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Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

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View Poll Results: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?
Yes
36.76%
No
30.88%
Depends (please specify...)
29.41%
What are you high?
2.94%
Voters: 68. You may not vote on this poll

Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Old 06-26-19, 08:39 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

I voted no.

Originally Posted by Noonan
Lost came to mind first but the show was already garbage by the series finale. It went from garbage to pure dumpster fire.
Exactly.

Old 06-26-19, 08:44 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

No, it doesn't. But it can taint your overall impression of the show. HIMYM, Lost, Dexter, Twin Peaks: The Return, House Of Cards, etc.. all had finales that botched the landing, severely. That doesn't eliminate the great work that came before them but does hurt the general perception that the show was great.
Old 06-26-19, 09:04 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
I don't know if a final episode can ruin a series, but a bad final season sure can: I have no desire to re-watch either True Blood or Game of Thrones because both those final seasons were an insult to loyal fans.
That last season of "Roseanne" (before the reboot) was hands down the worst season of any sitcom. Thankfully it didn't ruin the previous seasons for me.
Old 06-26-19, 09:06 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Daytripper
That last season of "Roseanne" (before the reboot) was hands down the worst season of any sitcom. Thankfully it didn't ruin the previous seasons for me.
This. All day.
Old 06-26-19, 09:13 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

The crappy Seinfeld and GoT finales lowered my opinions of the shows. They were both so indulgent, Seinfeld was just ex guests saying catch phrases and made all those old episodes seem one note and with GoT saying who had the best story emphasized the most meandering arcs of the series and takes the emphasis off where it reached the greatest heights which is Jon Snow in battle. The crappy Cheers and Lost finales didn't hurt my appreciation of the shows. For Cheers the last season was so good I didn't mind they didn't stick the landing, and for Lost it wasn't great but that show was always going to have trouble with the finale, trying to answer all this crap.
Old 06-26-19, 11:12 AM
  #31  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Most of the time, yes. Lost, I'm looking at you.

X-Files I am still able to enjoy the seasons that led up to the first movie.
Old 06-26-19, 12:29 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Yes. No matter how much you enjoy the previous episodes, if the finale shits the bed, then it's hard to find enjoyment for the series as a whole for me. The Dexter finale might have been one of the worst season finales ever and it ruined my perception of the show. The X-Files was the same way in that it felt like it was building up to some major even and then,,,nothing. And it happened that way multiple times. I will say also that even if it's fitting, a bummer of a series finale can also cause the show to be hard to rewatch. I recently rewatched 24: Live another day, and even thought he finale was fitting for the show, and I would say it is one of the best seasons of the series, it's so damn depressing that it was hard to rewatch since no one gets a happy ending.

I'm really curious to see how Supernatural and Arrow end this year and hope they stick the landing.
Old 06-26-19, 01:13 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Haven't read the other responses yet, so I suspect I'm saying the same thing as others ...

I voted for "Depends". For series that have more stand-alone episodes, or even those that have season-long story arcs, the fact that it got bad at the end doesn't affect the good earlier stuff. But there are exceptions ... when a show has an ongoing major story arc that spans the entire series (like Lost), hitting the landing is crucial. And sometimes a show just fundamentally corrupts the natures of its characters at the end that it's impossible to get that out of my head when reconsidering the older episodes (like Dexter and Roseanne).
Old 06-26-19, 01:14 PM
  #34  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

No. Bad finale might be a disappointment but it won't ruin the entire series.
Old 06-26-19, 03:15 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

HIMYM is one of my favorite shows of all time. The whole last season sucked and is the only season I have never rewatched, but it didn't ruin the series for me.

It's been so long but I also faintly remember Buffy or Angel having a weak finale, but the rest of the series was still good.
Old 06-26-19, 03:59 PM
  #36  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by ~~ PAL ~~
While many have cited Dexter as the prime example and I agree with those points. For me, it was Lost, which just left me with such a bad taste that I have no desire to ever re-visit it again.

