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Post by omega on Aug 24, 2017 10:31:56 GMT
What shows do you think ended on a perfect note, that stuck the landing and delivered the ideal swan song? These are episodes closing out the show, not just a season.
Parks and Recreation: One Last Ride. The characters completed their arcs from the show, and everyone got not just an ending, but new beginnings taking them into the rest of their lives. The conclusions are emotionally satisfying and while it's heartbreaking to say goodbye, we know that their next adventures are around the corner. One chapter closes, many open.
Futurama: Meanwhile. It's the emotional capstone to the relationship that deserves to be the name for Will They or Won't They. You're heart will melt as Fry and Leela become closer than ever before. There's also timey-wimeyness with the time button (setting up Fry falling and splatting lots of times), the wonderful Fry and Bender friendship and Zoidberg being butt monkey. While The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings is also a lovely Fry and Leela episode, Meanwhile gives them a happy ending. When the episode first aired Comedy Central aired Space Pilot 3000 directly after (they may have even skipped the end credits).
The sign of a good series finale is that you see can where the characters started and who they have become. There are resolutions and if the show is defined by a core conflict, that ends. It will depend on the show of course, some shows it is more appropriate that there's no resolution and that the fight will go on, or that the characters do as they always do. Don't introduce anything new for the sake of introducing something new. Be true to the show, and don't try to force a spin-off.
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Post by muckypup on Aug 24, 2017 10:51:27 GMT
for me i will have to say blakes 7.....was it the end we wanted.....ermm NO but after almost 40 years its still something thats talked about that has to count for something
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Post by omega on Aug 24, 2017 10:53:42 GMT
for me i will have to say blakes 7.....was it the end we wanted.....ermm NO but after almost 40 years its still something thats talked about that has to count for something Plus not only it is tonally consistent with the rest of the show, but it's a logical thing to happen. No last minute deus/diablous ex machinas, just sheer inevitability. |
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Post by Digi on Aug 24, 2017 11:14:09 GMT
Next Gen's "All Good Things" and DS9's "What You Leave Behind" get top marks in my books. The ending of Babylon 5 was excellent too - either "Sleeping in Light" OR "Objects at Rest" (whichever you prefer), both were great.
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Post by omega on Aug 24, 2017 11:16:41 GMT
How could I forget Firefly's Objects in Space?
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Aug 24, 2017 11:26:06 GMT
Happy Days... Fonzie got the "family" he always wanted so to speak- with adopting a boy..
Seinfeld- 1 of my top5 shows of all time- the characters were supposed to be not nice people and they copped it in the last episode MAHAHA
Quantum Leap.. ZOMG.. !
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Post by Digi on Aug 24, 2017 13:26:25 GMT
Happy Days... Fonzie got the "family" he always wanted so to speak- with adopting a boy.. Seinfeld- 1 of my top5 shows of all time- the characters were supposed to be not nice people and they copped it in the last episode MAHAHA Quantum Leap.. ZOMG.. ! Did you misread the "best" part of the thread title?  |
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Post by kimalysong on Aug 28, 2017 16:19:38 GMT
Life on Mars is still one of my favorite live action TV endings although they had to ruin it with Ashes to Ashes
Avatar the Last Airbender had a lovely last episode. I remember I was a bit worried during the first half of the final season but it all came together well
On that note Legend of Korra also had a very satisfying conclusion.
Will have to think about this. I can think of a lot of really good anime endings but Western TV shows not as much.
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Post by charlesuirdhein on Aug 29, 2017 1:59:25 GMT
Life on Mars is still one of my favorite live action TV endings although they had to ruin it with Ashes to Ashes WHAAAT? No. Never. You don't have to watch Ashes to Ashes at all, and that still works too IMO. You want ruining? The last episode of the US version of Life on Mars! I liked the end of Person of Interest. Quantum Leap again, and Angel, which annoyed me initially but now I think it's perfect. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2017 2:26:57 GMT
Next Gen's "All Good Things" and DS9's "What You Leave Behind" get top marks in my books. The ending of Babylon 5 was excellent too - either "Sleeping in Light" OR "Objects at Rest" (whichever you prefer), both were great. I still get goosebumps with Babylon 5. When Susan says that "Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There would never be another," it hits you right in the pit of your heart. One of the very few science fiction shows to live its own full lifespan, external interference causing it to stumble, but never truly yield. The shows virtues well outshine its faults and I cannot sing its praises enough, it is a remarkable piece of fiction. Definitely the ending (although with the relativity of Time...) of Steins;Gate, it's a stunning performance on the part of both dub actors. "Just close your eyes..." |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2017 3:41:17 GMT
Life on Mars is still one of my favorite live action TV endings although they had to ruin it with Ashes to Ashes I also have to say, how does Ashes to Ashes ruin anything. It's a separate t.v. show and I can never understand when people say that a future episode or separate series ruins another one. In no way does the new series of Doctor Who ruin the quality of the classic series, Angel doesn't make Buffy better or worse. Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl have no effect on the writing of the other shows. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2017 6:48:39 GMT
The Prisoner.
