The End Is Here: Best And Worst TV Finales

[GreekGeek]

For the "Best," I'm going to go with the crowd and say The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Newhart, and Cheers. The Friends finale was also pretty good, despite the use of that stupid "She got off the plane at the last minute" cliche. I would add St. Elsewhere, but I got semi-spoiled by TV Guide, which warned that the last scene would be a "shocker," where "nothing has quite been what it seems." I'm so glad that no other series (to my knowledge) has pulled anything similar; it's the kind of surprise that only works once.

 

I wouldn't have minded the end of Quantum Leap if the final revelation had been phrased a bit more positively: 

"Dr. Samuel Beckett is still leaping, putting right what once went wrong."

 

I liked the wrap-up of Barney Miller, especially Harris's reaction to his re-assignment: "I do not need Queens!" before he decides to quit the force and write full-time. And Inspector Luger's response to Levitt's outrage at having his name forgotten for the umpteenth time:  Levitt: "It's Levitt, Officer Carl Levitt!" Luger: "You mean Detective Levitt!"

 

Seinfeld was a disappointment--not for being a clip show, but for violating the show's "no lessons" premise. 

 

M*A*S*H would have been good if it had just focused on the declaration of peace and the preparations for departure. Instead there were a bunch of subplots that seemed like leftover scripts: Hawkeye's crack-up, Father Mulcahy's deafness, Klinger's wedding (had we ever even seen his bride before?), Charles and the Korean musicians.

[Raja]

 

 

M*A*S*H would have been good if it had just focused on the declaration of peace and the preparations for departure. Instead there were a bunch of subplots that seemed like leftover scripts: Hawkeye's crack-up, Father Mulcahy's deafness, Klinger's wedding (had we ever even seen his bride before?), Charles and the Korean musicians.

The last two episodes, she was a suspected gurrilla and then they got married

[ABay]

Greekgeek, thanks for reminding me how awesome Barney Miller was.

[Jeebus Cripes]

Dead Like Me did get a little seen movie that wrapped things up a little more.

 

That movie was so awful. I had trouble sitting through it. 

 

I would also add Spartacus. I love the finale. The show lasted only 39 episodes but told a complete story. Despite knowing how it would end, it was still an emotional ending.

 

That final episode turned me into a sobbing wreck of a human being. It was fantastic.

 

Well aside from lumberjack Dexter stinking up the joint, I'd say the True Blood finale was extra lousy. If I hadn't stopped caring about three seasons ago, I might have worked up some anger.

[MyAimIsTrue]

 Cheers I loved that Sam's true love was the bar. 

 

I loved how the final line spoken was

Sam saying "sorry, we're closed" to a patron knocking at the door, letting us viewers know that Cheers would be open again tomorrow even if we weren't going to be there. And then when he straightened the picture of Geronimo hanging on the wall as a nod to the memory of Nicholas Colasanto, aka Coach, I lost it.

[Rinaldo]

From the sublime to the silly (but smile-inducing, at least for me): A show nobody remembers as good (though it did star two very good actors, Daniel Hugh-Kelly and Elizabeth Peña), I Married Dora. He fake-marries his housekeeper so she can stay in the US, and hijinx ensue, and... we all know the drill. Cancelled after a half season, probably rightly. But it did redeem itself a bit in the last episode (which no viewers expected to be more than "just another episode," what with the unexpectedly early cancellation and all), when the family was seeing the father off at the airport in the final scene.

 

[Gudzilla]

I think Dexter was the worst. I mentioned in another thread every other 'Worst' finale I've seen here has had a few defenders (even the much hated HIMYM), but I've yet to see anyone like the Dexter finale.

 

I agree with the previous mention of the Spartacus finale which was about as satisfying as you could get without changing history.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I think Dexter was the worst. I mentioned in another thread every other 'Worst' finale I've seen here has had a few defenders (even the much hated HIMYM), but I've yet to see anyone like the Dexter finale.

 

I agree with the previous mention of the Spartacus finale which was about as satisfying as you could get without changing history.

Yea that one just was bad period. I can understand why 

Dexter wanted to do in regards of his son and his's (deceased) wife's kids. But what happened to Debra was just inexcusable imo. She was owed some happiness.

