Back in the day, older women would say, “I need to get home to watch my programs.” I didn’t know what they were talking about.
But now that Netflix is a hallmark of our culture, I think I do.
Instead of “As the World Turns,” it’s Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, and thousands of others.
TV shows aren’t standalone episodes anymore. They’re a continuing saga that pulls us in. And we just have to know what happens next.
But not all TV shows are created equal, especially their endings. And very few are conceived with the end in mind.
Most TV shows fall into one of three categories.
1. The show is outright canceled. It doesn’t matter if you loved it or hated it. It doesn’t matter if the final episode ended with a cliffhanger. If the plug was pulled, you have to make up your own ending if you cared enough about the plot to begin with.
2. The show is canceled, but the writers are given a handful of episodes to wrap up the story. These are also pretty bad. Plot holes left unresolved, and a lame resolution of the main storyline.
Like leaving a casket closed at a funeral, sometimes you wish these shows were outright canceled so you didn’t have to witness the tragedy of a lame ending.
3. The show completes its story arc with a beautiful ending. These are the shows people talk about decades after they’re off the air.
I would bet money that the creators of TV show #3 begin with the end in mind.
Compare this to disasters like Once Upon a Time that keep going, and going, and going, and going…until, like Frankenstein’s monster, it gets out of control and destroys everything in its path.
Including viewers, actors, and the network.
We have the same thing in the piano teaching world.
We have students who disappear during the summer, never to be heard from again. Not even a thank you or a goodbye.
We have students who bring their lessons to a quick close when things get busy. Asking for every other week lessons or to take a month off are early warning signs.
And then we have the students who are in this for the long haul and will play music for the rest of their lives.
It all starts by beginning with the end in mind.