# More TV shows with finite endings, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797 "2013-01-10T21:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![St.Barthgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@St.Barthgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Barthgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/41 "2013-01-12T01:41:27Z")
Prison Break (believe it or not- i avoided it for a long, long time. Smart, and good for Women who Like Sci-Fi, too) Homeland (season two over, Coming back) Dexter (last season coming up, 6 available online en toto) DO check out Farscape. Once i gave it a chance, i liked it. The movie finishes it up. Firefly didn’t end Terribly- great show while it lasted. Have you tried Bones? An old one: Millenium. x-files spin off. Downton Abbey - three full seasons online/free Sherlock ? Masterpiece Mystery/contemporary/classic has great series/movies. Have you seen The Last Enemy? WEEDS… i cried… all the above can be found online/free if you search hard enough… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/42 "2013-01-12T01:48:07Z")
I’d nominate Journeyman; 13 episodes, all on Hulu. Also New Amsterdam. They both ended in such a way that the writers could have kept going, but they did tie up the majority of the loose ends (both got the axe at about the same length as Firefly). ---
**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:** [January 12, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/43 "2013-01-12T02:10:22Z")
> [@Orr\_G](#): > > I’d also recommend Dollhouse. I skipped it when it first came around because I thought it was just an excuse to dress up Eliza Dushku in different sexy outfits (not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I separate my story-viewing from my titillation-viewing). There are two seasons, and each season has an epilogue set a few years in the future. Very strong near-future SF themes. Altogether, there’s a nice finish to it. Dollhouse is an excellent choice. Well worth it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/44 "2013-01-12T02:32:01Z")
> [@St.Barthgirl](#): > > An old one: Millenium. x-files spin off. Millenium was not an X Files spin off. It was a separate show. It was cancelled without a final episode. Somehow, that final episode ended up being made as an episode of the X Files. Re Sitcoms I recommend Mad About You. There is no reset button. There are arcs through multiple episodes. Most of all, it had one of the best final episodes I have ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/45 "2013-01-12T02:40:32Z")
I recommend _Numb3rs_, which has the kind of ending you requested, and is close to science fiction. While it’s still ongoing, I think you’d like _Person of Interest_, too, which is either science fiction or close to it. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/46 "2013-01-12T03:11:36Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > You laugh, but cops will tell you that Barney Miller was the most accurate police procedural ever broadcast. Yeah! Pretty cool, huh? I think I first read that here in some other thread. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/47 "2013-01-12T04:07:01Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Won’t watch > sitcoms of any stripe > … > I vastly prefer British telly to almost any American telly, though I will watch American programs if they are good. So I’m going to recommend something that’s sort of a sitcom, maybe. But it’s British, and it lacks a laugh track, and the rhythm is very different from almost all sitcoms: The original, British, **The Office**. It’s full of embarrassment humor, and the camera lingers for a long time during the embarrassment. The boss is much less appealing than in the American version of the show. And it has one of the more satisfying endings of any series I’ve seen, after just 2 and a half seasons (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/48 "2013-01-12T04:13:49Z")
> [@St.Barthgirl](#): > > Firefly didn’t end Terribly- great show while it lasted. No? Where do you reckon its end to be? “Objects in Space” didn’t _conclude_ much. _Serenity_ (the feature film, not the episode) _did_ end terribly by many lights. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/49 "2013-01-12T04:15:27Z")
Also, _Saving Grace._ 3 seasons, cop show, Holly Hunter, Oklahoma, catholicism. Angels. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![St.Barthgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@St.Barthgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Barthgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/50 "2013-01-12T06:43:43Z")
i repeated a few you already like… sorry! have you ever seen West Wing? it’s Smart, good, wrapped up & on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/51 "2013-01-12T14:53:23Z")
The first season of _Murder One_. Just watched it again [for the third time] recently – the entire season, all 24 episodes, in three days – and it holds up extremely well. Made c. 1996, so slightly dated in terms of the technology, but it’s brilliant storytelling: It’s a single murder trial over the course of the season. Stanley Tucci plays a villainous billionaire. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/52 "2013-01-12T15:23:09Z")
