Final Episodes

[Paul Clement]

There is often something very special about the final episode of a series. A pulling together of all the strands of drama that had built up to that point, a glimpse into the future perhaps. Whatever happens, it's usually makes for very good viewing.

So, the question is, which final episodes are special to you? Which ones did you feel delivered beyond expectations, or just left you feeling that you time watching a show had been well worth it?

There are a few special ones for me. The final episode of Blake's 7, with the eventual return of Blake and the great closing scene. Star Trek offered up a couple of good examples in STNG with 'All Good Things' bringing together their present with the crew's past and futures. Yes, some of it has been diluted somewhat because of the subsequent movies, but at the time it was an excellent end to the series. DS9 managed to even better it with 'What You Leave Behind', which felt like a true parting of the ways with a number of characters leaving for new lives. The fate of Sisko, and the suggestion that things hadn't really finished, just paused for a respite, was excellently done.
Sapphire & Steel's final assignment left the main characters trapped forever, and unlike many series, didn't follow the format of giving answers, leaving the viewers just as unaware of who was really assigning them as they were at the start.
However, for me, perhaps the best final episode was the one that ended the time travelling series Quantum Leap. It had on more than one occasion been speculated upon by the main characters in the series, who was responsible for the fact that Sam kept leaping from life to life. The introduction of the 'evil leaper' had increased the speculation. When the final episode, 'Mirror Image' began, it actually made the viewer ask even more questions initially. Why was Sam's reflection his own, when he usually saw the reflection of the person he had replaced? The fact that the story had characters who were physically identical to people Sam had met before, who had similar traits but had led a completely different life raised questions. There's even a link with the very first episode in there. The final resolution as Sam realises that it is he himself who is responsible for his leaping, and that he can go home any time he chooses only heightens the emotional impact when he realises he has to correct a wrong he previously chose not to set right. The fact that Sam never returns home, presumably carrying on righting histories wrongs for the remainder of his life is quite a poignant moment or self sacrifice.

So, as I said earlier, what are you're favourite final episodes and why?

[Paul Clement]

From the opposite point of view, the ill-fated, and probably ill-advised, Dynasty spin-off The Colby's had probably the most bizarre and improbable ending with Fallon being abducted by a UFO. I can't think of a worse final episode, but then again it was in keeping with the poorness of the series as a whole.

[Dino]

Lexx's final episode increased the body count of Blake's 7 by having the Earth destroyed, and had a "reset" by any other name by Kai becoming human, only to die fighting the Insect thingy.
I think "Ashes To Ashes" had the better ending compared to "Life On Mars". Despite LoM being a better series to ATA.

And er... that's all I can remember. Did they ever get home in "Lost"? I pretty much had lost interest by then.

[Jeff]

I think I had stopped watching Quantum Leap by or during the final season... I remember thinking it had gotten too convoluted with the other leaper and didn't like the classic formula being messed with. I don't remember if I watched the finale, but I was disappointed that after all that time Sam didn't get to go home.

To me, most tv show finale's are usually nothing great. It seems few shows end with real planning.. most they plan to keep renewing as long as they get ratings. If they don't get ratings they are likely to axed mid-season and either way an unsatisfying conclusion usually gets tacked on.

The classic DW series is a prime example with Survival. A regular story with a speech tacked on at the end....

And for how long did we think Red Dwarf was going to end on a cliffhanger?

[Alex]

And er... that's all I can remember. Did they ever get home in "Lost"? I pretty much had lost interest by then.

Lost has one of the worst final episodes ever (imho) and ruined the whole series for me. But some got home, some didn't, but it doesn't matter anyway as they all meet up in the afterlife. Apart from those that didn't. Quite.

Twin Peaks has the best final episode for me, aged 16 I had no idea that television could be so incredibly dark, twisted, and end on such a bleak note. Yes, Blake's 7 was a shocking ending, but for our beloved lead character to be basically stuck in hell, whilst his body was possessed by a mass murderer was horrific to me. Yet I still love it to this day for being so brave and inventive a final episode.

Cheers has a lovely, heart-warming ending, and I'm very fond of Seinfeld's, because it's quite the opposite...

[Jeff]

That reminds me, I watched the first couple of seasons of The Sopranos, but though I never got around to the later ones, I read about the finale with interest... There was certainly a lot of complaints about that uncertain, open-for-interpretation ending.

[Alex]

Yeah, it was certainly a controversial decision, and originally I was pretty p***ed off about it. But after having read various articles and interviews I suppose it is a case of either being a) Tony's very last seconds or b) Just another day of living in fear of a no doubt inevitable death at some point. For some reason I prefer the former idea, I don't mind if some series don't wrap everything up, but The Soprano's always felt like it was telling a specific story, which would have some kind of conclusion.

[Jason Thompson]

The final episode of Frasier is great. The series dipped a bit in the middle, but the final season is right back on form, and it becomes clear that the family unit has gone from being barely on speaking terms at the start to being a really close family. The performances when they all say goodbye to Frasier when he announces his departure to a new life are beautiful, especially Frasier's dad's understated 'thank you'. And after a whole episode of that, the final line delivers a heart-warming twist. It's a fitting ending for the series.

In an entirely different genre, The World At War is 25 episodes of incredible documentary of the Second World War, followed by one episode entitled 'Remember' (which was an hour long including commercials) devoted to the personal cost of the war. It's a superb ending for a series which could have simply been six months of the details. In the final hour it firmly yet to a degree sensitively implores us not to view the war as an abstract historical event but a true human tragedy, and it makes for very powerful viewing, with Laurence Olivier's smooth narration adding so much to the words.