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Author Topic: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time  (Read 6132 times)

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Offline bijou

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Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« on: April 02, 2009, 01:47:18 PM »

Quote
Bye bye "E.R."

The long-running hospital drama bids adieu tonight with a big lovefest involving all of the old castmembers.

Could be good, could be bad. Probably the latter.

... And then, there are finales like these ten, which did everything wrong.

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St. Elsewhere. Aired: May 25, 1988 ("The Last One"). For some, this series ender is a brilliant masterstroke. For most, it tells fans their enjoyment of the series was a big waste of time. Nobody really believes show characters and places are real, but writers intimating that the doctors of St. Eligius were mere figments in an autistic boy's mind was the unkindest cut of all. A series should provide closure, but this overdid it. That said, fans with a little too much free time have speculated about other shows which included "St. Elsewhere" characters � like "Homicide: Life on the Street," which itself crossed into "Law & Order" and even "X-Files" with shared characters. Are all of those places also stuck inside that boy's mind � and snowglobe, too?
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Felicity. Aired: May 22, 2002 ("Back to the Future"). "Lost" and "Fringe" fans, beware: Creator J.J. Abrams is brilliant at premises and story arcs � then loses it with finales. "Felicity," a show about growing up in college, friendship and first real loves should have been a no-brainer to end; instead, over the final few episodes the titular character went back in time six months to fix her mistakes. Worse: Not every character's fate got resolved with this deus ex time machina, and viewers were left shaking their heads. Memo to scriptwriters: If you have to step into your own story and rewrite history, it's time to hand in those WGA cards.
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Roseanne. Aired: May 20, 1997 ("Into that Good Night: Parts 1 & 2"). "Roseanne" was steeped in the harsh realities of living a lower-middle-class life (though with more zingers), which was one of its great appeals. Then it took a wrong left turn at Albuquerque in its last season when the family won the lottery shortly after Dan miraculously recovered from a heart attack. But the two-part series ender explained it all: That whole season was a dream, you silly viewers � because the reality was so much harsher: No lottery, no recovery for Dan. And Jackie's a lesbian! Yes, all along Rosie was writing a book, then slid into a dream fantasy in season nine, then snapped everyone back to the "real world" in the closing moments. Who knew all along Roseanne Conner wasn't an overweight hausfrau � she was actually God? The X-Files. Aired: May 19, 2002 ("The Truth, Parts 1 & 2"). If your series relies on conspiracies and characters with names like Cigarette Smoking Man, the series finale requires some form of revelations. Instead, the bright bulbs behind the scenes realized they could milk the concept longer with another feature film (the first came out in 1998) � though it took until 2008 to see "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" realized. That led to a draggy finale in which Agent Mulder was stuck in front of a military tribunal, and few to no secrets were revealed. But that satisfied sigh you heard after it was over? David Duchovny, escaping from the role he'd been trying to leave for two years.
link

Out of the ones featured these are the endings I found most disappointing.
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Offline Zathras

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2009, 01:56:56 PM »
Hmm, would like to see what the 10 best series endings are.
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Offline bijou

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2009, 02:00:04 PM »
Quote from: Zathras on April 02, 2009, 01:56:56 PM
Hmm, would like to see what the 10 best series endings are.
Off hand I can't think of one. By the end of a series either it has gone on too long or the writers have usually gone barking mad and come up with a bizarre ending.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2009, 02:00:29 PM »
The X-Files for me was the biggest disappointment. I felt like I had wasted nine long years on that stupid show. I was happy to see Mulder and Scully together in the final movie, but I mostly didn't care anymore.
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Offline Lord Undies

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2009, 02:42:25 PM »
I remember that Roseanne crap-a-thon.  It was the worst.  I'm surprised any of the last season was released into syndication.  It was an embarrassment for all involved.
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Offline Duke Nukum

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2009, 09:12:29 PM »
Quote from: Zathras on April 02, 2009, 01:56:56 PM
Hmm, would like to see what the 10 best series endings are.
Babylon 5
The Prisoner
Star Trek:TNG
BSG:The Second Series

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Offline Airwolf

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2009, 10:01:06 PM »
The Fugitive

Dallas

M*A*S*H*

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Offline Duke Nukum

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2009, 10:49:15 PM »
Newhart
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Offline PoliCon

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2009, 11:16:11 PM »
I'm not sure what the seinfeld ending is doing on that list . . . . I for one was THRILLED that that shitty show was over! It should be on the top ten thank GOD that show's over list - right after Friends.
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2009, 01:06:33 AM »
Quote from: Duke Nukum on April 02, 2009, 10:49:15 PM
Newhart

You calling that a best or worst?  Depending upon how you like Bob Newhart, it could be either one.
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Offline 9outof10

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2009, 05:21:19 AM »
Quote from: NHSparky on April 03, 2009, 01:06:33 AM
You calling that a best or worst?  Depending upon how you like Bob Newhart, it could be either one.

The best ending. Easily.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2009, 07:45:39 AM »
M*A*S*H

No question about it.
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Offline Lord Undies

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2009, 08:18:55 AM »
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......
For two whole minutes, they saw Tim Conway and Bonnie Boland (one of the "regular cast") mugging the camera and making bizarre faces while above their heads the giant word SEX kept flashing.

They saw an endless string of outrageous sights, but what a 1960's audience found most disturbing was the way this humor was presented. Each bit was backed by strange unfamiliar, futuristic, threatening music. The audience was bombarded with a barrage of words, sounds, images, animations and tasteless jokes. It all made many Americans wonder just what pharmaceuticals sponsor Bristol-Myers was feeding to the show's writers.

