A Trio of Fall Finales

Dexter and Californication ended their seasons with episodes built around men who are trying to be the best person they know how to be. As we've seen a couple times over the course of the year, the normally empty Dexter (Michael C. Hall) appears to be capable of displaying real emotion when it comes to his offspring. This time, he even sheds a tear, though it actually comes vicariously out of Harry's (James Remar) eye during another one of their father-son chats. With Miguel Prado and the Skinner behind him, Dexter arrived at his wedding and, in a rare moment of true honesty, vowed to show himself and his new wife Rita (the subdued Julie Benz) just what kind of man he is. This sentiment was punctuated by a drop of blood that fell from the cast on his hand (broken during his run-in with the Skinner) onto Rita's pure white wedding dress, a constant reminder of the darkness that is never too far away.

On Californication, Hank's (David Duchovny) biography on the recently deceased Lew Ashby (Callum Keith Rennie, a questionable cast addition) is done, Charlie's (Evan Handler) a salesman shacking up with a "retired porno chick," and Karen (Natascha McElhone) got a job in New York. After a few off weeks where the show traded in comedy for a bit of self-seriousness, it returned to form with this second-season finale. For all of its debauchery, the show tries hard to maintain some modicum of heart, something for the audience to hold onto. Never has that been more in evidence than in this episode's final moments when Hank selflessy let Karen go so he could stay and let daughter Rebecca experience her first love. A perfect ending to a season in which Hank wanted so badly to do the right thing.

Over on CBS, the finale of Survivor: Gabon--Earth's Last Eden had a perfect ending of its own, as 57-year-old physics teacher Bob Crowley deservedly won the show's million-dollar prize. What started out as a lopsided, uneventful season concluded in a flurry of deception and an ultimate feat of fairness. Down to the final four of Sugar, Bob, Matty, and Susie (who had immunity), Sugar, in a wonderful example of sportsmanship, forced a tie, too difficult was the choice between her newfound brother- and father-figures. In a firemaking challenge to decide who would go to the final three, Bob easily outperformed Matty, and essentially secured the grand prize right then and there. When asked by Matty during the final tribal council why Susie and Sugar are more deserving of the million than he was, Bob answered flatly, "I don't think they are." And he couldn't have been more correct. Bob played an admirable game, while Sugar, as likable as she was most of the time, connived her way to the finals, and Susie rode coattails from the outset. In fact, Susie may just be the most boring, nondescript player ever to make it this far in the game. I'm just glad that annoying weasel Kenny didn't have a chance to plead his case to the jury. Bob became the oldest winner in Survivor history and tied for the most individual wins in a row (five, including three immunities). In a game where older people are usually voted out early, it was nice to see someone on the verge of AARP status finally get his due.

Jay, It Ain't So!

NBC is determined to do things differently, no matter the cost. Last year, after the writers’ strike, they pooh-poohed the pilot process, instead choosing to order shows straight to series. That bet clearly didn’t pay off, as the network’s ratings are down by double digits and they don’t have a bona-fide hit on the schedule save football. Now comes the announcement that Jay Leno won’t be leaving after all, with the Peacock making history by stripping a new talk show at 10pm in the fall. Thanks, NBC. At least in late night, it was easier to avoid Leno, who never met a predictable punchline he didn’t like. Now he’ll be plastered all over prime time five nights a week.

And what happens if this bold experiment doesn’t work? A major impetus for this decision is that it saves the network millions of dollars that would normally go toward license fees and per-episode costs of an expensive drama series. Which means that they probably won’t be spending much on development in the near future. Which means that they may be stuck with this show for some time even if the ratings stink. There’s a big difference between a late night talk show that viewers fall asleep to and a prime time show that they make an appointment to watch (or at least set a DVR season pass for) every week. It’s going to take a lot more than the five million or so viewers who tune in to Leno each night to make it a success in prime time. Would you choose to watch Leno exercise his horrible interview technique over an episode of Lost—or even Numb3rs for that matter? I think NBC will learn before too long that the answer to that question is a resounding no.

A Secret Worth Keeping

Fox doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to shows that have Millionaire in their titles. The messes that were Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? and Joe Millionaire are best forgotten. So it comes as a sweet surprise that the network’s new Secret Millionaire actually has something most of Fox’s reality entries distinctly lack: a heart.

In each episode, wealthy partipants are taken to a poor neighborhood, where they must live on welfare wages for a week. After meeting people in their new environs and determining who they think is most worthy of a chance at a better life, they must dole out at least $100,000 of their own money. The expected complaints of people who go from the lap of luxury to utter poverty are dampened quickly enough when they realize that their new neighbors live like this all the time, not just for six days.

The show is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. We meet Linda, a woman climbing back from the medical bills that left her on the street; Kathy, who uses her social security check to feed homeless people out of her own home; and little Emily, a child with cancer and no health insurance. In Buras, Louisiana, we see the devastation that still remains three years after Hurricane Katrina, and the people who are determined to rebuild.

Money is handed out, tears flow, and lives are changed all around. But better than the reactions that come with receiving a monetary windfall is the togetherness and camaraderie that the destitute share with complete strangers. This is selflessness at its most pure; for Fox, a strange but all-too-welcome sight.