What is the most unexpected and iconic TV series finale of all time?

In summary: And You're Out".In summary, the X-Files came up in another thread. The XF Christmas special with Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin came to mind right away, so I would have to list it among my favorite episodes. A tongue-n-cheek take on Tomlin and Asner as ghosts [previously married] who convince Mulder and Skully to shoot one another, on Christmas.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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The X-Files came up in another thread. The XF Christmas special with Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin came to mind right away, so I guess I would have to list it among my favorite episodes. A tongue-n-cheek take on Tomlin and Asner as ghosts [previously married] who convince Mulder and Skully to shoot one another, on Christmas.

Star Trek TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver

West Wing: The Josh "Lemon" Lyman episode - The U.S. Poet Laureate- was right up there for obvious reasons. This is where the Deputy Chief of Staff makes the mistake of engaging an internet political forum dedicated to him, using his true identity.
 
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  • #2
Best ever: WKRP Thanksgiving episode.

This was inspired by a real event - when Ted Stepien bought the Cleveland Cavaliers, he celebrated by throwing softballs from the top of the tallest building in Cleveland (which he happened to own) to players from a semi-pro softball team that he also owned. Unfortunately, he didn't account for the wind and seemed oblivious to what he was doing to the poor spectators. After breaking one person's wrist, fracturing another's cheek, and smashing a windshield, one of the balls finally hit the ground uninhibited and bounced 40 feet into the air. By then the spectators were fleeing for their lives in a stampede that created even more injuries. Total liability for the stunt was about $36,000 (in 1980 dollars) in injuries and damages.
 
  • #3
One of my favorite episodes was The X-Files: Bad Blood, where Mulder kills a teenage zombie and Mulder and Skully both tell each other their sides of the story.

PS: Skully is a FOX! If I ever got the chance, I would marry her before you could say extra-terrestrial biological entity.
 
  • #4
The Twilight Zone, "It's A Good Life"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/It%27s_A_Good_Life.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:It%27s_A_Good_Life.JPG[/SIZE]
 
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  • #5
I liked the Tuttle episode of M*A*S*H.
 
  • #6
The Mary Tyler Moore show's "Chuckles Bites The Dust" should be up there.

Ivan Seeking said:
Star Trek TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver

I'd have to go with "The City on the Edge of Forever" instead.

BobG said:
WKRP Thanksgiving episode.

As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly. :biggrin:
 
  • #7
Dang, I'm so bad at remembering the names of episodes...even the memorable ones.

I guess I'll have to be old fashioned and predictable:

Star Trek TNG: All Good Things...
 
  • #8
Those mentioned are all great. I laughed my guts out just thinking about the Kamikazi turkeys while reading Bob's post.
I just can't ever forget the pilot episode for 'Magnum: PI'. The ending of that show was awesome, but it's been modified in syndication broadcasts.
And from the same producer, the pilot movie for 'Airwolf' was excellent.
 
  • #9
Math Jeans said:
Star Trek TNG: All Good Things...

I would put "The Inner Light" as far superior to that.

Let me toss in four more. Two from The Simpsons: "The Crepes of Wrath" and "A Streetcar Named Marge". "Ariel" from Firefly, and "Atomic Shakespeare" from Moonlighting.
 
  • #10
The first episode of "Dead Like Me". One has to appreciate the symbolism and cynicism of killing the lead character with a toilet that falls from the sky.

Northern Exposure: Aurora Borealis
Log line(1): Joel learns of the legend of "Adam," a Bigfoot-like creature who walks the woods outside of Cicely. Meanwhile, Chris bonds with a black traveler passing through town, who turns out to be the brother he never knew he had, literally
http://home.comcast.net/~mcnotes/18.html
- the first episode that I ever saw and I was instantly hooked. Very funny stuff! I would probably rate this as one of the best episodes of any series.
 
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  • #11
And my last one (right). "Three Stories" from House, MD.
 
  • #12
Vanadium 50 said:
I would put "The Inner Light" as far superior to that.

Like I said, I'm terrible at remembering names, and had to look that one up to remember it.

Yes, that was a good one.
 
  • #13
Bugs Bunny, the one where Bugs gets the best of Elmer Fudd.
 
  • #14
Remember the X-Files show on the submarine stuck out in the Anarctica? Moulder went to go after the alien life form disguised as a human being? That was one of my all time favorite shows of all time.

I miss the X-Files. That and Seinfeld were the days of television.
 
  • #15
jimmysnyder said:
Bugs Bunny, the one where Bugs gets the best of Elmer Fudd.

Roadrunner, the one where the coyote actually catches the roadruuner at the end.
 
  • #16
Math Jeans said:
Dang, I'm so bad at remembering the names of episodes...even the memorable ones.

I guess I'll have to be old fashioned and predictable:

Star Trek TNG: All Good Things...


I didn't even know that TV shows had episode titles until I was 37 years old. :biggrin:

The only one that comes to mind is Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi."
 
  • #17
Janus said:
Roadrunner, the one where the coyote actually catches the roadruuner at the end.

He never caught the roadrunner. You are thinking of a commercial for Acme BBQs.
 
  • #18
jimmysnyder said:
Bugs Bunny, the one where Bugs gets the best of Elmer Fudd.