[tennisgurl]

Good lord the Spartacus final episode. One of the few times where the final episode was also my favorite episode of the whole series (and the series had some amazing episodes). I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I cried again. It was honestly one of the most emotionally draining episodes of TV I have ever seen, but also managed to be filled with hope and closure. Just a fantastic finale.

 

UNLIKE the horribly HIMYM finale. Seriously, how is it that I felt more depressed watching a freaking sitcom finale than I did watching a finale where I went in knowing almost all the good guys were going to die violently? HIMYM was just a painful, awful finale, and a slap in the face to all the fans and characters.  

[ParadoxLost]

One of the better sitcom finales I've seen was for Titus.  Or what would have been the finale had they aired it in the intended order.  Titus was based on the life and standup routine of the title character.  It was not PC.  It could be dark and depressing.  But it is the only show where, during its run, I literally put ROTFLMAO into practice.  OK, I fell off the couch first but I didn't stop laughing when I hit the ground.

 

Titus had a finale that you could actually debate the symbolism of the final two minutes.  He

flambéed

the device that he built for the standup show and prominently figured in the narrative the series and what did it mean that it was

flame retardant.

[desperatelibrarian]

Best IMO

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Angel
3. Breaking Bad. I wish it could have been more exciting and unpredictable but it was satisfying for the most part.

Worst IMO

1. How I Met Your Mother. Nuff said.

[Ujio]

I wrote this in the UO thread, and I will again.  Numb3rs' series finale was one of the most satisfying series finales ever.  Every loose end was tied up beautifully, yet there was the sense that life simply goes on.  Brilliant -- and beautiful. 

 

I also loved The Wire's series finale.  The Baltimore skyline?  And that beautiful montage?  Absolutely breathtaking!

 

Interesting how the "best" finales tend to be of shows that didn't overstay their welcome.  I honestly can't remember the series finales of shows like Three's Company and Charlie's Angels, even though I grew up watching (and loving) them!

[tribeca]

The last season of The Office was not my favorite however IMO the finale was perfect. They showed every character and they all had happy endings (although I am not sure about Toby on that one ).   Always wanted Dwight/Angela together.  Their wedding so sweet & weird just like them LOL.  There were a couple memorable lines that bought a tear to my eye.  It really felt like you were saying good bye to some good friends.

 

I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.

— Andy

 

I feel like all my kids grew up, and then they married each other. It's every parent's dream.

— Michael

There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Pam

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Seinfeld was a disappointment--not for being a clip show, but for violating the show's "no lessons" premise. 

 

But did they learn anything? I mean they were convicted of a crime after a bunch of people testified as to how they were complete jerks. They go to jail and instead of reflecting on what they had done and trying to learn from it they talk about George's shirt button (yes I know it was a call back to the pilot).

[GreekGeek]

But did they learn anything? I mean they were convicted of a crime after a bunch of people testified as to how they were complete jerks. They go to jail and instead of reflecting on what they had done and trying to learn from it they talk about George's shirt button (yes I know it was a call back to the pilot).

The lesson wasn't for them but for us the audience--that if you persist in living selfishly, your actions may lead to breaking the law. At the very least, it's possible that you will end up in a situation where you need help from someone and there will be nobody there for you. I also think there's something to the theory that they're not in an actual jail but that they died in the plane crash and they're being judged in the afterlife.

Edited September 17, 2014 by GreekGeek

[ParadoxLost]

I didn't think the Seinfeld finale was a parable trying to teach the virtues of leading an altruistic life; but, a way for them to say 'look how clever we are.  In one episode we made the series that was famously about nothing, entirely about something.' 

[bmoore4026]

Lost's finale was pretty much shit.  They only way it would have been more incomprehensible is if everyone (and that's including the polar bear and smoke monster) began applauding and saying "congratulations".

 

I felt As the World Turns' finale was nice.  That show played a big part in my family's life and seeing the characters making peace with each other and moving on actually brought tears to my eyes.

