February 5th, 2010Since we now have an official end date for Lost (sadly, May 23) and with Dollhouse ending just last week, I’ve been thinking of my favorite series finales. The ones that did their fans justice and tied up all those pesky loose ends with touching scenes and lines.
Oh, when I think of my favorite, I think of Dawson’s Creek. (I can admit to watching AND loving that show without you thinking less of me, right?) There was laughter and lots of tears and happy endings and…more tears. The show wasn’t always great, but the finale definitely was.
Now, your turn. What’s been your favorite series finale to date?
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at 12:05 pm
I loved the finale for The O.C. It brought the show full circle and made me feel secure everything was going to work out right for the characters- plus we got one last totally awesome O.C. music montage. I really can’t think of any show that used the music montage as effectively as that one did.
Another favorite was Sex and the City. At first I was disappointed the ladies didn’t have much interaction with each other in it, but it really clearly showed how much they’d all grown from the beginning of the series. (Too bad the movie had to undo all that growth. I’m still mad about that!)
at 12:21 pm
The Shield, hands down. Best drama finale I’ve ever seen in my life. It was everything it could have ever been and then some, and delivered punches right up until the final fade to black.
at 12:23 pm
Dawson’s Creek did indeed have a great finale, which was quite redemptive for it considering how awful the last couple of seasons were. I also really loved the series finale for Gilmore Girls, which I thought hit all of the right notes. And of course it’s tough to beat M*A*S*H.
And I’m one of those weird people who actually liked the Seinfeld finale.
at 12:33 pm
I’m often disappointed by series finales, usually because I’m just not ready to let go of my favorite shows. An example of that is the finale to Six Feet Under. The only thing I enjoyed about it was the use of Sia’s “Breathe Me” during the final scene. And gah, the Seinfeld finale was (and still is) painful to watch, it was just so bad. I’m one the rare few who actually liked the finale of The Sopranos, though I didn’t initially. It kind of caught me off guard, then continued to haunt me for days to come. I think that’s the sign of a good series finale, when you can’t stop thinking about it.
at 12:34 pm
I don’t know that there’s been a perfect finale for me. I did love the DC ending (Pacey!) but most finales I either love up till the last 10 minutes: West Wing and Buffy or am irked with until the last 10 minutes: Mad About You (oh, how that video montage makes me cry) and Everybody Loves Raymond. And some just make me remember how much I miss the shows: Ed. Oh, wait! MASH. Love love love me some MASH.
at 12:39 pm
Seinfeld, Angel, Quantum Leap, The Wire, the Sopranos.
http://geoffklock.blogspot.com/2009/03/series-finales-and-twitter.html
at 6:33 pm
*spoilers – don’t read all of this if you haven’t seen these series* – Gilmore Girls, Roswell, Wonderfalls, Daria- *Gilmore Girls* was sweet with that kiss reuniting Luke and Lorelai and the funny/touching bit where Emily is trying to find reasons throughout the episode in which Lorelai will have to keep coming to Friday Dinners (now that Rory is graduated) and Lorelai finally catches on and promises she will keep coming gladly – no arraignment needed. *Roswell* some of the episode is rush due to the last season being cut short but again i remember it for the sweet moments – Max’s proposal, Max and Liz’s Wedding, the last shot of the bumper sticker on the group’s van that says “Thank you for visiting Roswell” *Wonderfalls* Very funny episode and super sweet last moment with Jaye and Eric and her smile that seems to express all of the emotions of the season at once. Daria *Is it College Yet?” very funny – manages to even give a poignant moment to The Fashion Club, Daria Graduation Speech – thanks her family, and last scene Daria and Jane eating pizza _I may have more but these jump out at me as some of the best_
at 6:40 pm
@Erin I agreed that The O.C. was very good too – considering I didn’t like the fourth season as a whole – made how touching the last episode was a pleasant surprise. It was very funny & finally felt more like the charm of the first season and did a great job bringing things together for the characters – even Julie.
at 12:42 pm
Star Trek: The Next Generation – The time travel angle gave nice closure, while still leaving things open for future storylines that didn’t conform to the future shown (which now, of course, has been completely rewritten anyway).
Quantum Leap – A great episode which threw the entire structure of the series out the window, so it could focus directly on the philosophy and theme. Sam was himself and was given the opportunity to choose his own destiny. He chose to help Al rather than himself, and to continue putting right what once went wrong.
Angel – Angel is able to overthrow Wolfram & Hart, but only for a moment … which is all the peace he’s ever known anyway, so it fits perfectly with the series. But he’ll keep on fighting. Man, what a good show.
Monk – Monk solves the mystery of Trudy’s death, and in doing so discovers some measure of solace that helps him work through the pain in his own life. He’s not “cured,” but he’s better, which is all that any of us can expect.
Dollhouse – Topher saves the world! (No more, since I’m working on an essay about it.)
at 6:07 pm
I sat down to write an insightful commentary about my favorite finale and thought long and hard about it; it turns out I’ve never watched a show’s final episode. Not only that but the only two shows that I’ve watched 2 consecutive, complete seasons of are Buffy and Friends. I guess I get bored too quickly.
However, the series finale of Calvin and Hobbes–now that’s still devastating.
at 4:51 am
Stargate: Atlantis – I disliked them pulling the show, as it was going strong, but the finale was really good. A wraith vs. Atlantis battle over Earth was completely fitting for the show, which had spent five years working to prevent the wraith from finding Earth. If you didn’t watch the show, that might sound weird, but if you did, I’m sure you get it. The whole thing was well put together and didn’t make it seem like everything was over. The same is true for SG-1’s finale, but that was only decent.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen way more problematic series finales than good ones.
at 10:22 am
Ok, this is obscure for most, but Blake’s 7 had the best ending of any TV show ever: Spoiler alert *****Everyone died (probably)******
Second choice: Babylon 5, totally awesome in its completeness and gut-wrenchingness!!!!
Third choice: Dollhouse, because (bar the final 15 seconds or so) it was simply perfect.
Now, if I could talk about the worst finales ever…that would be interesting!
at 6:36 am
Could I get away with saying that Firefly had the best ever finale? – Serenity.
(Ok maybe not) But I do like something different which is why I love Angel’s ending and it’s lack of closure. Something the larger audience probably didn’t appreciate.
That and 6ft Under which was a particularly teary ending. Not that I cried you understand, I just mean that some people might have… ; )
at 9:19 am
I actually hated the Dawson’s Creek finale. Dawson’s was great up until the sixth season, which for me was just one big disappointment. But on to saying nicer things…
I loved Buffy’s finale, but as far as series finale goes, nothing can beat the series finale of Charmed.