TV Finales: Good & Bad

[Drtooth]

Inuyasha: NOTHING was resolved it just ended! Granted the manga kept going and had an actual and decent conclusion but the anime just quit.

A LOT of animes end that way. A LOT of them. Even when the manga's still going, once the ratings slip, it's over. They have to scramble to anything as close to an ending as possible. Soul Eater had a rushed finale that didn't even reflect the actual Manga, which was still running the story arc before they had to chop it off there. But nothing beats what happened with Shaman King. Not only did it never get the TV finale it should have, but it took years for the original Japanese publishing company to come to their senses and give the manga an ending. That's right. Even the manga was finished too soon, because reader opinion polls dropped, leaving the comic itself unresolved... until later, of course when they were playing nicey nice with the artist.

But then again, there's always what happened with Saint Seyia. They ended the show after many episodes, leaving the last arc unresolved. it took them decades to make a series of DTV episodes closing the series off. No wonder why Lost Canvas wound up going to TMS.

That said, Inuyasha, I don;t hate, but I find it overrated... especially since I think Rumiko Takahasi's best works are Ranma 1/2 and Lum the Invader. You haven't LIVED until you see Lum the Invader.

 

[Xerus]

I remember the final episode of Rocko's Modern Life where Rocko and Heffer got kidnapped by alien bananas and went into space for 17 years. Then returned to a futuristic Earth where they got reunited with Filbert whose baby kids were now teenagers.

I also remember in the final episode of Duckman, it ended with Duckman marrying a woman, but then his supposedly dead wife Beatrice suddenly enters. Duckman wanted an explanation why Beatrice's death was faked and where she had been all this time, and it said, "TO BE CONTINUED?" And it never did.

It was the same thing for the last episode of My Name is Earl. Earl and Joy discover that Dodge was actually their son and they never concluded the story. They called it, "Part 1?"

 

[D'Snowth]

I remember the final episode of Rocko's Modern Life where Rocko and Heffer got kidnapped by alien bananas and went into space for 17 years. Then returned to a futuristic Earth where they got reunited with Filbert whose baby kids were now teenagers.

That might have been the last one produced, because according to Nickelodeon's episode guide, the final Rocko episode had something to do with Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt in jail with a giant Easter egg of sorts.

On the subject, the Courage finale was epic... we FINALLY got to see his past, see what happens to his doggy parents, why he ended up on the streets, and how Muriel found him.

"Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show" had some cool moments, but it was disappointing in parts... like Antonucci promised (well not really) that the finale would reveal what's under Double D's hat... and it's nice to see the rest of the cul-de-sac kids FINALLY befriended the Eds, but it resulted in Jonny becoming a villain at the same time? Jonny used to be the Eds' only true friend (well, maybe as well as Nazz... and maybe Rolf), and now he hates them?

 

[frogboy4]

Good

"Arrested Development" had a satisfying ending that eventually will lead to a theatrical movie. I have hopes for that. One of the best shows on television...ever. It's like modern-day "Soap."

Not-so Good

"Deadwood" had 2 great solid seasons and then fizzled in the third. I'm glad it was canceled. They should have stuck to 2 seasons and then made some big cable movie finale.

I just don't know

"Invader Zim" was never going to have a finale that tied things together in a neat little package. That's just not how the creator or any of the writers dealt with the material and that's partly why it was canceled. What a brave little show. It would have succeeded on Adult Swim rather than Nick and its secondary stations. No matter how anyone feels about the final episode, it can be agreed the program ended much too soon.

 

[Drtooth]

It was the same thing for the last episode of My Name is Earl. Earl and Joy discover that Dodge was actually their son and they never concluded the story. They called it, "Part 1?"

You know... if you look at it, NBC screwing Conan the way they did wasn't a surprise at all. Here's why.

My Name is Earl was abruptly canceled due to NBC's politicking with Amy Poler's Parks and Recreation, which I still really can't get into. I gotta admit, I LOVE Community... best work that Chevy Chase did since SNL. But Earl got screwed out of a final season specifically because of Parks and Rec. The funny thing is, Parks and Rec was this close to the chopping block at the beginning of the season, making ALL the more frustrating. There was word another channel was SUPPOSED to pick up the option for the series, but it went on that permanent hiatus that killed oh so many shows.

So the show didn't so much have an ending as it just ended.

"Invader Zim" was never going to have a finale that tied things together in a neat little package. That's just not how the creator or any of the writers dealt with the material and that's partly why it was canceled. What a brave little show. It would have succeeded on Adult Swim rather than Nick and its secondary stations. No matter how anyone feels about the final episode, it can be agreed the program ended much too soon.

I've said it a MILLION times by now, but Zim should have moved to MTV. Remember in the 90's, when Nick and MTV pretty much simulcast Ren and Stimpy, before they fired John K? They only aired the Christmas special about Stimpy's fart on MTV and only after Christmas. They should have done the same here... if MTV wasn't obsessed with bad reality shows at the time. And now Zim's this big internet thing, and there's NO way the creator will have anything to do with them, and NO way Nick will give him a mini-series/movie in the vein of Futurama.

Again, they are NOT a creator friendly company. Fired John K for going over budget and having problems with little old ladies that have nothing better to do than to play Big Gram'ma with the media, screwed the Angry beavers out of their rightful last episode, and just a host of others.

Still.... wonder how the heck Disney ever got to do Doug. If we only knew the key to that, we'd get Rocko on a proper DVD, a Zim movie, and so much more.

 

[Aaron]

Am i the only one who thinks Disney's Doug was a disgrace to the original series?

 

[Drtooth]

Am i the only one who thinks Disney's Doug was a disgrace to the original series?

Only in so much the fact that they didn't bother getting Billy West back. Not a disgrace by any stretch, just not half as good. Though, Disney DID give them merchandising and a movie. Only thing I saw out of Nick was a trading card series that he shared with Ren and Stimpy and the Rugrats. Of course, I find a LOT more damage was done with All Grown Up by Nick's own hands than Disney's Doug...

Though I will say, there were a LOT more Quailman episodes WITh the Disney series. So that was a plus. Love that S.T.U.A.R.T. episode.

 

[Xerus]

I also liked the Pepper Ann finale. Pepper Ann was all grown up and she designs video games. She goes to her school reunion and meets her old friends who have grown up and had careers and kids of their own.

 

[Son of Enik]

I always liked the way that The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, they're all crying and singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" and when it's all said and done, Mary goes out the door, turns back a minute and turns of the light. (Okay, so I'm old!) Classic stuff!
The series finale that ALWAYS ticked me off was HBO's Oz. The prisoners and staff evacuate because of a virus that's killing guys in solitary...so they all board buses for another prison and after a close up of each surviving character...fade to black! Terrible. Those are the two that stick out in my mind.

 

[Yorick]

Dinosaurs. You never really see anyone die, and considering there's at least one episode that blatantly breaks the fourth wall (A New Leaf) like Muppets usually do, they leave open the idea that the "actors" for the show are alive and well, even if the story is finished. At least there wasn't the BS that was ....

The end of Dinosaurs is both good and bad. Good because it made it's environmental point, (which I agree with) and bad because it was the saddest ending ever, I feel.

The end of Quantum Leap was bad. And the first depressing TV show ending I ever saw! I won't give it away, though.