The End Is Here: Best And Worst TV Finales

[doodlebug]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

It really was awful.  Yes, in life sometimes spouses die and people remarry and that's OK.  But the way the whole finale was presented was that the mother was just a placeholder until Robin was ready to not put her career first any more.  And the kids were all "Yay, Mom's dead."  The very least they could have done was have a little sadness mixed in with the enthusiasm in that scene.  And, I'm in no way blaming the actors.  I'm positive they did exactly as they were directed.

Not to mention that the actress who played the mom was really good and had a lovely romantic chemistry with Josh Radnor.  Much better than his nonexistent chemistry with Robin/Cobie Smulders.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

And, I'm in no way blaming the actors.  I'm positive they did exactly as they were directed.

What I hate about this whole scenario is that they insisted on going this direction just because they had filmed it with the kids before they aged out of the role but so much had changed since they filmed it and they prized that more than logic or telling a good story. Seriously, the rage I still feel all these years later honestly worries me! Especially because I was hate watching the last few seasons but the finale took my hatred to unparalleled levels. I actually can’t think of an ending be it a book, movie, or tv show that infuriates me more!

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Not to mention that the actress who played the mom was really good and had a lovely romantic chemistry with Josh Radnor.  Much better than his nonexistent chemistry with Robin/Cobie Smulder

Seriously! They did the impossible and actually found an actress that made you believe this whole story was worth the years of build up and threw that away.

Edited August 27, 2018 by biakbiak

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

What I hate about this whole scenario is that they insisted on going this direction just because they had filmed it with the kids before they aged out of the role but so much had changed since they filmed it and they prized that more than logic or telling a good story. Seriously, the rage I still feel all these years later honestly worries me! Especially because I was hate watching the last few seasons but the finale took my hatred to unparalleled levels. I actually can’t think of an ending be it a book, movie, or tv show that infuriates me more!

It's actually kind of funny.  I didn't much care for the show at all.  The only character I liked was Marshall.  But, reruns were on during lunchtime, and I have to watch TV when I come home for lunch.  Anyway, they were really hyping up the finale and I figured I had seen enough episodes (I had seen a few from the last season as well) that I could watch the finale and know what was going on.  I watched and I hated it.  And, when it was over I was like "aargh, that sucked and that's an hour or whatever it was, I'm never getting back. But, then I figured it wasn't a big deal because I didn't like the show in the first place.  I went to bed, and I kid you not, I could not get to sleep I was pissed off.  Over a show, I didn't care about. 

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

What I hate about this whole scenario is that they insisted on going this direction just because they had filmed it with the kids before they aged out of the role but so much had changed since they filmed it and they prized that more than logic or telling a good story.

They should have shot multiple endings.  One where Ted was going to get together with Robin.  One where Ted said "OK,let's go pick up your mom from somewhere and go out to eac for our anniversary.  And one where she died and they all just had a sad/happy moment where they were remembering.  Not only would that have given them more options but it would have been safer.  Yes, everybody kept the secret, but there's been more than one finale ruined because of loose lips and that one had 7 or 8 years to get out.

[biakbiak]

33 minutes ago, Katy M said:

They should have shot multiple endings.  One where Ted was going to get together with Robin. 

They did do an alternate ending where the mom was still alive and they were still together it’s just didn’t include the kids which was fine because they weren’t actually a big enough part of the show for anyone to give a damn.

[Trini]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Seriously! They did the impossible and actually found in actress that made you believe this whole story was worth the years of build up and threw that away.

Exactly THIS!! After all the build-up, you're thinking 'well, they're never going to find someone who's going to be able to live up to all this'; THEN THEY FOUND HER. ...And then they ruined it!

---

While I'm here; the ReBoot series finale*. I wouldn't say it's among the worst, but ending the show on a giant cliffhanger was horrible. One of the few shows where I ended up screaming at my TV. They knew there wasn't going to be any more episodes. It was already cancelled -- aaarGHHHH!

