Hello, all! :wave:

I was wondering about this today. What do you think were the best and worst finale episodes ever? In my opinion, M*A*S*H* and Newhart were some of the best, and Seinfeld was one of the worst. I've never seen the Moonlighting finale, but I heard that was awful, too! What do you guys think?

Later. :bye:

david&maddie4ever

best = Newhart

worst = Married with Children (they didn't even mention it was over... :( )

Some of the best were MASH, MTM, Family Ties, and Cheers. Roseanne was the worst. Dallas wasn't much better. The Facts of life's last show wasn't very good either.

Originally posted by mr roper
Some of the best were MASH, MTM, Family Ties, and Cheers. Roseanne was the worst. Dallas wasn't much better. The Facts of life's last show wasn't very good either.

I liked Cheers' finale, too. Very sad, though!

What was Family Ties finale? I don't think I've ever seen it.

Later. :bye:

david&maddie4ever

The Best Series Finales I've seen: The Wonder Years, Happy Days, Three's Company, The Lucy Show, and Mary Tyler Moore.

The Worst Series Finales I've seen: The Brady Bunch and Laverne & Shirley.

Best:Mad About You, Newhart, Watching Ellie
Worst:Seinfeld, Full House

best mash happy days worst family ties tg threes compnay

Originally posted by Jen1982
In the Family Ties series finale, Alex gets a job on Wall Street, in New York. As he prepares to move out, he is very happy, and Elyse is very sad and hurt that Alex seems to be taking things way too lightly. Meanwhile, Andy prepares for his play, in which he is a tooth. Elyse and Alex have words and they are the only two that stay home when the family goes out for ice cream after Andy's play, in which Elyse imagines Alex in a tooth costume. Alex tells Elyse that everyone is being supportive of him except her, and she tells him that she resents his nonshalant attitude. They make up and in the last scene Alex says goodbye to everyone. Everyone is in the kitchen when Alex's cab arrives. He hugs everyone and leaves. He comes back in and says "I love you guys". After which, there is a "curtain" call, and all the actors, one by one come out as their name is called on stage and take a bow. It was really sad. That's the basic summary of the finale.

Thanks a lot! I remember that one now! It was AWESOME! I don't remember the curtain call, though. I hope it comes on again soon.

Later. :bye:

david&maddie4ever

I liked Family Ties

Didnt like Seinfelds.

Best: Laverne & Shirley
Worst: The Wonder Years

Originally posted by James
Best: Laverne & Shirley
Worst: The Wonder Years Laverne And Shirley?:confused:

Best: Roseanne, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Alice
Worst: One Day at a Time (Ann leaving for London should have been the finale), Ful House (they could have at least given the series more closure, by like having Jesse and Rebecca finally move out and get their own home and maybe have Rebecca be pregnant again, Joey hitting the big time as a comedian, and seeing DJ graduate from high school. But no, Michelle had to fall off a damn horse)

i agree with you

Here are my thoughts:

Best: "M*A*S*H", "Cheers", & "Family Ties"

Worst: "Archie Bunker's Place", "Married...With Children", & "Spin City"

Originally posted by cheers_rules
Here are my thoughts:

Best: "M*A*S*H", "Cheers", & "Family Ties"

Worst: "Archie Bunker's Place", "Married...With Children", & "Spin City"

You're right about the Spin City finale! I didn't like that at all. They should have brought Mikey back or something! No closure! That's what a finale's supposed to do. :(

Later. :bye:

david&maddie4ever

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
What do you think were the best and worst finale episodes ever? In my opinion, M*A*S*H* and Newhart were some of the best, and Seinfeld was one of the worst.

I missed the "Newhart" fianle, because CBS aired it once and I forgot to tape it when I had to go out that night! :( I agree on "M*A*S*H" as one of the best, and on "Seinfeld" as one of the worst. "Cheers" was one of the best, too. :)

Worst:

Roseanne and Family Matters. Oh god... the Roseanne finale just absolutely sucked and since CBS cancelled Family Matters, the series finale wasn't intended to be that, it was intended to be a season finale.

