No Right Answer: Most Depressing Series Ending

[Jabbawocky]

I pretty much have to go with Blackadder Goes Forth as well. I mean the other series' ended on mass death but it was played in such a way that it was still quite humourous. Goes Forth played it completely straight.

But I want to add another depressing ending to the list. Twin Peaks. Admittedly the show lost a lot of its initial appeal mid-way through the season it was beginning to pick up towards the end and put out some really fine episodes.

Spoiler

Dale Cooper (the hero) ends up being trapped in the Black Lodge (a hell dimension of sorts) while an evil Doppleganger takes his place in our reality. It may not sound that depressing but if you've watched the events building up to it it really leaves you speechless.

 

[Fr33Lanc3r.007]

What about M*A*S*H the final episode involves one of the main characters having a psychotic break because while hiding from North Koreans he snaps at a mother to keep her baby quiet so she kills it so that the North Koreans would not hear it.

This! And those North Korean Musicians that Charles took under his wing.....

 

[Your Gaffer]

Dinosaurs was never a "light" series. It certainly was NOT Family Matters with dinosaurs. It was a much better show than Family Matters could ever hope to be.

 

[Eleima]

Plus it is a wildly believed fact that Jurrassic Bark is the most depressing episode of anything ever. (Though not a series finale)

Jurassic Bark was perhaps not quite depressing, as it was touching, and emotional and moving. Okay, maybe a bit depressing.

On my list of most depressing series endings are probably Neon Genesis Evangelion (which I won't go into, see above posts) and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The latter was probably tied in with a whole "end of my childhood", "will never come to pass again" thing, though, more than the series itself.

 

[CleverCover]

Nope.

Spoiler

"Why isn't daddy getting up?

I have yet to meet an anime fan that watched that episode and wasn't sobbing by the end.

Well, it made me tear up on demand Just reading that sentence soooo, I believe you're right.

Other than that, I actually haven't seen either of these endings. The only show ending that I can remember, that didn't have a movie or something coming after, was DBGT I think. Still hate Goku for that.

 

[DracoSuave]

The thing that should have been mentioned about Roseanne, and why it should win out over Dinosaurs is very simple, and puts the whole thing in context.

That it's based heavily on Roseanne Barr's life BEFORE she started the show...

 

[prigdishnak]

I think I may have the most depressing one ever. If indeed 'series' can mean any tv series regardless of genre.

The Pirates of Dark Water. Most depressing ending ever, know why? Didn't have one. Got cancelled barely even half way through. And then know what we go? A cat....lapping at milk. I'm serious, at some point they faked someone sending in a request for the ending episode and spoofed that the last episodes were tapped over by a cat drinking milk. Cute joke, massively depressing. So many incredible shows never finished. *sighs*

Sorry if I got this wrong, I just interpret the absence of an ending as hugely more depressing then at least knowing how the characters inevitably die. Death is a form of closure at least. Instead of eternal limbo and endless questions.

 

[Brad Gardner]

I pretty much have to give it to Dinosaurs having the saddest ending just because it never went into syndication.

 

[Riobux]

I'm going with something completely different: Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes (both UK versions).


Also, House MD:

Spoiler

Everything in the final ending where House is not sure if to die or escape, up to when it's revealed House got out alive. It would of been an excellent ending, and a very depressing one, had House properly died. It also would of felt so right.

Spoiler

In my head the ending of house is he dies, and Wilson is having a phycotic episode due to the crazy treatments he took.

Some shows deserve a endings and house is one of those shows.

But I do think dinosaurs does take the cake.

Oh god...

Spoiler

With Wilson looking for House.

 

[mykalwane]

Just for that, I'm going to teach your kid,"Not the baby". That is the first time I think I have laughed watching No Right Answer. I applaud you for that. Dan going "NO!" would of been funnier if you didn't cut him off.You needed that quick out, so the credits work. I get that.

There were parts where things were enjoyable. So you are getting better. Still not a show I regularly watch, though I will keep coming back when you cover something I care about again. Dinosaurs is one of them, so I thank you for that.

 

[sideshow]

I'm with Kyle. Roseanne had more of a depressing ending. you follow these people for 8 seasons and they turn around and say "most of it didn't happen". but i think what got me was how they shot it. like you guys said John Goodman's character, Dan dies but how they shot that was a nice family meal, Dan smiling, camera goes past getting him out of view. roseanne says he's dead, camera goes back to dan's chair which is empty while sad music plays.

but more importantly i think it comes down to humans VS da dinosaurs. who are you giving your sympathy to?

.....could be wrong...

 

[xplosive59]

Cowboy Bebop for me has the most poignant, depressing ending. Although it is happy at the same time...

Spoiler

Spike finished what he set out to do and had no reason to go on, he was finally at peace when he died

Teen Titans was horribly depressing because they left it on a cliff hanger.

Neon Genesis Evangelion EoE ending was also very depressing BUT so was most of the series so you do not feel that bad about it.

Blackadder Goes Forth has already been said many times in this thread but is still stupidly depressing.

I remember the Only fools and Horses final ending was quite depressing (If I remember correctly Del Boy and Rodney have a conversation about Rodneys real dad at their mothers grave, before driving off) It was ages since I last saw it though.

 

[faefrost]

In my opinion, Blackadder Goes Forth had the most depressing ending of all. Considering the entire rest of the series had been a funny, snarky comedy, the ending to the very last season takes a very depressing turn.

