Best Finale (So Far...)

[on:]

So, on the 4th September, 2013, Futurama is finally coming to an end. Forever.

Maybe.

But what has been your favourite last episode "ever" (so far)?

Obviously "Meanwhile" will be added to this poll once it has aired (yes you can change your vote if your think "Meanwhile" beats any of the episodes above, or you can just wait until you've seen it to compare it against the other 3), but I'm just curious as to what you guys prefer right now, since none of the episodes have (technically) been the definite last episode ever.

[Reply #1 on:]

As a finale, I think that TDHAIP worked best for me. ITWGY raised questions that needed to be answered (and were), and Overclockwise just didn't feel like it was a conclusion so much as the promise of one later down the road.

As to which I enjoyed most, that's probably ITWGY. But it's not the best finale, IMO.

Overclockwise had shortcomings that prevented it from being as enjoyable as it could have been (for me, anyway), ITWGY was a different beast than the show during the original production run, and TDHAIP didn't really wrap things up (although it was a nice, upbeat ending). So they're all kinda "meh" as ways to close out the franchise. Here's hoping that the actual last episode ever manages to do Futurama justice (and if Fry wakes up, having been dreaming the whole time, I will never venture into On-Topic again).

[Reply #2 on:]

ITWGY it is for me, the end was perfect but it felt a little bit fake to me... Leela finally admitting her love to Fry was so... Off.
THAIP was a great finally, but the other was better I guess ^^

Overclockwise was not an end, it felt more like the beginning of a new period something 

[Reply #3 on:]

I think TDHAIP lacked sci-fi element and wasn't so epic, but the plot was complex and story was coherent. I didn't appreciate it first, but it's a good finale.

I liked ITWGY, it was epic and it came to the end (maybe something to do with the movie format), but I hated the way it paid attention to viewers (discussion at the very end).

For me Overclockwise worked very well, even though it didn't make a clear conclusion. My favorite of these three, but maybe not as a last episode.

[Reply #4 on:]

Shame there's a "none of them were that great" option. Devils hands and Overclockwise are both overrated, and Wild Green Yonder is just a mess.

[Reply #5 on:]

I'll add that for you.

[Reply #6 on:]

- TDHAIP: A classic "Bargain with the Devil" theme, great soundtrack. Great. Worthy finale. By going for the more serious artform opera, the whole episode had a rather classic feel.
- Overclockwise: Great potential, but too short (Bender using his godlike powers and the reasons for Leela's return should have been explored).
- IWGY: Started several comments about it, but cancelled my text again (would have been too long). So, I'll rather stick to the proverb: "If you cannot find anything positive to say about something, do not say anything at all about it"

[Reply #7 on:]

Gotta go with TDHAIP. It's pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Although if Overclockwise is paired with Reincarnation, then that's definitely a strong contender.

[Reply #8 on:]

The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings.

That episode was just perfection. It scratched every surface of greatness within Futurama, and put it into one episode. It's one of my favorites. And it always will be.

[Reply #9 on:]

whats futurama?

[Reply #10 on:]

@Core, it's a ride that was at the NYC Fair many years back.

[Reply #11 on:]

The original remains one of my favorite TV finales (even though it isn't really the finale anymore). It doesn't wrap up a tremendous amount, but it works in all the major characters, has a good story, and ends on a note that makes you feel like you've witnessed something special - not just the episode, but the series as a whole.

Wild Green Yonder is pretty good....but didn't feel like anything special to me. That movie as a whole gets a bit meandering and isn't the best structured thing in the world. It's good, but kind of middle-tier Futurama. I do think the last 3 or 4 minutes of it are great "finale" material, though, especially flying off into the wormhole, but it's just that the 80-odd minutes before it feels more like a bunch of different, typical Futurama stories from whatever average episodes. The first two movies felt a lot more "epic" to me.

