The greatest ending to the greatest show. Only advice is to block out two hours so you can watch the last two episodes together.

Oh, and Johnny Carson's signoff: "I wish you a heartfelt good night." To steal Lester Bangs' line about Elvis, we will never again agree on anything as we agreed about Carson.

I'll stay until the end of The Shield reviews, but if this keeps up, I'm out too.

Thank you Tasha, you've been my favorite writer on this site (and not just because I was almost always on your side in Tasha vs. Tobias). You had the most elegant style and unforced wit. Thank you.

The end of Blood Meridian, as people walk on a plain of bones digging holes for fences or telegraph lines, and a whole world comes to an end. (For that matter, the end of The Road feels the same, although nothing will come after it.)

But enough about your forties. What have you been doing lately?

I believe it was part of the New Cult Canon, yes, but since that feature is. . .unavailable (BLABLABLABLA I CAN'T HEAR YOU) it seems it should get some attention here.

@avclub-8b0e08d6a104e3a3ee0d6f1d7ad3307b:disqus :  on the commentary, Frank Darabont and Ryan note that The Scene is now regularly used in acting classes.  It's exactly what drama is meant to be:  two people with irreducibly different views of the right thing to do.  Of course you're right:  it's not just that the…

Classic Poe.

If you aren't covering Miami Blues tomorrow, I'm gonna be seriously pissed off.  Like breaking-a-Krishna's-finger pissed off.

Thanks as ever.  Going through the comments, it looked like pretty much all of us got hooked by "Dragonchasers"; that's the only reason I didn't give you the personal shout-out, although I did remember your comment from the pilot episode.

The scene where he's showing Brooks how to do the newscast is a great little bit of writing and performance—Hurt is far from the smartest guy in the room, but he does know his craft.

There is absolutely a difference between beautiful and desirable. (They overlap, but they are not the same thing.) The best way that this replicates Double Indemnity is that Kathleen Turner is just as desirable as Barbara Stanwyck.

I did forget that, and thanks to you and Craig J. Clark for reminding me.

William Hurt is a very smart man who is good at playing smart (Altered States, Syriana) but absolutely fucking kills when he plays less than completely smart (this, The Accidental Tourist, A History of Violence).

"…any time you try a decent crime, you got fifty ways you're gonna fuck up. If you think of twenty-five of them, then you're a genius… and you ain't no genius."

Agreed. Nowalk sez on his Twitter feed that The Shield will be back next week with season 2, episodes 1 and 2.

Dammit, you gotta make me cry at this hour. . .

He also took the lead in Mamet's adaptation of Faust; I've only read it but it is all kinds of bizarre amazing.  (Ricky Jay plays Satan, to give you an idea of what to expect.)

Coming soon:  Michael Haneke's A Dog's Ransom, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith.  (Actually I would watch the shit out of that.)