Many of those 17 million viewers did far more than simply turn-off Turn-On. Before the show had even ended they began phoning their local stations as well as ABC; they wrote letters to their local station; they wrote to their local paper and local governments; they wrote to the network, to Bristol-Myers and even to the Federal Communications Commission.

Halfway through the show, ABC's Philadelphia affiliate WFIL, pulled the plug on their switchboards because they couldn't handle the number of angry calls. Stations in Baltimore, Little Rock, and many other cities canceled the program even before the credits had stopped rolling.

Thursday morning, Turn-On was the talk of the nation. Every news station, every newspaper, it seemed every person had something to say about the show. ABC found that they had indeed created a national sensation, but it wasn't the pleasant sort of notoriety that provides free publicity and then goes away. This was an all out ground swell of anger that went from coast to coast. It's easy to imagine the executives at Bristol-Myers chugging down gallons of that pretty pink Pepto-Bismol. They severed all ties to the show before noon. By late afternoon NBC, who obviously couldn't resist kicking another network when they were down, issued a press release that stated they would never have broadcast anything in such bad taste as Turn-On. They also stated, "The pilot we saw and rejected was an Academy Award winner alongside the thing ABC put on the air."

Within days, seventy-five ABC affiliates told the network that they refused to air Turn-On ever again. ....

The best debut and finale happened with the one and only airing of Turn-On in 1969.  I remember it.  I was 14.

http://www.tv.pop-cult.com/turn-on.html

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Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2009, 08:38:30 AM »
The Sopranos series finale really pissed me off!
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Offline DixieBelle

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2009, 08:58:12 AM »
While not an ending - the whole Bobby Ewing in the shower on Dallas pissed me off.
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Offline Wineslob

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #15 on: April 03, 2009, 10:04:11 AM »
Quote from: Duke Nukum on April 02, 2009, 10:49:15 PM
Newhart

 :cheersmate:

THAT was a good ending.

The ending of Northern Exposure was OK but had some WTF? moments.
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Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #16 on: April 03, 2009, 04:38:05 PM »
Quote from: Toastedturningtidelegs on April 03, 2009, 08:38:30 AM
The Sopranos series finale really pissed me off!

+1  Dumbest ending of all time....oooooh...black out, quick! reach for the remote...the jokes on the viewers.....Only managed to piss people off.
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Offline Duke Nukum

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #17 on: April 03, 2009, 07:46:40 PM »
Quote from: Lord Undies on April 03, 2009, 08:18:55 AM
The best debut and finale happened with the one and only airing of Turn-On in 1969.  I remember it.  I was 14.

http://www.tv.pop-cult.com/turn-on.html


Wow!  I was a month away from being 4 then, I'm sorry I missed it.  Dang DVR lacking a flux capacitor...

Didn't Jackie Gleason host some game show that was so bad the next week he appeared and apologized to the audience?
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Offline Crazy Horse

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #18 on: April 03, 2009, 07:58:06 PM »
Quote from: Duke Nukum on April 02, 2009, 09:12:29 PM
Babylon 5

I disagree Season five sucked and the ending sucked.

Season three and four were by far the best

Then agin the series was written for five seasons............and in the end all be all were great
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Offline Lord Undies

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2009, 02:23:57 PM »
Quote from: Duke Nukum on April 03, 2009, 07:46:40 PM
Wow!  I was a month away from being 4 then, I'm sorry I missed it.  Dang DVR lacking a flux capacitor...

Didn't Jackie Gleason host some game show that was so bad the next week he appeared and apologized to the audience?

http://www.tv.pop-cult.com/youre-in-the-picture.html

 :-)
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Offline thundley4

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #20 on: April 04, 2009, 02:38:37 PM »
I think the worst ending of any series is when a show just gets canceled and never has an ending.
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Offline bijou

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #21 on: April 05, 2009, 03:08:36 PM »
Quote from: thundley4 on April 04, 2009, 02:38:37 PM
I think the worst ending of any series is when a show just gets canceled and never has an ending.
Oh yes, there was a short lived series called 'The Others' which I was enjoying greatly when it suddenly disappeared. :(
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Offline thundley4

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #22 on: April 05, 2009, 04:11:10 PM »
Quote from: bijou on April 05, 2009, 03:08:36 PM
Oh yes, there was a short lived series called 'The Others' which I was enjoying greatly when it suddenly disappeared. :(

Is this the show?
"College student Marian Kitt is terrified to discover that she has the power to see into the "other side." Word of Marian's vision spreads to Professor Miles Ballard, a student of paranormal and psychic phenomena. He introduces Marian to "the others," a group of individuals with the ability to vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts and experiences of others, and to help them understand paranormal phenomena."

Strange, it sounds like a show that I would have watched, but I don't remember it.  All 13 episodes are available on torrent sharing sites.
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Offline bijou

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #23 on: April 05, 2009, 04:29:26 PM »
Quote from: thundley4 on April 05, 2009, 04:11:10 PM
Is this the show?
"College student Marian Kitt is terrified to discover that she has the power to see into the "other side." Word of Marian's vision spreads to Professor Miles Ballard, a student of paranormal and psychic phenomena. He introduces Marian to "the others," a group of individuals with the ability to vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts and experiences of others, and to help them understand paranormal phenomena."

Strange, it sounds like a show that I would have watched, but I don't remember it.  All 13 episodes are available on torrent sharing sites.
That's the one.  If you haven't seen it, give it a go I remember it as being  good.
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Offline mamacags

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Re: Television's 10 Worst Series Finales of All-Time
« Reply #24 on: April 05, 2009, 04:47:45 PM »
I LOVED The Others, also The Lone Gunmen, Profit, Jericho, The Job and tons of other shows that just disappeared. :bawl:
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