[blueray]

Now that I've seen it, I would add Leverage to shows that had good finales. While it ends on a nice touch it also leaves it open so they could make a movie or something.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

Batman: The Brave and the Bold's finale is probably the most hilariously meta finale ever. Bat-Mite (a Batman fanboy with reality-altering powers) decides he's had enough of this lighter version of Batman, so he uses his powers to make the show jump the shark so it will get cancelled and be replaced by a darker Batman series. His attempts at ruining the show include introducing a cute child character, shoehorning in ridiculous new gadgets to sell toys, giving Ace the Bat-Hound a scrappy nephew and even recasting Aquaman with Ted McGinley. But Batman isn't going down without a fight. He's assisted by Ambush Bug, another character who can break the fourth wall... and is voiced by Henry Winkler, the original shark-jumper.

[Mindymoo]

The Wire's finale really was pitch perfect. Especially when Bubbles went upstairs to have dinner with his family, showing that his sister was finally starting to trust him again. That made me sob.

 

Eastbound & Down had a brilliant finale too, well, both of them. Even if it did have Lindsay Lohan in it. I don't know how, but even though Kenny Powers was such a horrible person, deep down he knew it, and he was so full of self-loathing, yet there was something rootable about him. In a frightening way, I think there is a little bit of Kenny Powers in all of us.

[kathyk24]

I liked Monk's finale because he was able to get closure and move on with his life. I also appreciated the life goes on ending of ER. I hated the Warehouse 13 finale. I feel like the writers contradicted everything the show established as canon. I refuse to believe that Myka is in love with Pete after she stated in the season 2 finale that she thought of him as a brother.

[psychoticstate]

One of the best, IMO, was a very short lived and seen by few show called I Married Dora.  The show itself wasn't all that great but the last show had the two main characters at an airport with one saying "it's been cancelled", the other saying "the flight?" and the first saying "no, our series."  Clever. 

 

I also liked how Oz decided to end, basically a circular ending where some things change while others never do.

 

Worst?  I hated how Sex and the City ended, with everyone paired up as if no one could be truly happy unless they were part of a couple and/or had children.  Charlotte and Harry were getting their adopted baby, Miranda was stuck in Brooklyn with a husband, kid and mother-in-law suffering with dementia, Big realized Carrie was The One (how many years and partners later?) and even Samantha was in a committed relationship with Smith. 

 

Best and worst - Beverly Hills, 90210 (original recipe).  Best because the scene at Donna and David's wedding with the gang dancing was so fitting and yeah, Donna and David belonged together (I refuse to acknowledge the revisionist history on the remake where they split).  And the show didn't bring back Gina Kincaid for the wedding - - hated her character with a passion.  Worst because okay, it was sappy and other than Ohhhhhn-drea, NONE of the original gang returned. Where were the Walshes?  Unacceptable!  I also hated how they paired up Kelly and Dylan as some Twu Wuv Forever match.  Negative.  Kelly belonged with Brandon in the end.

[Wings]

Six Feet Under and Sopranos were the ultimate best for me. 

 

I didn't think the Seinfeld finale was a parable trying to teach the virtues of leading an altruistic life; but, a way for them to say 'look how clever we are.  In one episode we made the series that was famously about nothing, entirely about something.' 

 

 

I never thought of it this way.  I will add Seinfeld to my best ending list, now. Thanks!

Edited September 30, 2014 by wings707

[tribeca]

I really disliked Everyone Hates Chris finale since they basically just did the same ending as the Soprano's.  It should have had it's own ending JMHO

[bmasters9]

I liked the wrap-up of Barney Miller, especially Harris's reaction to his re-assignment: "I do not need Queens!" before he decides to quit the force and write full-time. And Inspector Luger's response to Levitt's outrage at having his name forgotten for the umpteenth time:  Levitt: "It's Levitt, Officer Carl Levitt!" Luger: "You mean Detective Levitt!"

I did also. I liked also at the end of that how Barney turned the lights out on the 12th, went out and closed the doors, and how the credits ran over a darkened shot of the set used for the 12th at ABC (also the extended applause). 

