Best and Worst series finales.

[Nikepallas]

I will admit it I am an odd ball I like to watch the Finale of TV shows EVEN if I really never watch the show while it was on. I find I like to see how it began and how it ended.


Best-- Mad About You. I thought it was very creative and emotional without being sappy.


Honorable mention-- Roseanne Gave some justification for the whole winning the lotto thing.


Worst-- Seinfeld. I'll admit I hated the show. CANNOT image any of those characters being real life people. and The ending was just stupid.

Anyone want to go next?

[kaitykaity]

1. Cheers was a great ending.

I thought the Friends ending was a major, major sell out.
There no way Ross and Rachel belonged together. No effing
way.

[Longhorn]

2. M.A.S.H. was outstanding.

A great wrap-up to a great show!

Also, the finales to Cheers and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. The series finale of M*A*S*H is one of the top ten

most watched shows in history. At one time, I believe it was at the top of the list, but may have been surpassed. I used to write about television, so kept track of these things.:shrug:

I also agree about "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." A great wrap-up to a brilliant show. There are so many classic episodes to this show, and the series finale didn't let anybody down.:-)

[lpbk2713]

7. M*A*S*H had the best removal of a regular character that I recall.

When Henry Blake got his orders to return to the States and he died in a plane crash. I was just as stunned as Radar was.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. I sure remember that

After he left, they made sure that he could never come back. And McLean Stevenson never had much success after that, while the show went on and continued to be as much of a success as it ever was. His replacement, Col. Potter, played by Harry Morgan, is, arguably, a stronger and less silly character. McLean Stevenson went on to do his own show, "In the Beginning," in which he portrayed a priest, assigned to a tough neighborhood, which lasted about a month, and (after signing a long-term contract with NBC) the also short-lived "McLean Stevenson Show," in which his grown children returned home to live with him and his wife. That was really painful. And does anybody remember "Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes?" That lasted about as long and makes today's reality shows almost look interesting.:puke:

My brother and I used to keep track of actors who left hit shows, thinking that they had the star power to make it on their own, just to fade into oblivion. There was Ivan Dixon, from "Hogan's Heroes," though he did go on to become a successful director, and Lyle Waggoner, who left "The Carol Burnett Show," never to be heard from again. McLean Steven tops the list. Wayne Rogers also left the show, but did have some success in made-for-TV movies and starred in "City of Angels," in which he played a 1930s P.I. in L.A. That one lasted less than a year, but I really liked it, and was sorry when it was canceled. I know that there are others.:shrug:

[TheDebbieDee]

19. Lyle Waggoner co-starred on "Wonder Woman" for a couple

of years.

[ironflange]

23. Don't forget McLean's crowning glory

Hello Larry

[Rhiannon12866]

25. Yes, I remember "Hello, Larry," LOL!

After he left "M*A*S*H," poor McLean Stevenson just sank like a stone!

[Rhiannon12866]

3. The series finale of "Newhart." I thought it was brilliant.

I never liked this one nearly as well as the original "Bob Newhart Show," with Suzanne Pleshette, and the series finale articulated this, LOL! My local CBS affiliate, apparently, didn't read the memo that the finale would run a tiny bit long, and cut off the very end. They were in deep do-do over this and fans were outraged! The apologies went on for days and they broadcast the complete ending on every newscast!:D

I agree about "Seinfeld." I was never a huge fan of the show, either, but made a point of watching the finale. My mother even tuned in and she had never watched the show! This was a major bust, painful to sit through.:hurts:

[Nikepallas]

11. OH YEAH!! I loved that Newhart ending. I remember people talked for

weeks and a nice kind of full circle.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. I know! That was so cool!

I still smile when I think of it, it was so clever!:D

[The empressof all]

15. Newhart finale was one of the finest moments in TV history

There is absolutely no doubt about the sheer brilliance of this last show.

[Mojambo]

5. I've always liked the Wonder Years finale

Although it has been panned as being a bit too sentimental. Shows like the Wonder Years (and Mash) have a built in capacity for great final episodes.

