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Ten classic season finales | |
Cliffhangers, attempted murders, and obscene amounts of money By: RYAN STEWART5/25/2006 10:20:01 AM
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J. R. Ewing, shortly after getting shot
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It's May, and couch jockeys everywhere know what that means: season finales. Here are ten classics. Oh, and if you haven't seen these shows, we'll warn you now: spoilers await.
1. Dallas: "A House Divided" (1980)
You probably don't need me to tell you what happened: the wildly popular primetime soap opera Dallas concluded its third season with a bang. J. R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), the show's Machiavellian villain, was shot, and his assailant was not revealed until the following autumn. This is now referred to as the "Who Shot J. R.?" episode, and popularized the "cliffhanger" format for TV season finales. Turns out it was Sue Ellen's sister who pulled the trigger.
2. Twin Peaks: "Episode 29" (1991)
The fate of popular special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) has never been resolved. At last look, he was heading out to the Black Lodge to try and rescue his girlfriend, who'd been kidnapped by his FBI nemesis. We know the evil "Bob" spirit "resides" there, but did it possess Cooper? And was that the plan all along? Fans of the show still debate it to this day.
3. 24: "11:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M." (2002)
How many shows kill off the wife of the protagonist by the end of the first season? Very few. But after CIA mole Nina Myers killed Jack Bauer's wife while she was snooping around CTU, it was clear that 24 was not going to be your average primetime fare.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "The Gift" (2001)
To save her sister and prevent the portal to Hell from expanding in Sunnydale, Buffy jumps into the opening, killing herself in the process. The show switched networks after that, and she was revived through some strange witchcraft. Most would say the show jumped the shark around then.
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5. The Simpsons: "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" (1995)
Mr. Burns bankrupts the elementary school and erects a sun-blocker to force the town into perpetual darkness. After a town meeting, at which many residents happen to be armed, Burns is shot and – wouldn't ya know it? – fans had to wait until September to find out it was Maggie. The solution to the mystery was buried in the episode, and those who watched it closely enough could have entered a contest, the winner of which has yet to claim his prize.
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C. Montgomery Burns, shortly after being shot. Note the hands.
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6. Seinfeld: "The Pilot" (1993)
One of the closest things the show ever had to a running story arc: George and Jerry's pilot finally taped and aired on NBC, but in the meantime, George feuds with the on-air talent and frets over a "white discoloration" on his upper lip. And Elaine blows the whole deal by breaking it off with her NBC executive boyfriend.
7. Cheers: "I do, and adieu" (1987)
The end of Diane Chambers's (Shelley Long) run on the show when she leaves Sam at the altar to pursue her dreams of getting published. Some would argue the show was never the same again.
8. Friends: "The One with Ross's Wedding" (1998)
It's not really fashionable to admit to having once liked this show, but it had its moments, and its fans. And those fans were aghast when Ross said the wrong name at the altar. I was, uh, busy doing guy stuff, so I have no idea.
9. Newhart: "The Last Newhart" (1990)
Yes, the "it was all a dream" ending is cheap and hack-y, but this was at least clever and unexpected. The twist was that it was Bob Newhart reprising his role from his previous sitcom and waking up – meaning the entire series was a dream – rather than just that episode. People were talking about it, for sure.
10. Survivor: "The end of the first Survivor"(2000)
Say what you will about the reality show phenomenon, but give this show credit: it brought some legitimate innovations to the table, and its first ending got people talking. Hard to ask for much more from a show.
Did I forget any on this list? Almost definitely. Please offer your selections below.
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- SEX (CIRCA 2006) Oral is the new second base, the “mostly” girls keep on kissing girls, and the Bro Job has arrived (but is still not ready for its close-up)
- THE NAKED SORORITY Never mind its tough-girl alt-porn feminism: SuicideGirls has already moved on to a new generation
- COP OR DRUG DEALER? Roberto Pulido’s story shows how easily the divide between law-keepers and law-breakers can break down — if nobody is paying attention
- WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MEMOGATE? Waiting for the Globe’s mea culpa
- SWEET INFORMATION! John Hodgman holds forth on eels, mole men, and Macs
- THE RISE OF REGGAETON From Daddy Yankee to Tego Calderón, and beyond
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| Hey, what about the first season finale of "Scrubs?" Throughout the season, Elliot had feelings for J.D. but doesn't express them; Jordan makes love to J.D.; Turk talks about his relationship with Carla to Dr. Cox most of the time; and Dr. Kelso doesn't tell Dr. Cox about the promotion he's not gonna get yet expects. So in the season finale when all are having a wonderful time at lunch, Jordan, upset she wasn't invited to lunch spills the beans on everyone's secrets putting everybody at odds. Carla is upset that Turk talks behind her back, Elliot is embarassed that J.D. knows she likes him, J.D. is uncomfortable now that Dr Cox knows he slept with Jordan, and Dr. Cox is upset that he didn't get the promotion he thought he was gonna get from Kelso. The first season's major storylines were paraphrased in one speech by Jordan that set up the a very disturbing working environment come the new fall season. Now that's a way to an a season!!!
