Loved the whole series, especially the interaction with George who, as Tom Poston, was married to Suzanne Plechette, the co-star of Newhart's first show. I barely followed the first show, just enough to know who the characters were. Thought the surprise ending of the last show of Newhart was the best series ending I had ever seen. I think that the original idea for it came from the question of who shot JR, which was contemporaneous to Newhart. Another, similar, part of a series was the Who Shot Mr. Burns section in The Simpsons. For those who haven't seen it, I'll spoil it for you; it was Maggie. Seems that Mr. Burns liked to steal candy from babies and didn't realize that babies might not appreciate that and might just know how to use his pistol.
Another good series ending was the last episode of Home Improvement. They were moving from Detroit to Indiana and decided to take their house with them. The last scene was in keeping with the whole premise of the series. It showed their house on a barge moving down the Detroit River as fast as a speedboat. It seems that Tim had added MORE POWER to the tug boat pulling the barge. The Taylor residence can now be located with sonar at the bottom of Lake Huron.
I loved the addendum to the ending of Breaking Bad where Hal and Lois from Malcom in the Middle are sleeping and Hal wakes up from a nightmare and starts to cry and describe the plot of Breaking Bad to Lois. Cranston has range.
Star Trek TNG "All Good Things" was probably my favorite series finale. Almost every other series finale I watched, from Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld to Lost all seemed to just fall flat in their attempt to wrap things up and make fans feel good about a show they love ending.
I used to belong to a "Homicide, life on the street" group and they were all freaked out about what I felt was a perfect ending, albeit, ambiguous. The whole idea that our hero could have taken justice into his own hands just freaked out everyone, but I loved it.
The whole idea that our hero could have taken justice into his own hands just freaked out everyone, but I loved it.
That sometimes actually happens Perrie. It's unprofessional but cops are human.
This one is from real life:
About 25 years ago, I attended the second wedding of my partner on the Sheriff Dept in Bay City, MI. (The divorce rate among cops is 89%. Since he had two marriages and divorces, that meant that he also got my share of the proportion, so I only had to have one marriage. That guy, who died last year, was always covering my back.)
While we were at the reception, we got word on the radio that two BCPD officers (friends of ours) had been ambushed and killed. The two brothers who did the killing were identified and captured within the hour. They were then lodged in the county jail. At about 2:00 in the morning, one of the Sergeants, while making his rounds, found that the doors to the two prisoners' cells were unlocked. Upon checking, he found that a series of doors leading all the way to the parking lot were also unlocked. Out in the parking lot, just standing around talking, were about 25 officers of both the Sheriff Dept. and the City Police. After re locking the doors, the Sergeant told his shift commander. Nothing could be proven, of course. The doors could have been left unlocked accidentally and the officers could have just been there talking about the incident. However, before daybreak, the two suspects were moved by the State Police to the nearest maximum security prison for lodging until their trial. They are both still in a maximum security prison (assuming that they're still alive).
What this also reminds me of is the "series finale" they had at the end of Season 8 of Stargate SG-1. Pretty much every threat on the show was eliminated or otherwise neutralized, every major challenge resolved, and all the main characters in a happy place. (That seems like a good spoiler-free synopsis)
They initially thought they would end the series there and I think they were planning a spinoff called Stargate Command. Instead, they just added two seasons to the show that are really an entirely new story arc.
Spartacus and Grimm and Breaking Bad are my offering to the list that you all are assembling here. For me, these two shows (in recent times) showed me writers who knew how to use discipline to let the 'cash-cow' go while at the top! I detest shows that lose their magic but must poo-poo out on the ax!
As far as Games of Thrones' ending, two things I understand the need for a brave new 'turn at the wheel.' The story was sullied by all that had come before and its filth needed to pass away. Dragon-fire in the city and destruction of the Iron Throne symbolizes cleansing and renewal. And, the kingdoms of this world become true kingdoms of humanity alone.
One thing, and I mean no offense to anyone, but Tyrion Lannister (the dwarf and "the hand" of nearly every lofty leader) had an out-sized role in the end and I did not like it one bit.
Lastly, the 'stars' of the show for me? 1. The character names. 2. Those amazingly "believable" dragons.
I'm surprised no one mentioned The Big Bang Theory's ending. They ended it with the elevator being fixed, Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize in Physics, Penny being pregnant, and everyone gathered in Penny and Leonard's living room with a saddened rendition of the theme playing.
Another show that ended right was Babylon 5 with the episode that they taped as the end of the 4th season due to TNT thinking about cancelling the show and instead renewing it. It had Sheridan going to the Babylon 5 station as they were closing it down and then going on the Coriana 6 after gathering Susan Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Vir Cotto for his farewell party before dying and being picked up by Lorien to go beyond the rim with the First Ones or as Kosh said in a previous episode through another character "Return to the end of the beginning."