Overclockwise is perfectly great Futurama....that doesn't feel like a finale, at least to me. The actual epic sci-fi story is kind of underplayed (I know the first finale wasn't too sci-fi, but it felt "epic" in a different way), and ending a show like this by spending so much time in a courtroom of all places just isn't wise. On its own I think it's a really good episode (not top 20 or anything, but perfectly good and memorable), but I'm glad it wasn't actually the send-off, and not just because I wanted another season. The last minute with Fry and Leela reading their futures is one of the great moments in the series, though.

[Reply #12 on:]

Interesting poll Danny. Makes ya think, nice job.

I'd have to rewatch ITWGY again. I really liked Devil's Hands because it was bittersweet. I thought the plot itself seemed a little, hm, I don't know, odd perhaps for a finale, because it was so meaty with a lot going on and things happening here and there (like Leela being deaf). But perhaps that is why it was a good finale though, for there was more going on than you could process at the time, making you think about it more and having it linger there. The last 30 seconds were perfect, though. Overclockwise is not a finale to me, just a typical episode.

[Reply #13 on:]

Here's hoping that the actual last episode ever manages to do Futurama justice (and if Fry wakes up, having been dreaming the whole time, I will never venture into On-Topic again).

If they go the Dallas route then the whole writing staff deserves a kick in the teeth. Your other comment about wishing Fry would actually die at the end reminded me of the movie "Stranger than Fiction" which features Will Ferrell at his least Will Ferrell-y. The author in the movie discusses why his demise is necessary for the perfect ending and that anything else just wouldn't suit because his story is a tragedy. Since this is what's presumed to be a comedy, the logical conclusion is that it ends in a wedding- that's what literary comedies do. The easiest examples to cite are "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility," and so on.  All the so-called finales thus far have ended on a comedic note rather than a tragic one even though there haven't been outright wedding bells. My favorite of them thus far is the original series ending as it held such promise of some off-screen happy ending.

[Reply #14 on:]

Here's hoping that the actual last episode ever manages to do Futurama justice (and if Fry wakes up, having been dreaming the whole time, I will never venture into On-Topic again).

If they go the Dallas route then the whole writing staff deserves a kick in the teeth. Your other comment about wishing Fry would actually die at the end reminded me of the movie "Stranger than Fiction" which features Will Ferrell at his least Will Ferrell-y.

I pulled the whole thing out of my arse because I was annoyed with a certain somebody who has an unreasonable amount of attachment to Fry. I was hoping it would cause them to ragequit.

[Reply #15 on:]

Oh. I still thought it an interesting comment, even if I missed the point! I suppose you ought to credit your arse with producing thought-provoking material.

[Reply #16 on:]

I really liked Devil's Hands because it was bittersweet. I thought the plot itself seemed a little, hm, I don't know, odd perhaps for a finale, because it was so meaty with a lot going on and things happening here and there (like Leela being deaf). But perhaps that is why it was a good finale though, for there was more going on than you could process at the time, making you think about it more and having it linger there. The last 30 seconds were perfect, though. Overclockwise is not a finale to me, just a typical episode.

All three episodes are really only about the last 30 seconds. Wild Green Yonder, in particular, feels horribly tacked on.

[Reply #17 on:]

Devils Hands. It has a great storyline, really funny jokes, a great musical number, sweet Fry/Leela stuff, and a great final scene that ended Frys relationship and the entire show on a great emotional note. It could've been a little more futuristic to fit the show, but with the time they had, I'm glad they ended the show on that note. Yonder didn't really say finale except for the last 15 minutes and had alot of stuff in it that felt filler like the other movies. And Overclockwise was just trying to do way to much to really feel wholesome and great. Maybe I they only focused on the relationship and showed us Leelas new job or extended it into an hour long episode then it would've worked, but it just felt like it was trying to be too epic than what the time could handle and made Leela feel really jerkassy and taked on. So for me, Devil wins and ended the show in the best way they could. Will this be topped by Meanwhile and the possible movie? We'll just have to wait and see.

[Reply #18 on:]

All three episodes are really only about the last 30 seconds. Wild Green Yonder, in particular, feels horribly tacked on.

