What is the greatest scifi finale of all time?

[Aceman]

Tell us what you think!

[Freak]

DS9 great ending and also leaving the door open for more. which unfortuanly will never come which is a great shame.

[Dr-Timelord]

Babylon 5, definitely hands down

[Capt Dave]

While B5 (and i'm only referring to the original 5 seasons; any thing after that was eyebrows on the mona lisa) was most grand! I must say you left out two of the most excellent series endings.


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AND!

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[homerpalooza67]

All the Trek finales were decent, but only B5 was truly epic. Too bad they went downhill after that, id like to see a B5-feature eventually

[Falin]

well out of that list, the only one that had a sensible and not feeling rushed finale is B5.

[<:K.I.S:>]

DS9 for me although Buffy did have an OK ending although i don't know why its on there not really sci-fi.

[Juvat]

#1 is easily B5 followed by BSG and DS9. :)

[NightShadow]

Almost everything about Babylon 5 was top-notch. J. Michael Stracynski really nailed it with that series and I highly doubt that anyone will be able to beat it- even Joss Wheadon's Firefly (which I loved and wish it hadn't gotten cancelled) was missing the richness of the B5 universe. The ending of B5, the actual series (that other stuff which came after it, including the mini-series, weren't up to snuff- mostly due to budgeting problems from the onset... lots of sizzle, no steak), was nothing short of amazing. It was thought-provoking, intelligent, in some ways spooky, relevant, dramatic and one helluva capstone for the entire run of the show.

I did like DS9's ending, but the very fact that it DID leave so many loose ends bothered me. It wasn't so muich that Sisko's fate wasn't completely finalized or that Kira's future look like it was suddenly left in limbo while she waited for Sisko to return, it was that we were given the impression that we would get closure on that storyline in the future, when we all knew full well that we never would. It was like giving us a promise and then turning their backs on that promise- it really annoyed the hell out of me.

The ending for Space: Above and Beyond, to me, was one of the most dramatic and suspensful that I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it felt rushed (mostly because, yeah, it was... and I could still burn Chris Carter to a crisp for the crap he pulled regarding that show), which was a great disappointment. That said, the WAY it ended seemed entirely plausible- they were Marines, in battle, and had found themselves in a position (like many soldiers in so many past wars) where there WAS no way out... they were simply lucky to go, for the most part, together. In retrospect, the sum of all the parts of that show was greater than individual episodes or storylines, but that the show itself stood for something more than just action and adventure spoke volumes about its creators and writers. We don't see too many sci-fi shows like that. At least, not enough of them.

Farscape's ending was, IMHO, somewhat anti-climactic. The build-up to it in the final season was much better than the actual end. The two-hour movie that got aired on Sci-Fi Channel was a pretty good apology for such a disappointing ending.

I got nothing good to say about Voyager's ending. Actually, I've not got much good to say about the entire series except that, in some parts, there was some good acting.

[Eldarion]

Babylon 5 had a great ending for the series. I'd agree with NightShadow that Farscape's series finale wasn't up to par, but I think the Peacekeeper Wars did a good job of making up for it by tying up the loose ends.

[Capt Dave]

I got nothing good to say about Voyager's ending. Actually, I've not got much good to say about the entire series except that, in some parts, there was some good acting.

I feel the same way about TNG, Enterprise and Voyager. DS9 has its bad moments, but overall it was a good series. I'm hoping that if by some strange twist of fate I do actually get my ST: Sector Guard webseries, that I can gather together writers that have some stones, and can create plots that don't suck.

[Falin]

I really really really hated the Voyager finale, the show was ok up till they introduced the borg half way through. They really should have ended it with them still in the delta quadrant, that way in 10 or 15 years time they could have revived it (either as a movie or a show) with a new crew still on the journey home.

DS9 i could never get into, it felt way to much like a bad soap opera, with even worse acting. it was so bad that they had to introduce Worf and the defiant just to try and make it better, but that was a total failure. then we had the Unrealistic bad battle scenes, the new Borg threat (ala calling it the dominion) to try and save it. the only thing the show had going for it, is that for the first time, a Trek show touched on religion as a core concept of the show with the prophets.

the enterprise Finale was a cope out to try and appease the fans who didn't like the show by saying "it was all a holodeck adventure" deal. TNG fell apart about 2 seasons before it finally died off, the films really added nothing to it, in fact most were just utter garbage.

