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SeanDrake wrote:
I could go on because honestly most shows don’t actually screw up the ending. It seems to be a fairly modern problem and imho stems from 2 major issues.

I really wouldn't class it as a modern problem--that's just the good stuff from earlier decades being remembered and the bad or mediocre endings being forgotten (or being overlooked by history because the rest of the show was so good).

I really liked Farscape, especially considering they had to crush a season's worth of plot into two movies. The breakneck pace actually worked in the show's favour--at the end, I really felt that the characters had richly earned some peace.

In anime & manga, Death Note. The layers of deceit, manipulation, contingencies and plotting all collapse into one scene, and it's pretty much perfect.

I liked the way Breaking Bad ended.

I actually struggle to think of one I really well and truly believe got it right.

For me, DS9's conclusion was dragged down by how they elected to conclude the Prophets/Pah-Wraiths stuff, Voyager's finale was at the very least a relatively satisfying conclusion for an often very weak show, and All Good Things, while great, fell short of something really special when the producers decided to cut the part where Picard jumped to another moment in his past - where he was Locutus of Borg, and had to convince the Borg to help them save the universe- and does it even count as TNG's actual finale when they stapled on those movies?

I usually don't find a series finale satisfying unless it was meant to end this way from the start - and that usually means the series has a very limited runtime - Anime, with their 13, 25, or 50 episode series can do this quite regularly when the showrunners pace themselves properly, but series that are gunning for the golden infinite renewal cycle like so many western genre shows the same problems arise.

Off the top of my head, Serenity was a very satisfying finale to Firefly even if it was killed after one season, I enjoyed the Farscape movies (really should finish that series, lol), and I thought HBO's The Newsroom had a satisfying conclusion even if the crux of that episode was a rejection of the idea of a satisfying conclusion (no happy endings because nothing ends and all that).

Sometimes I like to pretend shows I really like actually ended at some really satisfying season finale instead - BSG's All Along the Watchtower sequence, for example.

Nobody voted for Quantum Leap?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Another entry from Yours Truly?

Spartacus. It’s a very, very silly show. Very silly indeed. But, being based (loosely. Ish) on history it perhaps had a leg up. But it did work. Pacing was good, story didn’t flag, nothing felt particular spun out.

As for its historical accuracy? I’d like to quote a friend.

It’s not at all historically accurate, but it is totally the sort of show Romans would’ve made.

I don't have to like endings to agree they were done well AND stayed true to the characters.

Sparticus played fast and loose at times but was much better at it than say the more aclaimed Rome or most films. Ending was good and I agree the show felt right.

Mortal Kombat Tv show had a great ending.

I actually liked the BSG ending.

Black Sails completed all stories very well - may have killed my fav Eleanor but it was all good.

Buffy /Angel had pretty good endings.

 Elemental wrote:


I really liked Farscape, especially considering they had to crush a season's worth of plot into two movies. The breakneck pace actually worked in the show's favour--at the end, I really felt that the characters had richly earned some peace.

Oh snap I forgot about Farscape. The original last episode was an abysmally stupid ending, but they wrap-up miniseries they put out after was phenominal.

Still bitter about BSG though, definitely one of my all time most disappointing ends , though the initial miniseries that came out right after Farscape was awesome

The last episode of season 4 was a perfectly decent end-of-season cliffhanger. It wasn't their fault it turned out to be the series finale.

The BSG ending actually ends up being better second time round, IMO (mainly because you view all the spirituality stuff much differently once you know how it ends). It makes the ending better but still doesn't explain the really stupid way they get rid of the fleet. But if an ending is only better after a second viewing of the series it probably doesn't count as good.

Babylon 5's was pretty good, but they did write two of them due to executive meddling and I think a large part of the effectiveness of the season 5 ending came down to the fact a lot of people actually wanted the series to finally end because season 5 was...not brilliant. Great show, tremendously ambitious but probably not the best ending.

If Buffy had ended in season 5 that would have been a pretty perfect ending too but money talks I guess so we had to settle for something inferior. Angel's final season was a bit of a mess but the actual final scene was a perfect demonstration of the message of the show.

Blackadder Goes Forth had the absolute perfect ending but I'm not sure it counts as a series finale due to that show's slightly odd structure.

I liked the ending to Chuck. It's a minor miracle they got to actually write a proper ending with all the near-misses that show had with cancelations and it also left things open-ended, which I liked.

But I'd probably vote for Breaking Bad. It couldn't have ended any other way but I still thought the finale was well-executed and true to the characters.

Really? I thought Chuck was an intensely frustrating ending.All that time he'd spent earning Sarah's trust, and building a life with her to have it obliterated....

In it's favor, I will say that I thought that Jeffster's ending was everything I could have hoped for. Great show, either way!

House had a very strong ending. Tears everything apart, then extends one last branch of hope, and while you're holding on to it, ends. You know nothing good will come of the future, but for now, all is well.

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Really? I thought Chuck was an intensely frustrating ending.All that time he'd spent earning Sarah's trust, and building a life with her to have it obliterated....

In it's favor, I will say that I thought that Jeffster's ending was everything I could have hoped for. Great show, either way!

