Best Season or Series finales ever

[filch]

The last discussion about shows and their season/series finales got me to thinking about which ones I thought were the best.

I liked the Soprano's ending, not the best, but I liked it.

I think the best ending ever was Six Feet Under's series finally. That was the most amazing ending and I felt completed and fulfilled by the series. I have yet to see that topped.

[comhcinc]

the finale of Newhart.

[steek]

The last discussion about shows and their season/series finales got me to thinking about which ones I thought were the best.

I liked the Soprano's ending, not the best, but I liked it.

I think the best ending ever was Six Feet Under's series finally. That was the most amazing ending and I felt completed and fulfilled by the series. I have yet to see that topped.

Six feet under series finally was really good. Dexter also had a really good Season finally.

[mikeyj10]

the finale of Newhart.

A) Which one?

B) Best season finale - Prison Break season 2

C) Best Series Finale - Laguna Beach (I hate that show and I'm glad its over)

[comhcinc]

A) Which one?

Newhart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voL34bfqXTM

[tokenuser]

This year? Prison Break (season finale).
All time? M*A*S*H (series finale).

Prison Break finale had everything you want in a season ending ... wrapping up the current story line, then leaving you on the edge of your seat for the next year.

[godmode]

Season 1 finale of Battlestar Galactica. ****in epic!

[comhcinc]

should i assume you mean the second series?

[senoj1]

Yes the Mash one was historic and awesome. Smallville season finales are usually good. i'm pretty sure

[poltah]

Firefly, OH WAIT, we didn't get a series finale! Gawd dammit.

The ending to Alias season 1 was pretty cool.

[ericad]

I agree...the end of Six Feet Under was amazing. In fact, the last 3 episodes or so had me weeping like crazy ( I lost a brother when I was 13, so it brought out a lot of shit ) I remember calling my friend in tears telling him that this show was now emotionally raping me. But I loved it.

Ok, for those of you catching up with shows on DVD...... SPOILERS.......

Other great season finales:

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3
"I am Locutus of Borg" TNG came into it's own for real right then and there.

Buffy Seasons 2 and 5

Buffy kills Angel at the end of year two, and Buffy dies at the end of year 5
( that final shot of her gravesite "She Saved the World A Lot" still gets me, despite the fact that I know she's coming back )

Angel Seaon 3
Angel's son chains him to a cage and drops him to the ocean floor. That's just ****ed up.

Battlestar Galactica Season 2
-the whole "One Year Later" thing was totally unexpected. loved it.

Lost Season 3
-I know it just happenend, but this one's already up there. The whole "flashback reversal" thing was just brilliant on the Lost crew's part. The ultimate question in many ways of this show has been "will they ever get off the island?" Now they've answered THAT question, and managed to keep us guessing with even more questions still. Can't wait for year 4.

Now, as for best series finale, I go with these:

Angel
- I know It drove fans nuts, but I love the whole Butch and Sundance ending. Especially since I'm pretty sure there is no way Angel died. He's a damn super hero.

Justice League Unlimited
-Superman unleashes on Darkseid in one of the best super hero fights in animation ever, in my book. That, and Lex Luthor saves the world.

Twin Peaks
-Part of me ( especially the 16 year old part of me screaming at the tv back in 1991 ) hates this ending, with all it's loose ends unresolved, but the other part of me knows this is the strangest, most surreal thing ever on network tv, probably to this very day. The final image of the series remains a punch in the gut to everyone who loved the show, and that's not half as bad as it sounds.

[filch]

Twin Peaks
-Part of me ( especially the 16 year old part of me screaming at the tv back in 1991 ) hates this ending, with all it's loose ends unresolved, but the other part of me knows this is the strangest, most surreal thing ever on network tv, probably to this very day. The final image of the series remains a punch in the gut to everyone who loved the show, and that's not half as bad as it sounds.

I never saw this show as a kid. I've been curious about it. Does the show hold it's relevance in it's age, so if I watched it now, would I enjoy it as if I watched it then?

[ericad]

I never saw this show as a kid. I've been curious about it. Does the show hold it's relevance in it's age, so if I watched it now, would I enjoy it as if I watched it then?

