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Best TV Final Episodes

T

techboywi

Guest
I got to thinking tonight... There have been alot of final episodes of TV shows that have been great, and some not so great.. The one that stands out in my mind as one of the best is the MASH finale, whenever I see thats on, I am tuned in. Some not so great, I didnt really care much for the Friends finale.. Anyone got other suggestions for good/bad finales?
 
> I got to thinking tonight... There have been alot of final
> episodes of TV shows that have been great, and some not so
> great.. The one that stands out in my mind as one of the
> best is the MASH finale, whenever I see thats on, I am tuned
> in. Some not so great, I didnt really care much for the
> Friends finale.. Anyone got other suggestions for good/bad
> finales?
>

My all time favorite is the final episode of Newhart, where everything turns out to be a dream. What made it even beter is that a year or two later when Bob Newhart did a reunion of his 70's show it picked up on the day after the dream, and at the end Larry, Darryl, and Darryl were working on the elevator that Bob was about to get on. :)
 
A couple of final episode shows come to mind:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show when everyone finds out that the station is sold and everyone gets the ax except for Ted Baxter. The scene where everybody starts crying and they all try to get at the tissues made me laugh and had a lump in my throat at the same time and then when Rhoda and Phyllis came and visited Mary upon the news and then when Mary turned out the lights and in effect ended the show where 7 years of memories resided.

Happy Days when Joanie and Chachi got married.
 
Speaking of which - The fial ep o All in the Family (when Edith dies) should be coming up in the TVLAND rotation soon. Can anybody tell me when? It was a very emotional experience.

I remember the last eps of The GARY MOORE SHOW, also HOWDY DOODY's last ep.
 
> Speaking of which - The fial ep o All in the Family (when
> Edith dies) should be coming up in the TVLAND rotation soon.
> Can anybody tell me when? It was a very emotional
> experience.
>
The episode where Archie and Stephanie grieve over Edith's death(and a classic episode by the way) was in the 1980-1981 season opener of Archie Bunker's Place ( TV Land has shown this episode). The final episode of All In The Family was sort of the prelude of it(I always thought of Archie Bunker's Place as an extension of All In The Family.)Also when Archie Bunker's Place first started,Jean Stapleton only appeared in 4 or 5 episodes of its 1st season on the air(1979-1980).
 
Here's my list of the top 10 after which, of course, there will be no argument :)

10. "Rhyme and Reason" A short-lived game show. During the last show, the celebrities on the panel basically tore down the set themselves.
9. "I Married Dora" Another short-lived show that ended with one of the characters saying "we've been canceled," followed by a pullback shot of the entire cast and crew waving at the camera.
8. "Family Feud" (the Richard Dawson version). Concludes with an over-the-top emotional speech by Dawson thanking all the children of the world.
7."Howdy Doody." Clarabelle the Clown says "goodbye, kids."
6. "St. Elsewhere" In which we find out the whole thing never existed. The "Newhart" finale taken to the next plane.
5. "Sex and the City." So THAT'S Mr. Big's real name!
4. "MASH" (mentioned earlier)
3. "The Fugitive" Kimble finds the one-armed man. "September 29, 1967 ... the day the running stopped."
2. "Newhart" (mentioned earlier)
1. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." (ditto)
 
Here's one I had forgotten about until last night:

The final episode of the Phil Silvers Show had Col. Hall finally getting the best of Sgt. Bilko by using a video monitor system to track his activities around the base. Bilko used a Hall lookalike to order the cameras removed; when Hall found out about it, he put the cameras back in, and the last shot was of Hall's monitor showing Bilko behind bars in the stockade. Bilko's last words were "That's all, folks!"<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> A couple of final episode shows come to mind:
>
> The Mary Tyler Moore Show when everyone finds out that the
> station is sold and everyone gets the ax except for Ted
> Baxter. The scene where everybody starts crying and they all
> try to get at the tissues made me laugh and had a lump in my
> throat at the same time and then when Rhoda and Phyllis came
> and visited Mary upon the news and then when Mary turned out
> the lights and in effect ended the show where 7 years of
> memories resided.
>
The St. Elsewhere finale featured a re-enactment of that scene with Howie Mandel, David Morse, and I cann't recall the names of the two actresses who were in that scene. I liked the Night Court finale. Mac went on to become a filmmaker, Bull was taken by space aliens, I believe Christine Sullivan left to go into politics, Dan Fielding resigned to persue Christine, but after recieving several offers(including hosting a talk show on FOX), Judge Harold T. Stone chose to remain on the bench.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured the total destruction of Sunnydale(it collapsed into the hellmouth).
"The Greatest American Heroine" would've made a good series finale for "The Greatest American Hero". Ralph Hinkley had to give the suit to someone else, which he did. He and Pam said their goodbyes to Bill Maxwell. Even though this thing never aired on network TV, I believe it was eventually added to the package which aired on FX as the "final" episode.

