Its never easy for anyone when it comes to the very last episode of your favourite TV show and a lot of the time, after the final episode, that's it. No more of that show. Now some shows go on way too long than they need to be while others will end pretty abruptly because of a cancellation or just poor writing. These are my personal favourite finales to TV shows. For this list, these are shows that actually do end after the final episode in the sense that they don't get renewed for another season, nor does the story continue in any form (unless the finale has some unanswered questions in which case, I will count those in too). One off specials however, I will allow as long as it isn't too regular and not canon. So with that said, lets bring out the tissues and we look at the final episodes of the shows that I watch:
15 - The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! (from The Powerpuff Girls)
Quite a bizarre way to end a show. However, the show is known for its goofiness and cartoon humour so its fine. So in 2008 in honour of the 10th anniversary of the show (and the franchise as a whole), Cartoon Network created the series finale to the show which involves all the villains finding out about this so called key to the world which whoever possess it, can rule the world like any typical villain and as always, its up to the Powerpuff Girls to stop them, but they in turn get caught in the mayhem and eventually, the key is then given to the Powerpuff Girls' biggest enemy who when he takes, does something completely out of the blue and so unexpected that it kind of contradicts what this person did in the film. Even though I felt that the show never really needed a series finale, I was glad that Cartoon Network finished it in the only way possible. By giving us all the villains fighting with the girls caught in the middle of it all and that my friends, is how a goofy show should end.
14 - Underfist: Halloween Bash (unintentional finale of Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)
Now this was to start a new series which would be a spin-off to The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, but unfortunately due to Maxwell Atom's contract with Cartoon Network, this never happened so instead, this ended up being the series finale of the show where the characters came from. In addition, this special also ended the other Atom show which due to the popularity of Grim Adventures, only ever got 2 seasons made which was called Evil Con Carne. So the show was full of supporting characters who would appear on the show from time to time and because of each of the character's popularity, this then prompted Atoms to make a show for them which would be the Grim Adventures take on the Avengers as it were. In the team you have Billy's best friend Irwin, the in show TV character Fred Fredburger, the spider who once saw Billy as his dad Jeff, the extreme exterminator Hoss Delgado and the guy from Con Carne who moved onto Grim Adventures General Skarr. Together they must fight the Trick or Treater Eaters before Halloween is ruined. It does sound like a silly concept, but when you think about it, most of the shows on Cartoon Network are known for their silly stuff and goofiness so it made sense. While it is unintentional for it to have been the finale to Grim Adventures, at least the show ended on a high and not a low.
13 - Ed, Edd 'N' Eddy's Big Picture Show (feature length finale of Ed, Edd 'N' Eddy)
So a number of the original shows on Cartoon Network often choose to end their shows with a feature length special which was the case for Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (though that in turn was unintentional) and its the case here for the Ed boys. So the show is known for having the Ed boys pull off scams to get money to buy themselves Jawbreakers which for the most part, normally ends in some what of a disaster and that's exactly what happens here. They pull of a scam and it ends more badly than it ever has before which forces the Ed boys to leave the Cul-de-Sac and seek refuge at Eddy's brother's place with everyone after them, except for Sarah and Jimmy who were not affected but choose to go anyway to watch the mayhem unfold and the Kanker Sisters who just want to save their boyfriends from the chaos. Now may theories have tried to prove that the characters in the show are in some kind of purgatory because they are the only characters to actually be seen in the show as no other character is introduced following the show's first season. The film manages to in some way, prove that theory to be false and brings in one unseen but mentioned character in the show. I won't reveal who this character is, but trust me, it will definitely be worth the wait. I could not think of any better way to end the show, because this is exactly what I had in mind for the ending and the creators pull it off really well which is great.
12 - Going to America (finale of Father Ted)
Regarded as Channel 4's greatest British sitcom, Father Ted is one of a few comedy shows that manages to pack in a number of pop culture references using characters that you wouldn't think for a second, would actually do those sorts of things. Needless to say, unlike other pop culture filled shows, Father Ted managed to stand on its own ground and had a few original moments in addition to pop culture stuff. So the final episode of the show was always intended to be the last by both the creators and the show's lead actor Dermot Morgan who prior to the episode's filming, was ready to retire the character. However, a day after filming of the episode was finished, Morgan died of a heart attack while hosting a dinner party. So in light of that, Channel 4 decided to delay the broadcast of the episode to a week to pay their respects to him and that carrying on the show without him and replace by a new actor, would in turn be a disgrace to him. But enough about the episode's background, let's actually talk about the episode. So Father Ted is at some kind of conference where he meets an American priest who offers him a job at a Parish Church in Los Angelas which Ted accepts, though he finds it difficult to say to his friends that only he is going and not them when they all think that they are coming along too. But in the end, Ted makes a choice that would determine his future. Its not the sort of ending that I would choose to have, but it works which is the important thing and it ends the way the show should end. By giving us one last look at the beloved characters and then a reverse montage of episodes with it ending with Ted and Dougal saying good night to each other which I felt was the best way to end what had been a great show. Its a shame of the lead actor who is no longer with us, but I'm glad it ended the way it was destined to end.
