5 TV shows that didn't end the way we wanted

1. "Lost"

Adventure, fantasy, thriller, drama, detective.
USA, 2004-2010.
Duration: 6 seasons.
IMDb: 8, 4.

Why do we love the series

The first seasons of Lost can still be watched with pleasure today. A plane crash with panic escalates into a complex drama on an uninhabited (as it turns out later, not quite) island. Each character has its own story, and numerous flashbacks do not relax, but only whip up the atmosphere in a mysterious place.

Dozens of colorful characters intertwined and created an ingenious serial world with detective tension and frightening mysticism. Each episode did not always solve at least one riddle, but it was guaranteed to ask several new questions. What kind of black smoke and what is the sacred meaning of the code 4 8 15 16 23 42? And most importantly, when will the heroes get out of this hell?

What's wrong with the ending

Let's confess: we didn't understand anything. Yes, the authors promised that they would finish Lost in the sixth season and explain everything. But the attempt can be called unsuccessful. The already intricate plot was complicated by religious overtones, the interpretation of the island as purgatory and the confrontation between good and evil.

In short, the authors were too lazy to unravel the tangle of riddles and added a large portion of metaphysics and biblical morality. Although for real fans it turned out to be a plus. Disputes about what happened on the island continue to this day.

How to finish

To stop at the fourth season, not to play with alternative reality, but to powerfully bang the viewer in the head with a plot twist, as, for example, in the ending of the film “The Life of David Gale”.

2. "Dexter"

Thriller, drama, crime, detective.
USA, 2006–2013.
Duration: 8 seasons.
IMDb: 8, 7.

Why do we love the series

A serial killer is the perfect villain for movies and TV shows. But the creators of "Dexter" did the almost impossible - they made millions of viewers empathize with a man who brutally and defiantly dealt with people. Even with the same bloodthirsty maniacs.

This was the hero's feature. Do not mindlessly rape cute models and innocent grandmothers, but follow a clear morality: to leave normal people alive, and cut the disgusting ones to pieces.

Additional intrigue of the series is the double life of the hero Michael K. Hall. He's a blood expert, he does forensics, he pretends to be a regular guy, and he loves sex. But Dexter has only one passion - to kill villains in Miami at night.

What's wrong with the ending

The show ended strangely. As if the creators were afraid to decide the fate of Dexter and provoke the ire of fans. Yes, the main character completed his main business and overcame another antagonist. But questions remain about many of the storylines and logic of Dexter himself.

Let's not spoil, but keep in mind: after seven seasons with the smartest maniac, the last episodes will cause a strange feeling. It is as if the decisive hero will be replaced, and the exciting scenario will be replaced by an absurd burden.

How to finish

Shoot a few more episodes, explain some minor points, and show the dying Dexter as Walter White in the Breaking Bad finale.

3. The X Files

Science fiction, thriller, drama, detective.
USA, 1993-2002, 2016 - present.
Number of seasons: 10.
IMDb: 8, 7.

Why do we love the series

One of the main TV shows of the 90s. Mystical, charming and disturbing. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) spent nine seasons honing the main duo in TV series history. And all this to the music from the screensaver, which you can guess from two notes, even if you haven't watched The X Files. The anthology of the series (each episode is a new story) allows you to stretch the pleasure without memorizing all the subtleties of the plot.

Taking over the homely soulfulness of "Twin Peaks" (with which critics constantly compared the "X-Files" and jokingly called them Twin X), the creator of the series Chris Carter immersed viewers in the popular theme of world conspiracies, UFOs, superpowers and other paranormal. The series did not go into a completely arthouse style, but was more friendly to the ordinary viewer.

Why the ending turned out to be a failure

Ten years of adventures by FBI special agents have tired everyone. Therefore, David Duchovny in the ninth season (after which the series went into hibernation for 14 years) appeared only in the last episode. And the show should have ended in 2002, or maybe even earlier: to leave at the peak is beautiful, realizing that only a drop in quality and ratings awaits further. But it returned in 2016 with six episodes, and the 11th season has already been announced.

This is not to say that new investigations will make you die of shame. Just against the background of dozens of new detective shows, "The X-Files" does not look like something special. Mulder and Scully are still unraveling crimes with a mystical overtones, but the show looks like a solid parody, nothing more.

How to finish

Season 9's ending wasn't perfect. But it just wasn't worth going back to the era of "Fargo" and "True Detective".

4. "Firefly"

Science fiction, action, drama, adventure.
USA, 2002.
Number of seasons: 1.
IMDb: 8, 7.

Why do we love the series

A mixture of a good western and Star Wars. In the world of the distant future (year 2517), China and the United States are jointly exploring new galaxies, but people still have the same problems. The authors of "Firefly" strongly limited the dose of pathos and cosmic grandeur, paying attention to the relationship between the characters.

Many of them are cobbled together in a pattern: fighting friends, infantile men and an adventurous protagonist - Captain Malcolm Rain, who fights on the losing side and is involved in smuggling. Fifteen episodes of the first and only season are definitely worth watching.

Why the ending turned out to be a failure

Because the show didn't finish on time. And if most of the successful shows are delayed, trying to earn as much as possible, then the opposite happened with Firefly. The FOX channel initially did not want to release it, considering the idea to be banal and non-engaging.

Without pity for the fans, the channel closed the show after a successful season. People signed petitions and demanded that the series be returned to the screens, but they managed to get only the full-length film "Mission Serenity" (2005).

How to finish

This is a question of the third, fourth or tenth season. Firefly had a strong potential.

5. The Sopranos

Drama, crime.
USA, 1999-2007.
Number of seasons: 6.
IMDb: 9, 2.

Why do we love the series

"The Godfather" in the world of serials (but in the show's slogan this is just denied). A clever drama that shows everything as it is. Crime is cruel and painful. There is no romanticization of the mafia, but the whole action is saturated with the truth of life and black humor.

The series, which does not let the viewer go, languidly plunges him into a very complex world, where there are no right families, only good or evil characters. You may not agree, but this is the highest quality series on our list.

Why the ending turned out to be a failure

The final footage of Season 6 is an example of how to piss viewers off. In 2007, many of them thought that their TV signal was simply interrupted at the most interesting place, when Tony Soprano looks up and … nothing happens, black screen, credits.

The creator of the series, David Chase, first assured in an interview that Tony was alive. And later he accused the journalists of misinterpreting his words and asked them to avoid literal interpretations. According to Chase, the ending shouldn't be a straightforward answer. "It's a metaphysical question," Chase says, grinning as fans re-watch the final scene for the hundredth time.