Top 10 Series Finales That Defined Television
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2024
- These finales left a lasting impression. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most impactful final episodes of TV shows that left their mark on the industry and audiences everywhere. Our countdown includes "The Sopranos," "Friends," "Lost," and more! Did any of these series finales leave YOU wanting more? Let us know which ones in the comments!
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Did any of these series finales leave YOU wanting more? Let us know below, and check out our video of the Top 20 Series Finales That Made Us Happy Cry - czcams.com/video/Hu4StdrhV3U/video.html
Yes, M*A*S*H sure did! I mean, they all went home and I was glad of that, but the part that I wanted more was seeing each character coming home and seeing and hugging their families, so at least one more scene. The way that it ended it also made you wonder if Hawkeye and BJ met up after the war, they were very close friends so I'd like to think that they did. Another part makes you wonder if Hawkeye and Margaret met up back in the states and maybe got together. The later seasons you could tell they had a thing for each other especially after the episode "Comrades In Arms" where they were trapped in an abandoned hut and they eventually slept together which is very much implied in scenes to follow. After that they decided that they'd just be good friends despite the fact they admitted to having feelings for each other and in the finale that long kiss saying "Goodbye" said it all. Again, in my mind I believe that a few years down the road they met again and got together.
Q
The only two I saw, and the only series I saw start to finish was STNG and Soprano's. I saw part of one episode of Seinfeld, dropped in, saw the fat bald guy hear a fire alarm, he goes racing out pushes an old lady down who was using a walker, laugh track goes off, I said F#@@ this, never checked it out again.
I really wanted Vera to show up in the Cheers finale; like right at the end
@mll7040 She was in one episode, where she gets a job in the restaurant above the bar, and was played by George Wendt's real wife. They even have a scene together even though we don't see her face. I don't remember the exact episode but it was after Rebecca came along.
MASH's finally was bone-crushing. The baby/chicken scenes were devastating. To this day, the memory is shattering.
A masterpiece of television that one
Finally watched "Farewell, Goodbye and Amen" the other day; my dad told me you DID NOT miss this episode (STILL the most watched TV finale in U.S. history) and now I know why. Damn.
It was such a gut punch. We had never seen anything like it. It was raw and horrific. I watched it live, and to this day it haunts me. It's not a chicken, it's her baby.
Yeah, it was a masterpiece!!! The best finale in my opinion! I cry every time even though I know what's going to happen and how the episode ends. It was a sad and happy ending. Sad for the ones that lost something like Mulcahy and his hearing, Winchester and his passion for music because of those POWs demise, but other than that it was a happy ending for the rest getting to finally go home.
I've seen that episode twice. I'm not able anymore as I got older.
Newhart was a perfect example of how to do the “It was all a dream,” schtick right. It was hilarious.
People forget that most of the audience would have known about the Dallas Bobby Ewing -it was all a dream fiasco. That makes the Newhart alla a dream ending even better
copied in part by St Elsewhere
@@goodwood-rc4nxYes and St Elsewhere had one of the worst series finales in television history
Watching scenes from the MASH finale feels like saying goodbye to my dad on his death bed yet again. We enjoyed that show together many nights on Channel 38 in Boston, way back when our TV had just 5 channels. Those were some of my favorite times with Dad. I can’t help but think of him when I see Hawkeye and BJ.
I remeber the ending mum and dad showed me in primary school
5 channels and you could still catch MASH 4 times on a Monday when it was still airing original episodes and was also in syndication.🤣
Mash was required watching in my home, no matter if it was appropriate for 7 or 8 year olds. The cast felt like family. I actually missed them.
I love M*A*S*H and that is something my dad and I do is watch it everyday on MeTV, my grandfather passed away before we could have watched M*A*S*H together, at the time when he was alive and not doing well he'd watch M*A*S*H wherever he could find it on TV and each time it was on I was sent to my room or sent to bed. I'd imagine he'd be proud of me for loving M*A*S*H.
