Series finale: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:49, 27 August 2005

Revision as of 20:49, 30 August 2005

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'''Series finale''' is a promotional/advertising term used to describe the final episode of a [[television series]], usually a [[sitcom]] or a [[drama]].

The term came into use in American Television in the early [[1990s]], as a variation of the term [[season finale]], which indicated the end of a television [[season (television)|season]]. Prior to that, ending episodes were referred to simply as the final episode or last episode. As a common use term, the term "series finale" does serve to distinguish between a planned final episode (one which includes resolution) and the last episode of a show which was cancelled after the last show was filmed. The majority of television programs are cancelled with little advance warning, so the occurrence of a series finale is relatively rare in comparison. In some cases, (''[[Jesse (TV series)|Jesse]]'', for example) a network buys a show, puts it on a hiatus, and then decides to cancel it; if any remaining episodes from the original production order make it to air, the last one is billed as a series finale.

A planned series finale often occurs only for shows that have distinguished themselves, developed an audience, and persisted for at least several seasons. Shows cancelled after two or three seasons rarely get such honors. However in some circumstances, if an unexpected cancellation is announced long enough ahead of time, writers can rewrite the last episode scheduled for production to give the series some degree of closure, creating a series finale. A recent example of such would be the [[2005]] finale of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''.

Finales started becoming popular in the 1970s, after <i>[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]</i>'s closing episode became one of the most highly-rated of all time. Prior to that, most series consisted of stand-alone episodes without continuing story arcs, so there was little reason to provide closure. Today, a series finale is an event for both fans and creators of the show and always draws higher ratings.

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===[[1977 in television|1977]]===

* '''''[[The Electric Company]]''''' – The finale of this [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] children's show was most notable for its closing skit. The cast gathers to sing, "That's All," which acknowledged this would be the final new episode. Reruns would continue on many PBS stations for the next decade.

* '''''[[Mary Tyler Moore (TV series)|Mary Tyler Moore]]''''' - The new executive staff at WJM announces sweeping changes at the TV station. In an effort to improve its newscast's struggling ratings, everyone in the news department loses their jobs. That is, except for Ted Baxter, in a bit of irony since he had been blamed in the past for the station's lethargic ratings. After one last emotional gathering in the newsroom – punctuated by a great big group hug – Mary and Lou thank everyone for all the good times. Everyone then leaves singing, "It's a long, long way to Tipperary" before heading off their separate ways.

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* '''''[[Happy Days]]''''' – After years of dating, and then not dating, Joanie and Chachi get engaged. With Fonzie and Jenny Piccalo serving as the best man and matron of honor, Father Delvecchio (Al's twin brother) marries the couple in the Cunninghams' back yard. Richie and Lori Beth arrive just before the ceremony begins. Meanwhile, Fonzie – who has become busy with the [[Big Brothers Big Sisters of America]] program – decides to adopt his "Little Brother," an orphaned boy named Danny. However, the adoption may not take place since Fonzie is a bachelor, leading Howard to give a passionate speech at the adoption agency about how the rules stink. Eventually, Fonzie is allowed to adopt Danny. After the wedding, Howard toasts the newlyweds and – perhaps in stepping out of character – the series, thanking everyone for sharing years of good times together. The episode ends with a montage of [[clip show|clips]] from the series, set to [[Elvis Presley]]'s "Memories."

* '''''[[Little House on the Prairie]]''''' (actually the telefilm sequel ''Little House: The Last Farewell'') – In 1901, the citizens of Walnut Grove try to thwart a land tycoon's efforts to obtain Hero Township to build a railroad. When their efforts fail, the townspeople decide to blow up the entire town, forcing the tycoon to rebuild everything. This two-hour movie was the second and final special to air during the 1983-1984 season, a year after "Little House" had officially been cancelled by [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]]. Although "The Last Farewell" was billed as the series' finale, a "Little House" Christmas movie (filmed in 1983) didn't air until December 1984.

