History Main / FinaleProductionUpgrade

** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3'' launched on the Wii after the first two games were made for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube. While the Wii didn't have the same jump in graphical capabilities that its competitors did, this did make ''Metroid Prime 3'' the best-looking ''Prime'' game. Aside from that, ''Prime 3'' features a noticeable increase in scope in comparison the previous two games, which took place on a single planet while the third game took place on multiple ones; while each of the planets in ''Prime 3'' planet weren't as big as those of ''Prime 1'' and ''Prime 2'', it does give the gave a feeling of having a larger scale.

** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' launched on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4'' and UsefulNotes/XboxOne, as opposed to the first two games that were first designed for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360, and had as the requisite bump in graphics.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' were created with the intention of being the biggest and best-looking games for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube and UsefulNotes/WiiU, respectively. However, Nintendo decided to release them on the successor systems of the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch which combined with the low sales of the older consoles, led to both games gaining more notoriety as launch titles for the newer consoles instead.

** The Super Bowl (end of seasonal competition for American Football) and World Cup (end of seasonal competition for international football/soccer) are side-by-side in terms of venue (usually a jam-packed 80,000-plus-attendee stadium), competition stakes, multiple memorable and creative commercials, and advertising for the event out the wazoo!

** December 31st, 1999 even brought a whopping '''''28-hour''''' world-wide and international televised effort towards the new millennium to highlight humanity's progress, music, art, culture, hopeful future, concern about Y2K, and celebrations in the ''2000 Today'' collaboration, where several (and we mean 100+) countries and their highlights were broadcast all over the world on their respective authorized television channels. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHBSA-Wg6P1oMbk33nVFWQohb79TkIsY6 ABC 2000]]'' was the United States' coverage of the event, hosted by the late Creator/PeterJennings.

** [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA/Impact Wrestling]] have ''Bound for Glory'', which takes place in the middle of the year.
** Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling has ''Wrestle Kingdom'', celebrated in the first week of every year.

** Subverted '''''HARD''''' for ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'': The series itself was intended to be a love letter to 20 years of the franchise. Unfortunately, the stories, continuity, and callbacks were weak at best, and insulting at worst. An attempt to honor the shows that came before it in "Legendary Battle", the final episode of this series, was otherwise marred by production and personnel problems; several previous actors from the series were invited to take part in what was to rival the previously-mentioned "Countdown to Destruction", and what had been hyped up from the very inception of the season: the titular Legendary Battle, a fight between all Power Rangers teams that came before, and the villains of the series. Only approximately 8 previous Ranger actors accepted, with the rest in permanent ranger suits, and the battle itself was only a skirmish to destroy the remaining foot soldiers of the fragmented and spotty villain team of the season.

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', ''at least 5 times as large now! It's a'' '''''PARTY!''''' ''The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand! A giant ConfettiDrop for the winner!''

''For your favorite adventure and drama series: More Special Effects! More Celebrity Guest Stars, Again! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot, Again! More Locations and Sets! PlotArmor [[AnyoneCanDie is off!]] Nostalgia callbacks, returning characters, and ContinuityCavalcade! [[WhamEpisode More Complex Stories and higher personal and emotional stakes!]]''[[note]](and this can still happen if the trope is subverted so there is another season!)[[/note]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Seems to be a tradition to up the ante with season finales, especially with the modern series.

%% Do not remove Time-Flight. This is indeed a finale, for the 19th season. %%

** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'': Despite the failure of the show to be serious, it did create a finale that stuck in viewers' minds, and a two-parter at that. One would think that given the previous seasons' tendency to wrap up the storyline in a neatly-bundled conclusion, this finale does the exact ''opposite''. Instead, the megazords are destroyed, and we get a full-on invasion of the Power Chamber, with all the villains of the season, plus an army of Pirahnatrons, a TrashTheSet of the inside, and Divatox '''''blowing it up'''''. Now, with the Rangers' powers gone, their command post demolished, and no way to defend the Earth, it's a desperate escape into space, as the Power Rangers' mentor, Zordon, has been captured and they have only have one shot, a Space Shuttle from NASADA, with only the clothes on their backs and their hopes and prayers, and no as-of-yet fast way to reach Eltar, Zordon's home planet.

** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'': Although a failure in ratings, the series won the fans back by including serious stories in the latter half of the season, and in the finale, [[TheBadGuyWins completely decimating the Power Rangers' defense, with the villains-of-the-season overrunning the Command Center]], explicitly ''[[TrashTheSet destroying it]]'', and '''''blowing it up!!!''''' Now, with the Rangers' powers gone, their command post demolished, and no way to defend the Earth, it's a desperate escape into space, as the Power Rangers' mentor, Zordon, has been captured and they have only have one shot, a Space Shuttle from NASADA, with no as-of-yet fast way to reach Eltar, Zordon's home planet.

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''' '', at least 5 times as large now! It's a'' '''''PARTY!''''' ''The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand! A giant ConfettiDrop for the winner!''

