Scrubs is a funny one. It's both disaster and transcendent. Everything about Season 9 is garbage, but up to that point it was a fantastic show. And Season 8 has an incredibly well-done, moving, funny finale. I highly recommend anyone watching this show for the first time simply stop at the end of Season 8.
I always believed that a final episode be part of the agreement for airing a series. This wrap up episode could even air during the summer (or better said, the off season) to generate a bit of buzz...
Really interesting read and the ranking felt right! On Game of Thrones, I'm totally with you with the frustratation. I would say add it's not just the finale but the overall last 2 seasons that were bad. Rushed plots. Character growth not earned.
I did not read the books, only watched the show. With that, I really did not think the final two seasons were that bad. I don't understand why they lengthened episodes but cut the number of them down. Maybe those who read the books, or imagined their own endings are disappointed because they did not meet those expectations, but on their own it was okay. There were a lot of things that did not get answered that needed to be. And the followup to the series has been mystifying.
Surprised The Americans is left out here, since it meets the stated criteria for a Transcendent Finale: iMDB rating of 9.7 for the finale, and 8.4 for the series as a whole.
The Americans was in the top-performing tier of finales. Just wasn’t as popular on IMDB as other shows (measured by total IMDB ratings), so it missed the cut-off for that chart.
Did you ever say explicitly in the post what the criteria were for what shows appeared on your charts? I got the impression there was some ranking based on total IMDB ratings or something but I didn't see anything that clearly explained it.
Mr. Robot's finale really is transcendent. Glad to see it recognized. Surprised I didn't see The Leftovers or Six Feet Under on the lists. Or The Shield?
Yeah, The Shield has one of the best endings of any show I've ever seen. I still remember the last moments many years after I watched it. Same with Six Feet Under.
I just found your substack and was excited about this content! I did want to say, I kinda get the LOST thing. While the finale was controversial when it came out, and there were various problems with it, the one thing the writers tried to do was do right by all their characters. this is in contrast to a truly disastrous ending, like Game of Thrones, which felt like the writers saying F. U. to the watchers.
I disagree that a bad finale ruins my experience for a show.
I enjoyed the first few seasons of Game of Thrones. The fact the finale (and final few episodes) were disappointing, didn't change the fact that I enjoyed the journey of watching those original shows.
Similarly, I didn't like the way LOST ended, but I still enjoyed watching the episodes that got me there.
The journey is more important than the destination for me.
If you're implying that it's revealed at the end of LOST that the characters all died in the plane crash, this is incorrect and a common misconception.
Sopranos didn't end in a fade to black. It was a smash to black. It was Tony Sopranos assassination. The last meal in the dinner was communion. It was telegraphed two episodes prior, that's why they aired that episode again before the finale.
Like The Americans, Six Feet Under was in the top-performing tier of finales. Just wasn’t as popular on IMDB as other shows (measured by total IMDB ratings), so it missed the cut-off for that chart.
All time favorite ending is Newhart... That may date me but it truly was brilliant!
Scrubs is a funny one. It's both disaster and transcendent. Everything about Season 9 is garbage, but up to that point it was a fantastic show. And Season 8 has an incredibly well-done, moving, funny finale. I highly recommend anyone watching this show for the first time simply stop at the end of Season 8.
Scrubs being on this list as a bad finale in their 9th season is such a disgrace, as the studio screwed this show over.
Season 9 was a spin-off, but they didn’t market it that way. The studio got cold feet and tried to milk the Scrubs name. They failed.
Season 8 was the Scrubs finale, and it was perfect.
The HIMYM ending is honestly mystifying. How did that make it to air?
I know. What a terrible half hour of television.
I always believed that a final episode be part of the agreement for airing a series. This wrap up episode could even air during the summer (or better said, the off season) to generate a bit of buzz...
Really interesting read and the ranking felt right! On Game of Thrones, I'm totally with you with the frustratation. I would say add it's not just the finale but the overall last 2 seasons that were bad. Rushed plots. Character growth not earned.
I did not read the books, only watched the show. With that, I really did not think the final two seasons were that bad. I don't understand why they lengthened episodes but cut the number of them down. Maybe those who read the books, or imagined their own endings are disappointed because they did not meet those expectations, but on their own it was okay. There were a lot of things that did not get answered that needed to be. And the followup to the series has been mystifying.
Surprised The Americans is left out here, since it meets the stated criteria for a Transcendent Finale: iMDB rating of 9.7 for the finale, and 8.4 for the series as a whole.
The Americans was in the top-performing tier of finales. Just wasn’t as popular on IMDB as other shows (measured by total IMDB ratings), so it missed the cut-off for that chart.
Did you ever say explicitly in the post what the criteria were for what shows appeared on your charts? I got the impression there was some ranking based on total IMDB ratings or something but I didn't see anything that clearly explained it.
Great point! One of the best finales of all time, IMO.
Surprised to not see LOST among worst of the worst. At the time, audiences were livid.
Mr. Robot's finale really is transcendent. Glad to see it recognized. Surprised I didn't see The Leftovers or Six Feet Under on the lists. Or The Shield?
Yes, The Shield is also great.
Yeah, The Shield has one of the best endings of any show I've ever seen. I still remember the last moments many years after I watched it. Same with Six Feet Under.
In my view MASH was the best ending of any TV series
I just found your substack and was excited about this content! I did want to say, I kinda get the LOST thing. While the finale was controversial when it came out, and there were various problems with it, the one thing the writers tried to do was do right by all their characters. this is in contrast to a truly disastrous ending, like Game of Thrones, which felt like the writers saying F. U. to the watchers.
I have to watch the sopranos...the breaking bad universe has one of the best endings in tv show history 😎
Burn Notice was a very interesting ending. Especially the final moments when they wrap everything up and explain the role of the narrator.
Where does the *Battlestar Galactica* reboot fall? That show was amazing until the final season, when it fell off a cliff.
Hm. Falls under "meets expectations." Baffling.
I disagree that a bad finale ruins my experience for a show.
I enjoyed the first few seasons of Game of Thrones. The fact the finale (and final few episodes) were disappointing, didn't change the fact that I enjoyed the journey of watching those original shows.
Similarly, I didn't like the way LOST ended, but I still enjoyed watching the episodes that got me there.
The journey is more important than the destination for me.
I think it depends. If the ending reveals something new that puts the entire series in a different light (like, arguably, Lost), it can ruin the show.
If you're implying that it's revealed at the end of LOST that the characters all died in the plane crash, this is incorrect and a common misconception.
Thus "arguably."
Sopranos didn't end in a fade to black. It was a smash to black. It was Tony Sopranos assassination. The last meal in the dinner was communion. It was telegraphed two episodes prior, that's why they aired that episode again before the finale.
Where was Six Feet Under? It’s the highest rated series finale ever on IMDB, and the second highest rated television episode overall.
Like The Americans, Six Feet Under was in the top-performing tier of finales. Just wasn’t as popular on IMDB as other shows (measured by total IMDB ratings), so it missed the cut-off for that chart.
Six Feet Under is the best finale ever. Hands down. Contest over.