I have to confess - I've never watched Lost. I remember, when it came out, that everybody was telling me to watch it and explaining how wonderful it is, but from what I heard it sounded like the writers are just making up mysteries as they go along with no plan on how to solve them. Several years later, I turned out to be correct as most people who used to tell me to watch it now said "Don't bother, the ending sucks".

I only watched two seasons of Dexter, and quit during the 3rd one because I felt it got repetitive. I was contemplating giving it another shot around the time it ended, but then I once again heard that the ending is a huge disappointment. The same thing happened with so many other series, that it almost feels like a standard now. Shows either get cancelled, or have an ending that makes you wish they were cancelled long before.

So, I was wondering what series you know of that actually had a worthy ending. Ones that got cancelled before their time don't count of course, as I am talking about shows that reached their natural ending without fucking it up.
Do you know of any?

I'll start with one -
Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the few shows I know that managed to end well (So well even that I immediately felt like rewatching it). Even though the finale moved away from the style of the previous seasons of being emotional and personal, and tried to be epic instead, and in some levels it didn't feel quite right, but I think it was the best possible way to end the show and it was done wonderfully.

Ok, I've talked enough. Your turn.

9 years ago

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Was this poll only made to allow people to vote "Potato"?

View Results
Yes
No
Potato

I'm surprised you made it to the 3rd season of Dexter; it lost me halfway through Season 2.

9 years ago
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Well, that pyromaniac girl was hot literally

9 years ago
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if you didnt see the john lithgow season (think it was 3) then u missed out. I admit they were treading water after that season.

9 years ago
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4th one. Awesome.

9 years ago
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Entourage series + movie
Movie did a great job rounding things up neatly. Plus more Ari Gold :)

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9 years ago*
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The X files

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9 years ago
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Star Trek: The Next Generation has one of the better endings.
I know LOST is very divisive, but I actually liked it. As for the writers not having a plan, that was obvious in years 2-3, but once they had their end date set ahead of season 4, they started working towards an endgame the last 3 seasons.
Going back a bit, the MASH finale is of course one of the grand-daddies of huge series finales.

9 years ago
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  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Firefly
  • Boardwalk Empire

Already mentioned many times: The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, True Detective, Futurama, Californication

9 years ago
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I'm going to recommend some series you might have missed rather than just focus on the endings.

The Black Donnellys - This tv show was tight. Only went for one season but Jonathon Tucker is amazing in it. Great ending. <- Irish Gangsters.
He is great in Kingdom too. <-- Mixed Martial Arts tv show that surprised the hell out of me with it's authenticity and drama.

Ray Donovan - for what started as a cheesy concept, this show started getting serious footing halfway into Season 1, i really enjoyed it. A Hitman of Hollywood. Solid performances.

Fargo - Check this out, the writing is tight, i put it up there with Breaking Bad and The Wire from a story perspective. Solid ending.

Justified - Bad ass Sheriff tv show. Walter Goggin's was like a shining light. Amazing acting and speeches from him. Solid from start to finish.

Mr Robot - it's new, and it's like Fight Club turned into a tv series with it's emphasis on bringing down Capitalism and strength of anarchy. - A somewhat anxious/depressed hacker finds himself in a position to take down a corporation.

9 years ago
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Mr.Robot has to be the best TV show on at the moment. This weeks episode was brilliant! Every episode feels like watching a film.

9 years ago
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The little house on the praerie had an ending i didn't forsee.

9 years ago
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battlestar galactica has an amazing ending. The killing (US version) had some of the best season endings.

9 years ago
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i don't want to tell you! na na na na

honestly, if you find something good, edit the post to say so :) too much to read...

9 years ago
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Can't know if it's good until I try it :P
A lot of things sound good. I think I'll start with Sons of Anarchy

9 years ago
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If you'll ever feel like going back to Dexter - while Season 3 was "just-alright", Season 4 is awesome and it works as an show ending.
I also remember Season 5 as really nice (I guess Julia Stiles as guest co-star helped with remembering it like that :P ).
Season 6 and 7 end with cliffhangers, so I won't recommend them as a good moment to stop watching and you'd have to get to season 8/finale.
And if you'd watch season 8, I really suggest to stop watching it at around the half (episode ends with boat scene). While few things will be left in the open, the Finale was so weak I'd say it's better to keep those loose ends, as that boat-scene-episode is a nice ending to all that drama that started in season 6.
It's like after that scene someone decided serial killer can't have "and they lived happily ever after", so instead they get shitty and rather random ending.

As for other TV shows: won't mention those I noticed that were mentioned already few times.
The Killing - US version (AFAIK it's remake of North-European TV show)
Broadchurch - UK version, and only UK version (there's US version called Gracepoint). <- in this case, it's still ongoing, but at least Season 1 works as "standalone", without need to watch Season 2. Didn't seen S2 yet and there's S3 in the making too.

9 years ago
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