<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
> Here's one I had forgotten about until last night:
>
> The final episode of the Phil Silvers Show had Col. Hall
> finally getting the best of Sgt. Bilko by using a video
> monitor system to track his activities around the base.
> Bilko used a Hall lookalike to order the cameras removed;
> when Hall found out about it, he put the cameras back in,
> and the last shot was of Hall's monitor showing Bilko behind
> bars in the stockade. Bilko's last words were "That's all,
> folks!"
>
Battlestar Galactica-"The Hand Of God"(The Galactica goes head to head with a cylon basestar and sucessfully destroys it. The closing scene features a closeup shot of a video transmission of the Apollo moon landing on a monitor on board the Galactica.)<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
> The St. Elsewhere finale featured a re-enactment of that
> scene with Howie Mandel, David Morse, and I cann't recall
> the names of the two actresses who were in that scene. I
> liked the Night Court finale. Mac went on to become a
> filmmaker, Bull was taken by space aliens, I believe
> Christine Sullivan left to go into politics, Dan Fielding
> resigned to persue Christine, but after recieving several
> offers(including hosting a talk show on FOX), Judge Harold
> T. Stone chose to remain on the bench.) Buffy the Vampire
> Slayer featured the total destruction of Sunnydale(it
> collapsed into the hellmouth).


I agree, the ending of Buffy was good too, that entire season actually was very well done, since each episode was a continuation of the story of The First coming to Sunnydale, and how the gang prepared for the battle. Probably in my personal top ten
 
> > Here's one I had forgotten about until last night:
> >
> > The final episode of the Phil Silvers Show had Col. Hall
> > finally getting the best of Sgt. Bilko by using a video
> > monitor system to track his activities around the base.
> > Bilko used a Hall lookalike to order the cameras removed;
> > when Hall found out about it, he put the cameras back in,
> > and the last shot was of Hall's monitor showing Bilko
> behind
> > bars in the stockade. Bilko's last words were "That's
> all,
> > folks!"
> >
> Battlestar Galactica-"The Hand Of God"(The Galactica goes
> head to head with a cylon basestar and sucessfully destroys
> it. The closing scene features a closeup shot of a video
> transmission of the Apollo moon landing on a monitor on
> board the Galactica.)
>
All of these are great (my personal favorite is the Newhart
finale), but here's one from the 1982 Maverick revival titled
Bret Maverick. Bret (James Garner) has somehow managed to
corral the franchise for the local telephone service. While
he's collecting payments on the phone bills, Luis Delgado,
who plays his friend and sidekick, comes running in.
"Jimbo! Jimbo!" he shouts. "My name's Bret, Bret Maverick,"
Garner replies, staying in character. "Not anymore, Jimbo,"
says Delgado, "we've been canceled."

In Jeff Kisseloff's "The Box," Roy Huggins, who wrote so many
Maverick scripts, said he was having trouble coming up with a
script one day when NBC called to tell him Bret Maverick had
been canceled. He let go, with nothing to lose, and had a
great time writing that final episode. Thing about it is,
with the lesser ratings expectations today, Bret Maverick
might have hung in there a few years instead of being canceled
after one season.
 
> I liked the Night Court finale. Mac went on to become a
> filmmaker, Bull was taken by space aliens, I believe
> Christine Sullivan left to go into politics, Dan Fielding
> resigned to persue Christine, but after recieving several
> offers(including hosting a talk show on FOX), Judge Harold
> T. Stone chose to remain on the bench.)


Really? Hmmm.... I think you are the first person I have ever heard say that about the Night Court finale. Personally, I rank that one somewhere on my Worst Finale list. Night Court, IMO, was one of those great shows that unfortunately overstayed its welcome by a season or two. It was really hard to sit through those episodes on the TV Land marathon last month. Oh well, to each his own, right? ;-)


> Buffy the Vampire
> Slayer featured the total destruction of Sunnydale(it
> collapsed into the hellmouth).


Very well done. I think there are really only two ways that Buffy should have ended: the total destruction of Sunnydale or Buffy dying for good. With her dying at the end of Season 5 (the end of its WB run) and resurrection at the beginning of Season 6 (the start of the UPN run), the impact of "another death" would not have been as effective. Good call by Joss Whedon on that one.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by SgtPepper9876 on 09/16/05 10:36 PM.</FONT></P>
 
...a more traditional but just as interesting situation: "The Guns of Will Sonnett," wherein Will and Jeff finally catch up with James, and the three wind up becoming lawmen in one of the towns they'd both passed through earlier in the series' run. This leaves an interesting question regarding the afterstory: considering James' outlaw reputation, legitimate or not, would there be vengeance seekers now coming to that town to "settle the score" with the three of them?...<P ID="signature">______________
King Daevid MacKenzie
WLSU Wisconsin Public Radio, La Crosse
heard weekly on http://whiterosesociety.org
"Kill Ugly Radio." FRANK ZAPPA</P>
 
> ...a more traditional but just as interesting situation:
> "The Guns of Will Sonnett," wherein Will and Jeff finally
> catch up with James, and the three wind up becoming lawmen
> in one of the towns they'd both passed through earlier in
> the series' run. This leaves an interesting question
> regarding the afterstory: considering James' outlaw
> reputation, legitimate or not, would there be vengeance
> seekers now coming to that town to "settle the score" with
> the three of them?...