[homerpalooza67]

I thought Star Trek (except voyager) was pretty great all along. Nothing spectacular, and that was a shame, and all the finales more or less sucked. The Enterprise Finale was such utter garbage.....but mostly, except for parts of the last season and parts of season 3, mostly a pretty good series. DS9 had some really lousy episodes for most of its early run, and the acting was not entirely up to par. Still, DS9 had some great stories and some really amazing story arcs throughout, although with such an incredibly lame ending, i'm glad they decided not to revisit the show. Same with SG-1 - had some pretty amazing stories and arcs, but was brought down by the studio's indecision regarding the shows fate for the last few seasons. It should have ended with The Lost City and used Atlantis (or some movies) to tie up the loose ends. The ending was just a disappointment - a decent SG1 episode in its own right, but completely unsuitable as a series finale, IMO.

Now Firefly.....if Joss Whedon can get a chance to revisit the universe with a fully-budgeted tv show, it would be awesome. Certainly better than some of the reality-show drivel thats ever-so-popular with studio execs....but again, considering the scale of the show, the ending was sort of disappointing. And the movie was good, but not really "awesome"

(never saw Farscape and couldnt get into BSG)

[drexsler786]

My favorite ending to any sci-fi show has to be Star Trek Voyager it left a lump in my throat and left me in tears fantastic ending to a brilliant show but in second place i have to say is Firefly which was cancelled half way through its first season a fantastic show with brilliant characters it was a crime to cancel that show.
The most disappointing ending was for Battlestar Galactica i spent a best part of a year renting the series out from my local Blockbusters video store until i got round to watching the fourth and final season and saw the ending where they finally reach earth and find nothing i felt like going back to Blockbusters and asking for my money back........

[LockeFP]

Okay, wait. The BSG ending wasn't that they "reached Earth and found nothing." They reached their Earth in the third season, couldn't stay there, and so went on searching until they found our Earth and made it their home. Full circle. I tend to think of it as a benchmark for how an epic TV series should end. All the characters were dealt with, the lost parts of the show were explained, and the bad guys were left to die desolate and alone where they couldn't hurt anyone ever again. The death of Laura Roslin and the subsequent scenes with Adama really touched me profoundly, simply for the solidarity that it carried with it.

Voyager's ending always seemed like a Deus Ex Machina to me, since it didn't really rely on the crew solving their problem, and instead of making them take the long way home, shortcutted them to the Alpha Quadrant by means of hyper-tech that broke every code in their books. And if that weren't enough, the temporal cops seen in a multitude of episodes of Voyager and Enterprise never showed up to stop Janeway from doing what she did? Not exactly following the coda of the show, now are we?

I loved the Firefly movie. They did a fantastic job of showing newcomers how to think about the universe in which it all takes place. No silly voice-overs or scrolling text that has no part of the story. Instead they gave actual reasons behind the explanations. I think that kind of thing really makes a difference in the storyline and immersion into a story.

[Judge Death]

The end of BSG was a traumatic letdown for me, I could not believe that people would give up medicine, stable food supplies, society, etc. in exchange for getting spiritual. Ugh. Let's all starve, freeze, have our teeth rot out, die of easily treatable things and see it happen to our kids so we can get back to god. Frak you.

[Juvat]

A lot of people complain about the end of BSG for the points you just stated. My question is: Why are you only looking at it from that point of view? Their entire culture was wiped out by machines. They had been running from machines for years. Why keep machines when you have the opportunity to get rid of them and start fresh possibly avoiding setting setting the stage for yet another genocide? They had the knowledge to survive...whether or not they had the capacity to apply that knowledge is another thing entirely.

[Melak]

I was tempted to say voyager for a second, but then I remembered what happened in the finale.
*Future Janeway shows up* Ahoi Y'all, wanna go home?
*Crew cheers*
The End.

[rojren]

I was tempted to say voyager for a second, but then I remembered what happened in the finale.
*Future Janeway shows up* Ahoi Y'all, wanna go home?
*Crew cheers*
The End.

Sadly, you make it sound more interesting than it was.

[Kreeargh]

Lex was the best sorry all ! If LEX had more time on Tv these days not 90s late 2k it would rule !!!!!:p

[DavidK]

I voted other...

Ok, I know this poll is USA-centric, but how on earth is Blake's 7 not included?

Without doubt the most dramatic and shocking ending of any sci-fi I can recall.

