As both a future man-of-this-age and a lover of great television, I ask you, TNT: please let these men grow a little bit older.
Life is tough for a show on the edge. The plaintive, deliberate Men of a Certain Age has struggled to find an audience since it premiered in December of 2009. Some viewers were enticed by the thought of a fantastically popular comedian like Ray Romano striking out into more dramatic territory. For others, it was a hard sell: the guy from the goofy family sitcom complaining about being old? Either way, things aren’t looking great, despite a big advertising push and, most importantly, the fact that the show is fucking great.
So what’s a show with an uncertain future to do at the end of a season? Should the creators hope for the best and tease the plotlines they’re planning for next season? Or should they close up shop preemptively, tying up any loose ends and more or less closing the book on the show’s characters?
Like many showrunners, creators Mike Royce and Ray Romano have opted for the middle path. I’m crossing my fingers that “Hold Your Finish” will remain merely the second season finale, but if it turns out to be the show’s swan song, they could have done a whole lot worse. “Finish” is another terrific episode in what has been an absolutely tremendous season for Men of a Certain Age, a show that has turned out to be funnier, braver, and deeper than practically anyone could have expected.
From the beginning, Men of a Certain Age has fashioned itself a sort of series-length answer to one big question: what’s next? “Finish” does a pretty great job of answering that question for Joe (Romano), Owen (Andre Braugher), and Terry (Scott Bakula), even if, as life is wont to do, it answers with another question.
Joe’s decided to actually try out for the senior tour, despite some hesitation in the past few episodes. He’s enlisted his son Albert (Braeden Lemasters) to caddy for him at the qualifier, and all things considered, he seems pretty calm the night before the match. That is, until Albert and his daughter Lucy (Brittany Curran) give him a couple of heart-wrenchingly sentimental gifts for his 50th birthday—could things be more precipitous?!—and tell him jokingly that he’s got to win. “We don’t want a loser for a dad!”
Even though it’s one of the dealership’s best months in recent memory, Thoreau Chevrolet is still awash in red ink. After Owen Sr. (Richard Gant; GIVE THIS GUY AN EMMY) notices that the salespeople are spending more time playing valet than selling cars, Owen decides to cut off the free car wash deal he initiated a couple of episodes ago. This infuriates a bitchy guy who’s trying for his second free car wash, and the guy decides to march around Thoreau’s parking lot chanting, “BAIT AND SWITCH” through a bullhorn. Owen Sr. runs the guy off the property, but Owen Jr. ends up having to explain why the car wash was a necessity, despite the great numbers the staff’s been posting.
After the lo-fi success of Thoreau’s rejiggered ad campaign, Terry seems to be fairly infatuated with the idea of directing. He’s so intent on making this new dream a reality that he tells Owen – for the third or fourth time – that he’s quitting. Owen tells him that he knew the day would come sooner or later, but he wasn’t reckoning that it’d be so much sooner. He wishes Terry the best, but Erin (Melinda McGraw) doesn’t seem so infatuated with the idea when Terry slips it in over a cup of coffee the next morning.
After an initial stumble involving a penalty for an extra club on the course – Albert forgot to put it in the car – Joe performs pretty damn well for his qualifier. It’s a testament to the show’s refusal to make things easy, though, that Joe misses his last putt and takes himself out of the top five. Luckily for Joe, the show throws him a deus ex machina in the form of a rainstorm that rolls in after Joe’s already finished his 18 holes. The guys at the top start bogeying where they might have birdied, and Joe’s even finish brings him back up to the top five, which means he’ll move on to the next round.
Back at the dealership, Owen Sr. informs his son that he’s convinced Scarpulla to up his offer to buy Thoreau by 15% and accepted. Owen’s understandably crushed and tells his father that although he hated the dealership for most of his life, he wants nothing more than for it to succeed now that he’s in charge. The episode ends uncertainly, with father and son reconciling but without the former indicating what he’ll do with Thoreau.
After Terry finds Erin hiding out in her old apartment – she’s still not fully moved out – he tells her that he sees the directing gig as a chance to finish the project he started when he tried to make it as an actor: new Terry wants to make work what Old Terry screwed up. He asks Erin to give him a year at the new job. And if he hasn’t made any headway in that time, he’ll go back to selling cars.
Men of a Certain Age is a successful show principally because it refuses to offer easy answers for latter life’s particular concerns. So the fact that the show might leave things so open-ended is perhaps not a bad thing. What is the future if not a series of open questions? Men of a Certain Age is a show about the possibility of old age, and that possibility dries up right quick when you neatly tie up all the loose ends.
