Favorite (or Least Favorite) Series Finale
 

My favorite series finale would have to be from the show Friends. What I like about this one is that each of the characters were able to resolve certain conflicts, recollecting their times of fun, and eventually, they all parted ways, moving on with their own lives. It's sad, I know, but at least the show ended with dignity.

My least favorite, however, is actually a special known as the Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinator. I felt it was very rush, some factors for both shows weren't resolved, and finally, the way it end was anything but satisfying.

Well, that's all I have.

I know there are mixed responses to how the Sopranos ended... my boyfriend for one didn't like it! I was just a little confused about the sudden-ness of it all... those who saw it know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to spoil anything.

I thought the finale to the animated Cyber-6 show was really lame. It didn't answer anything and just left a bunch of questions. But what I really dislike is when shows end before they even get to have a finale. Pirates of Darkwater anyone?

I think Seinfeld had a great finally.

it was kind a greatest moments with a very satifying ending.

Monty :-/

I think this is a really hard thread to post on because majority of TV shows DON'T get finales. Most are usually canceled before they can complete a show, I see it happen a lot with cartoon shows for example. Out of all the countless Disney toons they made, only 2 got like real actual factual finales and that was Duck Tales and Gargoyles.

The rest either ended abruptly or just left a cliffhanger open for the next season which never comes since like I said.....it's canceled. But as far as good series finales: Buffy the vampire slayer probably is my favorite TV series finale. It ended on a epic, grand scale, it gave hope for the future and truly put on a spectacular show that provided surprises, twists, and some character deaths.

Animated wise: the anime series "Nadia: secret of the blue water" to me had the best ending. Huge storyline, epic as Hell and involved everyone. Every character, question, and plot hole was corrected and answered, they left nothing hanging and settled all your questions perfectly. Now as far as WORST finales, for live TV I'd have to say Home Improvement's ending was pretty bad.

I mean, all they did was move to a new state because their tool TV show was turned into a Jerry Springer knock off? Is that really that much of an epic reason for a show to end on? Seriously, it sounds stupid when you say it out loud. Now far as animated series, there's way too many to list since like 88% of all animes end half assed. No completion, no questions answered, nada. Most of them end up with a simple "here we go again" set up.

Which is nice sometimes but not every show needs it. Sonic the hedgehog SATam series also ended on a miserable finale, they totally set the show up for a BIG 3rd season with new revelations about villains, new discoveries and stuff and it just sucks because your left holding the bag, knowing there was so much more that could have been done with this series. Like Titus.

I forgot about anime's!8D If I use them then I can point out Inuyasha as won of the worst finales I've personally seen. Granted, they plan to pick it back up eventually, but they left so many lose ends and plot points left unanswered and in the end, I felt like the show was a bit of a waste. I did enjoy it but the ending just left so much to be desired.
As for finales that I liked: Fullmetal Alchemist was very satisfying. Things fell into place nicely and it just felt like time well spent.:D

Mine too!

The worst series finale EVER (well, for a BOOK series) was for a Series of Unfortunate Events.

I will put my rant in spoiler tags.

Spoiler Below

I hated the season finale for Digimon Adventure 02. That was just... what was that? They drop anvil-sized hints for some pairings, and then the writers ignore everything they were building up the whole time... nyrgh.

Then there's the neverending list of animes that only went up to volume two of their manga counterparts (fruits basket, gravitation) which forces you into buying the manga, just so you know how it *really* ends.

And oh, you know what else I hated? Invader Zim's ending was really weak. If it wasn't the last episode I would've just passed it off as an average episode... it would've been nice if Zim went out with a bang.

On the flipside, I thought Futurama and Seinfeld's endings were most excellent. I also wouldn't mind if the Boondocks and American Dad randomly got cancled, since their latest season finales filled me with so much glee. :<

I hated how Batman Beyond ended, it had a pitiful finale in "Unmasked" and they could have use it to a much better use then what they did use it for. Terry wouldn't seriously unmask himself so carelessly to one scared kid when there's so many people near and ear to him (hello hot girlfriend DANA) deserve the truth more.

However, I am thankful they gave Beyond a proper ending thanks to both the phenominal Return of the Joker movie, and the episode "Epilogue" in Justice League unlimited. I also think Teen Titans had a very piss poor finale. It seemed pointless for me to bring back Terra when all it did was raise questions that will never be answered and just didn't really accomplish any kind of point.

Titans should have left the series end the episode BEFORE "Things Change", with "Titans together". Now THAT episode screamed finale. An army of super villains, and super heroes battling it all out in a battle royale with cameos, old characters, and new ones galore, that is a proper way to end a series people.