*(I'm talking about 'Crouching Binome, Hidden Virus', I know there's some confusion about what was the actual finale.)

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

They did do an alternate ending where the mom was still alive and they were still together it’s just didn’t include the kids which was fine because they weren’t actually a big enough part of the show for anyone to give a damn.

I think they were too impressed with themselves that they’d filmed the ending so many years before the finale that they lost sight of the goal.  The clever trick of having the same kids year after year until the finale didn’t compare to the audience’ need fora satisfying end to the saga.  Major miscalculation, IMO.

[tennisgurl]

Oh my God dont even get me started on the 9th level of Hell that was the HIMYM finale. It might as well have been an hour of the writers holding their middle fingers up to the audience. It was absolutely garbage, throwing away character development and characters themselves, all sacrificed to the altar of Ted/Robin, a truly dull and problematic ship. The show clearly thought they were being super clever with their ending, when in reality the show had changed so much since the first season when they filmed the kids, that they had slash the show up to fit into their little pre-made box. 

"Were you invested in Robin and Barney and the relationship they built over several years? Well screw you, they get divorced in five minutes! And Robin stops hanging with the gang!" "Oh, did you want to see closure for Marshall and Lilly? I hope you like about five seconds dedicated to their lives!" "You fell in love with The Mother and wanted to see this amazing romance she would have with Ted this whole fucking series has been built upon? Well, screw you morons! She died of sickness off screen after one tiny montage of their marriage, her kids give zero fucks about her, and she was basically a uterus to give Ted kids before boning his real true love! You were so stupid to want a happy ending that made sense!"

Plus it made the kids look like socipathic little monster children, rushing their dad through stories of their sweet, loving DEAD mom so we can bone Aunt Robin. Yeah, thats all they took out of that story! Not that their parents loved each other, but that their mom was always second choice, and thats alright, because they want their dad to pork Aunt Robin. Uggggg. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I don’t think this was mentioned yet, but I do know that some of my fellow posters who loved the show, agree that the series finale of Remington Steele, was the absolute WORST and undid ALL of the progress Laura and Steele made up until that point. ????????????

And WHY didn’t he tell her that the corrupt ex-insurance investigator found all about him, blah, blah. On top of that, he LIED to Laura. Then, when rumors or media statements started swirling about how the people behind the James Bond movies were interested in Pierce Brosnan as the next 007, NBC, which had unceremoniously cancelled the show after the fourth season, decided to bring it back as Brosnan had signed a seven year deal.

Do NOT get me started on that piss-poor and INSULTING season five. And Tony can just go DIAFF as far as I’m concerned.????

[tribeca]

I only meet one person who liked the finale of HIMYM and of course it’s my brother.   He said women hate Robyn and Barney was a sociopath.   When I asked him if he liked Traci he had no idea who I was talking about. 

[DrSpaceman]

Orange is the New Black also ending next season, one I forgot before. 

I am going to need some new shows to watch in a few years.  Losing a lot soon. 

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh my God dont even get me started on the 9th level of Hell that was the HIMYM finale. It might as well have been an hour of the writers holding their middle fingers up to the audience. It was absolutely garbage, throwing away character development and characters themselves, all sacrificed to the altar of Ted/Robin, a truly dull and problematic ship. The show clearly thought they were being super clever with their ending, when in reality the show had changed so much since the first season when they filmed the kids, that they had slash the show up to fit into their little pre-made box. 

"Were you invested in Robin and Barney and the relationship they built over several years? Well screw you, they get divorced in five minutes! And Robin stops hanging with the gang!" "Oh, did you want to see closure for Marshall and Lilly? I hope you like about five seconds dedicated to their lives!" "You fell in love with The Mother and wanted to see this amazing romance she would have with Ted this whole fucking series has been built upon? Well, screw you morons! She died of sickness off screen after one tiny montage of their marriage, her kids give zero fucks about her, and she was basically a uterus to give Ted kids before boning his real true love! You were so stupid to want a happy ending that made sense!"