House had a very strong ending. Tears everything apart, then extends one last branch of hope, and while you're holding on to it, ends. You know nothing good will come of the future, but for now, all is well.

I viewed the Chuck ending as hopeful rather than frustrating. It seemed to be saying that Chuck and Sarah would likely get back together but they have another journey to go on together first.

Night Court. Yes, I'm old.

TNG had a great ending. What's that? Films continuing the story? Never heard of them.

 Gael Knight wrote:
TNG had a great ending. What's that? Films continuing the story? Never heard of them.

Let me introduce them to you as they are best enjoyed:

-- I'd also suggest the end of "Ever Decreasing Circles" was pretty spot on too.


Frasier was pretty good too IMO.

Gael Knight wrote:TNG had a great ending. What's that? Films continuing the story? Never heard of them.

BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Gael Knight wrote:
TNG had a great ending. What's that? Films continuing the story? Never heard of them.

Let me introduce them to you as they are best enjoyed:

I must be alone, I actually like both movies.

Nemesis felt a bit... Much... A Picard clone, AND he's murdered the Senate AND somehow taken over the Romulan Empire AND there's a secret Romulan underclass who managed to build a giant spaceship, and and and...

Insurrection was fine. It was essentially a long episode of The Next Generation with better special effects. To be honest, aside from flying the Enterprise with a joystick, I really don't have that much of a problem with it as a whole.

First Contact is genuinely my favourite. And I tend to appreciate Generations more as I get older. I've always wanted to watch: Star Trek 6 > Best of Both Worlds > Family > Generations > First Contact in a row as a single story. Honestly, I think seeing them together like that shows a pretty strong arc.

Nemesis was just bad. Maybe I should have seen all the bad writing coming then, cause Nemesis played out like bad fanfiction, just like Discovery does. It has all the cliches.

Insurrection I think mostly suffered from being an episode of the week plot stretched out into a full-length movie with none of the depth or interest necessary to make the full-length movie enjoyable. That, and a really stupid twist at the end that boggled the mind.

I found Insurrection tedious - esepcially since I loved First Contact

Nemesis had a great space battle - more than happy to watch that - the rest was trash.

 Mr Morden wrote:


Nemesis had a great space battle - more than happy to watch that - the rest was trash.

I will give it that. I thought the scene where the Enterprise rams the Scimitar was even one of the best moments of Star Trek to ever appear in a movie.

Since we have started talking about the Star Trek movies, I started a thread about them so we could avoid derailing this one too badly.

Link: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775996.page

No mention of Sleepless in Peckham?

I liked the ending of Breaking Bad, currently re-watching that series. I do know a few people who felt it was a cop-out ending though.

Stranger Things season one had a good ending but then they made season two and well...

I really enjoyed Battlestar Galactica's ending, although sending the fleet off didn't make much sense. I've watched the series three times now and I've gone from teenage me wanting more action to enjoying the politics and spirituality scenes more. Apart from a ropey season 3 (during the writers strike?), the series on the whole was excellent.

The Shadow Line (think it was BBC) had an excellent ending that I completely didn't expect.

Not many will have seen it, and I think it is all based on books, but:
The Expanse, as seen on Amazon Prime.
It had 3 series, with cliffhangers at the ends of 1 and 2. 3 ended as it was supposed to.

It's not over though right?

Since people brought up BBC comedy shows.....



Look out! CLIFF!

 Skinnereal wrote:
Not many will have seen it, and I think it is all based on books, but:
The Expanse, as seen on Amazon Prime.
It had 3 series, with cliffhangers at the ends of 1 and 2. 3 ended as it was supposed to.

Just finished it - excellent work - I thought there might be a Season 4 now?

Edge of Darkness (BBC series) for the older people here.

 Mr Morden wrote:

 Skinnereal wrote:
The Expanse, as seen on Amazon Prime.

Just finished it - excellent work - I thought there might be a Season 4 now?

I'd not heard about that. Nice.
There goes the reason I posted about though

Extras had a pretty good ending.

I think it helps that Gervais can keep a show to 12-14 episodes, rather than letting it drag on interminably and aimlessly with nine more seasons of tangentially-related content like a lot of shows from across the pond do.

Not a big fan of Ricky Gervais, but echo the sentiment of any screen writer that knows when they've used all the good ideas.

Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, Bottom, Black Books, Spaced. All comedy classics in my book, all somewhat shortlived. Git whilst the gitting is good, and always leave the audience baying for more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Only Fools and Horses is one example. During it's main run, it never really outstayed it's welcome.

But when we had The Trotter's finally become 'miwwionaires', just....draw the line. Let them have that glory. It's the end of the road they've been on. No need to go further.

But they did, didn't they? And it just became more convoluted. A show otherwise noted for being pretty down to earth just went a bit mad.

 Skinnereal wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:

 Skinnereal wrote:
The Expanse, as seen on Amazon Prime.

Just finished it - excellent work - I thought there might be a Season 4 now?

I'd not heard about that. Nice.
There goes the reason I posted about though

Season 4 has already finished filming, it should be out soonish? Depends how far they are on post-production/CGI.