DavidK

[drexsler786]

I remember the ending to Blake's 7 back in 1981 or 82 where every one except Avon are killed in the final episode another great ending but still left the door opened for the show to be revived in the future.

[Pagrin]

I voted for the Prisoner, because more out of default that anything else.
Realistically, B5 was a great show, (arguably the best Sci-fi show for a long time) but lets face it the end of Season 4 was better than the end of Season 5. But them JMS was shafted by the people holding the purse strings.
The different trek shows never left much of an impression on me. While not crap shows, they are largely popcorn sci-fi, which just repeated itself over and over again.
Firefly was good, but suffered from what I felt was casting from the land of Meh. I didn't care when the show ended, because I didn't care about any of the characters.
The new BSG, I felt was terrible. The plot was a mess to say the least. I stopped watching half way through Season 2, because someone leant me the mini and first 2 seasons. When you watch it back to back, you quickly realize just how slap dash the writing was. Having said that I also watch the final when it was all done. I think as finals go it was very good. A swis-cheesy on the plot, but better than most shows produce.
So why did I vote for the prisoner?
I really liked the show, although it has dated a bit here and there, it's also on the whole very solid character pieces.
The ending is almost nonsensical, compared to the rest of the show, but it does have one holding ability above all the others. After the credits have rolled, (regardless of how many times your watched it.) you find yourself wondering about it. Did he or didn't he escape? Unlike the other show which close the book on their stories, you are left thinking about the story and what happened trying to ponder it out.
Like counting the guns shots at the end of Blake's 7.

[LordMillennium]

I would have to say Stargate Atlantis. The ending on that was just WOW! although sad because the show was canceled way to early if you ask me it had alot more life left in it.

[Lonewriter]

I never really got into B5 so I can't vote for it. While I loved the ending of DS9, TNG and Voyager (was really glad to see Voyager heading towards Earth in the final scene) my favorite was Battlstar Galactica. The ending of Buffy was OK but I did not like the ending of Angel. You never knew who survived the final fight with all those demons. Lost was really great, I did not see it ending like that! I never watched Farscape or Prisoner and I don't remember how Space Above and Beyond ended.

[<:K.I.S:>]

Been along time since i watched angel ending but the series is carried on in the comics like buffy. Recently re watched buffy season 7 and i like the ending to it. especially a reminder to back to the end of the very first episode where they talk about going to the mall after averting the apocalypse stuff like that, i like in an ending.

[D-Jota]

I'm a little torn as TNG is my favourite show and Star Trek in general is my favourite model of science fiction (and has been for a long long time!). So, if I try really really hard to be objective... I would put forward TNG's finale “All Good Things...” as an episode that did provide the fans with a fitting tribute to a series responsible for raising the bar of Sci-Fi TV to the next level with a properly epic tale (I'd say moreso than “Generations” actually) and an episode that hosted the return of some of the shows most memorable characters; a right nostalgia fest! Oh and Patrick Stewart was amazing in it! (of course :lol:)

But in my opinion the Babylon 5 finale was better written and was serving as the finish line to a series-wide story arc that was really epic. Seeing Ivanova back was a real treat and the John Sheridan charcter is one of my favourite characters of all the shows that I have ever seen, so to see him in his hotly anticipated send off was a big deal for me back in the day! God that was a good show...
So yeah, Babylon 5 (well done!) :)

Actually looking at the progress of this poll, seeing how well Babylon 5 clearly sat with the majority it gives me both surprise and this irrational glow of approval as I know only a couple of people who gave the series any time at all; and that was probably because I wouldn't stop pressuring them to watch it!

[Taranis]

I voted for B5 .. it was an a big story well told ..
I stopped watching BSG during the second season.
I am more of a trek fan but all there endings where for the most part .. just an ending and moving on to other things aspect.

if there was anything about B5 that I disliked where the sets ..

[Bartolomeus]

I also voted for Babylon 5. The story is truly epic. I think after Babylon 5 follows Battlestar Galactica (2004 series).

[Fre'dni]

You gotta admit, in Angel, they finally po'd Wolfram, and Hart, enough to bring out the big guns. I liked it, when Angel designated the dragon, "His". Dragons symbolize evil, in some cultures, which the vampire had been fighting.
Of course, with the portal opening, and demons,giants, dragons pouring forth, it would have been nice to see another portal opening, with legendary hero's venturing forth, at least Richard Clinton, lols

[ulimann644]

Babylon 5 - with the best episode of all 5 seasons
"Sleeping in Light" is one of the best SF-Episodes of all SF-Series IMO

[Dannage]

Can't really argue. I had the morning off and had just watched all the series' with my friend in the weeks preceeding on video and I took the chance to watch the final episode on my own before driving to work. I managed to keep it together while the thing was on but the mood definitely took me with it, as I wept like a child once it finished, and I couldn't stop crying while I was driving to the office! ... And I'm a guy!