Plus it made the kids look like socipathic little monster children, rushing their dad through stories of their sweet, loving DEAD mom so we can bone Aunt Robin. Yeah, thats all they took out of that story! Not that their parents loved each other, but that their mom was always second choice, and thats alright, because they want their dead to pork Aunt Robin. Uggggg. 

The best summary of the HIMYM finale was that the show should have just been called How I Met your Stepmother. 

But that is not as romantic. 

I think Ted truly did love Traci, but yes, the whole story telling your kids would be horribly inappropriate for so many reasons. 

Plus the entire last season was dragged out for Robin and Barney's wedding, then like 10 minutes in the finale and after a year of marriage, they end up divorced.  Total fucking waste and pointless. 

The last season should have focused on the time between when they met and when the mom died.  That would have been a much more moving story.  Not 22 episodes all focused on a wedding for a marriage that lasted a year, even if that is how they met. 

[Miss Dee]

Yeah, I think the unexpected popularity of Robin/Barney threw the writers for a loop. They had to stick with it for the ratings, but it didn't line up with their original plan at all. Nor could they give them a bittersweet ending with a happy marriage and Barney's demise - which would've set up Ted and Robin as the sunset romance for both - because they narration had made it clear that Barney was still alive and kicking. And they didn't want to let go of their original ending because they'd publicized about how they'd shot it years ago and knew exactly how the show would end.

So they had to Frankenstein a finale that took in all these realities, and it went about as well as could be expected.

[Chaos Theory]

I really like Barney and Robin as a pairing.  I thought they fit well.  Barney was willing to change for her and she for him.  The shows entire concept for me was how wrong Robin and Ted were for each other.  

I might have bought the dead mother ending if they brought her in sooner.  And told an actual love story with her instead of just having a few snippets of her and Ted and then having Ted jump back into his Robin fixation.

And yeah even though they had the ending since the pilot this was one time they should have changed it.  In large part because the story had changed so much and everyone just fell in love with The Mother.

[Spartan Girl]

Traci/The Mother had more character development in one season than the rest of that cast did in that whole show.

And chemistry aside, she deserved much better than a whiny douche like Ted.

[galaxygirl76]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Traci/The Mother had more character development in one season than the rest of that cast did in that whole show.

And chemistry aside, she deserved much better than a whiny douche like Ted.

Plus whatever development they did have got shot to hell in that abomination of a series finale.

 

I can't believe how bitter I still am over this.

Edited August 29, 2018 by galaxygirl76

[Spartan Girl]

37 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Plus whatever development they did have got shot to hell in that abomination of a series finale.

 

I can't believe how bitter I still am over this.

We ALL are.

[Snow Apple]

Yeah, they should have scraped that ending even if they filmed it years ago. Just have Ted do a voiceover without showing the kids to give us a happy ending.

The ending is why I can't watch the reruns. It could have been rerun gold like Friends but they screwed themselves.

[DrSpaceman]

They just keep coming......now Mr Robot is ending after one more season too. 

That's about 10 major shows ending in about the next year and a half. 

I still watch HIMYM reruns despite the bad ending.  Just skip the last season

[Kel Varnsen]

20 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh my God dont even get me started on the 9th level of Hell that was the HIMYM finale. It might as well have been an hour of the writers holding their middle fingers up to the audience. It was absolutely garbage, throwing away character development and characters themselves, all sacrificed to the altar of Ted/Robin, a truly dull and problematic ship. The show clearly thought they were being super clever with their ending, when in reality the show had changed so much since the first season when they filmed the kids, that they had slash the show up to fit into their little pre-made box. 