That is just cwazy :biggrin:
 
  • #19
Vanadium 50 said:
I would put "The Inner Light" as far superior to that.

That's a tough one. We have talked about The Inner Light before and I agree that it was one of the best episodes... but the two-hour finale was great as well. Hmmmmm, I will have to ask Data about this one.

Yesterday's Enterprise
Synopsis: "The appearance of the Enterprise-C coincides with time rift that causes a dramatic shift in history, creating a universe where Tasha Yar is alive and the Federation is at war with the Romulans."

and Cause and Effect
Synopsis: "The ship is caught in a time loop after an explosion, causing the crew to experience increased deja vu as they relive the events leading up to the disaster."
http://www.treknation.com/episodes/tng/season5/cause_and_effect.shtml

were also favorites of mine.
 
  • #20
Southpark: World of Warcraft.

The IT Crowd: Roy is Disabled.

Simpsons: Dancing Homer one (forget the name).

Cheers: Pick a Con... Any con.

The Mighty Boosh: Electro.

DS9: Trials and Tribbleations.

The League of Gentlemen: Papa Lazarous.

House: Season finale three parter with the bus accident.

Frasier: Enemy at the Gate.

Blackadder II: Part 3 ( Sir Walter oooh what a big ship Raleigh).

Blackadder III: The one with the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Blackadder I: The one with the Witchsmeller Persuivant.

Blackadder IV: The firing squad one.

Red Dwarf: Queeg.

That'll do for now.
 
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  • #21
Vanadium 50 said:
And my last one (right). "Three Stories" from House, MD.

Three people walk into the emergency room complaining of leg pain. What's wrong with them?

That was good, indeed.

For my money:
Arrested Development, "Sword of Destiny" (season2, ep#9)
 
  • #22
I'm surprised none of you remember the xfiles episode where mulder meets a baseball player who is actually an alien who loves the game...it was pretty cool.

Firefly is good. any of the episodes in the short lived series.

Stargate SG-1 had some pretty heart wrenching episodes in the earlier seasons.
 
  • #23
Oh yeah SG1: Window of opportunity (the one where Colonel O'Neil and Teal'c have to keep repeating the same time period, groundhog day style)

And the one where they parody SG1 with a sci fi series: Wormhole X-Treme!
 
  • #24
I'll go with Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty.
 
  • #25
A no-brainer for old Newhart fans: The final episode where he wakes up in his original series.

X-Files: I liked the Brady Bunch episode. :biggrin:
 
  • #26
Ivan Seeking said:
He never caught the roadrunner. You are thinking of a commercial for Acme BBQs.

At the end of one of the cartoons, he chases the roadrunner through a pipeline of decreasing size. When they come out of the end they have shrunk to about 4 in tall. they run back through the pipe the other way, and when they come out, the roadrunner has returned to normal size but the coyote hasn't. The coyote runs up to the roadrunner and wraps his arms around one of his legs. Then he looks up at the roadrunner and holds out a sign that says: "Okay wiseguys. You've always wanted me to catch him. Now what?"

Here's a link to the clip:



I didn't get the quote on the sign exactly right, but it's been a long time since I've seen it.
 
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  • #27
Let's see,

Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribblelations.

Some nice work of digitally inserting DS9 characters into scenes from the original series"Trouble with Tribbles" episode.

Enterprise : Through a Mirror Darkly

Takes place entirely in the alternate universe from the original series episode "Mirror Mirror" (they even re-shot an alternate universe version of the opening credits).

Extra points for tying in with two other original series episodes, "The Tholian Web" (with the Defiant) and "Arena" (with the Gorn)

I really never cared much for either of these two series, but these episodes stood out.
 
  • #28
What show would you say moved you to tears? Something that you felt for humanity or for that one character in the show.

Any suggestions?

Some of the shows you guys have named are ones I may want to watch sometime soon.
 
  • #29
FireSky86 said:
What show would you say moved you to tears? Something that you felt for humanity or for that one character in the show.

Any suggestions?

Some of the shows you guys have named are ones I may want to watch sometime soon.

My sisters cried during almost every episode of Little House on the Prairie, as did Michael Landon. You might give that one a try. :biggrin:
 
  • #30
  • #31
Dr. Who?

I particularly liked the season finale where Rose joins with the Tardis and we discovoer the meaning of Bad Wolf.

But then the episode with the angels [statues] was very good - the ones that only exist when not observed! :rofl:
 
  • #32
Stargate Atlantis, Season 3, Episode 15, The Game
 
  • #33
I had to do a bit of recollection to figure out which was my favorite Seinfeld episode. Can't say for sure, but way up the list is "The Boyfriend," in which Jerry befriends Kieth Hernandez. IT contains the best moment, IMHO, as George is on the floor, having tripped over his fallen trousers, Jerry walks in the room and says:
"And you wanted to be my latex salesman." In context it was sidesplitting.
 
  • #34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MWxrt3bEnBs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MWxrt3bEnBs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

The Fling
 
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  • #35
Danger said:
I just can't ever forget the pilot episode for 'Magnum: PI'. The ending of that show was awesome, but it's been modified in syndication broadcasts.
Ahaha! I love that show :)
 

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