Spoiler

In the last episode, it is finally time for the final push over the top and and out of the trenches. Captain Blackadder desperately tries to get out, only to have his last attempts end in failure, Captain Darling is sent to the front by General Melchett as a "gift", when he wants nothing more than to stay OUT of the trenches, and Lieutenant George is very gung-ho about it all... until about five minutes before they are all going over the top, when he suddenly realizes that he too is scared by the prospect of dying. The last we ever see of them is when they charge out of the trenches, into the enemy's gunfire, with the theme slowly and melancholy playing in the background, before the whole scene dissolves into a field of poppies. No credits whatsoever, The End.

Now, I haven't seen either Dinosaurs or Roseanne, so I can't judge those, but still. The ending of Blackadder is just so depressing...

I agree that the final episode is particularly sad, but the rest of the seasons also ended on very depressing notes, but a bit more humorous though. Doesn´t everyone die horribly in Season 1? And There´s also a lot of death in 2 and 3, but also some humour. Goes forth is just bleak as hell.

Yeah St Elsewhere's ending is definitely horrible and depressing. Its one of those endings that poisons all of the good episodes that come before it. Once you see it you just can't go back and watch the show in reruns. The only other comparably bad ending that I can think of, that also poisons the prior work is the last episode of Star Trek Enterprise. I mean really WTF!!!!

 

[LostintheWick]

Look left, then read post. You know what my vote is.

Also, the last lines are via the newsman "And taking a look at the long-range forecast, the continued snow, darkness, and extreme cold. This is Howard Handupme. Goodnight. Goodbye.

Agreed. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that f**king baby died horribly

What? I'm the Baby, gotta love me!

Ohh... uhh... yeah... sorry about that, little baby. What I meant to say is I STRONGLY DISLIKED you in that one show about your family. But regardless, I still hope you are happy in the afterlife

 

[shogunblade]

Surprised no one has mentioned Alf and what happened to him.. I won't spoil it but that was way worse than both Rosanne and Dinasours.

Or the end of St. Elsewhere not just that they said the entire thing was made up by the kid but the last image of the last show where they displayed the MTM screen with the kitten..


THEY KILLED THE FRICKEN KITTEN!

You Sniper! That's not a Ninja trick; That was a sniper trick! I was going to post that. Damn it.

OT: Do you want to be more bummed out? That cat was a different cat then the one in the original MTM logo. That being said, the original MTM cat died the year St. Elsewhere was cancelled.

 

[Blindrooster]

The Roseanne ending got me right in the feels man. THE FEELS

I'd like to throw Scrubs in there. Not so much depressing but I'm not gonna lie I got all teary eyed.

I know! I watched EVERY episode of scrubs, then hearing that sad music at the end.... was like saying goodbye to a best friend.

 

[Beautiful End]

"Sad endings are sad".
Dan - 2012

Wait a second..
T-that's how Dinosaurs ended? REALLY? Oh, god! Right in the childhood!

I'll have to side with Dan on this one. Dinosaurs was supposed to be a comedy. For heaven's sake, they were animatronic dinosaurs! And they often had some serious topics, like the son going to war and not coming back, other dinosaurs dying, extinct species...and the ending. I mean, I know dinosaurs are extinct and all but...did we really have to see that? I don't remember seeing the last episode of The Flintstones where a giant meteor falls on top of Fred's head and he bleeds everywhere and then Barney and the few remaining survivors slowly die because life on Earth as they know it is over.

I would like to add too that those dinosaurs made you feel emotion even though they were just big muppets. To look at their emotions and their eyes and their features...dang! That's kinda what Wall-E did, isn't it? It's really surprising and pleasing.

Roseanne was also sad but you know the producers are going to try to introduce sad elements into the show because, well, real people. That's the reason. It happens with even the best comedies.

Also, that Dinosaurs baby was prehistoric Stewie Griffin. Kinda makes sense.

EDIT: I'm not gonna bring Anime into this because that's another category. But if I had to, the saddest ending for me would be Ranma 1/2, the anime. Because there is none!
I just found out a couple of years ago! And I don't like reading! Screw the manga! *Cries*

 

[RedDeadFred]

How about Lost.

Spoiler

It's not a flash sideways, it's a flash to this purgatory that they somehow created. WTF! Hardly any answers to the questions and just a whole load of spiritual, religious crap. Congratulations on a pile of time wasted.

 

[Jabbawocky]

Oh God I just remembered the last episode of One Foot in the Grave...

The show was a comedy about a pensioner who was always at odds with pretty much everyday life while showing how much he put his neighbors and wife at odds as well. Then in the final episode:

Spoiler

The episode starts off normal only for it to quickly reveal that Victor, the protagonist, has been dead for five months. From this point on the show splits into two stories. One about how Victor died and the other about how his wife is coping without him.

The how Victor died one is quite humorous until its tragic conclusion where he is run down by a dangerous driver. The other story about his wife is far more sombre but things start to look up until the friend who has been helping her through this hard time turns out to have been the driver.

That itself is depressing enough but then it even leaves it ambigious as to what happens next. Just before the wife confronts the driver she was mixing her some medication for a migraine into her drink. It is suggested that she purposely mixes in enough to kill the driver although this is never seen.

The end. Series over.

 

[daxterx2005]

Roseanne's was easily the worst finale out of anything I've ever seen.