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Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

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Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Old 04-05-11, 01:58 PM
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Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

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By djariya at 2011-01-17

Synopsis:

Spoiler:
Series finale: Lights goes to war with Death Row Reynolds for the heavyweight title. But first, Hal Brennan declares war on promoter Barry Word. Lights isn't opposed, but he does have a suggestion. Meanwhile, Word has one last prefight word for Lights, and Theresa runs into Death Row's wife, Jennifer (Reiko Aylesworth).


This is it. The last episode of the show. Hope it goes out with a bang.


Matt Roush of TV Guide gave it a glowing review:


Even if you checked out early from this compelling boxing drama — and judging by the anemic ratings, most of you did — this week's season/series finale is a bona fide knockout, as Patrick "Lights" Leary (the soulful Holt McCallany) finally goes into the ring for his comeback rematch against the heavier, seemingly invincible "Death Row" Reynolds. As has been the case all season long, it's not always easy to watch. But Lights is a terrific character, certainly the most decent (despite his lapses) hero any FX drama has ever been constructed around. And if you care at all about the state of the contemporary TV drama, you owe it to yourself to see how series creator Warren Leight builds this masterful climax. Stay tuned for Lights' final words, which will haunt you for days.
Old 04-05-11, 02:00 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Promo:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QCBk7hf73CI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Old 04-05-11, 02:20 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

But Lights is a terrific character, certainly the most decent (despite his lapses) hero any FX drama has ever been constructed around.
Strongly disagree. At the start Lights was a compelling character, but he's quickly devolved into a totally unlikable one. Raylan Givens, Hank Dolworth, and Britt Pollack are all infinitely more decent heroes around which FX dramas were constructed; hell, Boyd Crowder after prison is a more decent hero. And they're all better-written characters to boot.

In all seriousness though, I really hope Reynolds beats destroys Lights.
Old 04-05-11, 02:31 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Stay tuned for Lights' final words, which will haunt you for days.
Hopefully his words are "GARBAAAAAAAALLLLLCHAAAAARBBBBBBLLLLL" and he's drooling.

Lights is hardly a "hero" worth rooting for.
Old 04-05-11, 02:34 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

While I don't agree with the above assessment of Lights, I do agree that the show got a little bogged down in the middle there.

That being said, I didn't enjoy it as much as Terriers or Rubicon, but this would have been a great show to see build up over time.
Old 04-05-11, 05:12 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Too much soap opera shit in the middle that made things overly dramatic. It started out very The Fighter/Rocky Balboa, but quickly went downhill with all the outside business. If things happened over the course of a couple years and not just leading up to the rematch, maybe, just maybe I could buy it, but too much, too soon made it comically unrealistic.

I hope Lights gets KTFO'd.
Old 04-05-11, 07:15 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

I hope "Lights" gets falcon punched in his weepy vagina, worse than Agent Stahl on SOA.

When i am more interested in Barry K. Ward than the main character, something has gone wrong. And i REALLY wanted to like this show.
Old 04-05-11, 09:58 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Nice final scene. But good riddance to this show.
Old 04-05-11, 10:19 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by aktick
Nice final scene. But good riddance to this show.
Yeah, wasn't a bad episode. Boxing mechanics were friggin terrible. It looks neither guy has ever thrown a punch in their lives.

With the ending, I had originally thought:

Spoiler:
He got knocked out in the first round when Reynolds was pounding on him. Him winning was just the time of him coming to and getting up off the mat. It all being in his head would be a downer ending, but I wouldn't have minded it.
Old 04-05-11, 10:24 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by TheNightFlier
With the ending, I had originally thought:

Spoiler:
He got knocked out in the first round when Reynolds was pounding on him. Him winning was just the time of him coming to and getting up off the mat. It all being in his head would be a downer ending, but I wouldn't have minded it.
Kind of what I was thinking too. That or he had died.
Old 04-05-11, 10:41 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Bad fight choreography aside, it was a good episode. This is the show I wanted to watch.
Old 04-06-11, 01:03 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by aktick
That or he had died.
I kinda thought that too before his wife came to get him.

Geezus.. a current heavyweight champ getting gassed after the first round because he threw too many punches? Really?!

Spoiler:
I think it would have been funnier with a Jacob's Ladder ending and Lights originally dies in the first fight with Reynolds and everything up to the rematch was a dream.
Old 04-06-11, 01:31 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Nice that the ref was real subtle about fixing the fight.

Those last lines will really haunt me for days! (That TV Guide review is just a bit over the top)

Glad it's over, they tried to make Lights a sympathetic hero again, but they just mucked it up too much along the way for me to care.
I did like the choice of CCR for the entrance music
Old 04-06-11, 01:41 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Great show, and great season. The episode before this one was the only bad one in my eyes, but the finale more than made up for it. It's hard to accept that the show is cancelled, and the ride is over. I'll hold out hope for a miracle act of it being revived at the 11th hour by someone, somewhere. Regardless, I'll definitely be copping it as soon as it's available for home release.
Old 04-06-11, 08:02 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by aktick
Kind of what I was thinking too. That or he had died.
I was thinking he was dead as well.

