I missed the last few episodes of a classic 90s conspiracy drama called Nowhere Man. Some shadowy government agency had stolen the hero’s identity, and basically deleted him. I never found out what they were trying to accomplish. I know he took a picture of atrocities in Central America, but I was expecting more to it than that.
Ah, so, as I surmised, it is a whoosh.
Twin Peaks ended at the end of the series.
What more could you have wanted : a new series about the delightful escapades of the now seriously demented Dale Cooper?
Now, Carnivale is another story.
I was completely gutted when I saw that ending.
To this day I still desperately want to find out what Sophie was going to do.
What is the role of the Omega?
Would there be a new Prince?
Aaaaargh, so many questions, no answers, not now, not ever.
Stephen King’s Golden Years originally aired as a summer replacement series with a limited number of episodes and was supposed to have a final episode that wrapped up the story. For reasons that I have forgotten, if I ever knew them, it was cancelled with the final episode unaired. I understand the complete series has since been released on DVD, but I’ve never seen it and remain ignorant of the characters’ fates.
:dubious: And that’s been a great success, with happiness for everyone.
Land Of The Lost left the Marshalls trapped in either the past, or a Twilight Zonish/Bermuda Trianglish “land out of time”.
Hints in the series suggest they eventually escape, especially the one where Holly meets her future self.
And let’s not forget Battlestar: Galactica.
I may be wrong, but didn’t the last ep of Quantum Leap have Sam meeting someone who may or may not have been God and being told he was being given a time of rest & preparation like the ancient Romans used to do for their soldiers prior to sending them off on an extended campaign?
And didn’t the voice over end the episode by saying “…Dr. Beckett never returned home.” ???
If I am remembering correctly, I guess you didn’t get your wish, but at least closure for the series.
Exactly. As well as how Cooper manages to overcome his possession. There are plenty of good, dramatic story possibilities in that arc, and it’s clear that’s where they were going: the ending as it is resolves nothing.
All Black slaves went to Liberia? Wow. No wonder there are no Black people in the US. :rolleyes:
Basically, God the Bartender gave Sam a choice - he could return back home or he could continue leaping forever. Each leap made the world a better place, so Sam chose to keep leaping.
-Joe
Did I say that all former slaves went to Liberia? Nope. Quit being pissy.
Anybody but me remember VR5? It was on Fox in the early 90s, I believe in the dreaded Brisco County Timeslot of Doom. A very convoluted, conspiracy-laden show, similar in some ways to** Alias ** and Lost. The first season ended in a cliffhanger, with the heroine trapped in virtual reality and almost none of the mysterious back-story explained. The the Evil Programming Directors at Fox (who I imagine looking much like Catbert in the Dilbert strip) somehow found out I was watching, and that was all she wrote.
Speaking of Adventures of Brisco County, now there was one cut-down-in-its-prime show that actually did have some closure. Not everything was resolved at the end of the first season, but a lot of it was (most of the orb stuff, John Bly, etc.), and overall it ended pretty well. Gotta get that DVD set!
One more thing . . . not a TV show, but I’m* still * holding a grudge against DC Comics for cancelling the late 80s Helfer/Baker run of **The Shadow ** without letting the creators come up with an ending. How much could it have cost to let them do a final wrap-up issue? Talk about dissing your audience. (And yes, I agree the series was an abomination to the original source material, but it was a fun abomination.)
Mork & Mindy ended with a cliffhanger in which they were being chased down by an intergalactic bounty hunter. Last we saw, M&M were escaping into parts unknown via some kind of black hole.
Actually the first season of LOTL ended with the family simultaneously leaving and arriving, so it formed a cycle, since they didn’t know if the series was going to be renewed.
This I learned from the excellent commentary on the DVD. I only bought the first season, so I don’t know how the show actually ended in Season 3. Even as a kid, I stopped watching during that last season. I had thought I’d buy Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, but when I finished Season 1, every single memory I had of the show (other than bad ones from season 3) had played out before my eyes, so I figured, “Why bother?”
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. belongs here – never shoulda ended without an ending.
Soap ended with Jessica Tate about to be executed by firing squad, if my memory serves. There were a host of other loose ends to tie up but I can’t remember them.
One of my personal favorite shows Half & Half starring the lovely Rachel True & Essence Atkins of UPN just ended its season with a cliffhanger about which boyfriend True’s character (Mona) would choose. UPN is merging with WB and it looks like the show won’t be picked up so poor Mona’s going to be in romantic limbo forever.
How about the series adaptation of Logan’s Run? Did Logan, Jessica and the android (added for the series) ever elude the Sandmen for good? Did they get to reach the ripe old age of 31?
I agree with the frustration of not getting a wrap-up for:
Joan of Arcadia
Twin Peaks
Sports Night
Nowhere Man
I would also add Crime Story, Michael Mann’s 80’s detective/mob show, which ‘ended’ with the head detective and the mob boss crashing into the sea in a small plane.
That would make for some very bad television : 24 episodes of psych counselling? 
Plus I don’t really agree with nothing being resolved.
Just about everything is resolved : Wyndom Earle gets destroyed in the black lodge, we already knew who killed Laura Palmer.
Of course there is no ending that wraps up everything : there is evil in the world and it cannot be destroyed.
But maybe we should start another thread about that.