A
series finale or a
final
episode is the very last installment of a
television series, usually a
sitcom or
drama. The term is
typically used to refer to a planned ending, as opposed to an
unplanned one when a series is suddenly cancelled by its
network . Something labeled as a "series
finale" is usually a high-profile event for a show's creators,
fans, and sponsors. The phrase "series finale" is mainly used in
North America.
In the United Kingdom
and the Commonwealth,
final episode is more commonly used.
The word
finale comes from the , which means
final (in this case, episode).
Typical formats
Usually, a series finale is a dramatic conclusion to the basic
premise of the series. Final episodes frequently feature
fundamental changes in the central plot line, such as the
resolution of a central mystery or problem, the separation of the
major characters, or the sale of a home or business that serves as
the series' primary setting. Indeed, in a final episode it is also
possible to do things that would be considered
jumping the shark at any other point in
the series' run. The series finale does not always have to be an
episode, but a
television or
theatrical film.
Another trend involves acknowledging the fundamental unreality of
the series, as
St. Elsewhere
and
Newhart did.
Sometimes in finales, the final scene takes place in the show's
primary setting, as
That '70s
Show,
Friends,
The Bernie Mac Show,
and
The King of Queens
did.
Sometimes, music heard in the first episode of the show will play
again in the final scene of the final episode.
Final episodes often include looks into the future or detailed
looks into the series' past, or sometimes both, such as in
Star Trek: The Next
Generation's and
Guiding
Light 's finale. Characters who have left the show often
return. Characters may finally accomplish things they have never
done, running gags are brought to an end, and
unseen characters are revealed. There may
also be allusions to other shows that have gone on into television
history, and sometimes a character or two may be set up for a
sequel series (e.g.,
Cheers
begetting
Frasier) in which
characters from the series being concluded might show up from time
to time. Shows that feature a character who confronts villains on a
regular basis often build their finales around a final,
no-holds-barred confrontation between the hero and the most
notorious villain he or she has faced.
Series finales for shows that are cancelled suddenly are sometimes
seen as making relatively haphazard or rushed conclusions, or
sometimes merely having a reflective feeling rather than tying up
loose ends.
An anticipated series finale will often wrap up loose plot threads
that have lingered throughout a show's run, or at least its final
seasons. It is very common for actors that have long since left a
series to return for one last appearance, as did
Shelley Long of
Cheers,
Dylan
McDermott in
The Practice,
Kristy McNichol in
Empty Nest,
Tisha Campbell in
Martin,
David Duchovny in
The X-Files,
Topher
Grace and
Ashton Kutcher in
That '70s Show,
Jessica Biel in the "intended finale" of
7th Heaven,
Linda Gray and
Steve
Kanaly in
Dallas,
Rob Lowe in
The West Wing,
Denise Crosby in
Star Trek: The Next
Generation,
Michael Shanks
in
Stargate SG-1's "intended
finale" (the show was renewed for a seventh season following
production),
Joan Van Ark,
Donna Mills in
Knots Landing,
David Boreanaz in the
Buffy the Vampire
Slayer series finale,
Scott
Weinger in
Full House,
George Clooney in
ER,
Estelle
Harris in
The
Suite Life of Zack and Cody,
Caroline Rhea in
Sabrina the Teenage
Witch, and
Nicole Sullivan
in
The King of Queens
finale.
Occasionally, a show is cancelled without warning, but its last two
or three episodes are simply combined to comprise something billed
as a "series finale" -- as has happened to one-time hits such as
Married with Children
and
Full House, both of which
became too expensive to produce and thus ended on an anticlimactic
note.
Origins
Finales started becoming popular in the 1970s , after
The Fugitive's closing episode
in August 1967 became one of the most highly rated episodes of all
time. Prior to that, most series consisted of stand-alone episodes
without continuing story arcs, so there was little reason to
provide closure. Other series had included special ending episodes
much earlier, however, including
Howdy
Doody in September 1960 and
Leave it to Beaver in June
1963.
Notable series finales
Some series have ended with finales that have won critical acclaim
and higher audience figures.
Considered to be "the series finale that invented the modern-day
series finale","
The Judgement", the final episode of
The Fugitive,
attracted a 72% audience share when broadcast. This finale received
the highest viewing figures in American history prior to being
surpassed by the
Dallas
episode and then
the final episode of
M*A*S*H. The series
ended with a conclusion to
Doctor
Richard Kimble's attempts to evade Lt. Gerard, after being
wrongfully accused of his wife's murder. The true murderer's guilt
is proven by an eye witness to the event and Kimble is
cleared.
Two finales top the list of most watched telecasts in the US. By
share of the television audience, the highest rated finale to date
was from the series
M*A*S*H. The final episode,
"
Goodbye, Farewell and
Amen", gained an audience share of over 77%. In the
extended episode, the cast leave the setting for the series, the
4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea and make their
goodbyes. Second to this final episode was the
Dallas episode,
Who Done It that resolved the
"
who shot J.R.?" storyline.
Some positive critical reviews come from shows that have
controversial or twist endings. The finale of
The Prisoner,
Fall Out, caused controversy by
providing a cryptic end to the series. The lead actor of the
series,
Patrick McGoohan, wrote and
directed the final episode. He recalled in an interview years later
that the final episode attracted a large audience, who demanded a
clear resolution to the series. McGoohan recalled having to hide
from fans immediately afterwards because of the reaction to the
ending, which he himself had written. The episode "
The Last Newhart" ended
the series
Newhart, by revealing
the run of the series to be a dream conjured up by the main
character. In a similar vein, the series
St. Elsewhere ended with the suggestion
that the entire series is a fantasy of a small boy in the episode
"
The Last
One".
Finales may win awards for critical acclaim even if they do not win
significant ratings. The final episode of
Star Trek: The Next
Generation, "
All Good
Things...", won the 1995
Hugo Award for Best
Dramatic Presentation.. This was the second such award for the
series.
Notable shows that had a premature series finale
There have been shows that were given a series finale only for the
series to be given a reprieve or to be revived years later.
The series
Sledge Hammer!
was given a finale for the end of the first season after poor
ratings, with an episode, "
The Spa Who Loved Me", killing
off the cast. When it was unexpectedly granted a second season, the
new episodes were set five years before the first season.
The BBC announced the end of production of
Doctor Who after the episode
Survival ended the 26th series in
1989. Prior to its broadcast, series producer
John Nathan-Turner had then-Doctor
Sylvester McCoy record a brief
epilogue that was added to the final episode for transmission,
intended as a final message to end the series. Following a
made-for-TV film in 1996, the series resumed production in 2005 and
is considered a continuation of the original show.
Due to the imminent collapse of
PTEN, the producers of
Babylon 5 were unsure if it would
be picked up for its final season. Faced with the possibility that
the previously-planned five-season story arc would not be
concluded, the producers heavily modified Season 4 and commissioned
two television movies plus a
series
finale episode to ensure the major plotlines of the series
would be completed. When
TNT picked
up the show for a final season, a new Season 4 finale was rushed
into production and the original series
finale was shown at the
end of Season 5.
Scrubs aired a two-part
season finale in May 2009, at the end of Season 8, called "
My Finale", only for the series to be continued in
the next television year, albeit without some main cast members
(such as the show's star
Zach Braff) and
with some replacements. (
Scrubs had previously kept its
entire main cast intact from Seasons 1–8.)
See also
External links
References
- DVD Verdict, The Prisoner
- The
Hugo Awards by Year, World Science Fiction Society
website, accessed 29 January, 2008
- Survival DVD release (2 Entertain/BBC Video,
2007)
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