Regardless, it was an entertaining finale and a decent conclusion.

I had always said that previous fight was thrown by Morales.

at Death Row's wife being a total **** in this episode.
Old 04-06-11, 09:48 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

I thought it was a decent conclusion. Still very unclear how Lights beat him--knowing his last win wasn't real, older, smaller, etc. The ending was very well done. May not haunt me for years to come, but it was darn good.
Old 04-06-11, 10:59 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

The fight was incredibly awkward, but you could tell those two actors were exchanging some real punches.

Great final scene. I like how it wrapped on a story line introduced earlier in the season (when so many other plot twists were dropped or ignored). Certainly haunting.

Actually felt bad for Death Row. He was supposed to be Lights's foil, but they painted him as being a doting and sensible family man. I was actually rooting for him there at the end. Ultimately, I guess, he ends up "winning" as he's now retired, healthy, has a hot wife, a baby, and his fortune from past wins. Of all the fighters featured on the show, he's the only one who (we can assume) doesn't fall victim to the sport.
Old 04-06-11, 11:48 AM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

I'll at least give them credit for wrapping up the show with a more or less definitive conclusion. The episode was actually alright, but they did too many things wrong earlier in the show for this to really make up for it.

Way too much going on in the first season. Too many subplots and too much drama. I really liked the show when it was just Lights dealing with his family issues and trying to get money to climb out of debt. Throwing in all the underworld stuff just bogged this show down immensely.

I'm okay with Lights "winning," but he really shouldn't have. No way a fighter as accomplished as Reynolds would let the fight get to that situation; I just don't buy it. It's one thing to underestimate your opponent and give them the edge in that regard, but Reynolds is in his prime, no way that first round drained him, and no way Lights comes back from some of those hits.

I thought that when he was knocked out of the ring he was knocked unconscious, and then everything from the moment the reporter said, "You don't quit" until the end of the fight was a dream and that Lights was in a coma or something. Truth be told, I'd have much preferred that ending to the one we got because ultimately, I feel it is what the character and his family deserved.

At least we got confirmation that the Morales fight was fixed, which I think we all suspected anyway. They still mismanaged the hell out of that; and if he only won because the Morales fight was fixed, no way he'd have beat Reynolds; again, no way Reynolds in his prime loses steam after the first round.

Did we really need them to introduce us to all the guys Brennan had recruited? It just seemed shoehorned in there, then we see one of them in Reynolds's corner?

I would really like to hear from the people behind this show just what exactly what was their plan in the long-run. I can't imagine they actually intended for the Reynolds fight to be the season finale, because then it's like, "Where do we go from here?" Obviously the ratings wouldn't have sustained that, but if you had spread some of the stuff out over the course of a few seasons, then I think it would have played much better.

Either way, I'm satisfied in knowing that everyone sort of gets what they deserve. Lights can never fight again and suffers for the rest of his life because of his condition; his family has to learn to survive without him and they all feel responsible for putting so much pressure on him; Johnny likely gets killed at some point for crossing the wrong people because his brother isn't there to protect him; Brennan's boxing league fails without a heavyweight champ; Barry continues to dominate the world of boxing; and most importantly, Reynolds sees what happened to Lights and realizes there is more to live than boxing and lives out the rest of his life with his family, satisfied in the knowledge that he will never be as pathetic and desperate as Lights.

---

And just a bit more about why Reynolds was far more interesting and compelling of a character than Lights:

Reynolds was a far more sympathetic character and one I'd have rather seen a show about. You know the writers lost control of their show when the audience is actually rooting for the "bad guy" to win. I mean, Reynolds's story was just as compelling as Lights's, if not more so. He technically won the fight, but has been living in the shadow of it his whole career; no matter what he has accomplished, that fight always loomed over him, causing people to doubt him and for him to doubt himself. That he finally got another chance to prove himself was the most interesting aspect of the entire show; and even then, if he won, he still wouldn't be satisfied because everyone would know Lights wasn't in his prime. That is just far more interesting from a story point-of-view than what we ended up getting when the show was centered around Lights.
Old 04-06-11, 12:30 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by kstublen
I'll at least give them credit for wrapping up the show with a more or less definitive conclusion. The episode was actually alright, but they did too many things wrong earlier in the show for this to really make up for it.

Way too much going on in the first season. Too many subplots and too much drama. I really liked the show when it was just Lights dealing with his family issues and trying to get money to climb out of debt. Throwing in all the underworld stuff just bogged this show down immensely.

I'm okay with Lights "winning," but he really shouldn't have. No way a fighter as accomplished as Reynolds would let the fight get to that situation; I just don't buy it. It's one thing to underestimate your opponent and give them the edge in that regard, but Reynolds is in his prime, no way that first round drained him, and no way Lights comes back from some of those hits.