Twin Peaks remains my favorite show of all time, so I'm obviously biased when I answer with a hearty YES to your question.

I wrote about Peaks in an earlier thread, so I'm just gonna be lazy and copy and paste what I said right here:Twin Peaks remains to this day my favorite show of all time; other beloved shows of mine like Buffy, Angel, Star Trek, Lost and Battlestar Galactica certainly have managed to stay more consistent for far, FAR longer than Twin Peaks ever did, yet what David Lynch and Mark Frost managed to create just in those first 17 episodes ( the entire "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" story arc ) overshadows almost every thing else in it's potency. And the episode where Laura Palmer's killer is revealed still stands as the best hour of fictional broadcast television ever.David Lynch and Mark Frost's dirty fingerprints are all over shows like Six Feet Under and even The Sopranos ( both with their reliance on dream sequences ) and most especially Lost and Veronica Mars. Funny thing is, Lost is now getting a lot of the critisism that Twin Peaks suffered through ( "they are taking too long to solve the mystery" etc ) although the fact that Lost is well into it's third season before these complaints started shows that America has learned a wee bit of patience since the Peaks glory days. In any event, watching this show is liking falling into a weird alternate world every time I watch it, no matter how many times I see it or how many years go by.


One more thing: If you do decide to give Twin Peaks a spin, wait till the Fall when the complete series is released. Right now, the Pilot episode is unavailable here in the States (except as a crappy quality import ) Season 1 is Out of print, and Season 2 is the only thing you can get for a reasonable price. Just wait a few more months a get the whole thing.

[masherscf]

I know that "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" has been mentioned more than a few times. Joss Whedon is well known for creating spectacular closers. "Buffy" was well known for having season finales both exciting and satisfying. I would be hard to place one above the others. However, I think that the season five closer "The Gift" is probably the best conclusion of a story arc on TV.

I also want to mention a dark horse. I really love the conclusion of the "Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross" repacking "Robotech." Not the entire run, mind you. Just the "Macross" ones. "Macross" had an amazing hook and is an interesting take on the hero's journey. Who couldn't enjoy resolving character relationships while the bombs dropping everywhere killing most of the supporting characters.

[royterp]

the finale of Newhart.

Absolutely. Whenever the topic of series finales comes up, this is the one that immediately comes to mind. It was a perfect end to one of my favorite shows. I think the main reason that makes it so good is that it was entirely for the audience. It wasn't done to make a political statement or to complete a story arc or to leave it open for a movie or to set up a spin-off. It was solely for the fans, and we loved it.

[psbp516]

3rd Season finale of Babylon 5!!!

[bradschl]

I'm going to say the end of Season 3 of Farscape. Not the best show out there, but it holds a special place in my heart still.

The climax of a season of Farscape always happened the episode before the season finale, and the actual finale tended to be a slow, recovering affair.

Aside from that, the last 3 minutes of Season 3 was my first introduction to the "Holy crap!" kind of endings. Chricton's last line about summed it up perfectly.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

[nobodysleeps]

Battlestar Galactica Season 2
-the whole "One Year Later" thing was totally unexpected. loved it.



If I were to say any type of finale of BSG, I would say the finale of season 2.0 before 2.5.

I know it's not a real finale but the Pegasus episodes were freaking epic.


Loved Twin Peaks series finale. Love love loved it. If it were to actually be a season finale and not a series finale, it would have been perfect and it woudl have totally made up for slump it sunk into after mid season. What a cliffhanger.


The Wire usually has great season finales, but that's because all the stories during the season slowly build up to a season finale that just completely wraps everything up and all the stories reach a climax, it's great.

[godmode]

should i assume you mean the second series?

actually no, i meant season 1 where Sharon shoots Bill Adama. That just came out of nowhere...completely blew me away.

[jacquesmeyhofer]

Season 5 of The Shield.

[zoomtechtv]

The forth season of Babylon5.

[gm_wil]

Magnum P.I.

The best show ever!

*eyes jeff*

-

[gi_josh]

I put in a vote for heroes...as the WORST season finale.