>which might be a commentary on the concept of
>the grand finale as viewed through the eyes of someone normal (i.e.
>relentlessly confusing to the point of meaninglessness)

Not particularly related to NGE/NXE, but this comment made me stop. I'm trying to think of a single series finale (anime, regular, whatever) that actually worked for me;and the ONLY one that comes to mind is MASH. Not one other series finale that I can recall having seen was in any way satisfying.

Part of me accepts the fact that this is a product of shows that get any kind of traction today getting renewed for FAR too many seasons. Lost was a prime example of this problem, as was Smallville (which I really enjoyed for the first 2 seasons), and was really true for Burn Notice (which was the first spy serial I've enjoyed, well, ever).

But I think there is also the problem that most shows that end up with some kind of longish-term meta-story happen with writers who don't expect the series to MAKE the finale to really worry about considering an end game.

The only exception to this I can think of was Babylon 5, which was designed by Strazyncski (sp?) to be 5 seasons. Then, when he tried to finish off the series when/how he intended, the producers punted him and ran the series into the ground.

Freak'n Hollywood...

Brian