# TV series that ended well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291 "2003-04-17T13:21:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/41 "2003-04-17T19:51:30Z")
I’ll probably get flamed for this, since I seem to be the only person in the world who holds this opinion, but I thought the final episode of _Seinfeld_ was absolutely brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/42 "2003-04-17T20:21:15Z")
. . . But did you like the final episode of _Seinfeld_? ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/43 "2003-04-17T20:23:50Z")
Nah, **Jackalope** , you’ll just get flamed for the triple-post. As to the content of your triad, I couldn’t agree with you less…of course I thought _Seinfeld_ was on the air several seasons too long, but I did watch the “finale”. The last episode just showed that these people were worthless and pathetic…some payoff for those of you who may have watched the show regularly…I was glad I hadn’t invested any of my time watching the previous few seasons… My contribution to the discussion? I have mixed feelings about the last episode of _Night Court_, but on the whole I thought it did pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/44 "2003-04-17T20:42:22Z")
I know it’s not in the spirit of the OP, but my nomination for the most frustrating series close was _Twin Peaks_. Of course, it was just supposed to be a season-ending cliffhanger, but when David Lynch found out that the show was cancelled, he didn’t change a thing. “How’s Annie? How’s Annie? How’s Annie?” – evil Cooper ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/45 "2003-04-17T20:49:06Z")
(I only clicked it once!) The last episode of _Seinfeld_ was brilliant for several reasons: 1. Remember all the speculation beforehand about what was going to happen in the final episode? Jerry and George will turn out to be gay; they’ll start the show again; they’ll go to Europe; they’ll die in a plane crash; etc. Well, all of these things _almost_ happened in the finale, and you could almost hear the ragings of fans across the country shouting, “I KNEW it! Pay up! Oh, wait…” 2. The characters, shallow and self-serving for the entire run, finally got their just desserts. The courtroom sequence was hilarious, as every character they’d wronged over the nine years came back to air their grievances. 3. But what made it great, instead of just good, was the final shot. The four are sitting in their jail cell, where they’re going to be for the next I-forget-how-long. Jerry points to George’s shirt. Jerry: You know, I think the placement of that second button is what makes the shirt. George: Didn’t we talk about this before? Jerry: I dunno. And they stop talking and we pan out and fade to black. The answer to George’s question is Yes, they talked about this before, in the very first episode of the show. And the point is that the show ended _when they ran out of stuff to talk about and started repeating themselves_. From then on they’re going to be sitting around like the rest of us chumps, repeating the old jokes they used to tell and discussing the woman with man-hands again and again. And that’s not what we want to see. It made the end of the series necessary and definitive instead of arbitrary. IMHO, of course. (I sure hope this one doesn’t triple-post too…) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/46 "2003-04-17T22:56:24Z")
> [@](#): > > The Dick Van Dyke Show did not have a “final episode”. As noted above, the last one was “THe Gunslinger”, which could have occurred at any time in the series – it was just a dream episode. I remember when it was broadcast, and feeling disappointed that the show didn’t go out with a bigger bang. According to Vince Waldron in **The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book** , episode 157, “The Last Chapter,” was both intended and aired as the series’ finale. “The Gunslinger” was _filmed_ last, which is why it’s always shown last in syndication (as syndication follows production order). But “The Last Chapter” aired last. Waldron gives the original air date of “The Gunslinger” as 5/25/66, while “The Last Chapter” aired on 6/1/66. “The Last Chapter” is, of course, a clip show, which are traditionally regarded with suspicion. But for **The Dick Van Dyke Show** , I think it works. We learn that Rob has finally finished his novel, and that Alan Brady has optioned it for TV. Thus, the show we’ve been watching becomes a show that the characters we’ve been watching can themselves watch, if you follow me. Plus the fact that Alan is played by Carl Reiner, whose life the show was largely based on in the first place, and you get all sorts of layers. Far beyond your typical clip show done to fill up a half hour because they couldn’t think of a new story. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/47 "2003-04-17T22:59:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeVena \* > \*\*Magnum was in a coma, walking off in the clouds (to John Denver’s “Looking for Space”) \*\* “Fly Like an Eagle” actually. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/48 "2003-04-17T23:20:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skammer \* > **I know it’s not in the spirit of the OP, but my nomination for the most frustrating series close was _Twin Peaks_. Of course, it was just supposed to be a season-ending cliffhanger, but when David Lynch found out that the show was cancelled, he didn’t change a thing.** Another show that didn’t get a proper finale was “Soap.” The last episode was a cliffhanger in which Jessica (Katharine Helmond) was in front of a firing squad that had just fired on her. The scene froze…and that was the end of it. Curiously, Ms. Helmond reprised the character on an episode of “Benson” afew years later as a ghost. But her death was attributed to something else, I can’t remember what, which implied that she somehow survived the firing squad. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/49 "2003-04-17T23:54:29Z")
I liked the last episode of **St. Elsewhere** – one of the few shows I’ve ever watched through to the last episodes. (Well, that and **Homicide** , but I don’t recall the last episode of that – did they do anything in particular?) ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/50 "2003-04-17T23:56:01Z")