In the past I watched series like Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, X-Files, but damned if I can remember their closing episodes. However, I loved watching The West Wing, and the closing episode is when a new President had been elected, and some of the regulars like Josh, CJ, Danny and Charlie gathered to be with Jeb Bartlet on the formal opening of his Presidential Library - a good way to provide closure to the series.
GOT for me....GRRM gave D&D the major plot points for the unfinished books, the conclusion will be the same in the books but how they get there will be different as GRRM has alluded to this.
The last national nightly news broadcast before the summer hiatus.
They ended that show singing from The Music Man, "Yeah we got trouble. Right here in river city. And that starts with "t" and that rhymes with "p"; and that stands for pool".
The summer replacement until the news resumes in fall will be re-runs of 1951 weather reports while they play a loop of Earth Kitt singing, "Stormy Weather".
"Breaking Bad." On Netflix. I sat down to watch the pilot and did not watch anything else for several days until I got to Episode 62 or the final one. What a rush! I can not recommend this show to everyone because of the 'grown-up' content and drug displays, but boy o boy. . . . I laughed, I cried, I even 'recognized.' (See what I did there, Honey Boo-Boo?)
As I stated above, it is great when a series makes a point; a statement; gets all the awards its got coming; and, exits leaving folks agreeing its time to go for what more can be delivered?
I gave mine away.
Newhart ...... all of the second show was just a dream.
Classic!
Loved the whole series, especially the interaction with George who, as Tom Poston, was married to Suzanne Plechette, the co-star of Newhart's first show. I barely followed the first show, just enough to know who the characters were. Thought the surprise ending of the last show of Newhart was the best series ending I had ever seen. I think that the original idea for it came from the question of who shot JR, which was contemporaneous to Newhart. Another, similar, part of a series was the Who Shot Mr. Burns section in The Simpsons. For those who haven't seen it, I'll spoil it for you; it was Maggie. Seems that Mr. Burns liked to steal candy from babies and didn't realize that babies might not appreciate that and might just know how to use his pistol.
Another good series ending was the last episode of Home Improvement. They were moving from Detroit to Indiana and decided to take their house with them. The last scene was in keeping with the whole premise of the series. It showed their house on a barge moving down the Detroit River as fast as a speedboat. It seems that Tim had added MORE POWER to the tug boat pulling the barge. The Taylor residence can now be located with sonar at the bottom of Lake Huron.
Loved the ending to that show! Perfection!
The idea for the Newhart finale came from his wife. I thought it was brilliant.
Oh yeah it was. I remember watching it and thinking just that.
A real .... holy shit moment ..... hilarious!
One of the best shows ever, with the perfect ending.
Yep, in my top five. I'd go:
Newhart
MASH
Breaking bad
The Americans
Seinfeld
I loved the addendum to the ending of Breaking Bad where Hal and Lois from Malcom in the Middle are sleeping and Hal wakes up from a nightmare and starts to cry and describe the plot of Breaking Bad to Lois. Cranston has range.
Star Trek TNG "All Good Things" was probably my favorite series finale. Almost every other series finale I watched, from Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld to Lost all seemed to just fall flat in their attempt to wrap things up and make fans feel good about a show they love ending.
I liked that one and DS9.
About feel good endings:
I used to belong to a "Homicide, life on the street" group and they were all freaked out about what I felt was a perfect ending, albeit, ambiguous. The whole idea that our hero could have taken justice into his own hands just freaked out everyone, but I loved it.
I enjoyed "All Good Things" and thought it was a proper finish to the series.
However, my favorite episode of all the ST series was TNG's "The Inner Light"
That sometimes actually happens Perrie. It's unprofessional but cops are human.
This one is from real life:
About 25 years ago, I attended the second wedding of my partner on the Sheriff Dept in Bay City, MI. (The divorce rate among cops is 89%. Since he had two marriages and divorces, that meant that he also got my share of the proportion, so I only had to have one marriage. That guy, who died last year, was always covering my back.)
While we were at the reception, we got word on the radio that two BCPD officers (friends of ours) had been ambushed and killed. The two brothers who did the killing were identified and captured within the hour. They were then lodged in the county jail. At about 2:00 in the morning, one of the Sergeants, while making his rounds, found that the doors to the two prisoners' cells were unlocked. Upon checking, he found that a series of doors leading all the way to the parking lot were also unlocked. Out in the parking lot, just standing around talking, were about 25 officers of both the Sheriff Dept. and the City Police. After re locking the doors, the Sergeant told his shift commander. Nothing could be proven, of course. The doors could have been left unlocked accidentally and the officers could have just been there talking about the incident. However, before daybreak, the two suspects were moved by the State Police to the nearest maximum security prison for lodging until their trial. They are both still in a maximum security prison (assuming that they're still alive).