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand! ConfettiDrops for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand! {{ConfettiDrop}}s for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand!'' ConfettiCannons for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand!'' {{ConfettiCannon|s}} for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand!'' {{ConfettiCannons}} for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand!'' {{ConfettiCannon}}s for the winner!

''This is it!'' '''''[[TheEnd The]]''''' ''[[TheEnd End!]]'' ''The'' '''''GrandFinale!''''' ''Strike up the band! (If we can now afford one!) "High-culture best" is the name of the host's and the judges' wardrobes!'' '''''LIVE from Radio City Music Hall!''''' ''Famous Celebrity Guest Stars! The Big 2-Hour Finale Timeslot! Everything is upped! The audience is'' '''''HUGE''''''', at least 5 times as large now! It's a '''''PARTY!''''' The competition is now serious, the stakes are high, the performances are big and flashy, the ideas are complex, the stage dressings are sleek, slick, imposing, and grand!''

*** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'': Although not a finale to the Mario series at-large, this can be considered Nintendo’s big swan song for the console, as 32-bit video game systems such as the UsefulNotes/Playstation1 had already been released, and Nintendo’s next big product, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, was in-production and highly anticipated. The game boasted large, expansive worlds, an array of unique enemies, colorful graphics, a memorable soundtrack, and it’s main selling point, backgrounds AND sprites and objects that could be distorted, scaled, rotated, shaped, and even turned 3D, with the Super FX-2 Chip. Even the ending soundtrack evokes an orchestral feel.

May lead to the series in-question receiving an AstralFinale.

-->-- '''The Two Geordies'''[[note]]Seemingly Creator/AntAndDec parodies[[/note]], ''WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhznLPR7VaI Goo Got Talent]]"

** ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''[[note]]which at the time was intended to be the series finale, due to low ratings from Turbo[[/note]], one of the trope codifiers for an AstralFinale. First starting out as a continuation of the colorful childish-kitschy stories found in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'' , and ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' (with serious developments in its latter half as mentioned), this season pretty much took the standards-and-practices rulebook and threw it out the window, also taking a [[Franchise/SuperSentai Sentai series]] that was focused on [[Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger electronics and technology]] and turned it into a space epic. It took the standard Power Rangers formula and turned it on its head, producing villains that questioned their place in life. (Astronema being one of them, because she is actually Karone, the long-lost sister of Andros, the Red Ranger) Most villains up to this point were of the over-the-top variety, and couldn't exactly be taken seriously; however, In Space produced/adapted ruthless villains that lived up to their characterization, including Darkonda, the Psycho Rangers, and Astronema herself. In addition to the characters, the incidental music score was upgraded from the previous over-the-top rock themes to a cosmic strings-and-brass-orchestral-style score, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mvjkSAoPtE and the sets and ideas were also upped in quality]]; according to producers on the show, the sets were made to be realistic (for the demographic) and look usable as if they had actually existed out-of-story, and in fact, the [American Astro] Megaship's interior, the base for this season, was built as one big set where the characters could walk from one end to the other. Furthermore, the sets also allowed shots that avoided re-lighting the scene, as they were integrated into the walls and ceiling, and extra camera angles that could be adjusted, with walls that could move out of the way on hinges, like a door. Its finale, one of the most memorable among fans, brought 6 years of story to a conclusion, with drama, maturity, and effects to match in the two-part finale "Countdown To Destruction", but not before Saban had deliberately exhausted their stock of Megaranger footage (which the penultimate episode "A Line in the Sand" did with the original Megaranger finale episode), to be able to create their own epic ending. The villains finally begin their full conquest of the entire universe, and succeed, with one sole planet standing in their way: Earth. Infrastructure and cities are leveled (not just suggested), planets are captured and enslaved, other Rangers and allies around the universe are desperately trying to hold off their invasions, no one has any hope, and the Power Rangers are defeated (temporarily). Also present here, and throughout the series, was ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, leaving Astronema, now the BigBad, as the supreme ruler of the universe, and threatening the destruction of Earth if the Power Rangers do not give themselves up. However, many temporary side characters, the entirety of the ordinary citizens of Angel Grove, backs them up. [[note]]including Surf Spot manager Adele and the comedy relief of Bulk, Skull, and Professor Phenomenus leading the charge![[/note]] When Zordon, their mentor over 5 seasons, is finally found after a season-long search, Andros must make two decisions, one familial; as in fighting Karone, the other a grave decision; the only way to defeat all of the evil in the universe is for Andros to shatter Zordon's Plasma Energy Tube, which was the first time the show explicitly killed-off one of the heroes, but [[WorldHealingWave sending out an energy wave that disintegrates all non-humanoid evil beings, at the time of the shows airing, into dust.]] Again, '''''WHEW!'''''

