# Best and Worst final episodes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920 "2002-05-20T08:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/1 "2002-05-20T08:12:25Z")
The title pretty much says it all. What tv series had the best and worst finales? Lets discuss only those series with true finales. Series that were cancelled during hiatus and thus didn’t have the chance to create a true goobye should be excused from the discussion. Thus, series like ALF (unresolved cliffhanger) or Mork and Mindy (no finale whatsoever) are exempt. This was, of course, prompted by the X-Files finale, which didn’t resolve anything and served as a setup for the movies to come. I’ll start by listing one bad and one good finale. Good: Newhart: The story of the final episode is funny and offbeat, but is really a red herring for the final moment, which is IMHO the greatest ending to any series in tv history. Bad: Seinfeld: A tired rehash of previous episodes’ guest stars. Little more than a clip show. The biggest sin was that it wasn’t funny. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/2 "2002-05-20T08:28:40Z")
Good- The _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ finale… _All Good Things_, parts I and II. One of the few time-travel episodes that I really enjoyed, plus it brought the whole series back full circle to _Encounter at Farpoint_, where Q put humanity on trial. Plus, wasn’t this the episode where it showed Picard joining his other officers for their weekly poker game? That was probably _the coolest_ moment in all of ST. Bad- The _Star Trek: Voyager_ finale… a sad attempt to recreate TNG’s. It started far too abruptly, it ended far too abruptly, and had THE MOTHER of all deus ex machina’s as the primary plot point (“Oh, look, someone from the future is giving us everything we need to survive!”). Of course, most of _Voyager_ was as abysmally terrible. Yeah, I’m a nerd. Shut up. ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/3 "2002-05-20T09:27:55Z")
_M_A_S_H\*'s, IIRC, was “okay,” but could have been much better. I say IIRC because I think the only time I ever saw the final episode was when it first aired (has it ever been shown again?). I did get a little misty-eyed at the end, though. _Star Trek: DS9_ was a let-down–too much to be resolved in just one show. I recently saw what I think was the last episode of _Third Rock From the Sun_, a show I watch sporadically because it comes on between two other shows I like–John Lithgow & Co. went back to space, anyway–if this was the last show, it was funny but anti-climactic. The last episode of _Seinfeld_ just sucked in the worst way. ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/4 "2002-05-20T09:31:20Z")
And I’ll agree with **SPOOFE** about _Star Trek: The Next Generation._ Its last episode was great. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/5 "2002-05-20T09:55:36Z")
_M_A_S_H\*'s finale gets shown on FX quite often, especially around holiday weekends. It is pretty good, but it’s a 2 1/2 hour movie ending for a half hour sitcom. Gives it kind of an unfair advantage over most shows. I always liked the _Cheers_ ending, it’s long also, but it did manage to be funny and a little sad without getting overbearing. I agree, the _Seinfeld_ finale was very weak, a warmed over cameo and clip show. Rehashing an old script idea for a starting point, no less. I don’t think I laughed once, and I love the show in it’s prime. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/6 "2002-05-20T14:09:54Z")
_Cheers_ rates with the best, although we were all waiting for one final “Norm!” Didn’t get it. Worst would have to go to _Married…with Children_, only because they didn’t have one. After **ten** years, they get canned after wrapping the season end, and aren’t given the chance for a send-off. I love that show, and I hated how Fox ended it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/7 "2002-05-20T14:12:26Z")
\*\* Best: Babylon 5(Sleeping in Light), MASH, and Cheers. Worst: Seinfeld, Invisible Man, Chronicle \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/8 "2002-05-20T14:15:16Z")
Best: Babylon 5 (as a B5 geek, I was required by law to say that). But as a series who’s final episode was planned from day one, I’m not sure this truly counts. Worst: M_A_S\*H. Sorry, but that should’ve been a fond look back not an Alan Alda preach-fest. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/9 "2002-05-20T20:26:19Z")
Although it might be reckoned a cliffhanger for a series that never materialised, it’s hard to beat the last episode of My So-Called Life. It had everything–tragedy, humor, suspense, a blatant Cyrano de Bergerac ripoff–one of those endings where even if it did continue and resolve the cliffhanger it’s hard to believe it could ever get any better, just as Cyrano wouldn’t get any better if Roxanne found out he loved her. For the worst, Roseanne was appalling. Nice of them to not include any jokes in that episode. But the whole last series was bad beyond belief. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/10 "2002-05-21T03:22:59Z")