I'm torn between "Inner Light" and "Lower Decks".
Same here Greg, fantastic episode. Honorable mentions;
Contagion
The Royale
I'm with you on ST:TNG.
Orphan Black was pretty satisfying.
What this also reminds me of is the "series finale" they had at the end of Season 8 of Stargate SG-1. Pretty much every threat on the show was eliminated or otherwise neutralized, every major challenge resolved, and all the main characters in a happy place. (That seems like a good spoiler-free synopsis)
They initially thought they would end the series there and I think they were planning a spinoff called Stargate Command. Instead, they just added two seasons to the show that are really an entirely new story arc.
As I mentioned in another thread, the end of the "Sopranos", an excellent series in all, was in no way satisfactory
I watched all seasons this last winter.
The ending was a let down, especially when the rest of the series was great.
I would like to see a spin-off.
I chose to believe the big guy who went to the bathroom came out with a gun and killed all the Sopranos at the fade to black...
Spartacus and Grimm and Breaking Bad are my offering to the list that you all are assembling here. For me, these two shows (in recent times) showed me writers who knew how to use discipline to let the 'cash-cow' go while at the top! I detest shows that lose their magic but must poo-poo out on the ax!
As far as Games of Thrones' ending, two things I understand the need for a brave new 'turn at the wheel.' The story was sullied by all that had come before and its filth needed to pass away. Dragon-fire in the city and destruction of the Iron Throne symbolizes cleansing and renewal. And, the kingdoms of this world become true kingdoms of humanity alone.
One thing, and I mean no offense to anyone, but Tyrion Lannister (the dwarf and "the hand" of nearly every lofty leader) had an out-sized role in the end and I did not like it one bit.
Lastly, the 'stars' of the show for me? 1. The character names. 2. Those amazingly "believable" dragons.
I'm surprised no one mentioned The Big Bang Theory's ending. They ended it with the elevator being fixed, Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize in Physics, Penny being pregnant, and everyone gathered in Penny and Leonard's living room with a saddened rendition of the theme playing.
Too new for me.
I liked it but not really sure how i feel about rating it near the top
Another show that ended right was Babylon 5 with the episode that they taped as the end of the 4th season due to TNT thinking about cancelling the show and instead renewing it. It had Sheridan going to the Babylon 5 station as they were closing it down and then going on the Coriana 6 after gathering Susan Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Vir Cotto for his farewell party before dying and being picked up by Lorien to go beyond the rim with the First Ones or as Kosh said in a previous episode through another character "Return to the end of the beginning."
I liked Babylon 5
In the past I watched series like Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, X-Files, but damned if I can remember their closing episodes. However, I loved watching The West Wing, and the closing episode is when a new President had been elected, and some of the regulars like Josh, CJ, Danny and Charlie gathered to be with Jeb Bartlet on the formal opening of his Presidential Library - a good way to provide closure to the series.
Lol .... ain't that the truth!
I knew you would understand!
GOT for me....GRRM gave D&D the major plot points for the unfinished books, the conclusion will be the same in the books but how they get there will be different as GRRM has alluded to this.
The final episode of Quantum Leap totally sucked.
The last national nightly news broadcast before the summer hiatus.
They ended that show singing from The Music Man, "Yeah we got trouble. Right here in river city. And that starts with "t" and that rhymes with "p"; and that stands for pool".
The summer replacement until the news resumes in fall will be re-runs of 1951 weather reports while they play a loop of Earth Kitt singing, "Stormy Weather".
Enoch, Opening My Umbrella.
For me it had to be Breaking Bad. Just enough ambiguity to leave you wondering, but not so much that you were left hanging.
Walter died...or did he?
Jesse drove off into the sunset....or did he?
Walter died of a gun shot wound.
"Breaking Bad." On Netflix. I sat down to watch the pilot and did not watch anything else for several days until I got to Episode 62 or the final one. What a rush! I can not recommend this show to everyone because of the 'grown-up' content and drug displays, but boy o boy. . . . I laughed, I cried, I even 'recognized.' (See what I did there, Honey Boo-Boo?)
As I stated above, it is great when a series makes a point; a statement; gets all the awards its got coming; and, exits leaving folks agreeing its time to go for what more can be delivered?
'Loved me' some Walter and Jesse!
Totally agree, one of the best series I have ever watched. But! We saw that Walter was shot, but we didn't see him die.
Dharma and Greg was my all time fav. show, and it ended how it began. A bit Wacked.
loved the show no matter how it ended !
I know other other Star Trek fans will probably disagree, but I personally liked Star Trek Voyager's series finale episode. The crew got home.
Agreed, great episode.
Justified ended well.
and the movie of deadwood was a nice finish for one of the best series ever.