Spoilers TV Shows with Great Endings

[Milieu]

The last episode of the older American sitcom Newhart may have a lock on this (1), and the gimmick probably can't be repeated with such effect. I won't spoil it, but it manages to turn the entire eight season run on its head, and in a way that provides immense fan service. *chef's kiss

(1) Or not, but it has the key to my heart.

They filmed an alternate ending to Breaking Bad that was an homage to Newhart's

 

[Autumnal]

Babylon 5.

Lots of fans have no recollection or knowledge of just how good the second half of season 5 is. And the finale ties all of it together.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Lots of fans have no recollection or knowledge of just how good the second half of season 5 is. And the finale ties all of it together.

I have to admit - I never saw season 5 due to work schedule/broadcast schedule conflict.

 

[Autumnal]

Worth doing sometime. Tubi has it for free, I think.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I have Tubi. And some spare evenings coming up.

 

[Deset Gled]

I think most of the important ones I would name have already been mentioned: Newhart, Supernatural, Dinosaurs, ST:TNG.

It's not really the "greatest" in my mind, but I think we need to mention the ending of St. Elsewhere. As the start of the Tommy Westphall Universe, it has a unique spot in TV history. Also, the ending of David the Gnome was certainly unique, but I'm really not sure how I feel about it. Maybe Hannibal? I think that's in the top 5 finales in the current millenium (so far).

I'll also throw out a couple of episodes that would have been the "greatest finales" of all time, except the series kept going:

• True Detective, Season 1 finale. Just beautiful. The next season was... lacking.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 5 finale. Look, season 6 is one of my favorites. I like season 7. I even think the real finale is good. But if you wanted to make a full, clean, story arc, with a great clean ending, the show would have stopped there.
• Robotech, Macross Saga. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I remember this ending as being amazingly satisfying. The conclusion of the love triangle between Rick, Lisa, and Minmei is probably the only "romantic" series finale that I have ever really enjoyed. Whether or not the next episode was a new season or a new show is debatable.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Cowboy Bebop.

Bang.

 

[Li Shenron]

The Good Place. An amazing show all the way through. But the final episode is a perfect denouement, just so wonderfully moving. Among other things it asks the important question “how many Jeremy Bearimies is enough Jeremy Bearimies?” It takes an already great show to the next level. I admit I misted up.

I really liked that show, even each time it significantly shifted its narrative gist through the seasons, but I can't say that the ending worked for me. It just felt too naive, and didn't exactly seem to match with the 'fantasy environment' up to that point.

Travelers, i was happy with the way it ended. I also would have been happy with another season.

This one I really liked from the very beginning to the very end, which provided a perfect closure to my tastes.

 

[R_J_K75]

Newhart and/or M*A*S*H*

 

[MGibster]

I will introduce a dark horse into the competition in the form of Forever Knight. FK was a show about a 500+ year old French vampire in Canada who becomes a police officer in an effort to make up for all the bad he's done over the centuries. The third season was pretty weak and it was to be their last, but they made the most of it and ended on a bang.

Our hero Nick Night (Forever Knight, get it?) had figured out it was possible for a vampire to regain his mortality by draining a mortal in a very specific way that would leave both of them alive. The problem is that this is very, very dangerous and extremely unlikely to work. This is a callback to season two where we met a former vampire friend of Nick's who is now mortal because of this process. Nick's gal pal and love interest Natalie volunteers and things go as well as you expect. Nick accidentally kills Natalie in the process and he's still a vampire.

So Nick turns to his sire, and occasional antagonist throughout the series, LaCroix, asking him to stake him through the heart and put himself out of his misery.

LaCroix (prepares to stake Nick): I suppose I'm the bad guy in your tale?

Nick: You were my best friend.

LaCroix: Damn you, Nicholas. (Stabs Nick)

I think it took a lot of guts to end the series with such finality.