[Kromm]

Just because I've been on a NewsRadio kick lately--and pretty much ALL of the show is up on Youtube unchallenged--I rewatched the finale today (I won't give links to any full episode but I feel okay in saying you can find it yourself, probably under either the episode number, Season 5 Episode 22, or the Episode Name, "New Hampshire")

 

I'd forgotten how damn bizarre it was.  For all that we've talked about shows like Seinfeld going weird and dark at the end, this also did in it's own way. Jimmy sells the station and moves to New Hampshire.  By the end of the episode everyone at the station has agreed to follow him up there, except for Dave. The last scene is Dave wandering around the now empty, lonely WNYX... until he goes into his office and from under his desk pops up the uber-annoying and incompetent Matthew, who's staying (now with no other buffers) is like Dave's final punishment.  He's in Hell.

[Bruinsfan]

Worst: Quantum Leap

Best: Newhart.  I loved that Suzanne Pleshette came back and that the set was identical.

These  would be my choices as well.

 

Forever Knight irked me because its next-to-last episode was a great story that would have made a great series finale, but they had to drag it out another episode to make a clean sweep of all the remaining characters in the most depressing manner possible.

[Kromm]

I really disliked Everyone Hates Chris finale since they basically just did the same ending as the Soprano's.  It should have had it's own ending JMHO

I loved that show in its early seasons but lost track and never saw the last season.  But watching the scene now on Youtube, I get it.  It's not literally a copy because it does seem to address things inside the life of the show's characters (making it about if Chris passed his GED or not).  So I think there's room for it to both be a Sopranos parody but also say goodbye to the show's own characters and situation at the same time.

 

 

I don't know if its a GREAT ending, but I certainly think there have been far worse.

[Misslindsey]

Does The Colbert Report qualify? It would be a best for me. I thought it was perfect. The group sing, the throwing it back to Jon like it had been one long report for the Daily Show, and the adorable not used toss at the end for MOZ. Perfect.

[cpcathy]

I loved the song on the last Colbert, until I saw the song on Craig Ferguson's final show. Emotional, and I wasn't even a regular Ferguson viewer.

[Rick Kitchen]

Bette Midler on Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show.  OMG.

[bmasters9]

I also liked the finale of the Perry Mason series in 1966, when Perry (Raymond Burr) fingered Dick Clark's character, Leif Early, as the killer, based on that Leif Early was carrying that briefcase. 

[Archery]

I've never had any problem with Quantum Leap's ending, even with the last slide (except they spelled Becket wrong).  GTFW tells Sam that he can stop leaping whenever he wants to.  He's always had the ability to go home.  To me, that means that Sam understands that in his soul he actually wants to keep leaping more than he wants to resume his normal life.  He's doing what nobody else can do.  It's the culmination of the selfishness/selflessness arc that his character undergoes through the series. 

[magicdog]

I've never had any problem with Quantum Leap's ending, even with the last slide (except they spelled Becket wrong).  GTFW tells Sam that he can stop leaping whenever he wants to.  He's always had the ability to go home.  To me, that means that Sam understands that in his soul he actually wants to keep leaping more than he wants to resume his normal life.  He's doing what nobody else can do.  It's the culmination of the selfishness/selflessness arc that his character undergoes through the series.

 

 

 

Except the episode was originally written as a season finale for season 2.  It wasn't liked much by TPTB so it got put on the shelf.  When QL was cancelled with barely any notice, the producers wanted to air something new with a semblance of a finale and went and used it.  It was reedited somewhat but it wasn't meant to be a series finale.  It would have been nice had Sam been shown to go home periodically and/or stop it completely and reveal a thread that connected all the people whose lives he changed.

[Jipijapa]

I disliked some of the gratuitous retconning of certain past events in the closing episodes of Fringe (which came awfully close to "messing with the warp core" if you ask me), but the final outcome --

Walter having to be separated forever from the others

-- felt correct.  I would not have been satisfied with the ending if he hadn't reached some sort of apotheosis.  (

They managed to do this without actually killing him off, which I also appreciated...

)   As for the timey wimey contortions of timeline resets and such, I just gave it a lot of handwavium.  No biggie.

 

I didn't know that about the origins of Quantum Leap's last episode (recycled script?) which I suppose softens my disappointment at the last episode.  However, the ending didn't spoil the show for me.

