Got into your head 

I'll admit it, I was let down by the Sopranos ending at first. This morning I'm thinking it was smart to do it that way. The show has always been about messing with our heads, and Chase sure had me going in the final minutes, writing my own endings and revising them by the minute. He did it by showing an ordinary family scene and tossing out crumbs of hints to do with what we like, such as the latter day young Michael Corleone going into the public restroom. That's pretty powerful entertainment when it gets you to create your own adventure story.

Plus, that's how you keep a legend going 

You make a legend like the Sopranos live on by inviting debate and opposing theories.

- Remember Twin Peaks? I didn't watch it but was aware of the ongoing cult following and speculation about the meaning of the Fire Walk with Me movie.

- Evangelion, too. Another bit of entertainment I didn't partake of but know it's out there in the culture somewhere, and I'm interested in anime as a phenomenon, especially noticing the types of kids who enjoy it.

- Can you think of other examples?

Those two involved movie sequels. I cruised Technorati a little this morning. (Yeah, you can still search by authority, essential for a topic like this, but the only way I've found to do it in the new interface is by appending ?authority=a[n] to your search URL, with n being the numeric authority level of your choice.) Some bloggers are convinced it's all about a movie deal. That could be part of it, but I think for the producers of a show that's been called the best of all time they have legacy in mind, just like all presidents no matter what they say.