Good topic!

Bad Finales

HIMYM - It wasn't the content of the finale that bothered me, but the way it was presented. After leading us on for so, so long, and then having a padded as hell last season it turned out to all have been completely pointless. If they had just adjusted the timing, it would have been so much better. Instead you get the storyline, and then instead of the conclusion the book ends, and there's a short note from the author saying, "btw, so and so are what happens to the characters. Thanks for reading!"

Battlestar Galactica (new) - terrible ending because of how silly it was, dooming all of them to a pitiful existence, simply because they have decided that they're not ready for space and responsibility yet, and should mature for another few hundred thousand years. I don't think that's how things work, all they did was doom their civilization.

Dexter - After getting crappier and crappier, the finale was pretty disappointing. I have no problem with Deb dying, or Dexter trying to commit suicide, but once again, the presentation was just so off. And then him being alive at the end ruined all of that work anyway.

Neutral Finales

Fringe - not so much bad, as kind of rushed, and a little cheesy at the end. I liked many elements of the finale, particularly how so many of the things from prior episodes appeared, but the final moments gave a bit of a sour taste to it.

Good Endings

Firefly - I include this here, because although it was abrupt, I think the final episode was quite good, and did a good job of closing some of the major character arcs. River came to be accepted as a true part of the crew, the crew grew closer together, and based on that ending you could easily imagine them continuing their adventures and journeying together. Plus, and perhaps best of all, the show did end early. It ended before it could turn crappy, or ruin everything with pointless melodrama or the like. It was short and sweet, because the star that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

Breaking Bad - Excellent ending. Some people complain that it was cliche, that nothing in it was really that surprising, but I disagree. Twists and turns aren't needed for a good finale. Sometimes a good finale is like watching a chain reaction. You can see what is going to happen, but you still love the process and the execution of it, the elements all coming together and leading to a final point. The Breaking Bad finale was like that for me. It gave a definite ending to most things, Walter died in a more or less dignified way, and all the things I wanted to happen, did.

And now I'm wondering, are these really the only tv show finales I've seen? This seems like far too little, but nothing else is coming to me! Oh well, I'll update if more come to mind.