I don't have the energy to argue this point more fully--and besides, I respect you and your opinions enough not to provide you with a misplaced tirade lecture about how I think you're wrong in your uncharitable assessment of the various would-be series finales--but you must at least concede that Devil's Hands (my personal favorite of the Last Ever Episodes) is about the last act in its entirety. That opera is goddamn beautiful, as both a set-piece and a musical composition, and following from that the episode's last thirty seconds make perfect sense and don't feel tacked-on: Fry tries to write an opera for Leela, and she is impressed; he is thwarted, but she still digs him anyway.

That ending feels entirely earned to me...whereas I could get on-board with the idea that Wild Green Yonder and "Overclockwise" kind of pander to the audience (and particularly to the shippers), and are therefore less compelling than, but still not wholly disconnected from, what precedes them. But, again, I am too lazy to discuss this further, so whatever.

[Reply #19 on:]

Having pretty much an entire act as a song is cool, but it means just as much to me as an act where everyone is anime, or an act where everyone is fish. It's simply a gimmick. A good one, yes, but it is simply a canvas for jokes and emotions and other storytelling hoo-hah that can make it truly spectacular. Devils' Hands' Opera is cool, and pretty funny, but it isn't beautiful.

And in a way, yes, it really is all about the last 30 seconds, or even fewer than that, since prior to that, it didn't feel much like a series finale. More like a season finale, if that. Weirder and more emotional episodes have completely reset themselves at the end, just like this one could easily have.

[Reply #20 on:]

Great thread, Danny! I'm going to vote now, although I expect (hope!) Meanwhile will end up becoming my ultimate favorite.  

If you asked me which episode of the three is my favorite,  Devil's Hands would win hands down. (Geddit?   ) But the best finale (as in, a possible "last episode ever ever") has to be Overclockwise. Judging by the poll I'm all alone in thinking that, so I'll try and explain it. (Be warned : I'm pretty tired and I'm editing fic at the same time, so this might not make much sense.)

Devil's Hands : As I said before, this is my favorite episode of the three, and one of my favorite episodes ever. It has everything. The strongest episodes, for me, have always been the ones which focus on the relationships between the central 3 characters (Fry, Leela, Bender, in any combination you like) and this ticks that box. Not only do we get the Fry / Leela romantic angle, but we also get some really great scenes illustrating Fry and Bender's friendship. (The holophonor recital, and the fact that Bender actually tries, in his own way, to help Fry win Leela. Oh, and "Sometimes I wish your real parents were still alive. Not often though."   )

The songs are brilliant ("I can't believe everybody's just ad-libbing!") and the Robot Devil is always great. The "pact with the devil" plot is a classic and there are some nice callbacks to the past. (The holophonor, the orphanarium, etc.)

So it's a great episode, but I don't think it's the best finale. At that stage, after four seasons, the show was being cut down in its prime. It felt sudden, and coming after what was arguably their strongest ever season, I don't think the writers were expecting a cancellation. As such, I don't think they were writing for one. Not really. TDHAIP is a pause, not a full-stop. The episode hinges on Fry and Leela's relationship, but we don't really get any progress in it. Nothing happens that hasn't essentially happened before. We've seen Fry make sacrifices for Leela, and we've seen Leela indicate tentative romantic interest in him. The close of the episode is sweet, and it leaves us with hope, but it's not definite by any means. Leela could simply kiss Fry on the cheek like in the end of The Why of Fry, and leave it there. Things could easily go on for everyone as they did before, and we later see that they do. Like I said : a pause, not a full-stop.

