Animated Series Finales

J

jessiebiscuit

New member
I believe that all anmiated series of any genre or kind should have some sort of ending or sense of closure rather than just a normal episode like so many series have done and even if a series gets cancelled they should bring it back one more week for a proper finale........


any thoughts on this????
 
Here's having recently learned the final decision for King of the Hill, and happy about it. Anyone remember Lucky's Wedding Suit? Here's hoping to see another montage of one-time characters.
 
I don't claim to understand the workings of putting a show together, but it might be too costly to put more money into a failing show if said show isn't pulling in enough money.

What I think is that writers should prepare for cancelation by making sure that the ending brings closure, but leaves the room open for more. Gargoyles, X-Men Evolution and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited prove that such as thing can be done.

Don't do a cliffhanger season unless you are sure that you will get a renewal.
 
Sonic SatAM was pretty close to a true ending...Until that last 20 sec cliffhanger pop out of no where and totally killed it.

But yeah, most shows should have a somewhat ending.
 
I can understand the whole if we have a cliffhanger it'll get people interested so they might renew us logic.

I kind of have mixed feelings about this its good in someways but sucks if it doesn't get picked up. Its not really the fault of the people that make the show but the people that fund it that don't care.


What always annoyed me before was shows that have no ending and a specific number of episodes, this was mostly done in the 80s. You know every episode is exactly the same but the bad guy always ends up getting away and the plot is never resolved and they'd order 65 episodes for the first and only season. It annoyed me as a kid, I always knew watching a cartoon that the bad guy would never be defeated finally.
 
Bleh. I reckon closure ruins the timeless nature of animated universes. Take The Simpsons for example. Make a finale episode where say all the characters are grown up older... say five years in the future. It would be like Pepper ann, ruining the timeless nature of it all by advancing, and thus destroying/warping, the characters. The thing which makes animated characters so civilized is their static nature, that they, unlike us beasts of the live action realm, do not change according to primitive outside influences such as temperature conditions et cetera, and thus retain their character purely and unwarped. Indeed we have no character only a seeming personality based upon our situation, where as animated characters have proper civilized character that is ruined by 'closure', which in effect destroys and warps this character in the process. Thus i have never much cared for closure. Mind you i also never cared for cliffhanger endings either. Constancy of normalcy is the way to go with these things i always say. Tried and true is always the right way to go, why change what works.
 
Yeah, I noticed that when I rewatched the last few minutes of Doomsday a few weeks ago. IF NOT for that cliffhanger, there wouldn't have been as many fans complaining for the past 15 years about it ending (though, on a related note, I like that the current comics are basically going the angle that season 3 would've started off with).

Legion of Superheroes had a similar problem, where nearly everything was pretty much wrapped up, there was the whole "the future looks bright" thing, and then...BAM, the original Braniac is shown floating in space, giving a speech about how "evil doesn't die...it EVOLVES". However, the problem I have with THIS one is that, with Sonic, the show was (to my understanding) almost renewed...this, on the other hand, they KNEW that Kids WB would be no more. They KNEW there was an incredibly slim chance of renewal, especially since they would need to go to Cartoon Network before any chance of that happening (and it never did go over there).

Really, I think that any series that has something like that, a finale that includes a short cliffhanger, should just remove the cliffhanger as a "deleted scene" unless they're ENTIRELY certain that they're getting renewed. Otherwise, it just pisses off the viewers.



It all depends on the series, really.

In a comedy series with standalone episodes, it wouldn't make sense to do a "grand finale". With an animated sitcom, the same rule applys, but it all depends on the strength of the continuity (like King of the Hill having closure because it has continuing stories).

However, with action shows, it feels like an insult to the viewer if there isn't SOME form of closure. I mean, they don't necessarily have to wrap up everything (some people enjoy mysteries left unsolved), but it'd be nice to see something.
 
Except that it's proven to fail, thus only giving viewers an incomplete series.

And while the network funding it is partially at fault, the writer should look to two alternatives if a pick up is unguaranteed:

1. An ending that provides closure, but leaves some plot points open should the show get picked up.

2. As suggested by veemonjosh, keep the cliffhanger ending as a deleted scene in the event that a renewal proves impossible.
 
Actually, producer James Tucker and his crew already were planning a third season. It would involve Brainiac 5's redemption, the return of the original Brainiac, a musical episode similar to West Side Story, and focus on other lesser characters like Blok, Ferro Lad's twin brother, and Dawnstar.

The death of Kids' WB caught everyone by surprise, and the shows were already produced before it was announced.
 
I can see the point that some bring up about more casual shows not having all loose ends and such tied up so the show "endures". However, I do think that it's always good to give shows a sentimental sendoff for the final episode, if it's done right.

As for more linear shows with continous story arcs- that's a whole other matter. Of course they need closure. Could you imagine an Avatar where Aang never faced Fire Lord Ozai? Or a Full Metal Alchemist where Ed & Al never found a true Philosopher's Stone? Absolutely not. Shows like that need closure, no exceptions.
 
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