POSTED BY Carlos AT 05/08/06 2:25 PM |
| What about the Season 2 finale of Alias, when Sydney Bristow wakes up in a foreign country and discovers that she's been missing for two years, even though she doesn't remember those two years at all!
POSTED BY KaylaRaine AT 05/08/06 5:27 PM |
| O.C. season one!!! Seth sails for Tahiti, Ryan goes back to Chino, and Marisa drinks! oh my!
POSTED BY caroline AT 05/08/06 6:57 PM |
| The most noteworthy omission on that list Alias season 2.
Why you ask?
-The last we would of the brillant Lena Olin (until season four anyways)
- "Francie. Doesnt. Like. Coffee.Ice Cream."
-The best fight sequence ever filmed for television between Sydney and Faux Francie.
-The stunning 2 minute cliffhanger where Sydney wakes up in China with no recollection of the past two years.
Also noteworthy are X-File's Anasazi and Erlenmeyer Flask. Veronica Mars' Leave it To Beaver. 24 Season 2 Finale. And Lost's 3 part finale.
POSTED BY sonicyouth735 AT 05/08/06 10:26 PM |
| What about the Moldavian massacre on Dynasty? Or Kimberly blows up the apartment complex finale on Melrose Place?
POSTED BY jar1979 AT 05/09/06 12:53 PM |
| No list is complete without the St. Elsewhere finale. I know it is a long time ago, but it should be in anybody's top 10.
POSTED BY DrBeado AT 05/10/06 3:32 AM |
| Dynasty 1985! The Moldovian Massacre! Brillantly Campy, and totally awesome.
POSTED BY candyspelling AT 05/12/06 12:02 PM |
| It only happened last night, so you didn't forget it, but Season 2 of The Office (U.S. version), in which Jim finally confesses his love to Pam, then while she is telling her mother all about it on the phone, he comes in and they smooch. I was speechless for five straight minutes. Never before have I cared anywhere near this much for two TV romantic interests. Ross and Rachel got nothing on these two. Other runner-ups are: Season 2 of 24, with Palmer getting a poison handshake by Mandy and we're left unsure of his fate; Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where we see that the Borg have turned Picard into one of them; and Season 7 of Seinfeld, where we see just how sociopathic these 4 goons really are when George's fiancee Susan dies licking cheap envelopes, George is spared a disastrous marriage by the most horrible of outs, while Jerry, Elaine and Kramer offer false condolences, knowing full well their friend is thrilled. Doesn't get better!
POSTED BY snoogins AT 05/12/06 2:23 PM |
| The West Wing season 1: white supremacists try to take out the entire West Wing cast leaving us wondering who out of our favourite characters could possibly have died?!
POSTED BY chilaili AT 05/12/06 5:07 PM |
| What about the series finale of Angel? It was a such a powerful episode that ended absolutely perfectly. The only series finale's I've been 100% satisfied with, even though they killed off my favorite character. It was very moving to have the four characters left (Spike, Angel, Gunn, Illyria) getting ready to fight the hoard of monsters even though they would probably be killed in the process. It's all about fighting the good fight.
POSTED BY SubliminalFrame AT 05/13/06 1:40 AM |
| I can't believe so many people are referring to Dynasty. I came in here hoping that the list didn't include it, and I was relieved. The silliness of that cliffhanger is offset only slightly by its seriousness.
I think the list pretty much has it right.
POSTED BY theangeltorgo AT 05/13/06 3:45 AM |
| Carnivale season one: The greatest cliffhanger in TV history.
