Series Finale of Sci-Fi Shows

[Daniel Jackson]

With SG-1's finale having aired in the UK, I'd like to discuss series finales of various science-fiction shows. I'd like to discount movie finales, because they are movies, not episodes of the TV show, but mention of movie finales are welcome.

Star Trek: Enterprise "These Are the Voyages..."
There were four long-running story arcs: forshadowing of the foundation of the Federation, the Temporal Cold War, and the Xindi Saga. The Xindi saga ended in the Season 3 finale, and the Temporal Cold War ended in the second episode of Season 4. Lame ending, but an end nonetheless. The longest running arcs in Season 4 were trilogies. All that left to resolve was the foundation of the Federation. The Season 3 finale established that the event wouldn't happen for seven years (six years after Season 4), so we wouldn't see it happen on the show unless it lasted ten years or the finale flashed forward to that event. Logically, the producers decided to set the finale six years later. I was cool with this. What I thought was stupid was making this a lost TNG episode by setting it during TNG "The Pegasus" and focusing on Riker and Troi with the ENT crew as holograms. LAME! All they had to do was focus on Archer's speech at the ceremony with a Romulan plot to assasinate Archer, and Shran could show up to warn him. The plot would have been simple, could be done in 42 minutes, and still shows us the foundation of the Federation. They ruined it by making it a TNG plot.

Star Trek "Turnabout Intruder"
In the 1960's, shows didn't have a series finale, they just ended with a regular episode. "Turnabout Intruder" was a pretty good episode to end with as it was mostly set on board the ship and had a really creepy plot. Fortunately, the show returned as a film series that concluded with The Undiscovered Country with Kirk's story being concluded in Generations.

Star Trek: The Next Generation "All Good Things..."
I loved this episode. Bringing back Q to tie this episode into the series premiere was an excellent idea! I enjoyed the time travel plot, because it allowed us a glimpse at a possible future for the crew with an upgraded Enterprise, and it allowed us to go back in time and see Natasha Yar who'd last been seen in "Yesterday's Enterprise." I was annoyed that the episode ended with a reset, but Picard remembers everything and told his senior staff about everything he experienced, so it wasn't a total reset and thus cool with me. I liked how it ended with the Enterprise in space, telling the audience that the adventure continues even if the TV show does not. Generations felt more like a series finale than "All Good Things..." did since the Ent-D was destroyed and Data finally got his emotion chip. A great movie that had me brealthless during the destruction of the Ent-D and with goose bumps during the last half hour with Picard and Kirk working together. First Contact provided a great climax to the Borg (for the Enterprise crew anyway) and showed first official contact between Humans and Aliens. Insurrection was nothing stellar, but it was a good movie and had the greatest cast chemestry. Nemesis was lame, but it is the last TNG adventure. I liked that Riker and Troi married and that Riker had finally accepted promotion to Captain, and Data would be the first officer. Unfortunately, Data died, but this brought more closure to TNG overall. In terms of character closure, my complaints are Dr. Crusher's subplot being editted out of the movie and Worf being back in Starfleet. It would have been better if they ackknowledged DS9's finale and kept Worf as an Ambassador in civilian clothes. His pressense on Earth could be explained as a vacation to relieve him of political stress or something like that. In the movie, Daniels (the new tactical/security guy from the previous two movies) could have offered Worf the tactical station for old time's sake.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "What You Leave Behind"
I loved how they ended the show. They ended the war in the first half, then spent the second half saying goodbye to O'Brien, Worf, and Odo. There was also the whole Pah-Wraith thing that Sisko had to deal with. The original plan was to kill off Sisko, making his Prophet status permanent. I'm glad that he simply ascended (like DJ in SG-1, I guess) and promised his wife he'd return. At first, I felt like he abandoned his family, but then I realised it's just temporary. I like this one loose end as it would allow them to tell a stand-alone movie should one ever be made.

Star Trek: Voyager "Endgame"
The nature of the show didn't allow for long story arcs (the Kazon and Borg being exceptions), so all the finale had to do was bring Voyager home. I would have prefered B'Elanna giving birth and the Chakotay/Seven romance to have been featured in the penultimate episode so they could be expanded upon, allowing the finale to focus on Future Janeway, the final conflict with the Borg, and getting back to Earth. As it is, it's a very good episode indeed.

Stargate SG-1 "Unending"
I'm putting this in a spoiler box, since people will kill me if I spoil this episode.

Spoiler:

I really liked this episode, but I thought it was absolutely stupid that the Asgard committed mass suicide. After everything Thor fought to survive, he committed suicide in the end, because he was sick? LAME! I was hoping they'd be featured in Atlantis Season 4 where they work with the Atlantis Expedition to solve their genetic degredation problem. It could have been a continuation of the Asgard plot from SG-1's Season 5 finale "Revelations." So much for that...

