Friday OT - Best Series Finale
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
M*A*S*H - because, M*A*S*H.Friends - I was moving out of my Cedar Rapids apartment the day after it aired...kind of a surreal feeling with that.Can I count Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show? I was only in second grade when it aired, but the memories of both my grandparents giving a standing O in their living room is burned in my memory.
The correct answer is Newhart. I didn't really watch either show but the way they tied the Newhart ending to The Bob Newhart Show was the cleverest finale I can think of and it fit Bob Newhart's dead-pan humor perfectly.
There are other good finales but the Newhart one was more tailor made for the show than any others.
There are other good finales but the Newhart one was more tailor made for the show than any others.
Kind of hard to keep things fresh for what like 25 years.. That is a pretty amazing run.
I thought year 25 would be the last, but I think now they will shoot for 30 years.
I bet people who have not watched it for years, will come flocking back for the final episode because like it or not the Simpsons is part of American Culture.
Hank Azaria was 24 when the Simpsons started, talk about a great gig. Voice over for one of the most successful shows in TV history.
True story when I moved to L.A. I applied for a job with Matt Groenig's production company back in 1989, cuz I liked the Simpsons. I got offered a job as a production assistant which basically that means you are someone who helps the actors, or whomever get them what they need etc. They like the fact I grew up on a farm in Iowa, and they felt I would be dependable.
I was offered another job about the same time, the other job paid more, so I took it. Kind I of ask myself from time to time, what if
The end of the episode was fantastic where they show all of the new people following in the footsteps of the old while McNulty looks over the skyline.
It's pretty rare for a TV series to have a good ending. My favorite shows Seinfeld and The X-Files had pretty lousy series ending. Seinfeld's "clip show" was kind of funny back then, but now that I have the series on DVD and there are 8 reruns a day on cable…it's very pointless and adds no extra funny moments to the series. X-Files was an example of a show that would have been perfect had they gone 6 seasons instead of 9. They gave a good effort to try to end it more like it began, but it was too late.
Breaking Bad and Star Trek TNG are probably the only series among my favorites where I like the finale as much as the best episodes of these series.
Breaking Bad and Star Trek TNG are probably the only series among my favorites where I like the finale as much as the best episodes of these series.
Breaking Bad
I don't think the Seinfeld finale was anywhere close to as bad as the consensus on it seems to be.
I don't think the Seinfeld finale was anywhere close to as bad as the consensus on it seems to be.
It's not bad like some endings make you cringe (Dexter recently). It's bad like it adds nothing new.
Best finales:
Six Feet Under
30 Rock
The Sopranos
Newhart
Mary Tyler Moore
Moonlighting
Murphy Brown
Worst:
Dexter
Seinfeld (and I LOVED that show)
St. Elsewhere
X Files (ditto Seinfeld)
Six Feet Under
30 Rock
The Sopranos
Newhart
Mary Tyler Moore
Moonlighting
Murphy Brown
Worst:
Dexter
Seinfeld (and I LOVED that show)
St. Elsewhere
X Files (ditto Seinfeld)
You know what show just had a really underrated series finale? Raising Hope. Just a nice, sweet but pretty normal episode for the show. I kind of loved how they bucked the current trend of shooting for some perfect finale that wraps up every loose end and spells out exactly how these people are going to live happily ever after. They just went out doing what that show did well and left you with the feeling that those characters were just going to keep on doing their thing. Perfect.
Seinfeld and Friends were so god awful by the end that their turd endings were just a cherry on top.
Sopranos or Newhart for the win.
Sopranos or Newhart for the win.
Breaking Bad for best.
How I Met Your Mother for worst. Dishonorable mention to St. Elsewhere, Roseanne, Chuck.
How I Met Your Mother for worst. Dishonorable mention to St. Elsewhere, Roseanne, Chuck.