POSTED BY uweboll1466 AT 05/13/06 4:25 AM |
| If you're going with a West Wing episode, don't go with Season One's finale...instead, go with "Two Cathedrals", from Season Two. The President reveals that he has MS and hid it from the public, deals with the fallout and mourns the loss of someone close to him. Great Martin Sheen scene in which the President stands in the National Cathedral and curses God, and an amazing ending, right down to the music chosen.
POSTED BY EmbassyRow AT 05/13/06 4:58 AM |
| Don't you hate it when article reporters can't even stick to their own premise? Like listing the Twin Peaks and Newhart SERIES finales, and mentioning Cheers, which wasn't even a cliffhanger.
I think it would be better to mention shows like Star Trek TNG's "Best of Both Worlds" cliffhanger, which has been voted by fans as the best episode in all of Star Trek (as funny as that sounds), and the highest audience for any Trek series as well.
The Twin Peaks SERIES finale wasn't nearly as suspenseful as the Episode 7 SEASON finale, when half the cast was shot by the other half, and no hint or foreshadowing who would survive the night into the start of the 2nd season.
A 3rd suggestion would be Battlestar Galactica's (new one) 2nd season finale, where in the space (get it?) of 15 minutes, Baltar manages to cause 1/2 the fleet to blow up, as well as the enslavement of the rest of humanity. I don't think anyone expected anything like this for a season ending.
Lastly, no kids shows were previously mentioned, but the 2nd season clifhanger finale of Reboot was never before seen in cartoons, where an actual storyline plot continues throughout the series, and the end-season storyline begins 6 episodes from the end, and with the series hero being double-crossed by his enemies in the final seconds of the episode, and then ejected from Mainframe onto the World Wide Web in a missile (not to be seen again until 2/3 of the way into season 3).
Just some thoughts, but at least I didn't watch the Friends episode. :-)
POSTED BY Cornelius AT 05/13/06 6:17 AM |
| I really liked O.C. season 2 ender. last season 70's show left me wondering what was gonna happen with Hyde and Jackie. Friends season 9, Rachael and Joey kissing.
In "Seinfeld: "The Pilot" (1993)" wasnt George fighting over a box of raisins?
POSTED BY nads3000 AT 05/13/06 10:08 AM |
| I agree completely on the comment about the West Wing season 2 finale. That was an amazing episode. I must have watched the ending of that episode hunderds of times. It's a shame more people don't give the show a try. They really don't know what their missing.
POSTED BY KutieKity AT 05/13/06 10:34 AM |
| The "Supernatural" season one finale. Even if some claim it was a rip-off of Alias, the cliffhanger at the end shocked everybody watching. That, and we didn't get complete answers to everything they've been persuing during the season. There's no closure, so we're more apt to tune in again in September.
POSTED BY Tracy AT 05/13/06 10:53 AM |
| In response to the "supernatural" finale, i certainly hope everyone saw the truck coming. It was cliche and formulaic just like the entire show has been. I watched this entire season and have to say that people should have closure, they died and don't have to watch the show ever again.
POSTED BY yodoga AT 05/13/06 2:28 PM |
| Quantum Leap, season 3! My god, has nobody seen that? After a hellish leap inside a mental institution, Sam has to endure a powerful dose of electro-shock therapy or be trapped there forever without Al. At the moment he gets the shock treatment, lightning strikes the building and he leaps out, only to find that he and Al have switched places. Oh my, a whole summer to wait.
POSTED BY snoogins AT 05/13/06 2:49 PM |
| Are you KIDDING!? Season 1 of Lost: "Exodus, Part 2". Locke and Jack blow open The Hatch, just as Hurley comes back, screaming not to blow it open because of The Numbers, and the episode ends with Locke, Jack, and Hurley looking down inside the long passage that goes underground, as it pans downward from their frightened yet still curious faces, leaving the audience in a state of shock, saying "Is the new season starting yet?" Classic!
And in response to Yodoga, I have to agree. The whole show is a disaster, much like everything WB has released.
POSTED BY PaperStreet AT 05/13/06 3:25 PM |
| Season 4 finale of Smallville. The moment Clark threw that crystal, while at the north pole, you just knew that the Fortress of Solitude would emerge, and that would signify the true birth of the Superman mythos in the Smallville universe.
POSTED BY themainman AT 05/13/06 3:43 PM |
| How about the last episode of the 1991 Dark shadows revival? It ended on a great cliffhanger only to be canceled. I've never let it go. Also i agree with everyone on "Scrubs" and "Angel".