"Were you invested in Robin and Barney and the relationship they built over several years? Well screw you, they get divorced in five minutes! And Robin stops hanging with the gang!" "Oh, did you want to see closure for Marshall and Lilly? I hope you like about five seconds dedicated to their lives!" "You fell in love with The Mother and wanted to see this amazing romance she would have with Ted this whole fucking series has been built upon? Well, screw you morons! She died of sickness off screen after one tiny montage of their marriage, her kids give zero fucks about her, and she was basically a uterus to give Ted kids before boning his real true love! You were so stupid to want a happy ending that made sense!"

Plus it made the kids look like socipathic little monster children, rushing their dad through stories of their sweet, loving DEAD mom so we can bone Aunt Robin. Yeah, thats all they took out of that story! Not that their parents loved each other, but that their mom was always second choice, and thats alright, because they want their dead to pork Aunt Robin. Uggggg. 

plus they never even tried to explain why Ted telling stories to his kids sounded like Bob Saget.

[Spartan Girl]

19 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I really like Barney and Robin as a pairing.  I thought they fit well.  Barney was willing to change for her and she for him.  The shows entire concept for me was how wrong Robin and Ted were for each other.  

Not to mention it ruined what little self-actualization Ted gained when he flat-out told Robin that he was no longer the "guy with the blue french horn" anymore.  Fast forward years later when his wife is dead and Barney is out of the picture, poof!  There he is with the blue french horn!  Hahahahaha FUCK YOU SHOW

[doodlebug]

18 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Yeah, they should have scraped that ending even if they filmed it years ago. Just have Ted do a voiceover without showing the kids to give us a happy ending.

The ending is why I can't watch the reruns. It could have been rerun gold like Friends but they screwed themselves.

They could've very easily filmed some reaction shots of the kids with no dialogue for them or filmed them making a bunch of non-specific comments and used that to fit a new and better scenario than the original plan. The fact that they had the very terrible idea to decide how the show was going to finish without considering character development, chemistry or the number of years the show might air and then refused to consider switching up when the planned ending no longer fit the story was just such a poor decision on their part.

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, doodlebug said:

The fact that they had the very terrible idea to decide how the show was going to finish without considering character development, chemistry or the number of years the show might air and then refused to consider switching up when the planned ending no longer fit the story was just such a poor decision on their part.

Also, it just wasn’t that great of an ending in the first place. The only other example I can think of where a show ended the exact way it was pitched from the beginning was Lost where Lindelof told Fox that he would die and the last shot would mirror the opening of the pilot but that final shot (not getting into the plot of the finale) made complete sense in the show. 

[Chaos Theory]

i can see the whole circular romance thing working on a movie or a television show that lasted three or four seasons.  Not one that lasted nine.   VO Ted over eight seasons tells the audience that the show is about how he meets the woman he will marry,  his kids mother,  and how his long long winded story will be worth it.  AND SHES PERFECT. She has chemistry with every main character on the show.   But you get the feeling that if Robin asked him to he would dump his dying wife and the kids he always wanted to run off with Robin.   Barney always gets crap for the way he treats women but thoughout the show he never pretended to be anything other then who he was.  Ted was just a douche.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Katy M]

8 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Barney always gets crap for the way he treats women but thoughout the show he never pretended to be anything other then who he was.

To his friends, but he pretended plenty with women he was trying to have sex with.  Sorry, but I hate Barney with the heat of 1,000 suns.

9 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

But you get the feeling that if Robin asked him to he would dump his dying wife and the kids he always wanted to run off with Robin.

Of course, he would have. And the kids probably would have said "Yay, let's go.  Sick mom is such a drag anyway." 

[biakbiak]

34 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

But you get the feeling that if Robin asked him to he would dump his dying wife and the kids he always wanted to run off with Robin.

See that’s my problem with the ending. I didn’t get that feeling, I really thought their relationship was dead and buried. 

[Katy M]

13 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

See that’s my problem with the ending. I didn’t get that feeling, I really thought their relationship was dead and buried. 

I think you don't get that feeling before the ending.  It's the ending that gives you the feeling that it could have happened that way earlier. Just because of the general celbratory feeling of talking about how dead mom now means I can get with Aunt Robin.  There's nothing in that final speech that doesn't make you feel that was his endgame from day one.