Second time I watched it through, I managed to hold out with just a lump in the throat though my girlfriend cried through it. Later this year, we're watching the whole series with her parents. I look forward to her mother getting all teary over it.

Sci-fi (with compelling story and emotional character journeys) at it's best.

Babylon 5, I salute you! :)

I think TNG had a pretty great ending and BSG was also great. Buffy, I kind of felt should have ended at season 5. That was the toughest season finale of them all, and in a way season 6 was a genius piece of work with Buffy effectively saying "why did you bring me back, I feel redundant and empty now.. yah boo sucks"... It felt like a message to the fans. :)

[Genex-X1]

I liked the Trek Finales
TNG was one of the best out of them, you get to see the last voyage of the Enterprise D (sure the movie saw the final voyage) an alternate future and an impossible situation
VOY was ok though it did seem a lil rushed in the second half, Nice armor effects on the shuttle and voyager, The crew felt more of a family then the TNG cast so it feels good that they finally go home
DS9 and Ent were ok but I wasn't into those seasons as much as TNG and VOY

Another good SciFi show that has amazing finales is Dr Who,
Season 1: Bad Wold/Parting of Ways gave us Rose looking into the heart of the TARDIS and destoruing the dalek empire (or so we though) and it explains how all the references to "Bad Wolf" appeared in the previous episodes (which is always nice to see an element in a TV show carry on into another episode)

Season 2: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday gave us a war between the Daleks and the Cyberman all thanks to Torchwood One, and the loss of Rose to the doctor, with him unable to finish his last words for her

Season 3: Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the timelords gave us an action packed finale spanning 3 episodes, the revival of the Master, the enslavement of humankind, the Toklophane paradox, the Doctor at the mercy of the master for an entire year and then when the master is shot the Doctor realises he's forever destined to be alone with Martha leaving to tend to the family that the master abducted

Season4: Turn Left/Stolen Earth/Journey's End gave us another action packed 3 parter, technically Turn Left only sets us up for Stolen Earth, but it does explain a few things during the previous episodes, with the appearences of Rose and the prediction in episode 2 "She is returning" as well as "Donna Noble there is something on your back". Now this one has to be my favorite finale of the show, Not only do you get to see the previous seasons companions returning, Sarah Jane (Liz Sladen FTW) along with Captain Jack and Martha Jones. they all end up on the Dalek ship (Bar Mathra who thanks to UNIT is now in control of the activation device for 16 nukes under the planets crust) with Davros as the ring leader it makes for a very thrilling finale, thus bringing the "Doctor/Donna" reference to life from episode 3, but like all good things it must come to an end, the Doctor/Donna (Donna Noble with the mind of a timelord, thanks to the biological-meta-crisis when she touched the doctors spare hand containing his additonal regeneration energy) will die if the timelord mind stays in her head so the doctor has to wipe her experience with him forever

Season 4 special: End of Time well this isn't a finale as such but it was the last of the specials we got from the 10th doctor, the way it played out was pretty good, the Master returns a mad man (more so then usual), Wilfred Mott is the unlikely companion for this episode (Donna's Grandfather). And the doctor finally finds out what is meant by "He will knock 4 times" which he had heard in the previous specials. Its very tragic the fact that the doctors regeneration is slowed down due to the radiation thats killing him, It gives him a chance to visit all his previous companions (the ones he met as Tennent) He saves Mickey and Martha from a Soltaren, Sarah Jane's son Luke who was almost hit from an oncoming car, when he calls his mum she sees him as he just waves and it dawns on her he's regenerating, he then hooks up Captain Jack and Alonso (Voyage of the damned special) and visits the grandaughter of the woman he fell in love with while hiding from Aliens as a human, he then visits Donna's wedding (but only speaks to her mum and grandad do the season 4 finale) and gives them a lotto ticket which the doctor had gotten the pound of Donna's late father in the past and lastly he visits Rose on new years 2005 (the year she'll meet the 9th doctor) and tells her it'll be a great year for her. after the goodbyes are over the ood sing the doctor to 'sleep' as he sets off alone in his TARDIS and just before he regenerates his says "I don't want to go"

Which is heart wrenching its beautifully written and David Tennant plays the part so well, and I think because of this it makes me miss him as the doctor so much more, I would comment on season 5 with Matt Smith but I've already written an essay it seems

[Chris2005]

I would have to say the end of The Motion Picture, with the Enterprise fly over and going to warp.

