Well, NBC's Ed saw its season finish last night with the marriage of series leads Ed Stevens & Carol Vessey (is there ever a show that made us any more aware of its main characters' full names?) NBC is calling it a season finale, but to these eyes it looked like the end of the series entire. Makes sense: the wedding is the moment the show led up to from its beginning.
Gotta admit I'm not too saddened by the show's demise. When it debuted, Ed came off as a winning blend of romance and whimsical comedy - both tough to sustain over the long haul - and while it continued to have its moments (thanks, largely, to the efforts of a marvelous cast), the series lost much of its luster once the writers started tossing too many textbook complications between the romance of Ed and Carol (Tom Cavanagh & Julie Bowen). Writers/creators Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman seemed to acknowledge that fact last night in a song by nervous truth-teller Shirley Pifco (Rachel Cronin), who concludes a "Ballad of Jed Clampett" parody with a "thank God because we're all sick of Ed and Carol's story."
Well, maybe not sick, Shirley. But over the last year especially, it's the show's secondary plotlines that've proved more appealing: the high school travails of Warren and Mark (Justin Long & Michael Genadry), best friend Molly's (Lesley Boone) unsuccessful romances, Doctor Mike's (Josh Randall) work and family woes, the bowling alley rivalry between Phil (Michael Ian Black) and Eli (Daryl Mitchell). I'll pine for that more than I will the off-again/on-again antics of Ed's leading man and lady. Though I will admittedly miss hearing the way Cavanagh's Ed would deliver the name "Carol Vessey" - sounding at once both awestruck and self-aware - whenever I recall this off-beat li'l series. . .
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
It's pretty much certain that Ed is gone for good - the early season end, the time slot changes, these are things that do not bode well for a show. It's too bad, with the tying up of the whole Ed/Carol story they might have finally been able to move forward for once. Like you, I'm more sad to not see continuing story lines based around the peripheral characters - Ed and Carol could probably leave the show and I wouldn't mind anymore. I've always enjoyed the kids, Mike and Nancy, and have grown especially fond of Eli's spunky character. I'd be glad if they spun him off into his own show - they almost could, in fact, with the amount of time they spent developing his character over the past handful of episodes.
However, cancelling Ed seems rather dumb, given the fact that NBC's running out of shows that have a dedicated fanbase. The Ed fans may not have been huge in number, but they tuned in week after week. Taking Ed off the air gives my wife and I yet another reason to find another station to watch - because there sure as hell isn't anything else on NBC we'll watch outside of what we already do (and that's a small number of shows now - Scrubs, Friends, ER . . . that's it. In a short while that'll be reduced by yet another show.) Maybe NBC will realize this and give it another season. I'm not holding my breath.
2 - Mark Saleski
it won't surprise me if it's gone forever. the writers have exhausted their cookie jar of will-they-or-won't they cliches. now that ed & carol are finally married they won't know what to do with them.
..which is really too bad in my book. nothing interesting ever happens to couples? i guess not in the minds of clueless television writers.