* '''''[[One Day at a Time]]''''' – The last two episodes saw the lives of two of the show's most important charactescharacters – Ann and Schneider – take different directions. In the next to last episode, Ann announces she and Sam will be moving to [[London, England|London]] when she accepts a job offer. In the finale, Schneider's brother passes away, leaving behind a son and daughter. Schneider takes custody of his nephew and niece, and accepts a new job as maintenance supervisor for a children's amusement center.

* '''''[[Three's Company]]''''' - The three roommates find themselves going their separate ways: Janet gets married and moves in with her new husband, Terri goes to Hawaii to work with children, and Jack moves, along with his girlfriend Vicky, to the apartment above his restaurant.

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* '''''[[Mama's Family]]''''' - Naomi finally gives birth to her baby, a beautiful girl. They name her Tiffany Thelma Harper so that both Naomi and Thelma will be happy about the name. Iola gives up her long-standing passion for [[felt]] handicrafts and begins making masterpieces out of dryer lint.

* '''''[[Mr. Belvedere]]''''' - Mr. Belvedere meets a woman at the [[Laundromat]], and after the two have a whirlwind courtship, announce their engagement. Shortly before the wedding, Mr. Belvedere has serious reservations about getting married, but everyone assures him things will turn out fine. At the altar, Mr. Belvedere's bride tells him she's been called back to her job in Africa. Belvedere decides to follow her, and says his final farewells to the Owens family, whom he had worked for during the past five years.

* '''''[[Newhart]]''''' - Everyone in Stratford, Vermont - save for Stratford Inn owners Dick and Joanna - sells their real estate holdings to [[Japan|Japanese]] [[investor]]s, who plan to turn the town into a golfing resort. Everyone takes their payoffs and leave Stratford - and Dick and Joanna - behind. Five years later, a huge reunion is held at the Stratford Inn, with everyone richer and odder than before. Most notable: Larry, Darryl and Darryl have married chatterboxes, and the two Darryls scream "QUIET!" - the only spoken line either of them had during the series entire run - to order them into silence. Even Joanna's changed, now dressing in Geisha attire and playing the part perfectly (to the delight of the town's eccentric owners). Things quickly become chaotic, and Dick - the only one who has never changed - loses his temper and decides to leave. On the way outside, he is struck by a wayward golf ball and is knocked unconscious. The screen goes black, only for a light to turn on in a bedroom. "Dick" awakens his wife to tell about the wierdweird dream he just had. The other light comes on, and it's [[Suzanne Pleshette]], reprising her role as Emily Hartley from *'''''[[The Bob Newhart Show]]'''''. It turns out that the entire eight years were but a recurring nightmare for psychiatrist Bob Hartley (Newhart's character from the earlier series). An annoyed Emily, after listening to Bob describe the dream, tells him to go back to sleep. During the closing credits - which featured Newhart and the entire cast making their final curtain call and expressing their appreciation for making the show such a huge hit - the closing [[MTM Enterprises]] logo features the two Darryls screaming "QUIET!"

===[[1991 in television|1991]]===

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===[[1992 in television|1992]]===

* '''''[[The Cosby Show]]''''' - Theo – who is employed at a community center for inner-city youth – graduates from New York UnversityUniversity. Cliff recalls how it once appeared Theo would never live up to his potential, and both he and Claire tell him how proud they are for overcoming so many obstacles (including his poor scholastic performance in [[secondary education|high school]] and [[dyslexia]]). Meanwhile, Denise announces she is pregnant, and Olivia plans to join both her and Martin in Singapore. Also, Vanessa and her boyfriend, Dabnis, rekindle their relationship. In the final scene, as Cliff and Claire think about everything that's happened, the two share a dance in the night ... and then walk back stage. '''''Note''': In some markets where "The Cosby Show" was airing in reruns, the first episode – where Cliff confronts Theo about his poor grades – was broadcast on the night of the finale.''

* '''''[[The Golden Girls]]''''' — As a practical joke, Dorothy pretends to be in love with Blanche's uncle, Lucas Hollingsworth ([[Leslie Nielsen]]). Ironically, they really do fall in love and get married, and Dorothy moves to [[Atlanta, Georgia]] with him, but her mother, Sophia, stays behind.