[Mulva]

On 8/29/2018 at 8:26 PM, Snow Apple said:

Yeah, they should have scraped that ending even if they filmed it years ago. Just have Ted do a voiceover without showing the kids to give us a happy ending.

The ending is why I can't watch the reruns. It could have been rerun gold like Friends but they screwed themselves.

Me neither.  I don't think we're the only ones who feel that way because they aren't running the repeats anymore, AFAIK. 

[biakbiak]

13 minutes ago, Mulva said:

Me neither.  I don't think we're the only ones who feel that way because they aren't running the repeats anymore, AFAIK. 

It’s on HuLu and is still on in syndication on at least two channels where I live.

[SimoneS]

Best series finale ever: Six Feet Under

Runner up: Being Human (U.S.)

About the HIMYM finale, I watched most of the show on reruns and yes, it was the worse. I thought Ted and Robin had chemistry and clearly belonged together, but the showrunners put Robin with Barney which was gross and then killed off the mother in two seconds so the kids could happily encourage Ted to be Robin. Ridiculous! No wonder CBS passed on HIMYF.

Edited October 9, 2018 by SimoneS

[selkie]

On 8/30/2018 at 1:53 PM, biakbiak said:

Also, it just wasn’t that great of an ending in the first place. The only other example I can think of where a show ended the exact way it was pitched from the beginning was Lost where Lindelof told Fox that he would die and the last shot would mirror the opening of the pilot but that final shot (not getting into the plot of the finale) made complete sense in the show. 

Babylon 5 ended exactly as it was originally conceived and pitched, and they were stuck with a fully filmed ending to conclude  season 4 because of renewal uncertainty. And then when season 5 got picked up after all, that final episode still made perfect sense when moved to the end of season 5, even though Claudia Christian didn't come back for season 5. 

 

And that final episode, 'Sleeping in Light', is right up there with the end of Six Feet Under when it comes to finales. 

 

But then JMS was extremely obsessive-compulsive about having every little small detail come together in a way very few showrunners would attempt to duplicate.

Edited October 5, 2018 by selkie

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, SimoneS said:

 

Runner up: Being Human (U.S.)

 

 

And here I thought I was the only one who really liked the American Version of Being Human.  I thought it told a beautiful werewolf love story.  I mean I am vampired out but to see a truly well done love story between a couple of werewolves.  That alone is a good enough reason to watch the show.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Scarlett45]

On 10/5/2018 at 12:05 PM, SimoneS said:

Best series finale ever: Six Feet Under

Runner up: Being Human (U.S.)

Yes!!!!

[magicdog]

On 8/29/2018 at 6:01 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I don’t think this was mentioned yet, but I do know that some of my fellow posters who loved the show, agree that the series finale of Remington Steele, was the absolute WORST and undid ALL of the progress Laura and Steele made up until that point. ????????????

And WHY didn’t he tell her that the corrupt ex-insurance investigator found all about him, blah, blah. On top of that, he LIED to Laura. Then, when rumors or media statements started swirling about how the people behind the James Bond movies were interested in Pierce Brosnan as the next 007, NBC, which had unceremoniously cancelled the show after the fourth season, decided to bring it back as Brosnan had signed a seven year deal.

Do NOT get me started on that piss-poor and INSULTING season five. And Tony can just go DIAFF as far as I’m concerned

This!

I loved the show back in the day, and there was talk early on that Brosnan should be seriously considered for the next James Bond.  Because of NBC, he was dragged back for a very messy final season which I hated.  He got the role of Bond eventually, but because of all the network hijinx, he wasn't able to get to it when he should have and aged out of the role too soon. 

What killed me even more was we never found out Steele's  real name or parentage.  I always thought he and the viewers deserved that much.  

[Bastet]

53 minutes ago, magicdog said:

What killed me even more was we never found out Steele's  real name or parentage.  I always thought he and the viewers deserved that much.  