Not bringing back supposed fan favored characters (:jk: never saw what was so great about Terra anyway) and leaving a mile long list of unanswered questions. Strangely enough, I also liked the ending to Mystery Science Theater 3000. I know it was a weird ending but to me, it seemed to fit, it's funny/ironic to think that first chance they get on Earth: they do the same thing they did so many years in space.

Watch bad movies and rip on em every chance they can get.

I agree that Friends has a pretty awesome finale. And I, too am pretty angry at how most shows get no ending. I mean, you got the begginning, and the middle.....where's the end? I think the execs seem to have the same opinion as Bloo in One False Movie: "Noone cares about the ending. So long as everything else is great, noone-". Invader Zim got no ending. It was canceled half-way through season 2. Thus the inexplicability of Minimoose. He was supposed to be introduced in another episode which never came.

I hope, when the time comes, hopefully looooong from now, when Fosters ends, we get a real ending. And don't just get left hanging.

You kind of answered your own question there, cancellations. TV executives don't "not care about the ending", they don't care about the show PERIOD. If the show is not making them any money then they are going to yank it no matter where the show has gone as far as the storyline is considered.

It's not like they purposely don't like making endings for show, it's the fact that this is a business and what doesn't sell doesn't stay. It's different with TV seeing as you have characters you become attached to and grow and love, but the fact of the matter is TV shows are still nothing more then products.

If a product doesn't sell, it's removed, no matter how far or how short the series has gone. There is some TV networks and executives though that give shows enough time to whip up an ending after they have been canceled. Angel was canned but they got enough time to prepare a finale, same with failed shows like NBC's Kidnapped.

The reason so many shows end without proper endings is 98% of the time, no one has any idea the show has been canceled before it's too late.

I tend to never watch finales. Crazy enough. I wonder when the Simpsons is getting a finale, though.

At the rate they're going, around the end of time I'd wager. :P

That wasn't the end for FOP, FOP's coming back eithger in the fall or next year/

I thought the Zim series finale is one of my favorites ever. I'm glad Futurama is coming back. :D

At this point, they'll probablly make the crew do the show when they're just skeletons! :o:P

i agree. that was kinda saddening. on the other hand, adventure and tamers (seasons 1 and 3) had pretty good endings.

i also liked the ending to yu-gi-oh! and, although this is really more of the manga, spiral (look it up on wikipedia, good show.)

I hated both finales to Buffy anf Angel.

Buffy's was just: "ooh look a hole."
Angels was: big fight and looked like it was going to have a next season.

And I hated the Rosanne finale. It irked me to no end.

I actually liked Buffy's ending because it really did what nothing could do through out the show: leave Sunnydale. The characters there always ended up coming back and because of the evil that existed there, no one could ever truly leave and get on with their lives. Plus that was a KICK ASS final battle with the Uber Vamps.

Angel's I felt was even better because the show is a dark, sadistic gloomy show and it's no surprise the show would end on a similar note. Having Angel and his crew facing oblivion after killing all the big head demons of the world, and not knowing what'll happen next was a very provocative way to leave them. Sometimes I like wondering what's gonna happen next.

Because even if they died, it's that "dark mystery" and "unknown" that made Angel the dark show that it was. Angel was a lot more depressing then Buffy was and you'll notice that the characters suffer much more in this show too, Joss Whedon even admits that he's a sadist when it comes to Angel. So what better way to end it then to have him facing oblivion in a last stand-ish kinda way?

I'm surprised that the Sopranos hasn't been mentioned yet. I never watched the show but I hear the series finale was awful. I even seen it on CNN.8D

Equally surprising is that there's been no mention of the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode was one of the finest in all of Trek history. It had everything; excellent writing, marvelous special effects, action and drama and emotion all in just the right proportions, and well-defined characters we'd come to know and love. Even the background music was perfect. It was everything a Trekker could have hoped for. :)

I really can't think of a season finale I particularly like because, as Mr. M has said, most series are cancelled before being allowed to well and truly end. One of the series I really had wished we'd gotten a chance to see an end to was the Disney cartoon series Darkwing Duck, which I've recently gotten into again after so many years for some reason. I guess the reason I'm stating this is because there had been a definitive ending planned for the last season, and the show was cancelled right before that season.

Other than that, the series finale to irk me the most was the finale for the original TV series of Hellsing. Of course, in all honesty, the show somewhat irked me to begin with due to how untrue it was to the source material and how poorly some of the characters were handled (specifically Alucard, Anderson, and Integra), but I sat through it to the end to see if it would've paid off. Sadly, it really didn't.

I actually loved the anime series Hellsing and actually they did have a much better ending in mind, but the thing is despite the fact the show is so extremely popular and successful, the original anime series was in fact extremely expensive and they had practically exhausted their budget by episode 13.

It had been planned to go on longer but again, money nixed those ideas. Darkwing Duck in my opinion truly deserved a proper ending because I firmly believe it is the greatest cartoon show they have ever created, it's high up on my Disney favorite list along with Rescue Rangers, Kim Possible, and Gargoyles.