* '''''[[Growing Pains]]''''' - Maggie Seaver is offered - and accepts - a prestegiousprestigious reporting job in [[Washington, D.C.]]. The Seavers' [[Long Island, New York]] home is sold, but before the family hands over the keys to its new owner, they share one last meal and reminisce with [[clip show|clips]]. Carol, who had been away for months (series star [[Tracey Gold]] had been absent to battle her eating disorder), arrives home to be with the family on their last day in New York.

* '''''[[MacGyver]]''''' - MacGyver teams up with his long lost son, Sam-Sean MacGyver, to help a fugitive Chinese dissident. In the end, MacGyver thanks everyone for their support, then leaves the Phoenix Foundation in order to spend time with his son. MacGyver also receives a phone call from his long-thought-dead arch-nemesis Murdoc, who laughs maniacally.

* '''''[[Night Court]]''''' – While various characters ponder some wild offers (e.g., court [[bailiff]] Bull Shannon moving to a distant planet to live with his alien friends; Assistant [[District Attorney]] Dan Fielding becoming engaged to a wealthy bride), Harry contemplates a variety of offers ... and finds his place in the world is being a justice of the [[Manhattan]] arraignment courtoomcourtroom where he's worked alongside all these loonies for all these years.

* '''''[[Who's the Boss?]]''''' – Tony accepts a job teaching at a college in Iowa, and moves out of his upper Connecticut home he shared with Angela for eight years. Angela soon misses Tony and begins looking for work in Iowa, but she is dissatisfied and soon moves back east, into her old home. It appears that Tony and Angela's relationship will be a thing of the past ... until one morning, when a bathrobe-clad Angela answers the door to find job-seeker Tony. The dialogue is identical to the first episode (when they first met), until they both admit that they missed each other and need to be together.

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* '''''[[Cheers]]''''' - Diane receives an award for a screenplay she has written. Sam and Diane lie to each other about having spouses and families, until, in a moment of weakness, Sam invites her back to Boston. Before long the passion between Sam and Diane is back on and they are on a plane headed for California. At the last minute, however, Sam realizes that he is happy working at the bar and gets off the plane. The episode finishes as Sam is closing down Cheers for the night; someone knocks at the door, and Sam calls out “We’re closed”.

* '''''[[Knots Landing]]''''' - Valene is reunited with her family and friends in the cul-de-sac. She and Gary renew their relationship. Nick, Anne, and Claudia move to Monaco. Greg and Paige become an item. Abby takes over The Sumner Group and moves back into the cul-de-sac, much to the surprise of Val, Gary, Karen, Mac, and all the others, who realize that it will be 'just like old times.'

* '''''[[Quantum Leap]]''''' - Sam Beckett leaps to a strange bar at the moment of his own birth, and in his real body. Here Sam meets individuals he's previously encountered throughout his various leaps, although they have different names and do not remember him, and a mysterious bartender called Al who seems to know a lot about Sam’s leaping (whether or not the bartender is in fact God is left ambiguous). Al asks Sam to remember why he made the Quantum Leap Project, and Sam said he “wanted to make right what once went wrong”. Al then asks Sam what he wants to do next; Sam wants to go home, but he must help a friend. Sam then wills himself to leap to Beth’s living room, as she finishes dancing (at the end of the episode ''MIA''), and tells her Al is alive and will come back from Viet Nam. As a result, in the present day, Al is still married to Beth, and they have five children. Sam, however, never came home.

* '''''[[The Wonder Years]]''''' – Reflecting on how everyone eventually grows up and how childhood comes to an end, Kevin and his longtime childhood sweetheart Winnie have one last passionate day together before going their separate ways once and for all. Winnie goes to Europe to study art, while Kevin stays in the States, gets married, and has a son. In his postlogue, Kevin mentions he writes Winnie for eight years. Kevin's father dies of a heart attack, and his brother takes over the family business. The fates of many supporting characters are resolved, and the narrator (adult Kevin) tells us that no matter what happens, his memories of his childhood will always be with him.

