TV series without finales

[tharpdevenport]

Some shows, like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", are lucky enough to get a final episode where even if it doesn't tie things in a bow, it still tries to end things on a good note, but some series don't even get a real finale, they just end.

I thought it might be interesting to start a thread about those shows and discuss what you'd have wish to have seen.

I'll start with "Gunsmoke". 635 episodes, but the finale epsiode of the series -- 20 years later -- is just a regular episode. Maybe they didn't get enough advance notice, maybe they thought ending it on a regular note would go along with the everyday life of Dodge -- I don't know.
What I do know is the show had very few end that needed tieing.
Maybe retire Dillion, maybe see Doc get some happiness and money out of his work, and see Kitty and Matt finally hook up in some sugnificant way.


"Knight Rider". That ended on a regular episode too. It's hard to say what I would have liekd to see in the finale. Maybe some sign they'd always be championing good and that things will be okay, and maybe handing letting Michael know one day he'd be Devon's successor.
And maybe, as some other fan thought would be neat, a teaming of Garth Knight and K.A.R.R., in a final battle against Micahel & K.I.T.T.

 

[captcalhoun]

TOS, didn't get a finale. obviously.

something with them flying off to continue boldly going would've been nice, possibly after thwarting the Klingons or Romulans once more.

 

[TheSeeker]

Journeyman sort of got a finale but we were still left with so many unanswered Questions. Or how about John Doe? It ended with a cliffhanger!

 

[Nick Ryder]

John Doe's ending really pissed me off when it just ENDED ON A CLIFFHANGER. I was really getting into that series too when they said it wasn't coming back.

And Knight Rider "classic''s ending... talk about a grrr argh.

The Pretender in a way was just as bad, ended on a cliffhanger, although then they did do those movies on TNT but I'd rather have seen them on NBC...

Pushing Daises has yet to air its "finale" - and I really really loved that show too.

Lois and Clark didn't have a real true "finale" either, just ended with them finding that baby on their doorstep.

The Flash didn't have a real finale...

At least Firefly had Serenity to be a sort of "finale" BUT I don't think it had a finale in the true sense of the word either

 

[Shurik]

Threshold had no proper finale but the general direction of things was hinted in the last episode.
Invasion ended with freaking cliffhanger and was canceled.

 

[Hermiod]

Space: Above and Beyond.

 

[rramarr]

The generosity was granted to Life on Mars recently where they were informed of the show being canceled in enough time to write how the series would end and have a finale.

 

[Gojirob]

The cartoon 'Dungeons & Dragons' and the live-action 'The Incredible Hulk' both had finales plotted prior to their cancellations. The D&D one is available as a radio drama on the DVD collection. Maybe someday, the basic premise for the Bixby-Hulk finale can be a Marvel mini-series. This would have been a true finale, BTW - ID exposed, trial for Elena Marks' murder, and like as not, the cure, I'm guessing aided in some way by McGee.

 

[Deckerd]

Invasion is the obvious one. That show always had much more potential if the commissioning company had had the guts to not meddle.

 

[bigdaddy]

ER and Everyone Loves Rayman just ended as normal.

 

[Dar70]

All of Irwin Allen series didnt get finales:

Lost in Space
TimeTunnel
Land of The Giants
Voyage tot he Bottom of the Sea

Voyage really didnt need on because it was episodic and every episode ended neatly and you can just assume that they continued their voyages. The other shows left all of the characters stranded either Lost in Space, Time or an earth like planet with giants.

 

[Piper]

The Invaders didn't either, which was a great shame (especially as its non-alien equivalent, The Fugitive, got a great one.)

 

[exodus]

The Jefferson's never got a finale ep.

 

[Mistral]

Earth 2. Aaaaaargh! And Jeremiah got the bum's rush of a finale...

 

[Captain Shaw]

The generosity was granted to Life on Mars recently where they were informed of the show being canceled in enough time to write how the series would end and have a finale.

I thought the LOM finale was one of those WTF is going on moments.
But giving on what the show was based on it would have always been difficult to write a decent finale.

 

[Takeru]

Pushing Daises has yet to air its "finale" - and I really really loved that show too.

At least the series has a finale, they managed to wrap up most storylines in the last few minutes, it was pretty good, considering the episode was turned into a finale during post production.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I wonder if dolls house will get one.
I was just getting in to that show has well.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Space: Above and Beyond.

Space: Above and Beyond did have a finale of sorts, it just wasn't the ending anyone wanted and not 100% definitive because the writers still had some hope for a second season, but it was specifically written as the finale of the show.

 

[GNDN]

Twin Peaks. Despite network interference and some lackluster storylines, still had so much potential, ending on a second season cliffhanger.

Fire Walk With Me acts as a Coda but clearly does not resolve much of what the series left in limbo. Apparently a great deal of footage left out of the theatrical cut of FWWM did seek to address some of those story threads, but have yet to be released.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Perfectly normal in days gone by for series not to have a finale. SHADO don't defeat the Aliens at the end of UFO. Spectrum never defeat the Mysterons in Captain Scarlet. The Alphans neither find a new home nor return to Earth in Space: 1999. I don't think it ws really expected in those days. The feeling was, you'd seen some of their adventures, and presumably there would be more in the future.