Darkwing Duck DID have a future beyond what we received, evidence of this is very CLEAR in "The Steerminator" when they bring back Taurus Bulba. Plans were to make this the true final season of DW and have Bulba replace Negaduck as the head villain. They also had plans to bring back two other old villains.

Paddywhack, a skeletal ghoulish clown like villain who was voiced by the late (and great) Phil Hartman, and the FIRST Negaduck (the one composed entirely of energy). This also explains why the old Negaduck was killed in the "Negaverse" episode, to make way for all the new bad guy resurrections.

Sadly Darkwing, Tale Spin and all other classic disney toons were replaced with the nauseating likes of Doug, Recess, and Pepper Anne. No offense to anyone who likes those shows, I just feel replacing shows like Darkwing and Gummi bears with those is kind of an insult but that's just my personal view.

I'm not necessarily saying it was bad, I was simply saying that I think it paled in comparison to the work it was based on. It was a great show on its own merits, but when compared to Hirano's original work, it's hard to look at it favorably. And actually, from what I heard, they had never planned for it to go over 13 episodes. But I could be wrong.

That's the thing; I had known that when Taura returned that they had a final confrontation genuinely prepared, which genuinely irritated me when we didn't get to see it. However, I hadn't known that Paddywhack and the original Negaduck were intended to return.

I agree half and half. While I miss those shows, I at least liked Recess. I can, however, give you Doug and Pepper Anne as being correct with your analysis. And Gummi Bears....wow, it's been years since I've watched that show. That brings back memories.

I've read this info on several TV websites so unless it's a big lie everyone's spreading around, I'm assuming there is truth to this. Supposedly there was a lot of confusion when the energy Negaduck appeared and his relation to the "true" Negaduck. Especially since one of the VHS tapes is called "Birth of Negaduck".

Of course that birth is of the energy one. They wanted to bring him back to make it clear that they were 2 separate villains and because the electric Negaduck was a much more formidable enemy since he has super powers practically on the verge of rivaling DW's other big bad guys like Megavolt and Busrhoot.

The Paddywhack thing I hear a lot about, they even had an episode title for it called "Pranks for the memories". Weirdly enough My Gym Partner is a monkey used that title for an episode of theirs. Sadly though, even if DW were to come back Paddywhack's VA Hartman was killed and a lot of people don't know he voiced Paddywhack.

To me, The cartoons featured on the Disney afternoon were the culmination of the greatest cartoon shows Disney ever created. Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, Darkwing Duck, Tale Spin, Rescue Rangers, (and to a lesser extent) Goof Troop. :P It wasn't a bad show but it wasn't my absolute favorite either.

I loved those shows, they were absolutely perfect, they were unique, funny, creative, and had excellent characters that you could never get tired of seeing week after week. Gummi bears has been a LOOOOONG time since I've seen, and while I have only bought the new DVD sets of Darkwing, Tale Spin, and Rescue Rangers, I'm seriously thinking about buying the Gummi sets.

Here's also some interesting trivia for ya, although I think I said this before, Gargoyles, Duck Tales, and Gummi bears are the ONLY Disney shows that ever got a true finale.

Bringing this thread back to life...(Because thread resuscitation is what all the cool kids is doing these day.)


Anyways time to chime in with some of my favorite finales


Freakazoid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY45YOaXwVk

The cast singing "We'll Meet Again" (From the film Dr. Strangelove) is a strangely touching (and very fitting) ending to an animated series that constantly rewrote the definition of cartoon zaniness on a weekly bases.

Newhart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwYw2i2icNg

Bob Newhart had one of the greatest sitcoms of the 1970's (The Bob Newhart show) and he followed that up with another hit in the 1980's with another self titled show which played host to one of the greatest finales in television history which had something for fans of both of his series'

M*A*S*H

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL5CdvUf56o

One of the most watched television shows in history, and with very good reason this was one of the most heart felt and emotional finales ever as the nation said goodbye to a true TV classic. And would actually be the most touching ending to comedy set during a major world conflict if not for...

Blackadder Goes Forth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_brCfTPHw

Blackadder was one of the funniest shows ever and no more so then the forth series which took place during world war 1. However despite all the mirth and fun poked at the politics and bureaucracy behind the first world war, the message that war is serious business is still lurking the background and is no more apparent then in shows final moments when Captain Blackadder and his men face their destiny. The emotion is captured so perfectly that you totally forget that up until the final minuets you were watching a comedy farce, and if that's not bloody good acting, writing and directing then I don't know what is.

My all-time favourite is Spin City, the Michael J Fox one. I just loved how they kept the humour going throughout the two part finale.