===[[1994 in television|1994]]===

* '''''[[Dinosaurs (television series)|Dinosaurs]]''''' - The corrupt WeSaySo Corporation's enviromentalenvironmental exploitation results in ecological imbalance. The Dinosaur society's attempts to solve the problems only create new problems (i.e. breeding a plant to solve severe mosquito overpopulation results in a weed that ends up covering entire cities). Finally, WeSaySo bombs every volcano on the planet in order to wipe out the annoying species, only to create a [[nuclear winter]] that slowly kills off all life on Earth. The final scene shows the Sinclair family barricaded inside their house, as the world outside is covered in constant snowfall. Baby asks Earl if they're going to die, and Earl tries to reassure his son that dinosaurs have always been and will always be the world's dominant species. ('''''Note''': Although filmed, the last seven episodes of the series, including the series finale, were never syndicated or shown on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].'')

* '''''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''''' - [[Captain Picard]] learns that the [[Q Continuum]]'s trial to justify the existence of humanity did not end at Farpoint, but has been on-going for all these years. Picard's omnipotent nemesis Q presents him with one final challenge, warping Picard to 3 different time periods (the Enterprise's first voyage, the present, and several years in the future where the crew has gone their separate ways) to see if he can prevent humanity from never having existed. Picard ultimately triumphs thanks to a mental revelation that allows him to think in 4 dimensions, and Q reveals that it is the enlightenment of the human mind, and not the exploration of space, that is the true "final frontier".

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===[[1996 in television|1996]]===

* '''''[[Forever Knight]]''''' - Nick's cop friend Tracy dies in the line of duty. Faced with her own mortality, Natalie asks Nick to turn her into a vampire by making love to her. Nick does so, but changes his mind later and stakes Natalie before she can rise so she won't have to live the cursed life of the undead. Nick then has his master and nemesis LaCroix stake him, finally bringing Nick's suffering to an end, and leaving LaCroix as the last (and only) man standing.

* '''''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]''''' - The Banks clan decides to move back east, and they sell their house to George and Louise "Weezie" Jefferson. Hilary and Ashley move to New York, Geoffrey is released of his duties as the Banks' butler, and Carlton finally gets his wish to attend Princeton. Even Will gets a place of his own.

* '''''[[Picket Fences]]''''' - Carter and Sue, and Kenny and Max get married. Waumbaugh and his ex-wife end up getting re-married. The triple wedding creates a bond between Jimmy and Jill Brock, and reverses the breakdown of their disintegrating marriage. All the surviving townspeople who managed to avoid dying a bizarre death over the course of the series get together for one last group photo.

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* '''''[[Family Matters]]''''' – Steve Urkel, finally engaged to Laura Winslow (they became boyfriend and girlfriend after a years-long unrequited relationship), is invited by [[NASA]] to participate in a space mission to demonstrate his latest invention: an artificial gravity device. However, the spacecraft is damaged in a collision with a wayward satellite, and Urkel is pressed into the hero's role. In the subplot, Eddie ssems to be doing well as a trainee police officer, but Harriet becomes very worried for her son's safety. So, behind Carl's back and without Eddie's knowledge, she pulls a few strings and has Eddie reassigned to meter maid. Both of them become very angry when they learn about what happened, but Harriet's fear still comes true. Eddie, while trying to foil an armed robber, is shot, although he turns out to be OK (the bulletproof vest protected him); Eddie proves his worth by capturing the criminal.

* '''''[[Highlander]]''''' - When an Irish terrorist endangers the lives of his friends, Duncan starts to question whether any of his efforts over the years have had any effect at all. He is then treated to an [[It's a Wonderful Life]] vision by the ghost of Hugh Fitzcairn, showing Duncan what the world would be like if he had never existed. In this dystopian alternate reality, Duncan's arch-foes Horton (the extremist Watcher) and Kronos (the evil Immortal horseman of the apocalypse) are alive and well and have plunged the world into havok and suffering. Horton has taken over the Watchers and Kronos has seized control of the Immortals, and the two are waging a destructive war against each other. Without Duncan's positive influence, his friends have taken a turn for the worse: Amanda seduces and kills men for profit, Methos reunits with Kronos and returns to being the horseman of Death, Joe Dawson has left the Watchers and become a drunk, Richie joins Methos and Kronos and is killed by them when he refuses to kill Joe. As the vision ends, Duncan realizes that he has made a difference. He vows "never again" to give in to despair, kills the terrorist, and saves his friends.

