One of the most painful things we have to deal with is when we are told that a position we have worked at for a long time is being terminated.  Despite the trauma this situation creates, one of the issues we need to handle has to do with tying up all the loose ends of our position.  Although our gut instinct tells us to leave everything alone and let our successors manage the transition, we need to fight that urge for two major reasons:

   First, you do not want to burn any bridges with your previous employer.  They could provide a crucial reference which makes you the candidate of choice.  Second, we all need a sense of closure.  When I left my previous position, I needed to feel that my work at that position was finished.  It was a critical factor which helped my “healing process” and allowed me to focus on my job search.

   Although some may debate the wisdom of comparing prime time television to job search, I feel there are lessons that can be learned from the poor judgment major networks have exercised in handling series cancellations and finales.  To be more specific, those involved with prime time shows have consistently demonstrated a lack of ability to bring cancelled TV series to a satisfying conclusion.

  When any series comes to a close, nothing gives me a greater sense of satisfaction than to see all of the loose ends of a series tied up neatly.  It makes me feel that the time that I invested in watching that TV show was worthwhile.  Similarly it is to your benefit as an employee to make your employer to feel that you have tied up your loose ends, even though you are facing unemployment and an uncertain future.

   With the above said, here are several examples which represent prime time television’s failure to provide satisfying conclusions to cancelled shows and series finales.  I am hopeful this will prove my point about tying up the loose ends of your position.

Example Number 1:  Flash Forward (ABC; 2009-2010) to summarize; ABC has made me very sore about the way they handle many of their cancellations.  I will definitely think twice before investing my time with ABC evening programming.  The series began in late 2009 with a global blackout.  This was more serious than a loss of electricity; everyone on the planet lost consciousness for a little over two minutes.  During those two minutes of lost consciousness, most everyone received visions of their lives six months in the future.

   For the main character Mark Benford, an FBI agent and a recovered alcoholic, his vision indicated he would lose his wife to another man, start drinking again, and find his office overrun by terrorists. Benford’s friend and co-worker Demitri Noh did not know if he would be alive; he did not have any vision of his future.  Fellow agent Janis Hawk’s future vision was more shocking.  Janis, who was gay, found herself several months pregnant.  How would all of this come to pass?  As a result of some excellent script writing, we were led through a maze of character development, plot twists, and life threatening situations to the season finale earlier this year.  Unfortunately, the series finale raised even more questions.    Mark Benford  was desperately trying to escape from his office before it exploded (thanks to a timed incendiary device) Would he get out of the building before it exploded?  Would his daughter have to live the rest of her life without her father? Would Benford’s wife leave him for the other man? Would Demitri Noah have another flash forward?  Will we ever find out who is behind the latest Global Blackout that occurred at the end of the season?

   C’mon guys, the least ABC could have done for us is to have a TV movie to tie up all the loose ends.  Who knows, a TV movie may convince another network that this excellent series is worth saving.  Suffice to say that if ABC was knocking at my door asking for a reference….they would not get it!

Example Number 2:  The Pretender/Profiler (NBC; 1996-2000) I had to group these two series together.  For four years, these two shows dominated what NBC called the “Saturday Night Thrilogy”.  Let’s start with The Pretender.  I really liked this series, which combined elements of MacGyver and The Fugitive. The Main Character, Jarod, a child genius, was kidnapped from his parents and raised by an evil think tank known as “The Center.” Through flashbacks we learn that, although there were many evil doings at the Center, there were some good people who worked there.  A psychiatrist known as “Sydney” represented the good in the Center.  Sydney raised Jarod and trained him to become a Pretender; someone who could take on any profession at a moment’s notice, and become an expert in that profession as well.  

   The series began with Jarod, as an adult, escaping from The Center.  As The Center was a haven for evil, Jarod was intent on using his talents do undo the evils done by his former captors.  In the meantime the Center was anxious to recapture Jarod. The efforts to capture Jarod were initiated by the evil Ms. Parker and her father, the head of The Center.  The multilayered plots raised many questions.  These questions included the following: Why were Ms. Parker and Jarod childhood friends?  What caused Ms. Parker’s transition from friend to foe?  Will Jarod be running from the Center for the rest of his life? What ever happened to Ms. Parker’s mother? Will Jarod ever be able to expose the Center?  It was bad enough that none of these questions were answered on the series finale.  What made things even worse was that two Pretender TV movies, filmed after the series finale, also failed to answer any questions.  Why couldn’t we get a more satisfying finale, like the FBI shutting down the Center, or a Senate Subcommittee exposing the Center and shutting it down? After all, whether you are leaving a job, of ending a TV series, shouldn’t we be entitled to some sense of closure?

   The Profiler represented the darker side of the “Thrilogy.”  The Profiler in this case was special agent Samantha Waters (played by Ally Walker).  She had a unique gift, which she used to solve violent crimes.  As interesting as this series was, it had a fatal contradiction.  Despite the fact that the Water’s employer (the Violent Crimes Task Force) seemed to have unlimited resources and unlimited talent, they were apparently unable to catch the serial killer (known as “Jack Of All Trades”) who murdered agent Waters’ husband.   Nonetheless, the writers managed to use this contradiction to add a more human dimension to Ally Walker’s character. 

   In retrospect, the series lasted one year too long.  At the end of season three, Agent Waters finally managed to track down the serial killer, avenge her husband’s death, and resign from the FBI’s special task force.  Instead of settling for that “perfect ending”, the show lingered on for another season. Special Agent Rachel Burke took over for Agent Waters and it was back to work for the task force. At the end of season four, Agent Burke was placed under arrest just as the Senate cut off funds to the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force. End of Series.  Although it was not exactly the “happily ever after ending” I really would have preferred the ending that the previous season offered. Instead we will be wondering if Agent Burke will ever be let out of jail for a crime she did not commit; and what about the Violent Crimes Task Force?  Who will protect us from future madmen such as Jack of all Trades? 

Example Number 3:  Seinfeld (NBC):  This series, at its best was hilarious and imaginative. Who could forget “The Backwards Episode” or Seinfeld’s trip to visit his parents in Florida; and who would end up being “Master of their Domain?”  It just seemed a shame that the series ended with all the main characters in jail. As far as this writer is concerned, it seemed the ending was rather pointless.  Maybe it made sense for a series which was supposed to be about “nothing in particular” to have a pointless ending.

   There are many other series which had unsatisfying endings.  How many people felt that “Lost” had a satisfying ending?  Do you think the series finale of “The Sopranos” could have been better? Finally, here is a history lesson in failure to tie up loose ends.  Back in 1966 there was a series called “The Time Tunnel.”  Every week two scientists would jump to a different time period.  How did that series end?  Almost 45 years later, I still don’t know if the scientists made it back to their own time.  A similar concept series “Quantum Leap” (which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993) also had an equally unsatisfying ending.  The least they could have done was to bring the main character home.

   Maybe the point here is that the world of employment, like the fictional world created in Hollywood, has neither a beginning or ending.  It is an endless group of segues; some smoother than others.  As far as this writer is concerned, can someone please learn a lesson from “Star Trek – Voyager” and “The Fugitive?”

   So this week, I would like to give some special Good Hunting wishes to Mark Benford, Tony Soprano, Jarod, Rachel Burke, and Dr. Beckett.

-Howard K. Young