How about Xena Warrior Princess? Season two, Gabrielle sacrifices herself to save Xena from the evil "Hope"...I still cry...every time
POSTED BY Shauna AT 05/13/06 9:03 PM |
| Does anyone watch the new Battlestar Galactica? The finales for seasons 1 and 2 were both fantastic - especially season 1 when Adama is shot by Boomer
POSTED BY CoruscaFire AT 05/14/06 7:41 AM |
| Anyone remember the season 6 finale of Homicide: Life on the Street? The squad room had just been shot up by Junior Bunk and Giardello declared war on the Mahoney organization. Bayliss gets shot saving Pembleton and then Pembleton leaves Homicide after getting Kellerman to give up his badge. The following Season 7 just wasn't the same without Andre Braugher.
POSTED BY rudes AT 05/14/06 3:06 PM |
| I'm with you about the finale for Newhart. I think that is one of the best of all time. I also liked the finale of wonder years. The MASH finale might have been good if it had taken place five years earlier.
POSTED BY Kevin V Russell AT 05/14/06 4:32 PM |
| What about the finale of Season 3 of Arrested Development? Michael finally gets control of the company, Lindsay and Michael aren't really twins, we found out who Annyong really was, it was incredible!
But very sad at the same time, it was the end of an amazing show.
POSTED BY allison AT 05/14/06 6:54 PM |
| If we're going to reference season finales I don't see how it's possible that we don't reference the season finale of the first season of Grey's Anatomy. The entire season was about Shep & Meredith's relationship and how it would affect the hospital. Some of their co-workers find out about them and seem to accept them as a couple and then just when everything seems alright, Shep's wife, Addison shows up unannounced. Wait! He had a wife?! That's it for the season?!! Come on people! That was what cliffhangers are all about!
POSTED BY Kubrick4277 AT 05/14/06 10:43 PM |
| what about xenas 4th season finale when her and gaby both died i dont think any other show in history killed off there 2 main characters in one episode and wat about buffys first seson finale where she also died but it was only the first season
POSTED BY tyson_2006 AT 05/14/06 10:57 PM |
| I agree about the series finale of The Office was so wonderful...I taped it and rewound my tape so many times to see that kiss that I thought the tape would break!!!! I LOVED it. I can't wait until the next season!!!
POSTED BY usfourangels AT 05/14/06 11:22 PM |
| Oh come on....not one mention of Sledgehammer?....a nuclear bomb destroys LA when our hero fails to disarm it.....now THAT is an ending!
POSTED BY Dinnardin AT 05/15/06 11:07 AM |
| Re: Buffy
"Most would say the show jumped the shark around then."
Are you smoking crack?! The next season was Buffy's best including "The Buffy Musical" episode, which put most of Broadway to shame!
POSTED BY berto AT 05/15/06 4:51 PM |
| Venture Bros.
Are the boys really dead?
Can't wait 'til June!
POSTED BY duelingdragon AT 05/15/06 4:59 PM |
| How you can run a list of show finales and not mention "Goodbye,Farewell,Amen" (M*A*S*H*) is beyond me.
POSTED BY Jerry McG AT 05/16/06 9:36 AM |
| I was just about to ask if I am the only one old enough to remember the M*A*S*H* finale? Hawkeye went certifiably crazy, if I recall. It was shown against the final evening of "The Thorn Birds", back before VCR's.
POSTED BY kimart AT 05/18/06 8:43 PM |
| I can't believe that no one has so far mentioned the cliffhanger at the end of season one of NBC's "Crime Story". The hero and the protangonist on an atomic test side somewhere in the desert ... ? More recently, the best end of season episode I've seen would be Deadwood, season one - reveals just enough to resolve some of the issues that were explored during the season and creating many more conflicts for the episodes to come.
POSTED BY rand AT 05/21/06 9:26 PM |
| What about the season 5 ending of A Different World? I tried describing it to my sister, who missed it. She wasn't interested. When she saw it in a rerun, she exclaimed that it was the most romantic thing she had ever seen!
For those of you who don't know: Whitley was about to marry Byron (they were at the alter!). As the minister asks Whitley if she will take this man, she is thinking about Dwayne and hesitates. Dwayne asks, "Do you?". As Byron's friends try to throw Dwayne out, he shouts out wedding vows, ending with "Please?! Baby please?!" She shouts back, "I do!", apologizes to Byron and rushes into Dwayne's arms. Wow.
POSTED BY auntydale AT 05/23/06 8:49 PM |
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