More often than not, beloved sitcoms finish out with a finale that fits into one of a
few established archetypes.
For example: the "will they or won't they couple" finally gets together; one or more
of the main characters move away; somebody gets married; somebody has a baby; et cetera.
In other words, major life events wrap up the show with an eye to the future and tears
in the viewers' eyes.
But not all big sitcom finales end in such an emotional, chapter-closing fashion.
TV history boasts some exceptions to the rule, shows that bravely and boldly went against
the norm by going dark.
Here are some of the most surprisingly twisted final TV comedy episodes of all time.
Seinfeld
Seinfeld was never a sticky-sweet, feel-good sitcom.
And in the hotly anticipated series finale, all the selfish and thoughtless deeds committed
by Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer over the years finally caught up with them.
The gang nearly endures a plane crash, only for the jet to land safely in a small Massachusetts
town.
While there, they witness a crime firsthand and make jokes about the victim while it's
happening.
"See, the great thing about robbing a fat guy is it's an easy getaway, ya know.
They can't really chase you."
The victim mentions this while filing his report with police, who arrest the Seinfeld
four for violating a "Good Samaritan" law.
A slew of guest stars file through as character witnesses at the ensuing trial, confirming
that the gang that audiences loved tuning in to see every week all those years were
bad people.
The show ends with the central four locked up in prison, having learned nothing at all.
How I Met Your Mother
To be fair, this CBS sitcom was titled How I Met Your Mother and not "How I Spent Many
Years With Your Mother."
While it seemed like every woman Ted Mosby dated over the years could've turned out to
be his kids' mother, the only real contender seemed to be close friend and off-and-on girlfriend
Robin.
The ninth and final season of the show switched things up considerably.
The entire run of episodes, except for the finale, takes place over the weekend leading
up to Robin's wedding to Barney.
Viewers finally find out that Ted lived happily ever after with "The Mother," Tracy, until
she died of an illness in 2024.
The series finishes up with middle-aged Ted rekindling his romance with Robin, who divorced
Barney after three years of marriage.
Death and divorce.
What fun!
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs ran on ABC from 1991 to 1994.
It combined puppets and animatronics to create a satirical series centered around the Sinclairs,
a middle-class family of dinosaurs living in a prehistoric Pangea that bore a striking
cultural resemblance to '90s America.
This cute and amusing family comedy ambitiously concluded with a mass extinction event that
not only signaled the end for the Sinclairs, but for all dinosaurs.
In an attempt to keep an invasive plant species under control, a task force of dinosaurs spray
the planet with toxic chemicals, which wipes out all plant life.
The task force's idea to make plants grow again by dropping bombs into volcanoes to
create rain clouds works too well, triggering snow and a subsequent Ice Age.
The episode ends with the Sinclairs holed up in their house trying to stay warm and
stave off their imminent deaths.
"And taking a look at the long-range forecast, continued snow, darkness, and extreme cold."
ALF
NBC's ALF was a weird show about a sassy alien.
He crash-landed in a suburban garage, loved to eat cats, lazed around the house all day
watching TV and eating junk food, and told tales about his bizarre life on his home planet
of Melmac.
There were really only two ways that ALF could end.
In one scenario, ALF's identity is exposed and he becomes an international celebrity.
Or his identity is exposed and the government comes to collect him and take him away to
a secret, scary research facility.
As this was a family sitcom, one would think option 1 would be the way to go.
But nope, it ended with ALF whisked away to an undisclosed location, where he presumably
endured all manner of pain and torture.
"Just my luck… not a sports fan among you."
Patient fans had to wait until 1996's Project ALF TV movie to learn he survived.
M*A*S*H
The Korean War-set comedy/drama M*A*S*H finished its 11-year run in 1983 with an extra-long
episode titled "Goodnight, Farewell, and Amen."
More than 106 million people tuned in, making it the most-watched scripted program in American
TV history.
There are a lot of laughs, a lot of tears, and more of the gut punches about the many
horrors of war that the show famously wove into the comedy over the years.
While peace negotiations are underway, Hawkeye Pierce sits in a therapy session, remembering
being on a bus with a Korean refugee woman carrying an annoying chicken that wouldn't
stop squawking.
Hawkeye angrily ordered the fearful woman to shut up the bird, which she did by snapping
its neck.
With the help of his therapist, he uncovers a repressed memory — it wasn't a bird, it
was the woman's baby, and she smothered it out of fear.
"It was a baby!
She smothered her own baby!"
That's about the darkest place a sitcom could or would ever go.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show was revolutionary.
It was one of the first shows about an unmarried woman, living on her own in a large American
city, focused on her career and friends rather than romance.
While it may have started as a vehicle for its title star, it quickly became an ensemble
show because of all the great characters surrounding her.
There was grumpy news producer Lou Grant, whip-smart news writer Murray Slaughter, and
news anchor Ted Baxter, the dumbest and most arrogant man on television.
After seven seasons, The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended in 1977.
The plot: A new station manager of WJM-TV wants to boost the station's news ratings
and fires pretty much everybody… except for Ted Baxter, the most incompetent employee.