But on another level, I don’t want to be done with these characters. I’d be more than fine with an open ending, but how about in five more seasons? For right now, I just want to keep on living in the world of Joe, Terry, and Owen. I’ve gotten quite attached to these three old farts, and I don’t want to say goodbye just yet.
Either way, it’s truly been a pleasure writing about the show and discussing it with the Good Men Project’s dedicated and engaged readers. GMP was understandably excited to find a show that tackled the same kinds of issues we do, but the fact is that Men of a Certain Age is just one of the best damn television shows around, ideological project and demographics aside. It is, then, as both a future man-of-this-age and a lover of great television that I ask you, TNT: please let these men grow a little bit older.
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I just got into this show and would hate to see it end so suddenly. It’s one of the few funny, yet touching sitcoms left!
Men of a certain age has been my favorite series of all time. I think that the finale of this season (summer of 2011) was spectacular. It was so well done that even if the show does not come back, sad a thought as is for me, I am grateful that the last episode was so satisfying. I am in my mid 60’s and my husband is three years older. We have watched it together and both of us enjoyed it immensely. All of my friends love the show and many of their husbands loved it also. Naturally women were… Read more »
I thoroughly enjoy this show,the joking amongst them is dead-on..I’m a newly turned 50 man,ex car salesman, divorced with teens,have dated women 10 yrs. younger,and I love golf..I feel like I’m hangin out with my 3 new friends each time I watch the show..You gotta keep it goin,cause it’s gonna explode into a huge success…
I have been a fan since the beginning, and I have to say, I would be devastated if it does not return. I was never a fan of Ray Romano in the past, but I have to say he has worked his way “into my heart” with this role. I am only a “twenty-something” but I can totally relate to the characters, and feel as though they seem to be normal people. I really hope it returns.
I’ve loved this show since it began. It has some of the best acting out there, and although its not one of those ubiquitous, boring and idiotic reality shows, this show depicts reality, warts and all and gets it RIGHT. I surely hope that the powers that be continue to keep the series running for more seasons to come!
This has been, and hopefully will continue to be, a fantastic TV series. This is about real life – not something dreamed up in a hollywood studio. This and the Closer are so entertaining. My wife and I put these shows at the top of our priority list each week of their respective seasons. Please, please, please TNT, keep this series alive. I never really liked watching Ray Ramono until I saw him in “Men”.
This is the best show in a VERY long time. It is so sad that it may get canceled. If you like it, write to TNT and ask, plead, beg for it to be renewed!
Here is TNT’s contact us page. http://support.tnt.tv/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5477
I ditto everything said in the article! These guys have become my friends and a season without them would be a disaster. They sure help me to understand the other sex, especially the men of my age!
I was a Neilsen Rating person this year, and I gave MOACA top billing, so I’ve done my part 🙂
I especially enjoy this show that previously I mostly ignored. Now it has been set on my DVR to make sure I don’t miss one. Not only am I around the same age but trying to end a 19 year career in the car biz and at this age starting an uncertain future starting my first business late in life. The show really nails the reality of comedy and frustrations of the car biz. Much more material in that end of the show. I really hope the show continues.kb
Pretty much the ONLY sitcom I watch. Thoughtful writing, great acting, what’s not to like? But I suspect this show is way too intelligent to survive in today’s lowest-common-denominator “reality” TV environment. Hope I’m wrong!
Not that TV really needs to be defended, but I think the modern age of television might be the golden age of the format. Yeah yeah, I love “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Dick Van Dyke,” and “M*A*S*H” as much as the next guy, but the aughts and teens have been no slouch. “Louie,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Community,” “30 Rock,” “The Office” (both versions), “Friday Night Lights,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Wire,” “Archer,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Fringe,” “Justified,” “Game of Thrones”: these are just a few examples of the absolute embarrassment of televisional riches Americans experience every night. The issue isn’t that “Men of… Read more »
This show is great and it deserves more attention and promotion than it has received. PLEASE keep it going.
This is one of my favorite shows of all time, and the characters are so endearing because they reflect the messiness of real life, sometimes MY real life. I hope it comes back for many more seasons.
I love Men of a Certain Age and have from the very first show. These guys are great!
I most definitely hope that the final show is a SEASON finale only and these friends keep us in their world for a long time to come……aging from the perspective of 3 men???………….how innovative!!
Keep these fine stories coming, and CONGRATS for some very terrific acting.
This is a great show and should absolutely return for more seasons!
You mean there was a second season! I missed it. What channel carries it?