Top Five is Alive!!! TV Series Finales!

Dan Martin

Last week we talked about Remake and Reboot films That Should Not Be! 

So this week I decided to extend the Top Five to the other filmed media, Television Series. This was a ripe topic! This week's Bonus is a counter point Top Five! Read on brave souls as we present, The Top Five...

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Best Television Finales

5. FRIENDS (1994-2004) - I wasn't a fan of this show, though I have seen every episode thanks to a babysitting gig I had in 2004 or so. And though it was mostly, in my opinion, a pandering network show, it had an ending that tied it up nicely. All of the main characters resolved their conflicts and the audience was given closure. Ross and Rachel got it together, but they were on a break! Monica and Chandler paired off and had twins. Phoebe married Mike and Joey met a new girl and spun right off into his own mostly terrible sit-com, you guessed it, "Joey!" But all in all a solid ending for the ten year run with all of the main characters in position to live on happily from here out. 


4. THE WIRE (2002-2008) - Another great show with a solid ending! HBO's "The Wire" was more like a mini-series with intriguing characters encapsulated within the five seasons. In the interest of not spoiling too much, the endings were not always bleak on The Wire. Bubbles the junkie became clean and received redemption. This is a strange anecdote but the time I saw Director Spike Lee in a movie store in NYC, he was trying to buy a box set of the wire. I wonder what he thinks of the show. Imagine if the Wire was a Spike Lee Joint? Danny Aiello would have been in it I bet... OK I digress, Watch this show! and on to number...

3. SEINFELD (1989-1998)* - This was an excellent ending to a show about nothing. Seinfeld wasn't a show about NOTHING, it was a show ABOUT nothing. Those great insignificant moments in life exaggerated and all of the minutia people give meaning to. So it was fitting that the ending included the cast being on trial for being horrible people, of all things befitting such a menagerie of New York Whiny Babies. And Kudos to the writers for bringing back some of the iconic characters to testify. It was a hilarious and nostalgic ending albeit inconclusive and massively pointless but you know, in a unique way. 

*Yes I was tempted to put "Seinfeld Four!" -The Chinese Restaurant 

2. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1987-1994) - One supposed last adventure with Picard and his crew. With Picard skipping through time to visit his crew at the beginning of their lives together and bringing them together poignantly for an epic last time. Or was it? Since this was a serial Science Fiction adventure show at the core, viewers didn't mind being left wanting more. Especially since the writing was solid and logical on this branch of the franchise. Next Generation primed us Trekkies nicely for the continuation of the characters in the impending films.

1. LOST (2004-2010) - LOST was an anomaly. A science fiction drama with more characters and plot twists than most shows on the air at the time combined! Yet, I feel it word. Even with the writers strike and network scheduling hiccups working against it. As well as cast mishaps. The writers still manages to stay true to their roots. LOST was rooted in pop culture. Borrowing a lot of its tropes from popular fiction shows such as "Star Trek Next Generation," Movies like, "Star Wars," and even Novels such as "1984" and "Lord Of The Flies." When creating the mythos of the show, philosophy came into play to create certain realities and character arcs. There was never going to be a way to answer every question raised in the show though the last season and the finale on the whole, did an amazing job in my opinion of narrowing it down to the key points and bringing the epic of LOST to a fantastic conclusion with one of the most tear jerking end montage since "Return Of The King." 

And there you have it. A top five of the Best Television Finales of all time! According to me, Dan Martin. A common thread here, nostalgia, closure and great story telling. So, let's look at this through our opposite lens with... 

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Bonus Top 5!** 5 Worst Television Finales 

**More like Bottom 5, am I right? 

Hear what these five are on the air! In Episode #58! Look for it on the main site! Comic's Corner! 

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