The End of an Era

"I think an ordinary paper company like Dunder-Mifflin was a great subject for a documentary. There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point?" — Pam, "The Office."

In the film "Radioland Murders" a cryptic message says "Beginnings and endings are easy." With all do respect, when it comes to TV, that's just not the case. Pilots can be the most difficult episodes to write. How do you capture an audience? How do you draw people in?

And even if the pilot works, then you have to build a show that people care about. "The Office" was almost one of those shows that died before it began. It's first season — just six episodes — was a ratings disaster. But NBC — thanks to some strong iTunes numbers and a great cast — gave it new life.

On Thursday, after nine seasons, "The Office" came to an end. It never reached the heights of "Seinfeld" or "Friends," but it was the heir to that NBC Thursday comedy mantle. And it was a great show, one that will likely inspire fans for years to come.

But as hard as it is for a show to find an audience and establish itself out of the box, finales are even trickier. Most people feel like "Seinfeld" was the greatest comedy of all time. But most of those people are still bitter about a finale that felt like a confusing betrayal to all that came before it.

It was natural to wonder how "The Office" would end. Thursday night, we got that answer, and it turned out to be a satisfying and fitting end to nine years that came before it. Maybe it was even better than that considering most feel the past two seasons — post Steve Carrell — didn't quite match what came before it.

Fortunately, and fittingly, Carrell returned for the finale. His appearance was a warm and welcome surprise. Also back was Mindy Kaling — who left this year for her own show. All the characters who made "The Office" what it was were part of its goodbye, and it provided a satisfying conclusion to all their stories. It was a fitting end to the show, and a fitting goodbye.

The future will tell where "The Office" falls in the cannon of TV comedies, but for now those who stuck with the show all these years can be pleased with the ending.