* '''''[[Murphy Brown]]''''' – Murphy announces her resignation from "FYI" and plans on having another mammogram. The results detect another tumor, requiring exploratory surgery. While succumbed to the [[anesthesia]], Murphy interviews [[God]], who advises her to use her gifts wisely. The surgery reveals the tumor to be benginbenign, and after the group gathers to recall Murphy's years with FYI, she rescinds her resignation. With her future now secure, Murphy returns home to find Eldin, in need of a job ... and a wife. She turns down his marriage proposal, but offers to let him work as her handimanhandyman. Also, [[Mike Wallace]] tells Jim that he is dull, while Frank pursues a date with [[Julia Roberts]].

* '''''[[Seinfeld]]''''' - After a mid-air brush with death, the Seinfeld gang end up in a small town and mock a man who is being robbed on the street, rather than help him. They are arrested (due to the town's [[Good Samaritan Law]]), and a lengthy trial follows in which all the people whose lives their self-centeredness have ruined over the years (ranging from the [[Soup Nazi]] to [[Teri Hatcher]]) all appear to testify as to what lousy human beings they've been. In the end, they are sentenced to one year in prison... for doing nothing.

* '''''[[Step by Step]]''''' – Frank and Carol contemplate selling the house to a snobbish yuppie couple, particularly since the Lamberts still have a large family living in their undersized home. However, they have second thoughts when they see how much the house means to their youngest daughter, Lily, and pull the house off the market at the last moment.

===[[1999 in television|1999]]===

* '''''[[Babylon 5]]''''' - In 2281, President John Sheridan prepares for his expected day of death at the expiration of the twenty year lifespan extension by Lorien. As he visits his old friends, they gather to witness the scheduled demolition of the now vacated Babylon 5 station.

* '''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''' - Hercules and his long-time nemesis Hera end up unintentionally helping each other save Olympus from the invincible titan Atlas. Zeus and Hera kiss and make up, and Hercules and the alternate-universe Iolaus walk off into the sunset, much to the chagrin of the war god Ares.

* '''''[[Home Improvement]]''''' - Tim records his final ''Tool Time''. Morgan offers Tim more money and an executive producer credit to stay with the show, but Tim rejects the offer so that Jill can take her dream job in Indiana. Wilson and Tim take down their fence to make room for Al and Trudy's wedding. '''''Note''': This was actually the final story of the series; the true series finale was a retrospective look at 8 years of the show, complete with cast interviews, never-before-seen [[blooper]]s and ultimately the revealing of Wilson's face.''

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* '''''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]''''' - The mission to study Earth ends, and the Solomons are forced to return home. Even though Mary has finally discovered the Solomons' secret and actually finds the idea of dating an alien to be kinky, she ultimately can't bring herself to follow them into space, so Dick eases her pain by erasing her memory of him with a karate chop to the head. Later in syndication an extended version was shown with Dick, who couldn't stand the loss of Mary, returning moments later in the nude and abducting the quite alarmed Mary.

*'' '''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''''' - The series finale begins more than 10 years in the future. Voyager finally returned to the Alpha Quadrant after a decades-long journey, but many crewmembers (including Chacotay and 7-of-9) died during the voyage. Admiral Kathryn Janeway makes a bold decision to change the past in an attempt to undo the toll taken on the crew during their arduous journey home. She travels back in time, and provides the present Voyager crew with advanced technology that allows them to combat the Borg. Future Janeway leads the Voyager crew in a final assault on the Borg's homeworld, where they ultimately make use of the Borg's trans-warp technology to return home. Meanwhile, Future Janeway stays behind and sacrifices herself to destroy the Borg Queen and the Borg's inter-galactic trans-warp network. Voyager destroys a final Borg vessel sent to stop them, and is then escorted back to Earth by a Starfleet Armada which was assembled to combat a possible Borg invasion.