However, I love the endings of all the Star Trek movies... with the exception of ST 5, it was a bit bleh.

[Nevets]

The end of THE NEXT GENERATION ended when the series was still a huge hit. DEEP SPACE NINE's ending was an good arc well covered. VOYAGER was way too Borg. FARSCAPE (series-wise) was a brillant ending due to the series being cancelled and made me want more... The re-imagined BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was a big let down. BABYLON 5 ended at the end of season 4, then they continued to season 5.

[Darth Ziggy]

Aliens! (1986)

[Duud]

NOOOOOTT
Who has voted Lost for the greatest scifi finale of all time?NOOOOO :nono::nono::nono::fishslap:

[BC]

I voted Babylon5, it was one of the few that while it tied up loose ends was not just a way of destroying the series so people would not keep writing the studio and network to continue it like so many of the series enders are now.

Ds9 was fairly good overall as a series though it had its ups and downs and suffered from the usual Paramount waffling over things like ship classes and roles (like calling a ship a "flag ship" without a flag admiral aboard for one, and a totally ludicrous unworkable mostly flat rank structure for another), but the ending was underwhelming to say the least and felt like it was just a steppingstone to the movies to finish it (which of course never happened). I saw the end of the TNG series but I cannot remember what happened in the episode so it must not have made much of an impression. Voyager seemed to end ok though it was a little too deus ex machina, kind of like the studio said "we are bored with this so POOF! you’re home". Enterprise was probably the best of the new series stuff despite suffering greatly from prequilitis, too good to end with a timid politically correct whimper like it did

The "new BSG" was good for the first few episodes and fair afterwards for the rest of the season or so despite it looking like it was all based on the just the Halloween special from the original series (but actually turned out to have more in common with Dallas and Stepford Wives than anything having to do with BSG) and soon was so buried in suds I lost interest and never saw the end of it. The same goes for the Stargate Universe thing except that it deteriorated much faster into an evening soap and I got bored with the backstabbing fest even more quickly.

Farscape was a very good series that came to a bad end, one that got the fans so up in arms they threw out that poisoned bone of a movie to shut everyone up and make sure to kill the character chemistry so no one would want a sequel, something that is becoming all too common nowadays. The same thing happened with Firefly except that the last episode was good instead of ending with a bad joke, and the Serenity movie was actually good for the most part (and unlike the Farscape one the characters actually acted in character in it) though they still made sure to kill off the comic relief/lampshading character to upset the chemistry and tied up all the loose plot threads tightly to make a sequel or series restart unlikely.

Buffy was a great groundbreaking series for the most part though like everything it had a few bad points as well, and the first ending was good in a dramatic, sad sort of way. Unfortunately the series never really recovered from the first end like B5 did and while I missed the ender for the UPN version of the series itself I do not expect much from it judging from the episodes leading up to it and the previews of it from the week before. Angel was good for a while and then slowly sank to mediocre (with some good high points here and there) as they got mired in the ‘corporate gray morality’ and betrayal stuff, and I either did not see the series ender or it was just not memorable.

I only saw an episode or two of Lost in the first season and did not like it, and if ITC ever exported the end of The Prisoner I never saw it or did not know it was the ender (and series enders were not at all common back in the 1960’s anyway). Also The Prisoner was kind of considered by a lot of people to be a kind of long series ender itself for McGoohans previous Secret Agent series (which was called Danger Man in England where it was made). (Edit: When I went looking for the name of the Secret Agent series (I vaguely remembered the theme but nothing much else) I noticed that a remake of The Prisoner was done in 2009 but I never saw it at all so I was probably at work when it was on).

I have to agree with Genex-X1 about the high quality of the Doctor Who season enders and specials but that is kind of off the subject since they are seasonal and not the end of the whole series.

The “series ender” is kind of an evil idea in general since it usually means destroying the series beyond salvage and killing off some or all of the main characters or at least a very extreme shark jump, but some are not as bad as others and occasionally one comes along that is almost worth it.

[Zeeman28a]

Silent Running (1972)

[Nadesico]

You left out Andromeda