All this talk about the final episode of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA got me thinking about the best, and worst, series finales. Off the top of my head, the best ones were, in no particular order:
The Fugitive
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Newhart
MASH
Larry Sanders
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Boston Legal
The West Wing
Cheers
The Paper Chase
Inspector Morse
Among the worst series enders were:
Magnum PI (both the original, intended finale and the one they did when they unexpectedly returned for one more season)
St. Elsewhere
Hawaii Five-O (one of the all-time worst)
Miami Vice
Star Trek Enterprise
Seinfeld
Mad About You
Quantum Leap
Moonlighting
Roseanne
X Files
The Prisoner
MacGyver
My list of series finales that were simply fine, but not outstanding, would include:
Battlestar Galactica
Hill Street Blues
The Sopranos
The Odd Couple
Star Trek Voyager
L.A. Law
Deep Space Nine
Who's the Boss
Family Ties
Barney Miller
Frasier
Jag
Friends
Thirtysomething
Everybody Loves Raymond
Will & Grace
And finally, my list of the best final episodes that were undone because the series unexpectedly came back for another season…
St. Elsewhere
Crime Story
I haven't seen the final episodes of THE SHIELD or THE WIRE (I am several seasons behind on both of them) or BUFFY (I lost interest in the show after a season or two), though I hear that all three of them were great. And there are a number of other finales I never saw simply because they were series I didn't watch. All that said, I am sure am leaving out a bunch. That said, in my opinion most episodic series aren't really designed to have final episodes and don't really need them. It's shows like GALACTICA, LOST, QUANTUM LEAP, MASH, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, THE FUGITIVE, THE PRISONER, LOST IN SPACE, etc. that are built around a quest, a pursuit, a war or the solution of a central mystery that merit, if not demand, the closure if a final episode. But I think that for the majority of dramas and sitcoms, it's not necessary to concoct a finale…and perhaps even a mistake.