TV Finale’s (From The Madeley Archives)

A kids’ drama that ends with aliens, zombies, dinosaurs and a bomb. A sitcom that turns into a war memorial in slow motion. A sketch show that finishes on a moment about dementia so quiet it stings. We go hunting for the best TV finales and the worst TV endings, and we do it the only way we know how: arguing, laughing, and then getting properly caught off guard by how dark some of these “nostalgia” picks really are. 

We start with the Biker Grove series finale, which might be one of the most baffling tonal swerves British television has ever attempted, then move through the emotional send-off of Richard and Judy’s This Morning. From there, we talk about why the final Mitchell and Webb sketch works as drama, why Life on Mars still splits viewers, and why Quantum Leap’s ending feels like the cold reality of cancellation landing on your lap. 

Then it is the heavy stuff: Blackadder Goes Forth, Dinosaurs somehow killing everyone in a family sitcom, One Foot in the Grave opening with its own main character already dead, and MASH delivering a reveal that explains why its finale is always near the top of “greatest TV series finales” lists. We finish by defending, and questioning, The Office Christmas specials as one of the neatest pieces of UK comedy closure ever put on screen, plus a run of honourable mentions and a few dream-ending rants. 

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