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The Best (and Worst) Series Finales

Since Lost is ending, I thought I'd select my picks for the Best and Worst series finales:

Best Quiet Send-Off: Frasier. After a lackluster season, Frasier returned to form for its last year, and went off the air with class and humor.

Worst Quiet Send-Off: Nip/Tuck. The show had fallen so far from grace and edge that when it ended, I think most people were unaware it was still on television.

Best Back-to-Basics Finale: E.R. Noah Wyle going out to handle a car crash with his colleagues as the camera panned away from the Chicago hospital and that high-anxiety music started to play let a show that had been on the air for FAR too long exit reminding us why it was once on top.

Worst Back-to-Basics Finale: Beverly Hills 90210. Some series have this horrific quality of dragging their legacy down with them once ratings start to go. Beverly Hills tried pulling back every original cast member it could to help resurrect the show before finally pulling the plug. I think everyone walked away feeling dirty from this one.

Best Sitcom Finale Twist: Bob Newhart waking up next to Suzanne Pleshette. Incredibly clever, just like Bob.

Worst Sitcom Finale Twist: St. Elsewhere's "it was all a dream" finale. It was annoying when Dallas did it, but at least they had a good reason. They wanted to wipe away an entire horrific season, but what Elsewhere did was potentially wipe an amazing series clean. Why?

Best Definitive Ending: Six Feet Under. Everybody died. How perfect.

Worst Finale Because There Wasn't a Definitive Ending: Dallas. J.R. fires a gun. Did he shoot himself? Did anyone care? Clearly the producers were hoping for a network reprieve instead of choosing to go out with dignity.

Best Remade Finale: The Seinfeld gang atoning for their awful finale by wrapping things up on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Worst Remade Finale: The Melrose Place revival--I wish they'd just stop already.

So which list is Lost going to end up on?

I'm thinking it's going to be one of the best.

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