BEST TV SERIES FINALES
“Cheers” (1993, NBC): Shelley Long returned for a final shot as Diane Chambers, who almost married bar owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson), and the other longtime regulars at the Boston establishment “where everybody knows your name” had their stories nicely wrapped up in tune with closing time at Cheers. The final words Sam uttered to a late-arriving patron - “we’re closed” couldn’t have been more accurate nor more poignant.
“Friends” (2004, NBC): Ross and Rachel (David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston) finally end up together as the entire gang leaves their familiar apartment gathering spot to head for their other prime meeting place ... where, of course, they intend to get coffee.
“Frasier” (2004, NBC): In what was the “Cheers” spinoff’s first ending, since there’s now a revival, the radio psychiatrist (Kelsey Grammer) decides to leave Seattle and reroutes from San Francisco, where he was going to begin a new job, to follow his then-latest love (guest star Laura Linney) to Chicago.
“The Fugitive” (1967, ABC): Wrongly accused of killing his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) saw his four-year nightmare end when he pursued the actual one-armed murderer (Bill Raisch) up a tower - with Kimble’s own relentless pursuer, Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), playing a pivotal role in the outcome.
“M*A*S*H” (1983, CBS): Directed and co-written by series star Alan Alda, the Korean War comedy’s 2-1/2-hour finale remains one of the highest-rated programs ever broadcast. The characters’ farewells ranged from amusing to heart-tugging, but the one that still gets us right in the throat is the respectful salute given Col. Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan) by wise-guy Army surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt (Alda, Mike Farrell). The final message spelled out from B.J. to Hawkeye was meant for the show’s viewers, too.
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1977, CBS): Moore decided to end her television-newsroom sitcom while it was still riding high, allowing for a beautifully crafted finale both funny and touching - and also ironic, since much-mocked anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) became the only employee kept by WJM-TV’s new management. Lou Grant’s (Edward Asner) declaration of “I treasure you people” - which preceded his staff’s en-masse move toward the exit and a chorus of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” echoed the sentiment of countless fans.
“Newhart” (1990, CBS): According to Bob Newhart, the studio audience knew as soon as they saw it that the set of his “Bob Newhart Show” had been re-created for one of TV’s great surprise endings, as the star turned over in bed and told his former series “wife” Suzanne Pleshette that he’d just had a dream about owning a Vermont inn.