Into The Wild Green Yonder : ITWGY feels like more of a finale. Here's where it gets it right, in my opinion :

- The movie format feels "special". There are pacing problems, for sure, but I like the fact that the production team came out all guns blazing for the finale and gave it their all. It feels like a labor of love, from the crowd scene featuring every minor character, to the closing credits, with the eponymous beam of light coming full circle. I also loved the way the voice actors were credited, with pictures of their characters alongside. It was a fitting tribute to a huge part of the show. (Bender, Leela, and Fry fading in one-by-one until you see them hug was especially nice. It gave me the warm fuzzies.   )

- The epic plotline works well for a finale episode. The stakes are raised, and the increased running time means we get to see all our favorites. TDHAIP was a great episode, but it was narrow in its focus. We didn't get to see everyone and after it was over I found myself sadly realizing I'd never see Zapp or the Professor again. That their "last episode" had been some time ago and I hadn't known it. The longer run time of ITWGY meant we got to see the whole crew interact one last time, we got some Amy / Kif, saw the ship in flight one last time, etc. It made for an easier goodbye.

- I think a final episode should ring the changes. It should ideally show you how far a character has come and give you a reasonably clear idea of where they're going. ITWGY does do that. Think back to the pilot and compare the characters' positions then with the end of ITWGY.

Fry and Leela have gone from two strangers to two people who are the most important people in the other's universe. (They don't care about the wormhole or their potential death - at the most important moment of their lives they only have eyes for each other.)
They have both gone from people who just let things happen to them (crappy jobs, unsatisfying relationships etc) to people who take charge and fight for what matters to them. They have both gone from feeling they don't fit in anywhere (20th century boy and only cyclops in the universe) to not caring where they end up, because they fit with each other. And by the end of the finale, the status quo of their relationship has been fundamentally altered.

(Bender's arc amuses me because he doesn't change, which is perfectly in keeping with him as a robot. When we first meet him he has a flippant approach to his own death, and when we last see him he's just the same - "Once more into the breach, meatbags! Or not. Whatever.")

Where the episode falls down - as a finale (its faults as an episode are a different debate) - is that the major romantic resolution of Fry and Leela feels far too rushed. The revelation of Leela's feelings - even though it's something fans had suspected for a while - isn't signposted clearly enough in the episode. Her feelings are something she's clearly been trying to ignore for four seasons and three tv movies. She and Fry been in plenty of dangerous situations before and she hasn't revealed the truth, so it feels out of place for her just blurt it out in another random dangerous situation. If Leela kept her feelings to herself after the events of The Sting and Bender's Big Score gave her an emotional battering, it's hard to buy her giving them away in the face of mere physical danger. As a plotline which had running for years and served as the heart of the show, its resolution should have been less of an afterthought.

Overclockwise : This is the best "finale", I think. We get a strong sci-fi plot (always one of the things Futurama does well) and a focus on the core characters. I would have preferred if the episode followed Leela once she leaves and gave us a bit more of her perspective, but all in all, we get strong character stuff to work with. The relationship between the main three takes center stage again, and we get some nice background stuff too, like Farnsworth's father-son interactions with Cubert, and Mom's determination to destroy him. (Also, Randy.   ) The run time isn't extended but the stakes are raised and Bender's omniscience gives the episode an "epic" feel.

The episode moves Fry and Leela's relationship out of its season-long uncertainty -  their final expressions clearly signal a mutual commitment to it, making it no longer a "what if" situation in Leela's mind. It sets them up for something more settled, and shows us that they're both on the same page about it. They're reading and reacting as one, so they're already a unit. It's not hard to look at their "togetherness" in that closing scene and forecast an approaching marriage.

(And Bender reverts to factory settings, proving - again - that he never changes. He's good old Bender, totally useless. Well, not totally. Because like when he joined in Fry and Leela's hand-holding moment in the pilot, he can't resist wanting to be involved in their bond. He writes down their fate, and turns the page over when they're freaking out. Yeah . . . he loves them alright.   )

The final scene also strikes the perfect balance between leaving the audience wanting more (like the ITWGY cliffhanger), and telling them too much. Fry and Leela's future is shown to be definite (and ultimately happy), but viewers are left to draw their own conclusions about what it contains. (And that final, bittersweet note over a black screen is a lovely, understated way to bow out. Do we have Christopher Tyng to thank for that?)

[Reply #21 on:]

There's something I just noticed. Compare the final words of TDHAIP:

"Please don't stop playing Fry. I want to hear how it ends."

