Anyone else think the jokes they use to go into credits seem kind of out of place? The off-camera stuff is so downbeat that those finales, especially coupled with the loud laughtrack-like music, come off as a little corny. They're all like "Ha ha, there they go again!" Maybe it's the music.
shareIt's true that the low key nature of the show is generally sabotaged by the end-episode joke, which other than being followed by the dramatic smash cut to music and credits, is also usually the only telegraphed joke in the whole episode, making it pretty predictable. It seems to be the one concession to its era this excellent, timeless tv show ever made.
shareI see your point, but for me it really depends on which episode we're talking about, because while I thought some had abrupt, awkward endings ("The Matchmaker"), I felt others really hit the mark with how they went out ("Larry's New Love").
Just my $0.02.
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I always thought that's what they were going for, ending with a character in an awkward situation. The endings usually seemed true to the show to me, I don't have any problem with them.
shareThe freeze frame ending are usually a last comic twist to the story. Like when Larry came to a truce with critic Tom Shales, then at the end Hank says he forwarded the crude email to Shales after all. They are not awkward, those endings, they are funny.
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