Granted, it was not just the very last episode that has fallen off a cliff. Rather, it was more or less the final season collectively and how they chose to close out the show. It was quite plain that the people in charge did not have have an end goal planned out. So when it comes time for the "Final Season" and they start to look back, and realized that everything they have created up to this point has been such a convoluted mess that they didn't even know how to walk everything back into a logical conclusion. Thus, we were left with an unsatisfying ending with many things simply left unresolved or addressed.
Lost was the first show that came to mind. The last seasons plot with the flash sideways where they were all dead had absolutely nothing to do with the show or the mysteries surrounding it and only confused the audience into thinking they were dead the whole time which they weren't.
Old 06-26-19, 05:33 PM
  #37  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

I have to mentally compartmentalize poor endings from the rest of the series I enjoyed. I will never rewatch the final season of Lost despite its first five seasons being my favorite serialized show of all time. It's nothing more than glorified fan fiction in my mind that I can safely disregard.

The same also happened with Game of Thrones. I'm not sure yet if I'll include the final seasons in my own GOT canon.
Old 06-26-19, 07:25 PM
  #38  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Mike86
The series finale (really the entire last season) of Dexter completely ruined the show for me. I don’t care to ever watch it again and it dropped from being a show I liked a lot to total shit.
I agree. It was beyond terrible, and I HATED what they did with the sister arc the last 2 seasons.

Game of Thrones finale (and final season) was so bad I will not only never revisit it, I have lost all interest in continuing the books assuming one every comes out.

I know people love it, but I have never actually seen the first half dozen Sopranos episodes but the finale was so bad I never went back to catch up.

All that said it is so hard to get a finale right that they are almost guaranteed to disappoint. I am accepting of anything except completely brain dead finales such as Dexter and GOT.
Old 06-26-19, 09:26 PM
  #39  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Why So Blu?
Sort of but not really, if that makes sense. I saw that GOT was mentioned. It had about 85% killer material until the series finale. I'm reminded of Californication. It had great seasons until they introduced Hank's Jewish son. Wow, that totally tanked the show, but I would still watch it all expect that last season that jumped shark.
I considered Californication because that might possibly be the worst final season of a show ever. It was like the creators left the writers room to fans. It felt like fan fiction. However, it really didn't taint what came before because it wasn't like it was a genius show to begin with. Also, not something I'd ever rewatch.
Old 06-26-19, 09:27 PM
  #40  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by mattysemo247
HIMYM is one of my favorite shows of all time. The whole last season sucked and is the only season I have never rewatched, but it didn't ruin the series for me.

It's been so long but I also faintly remember Buffy or Angel having a weak finale, but the rest of the series was still good.
Angel had a better finale than Buffy but both were fine...not even remotely close to shit the bed finales.

It sounds like I missed nothing passing on viewing the final 3 GOT episodes and am just content to remember some of the fantastic episodes from earlier seasons. The whole final season of Game Of Thrones strikes me as a pretty big missed opportunity, but I am not a hardcore fan so I shrug my shoulders and say such is life.

I am actually more annoyed at season finales that turned into series enders with no cliffhanger wrap up...The Glades I am looking at you. Fun show but sour memories due to the unexpected end of the show.

Last edited by Inhumans99; 06-26-19 at 11:09 PM.
Old 06-26-19, 10:11 PM
  #41  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

I'll never forget the mental midgets who lost their shit over the St. Elsewhere finale in 1988. "But... but that means none of these stories, none of these episodes, none of these characters... none of them ever HAPPENED!"

No shit, asswipe. None of them ever happened. They were a TV show. They were stories in a bunch of writers' heads. That was the fucking point. Get out of here!
Old 06-26-19, 10:58 PM
  #42  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

I don't get it.

If you like a series, like most of the episodes, why would you NOT watch it again in the future just because the last episode or even the last season wasn't good?

That would be like not watching Star Wars, Empire, or Jedi ever again just because you hated the prequels.