11 - A Wholly Holy Happy Ending (finale of The Vicar of Dibley)
So after 3 series and several specials, one of the BBC's greatest sitcoms comes to a close, but unlike the previously mentioned shows, this one does continue even after the series finale, but via one off and non-canon specials. Anyway, so its Christmas in Dibley and Geraldine Granger is annoyed to the fact that a townie has moved to Dibley. As such she and this new guy seem to be attracted to one another and it isn't long until something quite magical is planned for the two. So this was a 2 part special that in the same style as the 10th Doctor's final episodes, had the first part on Christmas Day and the second part on New Year's Day and it just so happens that Geraldine's love interest is none other than Thorin Oakenshield of the Hobbit trilogy before he was given that role. Its surprising what you don't know. But anyway, as the official series finale, I enjoyed it. I thought it wrapped up the series nicely and even though we are still getting one off specials around Comic Relief time, its good to know that the cast still want to do more, even if the show has officially ended.
10 - The Internet Is Coming (finale of The IT Crowd)
Another one of Channel 4's more successful sitcoms, comes in the form of a show about two geeks/nerds and their female boss trying to be the best they can at their job of being the IT Department, but seemingly fail at every turn to get somewhere and chaos unfurls. That is until this one of special which was initially going to be part of a 5th series that would also be the last series for the show, but that never happened. So through the power of the Internet, a video goes viral which sees Jen and Roy criticised for the former accidentally throwing coffee on a homeless person and the latter being criticised for his views on small people in an argument with a small person. This then leads to the video being made a big deal out of by everyone including Anonymous of all people. Meanwhile, Moss is trying to do a new online video series while their boss Douglas is trying to do good to the world, but fails at every level and criticises Jen and Roy for their actions. In the end, they do actually get somewhere. So for me, this felt like the right way to end the show because it is a great show and one that nerds and geeks can relate to. Apparently there was going to be a film made based on the show, but that never happened due to the actors other commitments, so what we get, it feels like the right way to end the show.
9 - Graduation (finale of Malcolm in the Middle)
Now the show in general has been a hit and miss for me in the sense that many of the episodes are quite cringe worthy and just shows how bizarre certain families can be. Everything is told from the perspective of Malcolm while also giving time to focus on the other characters in his life who may or may not be near him. And this was what Bryan Cranston was doing before being a meth addict and drug dealer in Breaking Bad (a show of which I will watch one day if I ever get the chance), and then confronting an enemy of the king of monsters that is Godzilla. Anyway, so Malcom is going to college, but Hal realises that the family may not have the funds for him to do so. And with all the boys moving on, they all agree to give the youngest of Hal and Lois's offspring Jamie, the childhood that they never had, one free of threats. This then leads to the family getting the happy endings that they deserve with work and family matters. In my eyes, I felt that there was no better way to end the series than by doing what I just said there. As I said, the show has been a hit and miss for me, but on the whole, I've enjoyed it and found it to be good at what it tries to portray even if most of it is cringe worthy.
8 - Double Trouble (finale of Mr. Bean: The Animated Series)
Now since watching pretty much everything to do with Mr. Bean, I felt the original live action part of it were never really established as a series but rather just a collection of sketches which I believe they were always intended to be. And then came the animated series which I felt was just a cash grab to get in on the action of Mr. Bean, but when I actually spent time seeing it, I felt it was appropriate to keep the spirit of the character alive in this form because I don't think Rowan Atkinson would be wanting to do more energy consuming sketches that he did when the character was first introduced to the world as being the only show where subtitles and translations need not apply. So anyway, its been hinted and theorised all over the Internet that Mr. Bean is an alien which this final episode of the animated show, kind of confirmed as Mr. Bean meets someone who is pretty much the same person as him, just with a different name and soft toy. The show also shows us a not so surprising revelation about Mr. Bean while also giving us the iconic title sequence from the live action sketches which I thought was quite nice. Its definitely a fan service episode for Mr. Bean fans which is pretty much what I expected to see in the final episode.