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
Hello, all! :wave:

I was wondering about this today. What do you think were the best and worst finale episodes ever? In my opinion, M*A*S*H* and Newhart were some of the best, and Seinfeld was one of the worst. I've never seen the Moonlighting finale, but I heard that was awful, too! What do you guys think?

Later. :bye:

david&maddie4ever


I agree on the best ones, M*A*S*H* and Newhart were it. As far as the worst goes, Dallas and Family Ties both were pretty bad in my opinion. :)

Best: Fresh Pince of Bel Air, Boy Meets World, Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens

OK: Full House

Worst: Hmm, i'll get back to you...

Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens??
Why would you say that??
They never agknowledged the fact that the show was over. There was no closure....

Best:MASH, Newhart, MTM, The Nanny, The Golden Girls
Worst:I can't really think of any right now. Basically any finale that doesn't acknowlege the end of the series.

Originally posted by barwars88
Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens??
Why would you say that??
They never agknowledged the fact that the show was over. There was no closure....

Actually there was closure.
On Lizzie, they did sort of a clip/flashback show and at the end Lizzie kissed Gordo. So it sort of summed everything up.
On ES, the family was going to move away, so Louis told Tawny that he loved her. It also showed sort of what would happen if the family did move away.
The movies for both of these shows helped sum everything up too.

Originally posted by barwars88

Worst: Brady Bunch (worst episode in the series)



Yeah, the last episode was bad, but to be fair, I don't think it was intended to be a finale. At the time it aired, I don't think the Brady Bunch had been canceled yet. I was 10 that year, and while our family was vacationing in Europe, my older sister got a 16 Magazine which announced the sudden cancellation of the Brady Bunch. We were in shock!:eek:

Originally posted by Bugiddle
Yeah, the last episode was bad, but to be fair, I don't think it was intended to be a finale. At the time it aired, I don't think the Brady Bunch had been canceled yet. I was 10 that year, and while our family was vacationing in Europe, my older sister got a 16 Magazine which announced the sudden cancellation of the Brady Bunch. We were in shock!:eek:

Eerily, Robert Reed, who later disavowed the show and became the first cast member to die, was conspicously absent from that last episode. :eek: :eek:

Best:MASH, Golden Girls, Newhart. I also thought Wings had a pretty good finale.

Worst:Seinfeld, it definitely wasn't as good as it could've been.

The Facts of Life was the worst I think
The Golden Girls were one of the best

Originally posted by Steve M.
Eerily, Robert Reed, who later disavowed the show and became the first cast member to die, was conspicously absent from that last episode. :eek: :eek: yea, I heard or read somewhere that Robert Reed refused to do that episode because he thought the script was so ridiculos, or something like that.

worst: "Roseanne"-in fact, the entire last season of that show sucked!!
"Happy Days"
"MASH"
"Laverne & Shirley"-same thing that I said about "Roseanne"

OK-"Dalllas"
"The Bob Newhart show"
" " Mary Tyler Moore " "

best-"The Dick van Dyke show"
" " Carol Burnett " "
"Star Trek-The Next Generation"
" " " -Voyager"

If Cindy Williams appeared in the last episode, then "Laverne & Shirley" might have had a good episode. A poor series finale, and a subpar "Shirley-less" final season is why L&S is not in 1st place in my books. Happy Days, which had a good finale, where Joanie & Chachi marrying, did. Here are other best (& worst) finales.

Best:
1. Mary Tyler Moore (1977)
Truly a classic. The whole crew, except Ted, was fired. To show support for Mary, Rhoda & Phyllis made cameos in the eppie. The real emotional scene was where everyone was hugging each other, wouldn't let go, and then Mary being the last to leave. Interesting.

2. Dick Van Dyke (1966)
3. Happy Days (1984)
4. Family Ties (1989)
5. Odd Couple (1975)

Could've done better:
1. Laverne & Shirley (1983)
2. Bewitched (1972)
3. I Dream Of Jeannie (1970)
4. Rhoda (1979)

I'll come back if there's more.