I look forward to The Ark of Truth and Continuum.

Roswell "Graduation"
Episodes leading up to the finale were intense and action packed, allowing this episode to focus on the characters saying goodbye to each other. Ultimately, it had a good ending. My only complaint was that Isabel didn't let Jesse come with her.

Firefly "Objects in Space"
FOX is stupid for cancelling this show. "Objects in Space" is a solid episode. It doesn't bring closure to the series, but it's one of the show's best episodes. The movie Serenity, however, brought great closure to the show's main plot: Crazy River.

[kmiller1610]

Babylon 5: Sleeping in Light

Taped at the end of season 4 because the company was not sure if the show would get a fifth season, this show is a real tear jerker for fans of the show and probably a bit of a yawner for most everyone else. The episode takes place approximately 17 years in the future to the point where several major threads are brought to a close. The main male character in the show John Sheridan who gave his life to attack the home world of the shadows (in season 3) was revived by one of the old ones and given 20 years of life. This episode, which is roughly analagous to The Grey Havens from The Lord of the Rings, shows Sheridan saying goodbye to friends and his wife, Delenn, travelling to Babylon 5 which is about to be decommissioned and destroyed, then travels to the place where his coalition defeated the Shadows. Others of his inner circle then go to B5 where it is destroyed to keep it from being a nuisance.

If you loved B5 and bought the Delenn / Sheridan relationship, this was a wonderful ending. Since I worship Mira Furlan, who played Delenn and loved her character, I thought it was a poignant ending. Their pairing is a bit of a rarity in Sci Fi, a mature relationship that endures a long time.

[Daniel Jackson]

Didn't B5 last five years? I'm guessing the episode was filmed as the Season 4 finale but wasn't shown until the Season 5 finale?

[kmiller1610]

Didn't B5 last five years? I'm guessing the episode was filmed as the Season 4 finale but wasn't shown until the Season 5 finale?

Correct. I should have mentioned that. Which is why Ivanova is in it even though she was NOT in season 5 otherwise.

[Daniel Jackson]

You said it was set in the future, so one could assume she left B5 between Seasons 4 and 5 and then returned between the penultimate episode and the final episode.

What do you think of the finales I posted about?

[Elles]

Yup. Sleeping in Light was relatively depressing. I watched it earlier this week on my birthday because it was a Sunday.

To get rid of your confusion, Daniel Jackson, B5 was cancelled in season 4. They didn't think that there would be a fifth season so they filmed the last episode. Then TNT picked up B5, they didn't air Sleeping in Light, made a new season finale, and put Sleeping in Light at the end of season 5.

[Daniel Jackson]

Sounds like SG-1 where the finale to Seasons 5-8 each could'a been a series finale. lol

[Wordsmit2]

Doctor Who

"Survival" was one of those "you're enthralled the first time you see it, but when you see it again you see all the seams" episodes. The story works okay, but the editing of both script and final episode is messy, and as a season ender--never mind a show ender--it's a letdown.

Still, you can't beat that last scene of the Doctor and Ace walking away: "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold.

"Come on, Ace. We've got work to do"

[Wordsmit2]

Sounds like SG-1 where the finale to Seasons 5-8 each could'a been a series finale. lol

Actually, I liked that. It's the only show except Babylon 5 in which I would watch season enders. (I don't do it any more, of course.) I have no patience with cliffhangers we have to wait more than a week to resolve, because they get so portentous and pretentious. They're obvious for the last half hour, they always run out of material so they're dragged out interminably, and the resolutions are usually so cheap. Or a cheat.

With Babylon 5 I loved it that they would save the "final four" of each season until four weeks before the new season began. But since Babylon 5's season ending episodes were always tied to the calendar it would have been weird to have to wait five months between December 31 and January 1.

[kmiller1610]

You said it was set in the future, so one could assume she left B5 between Seasons 4 and 5 and then returned between the penultimate episode and the final episode.

What do you think of the finales I posted about?

Ivanova leaves B5 (the station) after the death of Marcus (end of season 4) and she appears in "Sleeping in Light" because Sheridan and Delenn know the end of the 20 year period is coming so they call all their friends to come to Minbar for a final get together. At that time, Ivanova is a higher up in earthforce, but at the pre-wake party, Delenn offers her the role of heading up the Rangers and Ivanova takes it.

I liked your summaries, though I am less of a Next Gen fan than you. I always liked the Voyager final because it provided a definite ending to the story. Next gen's finale was not really a final episode, since the movies continue the story of the crew. It was a very good show though and just as a show, it is among the best. Just as entertainment, Serenity is the best finale of any of them, but it is a movie, so that doesn't fit exactly.

