In Case Of Actual Death

before i lose my style: kfan: I love this meme.You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You...

kfan:

I love this meme.

You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have:
1. One weapon.
2. One song blasting on the speakers.
3. One famous person to fight alongside you.

Weapon can be real or fictional; you may assume endless ammo if applicable. Person can be real or fictional.

—

I still love this meme. 

OK! Taking this quiz again today 3 years later I choose:

1. Magik’s soulsword

2. “She Bad Bad” by Eve

3. The Bride of Nine Spiders

'The Office,' 'How I Met Your Mother,' & Why Ending Sitcoms Can Save Them

barthel:

The Office has been nearly unwatchable for a few seasons and crossed the line into full irrelevance soon after Steve Carell left. Jim and Pam had moved from romantic tension into a functionally perfect relationship, and Ed Helms’ Andy seemed to change his basic personality traits every few episodes, making him very hard to care about. But halfway through this final season, Jim and Pam began having marriage problems after Jim pursued a career in another city without considering Pam’s needs. For a few episodes, we were faced with the wonderful possibility that the series might end with them breaking up. The Jim-Pam relationship was why people emotionally connected to The Office, and as wonderfully as the relationship had been written (primarily by Mindy Kaling), it would’ve been revelatory to see it critiqued, too. They seem to have reconciled, unfortunately, but by holding out the possibility of an actual breakup — sitcom main characters will always reconcile if there’s more time to fill, but might not if the show needs a climactic twist — it provided a firm dramatic center for the always-impressive supporting cast to do great work. (The series now looks to end on a goopy reunion note, but on the other hand Jim finds himself trapped in the exact same job at which he started, his dreams foiled by his own self-centeredness, so that’s a satisfying ending for those of us who’ve grown to truly despise Jim.)

On The Office, HIMYM, and why endings can be a creative boon.

I’m very into this and very into any exploration of How We End Things. Some random TV finale-related things off the top of my head:

• I vividly remember the series finale to I Married Dora, I was 13 and it completely blew my mind. Suddenly it wasn’t just a TV episode, they broke through the 4th wall in a way that was so much more jarring than anything that had ever happened on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Like it shook me awake about writing & TV & The Rules.
• I still haven’t watched the last episode of Terriers, one of my all time favorite shows, because it’s NOT a finale, so it’s kind of like there is still more of the show to watch if I want it, someday.
• I think maybe? I also haven’t seen the last episode of Wonderfalls for that reason? I don’t know, Wonderfalls is this dumb blindspot in my cultural horizon.
• How the finales to The Sopranos and 6FU became major cultural touchstones, almost in real time.
• CRYING at the Three’s Company finale. CRYING. Jack turns off the apartment lights? CRYING. I was 10.