Best Series Finale of All Time?

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Seinfeld--the entire series that was in many ways the best comedy sitcom of the 1990's--was totally ruined by that weird and unusual final episode and the way the entire main cast ended up in jail.

 

It's a prime candidate for a 1hr reunion special. Just to go out on a better note than they did. Then 20 years from now we can all conveniently "forget" the first finale.

 

When it comes to series finales, Newhart is always the first that comes to mind, then M*A*S*H and St. Elsewhere. I also liked the final ep. of Star Trek: Voyager.

 

Six Feet Under-hands down. The only reason more people don't have it on their list is because they haven't seen it. The best example of a show going out early and at the top of it's game. I have never been more moved by a work of fiction in my life. Seeing Nate jogging in the Claire's rear view mirror gets me every time.

 

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Well obviously they didn't! B7 is one of my favorite series endings too, albeit a bit disappointing in that all secrets were not revealed....which in retrospect was probably the right way to end things.

Spoiler

Have to respect a series that kills off all of its main characters in the final episode.

Ooops.....well, hopefully no one minds that spoiler....B7 has been out there for over twenty years after all.....or is that almost thirty years.....

Have to agree with Newhart, funny surprise ending....and I liked the Seinfeld last episode, it seemed to be the logical way to end a "show about nothing".....and maybe I missed this but AFAIK no one has mentioned the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, gotta love that final "group hug"......

I liked the last episode of Angel better than Buffy's last episode.....if you count Serenity as the final episode of Firefly, then that's a perfect "series ending" too......

 

After 86 posts, this hasnt been mentioned.... well at least I liked it. haha

Everybody Loves Raymond

 

I liked Cheers, I liked Seinfeld, and I liked Roseanne, which generally makes me a moron because those (with the exception of Cheers) are generally thought of as terrible. I also liked Growing Pains and Friends. I wouldn't say they're the best ever, but I liked them myself.

 

The UK version of The Office. Not so much the last episode, but the "Christmas Special".

Brilliant.

 

Are you kidding? I couldn't stand that crappy, over-blown sentimental schmaltz Worst. Ending. Ever.


I liked Newhart's last episode. And Cheers had a pretty decent last show.

 

Worst ending ever? You mean BJ's "Good bye"? I thought, and still think, that was fantastic.

Anyway, my top five (in no particular order)

1. M*A*S*H*
2. Mary Tyler Moore
3. Larry Sanders
4. Arrested Development (taking the whole two hours as the finale)
5. (your ad here)

 

I meant the entire last episode. One overacted departure after another...

 

Well, you're not alone on Seinfeld. I am always amazed at how much this finale is disliked. I thought the finale fit the tone of the show and captured what the show was about very well. The show was about a group of self-absorbed characters that saw life through their own filters only, and the finale pointed that out perfectly. The ending in the jail cell brought the dialogue full-circle from the pilot and showed that they had run out of things to talk about.

 

I watched Newhart as a kid, but I can't remember what happened during the finale. Anyone care to jog my memory?

 

Spoiler

He woke up next to his wife from The Bob Newhart Show. The entire Newhart series was a dream the old psychiatrist Bob dreamt one night.

 

Kinda makes me think of the lame Rosanne ending.

Bleh.

 

There was also a scene in there where Geraldo was talking about the trial and the interaction between Elaine and Jerry. He said something to the effect of, "There's a lot of tension there. I sense some chemistry. Who knows? When this is over, they just might get married." I loved the fact that they had thrown one of the rumors about how the show would end into the actual show.

 

I vote for SFU.

 

Well, I saw it and I still wouldn't rank it as one of the best series finales.

I think SFU is getting a lot of votes only because it happened so recently and is fresh on a lot of people's minds. I certainly don't think it will stand the test of time to be as memorable as Newhart or St. Elsewhere.

I thought the SFU series finale was very well done and very moving, but the finale stood out mostly because it was much better than the mountain of suckage that had preceded it. I definitely can't agree that SFU went out "at the top of its game" because that last season (and much of the one before) was not very good imho. The characters had all become increasingly insufferable and annoying and I thought the last season and a half began to border on the unwatchable.

 

Has to be Newhart when he wakes up and it is all a dream.

 

Thanks for this post - I took a look at the web site, and specifically at the key PDF referenced therein - http://home.vicnet.net.au/~kwgow/crossovers.html

It made for some fun reminiscing over lunch, and left me wondering if everything really IS in Tommy's head, after all