Example Shows that said their GOODBYES

Threes Company
Family Ties
Happy Days

Shows that left us HANGING

Gilligans Island
The Brady Bunch.
Mork and Mindy

Shows That Said Goodbye:
The Odd Couple
Wings

Shows That Left Us Hanging:
Soap
ALF

Cliffhangers (NBC 1979) Here's a show that left everybody in the US hanging. NBC Cancelled the series, and didn't air the final episode (Where you found out the conclusions of two of the stories "The Secret Empire" and "Stop Susan Williams". It took me 30 years to finally see the final episode, with a little help from ioffer. :D

Mash, BJ put the rocks together and said goodbye to Hawkeye and all the loyal viewers.

No goodbye.
Jeffersons and Married with Children

Shows That Said Goodbye:
The Odd Couple
Wings

Shows That Left Us Hanging:
Soap
ALFa few years after the last show of ALF they made an ALF TV-movie where they said what happened after the final episode.

Cliffhangers (NBC 1979) Here's a show that left everybody in the US hanging. NBC Cancelled the series, and didn't air the final episode (Where you found out the conclusions of two of the stories "The Secret Empire" and "Stop Susan Williams". It took me 30 years to finally see the final episode, with a little help from ioffer. :DIt's very appropriate that a show called Cliffhangers ends on a cliffhanger! :D

I finally got to see the end as well. The Dracula part was my fav of the series.

The 1984 version of V-The Series ended after its 19th episode on a cliffhanger, there was a script made of the next resolving episode but NBC didn't decide to renew the show.

My Name Is Earl left us hanging
Miami Vice had a good goodbye with that 1990 made for TV movie

left you hanging :
alf
kaly xy
john doe
early edition
journey man
now & aging
flash forward

not sure
Quantum leap kind of left you hanging at the end but if you wont to call it an ending.
The Incredible Hulk if you count the TV movies

ones said good bye
heroes
day break
life on mars usa version
family ties
fresh prince of bel air
full house
home improvement

IINM, Barney Miller said goodbye to the 12th Precinct by having Barney (Hal Linden) turn out the lights in the precinct house; there was extended applause over the credits.

Shows that left us HANGING

Gilligans Island
The Brady Bunch.

To be fair, both these series did have either follow-up reunion TV-movies and/or spinoff series that did offer updates on the characters and a bit more closure in some ways.

ALF
Same deal- ALF was originally planned to have a 5th. season but when that got cancelled, Paul Fusco was finally able to wrap up the storyline in a 1996 TV-movie called "Project: ALF". So, again, while it wasn't on the show itself- the series did eventually get some closure through that. (And the TV-movie is quite funny and good, by the way.)


Early Edition

Quantum Leap- kind of left you hanging at the end but if you want to- call it an ending.
The Incredible Hulk- if you count the TV movies

With The Incredible Hulk, I definitely count the TV-movies and they did bring some closure there. I still wish the original idea of having David Banner finally stand trial for the death of Elaina Marks could have been done (not to mention the crossover with the Nicholas Hammond Spider-Man series that was discussed at one time)- but it never happened.

As for Quantum Leap- the deal with that is that a 6th. season was anticipated, but things got cancelled towards the last minute. So the writers had to come up with an episode that could work either way- give just enough room for a possible next season if the show went forward and also work as a series finale if it didn't. I know a lot of fans are still upset by the ending, but I like it just fine- I think it works well. It's different from the typical, expected ending for sure. And it does leave room open for a reunion movie that Donald P. Bellisario and Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell have all talked about for a while now- I'd love to see it happen with all of them involved in their original roles.

Early Edition- True, this show didn't really have a series finale. I think there was hope that it would get a 5th. season and the show would continue with some of the themes explored in the last season. (Hints to the newspaper's origin were offered from the very first episode, but the show really gave some interesting insights into it in the last season.) I know many fans (including myself) were upset at CBS cancelling the series and were petitioning for a 5th. season. I would still love to see a 5th. season or (much more likely that that happening at this point)- a reunion TV-movie that might give some more closure. But I've come to accept that neither one is probably very likely to happen by now, so I'll settle for finally getting Seasons 3 and 4 on DVD released!

MacGyver had a nice series finale and some great follow up TV-movies.:) :cool:
Charles in Charge also had a good series finale (it's a pretty awesome 4th. wall breaking episode!) and so did Growing Pains. (Which also got some great reunion TV-movies, which I much enjoy.):) :cool:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Full House and Home Improvement and Family Matters and Perfect Strangers and Family Ties all did nice jobs of wrapping things up.

Show that left viewers hanging-
Laverne & Shirley (though I would argue some of the characters got some closure in ways...but I think fans would still have liked to just see a better ending in general than the way the 8th. season turned out....)

Frasier gave us a proper goodbye in the 2 hour finale, Goodnight, Seattle.

The Golden Girls had a proper goodbye as well and even gave us a short lived spin off; The Golden Palace.

Full House didn't give us a proper send off. They just ended the show, no goodbye or anything.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman wasn't given a proper goodbye. The creator of the show wanted to come back for a 7th season, but CBS wouldn't approve of another season and the show was canceled. I still think we should have gotten proper closure.

I Dream of Jeannie wasn't given a proper goodbye really. The last episode was supposed to be Jeannie and the Hurricane, where Dr. Bellows finds out about Jeannie, but the episode was changed around a bit to be a dream that Tony had. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't given a proper goodbye.

Friends had an awesome goodbye. I loved the Friends finale. I cried a bit too.