"Bewitched" "I Dream of Jeannie" & "Rhoda" never had final episodes. "I Dream of Jeannie" was supposed to-it was going to be the show "Hurricane Jeannie"-the one where Roger & Dr. Bellows were stuck at the Nelson house during a hurricane, and Tony dreamed that he told Dr. Bellows everything-but during the 5th season, NBC (the network that first aired it) preempted a lot of episodes, so they had to show some 5th season eps. during the 6th season, and so "Hurricane Jeannie" ended up not being the final show.

BTW, in this episode they reffered to the real life Apollo 13 trougle-plaqued space mission.

"The Fugitive" also had a good one.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/08/24/the_best_and_worst_series_finales_charted_the_sopranos_mad_men_breaking.html

Somebody used IMDb user ratings on individual episodes to determine which shows were the most disappointing, and Dexter came in at No. 1.

I must be the only one who tries to defend the SEINFELD finale.

I've seen easily several thousand hours worth of TV shows these last several years, trying to make sure I've seen every show I've wanted to. I'll take my shot at which shows I feel fit in each category.

Best Finales: I'll just list 3 to make this easier.

Number 1- I won't rank anything below this one in any certain order because that's too hard to do but I can say without any doubt the best tv series finale I have ever seen is Newhart, by frickin far! Anyone who still hasn't ever seen that show's finale episide owes it to themselves to see it today. If you have time for only 5 minutes of that series-though I strongly suggest watching through all 180 some episodes-make it that several minute long final scene. No series finale before it came anywhere near close to it and nothing since then has topped it. The audience reactions during that final scene weren't rehearsed. They were hit with the same surreal 20 ton weight at the taping for the series finale episide that damn near the rest of the country got hit with the night it aired. Won't ever see anything that creative or imaginative ever again. Ever.

Runners up for best finales:

Happy Days-The final scene with Richie and Fonzie was damn emotional and captured the entire spirit of that series, 11 years of sentiment perfectly in that scene. I couldn't see straight through that scene when I saw it a few years ago because I cried through it. Only a few shows have ever made me actually cry but that scene did it. The studio audience reaction to the scene was genuine approval as Fonzie walked out the Cunningham's door crying. Then to top it off, at the very end when Tom Bosley looked into the camera smiling and said "Here's to happy days!" Perfect. Perfect one second sentence that summed up the whole thing.

Boy Meets World- That final scene..I mean good God that scene even opens the same way the series started-in Mr. Feeny's grade school classroom!That's an incredibly emotional scene-Cory saying he's scared of going to New York, Mr. Feeny giving his last piece of advice about doing well/good and then the top off of him actually saying after they left the classroom what everyone knew he felt towards those kids the whole way through but didn't dare say it till then-"I love you all. Class dismissed"...another perfect last line. One of the few other finales to make me cry.

I thought Perfect Strangers finale was pretty respectable too. Just shows how much the boys grew and how far they'd come over 8 years. Overall pretty decent.

Worst finales- this list is probably longer.

Family Matters- Still furious now just a bit over 17 years ago how they handled the cancellation. No proper series finale for the fans who stuck with it all 9 years. We deserved that much. Reginald VelJohnson (Carl) also feels we deserved that too. That two part episode clearly meant to be a Season Finale was our "reward". Had they renewed it I'd actually say it would have been a pretty damn good Season Finale. As it was though under the circumstances it was horrendous and unacceptable. Awful treatment at the end. I do not believe Les Moonves wanted to cancel it but the almost non existent ratings keft him no choice. The fact hat episide is intended as a Season Finale makes the whole thing sting more.

Step By Step is tied with Family Matters for the same reasons. Again totally and completely unacceptable way to deal with the cancellations of two long running shows like that.

Full House- pitiful ending. Michelle falling off a horse and getting temporary amnesia!? Are you kidding me Writers!? Really!? I saw that finale...3 years ago I think and just shook my head in disgust. The fans deserved an actual finale iwith closure. Not that. I'll give it a D just because that show actually did get a "finale" unlike the two shows I just mentioned.