I'm old enough to have watched M*A*S*H's finally. It took my breathe away. I literally gasped in heartbreaking shock. To this day, i am reduced to tears remembering it. It was so shocking. The horrors of war in our face in such a disturbing manner. We all needed the wake-up call then. We need the reminder today.
"I only asked her to keep her baby quiet!" ~Hawkeye
That still makes me cry. It truly showed how war can affect people in ways you wouldn’t ever think of.
I am still haunted! It was so powerful. I'm in tears writing this.
That scene makes me cry every time. While watching on DVD, I skip that part.
😢
He thought it was a chicken
He had a nervous break down
I’ve been rewatching M*A*S*H for the past couple weeks. The finale episode makes me cry so much. I love that show. It’s one of the best.
The finally was a huge example of the atrocities of war, and how every day civilians' lives are shattered. The chicken/baby scenes are devastating. Every war mongering chicken hawk should have to watch this heartbreaking episode.
I can't believe that the Friends finale will be 20 years old this year. I still get a lump in my throat when the six pals we've spent a decade with place their keys on the countertop, and leave the apartment for the last time. It's even sadder knowing that Matthew Perry is no longer with us. 😢💔
I remember Me and My Mom saw the Series Finale of Friends
Truth ❤
I see you everywhere
@@christopherwesterberg8555same, my mom and I cried together
The 90s just had better TV
MASH will be number one on these types of lists for the rest of time. That is how amazing and powerful that finale is.
You're so right about that!
I still remember the day that it was on TV and I had to rush home from a class to watch it.
Probably the only one on that list that is exactly an amazing final. Never liked the show but fair play that ending is superb..... Up there with Blackadder and Blakes 7 for 100% shock endings.
Fun Fact: In the Cheers finale, Sam adjusting the Geronimo portrait was a way of keeping Nicholas Colasanto (Coach) with them in spirit even though he passed away seasons before. The portrait used to hang in his dressing room and they put it on the set in his memory. The little touch there in the end was a memorial to both the actor and the character so Coach could be included too.😢
Don't forget about the Prisoner ending. A great unconventional weird show deserved a great unconventional weird ending and it delivered. Boy did it deliver.
I came to the comments to say exactly this, about the Cheers portrait. Glad to know someone beat me to it! :)
What prisoner show are you talking about?
@@haydennault2706 I've never seen it, but I'm guessing Prison Break.
@@mbrow No, The Prisoner the series from the 1960's starring Patrick McGoohan.. it's a very strange series.
@@julieporter7805 Ah, ok. Thanks for the clarification.
*Friends and M*A*S*H are such amazing shows. Both having endings that capped off the show the right way.*
Agreed and I wasn't a fan of Friends, I watched from time to time, but it ended the right way. I am a fan of M*A*S*H and it definitely ended the right way, it couldn't have been written and scripted any better, although I wish there was a little more comedy in it and that scene with the baby not in it, but still loved the finale. Even M*A*S*H's pilot episode started off the right way.
I honestly didn't expect The Good Place to get an honorable mention here because I was thinking the list would include mostly classic sitcoms and TGP is more modern. That being said, I'm so happy it's getting the love and recognition it deserves. The best sitcom finale in recent years!
Big bang theory was a great finale as well. Showed how far Sheldon had come over the years.
Yeah, I thought it was really good even though I didn't follow Big Bang too much. I'd watch every now and then. Sheldon really did come a long way, perfect ending for The Big Bang Theory.
So notable was "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" that there was a documented change in water usage in New York City after the finale ended: no one wanted to miss anything so bathroom usage dropped during and spiked immediately after. I suspect it wasn't the only US city with that happening.
In the castreunion it was told that the cast went to farewelldinner, and afterwards, drove through the city. The streets were unusually quiet. When they stopped somewhere, they saw in some house their own final episode on tv. Then reality sunk in. The streets were so quiet because of them.
