As a huge fan of television, I can't help but be in awe of the amazing TV series finales for the beloved shows listed below. Wrapping up seasons of plot and character development is no easy task after all, but each one managed to leave their audiences unable to forget those last moments.
While it can be hard to say goodbye to favorite fictional characters whom we've come to know and love while tuning in, all things must eventually come to an end. Sure, there are always reruns to look forward to, but those just aren't the same.
Even years after their last episode, we're still thinking about what might have happened to Sam and Diane from Cheers, or if there might be a few more compelling shows being formed in little Tommy's vivid imagination from St. Elsewhere.
Of course, the episode descriptions below include some spoilers, but take a look to remember Cheers, St. Elsewhere, and plenty of other unforgettable TV series finales from over the years.
Let us know in the comments if we missed your favorite show's memorable last episode, and be sure to SHARE with your friends!
1. M*A*S*H
Episode Title: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"
Originally Aired: February 28, 1983
The two-and-a-half hour episode was directed by its star, Alan Alda, who also helped pen the script. Much of the plot deals with the emotional trauma Alan's character, Hawkeye Pierce, endured while on a bus with enemy troops surrounding them. A recurring character, psychologist Dr. Sidney Freedman, ultimately helps Hawkeye heal from his breakdown and he returns to camp to bid farewell to all his friends.
Most notably, he plants a big smooch on Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan and finally gets a proper sendoff from his best friend, B.J. Hunnicutt, in the form of a "GOODBYE" spelled out in rocks shown as he flies away in a chopper.
This episode also attracted the largest viewing audience any scripted finale has ever received, with a total of 121.6 million tuning in.
2. Cheers
Episode Title: "One More for the Road"
Originally Aired: May 20, 1993
The 1993 finale marked the return of Shelley Long as Diane Chambers after six years away from the show. She and Ted Danson's Sam Malone try to fool each other with fake relationships at first, but then decide to rekindle their romance before ultimately deciding to go their separate ways again.
In happier news, the 98-minute episode also shows Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe running off on a honeymoon with her new husband, played by Tom Berenger, and Woody Harrelson's bumbling Woody Boyd managing to be elected as a councilman.
3. Seinfeld
Episode Title: "The Finale"
Originally Aired: May 14, 1998
Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine head off on a last-minute trip to Paris before Jerry and George move to L.A. to begin work on a TV series called Jerry. Unfortunately, they experience some turbulence (thanks to Kramer's typical antics) and end up having to land in a small town in Massachusetts where the crew witness a mugging — and do nothing about it.
They're all arrested and put on trial. A string of characters from the show's previous seasons, including both George and Jerry's parents, former love interests, and the infamous "Soup Nazi," all return to testify against them in court, where they are eventually found guilty. As the credits roll, Jerry is shown performing standup in an orange jumpsuit in front of unimpressed prisoners.
4. Newhart
Episode Title: "The Last Newhart"
Originally Aired: May 21, 1990
Bob Newhart's second sitcom ended with one of the most hilarious examples of the "it was all a dream" trope. The entire town is purchased by a Japanese business tycoon, leaving many of the residents to accept large sums of money to allow the area to be converted into a giant golf course. Dick Loudon gets so frustrated about this that he cries out for the raucous bunch to be quiet and finally exclaims, "You're all crazy!"
He is then whacked in the head with a golf ball, only to wake up on the bedroom set from The Bob Newhart Show with his former co-star, Suzanne Pleshette, and describing the whole series as if it had just been a dream.
5. St. Elsewhere
Episode Title: "The Last One"
Originally Aired: May 25, 1988
Unlike Bob Newhart's tongue-in-cheek finale, this ending was much more serious. The series showed Dr. Donald Westphall and his autistic son, Tommy, in an apartment living room with Tommy staring at a snow globe while Donald sports a construction worker's uniform rather than his usual white coat.
When the camera zooms in on the miniature inside the snow globe, it's a replica of St. Eligius Hospital, implying the entire series was just a figment of Tommy's imagination.
