Quote: jjb0rdell0 @ November 29 2008, 8:56 AM GMTSwerving the current theme a bit I know, but The Young Ones ended on a high...with possibly one of the most daring endings to a series I've ever seen...
Sounds like a whole new thread. To me the most daring ending to a series ever was The Good Life.
Quote: Griff @ December 1 2008, 12:29 PM GMTHow did The Good Life end? I can't remember.
Wasn't it a bit horrible, with Tom and Barbara coming back to the house after being at Margot and Jerry's to find they'd been vandalised?
I can't believe nobody has mentioned kebabs.
I just re-watched Goodnight Sweetheart from beginning to end over the last week or so. I think that ended well. Well, it ended the only way it realistically could, but having a room full of people celebrate the end of WWII by singing 'We are the Champions' was pretty cool.
Quote: Griff @ December 1 2008, 12:29 PM GMTHow did The Good Life end? I can't remember.
Didn't One Foot In The Grave end with Victor being murdered and his wife avenging his death or something? That's got to be a fairly unlikely end to a cosy sitcom.
One Foot In The Grave was not a cosy sitcom to be fair.
Always had something of a dark edge to it.
Quote: JuliaC @ December 1 2008, 12:36 PM GMTWasn't it a bit horrible, with Tom and Barbara coming back to the house after being at Margot and Jerry's to find they'd been vandalised?
That's pretty much it. But a lot of other things had gone wrong for them and everything looks very bleak. Tom gets offered his old job back but he refuses, determined to stick with the way of life that has been so disastrous for them. It's quite a poignant downbeat ending.
Although I agree, One Foot In The Grave was a great ending. And of course Renwick ensuring that he'd go out on top and not be lured back into writing one-off specials.
I also like Red Dwarf's ending, even though the last two series were obviously a bit of a disappointment.
One Foot In The Grave was a sad but great ending, it left you wondering if Margaret had killed Hannah Gordon's character at the end.
Quote: Spagett @ December 2 2008, 1:51 AM GMTOne Foot In The Grave was not a cosy sitcom to be fair.
Always had something of a dark edge to it.
Very true. And the final series became very dark indeed, too dark really to be funny. I think it is the reason that the show is not as warmly remembered as it deserves.
Quote: Timbo @ December 2 2008, 11:28 AM GMTI think it is the reason that the show is not as warmly remembered as it deserves.
Not sure how you arrived at this conclusion. It seems pretty warmly remembered to me. And it got monster ratings for BBC1 in it's heyday - possibly the last big mainstream show to go down well with the critics as well.
Quote: chipolata @ December 2 2008, 11:33 AM GMTAnd it got monster ratings for BBC1 in it's heyday - possibly the last big mainstream show to go down well with the critics as well.
That was kind of my point. Considering how successful it was at its peak it has not had the endless repeats you might have expected, and I think that is down to the final series leaving a little bit of a nasty taste. The hanging episode in particular turned a lot of people off.
Agree with Timbo's point: it doesn't seem to have that great a reputation.
Reputation is hard to quantify. IMO One Foot it is still highly regarded.
As for lack of repeats, not many shows do get repeats now. Certainly not on the terrestrial channels. And certainly not shows from more than a couple of years back. After all, Men Behaving Badly was huge, but it's seldom repeated.
If anyone cares, The Good Life actually ended with a Royal Command Performance where Tom and Jerry challenge each other to a race to prove who's fitter, and there was also a Christmas special after the 'vandalism' episode.
Sorry, I just felt like being a smartarse 
Quote: Greg @ December 2 2008, 1:43 PM GMTIf anyone cares, The Good Life actually ended with a Royal Command Performance where Tom and Jerry challenge each other to a race to prove who's fitter, and there was also a Christmas special after the 'vandalism' episode.
Sorry, I just felt like being a smartarse
Technically true, but there are endings and ENDINGS. I still like to think Only Fools and Horses ended with Delboy et al winning the lottery. I choose to ignore the episodes that followed.
Quote: chipolata @ December 2 2008, 1:31 PM GMTAfter all, Men Behaving Badly was huge, but it's seldom repeated.
Yeah, it doesn't quite fit into most repeat slots though, does it?