Worst series finales?
11-12-21 | 03:17 PM
#52
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Worst series finales?
I think sitcoms in general have terrible endings but I think it's more about the nature of the medium. By their nature sitcoms are generally following a group of ordinary people. It's not like it's a complex story with an overarching plot that needs to be wrapped up. So they tend to be low key. I just think people expect some kind of huge ending where sitcoms just don't lend themselves to that kind of finale.
Cheers had a great ending because, for the most part, no one left. You knew Norm, Cliff, etc. were still going to the bar tomorrow with Sam, Woody, and Carla. They even make a point to explain that Sam would never leave.
No big revolutions, no wrapping intricate plots up, just the characters we know and love doing the same things we’ve always seen them do.
11-12-21 | 03:35 PM
#53
Re: Worst series finales?
HIMYM has sort of the opposite problem in that they were working toward a pre-planned ending, but over the course of the ten seasons it ran, it became apparent that that ending wouldn't work. It probably sounded good on paper when they started writing the pilot, but the show took on a life of its own and that ending just wasn't going to fly and felt like a big FUCK YOU to everyone watching it.
11-12-21 | 04:12 PM
#54
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Re: Worst series finales?
I’ve always preferred sitcoms to end on a low-key note. They tend to end with everyone moving away or taking jobs in Paris or something. I like when no big changes happen with the characters and I can imagine that, even thought the series is no longer on tv, the characters are still hanging around the same apartment, work space, etc. that they always have.
Cheers had a great ending because, for the most part, no one left. You knew Norm, Cliff, etc. were still going to the bar tomorrow with Sam, Woody, and Carla. They even make a point to explain that Sam would never leave.
No big revolutions, no wrapping intricate plots up, just the characters we know and love doing the same things we’ve always seen them do.
Cheers had a great ending because, for the most part, no one left. You knew Norm, Cliff, etc. were still going to the bar tomorrow with Sam, Woody, and Carla. They even make a point to explain that Sam would never leave.
No big revolutions, no wrapping intricate plots up, just the characters we know and love doing the same things we’ve always seen them do.
11-12-21 | 04:38 PM
#55
Re: Worst series finales?
It had them get home to the Alpha Quadrant/ Earth. That was the driving force of the whole show. They didn't show any reunions with family and friends that were left behind and how they got reintegrated, but the alternate timeline at the beginning of the episode covered that in a round about way.
* 7 of 9 didn't die. So how did she reassimilate into human life?
* Chakoty wasn't driven to an early grave
* Tuvok did not go mad.
And safe to assume Janeway, Paris, Torres and the Doctor all had different outcomes.
I really should add the ending to Enterprise. More Berman/Bragga fail.And no one hated it more than Jolene.
11-12-21 | 05:48 PM
#56
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Worst series finales?
There's one I've been on the fence about for the longest time: Quantum Leap ("Mirror Image").
When I first saw it decades ago I thought it was a massive middle finger to the fans.
But...
as I've grown up some, I see it as a beautiful story about someone making a noble sacrifice for a friend and surrendering to a higher calling for their remaining days.
When I first saw it decades ago I thought it was a massive middle finger to the fans.
But...
as I've grown up some, I see it as a beautiful story about someone making a noble sacrifice for a friend and surrendering to a higher calling for their remaining days.
11-12-21 | 06:09 PM
#57
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Worst series finales?
When Cristin Milioti was cast, it was huge entertainment news.
Me, I just wanted them to ignore the whole concept, keep running it as a Friends-ish sitcom like you mention, then in the final episode Ted bumps into someone we've never seen before, and then Bob Saget says "And that, kids, is how I met your mother." End of series.
11-12-21 | 06:27 PM
#58
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Worst series finales?