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Episode Title: "The Last Show"
Originally Aired: March 18, 1977
After a new station manager fires almost all of the Six O'Clock News team, saving just Ted from the chopping block despite his bumbling being the most obvious reason for the ratings drop, Mary is understandably heartbroken.
At the end of the episode, Ted gives his former coworkers an unintentionally humorous yet sincere sendoff, and they all meet for a big group hug. The sadness is cut by the humor of the friends shuffling together to grab tissues, as none of them were ready to let go of each other yet. When she finally leaves, Mary takes a look back at the office and smiles before turning out the light one last time.
7. All In The Family
Episode Title: "Too Good Edith"
Originally Aired: April 8, 1979
Archie keeps his doting wife, Edith, busy throughout the episode with preparations for the St. Patrick's Day festivities at his bar. However, the comedy takes a tragic turn as Edith hides the fact that she was diagnosed with phlebitis and shouldn't be working so hard, because she doesn't want to upset her often temperamental husband.
In the spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, they confirm Edith died of a stroke.
8. Dallas
Episode Title: "Conundrum"
Originally Aired: May 3, 1991
Volatile family patriarch J.R. Ewing is shown contemplating suicide while in a drunken stupor as the episode begins, so a guide named Adam takes him on a journey like that in the film It's a Wonderful Life, showing him all the ways the Ewings' lives would have been drastically different without him around.
When J.R. wakes up thinking he was just dreaming the whole thing, Adam reveals he's actually working with the devil and encourages J.R. to go through with pulling the trigger. Bobby Ewing, J.R.'s son, enters the house just in time to hear the gunshot, but the episode ends without revealing whether his father really had the gun pointed at himself.
The truth was finally revealed five years after the fact with J.R. appearing in a reunion special having apparently aimed at the mirror in the room rather than himself.
9. Frasier
Episode Title: "Goodnight, Seattle"
Originally Aired: May 13, 2004
The Cheers spin-off ended its 11-year run with Frasier Crane on a plane describing to his fellow passenger how his father, Martin, ended up with a chaotic wedding at the same time Niles and wife Daphne's first child was born, all happening at a veterinarian's office when Eddie the dog swallowed the wedding rings.
When the plane lands, it is revealed that Frasier has flown to Chicago to chase after the woman he loves, Charlotte, rather than take a career opportunity in San Francisco.
10. The Sopranos
Episode Title: "Made in America"
Originally Aired: June 10, 2007
Fans of the HBO mafia drama were left with their jaws on the floor. The episode was supposed to wrap up a plot that had the Soprano family hiding in a safe house and working with the feds, only to have Tony return to business as usual, then hand over the crew to Paulie after news spreads that an informant threatened to testify against him.
However, despite all the deaths racked up on the series, it's the last scene that gave viewers the biggest shock: it simply cut off at a crucial moment while the song "Don't Stop Believin'" started playing.
11. Friends
Episode Title: "The Last One"
Originally Aired: May 6, 2004
Monica and Chandler are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their adopted baby only to discover that the woman they're adopting from was actually pregnant with twins. Rachel plans to move to Paris, and though she reconnects with Ross reconnect, she doesn't change her mind about moving so far away. After rushing to the wrong airport, Ross is sure she's gone for good. However, het returns to his apartment to see Rachel standing there, finally giving the on-again-off-again couple some much needed closure.
The final scene shows all six friends and the new babies saying goodbye to Monica and Chandler's apartment and deciding to go out for one last cup of coffee together.
12. The Fugitive
Episode Title: "The Judgment"
Originally Aired: August 29, 1967
After four years of being on the run while wrongly accused of killing his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble finally finds the "One-Armed Man" who was really responsible for her death. Unfortunately, Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard has also caught up with Richard, but agrees to give him 24 hours before turning him in.
Just when Richard and the audience think his time is up, he and Philip are taken on a wild chase where they discover the one remaining witness of Richard's wife's death holding the One-Armed Man at gunpoint.
With 30 million viewers, it was the most-watched episode of scripted television at the time.
Did we miss your favorite TV finale? Let us know below, and be sure to SHARE with your friends!
