MSN has posted their list of the 13 all-time best TV series finales. See if you agree with their choices.
#13: The Fugitive (1967)
#12: Twin Peaks (1991)
#11: Moonlighting (1989)
#10: Arrested Development (2006)
#09: Newhart (1990)
#08: Six Feet Under (2005)
#07: Roseanne (1997)
#06: The Shield (2008)
#05: Cheers (1993)
#04: M*A*S*H (1983)
#03: The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson (1992)
#02: The Sopranos (2008)
#01: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2009)
ejdalise says
I have not watched all of the finales mentioned, having in most cases lost interest in the shows long before they ended.
But of those I have watched, and the ones I have heard about, I would but Newhart well above the rest.
fathergj says
While I think the ending of Battlestar Galactica was good, it is a little premature to put that as the BEST of all time. Let’s let that one sit for a few years before we put it on this list. If we are still talking about it five years from now, then yes, it should be on that list…but until then, let’s wait.
Jeremy from Seattle says
Twin Peaks was good, but so frustratingly obtuse that I don’t think I would add it to a best of list.
Michael L says
The Battlestar was THE best EVEH!
Kyle Nin says
I thought the “DS9” finale was one the best I’ve seen. How come that’s not on the list? Or what about “The X-Files”?
I did like the “BSG” finale, but I could think of better finales (including the two above). Furthermore, I didn’t even think it was the best SEASON finale, let alone best episode.
ringsting says
I know it’s still a year away, but I’m pretty sure Lost is going to be at the top of that list.
The writers of that show are near immortal.
anachronite says
how in the world could they have missed Star Trek: TNG, and Seinfeld? The list is a croc
John from Jersey says
Um…”The Sopranos”? The infamous non-ending?
Guess they never saw “Babylon 5”, hmm?
Jamie says
THE WIRE???
ALibertarian says
If “Twin Peaks” had not be stretched out by the network (kind of like what happened to Farscape, it might have been good.
My favorite all-time finale was the Newhart show but you had to understand what was going on at the time on television. Any time a writer got stuck (Dallas was the glaring example) “it was all a dream”. . . Dallas wiped out 2 full seasons! Newhart did a GREAT send-up.
BSG was good, but – I expected that.
Chris from the Jesus Geeks says
The list is garbage. No B5… No DS9… blah!
Bronzethumb says
BABYLON 5!
Tony Solorzano says
Okay First a few comments on the shows listed. I never watched four of the series for various reasons” I wasn’t born when the Fugitive ended, I didn’t have HBO to see Six Feet Under and was never a fan of the Shield. And I never got the jist of Arrested Development.
That being said, the shows listed here I think are placed wrong.
I thought Newhart’s finale was one of the most inspired endings in television history, not only did it break the curse of the “It was all a dream” denoument, it also paid homage to his previous series, already considered at television classic. And there was Susanne Pleschette, natch! Therefore it should have been ranked no lower than third.
As far as Moonlighting and Twin Peaks are concerned, these were two series I loved watching. Moonlighting’s ending also was unique, since the show regularly broke the fourth wall all the time, long before Spader and Shatner did in Boston Legal. (Don’t get me started on why THAT show wasn’t included in this list). Right to the end, it continued to thumb its nose at the network powers that be. Even when they screwed with the show, they never lost that wry, who gives a $#!& attitude right to the end. As far as Twin Peaks was concerned, I blame ABC for it’s ending. I’m done with that Network after they went and cancelled “Life on Mars” Damn mental Mouseketeers.
I group MASH and Carson’s end on the Tonight Show together because of their place in television history. There was no late night before there was Carson, not like we have now. How many scattered carcasses are there in the Wastelands of TV that represent the failed shows that tried to take on the King? Sajak, Rick Dees, Chevy Chase?!? ‘Nuff Said. Carson begat Leno and Letterman, the Cain and Able of Late night TV. From them sprung Conan and Craig Ferguson, and Tom Snyder, who saw his own late night career resurrect for another generation.
AS far as MASH, there was no show like it when it started. It tackled so many things through the lens of the long-misunderstood Korean “War” from racism to death from “the other side.” It will not be forgotten since there will never be a show like it unless someone decides to use the war In Iraq or Afghanistan as a backdrop.
Cheers and Roseanne, well I liked the way Cheers ended, with Sam staying in Boston instead of going with Diane. However, I thought the final season of Roseanne was incredibly disheartening, not to mention so completely surreal it was almost impossible to watch (Casein Point, Jackie meets a European Prince and he “goes Ozark” at the end of his story arc. WTF?!?) The ending, however, also took a twist that was hinted at but it included enough shockers, Darlene and Mark?!? David and Becky?!? Dan dead?!?(Okay I could see that one coming, but I digress) I can’t call it one of the best EVER but it still resonates over a decade later.
Which brings us to the take of the Galactica. Part of me wants to throw a brick through the TV for having to endure that ending, and part of me wants to grab a metal detector and see if there’s a remaining Raptor somewhere on the planet. But EJO said it best in October when the show was honored by the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival in Los Angeles. He said that it would take the same amount of time to fully understand Ron Moore’s vision as it did to fully understand Ridley Scott’s vision for “Blade Runner.”
Okay, I’ll get back to you in 25 years…
Trevor says
I think this list is wrong. I don’t mean that I disagree with it, I mean that I think you read it wrong.
Battlestar Galactica is not listed as #1 on that site. It looks like the list was written before it even aired. They just list it at the beginning because it was the reason for making the list. They even say, “we look forward to what will hopefully be one fantastic frakkin’ finale,” suggesting that they had not yet seen it.
Michael Hickerson says
As much as I liked the BSG finale, it wasn’t the best finale of the year. That goes to “The Shield.” A better finale I’ve rarely seen.
Interesting that their top two are among the most debated by their respective fans…
And where is the finale of TNG? That one is top ten at least.
Arkle says
Maybe it’s because they are the most debated that they topped the list? I don’t know.
Night Marshal says
This is a classic case with these lists of the current/ better know stuff rises to the top and older/less know stuff fall to the bottom(or not on the list at all). As much as people like Galatica now I don’t think it has as much staying power as others on this list. And those in ten will most likely be in the bottom end.
hayzel says
doesn’t friends deserve to be on there it is a greatshow with great actor and also Seinfeld they should both be there on the top ten.friends ended great with ross and rachel getting back together and monica and chandler getting twins and phoebe “something is wrong with the left philange.” and joey,well just being joey.
pickle says
Sledgehammer had the series finale EVER.
Blake says
Where the hell’s Babylon 5? there’s some good ones on the list but all the best finales seem to have been left out.
Or the infamous ending to Blake’s 7?