7 - Goodbyeee (finale of Blackadder)
Now Blackadder was one of the more interesting of the British sitcoms on this list. It was the one that started the careers of such big names like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny to name a few. The way that makes it interesting is that unlike many shows, each series has a brand new set of characters played by the same cast with Rowan Atkinson playing a different generation of the same character Edmund Blackadder. So the last series which takes place in World War 1 and is called Blackadder Goes Fourth sees the characters trying desperately to escape from the trenches, but failing at every turn. This series is well known for its final episode which sees the characters making one last stand against their enemies and the episode finishes with them rushing towards the camera before turning into a field of poppies thus referencing Remembrance Day which is a day that many of us use to remember those who fought in the wars and are still fighting to this day. I was happy with the final episode and I liked the little reference at the end. I thought it was great.
6 - Meanwhile (finale of Futurama)
Now its had to be renewed many times and it has ultimately come to its end now which isn't the creators decision, but rather an executive decision and this episode was the 5th episode that was to play out the ending of the series, following 4 others which were made at a time where the production status of the show was uncertain. But I will happily accept this as the true final episode of the show with the exception of the Simpsons crossover which may I point out, is not the first time they have crossed over as it has been done twice in the comics, but never on screen until that time like it was meant to be. Anyway, so the episode focuses on the love relationship of Fry and Leela whereby Prof. Farnsworth makes a 10 second machine which allows the user to go back 10 seconds into the past and when Fry gets his hands on it, he tries to use it to help with his date with Leela, but this ends up with him going through a never ending fall off a building which Farnsworth finds out about and realises that Fry could potentially cause everyone to be consumed by the fabric of space and time or just stopped in time. Either way, it ends with Fry and Leela being the only physically moving humans left in the universe and as such, they spend the rest of their days doing all the things they have wanted to do, until Farnsworth realises that there is a way to fix all this. As there have been 4 series endings throughout the course of the show, I have decided that this is the true ending. It ends the series well with giving us time to see our favourite characters one last time and allows Fry and Leela's love hate relationship to finally turn into marriage, even if it never happened in the show.
5 - Time After Time (2 part finale of Xiaolin Showdown)
So this show is about a few kids who decide that they want to serve a greater cause than themselves and as such, make it their priority in life to prevent the forces of evil from acquiring certain artifacts that are known as the Shen Gong Wu which whoever acquires one, is given powers to use for whatever they need it for. However, if a character from the forces of good and a character from the forces of evil each grab a Shen Gong Wu, they then go into what's known as a Xiaolin Showdown whereby they go against each other in some kind of a big and epic fight or contest and have to use a Shen Gong Wu that each combatant already has at their disposal to assist them. Each of these fights or contests can be anything and over the course of the show, these fights get a lot more interesting as some allow the combatants to use more than one Shen Gong Wu or no Shen Gong Wu at all and more than one combatant can play. In the 2 part series finale which was the original shows finale until the reboot last year, Omi who is the most loyal to the cause, is having to choose what his last quest will be and chooses to go forward in time to get the Sands of Time (currently residing with his older self) to stop his rival Chase from turning to the side of evil and the dragon Dojo accompanies him. He's does this the same way he got back to the present in the first 4 part adventure by freezing himself and Dojo and setting things up for them to awaken at the right moment. Unfortunately, in Omi's absence, his rival Jack Spicer has taken over the world and has overthrown the more experienced of the evil side. Realising that the future can change, Omi and his much older friends, form a plan for Omi to get the Sands of Time so that he can fulfil his quest. However things take a turn for the worst as while Omi succeeds in his mission, someone else turns to the evil side instead of Chase and its then that he and his allies must challenge the evil ones to one last Xiaolin Showdown which will decide the fate of the world and time itself. Its a very action packed finale to an otherwise great and pretty solid series. We have all the heroes battling against all the major antagonists of the series and then in the final shot, we see them take on all the other antagonists of the show and in all honesty, there was no better way to end the show than by doing just that. Though initially I felt the show had ended following the 4 part story that started at the end of season 1 and finished at the start of season 2, but when I watched episodes of the later 2 seasons, I felt that there was a lot more to look into which was great. Though I haven't watched the entire show, I have watched a fair bit and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Its great.