I thought that when he was knocked out of the ring he was knocked unconscious, and then everything from the moment the reporter said, "You don't quit" until the end of the fight was a dream and that Lights was in a coma or something. Truth be told, I'd have much preferred that ending to the one we got because ultimately, I feel it is what the character and his family deserved.

At least we got confirmation that the Morales fight was fixed, which I think we all suspected anyway. They still mismanaged the hell out of that; and if he only won because the Morales fight was fixed, no way he'd have beat Reynolds; again, no way Reynolds in his prime loses steam after the first round.

Did we really need them to introduce us to all the guys Brennan had recruited? It just seemed shoehorned in there, then we see one of them in Reynolds's corner?

I would really like to hear from the people behind this show just what exactly what was their plan in the long-run. I can't imagine they actually intended for the Reynolds fight to be the season finale, because then it's like, "Where do we go from here?" Obviously the ratings wouldn't have sustained that, but if you had spread some of the stuff out over the course of a few seasons, then I think it would have played much better.

Either way, I'm satisfied in knowing that everyone sort of gets what they deserve. Lights can never fight again and suffers for the rest of his life because of his condition; his family has to learn to survive without him and they all feel responsible for putting so much pressure on him; Johnny likely gets killed at some point for crossing the wrong people because his brother isn't there to protect him; Brennan's boxing league fails without a heavyweight champ; Barry continues to dominate the world of boxing; and most importantly, Reynolds sees what happened to Lights and realizes there is more to live than boxing and lives out the rest of his life with his family, satisfied in the knowledge that he will never be as pathetic and desperate as Lights.

---

And just a bit more about why Reynolds was far more interesting and compelling of a character than Lights:

Reynolds was a far more sympathetic character and one I'd have rather seen a show about. You know the writers lost control of their show when the audience is actually rooting for the "bad guy" to win. I mean, Reynolds's story was just as compelling as Lights's, if not more so. He technically won the fight, but has been living in the shadow of it his whole career; no matter what he has accomplished, that fight always loomed over him, causing people to doubt him and for him to doubt himself. That he finally got another chance to prove himself was the most interesting aspect of the entire show; and even then, if he won, he still wouldn't be satisfied because everyone would know Lights wasn't in his prime. That is just far more interesting from a story point-of-view than what we ended up getting when the show was centered around Lights.
to all your points. I really would like to know the long term direction of this show as well. It had potential but they shoe-horned in the underworld thing in S1 when it could have been a S2 plot point.
Old 04-06-11, 01:57 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by kstublen
I'm okay with Lights "winning," but he really shouldn't have. No way a fighter as accomplished as Reynolds would let the fight get to that situation; I just don't buy it.
But do we really know Reynolds was that great of a fighter? Yes, he's the champ, but as far as we know Barry Word has been fixing all of his fights.


Did we really need them to introduce us to all the guys Brennan had recruited? It just seemed shoehorned in there, then we see one of them in Reynolds's corner?
That was explained when Barry came to visit Lights in his hotel room with the Morales tape.
Old 04-06-11, 04:34 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by dino88
That was explained when Barry came to visit Lights in his hotel room with the Morales tape.
I think he meant was it necessary to include in the show at all. So many unnecessary sub-plots in this single season.
Old 04-06-11, 07:00 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Someone fill me in because I simply don't know boxing--are there really white heavyweight boxing champions in this day and age? Or is a show like "Lights Out" another Hollywood fantasy?

Again, I don't follow boxing so I wouldn't know, but based on what I catch here and there in the paper and TV, it seemed that if a boxing show were to be based on either Leary or Reynolds, it would be Reynolds (if they were going for any semblance of realism).
Old 04-06-11, 07:52 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by PacMan2006
Someone fill me in because I simply don't know boxing--are there really white heavyweight boxing champions in this day and age? Or is a show like "Lights Out" another Hollywood fantasy?
Two of the best in the sport are white.

From Wiki:
The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, hold four of the five major titles in the heavyweight division. They are the first brothers to hold versions of the heavyweight championship at the same time.
Old 04-06-11, 08:09 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Originally Posted by PacMan2006
Someone fill me in because I simply don't know boxing--are there really white heavyweight boxing champions in this day and age? Or is a show like "Lights Out" another Hollywood fantasy?

Again, I don't follow boxing so I wouldn't know, but based on what I catch here and there in the paper and TV, it seemed that if a boxing show were to be based on either Leary or Reynolds, it would be Reynolds (if they were going for any semblance of realism).
7 of the top 10 heavyweights in the world are "white."

And I assume your username is for the videogame and not the boxer.
Old 04-06-11, 08:19 PM
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Re: Lights Out -- Series Finale -- "War" -- 4/05/11

Had to be a dream. How else does a guy giving up 20 pounds to a younger, better, fighter in the shape of his life boxing the best he ever has lose to a guy with 2 rounds under his belt in five years past 40?

Ridiculous. This show was a real waste of 13 hours for me.

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