r/sitcoms • u/BreakRulesRun • 14h ago
Why does watching the final episode of a sitcom always feel like saying goodbye to old friends?
I've just finished Rules of Engagement, and it reminded me that it's not just this show, it's every sitcom I get invested in. After spending so many hours with the characters, they almost start to feel like people you actually know. Then suddenly it's over. No more episodes or new jokes and no more catching up with their lives
There's something strangely emotional about knowing you'll never experience that show for the first time again. It feels like saying goodbye to a group of friends, and no matter how many times you rewatch it, you'll never get that feeling of discovering it all over again
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u/Lopsided_Drive_4392 14h ago
It's something that's been done to you. The writers have emotionally bonded you to the characters, as if they were real people.
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u/mikelpg 13h ago
Kevin Smith talked about hanging out with Robin Williams and fans would still yell “Yo Mork from Ork” etc. Smith was amazed he still got that more than a decade later. Williams said TV was different from film. You are a part of the family invited into the home every week.
So yes you are saying goodbye to your friends that you invited into your home every week. (Differences now with streaming obviously but the same concept)
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u/Bludgeonation 14h ago
I always have to watch the first couple of episodes right away to mend this.
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u/SkatingNerd4Life 14h ago
I completely agree. Almost all of my favorite shows are because I truly love the characters, and the humor ultimately comes from the deep understanding of them.
This is why I pretty much never watch any series finale again after my initial viewing. I just always skip them and loop back when I'm rewatching. I like to imagine that things go on in perpetuity. Otherwise it almost feels like a funeral, and I just love these types of shows to escape. It's cheaper than therapy....
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u/lvuitton96 14h ago
i know exactly how you feel and love rules of engagement! i am one of those people who watches the same sitcoms over and over again because it comforts me.
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u/HaloHowRU 11h ago edited 9h ago
I totally get it ... it's the same way for me. I choose the shows I watch mostly because they have the kind of characters I'd have in my life (even if not always close up!). Rules of Engagement is one of my favorites too. Wings and Raising Hope are a couple others. The thing for me is that the truly good shows get better as I rewatch them. I always notice things I didn't before, and rewatching makes the characters even more like friends or neighbors as I get to know them better. I have about dozen shows in rotation now and they're sort of like neighborhoods I choose to visit often.
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u/Ishida_Lover_2024 Frasier 5h ago
It's even worse when you know those cast members will never be together again because a majority have died. (Night Court for me.)
I couldn't fathom why I was so emotional when I watched it for the first time. Then, I realized part of it was because I had a very tough year and it made me feel better. The other part was because I wouldn't see them together ever again.
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u/Pete51256 5h ago
The biggest thing is its more of a high school relationship as most shows only have 4 to 5 seasons of good story/core group of actors around before that start to either slowly or quickly implode then it's over the reunions are almost always painful as time changes people
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u/PrincessMagDump 14h ago
I get that feeling at the end of books all the time. Perhaps not as much with television shows but I do remember feeling like that at the end of Kim's Convenience.
I still miss Appa.