4 - Things Change (finale of Teen Titans)
So before the terrible Teen Titans Go! came along, many of us tuned into watching the original Teen Titans show which is way better than that pile of c**p. It was a show that in my eyes, was DC and Warner Brothers building on the success of the DC Animated Universe and it worked. The show focuses on some of the younger superheroes of the DC Universe and when compared to their comic book counterparts, this is very different from that take in the sense that the characters are treated like they are teenagers which in the show, actually does work. Now the final episode of the show has been questionable in the sense that the storyline involving Raven and her father was in many people's eyes, the series finale and that there was nothing that could top it. But then in the following season, the creators threw something in that wasn't as epic as that story, but did end the show the right way by having all the heroes beating up their enemies, thus saving the world. But no, there was one more episode that came after that and that was this one. Now I'm actually one of the few that actually liked the episode because it ended the show with having Beast Boy making the tough decision of leaving the past alone or not while the other Titans deal with the dramatic changes that have happened to their world in their absence, following their fight with the Brotherhood of Evil. It may not be the ending that we wanted, but at least it ends the show on a some what positive note.
3 - Alive! and Destroyer (2 part finale of Justice League Unlimited and in turn the DCAU)
So after the amount of success that the DC Animated Universe shows were getting, the universe finally saw its end in this 2 part episode of Justice League Unlimited. Now that doesn't mean that the whole thing has ended. Oh no. You see with the shows being based on characters from DC comic books, the universe in a way, is still living strong in that form. But for those of us who like the television series more than comics, this would be the definitive ending to this series of shows. So the Legion of Doom is divided with Lex Luthor leading half and Gorilla Grodd leading the other. This then causes both teams to conflict with each other and ultimately through certain means, Lex Luthor becomes victorious and in a desperate attempt to bring back Brainiac, he instead accidentally brings the return of Darksied and his return means that a whole lot of s**t is about to go down. With no one else to turn to for help, Lex and the remainder of the Legion of Doom seek help from the Justice League who reluctantly agree to assist them in retaking Earth from Darksied's forces. Each members of both sides go to different parts of the world to destroy Darksied's forces before his destruction of Earth is realised while Superman, Batman and Lex go to Metropolis to take on Darksied himself. This 2 part finale saw many of the fan favourite characters return with the exception of anyone from Batman: The Animated Series aside from Batman which is a shame, but hey, what can you do. It also had Superman show his true power and also had Lex go to great lengths to get the revenge he so desperately wants on Darkseid. But in the end, it all ends well for both sides and the last shot sees all the characters of the series running down the stairs ending with Batman's logo taking up the screen for the credits. It was a great way to end the show and the universe and while there was a lack of Batman characters (which is partially to do with the then upcoming show The Batman), I'm glad it ended the way it did.
2 - Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S. (feature length finale of Codename: Kids Next Door)
So the last of Cartoon Network's feature length finales on this list is also my all time favourite of the bunch. In it, Sector V of the KND as their older adult selves (which by the way, isn't animated but instead shown in live action) minus Number One, are interviewed and asked about an event that had Number One having to make a very tough choice. But before all that, everyone in the show, gets involved in a Scavenger Hunt that whoever wins, will get the DCFDTL's birthday cake as the prize. And as you can expect, everyone is involved. The adults, the DCFDTL and members of the KND and the fate of all the characters is decided as well as the thing that Number One has been chosen for. In all honesty, I actually thought that the film Operation Z.E.R.O. was the finale of the show because that had a lot of stuff going for the show, but this, well its not as big or grand as that film, but it does end things on a positive note with the possibility that the show may return in the future in some form.
No honourable mentions this time around as there have been so many shows that I have watched that a number of them, never really had the proper ending that they deserved. So on that note, here is my number one choice:
1 - Sozin's Comet (4 part finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender)
After what has been a pretty solid series that played out with the right amount of episodes and seasons to give us a complete story, the finale to Avatar: The Last Airbender is unlike any finale that I have seen before. Its boasts the best of the shows animation and has all the characters play a part. Aang sets out to find and fight the fire lord which even though the prophecy says that Aang must kill him, he chooses another way to defeat him. And while that's happening, Zuko and Katara fight and defeat a more insane Azula. Toph, Sokka and Suki find and destroy the fire lord's airship fleet. And Iroh and characters that we have previously met as the series unfolded, journey to retake Ba Sing Se from Fire Nation control. All this makes this one of the greatest finales to a series that has been great from the get go with a few not so great episodes here and there and it will always be better than that terrible film that is based on the show. Its a great finale and its one that may not be topped anytime soon.
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