Seinfeld's finale was awful (and I'm a huge fan.) because the show wasn't built for a big finale. One of the great failures of Larry David has to be NOT realizing this and approaching the final episode differently. The finale of Seinfeld should not have deviated from the formula at all. Give us a little nod and wink at the very end and let that be that.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. The series finale to "I Love Lucy" was a total bust

I didn't catch this one the first time around, LOL, but read a book on the series and began watching it regularly on TV Land. They switched to the hour format to accommodate Desi Arnaz's schedule, moved to Connecticut and the last show, ever, ended with Lucy, in a chauffeur's uniform, with a wig and mustache, kissing Ricky. In real life, they were splitting up. Ricky no longer loved Lucy and this was reflected in their final shows. The seminal TV sitcom, which broke new ground and led to so many innovations that paved the way for everything that came after it, went out with a fizzle.:-(

[terrya]

8. Another good series finale was "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"

It was just a nice, sweet way to end the show (and ironic, given that Ted was the only one kept at WJM. :-))

The worst was "Seinfeld". Watching it, I thought to myself...that's IT???

[Rhiannon12866]

10. I also loved the "Mary Tyler Moore" finale.

It was as well-written and heartfelt as the rest of the series. The irony of Ted being kept on could not have been missed by viewers. The "Seinfeld" ending was just lame.:shrug:

[Killarney]

13. Worst was Felicity.

I'm still pissed off she didn't end up with Noel.

[Chovexani]

14. Ooh fun topic.

Best finale was MST3k. Mike and the Bots ended up back in Mike's Minnesota apartment (except Gypsy, who became rich and famous). And the show ended with Mike, Crow and Tom Servo watching "The Crawling Eye" on tv and starting to make fun of it. I thought it was a really nice touch because "The Crawling Eye" was the very first movie that was riffed on MST3k, way back in the KTMA days of the show.

Honorable mention goes to Buffy. I loved the finale, but the non-response to Anya and Spike's death really grated on me, especially since those were the last two characters on the show I really cared about. At least Anya went down fighting and conquered her fear of bunnies, and Spike got to be a hero for a change.

Roseanne was the WORST finale ever. A lot of people erroneously think that the book thing was just covering up that last godawful season, but in truth it was a retcon for the entire damn series. Whatever.

Funny you should say you hated Seinfeld because I loved it. Then again I'm a New Yorker, and I can put several names to each of those characters.

Jerry said it best in real life, that these were awful people and they belonged in jail. I thought it especially fitting that they would end up there just when they ran out of things to talk about. :P

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. Series Finales make me cry.

Frasier's farewell was good.
And let's see, The Wonder Years had me boohooing. Buffy's finale was really good with Sunnydale falling into hell. Angel's finale was ok, but left it open wayyy too much, and my favorite characters were dead, so I wasn't that happy.
And yes, the last Seinfeld SUCKED
Duckie

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. best: seinfeld and buffy

worst: angel.

[Chovexani]

18. I liked Angel's finale.

Actually, when I think about it, I like it even better than Buffy's (which I would have loved had it not been for the total non-reaction to Anya's demise on the part of everyone but Xander).

Yeah, their plan completely sucked. But I think they'd just had enough of walking a fine line, etc. They just wanted to kick some evil ass. And they did do a good job of it. I was sad to see Lindsay go, he was always one of those villains I loved to hate, but I agree with the decision to off him--he was just way too dangerous and couldn't be trusted.

I liked the very end of it because I like open-ended endings on some things, and I think it worked on Angel. Some folks think they all died, and went down fighting--that's pretty heroic right there, and suitable for a show that tosses around the "C" word (champion) at every opportunity. Me, I like to think they killed that dragon. :)

[ikojo]

20. The last episode of the X Files was pretty

lame but then again I was never a "shipper" (one who was into the Scully/Mulder relationship)....it SUCKED! Although I totally imagined myself laying next to David Duchovny!!!

[sldavis]

21. Worst - St. Elsewhere

a snow globe? Seriously? The whole thing was Chad Allen imagining what was happening in a snow globe?! Such a let-down - and I think I was only 10 years old at the time.

[ironflange]

22. All in the Family

Geez, when Mike and Gloria were leaving for California, and Mike told Archie he loved him, there sure wasn't a dry eye in the house. I know the show limped on for many years after that, but that episode is where it should have ended.

[DelawareValleyDem]

24. Odd Couple had a great finale

I'm a big Seinfeld fan but agree with you about its finale.

[bigwillq]

26. I thought Roseanne's was great. I cried.

Yes it made up for the crzy final season but I saw on E! that the final season and the final episode were very personal for her.


After watching that E special it made a lot more sense (the final ep.) and how personal of a project this show was to her.

[u4ic]

27. Best - Black Adder Goes Forth

Wonderfully done. A great piece of work.

[DaveinMD]

28. The best finale

was the Mary Tyler Moore show. Everyone gets fired except for Ted.