And my memory of the last season of Castle was that it was a weak season with a handful of really good episodes and a bad final episode. It turns out it was a strong season with about 3 or 4 weak episodes and a plot thread that got old really fast (but one that still wrapped up after about 6 episodes). If I hadn't given Season 8 of Castle a second chance I would have missed out on a lot of episodes that I really, really liked. I'm really glad I bought the DVD set and gave that season another chance.
Old 06-27-19, 09:16 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

For a Comedy series no as you can usually watch one and not need the rest of the series. I hated the series finale of Seinfeld.

For a show like LOST yes. Fuck you Lost. Fuck You!!!!!
Old 06-27-19, 09:17 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by d2cheer
Fuck you Lost. Fuck You!!!!!
Can't be said enough times
Old 06-27-19, 09:31 AM
  #45  
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by OldBoy
Wow. That’s powerful. I heard it was bad and always wanted to binge this and watched most of S1, but abandoned for no reason particular, that I remember.
Dexter is still worth watching, just stop after Season 4.

Originally Posted by Noonan
Lost came to mind first but the show was already garbage by the series finale. It went from garbage to pure dumpster fire.
The tough thing about Lost is that it bounced back with an amazing fifth season, and then threw it all away for the last one.
Old 06-27-19, 09:34 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Groucho
The tough thing about Lost is that it bounced back with an amazing fifth season, and then threw it all away for the last one.
I don't recall what happened in each season but I was in the opinion of the show being garbage from the day the episode aired where Locke blew up the submarine. Everything beyond that was a mess, IMO.
Old 06-27-19, 02:26 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Groucho
Dexter is still worth watching, just stop after Season 4.
WIth Dexter, I'd say to watch at least through season four, but you can keep watching as long as you're interested in it. When you start to lose interest, you can safely stop with the knowledge that it will not get better.

Old 06-27-19, 03:06 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man
WIth Dexter, I'd say to watch at least through season four, but you can keep watching as long as you're interested in it. When you start to lose interest, you can safely stop with the knowledge that it will not get better.
The end of season four really is the cut off point if a person is that curious in my opinion. Everything from that point forward is a downward spiral. At the time I was originally watching I enjoyed season five and beyond even though I knew the show wasn’t as good. Seasons five and six really went off the rails. Season seven while still not as good was an improvement in some aspects. Problem is that it was followed up by undoubtedly the show’s worst season. Unless you’re preparing for disappointment I really think it’s best to avoid the show. The only way to redeem it would be if they did a comeback season and acted like the final four seasons never happened and picked up from the season four finale.
Old 06-27-19, 04:36 PM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by B5Erik
If you like a series, like most of the episodes, why would you NOT watch it again in the future just because the last episode or even the last season wasn't good?
In general, I agree with you. Seinfeld's finale stunk but that doesn't stop me from enjoying an episode every once in awhile. But for me, the finale of Lost ruined the entire series because the entire foundation of the show was this ever-growing mystery / mythology. The finale solidified what many feared: that the writers were pretty much winging it as they went along. It was a fun ride with some great characters, but I'll never sit through it again knowing that it all builds up to one giant whiff.

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man
WIth Dexter, I'd say to watch at least through season four, but you can keep watching as long as you're interested in it. When you start to lose interest, you can safely stop with the knowledge that it will not get better.
I came in here to say basically the same thing, except I think the end of season 5 is the better stopping point. While season 5 isn't nearly as strong as season 4, it's still enjoyable, and its final episode works better as a series finale than the final episode of season 4 does, which was more of a cliffhanger. If/when I ever do revisit Dexter, that's where I'll stop, and pretend the following seasons never happened.

Old 06-28-19, 06:28 AM
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Re: Does a bad series finale ruin an otherwise great multi season show?

Originally Posted by starseed1981
No, it doesn't. But it can taint your overall impression of the show. HIMYM, Lost, Dexter, Twin Peaks: The Return, House Of Cards, etc.. all had finales that botched the landing, severely. That doesn't eliminate the great work that came before them but does hurt the general perception that the show was great.



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