d2cheer

There is zero reason to watch Lost again knowing that abortion of an ending.

DRG

The problem with this, though, is that it's a bit like a lobster being boiled alive. It stays just interesting enough to give you hope it'll turn around, and by the time you realize how bad it's truly gotten it's too late.

Michael Corvin

I watched the entire run a couple summers ago with my kids. It was as great as it ever was (and I railed on season 6 the entire way when it aired and it's still bad). You just have to look at it as "it's all about the journey and not the destination." The cast chemistry, stories, acting and production was and still is top notch.

printerati

Season 9 and the original finale. I haven't seen 10 or 11 yet (and I'm not sure I ever will), but the second film was a complete waste of time.

stvn1974

I originally was let down by the season 9 finale of The X-Files but never enough for it to ruin the series for me. The second movie to me is a great X-Files meets The Silence Of The Lambs mash up. I seem to be one of the few people who loved seasons ten and eleven. For me both seasons made me actually like seasons eight and nine a lot more since they were no longer the end of the series. Other than Skinner left lying under the tire of a car I am happy with how the series "finally" wrapped up.

PhantomStranger

I'll agree on the X-Files. Still one of my favorite shows, even if Carter and company gave us unsatisfying conclusions to many of the show's long-running arcs after season 7. But that show became more about the chemistry between Fox and Scully than purely solving alien conspiracies.

Jason

I was thinking how great it will be to watch the show again a few years later and pick up on a bunch of subtle clues sprinkled throughout the show, only to find out that nothing meant anything at all. That said, if you only watch the first five seasons, the screen going white at the end of the season 5 finale is a great ending for the whole thing. Oh, and skip the episode about Jack's tattoo while you're at it.

PatD

What about the finale to Quantum Leap? The show teased us for five seasons and stoked our hope that Sam would make it home...and then that final card at the end. The final episode itself was poetic and beautiful, but it added a sense of melancholy to an otherwise uplifting series.

Jay G.

Whether you think it was a good or bad finale, I don't think you could seriously argue it ruined the rest of the show.

jpcamb

I gave up on Dexter well before the final season and only found out the ending by reading a spoiler here a month or so back. I don't generally think a bad series finale can destroy a show.*

I would love to see a fan edit of Battlestar where they pull out the flashback crap with Roslyn and her fling, as well as the Adam /Saul flashback stuff aside from that I loved the series but a lot of the stuff at the end felt like filler to me although i greatly enjoyed the series and most of the finale.

* the exception to this is Lost, I re-watched the series with my kids a couple of years ago and it was as good as I remember aside for a few crap filler episodes I remember being bad at the time. I am still nearly irate at the ending of the show especially when I recall vividly reading or seeing an interview where they specifically say they are not all dead and there is a valid explanation for everything that happens on the show.

Noonan

That answer came after only the Pilot or couple first episodes aired; back when we were wondering where a Polar Bear came from. lol

greensmoke

I wouldn't say it "ruined" the entire series, but 'The Sopranos' finale really pissed me off.

Shoulda been fined for that.

mikehunt

HIMYM is definitely my example of a bad ending ruining, or at least partially ruining a series

tanman

This is it exactly. It depends on the show. If it is one long story arch set up with lots of mysteries **cough** LOST **cough** then the ending absolutely matters. It's like the bad ending of a movie. If it ended poorly you're going to think the whole movie is terrible.