Gets two flying drumsticks way up.
10
The Last Dance is a superb episode, about how the gang’s summer plans threaten the fate of R.F.R.. Ray has a chance to perform more at Mickey’s, Lily and No Man’s Land could get a summer mall tour, and Travis is leaving for Hong Kong.
It subtlety showcases the progress each character has made with the series’ usual clever blend of comedy and drama.
In the beginning, there were four single kids starting grade nine. Three were best friends from childhood and the fourth, a strange loner.
They were dreading their career aptitude test predictions. Robbie was to become a farmer when he wanted to be on the radio. Ray was destined for dentistry when he didn’t know what he wanted to be. Lily was supposed to become a musician even though she battled stage-fright and didn’t think she was good enough. Travis was to be a lawyer, which he disliked.
As an escape and to anonymously find their voices in a world of encouraged conformity, of being who others wanted them to be, the quartet created an underground radio station.
In the end, there are four dating best friends finishing grade nine, eager to meet the future they’re deciding for themselves and hoping to continue with a popular underground radio station which gives themselves and others another voice in a world of encouraged conformity.
Robbie, the impassioned driving force of R.F.R., has grown as a journalist and a person. He now has journalism experience in radio and print, and has learned quite a bit about integrity and being true to oneself. He is finally dating Kim Carlisle without trying to hide the relationship as was the case before she went to Paris.
Ray, the comic relief of R.F.R., has found his spotlight and the recognition he’s been wanting since the series began. More importantly, the young kid who was too afraid to tell Lily he liked her during all of season one has become the young man who boldly but respectfully told Lily he liked her and she should be with him, not River, in the series finale. The “true freacher” will even miss Travis “Hey man” Alien Strong.
Travis, the technical guru and sort of wise man of R.F.R., has finally learned to accept and carry his past, deciding not to steal his permanent record. As he said in The Imposter, Travis found a home in Roscoe and he has learned the distances between people aren’t so vast; the world is small. As if that wasn’t enough, he produced a single for Lily, became manager and producer of No Man’s Land and is dating Parker, who will probably make their long-distance relationship work.
Lily, the songtress of R.F.R., has learned she is good enough to be a professional musician and overcame her stage-fright. This young woman has put out CDs, gotten a mall tour with a band of friends, Megan and Parker, performed at Sound Wave, and opened for The Trews. The lone female DJ at R.F.R. has gone from hanging with just guys in the series pilot to knowing about girl stuff and rocking with girls and guys. She has even grown enough to respectfully dump River for Ray, her first call.
As usual, the story flows wonderfully, with a balance of humour, romance and drama. Every event and character action felt right and appropriate.
And there are great surprises like seeing the cafeteria lady from the series pilot and Principal Waller dancing with high school students. The fact that Parker cleverly kept Travis believing Waller’s office door was locked by distracting him until he decided to accept his past was funny and different. Generally, other shows would have had Waller find them.
The actors also did a terrific job, using just the right amount of emotion in each scene. When Travis said good-bye, there could have been over-the-top bawling. Instead, viewers saw restrained sadness and there was a sense tears were near, keeping the focus on what Travis and the others had gained rather than what they were losing.
This series finale, intended as a season finale, is a fitting end that stays true to a great, refreshingly different and entertaining intelligent comedy series.