Parks and Rec had a great finale with the flash forward of everyone's lives.
Such an underrated show imo... Great cast... great writers.. great characters.. and come on! Xena was even in it, lol. Loved every episode and still miss the parks and rec folks of Pawnee.
I watched many of those in real time, the first one that comes to mind when I think series finally is MASH. It is the standard all finales are measured by.
It was an emotional gut-punch!
Ahh..MASH..you are like a fine bottle of wine...you just get better with age
So true!
I have the entire series on DVD's (self recorded), and must have watched each episode at least 50 times. Except for the one where Hawkeye has the long monologue after the accident and the Korean family, there was no interaction with any other staff.
Newhart, Friends, and MASH are my top 3 favorites. I am glad they were included on this list!
The Big Bang Theory finale.
A Nobel Prize for that one.
Deserved at least an honorable mention. The most satisfying series finale since Cheers.
Agreed. I definitely would have placed it on this list.
Totally .Sheldon acting as Sheldon does then Amy giving him a reality check.Then his Nobel Speech.
way way way better than Seinfeld.
Without taking anything away from any of these, I have to say that the Frasier finale deserves mention. For 20 years, we watched this character, first on Cheers, then on Frasier. His final radio broadcast to both his listening audience and us was full of emotion. And then the man who always wanted to make it big in the business chose love instead, as we find out at the last moment that he flew to Chicago instead of San Francisco. And YES, MASH will reign supreme for a very long time, for very good reason.
Yes!! I forgot about Frasier even though it is/was one of my favorite shows
Star Trek Next Gen is a favorite of mine because it brought the show full circle from the first episode and featured our favorite Q member. "my ship, my crew, you're probably worried about your fish too" . The best
Boy Meets World fully deserves an honorable mention.
"I love you all. Class dismissed."
That was my first thought too!
just reading that makes me tear up
Yes!
That cut to black in "The Sopranos" will always be effective, and definitely assures that viewers will remember it.
Maybe I would feel differently, about the Sopranos finale, if I watched the whole show. But to me the finale of the Sopranos is pretty dumb to me lol.
When you have to read the commentaries and theories, I wonder how well it was done. @@eldudereno204
When it first aired, I thought that it was dumb, but I get what it represented now (this was Tony’s perspective before he was k1lled).
Blackadder and Buffy both deserved a mention.
Blackadder ended the series perfectly. How else does a comedy end when they are in a trench in the Great War?
Yes, the Blackadder ending was very powerful.
If we're talking UK sitcoms I'd also go for the Home Guards toast in Dad's Army, Tom & Barbara ignoring their vandalised home to worry about the goat in The Good Life, Delboy and Rodney making their millions and now, the Coopers leaving Button House in Ghosts.
The final episode of "Buffy" is the only episode from that season that I can stand watching. If the ending itself weren't so fantastic, I would call the end of season 6 the finale & call it a day.
I agree with your choices. I would have mentioned that the final scene in the finale of Star Trek: Picard mimicked the final scene of Star Trek:TNG.
I loved the ending of Murphy Brown. It aired for ten years and the finale had the feeling of things changing yet staying the same that was a comforting way to say goodbye to the characters, especially when Eldin returns to Murphy’s townhouse.
Little House on the Prairie finale, where they blew up the town.
One of the most classy, understated finslies: the Cosny Show. There was sonething very cool and sweet when Cliff and Claire had the house to themselves,the doorbell was fixed and they danced to the end of the set, broke the fourth wall , and walked off waving to a very apprecistive audience.
Say what you might about Cosby's real life. But here, he was phenomenal, and his fanswere all there tao8bg part.....
Wonderful way to put a prriod on a great series.......
Mad Men being here makes me so happy
Good selection. I would have placed The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the Top Ten and bumped down Friends.
Solid list. 👍 Not sure what else I’d add; possibly “Frasier”, “E/R”, “The Shield”, and “The Americans”.
my fav finale was Reba's where reba herself says "cause we're survivors " and they take a photo in the same spot and positions as the ending of the first episode when Cheyenne gets married where it fades to it. .. wish people remembered this show.
