I’ve been dreading this moment but it’s time to face the music. The 18th of January marked the final Fringe Friday. Over the course of the past five years we laughed, we cried, and we believed in Olivia Dunham, Peter and Walter Bishop, Astrid Farnsworth, Phillip Broyles, Nina Sharp, September the Observer, and everybody else who came and went on this epic, far-out journey about what it means to be human. As expected the bald-headed baddies were destroyed (well, erased from time if you want to be precise) and our Fringe family went on to live their lives in peace. Even Walter who was forced to sacrifice himself and live in a distant future apart from his son and granddaughter–lord knows he’s having all kinds of fun with the scientists in Oslo, Norway talking them into accepting the “anomaly” Observer as an appropriate form of human evolution. What is humanity without the power of emotion beating inside it?

I’ll be short and sweet, just like the final season of the show. My thoughts on the series finale: It was all I hoped it would be. Intrinsically beautiful, exciting, emotional, poignant, satisfying. The series in general? One of a kind.

Over the years I shared my passion for Fringe in exactly 53 posts total including this one. From the intense teaser trailers to the unforgettable Comic Con panels to the nail-biting season renewals, Fringe has been an exhilarating roller coaster from shaky start to fantastic finish. From a mysterious plane crash to a portal aimed at the future, from The Pattern to The Plan, Fringe rose above its cult status and shined like a glimmer of hope.

After the break you can watch one last video featuring the main cast discussing the ramifications of the final episode. It’s time to say goodbye. Like family these characters will always remain in my heart. (Click here for more…)

Major spoilers inside…

This past Thursday marked the season one finale of NBC’s unique drama Awake. Unfortunately for the show’s small but rabid audience the episode also served as the series finale; the cancellation was announced weeks ago. But how about that mind-bending, Inception-like conclusion? After an impressionable pilot and a handful of procedural installments, Awake managed to tell an extremely compelling story that left its viewers wanting more when the grand finale closed one chapter and opened the door to a shiny treasure chest of possible season 2 storylines. Detective Michael Britten (played by the gifted Jason Issacs) figured out that Harper was the one behind his life-altering car accident, and shortly thereafter he created a third (dream?) reality in which his son and wife survived.

So what the hell happened? (Click here for more…)

On the final day of the TCA press tour, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo strung together these words in a sentence concerning the premium cable network’s longest running series Entourage: “Next summer will definitely be the final season.”  Yes, tear.  After seven seasons of watching Ari Gold and crew perform their comedic magic creator Doug Ellin is ready to call it quits.  Summer 2011 will be host to a shortened final season that will likely air a six episode story arc that may or may not lead into an Entourage theatrical release sometime in the future.  Lombardo: “[Ellin] wants to write a film, but wants to do it when the story will make sense.”  Hey–at least the idea of a movie was mentioned; better than no news at all.  Apparently Ellin is ready to move on to new projects.  He’s already pitched multiple show ideas to HBO.  Lombardo “expect[s] that within the next couple years” he will have another show up and running on the network.  Entourage fans, it’s been a great run.  (But what am I saying?  We still have this season plus the mini-season next summer, then possibly a movie; it’s not over just yet!)

[Via THR; M&G]

Lost finale night just keeps getting longer, doesn’t it?  Bring it on ABC!  It was just let loose that the final Lost episode titled “The End” will run an extra half hour.  It will run from 9:00PM to 11:30PM.  At two and a half hours in length, this will be the longest episode of Lost ever produced.  According to MSNBC, “The producers of ABC’s hit drama have shot so much crucial material for the show’s hugely anticipated series finale that the network has agreed to extend the last episode.”  So how does this affect the rest of the night?  Late local news get pushed back, so the Jimmy Kimmel Lost special (“Aloha to Lost”) will air immediately after that at 12:05AM.  And don’t forget the two hour retrospective show “Lost: The Final Journey” that airs before the finale from 7PM to 8PM.  It all goes down Sunday, May 23 on ABC.  And it’s going to be EPIC.

And for those of you who are uber-Lost fanatics, be sure to tune into the day before the finale on May 22 to rewatch an enhanced version of the original two hour pilot at 9PM.