We learned who his parents were (Daniel and the woman who died), just not his real name.  Which I loved, because it ultimately not mattering - to him, or to Laura - who he'd been born as because he'd truly become Remington Steele was the point of the whole thing.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Bastet

[dargosmydaddy]

My favorite series finales, in no particular order....

-12 Monkeys

-Life on Mars (U.K.)

-Justified

[festivus]

11 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

My favorite series finales, in no particular order....

-12 Monkeys

-Life on Mars (U.K.)

-Justified

I haven't watched the other two shows you mentioned but Life on Mars (U.K.) is probably my favorite finale ever. It was perfection.

[emjohnson03]

from the NBC lineup, I always thought Frasier did it well.

It still gets me when he quotes Ulysses. Such beauty.

"We are not now that strength which in old days 

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; 

One equal temper of heroic hearts, 

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

It wrapped up nicely with everyone getting their ending and Frasier finding another journey. 

 

Friends was wonderful too with "Embryonic Journey" by Jefferson Airplane playing as they walked out.

I guess I'm a sucker for good music and timeless words....LOL!

[Annber03]

I love the "Frasier" finale. By the time they're all saying goodbye to each other in the apartment I'm grabbing the Kleenex. 

[ratgirlagogo]

On 10/6/2018 at 9:52 PM, dargosmydaddy said:

Justified

Yes.  A great ending to a great series.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Yes.  A great ending to a great series.

When Boyd asked him why he came to the prison even though everyone knew what the line would be it still made me teary! It’s also what me and my BFF answer when anyone asks us how we met!

Edited October 8, 2018 by biakbiak

[sweetcookieface]

I see only a passing reference to it above, but I think The Americans had one of the best series finales in recent years - and probably of all time. It was suspenseful, emotionally resonant, and just intellectually satisfying. There are so many iconic scenes - the standoff with Stan in the parking lot; the entire montage set to "With or Without You," culminating in Paige getting off the train; that final call to Henry; Elizabeth's dream sequence; Philip and Elizabeth returning to Russia and wistfully staring out on the horizon, with the latter noting "We'll get used to it"... I could go on and on. I love that the show tied up major loose ends in a way that felt satisfying, but believable, and left the audience with just the right amount of mystery (the most notable example being Renee's affiliation). I'm probably in the minority in that I disliked Breaking Bad's finale - I found it too pat, too over the top, and too fan-servicey. The Americans finale, by contrast, felt earned. I honestly couldn't ask for a better finale - it ended up being one of the best episodes in one of the best TV series in modern history.

[Chaos Theory]

It’s funny all a show has to do to have a good finale is be true to the concept of the show.  I don’t need clever.  I don’t need brave.  To be honest I dont even want those two.   They even get in the way and ruin the ending more times then not.  I just need the show to be true.

Edited October 9, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[supposebly]

Having read through this, Hannibal sprang to mind. It's hard to explain if you haven't watched the show but to me, it was perfect.

I agree on the Justified nomination. True to the show's spirit and the characters.

[vibeology]

8 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

It’s funny all a show has to do to have a good finale is be true to the concept of the show.  I don’t need clever.  I don’t need brave.  To be honest I dont even want those two.   They even get in the way and ruin the ending more times then not.  I just need the show to be true.

Have I praised Angel on here yet? Because this is what made the Angel finale resonate. The show was always at it's strongest when it went back to the core premise. The fight against evil never ends so choosing to fight is what matters. Ending the show mid-fight is a way to say that our heroes will always fight. It wasn't a perfect episode but it ended with such a strong impact that I can forgive the bumps along the way in the last episode and last arc.

[festivus]

5 hours ago, supposebly said:

Having read through this, Hannibal sprang to mind. It's hard to explain if you haven't watched the show but to me, it was perfect.