It was a great show :).
So true one of my favorites. So are you looking forward to her new show coming out?
@@cindysmith2858 yes, I am :).
The Fugitive should have gotten more than an Honorable Mention simply for its historical significance. It was the first series to actually have a proper finale.
I was 8 or 9 when the finale was broadcast. My mom was a big fan of the show, and she was very nervous beforehand. And, of course, in those days you watched a show when broadcast or... you had to wait and see the rerun in the summer. No way to way to watch it on your own time.
That’s the only reason I clicked on the video to see if it was here😅
Actually, the short-lived series Hank had a finale that wrapped up all of the loose ends over a year before the finale of The Fugitive. It's the first finale that I recall ever seeing.
Very very great epic list I like it a lot very very great job mis mojo one of my absolute favorite list ever 😊❤
No Scrubs? The finale was amazing!(we don't count season 9!)
Angel season 5 series finale I was so bumbed out with how it ended with the last line "Lets get to work" as the screen fades to black when Angel swung the sword.
I was not happy with the way Angel ended
They canceled Angel so close to the end of season that people were thinking they'd go another year. Then when the show was canceled they had no time to create a proper finale.
@@westzed23 The problem was after season 4 finale the show got canceled. Then Joss Whedon desperately tried to get the show renewed for a season 5 on a different network which failed, so he went back to The WB Network (before it became The CW) to see if he can get one more season and he did. The stipulation was he would have to shoot it cheap, so one of the cast members had to be let go which was Charisma Carpenter. James Marsters talked about it in Inside of You Podcast with Michael Rosenbaum years back.
MASH.... love that one.
I haven't even seen a single episode of most of these series, but this video was a GREAT idea and a great watch anyway.
I rarely agree with your "Top Ten" posts, but this time you hit the nail on the head.
Six feet under finale always makes me cry 😢
Me too! The SIA song that accompanies it has me crying my eyes out!!
Yup. Instantaneous waterworks over here, even after all these years.
Great show and great ending.
Me too and I never really watched the show.
"Tuesday, September 5th. The Day....The Running.... STOPPED" Truly my favorite satisfying finale to close off Dr. Richard Kimble's story known as THE FUGITIVE and it still remains as one of my favorite television shows.
Blackadder!
I loved Seinfeld, but that finale was absolute crap compared to Blackadder.
Oh MASH. Goodbye, Farewell and Amen. Sat there tears streaming. It was like saying goodbye to family.
It was a brilliant ending to a brilliant series. Even though I have the the whole series on DVD that ending still gets me.
One Not mentioned that I rather liked was the finale of the phenomenal 15 seasons of Supernatural. Love the wrap up. Dean died having always had a death wish if we're honest. Sam staying, having a son then growing old and finally rejoining Dean and Bobby as if it were yesterday because time moves differently upstairs. Apparently. 😊😊😊😊
I love Lost and its amazing finale!!!! So Good ❤
You are the only person I have ever heard say that.
@@janiceweaver6945 Really? I’ve heard quite a few people share something similar to what I experienced! Not saying it’s perfect, because no show ever is. For us, it was always about the characters and their relationships with one another 😊
@@BigDamnHero74 I agree 1000% It was always about the characters and seeing them come together again was the most amazing ending I could have hoped for (and I LOVE your screen name!)
Exactly! The show was so crazy I feel like the finale makes perfect sense. Sure there’s some unanswered questions but that’s part of the beauty of it right? The Island will always leave us wondering. But it’s about the characters and the relationships they built over the course of the show. I think many people misunderstand the ending and therefore say it’s bad.@@BigDamnHero74
Friends finale is so good!
Big Bang Theory and, of course, The Golden Girls.
For me, it would be MASH, House, The Big Bang Theory.