Sorry to be nitpicky… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RikWriter \* > \*\*“Fly Like an Eagle” actually. \*\* The title is “Looking for Space” - the last line of the song is “Sometimes I fly like an eagle, like an eagle I go flying, flying.” You can find the song on several JD albums - first on the album _Windsong_ in 1975. [This is the song.](http://www.magnum-pi.de/dl/space.mp3?PHPSESSID=71f4cf82d2c5ead412c98598749df194) ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/51 "2003-04-18T02:02:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lisa-go-Blind \* > \*\*I liked the ending for The Kids in the Hall. In fact, the final season may have been their best. All the major recurring characters were wrapped up (Buddy, the Two Kathies, bathrobed Paul Bellini) and the ending was just magnificent. > > The Kids were buried alive. By Paul Bellini, I believe. > \*\* “Daddy, what’s that bad man doin’ to my pet donkey?” “Why, that’s not just a bad man, son. That there is\* Hitler\* … **he’s** \*\*\*\*ing your pet donkey.” ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/52 "2003-04-18T02:18:36Z")
“Hill Street Blues” was great. Norman Buntz slugged that reptilian Chief Daniels. That was may favorite part of the series. The Hill Street Station gamely survived the fire. Capt. Furillo doggedly went about his business. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/53 "2003-04-18T03:11:53Z")
> [@](#): > > ## quote: > > The Dick Van Dyke Show did not have a “final episode”. As noted above, the last one was “THe Gunslinger”, which could have occurred at any time in the series – it was just a dream episode. I remember when it was broadcast, and feeling disappointed that the show didn’t go out with a bigger bang. > > * * * > > According to Vince Waldron in The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book, episode 157, “The Last Chapter,” was both intended and aired as the series’ finale. “The Gunslinger” was filmed last, which is why it’s always shown last in syndication (as syndication follows production order). But “The Last Chapter” aired last. Waldron gives the original air date of “The Gunslinger” as 5/25/66, while “The Last Chapter” aired on 6/1/66. > > “The Last Chapter” is, of course, a clip show, which are traditionally regarded with suspicion. But for The Dick Van Dyke Show, I think it works. We learn that Rob has finally finished his novel, and that Alan Brady has optioned it for TV. Thus, the show we’ve been watching becomes a show that the characters we’ve been watching can themselves watch, if you follow me. Plus the fact that Alan is played by Carl Reiner, whose life the show was largely based on in the first place, and you get all sorts of layers. Far beyond your typical clip show done to fill up a half hour because they couldn’t think of a new story. I gotta admit, I don’t recall this at all. I remember the TV Guide in the newspaper playing up the fact that the episode featuring the Gunslinger was the last episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and I recall the pictures of Dick Van Dyke dressed up in his cowboy gear reproduced in the magazine. I don’t recall a “Last Chapter” episode following that at all. I’ve never seen it in syndication, of course, but the fact that it exsts at all is news to me. Possibly we live in parallel universes? ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/54 "2003-04-18T03:15:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster47 \* > \*\*I liked the last episode of **St. Elsewhere** – one of the few shows I’ve ever watched through to the last episodes. (Well, that and **Homicide** , but I don’t recall the last episode of that – did they do anything in particular?) \*\* i used to watch HLOTS religiously. funny thing is i don’t quite recall the last show too well. what i do remember though is the guy that was doing the internet murders got let off on a technicality. in the end he was found shot in the head and two of the detectives were investigating. i recall some one saying that the last scene was similar to a scene in the very first episode. and then they made the movie… to kinda tie up loose ends. a slight disappointment though… ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/55 "2003-04-18T03:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShadiRoxan \* > **i seem to recall the endings of \*\* The Golden Girls** and **Night Court** being pretty good. \*\* Took the words right outta my fingertips. I loved the **Golden Girls** ending. **Night Court** ’s was pretty good, too. I also loved the **M_A_S\*H** finale. In fact, it’s one of my all time favorite television events. It was perfect. Simply perfect. Took all the realism and put it in our faces. Fabulous ending. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/56 "2003-04-18T03:48:39Z")
I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned _The Prisoner_. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/57 "2003-04-18T04:54:09Z")
_ **One Foot in the Grave** _ – I missed a bit of the last episode, and I’d love for the local PBS station to run the series again. After six seasons, crotchety Victor Meldrew is killed by a hit-and-run driver. The show ends with a montage of him suffering various indignities while the soundtrack plays the Travelling Wilburys’ _End of the Line_. It is both sadder and funnier than it sounds. _ **The Games** _ – This was an Australian, _cinema verite_ satire of the organizers of the Sydney olympics; sort of a cross between _Sports Night_ and _Cops_. In the final episode, the staff impersonate The Seekers, singing _The Carnival is Over_ at a rehearsal of the closing ceremonies, then loot the office and fly off to Athens. Not their best episode, but it couldn’t really end any other way. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/58 "2003-04-18T10:17:55Z")
MTM Show was probably my favorite, most fitting final episode. As far as the “gimmick” endings go, St. Elswhere’s ending was most memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291/59 "2003-04-18T13:49:53Z")
I loved the **Twin Peaks** finale – every loose end throughout the entire series was tied up. What happened between Andrew and Eckhart? We know. Will Audrey ever find happiness with Billy Zane? We know. How will the Doc/Mrs. Martell/Ben love triangle be resolved? We know. Will Wyndam Earle rule the black lodge? We know. Will Dale and his lovely new girlfriend ride happily off into the sunset? Heh heh heh… we know that too. –Cliffy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-ended-well/169291.md?page=2)