INTRODUCTION

We like good TV (and some bad TV too, but that's another story). And while we always look forward to watching a favorite television series, we also derive a certain satisfaction out of seeing a favorite TV series end. A lot of people do, apparently. Several of the highest-rated shows in broadcast history are grand finales: The Fugitive, M*A*S*H, Cheers... and we'll go out on a limb and say, before the fact, Seinfeld.

So we've decided to examine the final flings of notable series, sublime and absurd, from the Golden Age of Television to the present.

One thing we've discovered while assembling this info: What constitutes a 'last episode' isn't always clearly defined. Some shows that were declared dead miraculously got better... Some reared their ugly heads again years later... Some shows evolved into different shows... Some popped up again as cartoons, or feature films... and of course, many shows continued on long after they should have been put to rest.

It's a bit of a judgment call, and we'll make those calls as we go along. We'll see which shows ended gracefully, which ended with a bang, and which just faded away.

This is an ongoing project; We will add new entries as quickly as we get the material organized. We welcome your input, especially in helping to fill in sketchy patches, and in catching any misinformation that filters through.

Craig Boldman / Pete Matthews
2/8/98

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TOP OF PAGE | INTRO | INDEX OF SHOWS

INDEX of SHOWS

• ALF
• Barney Miller
• Cheers
• China Beach
• The Cosby Show
• Gilligan's Island
• Dallas
• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• Dobie Gillis
• Family Ties
• The Fugitive
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• Moonlighting
• Mork & Mindy
• Newhart
• The Odd Couple
• Perry Mason
• The Prisoner
• Quantum Leap
• Route 66
• Seinfeld
• St. Elsewhere
• Who's The Boss?
• MORE TO COME

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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LOGO ART: PETE MATTHEWS
©1998 Craig Boldman & Pete Matthews

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992

Goldberg, Lee. Unsold TV Pilots. New York: Citadel Press, 1991

Hickman, Dwayne, and Joan Roberts Hickman. Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman. New York: Birch Lane Press, 1994

Smith, Roland L. Who's Who in American Comedy. Facts on File, 1992

Waldron, Vince. Classic Sitcoms. New York: Macmillan, 1987

Waldron, Vince. The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book. New York: Hyperion Press, 1994

Weissman, Ginny, and Coyne Steven Sanders. The Dick Van Dyke Show: Anatomy of a Classic. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983