Webbready

Needless Note: The following post has nothing to do with the Pittsburgh Passion.

Today was the last day that the soap opera known as Passions aired on NBC. Passions, a silly, campy, slowly paced serial, was a guilty pleasure of mine. Despite plots that made little sense, and special effects that are awful by nearly any standard, I loved the program for a time. Over the years, though, the silliness began to leave the canvas and a rather disturbing, violent edge crept into the episodes, and what was once over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek became serious while remaining implausible as ever.

The finale, for me, though was very disappointing. Although it is widely known that Passions will be shown on Direct TV instead of ending completely, I expected the serial to provide at least a minimum of conclusion to some of its story arcs, or to provide a cliffhanger that would make me scream with anguish. Instead, the pace of this episode was frighteningly similar to the ones before it. Even the episodes before the 2004 Olympics displayed more urgency with regard to the characters and the events that surround them.

I will not spoil the end of Passions for those who have not seen it, but the “shocking” events of this show either have been foreshadowed for months, or arrive completely out of nowhere and make little sense. There’s no must-see event or controversial resolution, such as final episode of The Sopranos. Indeed, it is as though the creators did not expect the show to end its run on NBC, but instead ended the episode as though there would be another episode to air the next Monday.

It could be worse, of course. Port Charles had a finale that appeared to scream for the show to continue at least one more story arc, and cliffhangers are increasingly being used as permissible conclusions instead of being seen as a lack of resolution. Still, I would have preferred it if Passions had at least let the last episode on broadcast television be memorable. On the other hand, I suppose that is one of the reasons why Passions is no longer on television; it went from campy and ourtageous to unrealistic and unmemorable over its run. Perhaps this is a fitting end after all.