The Elevator mystery is unsolved after almost 300 episodes, but the ding of its arrival is a completion for the Big Bang Theory. Once that door opened, the series was allowed to complete. I had not realized that the most enduring question is Penny's surname. It remains a mystery. The show seemed to have a traditional set of resolutions, the highlight being Sheldon finding grace.
I saw part of an episode of the Lucy Show a few weeks ago. The finale of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour mirrored their real-life circumstances - Wikipedia says it wasn't intentional. In the show Lucy and Ricky were about to divorce and end the show. Edie Adams was the guest star and chose the song to sing without knowing the plot - "That's All". It is considered prophetic. While the show's finale divorce didn't happen, their real-life divorce was final and they only reconciled many years later.
Viewership of finales is very important. The BBT viewership 'grew' to 23.44 million viewers, up from the 18 million who watched it live. This makes it the most watched non-sports series program of 2018-19. But it falls far short of the most watched television series finales of all time:
M*A*S*H // 1983. 105.9 million viewers
Cheers // 1993. 80.4 million
The Fugitive // 1967. 78 million
Seinfeld // 1998. 76.3 million
Friends // 2004. 52.5
Magnum, P.I. // 1988. 50.7
The Cosby Show // 1992. 44.4
All in the Family // 1979. 40.2
Family ties // 1989. 36.3
Home Improvement //1999. 35.5 million
Can you imagine these numbers? The M*A*S*H episode drew 77% of those watching televisions at the time. Only the 2010's Super Bowl XLIV had 106 million viewers. The Cheers episode was watched by between 80.4 million and 93.5 million, with the rise of cable television.
We look at a Miltonia orchid today. Also known as the Pansy Orchid.
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