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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
The HIMYM ending is honestly mystifying. How did that make it to air?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.