* Although not a real competition in itself nor an actual science & technology show[[note]]as the show was set in the early 1980s, with all of the proper video, dress, decorum, and filming aesthetic[[/note]], the 2005 finale of season 2 of the parody science series ''Series/LookAroundYou'' was "filmed live" with a stock footage audience, featured the return of all 5 previous "Invention of the Year" competitors (sans one, because they apparently forgot their invitation), a new pure-white cyclorama set (as opposed to the orange and brown earth-toned set), an external audience outside BBC Television Centre, and an "appearance" by HRH Sir Prince Charles (which was accomplished by a [[FakeShemp look-alike from back views]], and stock footage with an audio track of an impression by creator Peter Serafinowicz.)

*** Averted, but included here for completeness’ sake, in the case of ''VideoGame/StarFox2'': It wasn’t until well past the era of the Super NES that this game finally saw the light of day in the 2017 SNES Mini. If it had been released in 1995/1996 like it was expected to be, the game would have taken the system’s graphical capabilities to its absolute limit: real-time complex texture mapping (even more than ''VideoGame/StarFox'' or ''VideoGame/StuntRaceFX''), and Free-Roam 3D (albeit not on the level of 6DOF.); as well as its game logistics ability, including real-time strategy [[note]]as in, one would have to forfeit fighting forces on one planet to defeat an imminent threat against Corneria, or to destroy a hijacked defense system.[[/note]], in-progress battle merging [[note]]as in, while fighting one foe, another en-route would join in the battle in-progress, so one would have both to contend with[[/note]].

*** ''VideoGame/ToyStory'': featured graphics that would not look out of place on what was already its successor, the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn: HUGE sprites, smooth animation, 3D-looking graphics (In Andy’s room, and Pizza Planet), ACTUAL ray-cast 3D graphics with “''REALLY'' inside the Claw Machine”, and in “Day-Toy-Na”.), and clever programming to break the Sega Genesis’ normal color limitations!

* Creator/FoxKids folded in 2002, with most of its shows and properties going to ABC/Disney. However, before all was said and done, like ''Power Rangers in Space'', they threw the standards-and-practices rulebook out the window and went out with a bang, allowing shows depicting material that would probably be considered too suggestive, disturbing, or frightening for its demographic. ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' was one show that is fondly remembered by Fox Kids viewers, for allowing material that dealt with death (even one character blatantly attempting ''suicide'' near the end of the show), PTSD, loss of identity, philosophy, violence, metaphysics, and mature [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar radar-skirting]] concepts of love, openness, and connection, even allowing material that probably wouldn't be shown on family television, much-less children's television. ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' also pushed the envelope on what could be shown on children's programming, with comparatively graphic violence and BodyHorror [[note]](in the form of Ransik's mutation and mercury-like boils [and by extension, the mutant that inflicted the disease on him being released, and other people getting the same condition], as well as Dr. Ferricks' injuries after being mortally wounded and being forced to turn himself into the robot Frax, as well as his [[BloodlessCarnage graphic death with his metallic face falling apart.]])[[/note]], and yes, even a Power Ranger blatantly ''dying'' at the beginning of the show(!), and was the final ''Power Rangers'' series solely produced by Saban Entertainment before the transfer to Disney.

*** As time went on, MS-DOS games for computers that expanded on the IBM PC architecture (286/386/486/Pentium) required ever-more complex and faster systems. In 1997, when the architecture was already 16 years old, and most users had moved on to solely Windows 95 (and Windows 98 the following year), ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'', released in 1997, required 16MB of memory (Other games like ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' required VESA-based high-res graphics modes, as well as 32MB of memory), but boasted so many new 3D features and abilities over its predecessor ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D''. Other 3D-based games around the same time were even able to interface ''directly'' with 3D-accelerated cards, without going through Windows 95 or 98. Unfortunately, in 2000 (Windows ME and Windows 2000) and 2001 (Windows XP), MS-DOS was all but completely dropped, the ability to play games in Windows’ Command Prompt was severely limited, and impossible to boot into DOS without a boot disk.

-->-- '''The Two Geordies'''[[note]]Seemingly Creator/AntAndDec parodies[[/note]], ''[[WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob]]'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhznLPR7VaI Goo Got Talent]]"

-->-- '''The Two Geordies'''[[note]]Seemingly Creator/AntAndDec parodies[[/note]], ''[[WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob Goo Got Talent]]''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhznLPR7VaI]]

-->-- The Two Geordies [[note]]Seemingly Creator/AntAndDec parodies[[/note]], ''[[WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob Goo Got Talent]]''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhznLPR7VaI]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:''Series/AmericasGotTalent'': '''TOP:''' Week 1 of Auditions, '''BOTTOM:''' Season Finale]]

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* While the TV finale to ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' infamously landed in the opposite extreme, the theatrical finale ''The End of Evangelion'' went all out thanks to being produced on a much higher budget. The result is far more fluid, far more violent, and far more surreal animation and imagery than the TV series' already envelope-pushing standards.