting in a war, walking on the moon, and successfully wrapping up a popular serialized television drama. The TV event is especially daunting; all the accelerating hype and anticipation leaves fans convinced that the entire validity of the series retroactively rests with the decisions made in the final moments (see: those people who hate The Sopranos now). Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse now face this impossible challenge, and it feels like the sanity of the Internet rests in their lap. To help them feel less alone, we called four people who can feel their fan-fearing pain: Tom Fontana (St. Elsewhere), Chris Carter (The X-Files), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), and Josh Schwartz (The O.C.), each of whom helped to craft momentous, memorable, and controversial wrap-ups to beloved shows. We asked them to reflect on their own finales, and see what advice they can give from the love and hate they received when it was all over.
Photo: Fox
CHRIS CARTER, CREATOR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE X-FILES
His finale: The truth Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been looking for: that aliens will take over the world on December 22, 2012. The good news? Mulder and Scully end up together!
His approach: “We were mindful of all the major characters. I remember being on the set when we were shooting the finale, and there was a moment that I thought was going to be passed by, which was the final scene with the two added characters — played by Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish — and I remember talking to the director and saying, ‘This is the last time we see these characters, you’ve got to treat them lovingly.’ We really wanted to give everybody the most rewarding ending we could give.â€
His Warning: “You want to reward the fans for their fandom, if you will. I had something that I wanted to do, which would be more of a surprise and a shocking ending, but I was talked out of it by cooler heads. I think in the end, the best thing to do is reward them.â€
His Advice: “Knowing how television series work, any advice I would give them now would be after the fact because they’ve already made up their minds … But it is an opportunity to give one of those ‘holy shit’ moments.â€
Photo: FX
