That’s just ridiculous. You think Starfleet would let a grease monkey* become an Admiral? 
*plasma monkey? That’s probably what T’Pol’s mom called him behind his back…
I was a little nonplused by the end of the Dark Tower, but I thought about it and decided it was an acceptable ending. Didn’t go out with a bang or anything, but it sort of made sense. At least as much sense as could be after SK wrote himself into the last few books, anyway.
The only series ending that made me angry was The X-Files. In the last four episodes they killed off all the gunmen and gave away Scully’s “miracle baby”. Then they followed up with the biggest possible Fuck You to the people who actually watched the last two seasons - a clip show that caught the people who abandoned ship when DD left up to speed. But in doing so they also have Mulder come back so they can commit character assassination by have him being scared of a goddamn date and hiding out like a mental case. Great. I hope Chris Carter is never again blessed with a successful show, the petty prick.
I second Xena, mainly because it was such an incredibly piffling conclusion. She dies about a quarter of the way in. Then her disembodied spirit is tortured. Then there’s this cheesy duel with some sorceress. And in the end, Gabrielle sails off to…something. Oh, nearly all of this takes place in Japan, BTW. For crying out loud, after all the battles, all the the life-and-death confrontations with gods, all the incredible journeys, this is how it ends? C’mon, I’d think a time-spanning globe-hopping giant-toppling warlord-shredding emperor-stomping valkyrie-bodyslamming princess deserves better than that.
Quantum Leap, eh, not the greatest ending, but I never cared enough about the series to make a big deal over it.
Agree with Newhart. Just seemed so utterly pointless. And how does ripping off another series’ ending somehow make it better???
I should mention Friends; although the episode on the whole was okay, having Rachel cancel her flight was sheer craven, disgusting cowardice. Everything about her from day one was her struggle to become her own person and not have her whole life revolve around Her Man. The last and best chance the show has to end her story on a high note, it wusses out.
Oh, my nomination. This one’s especially bitter since I loved the early volumes and thought they reflected my own struggle at the time perfectly. And it had the worst ending imaginable. Maison Ikkoku.
There’s Yusaku Godai, who’s entire life has been a constant, crushing Greek tragedy, an existence that makes Keitaro Urashima’s struggles look like a bad hair day. There’s Kyoko Otonashi, who’s dealt with 500 degrees of crap every day on the job and is saddled with parents straight from the Tokugawa era. (“Remarry! Have kids! Quit your job! Be a good wife! Pick one man! Blather, blather, blather!”) There’s good, earnest tennis coach Shun Mitaka, who wants to give Kyoko a better life. There’s a cavalcade of unsavory-to-vile supporting characters, including Yotsuya, the single most repulsive character I’ve seen in any manga, ever (and I’ve read Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Initial D). Yusaku wants to be with Kyoko, but he’s been horribly unlucky in life, and he just can’t seem to connect when it counts. Kyoko’s thinking of remarriage, but has a laundry list of mental roadblocks prevent her from it. Shun wants to marry Kyoko, but there’s that unfortunate fear of dogs to overcome, plus some other woman who won’t let him go for some reason.
So how does it turn out? Well…
- Shun marries Superfluous Mystery Woman after getting her pregnant. That’s right, a shotgun wedding.
- Yusaku and Kyoko, after the most awkward courtship not involving Vince McMahon imaginable, eventually have a completely to-the-letter traditional Japanese wedding (destroying whatever remaining shreds of individuality Kyoko may have had).
- Now that Y & K are finally able to put their horrible, horrible pasts behind them and start a new life, they decide to go BACK TO THE VERY PLACE that’s been making their lives a living hell for the past four years. No, it hasn’t changed at all. Craven, will-to-live burying bloodsucker Yotsuya is still there. Obnoxious alcoholic reprobate Ichinose Sr. is still there. Sick-of-life snark Akemi Roppongi is still there. Future gangbanger Kenta is still there. Oh yeah, the couple has a baby daughter now.
What the bloody heck? I know that ending the story isn’t exactly Rumiko Takahashi’s strong suit, but how could she decide on THIS? Everything’s predestined, you can’t fight fate, and when you have the opportunity to make your life better, the correct thing to do is not do anything?
I eventually sold the entire series on Ebay and have never regretted this decision. Huh…guess Ranma 1/2 really was her peak. 