 

Best show ending for me, at least recently?  The Office.  I hadn't watched the show for several seasons but came back for the end.  When it was casually revealed that

Michael had kids of his own

(which was all he ever really wanted), I actually cried.  And I don't cry at TV.  At all.

Edited December 31, 2014 by Jipijapa

[Archery]

Except the episode was originally written as a season finale for season 2.  It wasn't liked much by TPTB so it got put on the shelf.  When QL was cancelled with barely any notice, the producers wanted to air something new with a semblance of a finale and went and used it.  It was reedited somewhat but it wasn't meant to be a series finale.  It would have been nice had Sam been shown to go home periodically and/or stop it completely and reveal a thread that connected all the people whose lives he changed.

If they had wanted a different ending for the finale, they could have made one. They could even have re-dubbed the dialogue to make that make sense, as they did all the time in that show. But Sam doesn't go home, and we know that he accepted that he controlled it because he visits Beth at precisely the right moment. Yes, the red bow ending might have been nice, but Sam's choice was actually more deliberate, in-universe. All I'm saying is that, given the prior 4 1/2 seasons, it actually did make sense for who he had become, not as just some slapped-together mistake of TPTB.

[opus]

NEWHART finale airs tonight on Antenna TV, 10pm EST.

[Chaos Theory]

I liked the finale of Fringe it felt right to me.

I will not get into the evil that is Dexter or HIMYM.

I actually didn't hate Battlestar Galactica's ending.

Breaking Bad's ending was fantastic and I also liked Sons of Anarchy's ending.

[Ubiquitous]

Best: Newhart

Worst: Quantum Leap

Best AND Worst: Twin Peaks

[CabotCove]

Best

Friends 

Parenthood- Incredible end to an incredible show

Ghost Whisperer

Angel

Mutant X

Being Human US

 

Worst

Smallville

Passions

Roswell

[Vixenstud]

 

Charmed similarly had a bumpy road to the finale and a finale that was far from the best episode but tacked on a very sweet epilogue that left me with a good feeling about the series.

 

My only complaint about Charmed's finale was the fact that Henry wasn't in it but a minute...when everyone was hugging each other after Leo's return, Paige should have been hugging Henry, not Chris.

 

Best

 

A Different World

 

When ADW premiered in 1987, you had snooty bitchy Whitley and nerdy Dwayne....fast forward six years later, they grew into a memorable couple.  ("Baby PLEASE!", anyone?)  The show ended with Whitley becoming pregnant and Dwayne getting a good job with Kineshewa, only they had to move to Japan.  From Dwayne and Ron's fight over a game that Dwayne put together (but the idea came from Ron) to Kim finally accepting Spencer's proposal to the drunken Wayne/Gilbert mothers-in-law, the two part had you laughing and, at the end, when Ron and Dwayne made up just in time for the Waynes to leave for Japan, a bit teary eyed.

 

Worst

 

Martin

 

From Martin's bloated appearance to the stupid subplot of Cole's proposal to Shanice, the two part episode was one big mess!  Add Tisha Campbell-Martin's sexual harassment suit against Martin Lawrence (part of the settlement was she wouldn't share scenes with Martin, despite them playing a married couple!) along with the remaining co-stars acting like they had already checked out, I usually skip these eppies whenever they are rerun.

[dargosmydaddy]

I think the Justified finale may have tied or supplanted UK Life on Mars for my favorite finale ever. Satisfying and awesome.

[Ceindreadh]

I wouldn't call if the 'best' finale, but I think the Mentalist had one of the sweetest happiest finales I've ever watched. 

I'm not a shipper, but I did like they gave them a happy ending - and the wedding dress shopping was one of the funniest scenes I've watched in a long time.

[magicdog]

Worst:

 

Malcolm In The Middle.  Best of all, if you didn't see it, this reviewer went through the agony for you - and hits every point.

 

Best:

 

For me it's the Newhart finale hands down. Totally unexpected.   The Monkees series finale went out on a similar note of weirdness.

[Kromm]

Seinfeld was a disappointment--not for being a clip show, but for violating the show's "no lessons" premise.