I was thinking about Hannibal too. Will and Hannibal fell over the cliff together. Did they die? If they did then I think that was the perfect ending for their story. The scene with Bedelia is suggesting they didn't but it could just be a nightmare of hers. Or she thinks they didn't and she did what she did to herself wanting to lure them. I like that it's ambiguous and you can make up your own mind of what you think happened. That's how Life on Mars (U.K.) is too and I think I just like that kind of ending. 

[Chaos Theory]

The Good (in no order)  

The Americans,  WGN Salem,  MASH,  Being Human US,  Hannibal,  12 Monkeys,  Breaking Bad, Buffy,   Angel,   Defiance,   Spartacus, Leverage

Honorable Mention to Major Case (I didn't watch The Closer and only watched Major Case on and off but I really thought the finale was good)

 

The Bad:  Warehouse 13,  HIMYM,  Dexter,  Being Human (UK),  Quantum Leap,  

 

Not included because I never watched or just didn't like  Justified,  The Shield,  The Sopranos,  Seinfeld 

 

I am not sure where to put Xena and Sons of Anarchy.  I really liked both of them and really hate putting them in the bad category but don't think they deserve to be in the good one either.  So I am putting them in the.....just ok.   I would also probably put the ending to the remade Battlestar Galactica here as well.  The final half of the final season was the low point of the series but I did like the finale.  

[tennisgurl]

I really loved the ending of Spartacus, and what makes it really impressive, is that you know going in whats going to happen. The rebel slaves are going to lose, badly, to the might of the Roman Empire, and most of them will die, like what actually happened. But, they somehow still make it a very suspenseful hour of television, teasing out what will happen, and gives us thrilling fight scenes, some heartwarming character moments, and then when the end comes, its heartbreaking, but actually manages to be a bittersweet moment, and not just a depressing ending where everyone dies horribly. 

I would get more into specifics, but I feel like its a criminally underrated show and I want people to go into it without spoilers, but its exciting, tragic, wonderfully written and acted, and ends with tears of sadness, and happiness, and I love it so very much. Its basically an entire episode of crying, but in a way that feels earned, and not cheap. Its the perfect cap to such a surprisingly heartfelt, epic series. 

[Jac]

I adore The Sopranos finale. The fact that my sister and I still occasionally discuss what the likely outcome was tells you that it was effective and memorable.

The Cheers finale is excellent. I like the little callbacks to the pilot and the life goes on aspects of it.

I am still hugely bitter about HIMYM. They are screening the final season here on cable again at the moment and I am so mad at it. Cristin Milioti and Josh Radnor have such amazing chemistry and the mother/Traci is the best character that show produced. She deserved better than Ted. 

[bosawks]

On 10/9/2018 at 10:14 PM, Jac said:

I am still hugely bitter about HIMYM. They are screening the final season here on cable again at the moment and I am so mad at it. Cristin Milioti and Josh Radnor have such amazing chemistry and the mother/Traci is the best character that show produced. She deserved better than Ted. 

In my head Traci actually faked her death with the assistance of a doctor she met at the hospital and they ran off together leaving Ted and those two ingrates to make a life with Robin and that stupid french horn in their version of How I Met My Ex-Wife.

Edited October 11, 2018 by bosawks

[DrSpaceman73]

House of Cards.  One of the worst endings ever. 

The whole last season was a waste.  In fact, it rivals even How I Met Your Mother in terms of worst final season of a once good show.  I think it tops it. 

Complete waste of time. 

[Rosiejuliemom]

On 10/11/2018 at 8:12 AM, bosawks said:

In my head Traci actually faked her death with the assistance of a doctor she met at the hospital and they ran off together leaving Ted and those two ingrates to make a life with Robin and that stupid french horn in their version of How I Met My Ex-Wife.

I always pictured Robin answering her door, telling Ted in no uncertain terms that it wasn't going to fucking happen, and meeting Barney for drinks.

 

I adored the last scene of ER. The team dealing with a mass casualty was an example of what the show did best. The pullback shot of the hospital and full theme music were just icing on the cake.