FOND FAREWELLS: 25 UNFORGETTABLE TV EXITS

When I looked through this as I was prepping the article I got very emotional. I’m not necessarily that big on nostalgia. But it does bring back lots of memories.

Our good friends at EW have a photo gallery that centres on television characters making their final exits (in various ways) from the programs that they were most famously associated with.

Some of these remind me of what I was going through personally when I watched them. Or how I feel now thinking about the people and the situations on the show(s) in question after I had gone through something similar in my own life. Occasionally it’s not you at all but someone close to you that had the experience. Anyway you look at it, art does imitate life many times over in varying degrees. Sometimes in a positive fulfilling sense and other times in dark challenging ways.

These are the ones that have some resonance for me: ADRIANA LE CERVA (DREA DE MATTEO) on THE SOPRANOS, DIANE CHAMBERS (SHELLEY LONG) from CHEERS, GARY SHEPHERD (PETER HORTON) on THIRTYSOMETHING, MIKE FLAHERTY (MICHAEL J. FOX) from SPIN CITY, DETECTIVE BOBBY SIMONE (JIMMY SMITS) on NYPD BLUE and everyone from SIX FEET UNDER.

To peruse the gallery, please go here