[Aussie_86]

Dark Angel


Season 2 was corny, until people started to find out about the genetically-modified things that look like people running around. The last 3 episodes or so saw that brought to a climax for the main characters, and then the show popped off the Earth because it was cancelled. Great ending to a crap season (although upon re-watching, i don't think S2 is that bad).

[AGateFan]

Yup. Sleeping in Light was relatively depressing. I watched it earlier this week on my birthday because it was a Sunday.

To get rid of your confusion, Daniel Jackson, B5 was cancelled in season 4. They didn't think that there would be a fifth season so they filmed the last episode. Then TNT picked up B5, they didn't air Sleeping in Light, made a new season finale, and put Sleeping in Light at the end of season 5.

Both those finalies were awesome. The million years in the future ep would and sleeping in the night which was IMHO the best scifi series finally ever and I normally dont like emotional type stuff.

[huntress]

The X-Files: The Truth

In my opinion one of the most dissapointing and worst ending for a show that had been amazing for seven whole seasons. It is basically Mulder sitting in front o fa so called "jury" and all they do is talk. Mulder after months of hiding, breaks into a secure underground military facility, attempting to crack a computer file called "Endgame". He is interrupted by a super-soldier thought long-dead by the FBI's X-Files division. During the scuffle, Mulder kills the soldier and is taken into custody by the military.

The FBI is maneuvered into allowing a clearly illegal secret military tribunal - staffed, ironically, by FBI operatives, to determine Mulder's guilt or innocence. Mulder welcomes the irregular proceeding as an opportunity to reveal "The Truth".

I haven't seen season nine and I never plan to do so, but from "The Truth" alone it was obvious, that the sorry mess that was called the "mythology arch" had reached an all time low in the ninth season. The season finale seemed like a desperate attempt of explain some of that the mess and explain why Mulder hasn't been there in the last season.

The only nice scene was the final one which was reminiscient to the very first motel night in the pilot and the one in "Requiem"

[Phantom Limb]

The X-Files: The Truth

I haven't seen season nine and I never plan to do so, but from "The Truth" alone it was obvious, that the sorry mess that was called the "mythology arch" had reached an all time low in the ninth season. The season finale seemed like a desperate attempt of explain some of that the mess and explain why Mulder hasn't been there in the last season.

The only nice scene was the final one which was reminiscient to the very first motel night in the pilot and the one in "Requiem"

give season nine a chance it's not that bad there are some good stand alones, "improbable" inparticular.
i agree though "the truth" wasn't good and kirsch's presto chango alliegance annoyed me but to be honest i never liked the mythology story at all.

B5 was one of my favourite shows and both the finales were excellent i felt a bit sad when they blew up B5 (which in itself is quite a sad thing to admit )

"all good things" was brilliant i thought, bringing back Q and finishing a story started seven years ago, seeing a possible future but not making it seem contrived and having Tasha back and seeing the charcter change from Data season one to Data twenty five years hence, so well written, and a damn decent sci fi concept to boot.

and in stark contrast "endgame" voyagers finale was IMO god awful, from the downright selfishness of Janeways character to the video game logic of it all and batman shields! voyager was truely a sci fi series were there was no consiquences to your actions, Janeway should have been thrown in prison for creating a paradox like that, really really disapointing.

Angel's finale "not fade away" was good but ive only seen the crappy cut for tv version but it wraps up all the stories nicely and neatly and the ending was great, on a par with Quantum leaps ending (no going home for you sam beckett) or the end of the Prisoner (he's still on the island!, nooooooo!)
i love it when they do stuff like that, the darker the ending the more memorable finale's are, to me at least.

DS9's felt rushed and the less said about Enterpise the better, did anyone ever see Now and Again? not technically supposed to be the last episode im sure but it was still great, although left on a cliffhanger it was the culmination of the entire seasons stories and saw Mr wiseman escape for good, or did he?

does futurama count? it is sci fi "the devils hands are idle play things" was great, so funny and had the best song of the series, and its an opera!
the Leela/Fry relationship was dealt with beautifully, especially at the very end.

[Daniel Jackson]

I liked your summaries, though I am less of a Next Gen fan than you. I always liked the Voyager final because it provided a definite ending to the story. Next gen's finale was not really a final episode, since the movies continue the story of the crew. It was a very good show though and just as a show, it is among the best. Just as entertainment, Serenity is the best finale of any of them, but it is a movie, so that doesn't fit exactly.

I liked VOY's finale, because it saw Voyager's return to Earth and showed a possible future for everyone.

While "All Good Things..." does not bring closure to TNG, it is the series finale, because the movies are not TV episodes. I would say "All Good Things..." ends TNG as a TV series where as Nemesis ends TNG as a saga.

Of the finales I listed, if I were to pick a favorite, it would be "Endgame."