* '''''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]''''' – The ruthless supervillain Lavocat – whose gang Walker had imprisoned several years earlier for their roles in a bank robbery and Ranger-killing spree – returns to exact his revenge. Lavocat - whom Walker had long assumed had died in a [[mental institution|mental hospital]] - stages a major prison break, in which his criminal associates are freed, and they begin their search for Walker and his partners in Company B. Walker investigates the autopsies of several Rangers, which have been killed in the villain's latest rampage; the shooting style matches Lavocat's shooting style. Walker and Trivtte find a note telling them to dig up the body of C.D. Trivette, and both of them realize that their friend has died. An autopsy determines C.D.'s death to be the result of poisioningpoisoning. Later, Trivette survives a brutal confrontation with Lavocat, and before long, Walker realizes that his sworn enemy is still alive. Eventually, Walker captures one of the villain's cronies, who immediately lets slip of his boss' whereabouts. Walker eventually gathers a small army of Rangers, which are able to capture all the rest of the bad guys before Walker's one-on-one battle with Lavocat. All this was going on while Walker's pregnant wife, Alex, is about to go into labor (she eventually gives birth to a baby girl, which she names Angela). Also, Trivette proposes marriage to an old flame, and the full story of Hayes Cooper is revealed.

* '''''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''''' - Xena dies in order to defeat a Japanese demon lord. While she has died before and been brought back to life this time she cannot as that would condemn to eternal torment a few thousands souls she killed back when she was still evil. Her partner Gabrielle sails off into the sunset alone to continue the work, although Xena's spirit stands beside her. Almost all of series' re-occurring characters had died prior to the finale and did not make reapperancesreappearances.

===[[2002 in television|2002]]===

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===[[2003 in television|2003]]===

* '''''[[Brookside]]''''' – Drug dealer Jack Michaelson gets killed by a number of regular characters, who had been at the receiving end of his vile ways in previous episodes, an idea subtly suggested by Barry Grant, who makes a return to the Close along with Lindsey Corkhill. The final shots show Jimmy Corkhill adding a 'd' to the street sign, so that it read 'Brookside Closed'.

* '''''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''''' - Buffy leads her great alliance of friends and former foes for one final assault on the Hellmouth and [[The First Evil]]'s army of uber-vampires. In the final confrontation with the First Evil, Buffy learns that she can 'activate' each the hundreds of girls with the potential to become Slayers, creating a small army of Slayers. As a result, she no longer has to be the only active Slayer, allowing her to realize her dream of a somewhat normal life. This act tilts the balance of power drastically back towards Good, allowing the First Evil's assault to be defeated. The First Evil cannot be destroyed, but it is unlikely to be active for some time. The Hellmouth is sealed once and for all, destroying the corrupted town of Sunnydale. A couple of the recurring characters died in the final assault on the Hellmouth (Anya gets stabbed by one of the bringers, and Spike sacrifices himself to seal the Hellmouth), but a surprising number survive to move on to new things. A few details of their continuing lives are revealed during season 5 of the ANGEL spinoff series, which spike joins as a regular after being resurectedresurrected.

* '''''[[Dawson's Creek]]''''' - Jen dies, leaving her daughter to be raised by Jack and his boyfriend - Pacey's cop brother, who turned out to be gay after all. Joey takes Pacey back to New York with her, leaving Dawson back in LA producing his autobiographical series, "The Creek".

* '''[[Touched by an Angel]]''' - Monica has her final assignment which will lead to her promotion taking over Tess' position.

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* '''''[[Andromeda (TV series)|Andromeda]]''''' – The crew escape their dimensional prison and return to the known universe, just in time to confront the Nietzschean fleet as it begins its invasion of the Commonwealth. After an extensive battle, the Nietzcheans are eventually convinced to stand down. The Spirit of the Abyss shows up, but is finally defeated. Surprisingly, everyone survives.

* '''''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]''''' – Raymond undergoes minor surgery, but seems to go into a coma, causing all his family members to gather around him and fear he may die. It all turns out to be a big misunderstanding, however, and Raymond is fine. Ray starts to ponder his own mortality, but that doesn't last very long. The show ends with the entire family arguing around the dinner table, as they always have.

