EW's Best Season Finales

[Sparty99]

Clearly this doesn't include series finales. It also glaringly omits Lost's season finale from last year (season 3).

Discuss:

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20200272,00.html

[MasterOfPuppets]

I hate that you have to click links to scroll through it.
Didn't/Don't Watch Dynasty, Star Trek, CYE, Farscape, 24, Alias, Grey's Anatomy, West Wing, Felicity, Dallas, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, or Sex and the City...so that's a pretty big chunk of the list.

I think that The Shield's Season 5 finale, "Post Partum" should definitely be on the list.

[hanumang]

Clearly this doesn't include series finales. It also glaringly omits Lost's season finale from last year (season 3).

Nah, if the list is a countdown (#24 to #1), it's actually #1.

Lost: Flashing Forward, Season Three. (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20200272_23,00.html)

But, yeah, if they left that out, it would invalidate the whole thing...

[LoadStar]

Phew. That was an annoying list to page through. Here's the list for those who don't want to deal:

THE OFFICE - Jim Kisses Pam, Season 2
DYNASTY - The Moldavian Massacre, Season 5
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Picard gets Borgified, Season 3
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - Larry Opens His Restaurant, Season 3
FARSCAPE - Crichton Goes Crazy, Season 2
SOUTH PARK - Who is Cartman's Daddy?, Season 1
24 - Poor Mrs. Bauer, Season 1
SURVIVOR - The Hatch Stands Alone, Season 1
ALIAS - Two Years Gone, Season 2
GREY'S ANATOMY - The Heart Can't Go On, Season 2
THE WEST WING - The Assassination Attempt, Season 1
THE X-FILES - Is Mulder Really Dead?, Season 4
FELICITY - Who Will She Choose?, Season 1
DALLAS - Who Shot J.R.?, Season 3
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - Under the Cylon Boot, Season 2
SEINFELD - The Pilot, Season 4
THE SIMPSONS - Who Shot Mr. Burns?, Season 6
THE SOPRANOS - Carmela Leaves Tony, Season 4
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - Buffy Bites the Big One, Season 5
SEX AND THE CITY - Big Moves and Miranda Spawns, Season 4
FRIENDS - Ross Comes Clean About Rachel, Season Four
THE AMAZING RACE - Bros versus Foes, Season Two
CHEERS - Goodbye, Diane, Season Two
LOST - Flashing Forward, Season Three

[spikedavis]

What? No Angel at the bottom of the sea in a coffin?

FAIL.

[Sparty99]

Nah, if the list is a countdown (#24 to #1), it's actually #1.

Lost: Flashing Forward, Season Three. (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20200272_23,00.html)

But, yeah, if they left that out, it would invalidate the whole thing...
My mistake. Either I missed the last 4 entries or they changed the list.

[spikedavis]

Also-no Doctor Who "Doomsday"

[iceisles]

I can't believe no finale of "The Practice" made the list. That show had some superb cliffhangers.

[latrobe7]

My mistake. Either I missed the last 4 entries or they changed the list.

I think they changed the list; I went through it yesterday morning and did not see LOST in there either...

[Bob_Newhart]

Phew. That was an annoying list to page through. Here's the list for those who don't want to deal:

THE OFFICE - Jim Kisses Pam, Season 2
DYNASTY - The Moldavian Massacre, Season 5
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Picard gets Borgified, Season 3
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - Larry Opens His Restaurant, Season 3
FARSCAPE - Crichton Goes Crazy, Season 2
SOUTH PARK - Who is Cartman's Daddy?, Season 1
24 - Poor Mrs. Bauer, Season 1
SURVIVOR - The Hatch Stands Alone, Season 1
ALIAS - Two Years Gone, Season 2
GREY'S ANATOMY - The Heart Can't Go On, Season 2
THE WEST WING - The Assassination Attempt, Season 1
THE X-FILES - Is Mulder Really Dead?, Season 4
FELICITY - Who Will She Choose?, Season 1
DALLAS - Who Shot J.R.?, Season 3
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - Under the Cylon Boot, Season 2
SEINFELD - The Pilot, Season 4
THE SIMPSONS - Who Shot Mr. Burns?, Season 6
THE SOPRANOS - Carmela Leaves Tony, Season 4
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - Buffy Bites the Big One, Season 5
SEX AND THE CITY - Big Moves and Miranda Spawns, Season 4
FRIENDS - Ross Comes Clean About Rachel, Season Four
THE AMAZING RACE - Bros versus Foes, Season Two
CHEERS - Goodbye, Diane, Season Two
LOST - Flashing Forward, Season Three

Damn, I wish I would seen this before wearing out my finger clicking the original list.

[MickeS]

The CYE Season 3 finale was one of the funniest and most irreverent ones. Normally they all end on shockers of the schmaltzy or serious variety, but that "shocker" was just plain hilarious.

[Steveknj]

Was there TV pre-1980? All of these series happened after 1980 and most were late 1990s and later. Anyone help with some additions that were pre-1980?

And actually, to me, the number 1 season finale was M*A*SH season 3, Albysinnia Henry, in which Henry Blake dies at the end. NONE of the listed ones beat that, and in fact outside of LOST, that was probably the most shocking moment I could remember on TV.

[LoadStar]

Was there TV pre-1980? All of these series happened after 1980 and most were late 1990s and later. Anyone help with some additions that were pre-1980?

The reason is that before 1980, cliffhanger season finales were extremely rare. It was the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger that really popularized the practice. (According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhanger), the first real television cliffhanger was Soap in 1978.)

[Steveknj]

The reason is that before 1980, cliffhanger season finales were extremely rare. It was the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger that really popularized the practice. (According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhanger), the first real television cliffhanger was Soap in 1978.)

But that's not the title of the article. It's Best Season Finales. A season finale DOESN'T have to end in a cliffhanger to qualify, does it? In fact some of those on the list aren't really cliffhangers.