The award-winning AMC series Mad Men ended its seven-season run on Sunday night and drew critical acclaim for its final episode, a conclusion that many felt was poignant and satisfying. Here are some other memorable TV finales across the years:
- The Wire: McNulty, Bunk, and the rest of the narcotics unit stand on a hill overlooking a newly crimeless Baltimore, dusting off their hands before saying, “That’s another fine job for the Baltimore Police Department!”
- Friends: The fan favorite ends on a sentimental note as Ross, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Monica, and Phoebe reminisce about their journey trying to transition from television to film
- Deadwood: In a thrilling standoff only resolved at the last minute, HBO executives ultimately decide that this show is not profitable
- Cheers: Sam Malone announces last call before dousing the bar and all the patrons in gasoline and lighting a match
- The King Of Queens: His enemies dead and his moral code long since abandoned, the final episode of the long-running CBS drama finds newly crowned King of Queens Doug Heffernan looking out upon his empire while contemplating just how much it had cost him
- The Joy Of Painting: Host Bob Ross famously ends his instructional program by announcing that painting sucks
- Major Dad: This CBS sitcom about a no-nonsense Marine ended with the title character returning to the jungles of Vietnam, the only place he can truly feel at home
- Heroes: The episode where Hiro is only able to talk through comic book quotes is just about the point when viewer Mark Chastings decides he’s done with this shit
- Lassie: After 19 years, the classic series about a heroic dog ends with the animal pleading with sad, cloudy eyes to be put down for the entire episode