Update: Here’s the list of actors that will appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost special: Naveen Andrews (“Sayid”), Nestor Carbonell (“Richard”), Alan Dale (“Charles Widmore”), Jeremy Davies (“Daniel Faraday”), Emilie de Ravin (“Claire”), Michael Emerson (“Ben”), Matthew Fox (“Jack”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Jin”), Terry O’Quinn (“Locke”) and Harold Perrineau (“Michael”).  There will also be “special appearances” by Jorge Garcia (“Hurley”), Josh Holloway (“Sawyer”) and Evangeline Lilly (“Kate”); these appearences will likely be broadcast with pre-taped recordings or live satellite feeds.  Also there’s going to be three “alternative final scenes from the minds of executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.”  Since Darlton has previously stated that they will go “radio silent” after the airing of the finale and let it speak for itself, these pre-taped scenes will likely turn out to be funny gags. [Via IGN]

[Via MSNBC]

The day I thought would never come is here.  It’s official: 24 Season 8, the season that’s currently airing now, will be the final season for the show.  Over the past few weeks there have been whispers that the 24 creative team would jump ship from FOX to NBC in order to salvage a ninth season.  With star Keifer Sutherland’s contract running up this year, along with other members of the production team, it would have been an extremely expensive ordeal to bring the show back again.  With ratings lower than usual and the narrative becoming somewhat stale after eight seasons on the air, 24 has decided to call it quits after this season.

Says Sutherland (who plays Jack Bauer): “The writers are producing the equivalent of 12 films a year, which is unheard of, and [executive producer] Howard felt to do a ninth would be potentially damaging.  We both felt strongly that there has been a demand and an interest in a 24 film, which would be a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day, so we felt it was time to move in that direction.”

And that brings us to the 24 feature film that’s in the works.  It’s happening people, so there’s no need to bring out the tissues just yet.  20th Century Fox is backing the movie, with Billy Ray (State of Play) writing the screenplay.  Says Sutherland on how the series finale will tie into the movie: “We wanted to create a definitive end for Jack Bauer.  Since we do have the intention to make the feature film, it would lead into that and certainly set that up.”  In fact, since a 24 movie loses the restrictions of the story unfolding in real time, the creative juices must be flowing for Sutherland and co.  “Something we’ve dealt with in the series is how the crisis always has to come to us because we don’t have time to move anywhere in a real time world,” Sutherland adds.  “In a two-hour (movie) representation of the 24 world, planes, trains, and automobiles all of a sudden become a factor because you are not required to go scene by scene in real time. That’s something I can say I am very excited about.”  Hell yeah, me too!

But as far as the series finale is concerned, Howard Gordon and Sutherland are contemplating either a happy or tragic ending for Jack Bauer.  “We go to a very definitive, very complex place.”  I am a long time 24 fan; hell, I’ve been watching this show for eight years now.  As sad as this news may seem, think of it like this:  How many bad days can Jack Bauer experience?  I mean, we don’t want him to die or anything… It’s time for Jack Bauer (and us) to finally receive closure.

Sutherland released this official statement of gratitude: “This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible. While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon. This feels like the culmination of all our efforts from the writers to the actors to our fantastic crew and everyone at Fox. Looking ahead to the future, Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of 24. But when all is said and done, it is the loyal worldwide fan base that made it possible for me to have the experience of playing the role of Jack Bauer, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon followed up: “Kiefer and I have loved every minute of making 24, but we all believe that now is the right time to call it a day.  I echo his sentiments of gratitude toward the show’s amazing creative team, as well as the studio and network who have always believed in us and shown us unbelievable support.”

Need more proof?  24′s Mary Lynn Rajskuub (Chloe O’Brien) tweets: “Just found out we got the word officially. This is 24′s last season.”  Executive producer and off-and-on director Jon Cassar shared this tweet: “News from the 24 set,the crew has been told that 24 has come to an end. There will b no season 9. Its been a great run, thanx all 4 watching.”

[Via EW, here & here; IGN]

Though news of Flight of the Conchords not returning to the small screen does not come with much surprise, the finality of it all still makes me really, really sad.  The show had a great run with two seasons filled with much joy, laughter, and nonsense that will truly be missed.

Stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement met with show director James Bobin to discuss the future of the show.  Unfortunately for us, the fans, they decided not to create another 12 episodes and 24 some-odd new songs for a third season.  The duo broke the hard to swallow news on their new website:

“We’ve noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won’t be returning for a 3rd season. We’re very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make the show and also everyone who watched it. While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist.”

I’m glad to hear that “the real”  Bret and Jemaine are sticking around.  I hope they continue to share with us their awkwardly groundbreaking comedic brilliance by adding to their collection of two full-length albums and coming back to America with another US tour.  I know I will never get too tired of listening to “Too many mutha’ ‘uckas, ‘uckin with my shi’! and “They call me the Hiphopopotamus, Flows that glow like phosphorous, Poppin’ off the top of this esophagus, Rockin’ this metropolis…”  And I’ll always remember that “a kiss is not a contract, but it’s very nice, yes it’s very nice.”

Oh, be sure to check out their newly renovated official website.  It includes FOTC news updates, merch, video, photo galleries, fan art, chords and lyrics, and more.  Also, you can follow Bret and Jemaine on Twitter; they’re @fotc.

[Via IGN; image via FOTC website]