Roseanne- I'm furious how she chose to do her finale. She ripped off Newhart and failed spectacularly. I lost any respect I had for her after seeing that. To a lesser extent she ripped off Dallas too. Two strikes in one finale Rosie. It just reeked of her wanting fi cash in and be done I think. Classless and disrespectful finale. The whole last year for that matter.

Seinfeld- I didn't care for that finale at all and feel sorry for the fans of that show too. All that three ring circus leading up to that airing all for what it was!? I'm just...sorry for the fans that's all I can really express about it right now.

Those are the big ones I can think of for best and worst ATM. If I can think of others I'll add them in later.

Even though "The Simpsons" will be cancelled when Cleveland wins a Championship...I'm NOT looking forward to their Series Finale...which will be a revamp of "Simpsons Roasting on an Open-Fire"!

If I was the head-writer of the "The Simpsons", I'd have it like all the series finales out there...

MTM-Mr. Burns fires everyone except Carl and all the staff hug.
M*A*S*H-Rev. Lovejoy leaves the church and Flanders spells-out "GOODBYE".
Cheers-Moe closes his bar, Barney walks by but he says "Sorry...we're closed"!
Seinfeld-The Simpsons all go on trial and they're all guilty. Bart ask Homer "What's the mind", like in the first short from "The Simpsons", "Good Night".
Fugitive-Krusty and Sideshow Bob fight to the death...Krusty wins of course!
Sopranos-Jimbo and Nelson are waiting for Dolph and Kearney as "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey is played, it suddenly goes to black when...
Newhart-Matt Groening is in bed with Tracy Ullmann, Matt explains to her what happened. He says he STILL doesn't know what state this Springfield is in!
St. Elsewhere-There's a snowglobe on the nightstand, Ralph Wiggum picks it up and accidently breaks it!

THE END

But yeah, "The Simpsons" Series Finale sounds like a big let-down, reusing "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" to end it all...almost like Carl Orff's "Carmina Bruana", that song is just a one-hour circle!

Maybe "Family Guy" will use all the Series Finales in their Series Finale!

But for best Finales...it has to be "Newhart", hands-down!

Best: Barney Miller, especially the final part of the "Landmark" episode in May 1982. The various detectives went their separate ways, and then Barney turned the lights out on the 12th Precinct (the credits even ran over a darkened shot of the set at ABC Prospect).

And of course, also the aforementioned Newhart one.

I don't have a vote for the worst, though.

I must be the only one who tries to defend the SEINFELD finale.

:lol:

:lol:

Well, me and Larry David:)

Best: Barney Miller, especially the final part of the "Landmark" episode in May 1982. The various detectives went their separate ways, and then Barney turned the lights out on the 12th Precinct (the credits even ran over a darkened shot of the set at ABC Prospect).
Definitely one of the classiest sendoffs I've seen. I love the message to the viewers, something along the lines of "Thanks from the Ol' 1-2", referring to precinct number, then the applause over the closing credits (canned I'm sure, but still classy).

I know Bill Cosby's really controversial now, but the first series finale I ever watched was The Cosby Show in 1992. Cliff finally fixed the faulty doorbell, which led into a song that he and Claire danced to. They broke the fourth wall and danced off set, as cameras panned out to show the audience greeting them with a standing ovation. I get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Howard's message to the viewers on the final Happy Days was pretty nice, and I got a kick out of The Odd Couple's sendoff.

Family Ties, as someone else mentioned. Very classy ending. The ones where you know the cast is genuinely emotional about no longer working with their cast mates can always hit you.

The final Fresh Prince with Will saying goodbye to the empty mansion, turning off the lights, only for Carlton to yell and run downstairs with his pants down (he was in the bathroom) is pretty funny.

I like how That 70s Show ended with a NYE countdown on 12/31/79, then cut to a shot of the trademark license plate to reveal it's now 1980.