I had stopped wathcing the show show but was curious enough to watch the final episode of Mad About You. It was the best final episode I have ever seen, and I have seen all the episodes mentioned in this thread so far. The Mad About You finale was funny and moving. Its too bad that the show had lost much of its audience by that time. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/11 "2002-05-21T03:27:28Z")
OK, I’m going to come out and say it: I liked the _Seinfeld_ finale. I didn’t like those people who kept saying that it should’ve been more like _Cheers_ and be a tearjerker, but that wouldn’t hold true to the rest of the show. I think that the characters finally being judged for their actions was a fitting finale. I liked the _Mad About You_ finale too, even though I never watched the show. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/12 "2002-05-21T04:53:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Big Kahuna Burger \* > \*\*OK, I’m going to come out and say it: I liked the _Seinfeld_ finale. I didn’t like those people who kept saying that it should’ve been more like _Cheers_ and be a tearjerker, but that wouldn’t hold true to the rest of the show. I think that the characters finally being judged for their actions was a fitting finale. > \*\* I agree with you. I _was_ somewhat disappointed when it first aired, but after seeing it in reruns, I’ve come to appreciate just how fitting an ending it was. Sheri ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/13 "2002-05-21T05:03:05Z")
_The Fugitive_ (original series) had a good final episode. And everybody watched. It gave everyone a feeling of justice. And it was Bill Raisch’s tour de force. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/14 "2002-05-21T05:12:20Z")
I really liked the **x-files** finale yesterday but my favorite is probably **cheers** - specifically the final few moments with norm and sam. **Mad About You** was good too. Quick question. In the ending of **3rd rock from the sun** , does Dick abduct Mary or not? I swear I’ve seen it both ways but I may have imagined it… ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/15 "2002-05-21T05:24:10Z")
Best is a toss-up between two that have already been mentioned: B5–“Sleeping in Light” and ST:TNG–“All Good Things”. “Sleeping in Light” was compelling, and carried a sense of inevitability; it was the way things _had_ to be, and was emotionally satisfying (though sad). There was nothing that I would have changed about it. “All Good Things” was satisfying for other reasons. Throughout the entire run of the series, Picard was what I liked least about the show–he was the main reason that I only watched it sporadically. I knew that the role _could_ be so much better, but it rarely rose to its potential. Then, in the final episode, Picard changed. He grew into what I felt he should have been. The cold, sanctimonius Picard went away and left a much better, much more _real_ character in his wake. Then the conclusion closed the circle. Perhaps best of all was the self-contained nature of the crisis; there were no pesky aliens involved–from beginning to end, it was all about the Enterprise and Picard. I can even forgive the technobabble, given the cool way it was handled through Picard. “Worst” has to be Voyager. I never watched the show, since it set off suck warnings from the beginning, but I tried to watch the finale out of morbid curiousity. I turned it off halfway through, when it became clear that it was only going to get worse. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/16 "2002-05-21T05:27:26Z")
The final episode of “The Prisoner” warped my fragile little mind. Here’s what the reviewers had to say about it: “I wish I could think up weird shit like that” - Salvador Dali “Man, that was some \*\*\*\*ed-up writing! What kind of drugs were those guys on?” - William S. Burroughs “Yeah, I agree with Burroughs. Those guys ought to try Narcanon.” - Carlos Casteneda ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/17 "2002-05-21T05:55:12Z")
I LOVED The Larry Sanders Show Finale. I thought much of the show was brilliant, but the finale didn’t fail in comparison to that brilliance. Plus, it’s wasn’t an abrupt ending… the whole seasons show content was pretty much showing its awareness of it being the finale season. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/18 "2002-05-21T05:57:03Z")
St. Elsewhere ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/19 "2002-05-21T06:25:59Z")
I thought the extended final episode of “Daria” was very fitting. No huge surprises, just a place in time where it really felt right to call it a day. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920/20 "2002-05-21T08:00:25Z")
Best: Magnum P.I. Worst: Magnum P.I. The series _should_ have ended when Magnum walked off into the clouds, but instead dragged on another season and ended with Magnum (IIRC?) going back into the Navy. Jeez. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-final-episodes/109920.md?page=2)