* '''''[[JAG]]''''' - Harm and Mac are told by the general that they have been promoted and assigned to new posts: Harm in London and Mac in San Diego. They are told that they can choose from the JAG staff who they want to go with them. Meanwhile Lt. Vukovic is sent to work on a case involving an underage 16 year old marine who's father died in combat 2 years earlier. In the end the young marine is sent home and told that he can join the marines when he comes of age. Harm offers Bud the chance to go with him to London as his assisstantassistant. Bud jumps at the chance. However after a discussion with Harriet they decide that it would be best to stay where they are so Bud declines Harm's offer. Then Harm and Mac finally confront their feelings for each other that they've been avoiding for the past 9 years. They decide to get married. They meet the whole gang at the bar. For the marriage to work however one of them will have to give up their military career and go with the other. Since they can't decide, Bud pulls out the JAG coin that Admiral Chedwiggen gave him when he retired and proposes a coin toss. Mac chooses tails and flips the coin. The final shot is the group looking up at the coin as it spins, and as it fades to black, the coin is left on a black screen, and the coin simply says: "JAG 1995-2005".

* '''''[[NYPD Blue]]''''' - Andy Sipowicz takes over as squad commander and takes the heat from his superiors as he and the detectives press ahead with an investigation of a wealthy and well-connected man for the murder of a prostitute. Greg drops by briefly. LeutenantLieutenant Bale stops by to get his things and he tells Andy that he'll be a good squad commander. The rich man gets arrested. Andy gets yelled at by the chief of police who says that if he screws up one more time, he'll "regret it". At the end of the episode Andy is shown sitting at his desk going through paperwork, finally content and happy with his life, as the squad members come one by one telling to congratulate him on his new position and say goodbye. The camera, focused on Andy, slowly moves out from his desk through the empty squadroom and out of the door. Then the screen fades to black, showing that life has not ended at the 15th precinct; we just won't get to visit every week.

* '''''[[Six Feet Under]]''''' - ''Everyone's Waiting''. Brenda delivers early to a premature baby girl named Willa which leads to her thinking negative thoughts about the baby's health due to Nate's spirit being conscious. Willa makes wonderful advances and is sent home in the next few days. Ruth then gives Maya, (Nate's daughter) who had been staying with her back to Brenda promising she will help her raise the two children. Later, Federico makes a down payment on a [[mortuary]] of his own and asks David and Brenda to buy him out. David refuses to sell the business but soon puts the home on the market. Keith then proposes for David, himself and their sons to purchase both Federico and Brenda's halves and move into the funeral home. Ruth then moves out of the funeral home to open a canine retreat with friend, Bettina. Meanwhile, Claire is offered a photographer's assistant job in [[New York City]] which she accepts and at her farewell dinner, the family reminisce on the last 5 years and toast Nate, who had died 3 episodes prior. The final 6 minutes of the episode flash forward to the future showing how each of the main characters will die.

* '''''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''''' – The series finale is set six years after the two-part season finale, and is in fact a [[holodeck]] re-creation of "historic events" in which "Star Trek the Next Generation"'s Commander Riker and Councillor Troi are taking part. Inside the re-creation, the original Enterprise crew get together to witness the decommission of the Enterprise and the formation of the [[United Federation of Planets]]. We learn that Trip and T'pol broke up their relationship shortly after the events of the season finale. Before going their separate ways, the Enterprise crew embarks on one last mission: to save the daughter of their former nemesis and ally [[Shran]] from Andorian terrorists. During the course of the mission, the Enterprise is invaded by the terrorists, and Trip sacrifices himself to stop them by detonating one of the ship's corridors. Enterprise ends with Captain Archer about to give his historic speech that will bring the Federation together, and Captains Kirk, Picard, and Archer signing off with the famous phrase "to boldly go where no man has gone before."

