Season 5, Episode 21: Bygones


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Series finale

Aired: Monday, May 20, 2002

Rating: 7.4/11

Full synopsis by merrystar

Credits
Written by David E. Kelley
Directed by Bill D'elia

Special guest stars
Christina Ricci as Liza Bump
Dame Edna Everage as Claire Otoms
Special appearances by
Gil Bellows as Billy Thomas
Lisa Nicole Carson as Renée Radick
Courtney Thorne-Smith as Georgia Thomas
Guest starring
Bobby Cannavale as Wilson Jade
Jordan Baker
Carl Reiner
Peter MacNicol as John Cage
Co-starring
Sy Smith, Vatrena King, Renee Goldsberry as singers
Featured music
"New Man in Town" by Sam McClain (montage)
"Even Now" by Barry Manilow (montage)
"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White (montage)
"Searchin My Soul" by Vonda (with "ooga chukka" from "Hooked on a Feeling")
"Tell Him," orig. by the Exciters, sung by Vonda ()
"Lady Marmalade," orig. recorded by LaBelle, recently redone for "Moulin Rouge," sung by Jane, Lisa & the Ikettes (during wedding reception)
"You're the First, the Last, My Everything," by Barry White. Performed by Jane, Lisa, Vonda, the Ikettes, & Barry White (wedding reception)
"Neighborhood" (Leiber/Stoller/Sembello/Dino) sung by Vonda (ending song)

Dame Edna Everage appears by arrangement with Barry Humphries.

From Mike Most (Visual FX Supervisor): [The day we filmed the final scene] was a pretty emotional day. Because of availability issues, we shot that scene on the 2nd and 3rd days (out of 8) of production, so a lot of what we spent the next 5 days on seemed a bit anticlimactic. Some final interesting tidbits:

The final scene was shot over 2 days. The goodbyes were shot on the first day, and because we started to run a bit late the last shot (Calista walking towards camera, on both the crane shot and the closeup/group shot) was shot the next morning.

The last day of production consisted of the scene with the psychologist ("Maddie was in a 3-way.."), the unisex scene (Carl Reiner comes in at the end and encounters Dame Edna) - which was Calista and Jane's last scene - and the last scene ever for the show, which was the scene in which Carl Reiner is demonstrating the "cage" apparatus in Fish's office. The final shot was the 2 shot of Greg and Peter looking back at Carl (and a closeup of Peter done with a second camera).

After the final shot, David made a short speech to the crew in which he said that when Peter started to feel he might not want to continue with the show (this was a while ago), he was determined to make sure that he not only continue but that he be in the very last shot ever (that was a joke, of course - we didn't know what the last shot would be until we got to it).

We got through the last day pretty quickly and wrapped just before lunch. The company was given a very nice (and large) catered lunch (which everyone, including Calista and Jane stayed for) at which Peter and Greg, David, and Bill D'Elia gave some short speeches. A ping pong table that Greg had bought for the crew months earlier (when he directed an episode earlier this season) was raffled off, and we all said our goodbyes. The wrap party was held a few days later (a week before last Friday) and that was it for most of the crew. Some of us still had to finish post production chores (I wasn't done until last Wednesday), but basically that's how it all ended.

Mike Most (formerly Visual FX Supervisor on "Ally" - presently unemployed, but enjoying the rest)


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