Oh, another one – more like a miniseries, since there were 6 episodes total. “Jekyll,” written by Stephen Moffat (who also wrote the current BBC “Sherlock”). Set in modern England, it’s an updating of (you guessed it) Jekyll and Hyde. Creepy, really good. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/53 "2013-01-12T16:00:31Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have not, seriously, found a single sitcom I like enough to keep watching. It’s just not my type of thing, and as evidenced by this thread, there’s plenty of other TV to watch! 🙂 > > So thank you all! I forgot to mention I positively adore Barney Miller, so there’s another one. Anybody else see anything odd in having these two sentences back-to-back? I must admit that I am a little confused about an OP that seems to ask for finite TV shows like Dr. Who, given that the show is 50 years old this year. However, if you adore _Barney Miller_, it might be worth while trying _WKRP in Cincinnati_. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/54 "2013-01-13T00:52:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Climactic. Unless you mean there was a storm. > > I submit the same show I always submit: _Chuck_. Not sure if it fits quite perfectly into what the OP is after, but it’s damned entertaining and has a proper ending, or as much as you can expect for a show of its type. _Chuck_ is an excellent show. It’s hilarious, it’s fun, it can even tug on the heart strings. It was a surprisingly brilliant parody of not just the spy genre, but of television and movies in general. And the music used in the show is just fantastic. I could literally list dozens of excellent examples. I’d strongly recommend it to anybody who loves tv and movies. On the other hand, if the OP hated Buffy I don’t know how she would feel about Chuck. If I had to pick one show that Chuck was most similar to, it would be Buffy. Like Buffy, Chuck is a show that takes a couple of episodes to really get hooked on and you really have to able to accept the intentionally absurd elements of both shows. On the subject of endings, There are last least 4 different episodes of Chuck that would have worked excellently as final episodes. This was intentional, because they never knew if they were going to get renewed for more episodes. I actually found the final season of Chuck to be a little disappointing. Then again, I found the final season of Buffy a little disappointing too. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/55 "2013-01-13T01:58:10Z")
Let me suggest _Wonderfalls_, a 13 part series from 2004 (although not all the episodes were shown in the first run on Fox). It’s quirky, but the full run of episodes does have a conclusion. The DVD is available on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/56 "2013-01-16T00:23:39Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > However, if you adore _Barney Miller_, it might be worth while trying _WKRP in Cincinnati_. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” You might also try _Night Court_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/57 "2013-01-16T02:08:02Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Anybody else see anything odd in having these two sentences back-to-back? > > I must admit that I am a little confused about an OP that seems to ask for finite TV shows like Dr. Who, given that the show is 50 years old this year. However, if you adore _Barney Miller_, it might be worth while trying _WKRP in Cincinnati_. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” There are exceptions to every rule, and Barney Miller has continuity, so that helps a LOT. Dr. Who also has continuity, and yes, it is going on that path of “going on forever”, even though I love it. Really, it’s like - I’ll know it when I see it. But this thread has some amazing ideas! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/58 "2013-01-16T02:09:20Z")
Oh,and I have seen Dollhouse. Story arcs make sitcoms worth while…sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/59 "2013-01-16T02:14:46Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Let me suggest _Wonderfalls_, a 13 part series from 2004 (although not all the episodes were shown in the first run on Fox). It’s quirky, but the full run of episodes does have a conclusion. The DVD is available on Amazon. I vote for this. \*Pushing Daisies \*has a similar quirkiness and definite story arc. Sadly, it has no full ending, just a season ending. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797/60 "2013-01-16T19:04:37Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I vote for this. \*Pushing Daisies \*has a similar quirkiness and definite story arc. Sadly, it has no full ending, just a season ending. That WAS a full ending - it was incredibly rushed, since the creators had little notice that they weren’t getting renewed. They essentially cut ~5 minutes from the last regular episode and shoved all the charactere forward, but they got everyone where they were headed. Speaking of PD, there’s also **Wonderfalls** - I don’t get why that’s not available for streaming. Heck, Netflix doesn’t even have the DVDs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tv-shows-with-finite-endings-please/646797.md?page=4)