I would have to say ER. Ending the series with Dr Carter taking in the role of Mentor to Rachel Greene the daughter of the late great Dr Greene.
I wish you had included "Mama's Family". It had a wonderful series finale.
In the final episode, Mama (Thelma Harper) is attempting to calm down Naomi as she’s in the latter part of her pregnancy. She is panicking because Vinton is having to leave for work.
Thelma Harper begins to tell a story to Iola Boylen, about the day, she and Carl had their first baby. She had to take the bus to the hospital because Carl wouldn’t come out of the bathroom. Soon after Naomi goes into labor, but won’t leave for the hospital until she has her hot rollers in her hair. Vinton arrives back at home, goes to the car, and crashes it into Mama’s car, and then passes out from his excitement and nervousness in the Rv.
Mama ends up delivering the baby in the Rv. They end up naming the baby girl Tiffany Thelma Harper.
The finale of Cheers nearly broke me. I loved that show
Friends and & Cheers finale always gets to me.2 of the best shows ever
Six Feet Under is my absolute favorite and was brilliant. Will always be my personal #1. MASH finale was indeed seen by over 110 million, but a huge portion of it was domestic. Old enough to have seen it myself
Some memorable shows we were fortunate to watch and I totally agree with #1... try to watch test until the very end without tearing up. One of, if not the berst sitcom ever... We all felt a part of the iconic 4077th...
I was young when I watched the ending of M.A.S.H and I cried then and it still brings tears to my eyes.
Sorry, i didn't get to watch any of these shows, but hey, it was still a nice top. Happy sunday afternoon, Kirsten. Take care and God bless you. Greetings from Colombia to you as well.
Friends had an amazing series finale couldn't have been done any better 👏🏼👏🏼.
I personally would’ve added a more satisfying ending for Joey.
I can’t believe the House, md finale “Everybody Dies” wasn’t on this list!
That was a great finale. True friendship.
The Supernatural finale got me, I was able to predict basically everything that happened, and it was a wonderful ending. One of my favorite endings is actually House, so perfect for that character!
House MD, Frasier, and Lucifer had amazing endings as well. Should have been mentioned.
Great list, although I haven't seen ANY of the finale's except for Friends and M*A*S*H. I was never a fan of Friends, I'd watch it from time to time. It was a good ending for the show. I never watched The Soprano's, but the ending sure sounds interesting. Although, for me being a music lover and also a fan of Journey, when I hear Don't Stop Believin' and probably other fans and music lovers will say they don't hear it and think of The Soprano's they think of the first time they heard the song and where they were. I know that happens for me all the time. Now, since I've seen Journey recently for the first time and every time hearing DSB since, I just think how beautiful it was hearing it live and the crowd standing up and singing the song word for word and it was thunderous. Nearly sold out show. Anyway, sorry about that. Moving on...M*A*S*H's finale truly was a masterpiece! Made you feel all the feels, loved it. I cry EVERYTIME I hear the theme song begin to play when Hawkeye sees "GOODBYE" One of my favorite finales of all time.
Newhart, I called the ending exactly. Best use of a dream sequence since Dallas.
Well first watching the Lost ending again made me cry then watching the MASH ending made me sob. All good picks.
Without a doubt, the Newhart and MASH finales were the best in TV history imho
I'd have to say The Good Place was the best finale ever. I had no idea how they could seal it up, and they did it so perfectly, I was stunned.
The Fugitive clip you used is from the Canadian finale. The real ending was Tuesday August 29 which aired on ABC in America.
A lot of good ones!
But, 1 that was missing from a popular show was ...House!
I love the final episode of Family Ties. It made me laugh and cry. But there is no beating Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.
The final M*A*S*H was great but also very sad bcos we all knew the day would come when they finally got to go home. Even now all these years later I still cry watching it, saying goodbye is never easy. But the final scene with Hawkeye and BJ is the most heart wrenching, one you can't forget. M*A*S*H will always be number one bcos I don't think anyone could beat the finale.