It was fairly uniquely structured for a clip episode though, and the lesson was kind of an exercise in Meta as opposed to a standard sitcom "lesson". That's why I'm one of the rare people who liked it, I think. I appreciated the originality, and also the guts it took to kind of metaphorically give the middle finger to the entire history of your show.

[Snipsa]

Count me amongst those that loved the Life on Mars (UK) finale

I didn't care for the sombre ending of Quantum Leap. Leave us with some hope people!

SG1 had a pretty nice and rather low key ending, and the movies were great

SGA on the other hand, felt forced and quite boring tbh. I Hated that Atlantis ended up on earth...

I loved the endings of Numb3rs, ER and FNL, they felt like "events" but still quite real to life (and with each it feels like those characters are simply continuing on in some other realm)

I have mixed feelings about the LOST and BSG finales. I feel the mythology on both shows got so convoluted that no ending could have been satisfying.

A show that I can't remember at all except for the ending is Once a Thief (Canadian show by John Woo). Terrible show. And all I remember is that it ended with all the main characters being blown up in a massive explosion...

Another Canadian show that featured explosions in its finale, but that was a lot more satisfying, was Flashpoint. Loved the ending. Yes, it was wrapped up quite neatly, but it was needed after the roller coaster final season (loved the season as a whole!)

Finally, a cliffhanger that I'm still angry about was the ending of Now and Again. The Eggman cometh yet again... I loved the show and the last episode, but damn that ending was evil!

[HalcyonDays]

For worst series finale, I hereby nominate The Glades:

On the way to his wedding, main character Jim Longworth stops by the house that he'd just bought for his bride-to-be and is shot twice by an unknown assailant. He's left lying on the floor, bleeding out, while everyone at the wedding are all wondering where he is.

 

I read that the showrunners had no idea it would be cancelled until the days before the aired. They fully expected another season to address the cliffhanger, but the show was abruptly cancelled, so that was all they could have done. Crazy, eh?

 

DS9 ending was great.

 

Lost was...dumb and such a letdown. I'm actually glad that I didn't bother with season 2 and 3, just for that letdown.

 

The Monkees series finale went out on a similar note of weirdness.

 

By that time, the band themselves couldn't care less about the show. They wanted a variety show the third season and the network said no. They were tired of the schtick and just didn't care (and were stoned part of the time). Hence the weird.

 

Oh, and Micky Dolenz wrote and directed the final episode and I think was going for trippy psychedelic/I don't give a fuck anymore vibe with the whole thing., :')

[bmoore4026]

Bette Midler on Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show.  OMG.

 

I watched that episode with my grandma.  She was in tears by the end, just like Bette.

[fishcakes]

Bette Midler on Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show.  OMG.

I watched that episode with my grandma.  She was in tears by the end, just like Bette.

 

The Bette Midler episode of Carson was the second-to-last episode, but it's the one I remember as well. I probably still have it on VHS in a box somewhere. The finale had no guests and was just Johnny sitting on a stool on stage doing a retrospective for an audience of friends and family members of the Tonight Show staff. I'd grown up watching Johnny Carson and although by the end I wasn't watching regularly, I saw every episode for the last three months or so, and I think I was in tears the last two nights. This reminds me that I need to start watching Letterman again, since he'll be gone next month. I can't remember the last time I watched, although there were a few years where I never missed a show.

Edited April 22, 2015 by fishcakes

[magicdog]

By that time, the band themselves couldn't care less about the show. They wanted a variety show the third season and the network said no. They were tired of the schtick and just didn't care (and were stoned part of the time). Hence the weird.

 

Oh, and Micky Dolenz wrote and directed the final episode and I think was going for trippy psychedelic/I don't give a fuck anymore vibe with the whole thing., :')

 

 

 

Oh I know all that.  It was weird but memorable.  Back then of course most series finales didn't have "wrap up" storylines.  If The Monkees could have had one, I'd have wanted to see them realize their dream of being rich and famous (since all through the series, they were depicted as a struggling band).

 

Personally, I'd have loved to have seen the Monkees variety show play out;  trouble is Raybert/Screen Gems/NBC had enough of them and were ready to dump them as soon as they legally could do so.