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===[[1996 in television|1996]]===

* '''[[Gargoyles (animated series)|Gargoyles]]''' (syndicated series) - "Hunter's Moon" - The clan is hunted by the latest generation of Hunters, who are convinced that the Manhattan clan is in league with the renegade gargoyle, Demona. In the conflict, the clan's [[clock tower]] home is destroyed and they are revealed to the public once and for all by the Hunters to create a public panic. In one final battle, the warring groups fight in an abandoned church while Demona attempts her grandest scheme of global genocide in the building. Although the groups make partial peace and stop Demona, the clan is trapped by the [[NYPD]] until their former enemy, David Xanatos, rescues them and takes them to safety. Furthermore, he allows them to live in The Ayrie Building's Castle Wyvern once again with his family as the clan's patrons for their protection operations in gratitude for saving their son from certain death in Demona's scheme.

* '''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''' - The Turtles pilot [[Krang]]'s giant robot body to defeat Dregg's final mutated form. Having overcome this final challenge, Splinter informs the Turtles that they have finally graduated. They are no longer the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but simply the Ninja Turtles.

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===[[1999 in television|1999]]===

* '''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''' Spike finally defeats Vicious and his syndicate, but at the cost of his own life and that of his former lover, Julia. Jet is left without a partner, and Faye is left an emotional wreck with no purpose in life.

* '''[[Trigun]]''' – Vash defeats his murderous twin Knives, but (despite Knives having killed many of Vash's loved ones) stays true to his code and doesn't kill him. Vash ditches his symbolic red coat, vowing to still look for Rem Saverem, but to live by his own words. The series ends with Vash coming back to Milly and Meryl to stay.

* '''Disney's [[Doug]]''' - Chad Mayonnaise and Miss Kristal get married, after Doug and Skeeter go on an extended chase all over Bluffington to find the wedding ring before the ceremony starts. In the end Judy leaves for College, the Sleetch twins both get dates, Baby Dirtbike says her first word, and Patti asks Doug out on a 'date-date'. This was the shows second series finale.

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===[[2004 in television|2004]]===

* '''[[Home Movies]]''' - After Brendon, Melissa, and Jason decide that their films are unwatchable, Brendon's camera gets destroyed. The show ends with Brendon, Jason, Melissa, Brendon's mom, and Coach McGuirk going to a fast-food place, functioning as if they were a family unit.

* '''[[Static Shock]]''' - The government releases their un-mutating gas upon Dakota, reverting all the Bang Babies back into normal teenagers. Static and Gear manage to avoid the gas. In an attempt to re-mutate the populace, Static's arch-nemesises Hotstreak and Ebon steal some of the Bang Baby mutagen, but end up mutating even further, merging together into a giant fire/darkness hybrid monster. Static unleashes his full power to fight and defeat the creature. The resulting explosion releases a second cloud of mutagen, re-mutating an undetermined number of teens and undermining the government's anti-mutant goals.

* '''[[Teamo Supremo]]''' - "The Gauntlet's New Gloves!" - [[Teamo villains|The Gauntlet]], in a new supersuit, captures [[Level 7#Paulson & Samantha|Paulson & Samantha]], then distracts Teamo so that he can capture [[Governor Kevin]] and [[Chief Epsilon|The Chief]]. Teamo confronts the Gauntlet, who throws the Lobster of Liberty on them, seemingly killing them. But then [[Captain Crandall]]'s previously unseen superpowers show up and allow him to defeat the Gauntlet.

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*''[[Bonanza]]'' ([[1973 in television|1973]]) – Little Joe tries to elude a war-deranged soldier, who plays a human hunting game for his amusement.

*''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' ([[1974 in television|1974]]) – A hair dye turns Greg's hair orange just hours before graduation.

*''[[Gunsmoke]]'' ([[1975 in television|1975]]) – Festus does his best to help a sharecropper farm his land.

*''[[All in the Family]]'' ([[1979 in television|1979]]); and the sequel series ''[[Archie Bunker's Place]]'' ([[1983 in television|1983]]). In the "'''All in the Family'''" finale, [[Edith Bunker|Edith]] rents the house next door to a black couple, much to [[Archie Bunker|Archie's]] chagrin. In the last episode of "'''Archie Bunker's Place'''," Gary wants to resume his relationship with Archie's niece, Billie.

*''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' ([[1989 in television|1989]])