I watched that series occasionally when it first aired, and, more recently, on a Dallas TV station that showed it overnights on weekends awhile back.

But never saw the last episode. Did not know it ended that way until now.

James, played by Jason Evers, appeared in just a few episodes.

Evers died at the age of 83 in March.
 
Funny, the CBS station in Tampa aired "Sonnett" on weekend overnights as well. Some suits Mom or Dad must have liked it, so on it went......

As for the original thread, the "Newhart" finale, hands down, best and funniest of all time.

No matter how long a show will air, or how popular it is, that gag will never be able to be pulled off again. Pure comic genius.
 
> > > Here's one I had forgotten about until last night:
> > >
> > > The final episode of the Phil Silvers Show had Col. Hall
>
> > > finally getting the best of Sgt. Bilko by using a video
> > > monitor system to track his activities around the base.
>
> > > Bilko used a Hall lookalike to order the cameras
> removed;
> > > when Hall found out about it, he put the cameras back
> in,
> > > and the last shot was of Hall's monitor showing Bilko
> > behind
> > > bars in the stockade. Bilko's last words were "That's
> > all,
> > > folks!"
> > >
> > Battlestar Galactica-"The Hand Of God"(The Galactica goes
> > head to head with a cylon basestar and sucessfully
> destroys
> > it. The closing scene features a closeup shot of a video
> > transmission of the Apollo moon landing on a monitor on
> > board the Galactica.)
> >
> All of these are great (my personal favorite is the Newhart
> finale), but here's one from the 1982 Maverick revival
> titled
> Bret Maverick. Bret (James Garner) has somehow managed to
> corral the franchise for the local telephone service. While
>
> he's collecting payments on the phone bills, Luis Delgado,
> who plays his friend and sidekick, comes running in.
> "Jimbo! Jimbo!" he shouts. "My name's Bret, Bret Maverick,"
>
> Garner replies, staying in character. "Not anymore, Jimbo,"
>
> says Delgado, "we've been canceled."
>
> In Jeff Kisseloff's "The Box," Roy Huggins, who wrote so
> many
> Maverick scripts, said he was having trouble coming up with
> a
> script one day when NBC called to tell him Bret Maverick had
>
> been canceled. He let go, with nothing to lose, and had a
> great time writing that final episode. Thing about it is,
> with the lesser ratings expectations today, Bret Maverick
> might have hung in there a few years instead of being
> canceled
> after one season.
>

I never saw it, but I think I remember seeing that Betty White's short lived sitcom in the 70's ended with the fictional series she was in on the show being cancelled.
 
Another time I have to ask ...

ccmfan, please read the moderator sticky about replies on this board, especially about editing quoted material.

Thanks.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
All of the ones mentioned earlier are very good, although some I haven't seen.

However, I'd like to nominate the final episode of "Moonlighting." Two bits of business was memorable: Miss DiPesto and her boyfriend avoiding Dave and Maddy looking for a spinoff series of their own, and then Dave says: "What do we do now?," Maddy sighs, and Dave says, "That's it, we'll go see Cy."

Just my two cents.<P ID="signature">______________
Mike
MOR Memories - Class from the Past
http://www.mormemories.com
































</P>
 
> Another time I have to ask ...
>
> ccmfan, please read the moderator sticky about replies on
> this board, especially about editing quoted material.
>
> Thanks.
>

Ok, I'll try to do better on that. Sometimes I add to a post and don't think about it.
 
> All of the ones mentioned earlier are very good, although
> some I haven't seen.
>
> However, I'd like to nominate the final episode of
> "Moonlighting." Two bits of business was memorable: Miss
> DiPesto and her boyfriend avoiding Dave and Maddy looking
> for a spinoff series of their own, and then Dave says: "What
> do we do now?," Maddy sighs, and Dave says, "That's it,
> we'll go see Cy."
>
> Just my two cents.
>
One of the best lines from the "Moonlighting" finale was an exchange between Bruce Willis(David Addison) & Herbert Viola(Curtis Armstrong) when the guy who was competing with Viola for Miss DiPesto's affections suddenly dropped dead. Viola thought he'd accidentally killed him. Addison said, "He's not dead, Bert. He just ran out of lines." Classic TV writing. That's another show TV Land needs to pick up.<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
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