TV News and Reviews

*SPOILER ALERT* I have to say, the Crusoe finale really threw me tonight. The way things were running (at a somewhat breakneck pace these last couple episodes), I’d imagined everything was going to end neatly with a big bow on it. Not so, however. While Crusoe and Friday do manage to outwit their captors, and the evil brother-in-law and Blackthorn get their just desserts (in rather cruel fashion, I might add), Crusoe doesn’t actually make it back to England. He disavows the fortune that belongs to him, saves Friday, and they end up back on the island. With a burned-out treehouse.

Back home, his wife fares better with Olivia’s help. Out of the asylum, and her children out of the orphanage, she is free to take over what is now her children’s entitlement to Blackthorn’s estate. Rather delicious irony, actually, so well done there.

Of course Crusoe doesn’t know any of this. He can only act on faith. And we as viewers can only imagine what becomes of him and Friday–if somehow the Spaniard manages to send another ship out to rescue them, with the help of Olivia…who knows? And while I generally hate sad or unsatisfying endings, I think the fact that this avoided the easy wrap-up worked better for me. The finale leaves it open for a return to these characters–who knows, maybe a Crusoe TV movie or mini-series in future? And if not, it’s satisfying enough that we don’t feel cheated.

One thing that bothered me about the episode: Once Crusoe finds the all important paper in his father’s Bible, he takes that and discards the Bible, as far as I can tell. It was the one precious thing he had left of his family, and knowing that his father died–wouldn’t it have had even more sentimental value? Did it lose its value because his father wasn’t his biological father?

I did like that Crusoe said they’d take the dog the next time. That’s right! It broke my heart when they left him behind last episode.

So, farewell for now to Crusoe and Friday. You can catch up on full episodes at NBC, but not for long, probably. Get your shirtless Philip Winchester while you can, because NBC will probably yank the episodes to make it necessary to buy the DVD set. Which I probably will. Shirtless Philip and Tongayi Chirisa and delicious Sean Bean? Not a bad investment, I say. (If you’re interested in shirtless Crusoe, don’t forget the pics over at the Shrine to Actors .)

And one apology, for it seems I relied too heavily on IMDB and misspelled Tongayi Chirisa’s name in my posts. I will let him give me the angry eye as he corrects me.

**Shirtless Philip Winchester, angry Tongayi Chirisa of Crusoe screencaps, c2008, 2007 Moonlighting Films, NBC.