Newhart's definitely still one of the most clever finales...another good one would be the short-lived I Married Dora.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvVR99yafr8

I honestly didn't hate Seinfeld's ending, I just found it really bizarre. And eight years later, I still don't know what to make of The Sopranos' final scene...I do remember wondering what the hell happened to my DirecTV that night. :p

*****Best*****

MASH

Touched By An Angel

The Golden Girls



*****Worst*****

Mad Men

The Wonder Years

QUANTUM LEAP

Laverne & Shirley

Cheers

Roseanne

Everybody Loves Raymond

and most recently, The Astronaut Wives Club. The last episode of the mini series seemed SO rushed and they left out so many details. It could have gone on much longer. :(

Medium

Ghost Whisper

Definitely one of the classiest sendoffs I've seen. I love the message to the viewers, something along the lines of "Thanks from the Ol' 1-2", referring to precinct number, then the applause over the closing credits (canned I'm sure, but still classy).

The message actually says, "Goodbye and thank you from all of us at the Ol' One-Two." I captured a screencap of it from Shout!'s full-series Barney Miller release.

Another one that I liked was the last episode of the original Perry Mason series in 1966, "The Case of the Final Fade-Out." I don't know how to exactly explain why, other than that it had the late Dick Clark as villainous producer Leif Early (one of his various guest-starring roles; I don't know how many he had).

I think the "How I Met Your Mother" finale - can you believe this thread was started before that show even premiered? - will go down as one of the most disappointing.

The message actually says, "Goodbye and thank you from all of us at the Ol' One-Two." I captured a screencap of it from Shout!'s full-series Barney Miller release.
Yes! Thank you! I had a feeling the message was a bit longer than I remembered.

BEST:
Three's Company

OK:
Seinfeld (yeah I thought it was a clever send-off with the many cameos during the shows run turning up)

WORST:
Diff'rent Strokes (never had a proper finale)
Gilligan's Island (never had a proper finale and I don't count the follow up TV movies)
ALF (never had a proper finale and Project ALF doesnt exist for me)

I must be the only one who tries to defend the SEINFELD finale.I enjoyed it too

I don't count shows that didn't know they were ending as "series finales." To me, those are just last episodes. As for true series finales, some are...

The Best:

The Larry Sanders Show - One of the best finales ever. I didn't see it until earlier this year when I watched the entire series for the first time but I couldn't get that last episode out of my mind for quite awhile.

Wings - I love seeing characters making sacrifices for their loved ones. This episode is full of that, too.

Boy Meets World - I could have done without all those clips but the new footage was excellent.

Monk - Not exactly how I pictured the show ending but it was still very good and I love to revisit it every now and then.

The Office - A great episode in a sea of lackluster episodes of the last two seasons.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - A returning Rhoda and Phyllis was a nice touch for this episode. Plus, I always like seeing TV characters admitting how much they love one another and I like kind of sad finales - not where people die, just where they move away or something.

The Fugitive - After four years of running, I don't think this show could have had a bad finale... unless Kimble was arrested and given the death penalty, lol. Seeing him finally get the one-armed man and have Gerard realize that Kimble was innocent was great.

The Worst:

Roseanne - It was fine up until the set went black and Roseanne began her monalogue, letting us know that everything in the last season has been a lie and even things from earlier in the show were false (like the daughter's boyfriends were switched). Just an awful way to end a long-running and (for the most part) realistic family comedy show.

Parks & Recreation - I should explain that I love this show and the finale didn't suck, it's just creatively, I didn't like what they did by showing the characters in the future. It negatively affects how I watch the reruns, which is the sign of a bad finale, in my mind, if it negatively affects the way you watch the reruns.

I'm indifferent to the Seinfeld finale. I wasn't a fan of this show until just a couple years ago, and I already knew about the finale so I've just sort of accepted it. I think it's a fun episode but at the same time, it seems anti-Seinfeld, which doesn't make for a good finale. Still though, I'm okay with it.

I think the "How I Met Your Mother" finale - can you believe this thread was started before that show even premiered? - will go down as one of the most disappointing.

I heard the HIMYM Finale sucked...and I'm NOT a fan of the show!

I heard the HIMYM Finale sucked...and I'm NOT a fan of the show!

I'm with you on that one-- I was never a fan and never will be!

I heard the HIMYM Finale sucked...and I'm NOT a fan of the show!

I too was disappointed.