Animated wise, Avatar: The Last Airbender. While I've still yet to see it, seeing some of the clips (not to mention one at the very end that I won't spoil! =D) has already convinced me at how brilliant and imaginative the series has become!

Not exactly. Pepper Ann (which I note has received a fair bit of dissing in this thread, but which I always unashamedly enjoyed, and I know that Lynnie was also a fan of it) received a proper finale too. Additionally (and in fairness, I will acknowledge that the more recent was only screened after the quoted post was written), Kim Possible wound up receiving not just one, but two series finales, thanks to a sudden change of heart on the Disney Channel's part.

Yay, another Pepper Ann fan! :clap: I never saw the finale, and in fact, I'm sure I never saw most of the episodes, but I absolutely loved what I did see. That show was soooo funny! 8D

Anyway, to keep the discussion going, I'm going to say that I loved the "Roswell" finale. It really pleased the fans, and was kind of exciting thinking the show's characters are "still out there somewhere", doing what they can to make up for all the problems they caused by doing anonymous good deeds. And although it's just a show, the thought of our paths crossing one of these days was also fun to entertain.

And I mentioned in another thread how I didn't like so much the "Friends" finale, nor the few episodes before it. They were trying way too hard to make things unpredictable, and it ended up exhausting to watch the characters keep changing their minds about things. It was disappointing and blah to most of us avid Friends fans. It was far from the best way to send the show off.

Oddly enough, I never actually saw the finale myself, despite seeing just about every other episode the series had to offer, which leads me to suspect that Toon Disney didn't have it in syndication. The name of the episode is simply "Finale", and it's apparently set at a school reunion fifteen years into the future. I guess it'll take a DVD release before I'm finally able to see it.

I think my all time favorite series finale is the last episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. While most of the episode was just a clipshow, there were some genuinely funny moments, like Stewart's flashback (THAT WOULD BE SWELL! UH-HUH-HUH-HUH!) and Spoiler Below It was perfect right down to the end credits.
Another all time favorite is the Home Movies series finale. At first you're not sure whether it's supposed to be the last episode or not but during the last few minutes it becomes clear that the show is ending and it's never coming back. I think one of the most heart-wrenching moments is when Spoiler Below Sad :(




As for the worst, I'd say St. Elsewhere. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

I don't watch much TV.

However, the one episode that sticks in my mind is the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. Although it is a comedy show, the last five minutes had me in tears. Partly because I did not expect Spoiler Below , but partly because the tradegy of WW1 really struck me, then.
It is, without a doubt, the most moving thing I've ever seen on Televison. It was very well acted and written, and the sudden switch from comedy to tragedy actually worked.

There was documentary on over Christmas that showed the filming of the final sequence of Blackadder Goes Forth. The original scene showed them falling one by one in real time and it looked pretty unconvincing. It was supposedly a complete afterthought to slow it down and fade into another image yet it really is a powerful and memorable peice of television.

It's amazing how the least thought of option, turned out to be the best one. And as I've said before made one almost forget they were watching a comedy.

Well, unfortunately I can't really think of any endings, other than Fosters, that I really liked, but I have a laundry list of endings I hated, namely Sonic SatAM, Inuyasha, Teen Titans, Static Shock and yes, Hellsing original.

Sonic SatAM was, as Mr. Marshmallow stated, cancelled way too soon, same with Static Shock, and I was especially disappointed in Teen Titans, for the same reasons that Mr. Marshmallow stated, but also because I really wanted to know just who Slade really was, unless that's revealed in an episode I haven't seen, but it wasn't mentioned on Wikipedia. And don't even get me started on Inuyahsa; let's just say that the movie "The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass" should have been the ending. And while I didn't exactly hate Hellsing's ending, it was a bit confusing to me as to exactly what happened. But there's good news for all Hellsing fans, as there's been a new series released called Hellsing Ultimate, which is an entirely separate series that follow's the manga's storyline much more closely. While it's only at 4 hour-long episodes now, going up to about manga chapter 30, I don't believe it's been cancelled, just put on hold for now.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more later.

Father Ted is another example in which a quick last minute tweaking went on to produce a much better and more satisfying conclusion than was originally planned. Believe it or not, the final episode, "Going to America", was originally set to end with a despondent Ted rejoining Father Kevin and the two of them jumping from a window ledge, presumably to their deaths. However, the sudden and extremely tragic death of Dermot Morgan a day after the completion of the series' filming prompted them to abandon this ending, and instead we got the classic montage sequence, topped off with one final shot of the parochial house and the overheard sounds of Ted and Dougal wishing one another goodnight. In my opinion, a perfect and really very touching ending to a truly wonderful show. It's just sad that it took the death of the actor in question for it to come about (though the show's writers have stated that they didn't feel happy with the original ending regardless).

Spoiler Below

RIP Dermot, you are still very sorely missed.