Best Series Finales ever

[daltysmilth]

So, which series finale(s) would you put on such a list? 

For me, at the top of the list would be the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "All Good Things".  It really brought the series full-circle, and made it seem like they'd planned it that way from the beginning, even though they were pretty much just making stuff up as they went along.  It does have some plot holes in it, but pretty much any story having to do with time travel does.  And it did a good job of showing how much the characters had changed since the first episode, even Q.

Homicide: The Movie
Even though it was billed as a made-for-TV movie, it was made to give closure to all the characters' stories from the series, especially Gee, Pembleton and Bayliss.


And now I'm really going to stretch the boundaries of what could be considered a series finale

MST3k: Laserblast
Okay, technically it wasn't the series finale, but for some reason, I liked it a lot better than the actual series finale.  I don't know, I guess it was just the fact that it seemed like there was more of a mood of "Hey, this may be our last episode ever, so let's just get out there and give it our all and have some fun and have some laughs" than there was with "Danger: Diabolik".

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Again not technically a series finale, although it WAS the final film in the SERIES of films with the original Star Trek cast.  And again it seemed like there's was a feeling of "if this is the end for us, let's end it with a bang."  I especially like the final shot of the film, of the Enterprise flying towards the star, an obvious allusion to the Western convention of ending with the hero riding off into the sunset, which perfectly reflects Gene Roddenberry's original concept of Star Trek as a "Wagon Train To The Stars".

[kodiakthejuggler]

I haven't seen too many series finales, but one that always comes to mind was The Second Bob Newhart show.

I caught the show sometimes, and my parents watched both series religiously, and the finale was so perfect, the way it tied both series together.


And Bob's final words: "You know, uh, you really should wear more sweaters."

 

[Rude]

...

Hasn't this thread already been started over here?: http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php/topic,3666.0.html

-Rude

[Minnesota]

Best Series Finals ever?

Well, it certainly wasn't this years NBA Finals, Lebron choked big time, Spurs sweep in 4

[daltysmilth]

...

Hasn't this thread already been started over here?: http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php/topic,3666.0.html

-Rude

That's season finales.  I will concede that most series finales are technically also season finales, but that's not always the case.  Again, Homicide the Movie was presented as a made-for-TV movie rather than as part of the series proper, although its main purpose was to wrap up most of the show's story/character arcs.  Another example would be the Office Christmas Special.  (From the original British version).  It ties up most of the loose ends left at the end of series 2, but it's not part of series 2. 

Are you British, perhaps?  Maybe what's throwing you is my use of the word "series" to refer to all the episodes of a show as a whole, rather than as a particular group of episodes from the same period of time.

[Blueguy]

I gotta go with the classics like Cheers and M*A*S*H
TNG was pretty good though.

[Dim of the Yard]

I liked the Sopranos series finale.  It made me look at Journey in a whole new light.

[Mr. 420]

Futurama had a decent series finale...though they are working on new episodes for next year....also that Urkel show

[DrForester]

Quantum Leap - I've seen some hate on this finale before, but I can't really think of a better way for the show to have gone out unless they went with some sappy "Happily ever after" ending.  Was all the better when I learned that they had an alternate ending in case they got the go for season 6, and all I can say is that it's a good thing they ended it when they did.

Deep Space 9 - I liked this one better than Next Gen's even if it's pacing was a bit off.  They had two very big stories to tie up and there was really no way to tie them in together so the finale was kind of like watching 2 differnt episodes.  They ended well with the war, by not going for the "We worked all our problems out with peace in the end."  Yes, there was talk, but after the Federation alliance beat the crap out of the Dominion.  Then we had the Sisko vs Dukat story to end, again, they did very well.  Dukat was just an awesome villain from start to finish.

[FordPrefect]

Quantum Leap - I've seen some hate on this finale before, but I can't really think of a better way for the show to have gone out unless they went with some sappy "Happily ever after" ending.  Was all the better when I learned that they had an alternate ending in case they got the go for season 6, and all I can say is that it's a good thing they ended it when they did.

What was the alternate ending like?

[DrForester]

Well nothing to much other than the alternate ending that leaked online that didn't have much change other than showing a family photo of Al's family (In Al's present) after Sam warns wife #1 to wait for him.

There is also apparently a very early script where Al becomes a leaper himself to find Sam, who can now control his own leaping and has gone to the future. His first leap was to the bar from the last episode where he talks to bartender Al.

[JonnyFrag]

I haven't seen too many series finales, but one that always comes to mind was The Second Bob Newhart show.

I caught the show sometimes, and my parents watched both series religiously, and the finale was so perfect, the way it tied both series together.


And Bob's final words: "You know, uh, you really should wear more sweaters."

 

Yep. Newhart's Finale FTW!