Which Series Had The Best Ending?

Of the above options, I voted for Star Trek the Next Generation, it's one season finale that I never get tired of watching. My favorite season finale of all time is Six Feet Under.

None of the above? Well, Buffy, but the actual ending, “The Gift”, the final episode from season five before UPN or whomever backed a dumptruck full of money up to Whedon's house.

Both 24 and Lost were wholly predictable, though I'd take 24 by a wide margin. Lost was horribly manipulative and, as with the rest of the series, dangled carrots while explaining little (which is better than nothing; at least we more or less learn the casts “fate”, but as to the mechanics of the island, it's all pixie dust and moonbeams. Feh.) BSG was embarrassing with their deus ex machina ending. MASH, well, I'm well known as a Henry & Trapper fan, so that show really ended with Henry getting killed.

None of the above, He-Man – original series.

Few things have ever brought tears to my eyes. My Granma dying. The first time my heart was ever broken. 9/11.

Lost did just that. It wasn't a lot of tears. A couple of streams here and there. Watching Jin and Sun remember their lives and deaths on the island. Seeing Claire/Charlie and Sawyer/Juliette reunited. Watching Christian break the news to Jack that he was dead. And most of all, the passing of the torch from Jack to Hurley, combined with the last scene of Jack finally dying.

Lost was the kind of show that comes around once in a generation. The kind of show that doesn't just throw itself at you, forcing you to accept it. Instead, it grabbed you by the hand, and brought you along for the journey it wanted to take.

What a journey it was.

Mine was ST:TNG as well. Excellent finale!

yes, the last 5 minutes completely destroyed the BSG finale. as if the times square sequence wasn't bad enough, youtube videos? really? you're going to end one of the most talked about series with cheap ass youtube videos?

of the shows on that list, LOST was my fave

I agree completely, TS. The last few minutes of the Lost finale was some of the most beautiful television I've seen in my 40 years. And I'm not ashamed to admit I cried at the end.

There are too many to list as I loved how the Shield, BSG (minus the Starbuck vanishing), Angel and numerous others ended. I did NOT like how Lost ended though (resolution of none of the mysteries and wasted time on an alternate timeline that was meaningless) and now wish I had stopped watching after the 2nd season. Oh well.

Yeah, Angel had one of the best endings I've ever seen. Real resolution that was uncompromising and intelligent (unlike the recent Lost 'emotional' copout) and moving.

Anything but Lost! Worst copout blatant pandering emotional yet empty ending ever. No real resolution and I'm not a 'hater' as I WAS a fan who wanted just a few answers. And the alternate timeline being nothing relevant just smacks of lazy writing.

Angel, The Shield, Quantum Leap, Sopranos, and Battlestar Galactica (and I did gripe about the Starbuck vanishing and the weird religious stuff, but still great ending with the final battle!) all infinitely better!

One of my favorite shows ever and I was really young when it first came out… can't imagine how awesome it was for people who lived during that time (Kevin is like the same exact age as my Dad so my dad always loved the show). The ending at the parade was really an awesome end to everything and wrapped up the stories of the characters perfectly. It really captured the essence of what the show was about.

To answer your question about the dvd release… it hasn't happened because all of the music in it would be too hard to get rights for again. If they had to take out a lot of the music it would take away from what made the show so great, so if something doesn't get worked out I don't think they will ever release it

I would also add “Cheers” to this finale list…

How was the alternate timeline “nothing relevant”? Unless “relevant” to you means something that relates only the island itself. For the characters and their journey(s), it was incredibly relevant, and important.

I guess it comes down to what you're looking for as a view. I cared more about the characters than I did solving every last tiny island mystery. The major island arc was dealt with and the characters were given an emotionally-satisfying send-off, so I was completely satisfied.

Monk.

Babylon 5 should have been on the list; that would have been my choice. I also agree that the original Prisoner should have been on the list. Sapphire and Steel had a better ending than 90% of what was listed. Heck, if you don't count the Peacekeeper Wars and stick to the series proper (as the DVD sets want to), Farscape would have been a good one to have had on the list. For that matter, if you don't want to limit it to live action, then Cowboy Bebop should certainly be on the list as a serious contender.

Twin Peaks, definitively, never heard anything but praise for the mind blowing, character altering, fully satisfying and deeply disturbing last episode. Those in the know know. Recommend the series for everyone, just make sure to watch the original version of the pilot first. Damn good coffee!

Battlestar was the best ending IMO. It stuck with the overall theme of, “This has all happened before, and it will happen again.” Each character got to say their goodbye in a unique way. Even Boomer, who I had hated most of the series, gained redemption by the end.

Lost was a close second for much of the same reasons. Each character had a good farewell to the show, gaining redemption by the end. And I liked the idea of an afterlife before an afterlife.

In no particular order my favorite finales would be:
Seinfeld, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The X-Files, Friends, Dollhouse.
Serenity was a great ending for Firefly, although it really came a few years after the series ended.

If we're going the Firefly/Serenity route, the Homicide TV movie was a great ending to the series.

Without a doubt 24.

It was a fantastic finale to the show, it maintained it's identity throughout, and even though this last season started out feeling a little slow or rehashed it ended up being fantastic, a really interesting story that showed us that what the character has been through has taken a huge toll on him.
It was fantastic and it made me realize how much I'm gonna miss the show.

By the same token, the lost finale was a complete disappointment for me, it felt cheap and it felt like throughout the series the writers used the 'mysteries' simply as a way to keep people watching without really having anywhere to go with them, the whole last season was, in my opinion a disaster, and it's a shame, because lost was such a fantastic show at one point, it was a 'smart' show that kept people guessing, made people do research, watch the episodes and analyze them, had the viewer looking for clues, and in this last season all of that seemed to go away: People claim that it was 'about the characters', but really, to me even that seemed to go away, character development felt like it came to a crawl. Too many unresolved plots, unused good characters, and pointless episodes and story arcs about characters people didn't care about.
Did we really need ANOTHER episode about Kate running from the law in this last season?

But anyway, 24's finale fantastic. Lost, not so much.

Prison Break

Personally I haven't got round to seeing the Lost final two series yet so I can't comment on them, as a teenager though my favorite TV show ending was Angel (that I have voted for) as I've always been able to remember Angel's last couple of lines as he swings his sword: “Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon….. Let's go to work.” Also it was the first TV show (other than Buffy) that I can remember actually feeling sad at the loss of a character Wesley's death was very emotional and as for the badly wounded Gunn it just made me feel sorry for the character, the fact that the team was crossed by Harmony was also a kick in the teeth, Lorne having to come to terms with getting his hands finally dirty. Aaah just love(d) that show.