Why isn't Avatar The Last Airbender's finale on here?
I wish more people knew about 6 feet under one of the best shows
I'm really glad MASH got the top spot. It was the perfect way to wrap up the show.
Nothing beats M*A*S*H best finale I’ve ever seen. One of my favorite tv series of all times.
For those in the UK I must mention ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’. The finale when they all go over the top to certain death in the trenches. Heart rending
I would have put Supernatural on the list. After 15 years it brought the series to a great ending. And this was happening around the Covid lockdown.
Great finale.. just a great series, and the character arcs were incredible..
The very first finale in the history of network television was the final episode of Leave it to Beaver. The Cleavers gathered in their living room and looked at a scrapbook with pictures that were mindful of past episodes.
I wanted mash to do a reunion of charectors. They have a reunion 10 years after thecwar ended.with the cast and family the family of colonel blake so you could see more of mclean stevenson in flashbacks of his family talking about him before he went yo Korea and and flashbacks from the series.
You should have had DINOSAURS on the list. It was a DARK ending. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go watch it.
Newharts finale was the funniest.
It was fantastic! A perfect use of an established cultural phenomenon! Absolute perfection.
For me it will always be :
Six Feet Under
GOT - though I didn’t like the ending we can’t say it wasn’t impactful and unforgettable.
I can't believe that I haven't seen any of these shows, except Star Trek Next Generation and a few one offs of MASH and Friends. My main shows were Charmed, Bones, Stargate (all 3 encarnations), and NCIS (prime, New Orleans, and Hawaii.
No finale choked me up as much as M*A*S*H did. That tore me up and left me in tears.
What about Babylon 5 "Sleeping in Light"
Or BSG "Daybreak, Part 3"
What about the finale of Saint Elsewhere where we find out it was all just the daydream of an autistic child.
I loved Everyone Loves Raymond's series ending. Nothing changed. They kept on with their lives and their parents living across the street. All the ones mentioned above were awesome.
The Newhart finale was epic.
Scary, but I have seen each and everyone one of these endings!
I think the Seinfeld Series Finale was where the Song, Good Riddance by Green Day was heard
That was the clip show before the final same day though
Six Feet Under’s finale still gets me, haven’t watched any other finale as deeply satisfying
If only "Here's Lucy" could have ended the way "Newhart" did, with it and "The Lucy Show" being Lucy Ricardo's dream. "Mad Men's" ending was totally unbelievable.
Have you seen the final episode of Deep Space 9? It's very good and will even bring a tear to your eye.
The Friends finale - made so poignant by the wonderful music - Jefferson Airplane’s Embryonic Journey.
Although not technically the series finale, I am quite fond of the final episode of season 8 of Scrubs. It was a beautiful and satisfying end to a great story and group of characters.
You're having a laugh right?. Let's take shows that really did leave an impression. The end of Season 1 of Doomwatch, The last episode of Blake's 7, the last episode of Blackadder goes Forth, the last episode of When the Boat Comes in. The last episode of Inspector Morse.... They were all defining moments in tv that shaped how shows could end... Having said that Mash is the only one on that list that is actually worth mentioning in terms of superb endings.
6:58 That picture of Geronimo belonged to NIcholas Colsanto
Yes MASH deserves to be #1. 🎉
I liked the endings of ER and the West Wing. 😊
Newhart is ranked waaaay too low. Suzanne Pleshette waking up was one of the funniest moments in television history.
My family saw "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" on videotape. We lived overseas; dad's employer was investigating new technologies and had employees in the states record TV shows and sent them to their employees overseas. Every American in the community wanted to see the finale of M*A*S*H and had to wait for their turn. (There was no place we could all watch it together.) One of the most memorable experiences of living overseas was American TV.
I thought the Frasier finale where he gave up his San Francisco radio dream job to chase his true love to Chicago was worthy of an honorable mention.
What about "The Fugitive"? It was the first time a series wrapped up an ongoing theme