TMC
09-24-2024, 08:26 PM
https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/1fnyto7/the_underrated_tea_leoni_tv_series_the_naked/
I've been pretty vocal about my hatred for the series finales of Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother over the years and while I still stand by everything I've said about them, I believe I may have finally a sitcom finale that's actually worse then both of them combined and it's one few people are aware of-The Naked Truth (https://web.archive.org/web/20140402222456/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3129050-the-naked-truth/?view=getnewpost) series finale (https://forums.lostmediawiki.com/thread/1177/truth-away) "Up, Up and Away" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0894475/). The Naked Truth (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031154458/http://www.jumptheshark.com/n/nakedtruth.htm) was a short-lived '90s sitcom (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheNakedTruth) starring Tea Leoni (https://www.google.com/search?q=recent+datalounge+%22The+Naked+Truth%22+Tea+Leoni&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWII5PWnCPD4N-zb5zoFKwK0eQsTuhw%3A1727223960925&ei=mFjzZs-UOO6l0PEPzZTZ6Q4&ved=0ahUKEwjPwI3V6tyIAxXuEjQIHU1KNu0Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=recent+datalounge+%22The+Naked+Truth%22+Tea+Leoni&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLXJlY2VudCBkYXRhbG91bmdlICJUaGUgTmFrZWQgVHJ1dGgiIFRlYSBMZW9uaUikGFDoA1jFFnABeACQAQCYAbEBoAHECKoBAzQuNrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAIgGAZIHAKAH-gY&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) about a Pulitzer prize winner being reduced to being a tabloid magazine reporter (as the '90s was the era of sitcoms set at trendy jobs, "Just Shoot Me" being one example) though after ABC (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Naked+Truth%22+ABC&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWILsvYksoARbFQqiNjUmd6bP2IKqlg%3A1727223692100&source=lnt&tbs=bkt%3As%2Ccdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F1995%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F1996&tbm=bks) cancelled the show and NBC (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Naked+Truth%22+NBC&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIfy-VLLUtJCMrQRLlIE3dCsKTFVQ%3A1727223768168&source=lnt&tbs=bkt%3As%2Ccdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F1997%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F1998&tbm=bks) picked up for two more seasons it was retooled (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Truth_(TV_series)#Plot) to have Nora working at a more respectable magazine.
Anyways, while season 2 got huge ratings (https://www.tvtango.com/series/naked_truth_1995/episodes), season 3 didn't fare nearly as well (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112090/reviews/). And there were five episodes that were unaired in the U.S. and weren't seen until years later in reruns on networks like WE TV. Once people finally did get to see the unaired episodes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Naked_Truth_episodes#Season_3_(1997%E2%80%9398)) including the finale some started to theorize that NBC was so horrified by how bleak the finale was that they pulled the plug on the show early.
Basically, the main characters end up trapped in a hot air balloon over the ocean and they have flashbacks (but not to previous episodes, it's not like a clip show or anything, that's the only thing that would've made it worse) and at the end it's looking like they are headed to their doom with them going towards the ocean.
Like, I could see that ending working if it were a group of characters who were generally amoral like the cast of Seinfeld or Always Sunny, but the characters on The Naked Truth while not completely innocent, definitely weren't on the same level as any of those characters. So the finale comes off as needlessly bleak and mean-spirited.
I've been pretty vocal about my hatred for the series finales of Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother over the years and while I still stand by everything I've said about them, I believe I may have finally a sitcom finale that's actually worse then both of them combined and it's one few people are aware of-The Naked Truth (https://web.archive.org/web/20140402222456/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3129050-the-naked-truth/?view=getnewpost) series finale (https://forums.lostmediawiki.com/thread/1177/truth-away) "Up, Up and Away" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0894475/). The Naked Truth (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031154458/http://www.jumptheshark.com/n/nakedtruth.htm) was a short-lived '90s sitcom (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheNakedTruth) starring Tea Leoni (https://www.google.com/search?q=recent+datalounge+%22The+Naked+Truth%22+Tea+Leoni&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWII5PWnCPD4N-zb5zoFKwK0eQsTuhw%3A1727223960925&ei=mFjzZs-UOO6l0PEPzZTZ6Q4&ved=0ahUKEwjPwI3V6tyIAxXuEjQIHU1KNu0Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=recent+datalounge+%22The+Naked+Truth%22+Tea+Leoni&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLXJlY2VudCBkYXRhbG91bmdlICJUaGUgTmFrZWQgVHJ1dGgiIFRlYSBMZW9uaUikGFDoA1jFFnABeACQAQCYAbEBoAHECKoBAzQuNrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAIgGAZIHAKAH-gY&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) about a Pulitzer prize winner being reduced to being a tabloid magazine reporter (as the '90s was the era of sitcoms set at trendy jobs, "Just Shoot Me" being one example) though after ABC (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Naked+Truth%22+ABC&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWILsvYksoARbFQqiNjUmd6bP2IKqlg%3A1727223692100&source=lnt&tbs=bkt%3As%2Ccdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F1995%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F1996&tbm=bks) cancelled the show and NBC (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Naked+Truth%22+NBC&sca_esv=af55f35308f0dbbd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIfy-VLLUtJCMrQRLlIE3dCsKTFVQ%3A1727223768168&source=lnt&tbs=bkt%3As%2Ccdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F1997%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F1998&tbm=bks) picked up for two more seasons it was retooled (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Truth_(TV_series)#Plot) to have Nora working at a more respectable magazine.
Anyways, while season 2 got huge ratings (https://www.tvtango.com/series/naked_truth_1995/episodes), season 3 didn't fare nearly as well (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112090/reviews/). And there were five episodes that were unaired in the U.S. and weren't seen until years later in reruns on networks like WE TV. Once people finally did get to see the unaired episodes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Naked_Truth_episodes#Season_3_(1997%E2%80%9398)) including the finale some started to theorize that NBC was so horrified by how bleak the finale was that they pulled the plug on the show early.
Basically, the main characters end up trapped in a hot air balloon over the ocean and they have flashbacks (but not to previous episodes, it's not like a clip show or anything, that's the only thing that would've made it worse) and at the end it's looking like they are headed to their doom with them going towards the ocean.
Like, I could see that ending working if it were a group of characters who were generally amoral like the cast of Seinfeld or Always Sunny, but the characters on The Naked Truth while not completely innocent, definitely weren't on the same level as any of those characters. So the finale comes off as needlessly bleak and mean-spirited.