Farewell to the King

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Tonight marks something of a milestone in the history of television. After nine seasons, The King of Queens airs is final episode, and with its conclusion, a chapter in situation comedies is closed.

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Airing on CBS opposite ratings juggernauts 24 and Heroes, it’s unlikely the demise of The King of Queens will be regarded with much more respect than a backpage obituary. It could have been saved, perhaps — placed in a different timeslot as it had been on more than a few occasions in the past — but it opted to go out with a modicum of dignity. Sometimes, you instinctively know your time has come.

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.Nonetheless, it’s been a good run for The King of Queens. Debuting 21 September 1998 (the same night Will and Grace premiered), The King of Queens ends its reign as the last live-action sitcom to have originated in the 20th century. That in itself says something. As much as the world seems to have changed in the 21st century, the series demonstrated that our core values — or at least, our sense of humor — haven’t radically altered since the early days of The Honeymooners. In fact, both series touched a common nerve in the American psyche.

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It wasn’t necessary to follow The King of Queens slavishly, any more than it was to follow The Honeymooners or I Love Lucy or Dick Van Dyke. Like the characters in those earlier sitcoms, Doug and Carrie didn’t change much from episode to episode. You could drop in on them anytime, and know without asking that Arthur was still living in the basement, that Carrie was still trying in vain to keep the household sane, that Doug was never going to grow up and they’d still be doing the same thing with a different twist next time you dropped by for a visit. That’s the way the world worked in old school sitcoms, and that’s why we remember them. They provided us with an odd sense of stability.

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That’s not to say that The King of Queens leaves us without resolution. Secrets are revealed left and right — secrets we heretofore never knew existed. And though it appears that Doug and Carrie will end their reign in divorce, the finale offers twists and turns to rival its network competitors. It might be a good day to finally invest in a TiVo.

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I won’t mourn the network passing of The King of Queens overmuch. I see it more as passing into an eternal life of syndication. Still, I have to wonder where the future of the network sitcom lies.