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Post by kimalysong on Aug 29, 2017 9:52:51 GMT
Life on Mars is still one of my favorite live action TV endings although they had to ruin it with Ashes to Ashes I also have to say, how does Ashes to Ashes ruin anything. It's a separate t.v. show and I can never understand when people say that a future episode or separate series ruins another one. In no way does the new series of Doctor Who ruin the quality of the classic series, Angel doesn't make Buffy better or worse. Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl have no effect on the writing of the other shows. It's very simple Life on Mars had an ambiguous open ending which was beautiful and perfect as is while Ashes to Ashes decided they needed to give an explanation of what was going on and thus ruined it. I try to ignore Ashes to Ashes but it still exists and the ending of Life on Mars can still now be interpreted in one way only because the writers told us in Ashes to Ashes. Angel was a spin off of Buffy. Ashes to Ashes was a sequel to Life on Mars. It's not the same at all. And charlesuirdhein the US Life on Mars may be awful but it has no bearing on the UK Life on Mars which Ashes to Ashes did. |
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Aug 29, 2017 9:55:50 GMT
Not sure if it counts given that the show came back this year but the end of Twin Peaks was brilliant. Also seconding the vote for Blake's 7: when you watch the whole of Series D - the best constructed series of the 4, IMNSHO - it is obvious that something like that would happen - Avon had led the team into too many messes for it to go miraculously right for a change.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Aug 29, 2017 12:10:54 GMT
Person of Interest
A perfect ending that managed to wrap a lot of threads up, while also leaving things open in a sense if they ever did more. But yeah the story of these people we have followed is perfectly tied up
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Post by theotherjosh on Aug 29, 2017 12:48:32 GMT
Finales are always so tricky. I forget who made the observation in the Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure, but somebody on the CD extras made the observation that endings are so difficult because the as the audience follows along, they develop an expectation of how a story is going to conclude, and they'll be disappointed if it doesn't end in the way they're expecting. I think the argument could be made that Classic Doctor Who ended as best it could: “There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do.” Breaking Bad is probably the best finale I’ve ever seen. Mad Men is right up there too. I agree with kimalysong about Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think the penultimate breather episode (Aang on the Lion-Turtle) is what really gives the final episode its strength. It's the culmination of what the entire series is about. It feels like it had to end this way, and it's right and good that it did. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2017 13:59:27 GMT
I also have to say, how does Ashes to Ashes ruin anything. It's a separate t.v. show and I can never understand when people say that a future episode or separate series ruins another one. In no way does the new series of Doctor Who ruin the quality of the classic series, Angel doesn't make Buffy better or worse. Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl have no effect on the writing of the other shows. It's very simple Life on Mars had an ambiguous open ending which was beautiful and perfect as is while Ashes to Ashes decided they needed to give an explanation of what was going on and thus ruined it. I try to ignore Ashes to Ashes but it still exists and the ending of Life on Mars can still now be interpreted in one way only because the writers told us in Ashes to Ashes. Angel was a spin off of Buffy. Ashes to Ashes was a sequel to Life on Mars. It's not the same at all. And charlesuirdhein the US Life on Mars may be awful but it has no bearing on the UK Life on Mars which Ashes to Ashes did. Well when you put it like that. Okay, so I will agree with you on Life of Mars as well as the Angel and Buffy example not working in this context. However, can I just say, while it has nothing on the original, I kinda liked the U.S Life On Mars... |
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Post by agentten on Aug 30, 2017 21:48:18 GMT
The single best finale I've seen is Breaking Bad. It just gets everything right and the final sequence encapsulates the emotional themes of the show eloquently. Everything is paid off so well and it has a feeling of perfect inevitability.
Some other shows that I felt had excellent finales are Cheers, The Sorpranos, Community, Boston Legal, Battlestar Galactica (both), Lost, and Hannibal. Some of my other favorite shows, such as Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, and The X-Files are in various stages of revival so the quality of their ultimate finales are TBD.
A poor finale can ruin a show for me. Shows that I used to enjoy such as Dexter or Friends had such poor finales that I've soured on the whole series.
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