So what’s worse that having a series finale that sucks? Having one that isn’t, but actually is. The reality is that given the way the TV biz works you’re going to have “end-of season” cliffhangers that turn into “end-of-series” cliffhangers. Usually you just blow if off with an “Oh, well”, but there are always a few that frost your cookies even years later.
Let’s hear your examples.
Farscape. Resolved in The Peacekeeper Wars, but there was no reason not to excise the last 15-30 seconds after the finale and give fans a happy ending. I’m fairly sure that they didn’t know they were getting a 2-part mini-series when cancelled and the sets were torn down.
The famous one is Twin Peaks, which ended with
Agent Cooper (after lots of weirdness) seeing Bob’s face in the mirror as he smashes his head into it and laughs maniacally.
I personally thought it was an awesome way to end the series, even though it hadn’t been intended. It made up for a number of sucky episodes that preceded it.
I’m assuming the ending will be addressed to some extent when it restarts in a couple of weeks.
Galaxy Quest
We’ll never know what the Omega-13 device does!
Speaking of omegas…the exact opposite of the OP’s question is the Finale cliffhanger of Angel. Just perfect.
Alf is supposedly dissected. I guess that’s kind of final, but if they’d have ever planned to bring back that little death trap of a TV show…
What everyone misunderstand about the final episode of Twin Peaks is that it * wasn’t* a series finale and was never intended as such. It was a * season* finale, shot with the intention of using it as the start for the next season. The show was cancelled after it was shot and no one bothered to reshoot scenes.
As a season finale, it’s perfectly fine.
The animated Roughnecks series (based on Starship Troopers) ended on an immense cliffhanger that was to have been resolved in a final season. Sony pulled the plug.
Soap.
I always thought Soap was the ultimate example of this. Every season ended with a cliffhanger, and the show got cancelled without the chance to resolve the last one. I found this recap:
There’s some interesting info there. Apparently Susan Harris, the show’s creator, would not have done a cliffhanger if she’d known it was ending. And if the show had come back, Jessica would have lived.
Constantine.
A big arc is set up, the angel who’s been aiding John for the whole season reveals he was working with the powers of darkness, not the powers of light.
And then…no renewal. (Or even the full season.)
(Hopefully the animated series that CW’s apparently planning will be in the same continuity, and we can get a goddamn resolution.)
Benson. Who won the election?
I’ll concur on Benson and throw in “Crime Story”. The last ep had many of the main characters on a plane that was about to crash.
The American version of Life On Mars.
On one hand, even though ABC canceled it with just 13 episodes, it was good they let them stick on an ending. But the ending was…
Fastlane still chaps my hide.
Didn’t they “kind of try” to tie up loose ends of Soap on Benson?
I was never a regular viewer of the show but I recall they had a scene where Benson talks to the ghost of Jessica Tate.
Alien Nation, but it was resolved in a TV movie a few years later.
My Name Is Earl
…was on my tablet when I wrote that, and get tired tapping on glass.
After titanic battles across known space, the third season ended with
the entire Bug fleet, the largest yet seen, headed for Earth and the human forces pulling in all their ships to guard the homeworld. It’s gonna be the mother of all battles, folks, so tune in next pip…"
Awake starring Jason Isaacs was a pretty neat show that also ended on a massive mind-screw cliffhanger.
Silenus wrote: "Speaking of omegas…the exact opposite of the OP’s question is the Finale cliffhanger of Angel. Just perfect. "
I gotta agree, when I watched it I was like, “They can’t end it like that.” Then I realized that was the point. The battle never ends.
Mike and Molly was stupid
So was King of Queens and
Medium, Medium most of all. Kill the husband…yeah good one.
I think the sort of long running series if they get canceled should be able to come back with some sort of finale
I liked how ER went off. (sort of)