I'm, clearly, in the minority, but I did not like the finale for Newhart. When they played it off as all just a dream I just felt cheated like having watched the series hadn't meant anything. I understood the joke at the very end, but it felt like it undermineded the previous several years. It was hard for me to watch it in syndication for a long time because I'd just think, "oh, it was part of a dream."AmandaByNight wrote:When I think of incredible show finales I always think of Newhart. That one was probably the most clever thing I have ever seen. I saw Bob Newhart speak in 2009 and he said his wife came up with the ending as a joke and I guess everyone loved it.
I also loved Magnum (always cry) and I really love the Golden Girls finale as well, where Dorothy marries Blanche's uncle played by Leslie Nielson. It's such a great, sweet and sad ending.
I really enjoyed the series finale for The Cosby Show. Heathcliff flashing back to classic moments which caused him to miss his only son's college graduation was great. They'd built up the entire series that he wanted to get to the point where all of the kids were grown and out of the house so he'd have time alone with his wife, but when it came down to it he knew the house'd never be empty of kids.
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 was a fantastic series finale. It tied up everything that they'd worked on for the entire series. All of it made sense at the end and made the story end logically.
Magnum's finale I'm wishy washy about really. I don't think it was bad, but it could've been better. When I heard the theory that Magnum was killed and the last few minutes were simply his last day dream I actually enjoyed the episode better. It made more sense to me when looking at it from that perspective.