To the final words of Overclockwise:

"Gimme that!"

Interesting contrast, eh? 

[Reply #22 on:]

And the final words of itwgy?

"Go go go go!"

[Reply #23 on:]

hmmm...decline in sophistication much?

[Reply #24 on:]

TDHAIP is by far my favorite of the "finales." That whole episode was nearly flawless in my opinion; the only minor issue I had with it was that I found it slightly too convoluted. I thought the entire opera was brilliant, and it's one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. The ending with the rough, almost child-like image of Fry and Leela was beautiful, and I still tear up when Leela says, "Please don't stop playing Fry..."

I didn't particularly enjoy ITWGY. I wasn't a big fan of the plot, and I didn't find much of it very funny. The only aspects of it I really did enjoy were, as The Sophisticated Shut In said much more articulately than I can:
 

- The movie format feels "special". There are pacing problems, for sure, but I like the fact that the production team came out all guns blazing for the finale and gave it their all. It feels like a labor of love, from the crowd scene featuring every minor character, to the closing credits, with the eponymous beam of light coming full circle. I also loved the way the voice actors were credited, with pictures of their characters alongside. It was a fitting tribute to a huge part of the show. (Bender, Leela, and Fry fading in one-by-one until you see them hug was especially nice. It gave me the warm fuzzies.  )

Fry and Leela have gone from two strangers to two people who are the most important people in the other's universe. (They don't care about the wormhole or their potential death - at the most important moment of their lives they only have eyes for each other.)
They have both gone from people who just let things happen to them (crappy jobs, unsatisfying relationships etc) to people who take charge and fight for what matters to them. They have both gone from feeling they don't fit in anywhere (20th century boy and only cyclops in the universe) to not caring where they end up, because they fit with each other. And by the end of the finale, the status quo of their relationship has been fundamentally altered.

As far as Overclockwise is concerned, I really enjoyed it as a normal episode, but, like Randi said, it didn't feel much like a finale. I loved the sci-fi aspects of it and thought the humor was very good, but I didn't think it was effective emotionally. The ending, while cute, was overly saccharine in my opinion. In order to be a great finale, in my mind, the episode's emotional aspect should be its strongest point; in the case of Overclockwise, it definitely wasn't.

I do have very high hopes for Meanwhile, though. I feel like it could edge out TDHAIP as the best "finale."

[Reply #25 on:]

They're not great as finales, but I think that's because they were all open ended. When you finale you either end it with a solid conclusion or a hell of a cliffhanger.



TDHAIP ended sweetly, and if it weren't a finale I would have liked it better, but as an avid shipper, a holophonic generated kiss Fry produced to show to Leela who stayed to watch the end, may be shippy, but I didn't feel it was powerful. Maybe if at the end they repeated this scene at the end (but with his real hands);

And maybe they could have walked hand in hand out of the opera theatre.

ITWGY was what I voted for, it's a combination of a relative strong ending to a strong, great story and cliffhanger, but it wasn't quite right, I don't think the cliffhanger was necessary, it's just because they wanted to set themselves up for a return. Indeed it made for an awesome opening episode, but maybe they could have done it better, I don't know >< Just didn't sit well with me, but then again it could have been a lot worse.

Overclockwise is a good episode. Cliffie at the end was a great scene - but the focus of the episode overall was Fry and Bender, and Leela felt a bit wrong to me, almost OC. Maybe perhaps if Leela had gone and applied to be a vet or something, left everything for something that she loved doing to find out that even though she might care for animals or whatever, she is definately better at being a captain, also not as lonely. Still, the end was nice, it's open ended but with a sense of certainty that Fry and Leela will have their 'happily ever after' and they are where they're meant to be. - I like how this ep ended, but not the episode in its entirety. It doesn't feel like a fianle episode.

"Meanwhile" is the most ambigious title xD I really hope that the episode isn't as vague, and I hope it ends with the same feels as Overclockwise, with an awesome story like FOAB.

[Reply #26 on:]

*bump*

I have reset the poll and added "Meanwhile" as an option.

