SERIES finales

In the most recent M.C.F.A.T., I posed a question about season finale cliffhangers. I'll address that question myself next week, but last night Curt sent me an interesting article regarding the best and worst series finales, which I'll address in today's post. Curt, a self-proclaimed “geek by association”, recommended the article on the basis of “geeks love opinionated lists, after all”, and I couldn't agree more. How does my opinion stack up against this reviewer's? Let's find out:

The Best

"Cheers" (1982-1993)
I'd have to agree with this one. This was a show that spanned my formative years, and one of the few to maintain its quality after airing for so long. It was a show about friends gathering in a bar and talking about the significant and insignificant things friends do in such a place. There were many directions they could have gone with the ending, even destroying the bar. I like the idea that while the final words “we're closed” work on more than one level, within that universe the haven remains, even if we're no longer seeing its patrons.

”The Fugitive" (1963-1967)
Unfortunately, I've never seen this show. I was born in 1974, and I've yet to come across it in syndication. I loved the film version with Harrison Ford, and my father was a loyal watcher of the short-lived remake starring Tim Daly. It's another show to visit on DVD, and I don't know when I'll find the time.

"M*A*S*H" (1972-1983)
I was never a big fan of the show, and I watched it more in syndication than when it actually aired. I don't think I realized I was watching the finale until the final scene, and the next day the first episode aired with a slightly different cast, confirming it. I would agree with its inclusion here though, given the significance and consistency of the series.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-1977)
I can't comment on this one either. It sounds like it was a good one.

"The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962-1992)
Much like Cheers, the night this show ended was a major event that had to be saved on VHS at all costs, in a time before I realized everything eventually would be on DVD. Growing up I always heard my mom talking about Johnny, and it was always a treat when I could “stay up to watch Johnny.” I was never a big fan of Bette Midler, but her rendition of ”Wind Beneath My Wings” very nearly moved me to tears, in context of her farewell serenade. It was definitely an emotional night and though a late-night talk show, should be included on this list.

Shows not mentioned that I would also include: Newhart, Beast Wars, Friends, Coach, Everybody Loves Raymond, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel.

The Worst

"Angel" (1999-2004)
I just listed this among the best, so it's pretty clear I disagree. For a few seconds after “Let's go to work.” and the final charge at the demon horde, I sat in disbelief, wanting more. Slowly, the sense of a universe continuing after my window into had closed, much like the ending of Cheers, sank in. Somewhere, those that survived are still fighting the good fight against impossible odds, and the ending, while not the closure I would have liked, is an appropriate one, especially since it deserved at least one more season. Will a movie spinoff, such as the rumored Spike film, ever come to pass? Even if it doesn't, fans have the freedom to imagine anything they want after the camera faded to black.

"Quantum Leap" (1989-1993)
I'm very surprised to see this listed here. It's one of my favorite endings, and the only reason I didn't list it above is because I was a sporadic viewer. I don't know if I never remembered when it was on, or if it aired against something else, or at a time when I was actually out with friends, but the stand-alone nature of the episodes made it easy to be a casual viewer. The final episode had a strong Christian message, with Bruce McGill playing a bartender who was suggested to be God, and Sam choosing to continue leaping and changing lives, even if it meant never returning to his proper timeline. He made sure his friend Al reunited with his wife in a final emotional scene, before continuing his journey righting wrongs, putting others before himself, and making a huge sacrifice for the greater good. Closure is good, but not if it goes against what a character would continue to do.

"St. Elsewhere" (1982-1988)
I never watched this, and while the concept of a show taking place inside a snow globe in an autistic boy's mind sounds cool, I can see how fans could feel cheated. While a similar ending worked for Newhart, this doesn't sound like the type of show that lent itself to it.

"Seinfeld" (1990-1998)
I couldn't agree more. The premise used to put the cast on trial was a stretch, and removing them from New York and having them land in a small town because Kramer jumped around on the plane to get water out of his ear was conventional sitcom stupidity. A few seasons earlier, when they had the brilliant show within a show storyline about the characters writing a similar sitcom based on their lives, this was the sort of plot one might see lampooning conventional comedies. Up until the last season or two, the show was anything but conventional and while it was nice to see every guest star and semi-recurring star play a role, the device used to bring them together was clunky and ending with the four characters sitting in a jail cell was unsatisfying. The added ending of a stand-up routine in prison-Orange did nothing for me either, other than to elicit a second “That's it?!” In short, I loved the series but was disappointed in the ending.

"The X-Files" (1993-2002)
I actually liked the last two seasons with Robert Patrick as John Doggett, but those episodes would have been better as a spinoff rather than a means to extend the original show beyond the departure of Mulder. Sure Duchovny returned to the role for the finale, and reunited with Scully for a confrontation with the Cigarette Smoking Man, but I'd have to agree that it was two years too late, and a trial in the first half slowed it down as well. Scully and Mulder end up together, though even that is ambiguous, and some truths remain unanswered as a second theatrical film has yet to occur. Sadly, the most memorable thing for me about that night is the passing of my cat Munchkin, who had been sick for weeks and had stopped eating for days. I sat with her and my parents watching the show, petting and soothing her, and after she died in my mother's arms it was hard to see the television through tears. I taped the episode, and fastforwarded through it again a few days later when I was in better shape emotionally. An interesting fact to note is that while FOX refused to cancel the show when Duchovny left and prolonged it two more years, the network has since become notorious for not giving various series a chance, canceling many fan-favorites after only a year.

Shows not mentioned that I would also include: Night Court(a show I loved that ran too long), Beast Machines, and Mork and Mindy.