Here are the previous poll results before I reset it, as of Thursday the 5th September 2013:

Show spoiler

[Reply #27 on:]

I have reset the poll and added "Meanwhile" as an option.

You pushed a reset button on a Futurama Poll to add "Meanwhile".
I doubt it can get more classic than this

[Reply #28 on:]

I was literally just thinking that.

[Reply #29 on:]

As a finale, I think that TDHAIP worked best for me. ... Here's hoping that the actual last episode ever manages to do Futurama justice (and if Fry wakes up, having been dreaming the whole time, I will never venture into On-Topic again).

That worked out rather nicely. Justice was done, and "Meanwhile" is now my new favourite finale. Now here's hoping that it's the final finale. More meddling can only spoil things.

[Reply #30 on:]

After spending several minutes trying to decide between TDHAIP and "Meanwhile," I chose "Meanwhile". TDHAIP is great, and has an excellent ending, but "Meanwhile" showed Fry and Leela having a happy life together, even if they were the only two people left on Earth. And the professor finding a way to get them back to the beginning of the episode added the potential of producing new episodes if possible, although I was completely satisfied with the way the show ended. If Futurama ever comes back, there's no way in hell the producers can beat "Meanwhile".

Anyway, TDHAIP comes in at a close second for me. Until yesterday, it was my favorite finale.

[Reply #31 on:]

TDHAIP and Meanwhile are definitely my favorites finales, but right now I can't decide which one I like better. Story wise, I like Meanwhile better. I think it has a better story because the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking "How are they going to get out of this" and I couldn't think of an answer. With TDHAIP, I knew that eventually the Robot Devil would get his hands back I just really didn't know how. Ending wise, I liked TDHAIP. I just thought it was great. It ended the series and left it open just in case it got revived. Meanwhile's ending was good too, but I felt it was very confusing and I personally didn't think it was perfect. So after I watch Meanwhile a few more times I will decide which one I like better.

[Reply #32 on:]

Meanwhile, I think, worked perfectly for finale and that's what I chose. It may be even the best epsiode of those, but I really wouldn't say that yet, since it wasn't perfect overall.

[Reply #33 on:]

I liked The Devils Hands are Idle Playthings as the best Finale. Meanwhile is a close second.

[Reply #34 on:]

Meanwhile is great and all but come on, it has nothing on Devil's Hands. The former is sweet but just doesn't give the characters as much closure (plus the fact that it raises questions about the state of the timeline afterwards). Devil's Hands has and ending that is short, sweet and extremely effective; the music, crude drawings and emotional punch has it stand head-and-shoulders above the competition.

[Reply #35 on:]

Perhaps it's just because this is the only  ending I truly witnessed, but Meanswhile's got to be the one for me. It had some great jokes a bunch of continuity references and the ending was welling up tears and very romantic in a way that is strange and the kind I expect from the show.

[Reply #36 on:]

Surprised Meanwhile has so many votes. I don't know if its worse than Devils Hands, but I imagined it'd be neck and neck between the two.

[Reply #37 on:]

I expected TDHAIP to get more votes.
Meanwhile was great, but not the best series finale...let alone best Futurama episode of all time.

[Reply #38 on:]

Meanwhile really feels like it was properly written to be *the* ending.

It was the focus, didn't feel tacked on. TDHAIP was good too, but didn't have that same level of closure and finality in terms of wrapping up the whole story.

I loved that Meanwhile went back to the moon, Fry and Leela in the module was the earliest shipping moment in the show, and one that continued to show off the depth of emotion displayed in the pilot.

The deaths were brilliant too... a lot of late Futurama (everything from the Sting onwards) has made a habit of killing off characters casually then bringing them back... therefore the deaths in the finale really messed with your head since they had potential to actually kill off the characters at that point.

[Reply #39 on:]

I still prefer TDHAIP. Like I said in the review thread, Meanwhile leaves too many questions unanswered and doesn't do justice for the rest of the crew.

That said, its still a darn fine finale.