History Main / SeriesFauxnale

* AkiraToriyama had intended to end his manga ''DragonBall'' on several occasions by the time of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and continued on regardless. The most clear-cut example of this trope however would be the Cell saga, which (appears to) wrap up Goku's story, ending the last remnants of the Red Ribbon Army with Cell's demise. The Frieza saga also initially appeared to have ended with both Goku and Frieza's deaths on the planet Namek, though neither took.

* {{The Movie}} of ''{{The X-Files}}'' was meant to be the ending of the show, then Fox decided to hang onto their cash cow a while longer. The film's third act shows definite signs of being hastily rewritten to leave things open enough for the series to continue (Cigarette Smoking Man showing up in Antarctica and then leaving without actually doing anything being the most obvious).

** Many, also, think that Wishology may have been intended as a series finale. It certainly has a "finale" like feel to it, especially if you read the original script drafts. However, it was renewed for two more seasons, so it's definintely not a finale. Whether or not it was intended as one is still an open question.

* ''{{Gargoyles}}'': ''Hunter's Moon'' where the exhistence of the clan is revealed to the world.

* ''{{Futurama}}'' has had two of these. ''Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings'' rather sweetly concluded the fourth season, and it was canceled for several years... until the straight-to-DVD movies, which ended with the real finale, ''Into the Wild Green Yonder''. The show has recently been completely UnCanceled and will be starting up again soon.

** Tt should be mentioned that most fans, as well as the creator, treat the third season as {{Discontinuity}}, so "Hunter's Moon" is a kind of finale for some.

** This one is more complicated than that. MGS4 wasn't supposed to be a final end to all things Metal Gear. What it ''is'' meant to close off is the story of Solid Snake. Prequels continue to be released, and a further sequel is being released starring a [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap post-rescue Raiden.]]

* The fifth season of "[[Supernatural Supernatural]]" is a pretty good example, if you ignore the cliffhanger at the very end. The story that had been building for the past 5 seasons had finally been resolved, the BigBad was defeated, Kripke stopped writing the show, and it could have all been over. Except it wasn't...

* The fifth season of "[[Supernatural]]" is a pretty good example, if you ignore the cliffhanger at the very end. The story that had been building for the past 5 seasons had finally been resolved, the Big Bad was defeated, Kripke stopped writing the show, and it could have all been over. Except it wasn't...

* The fifth season of "Supernatural" is a pretty good example, if you ignore the cliffhanger at the very end. The story that had been building for the past 5 seasons had finally been resolved, the Big Bad was defeated, Kripke stopped writing the show, and it could have all been over. Except it wasn't...

* ''KeroroGunsou'' sort of does this in episode 51. In this episode, the Keroro Platoon receives a message from headquarters ordering them to return to Keron...or they will die. There are even scenes that show them packing everything up, and erasing everyone's memories (including the Hinatas'). It turns out though, that [[spoiler: they only had to return for a regular medical checkup]], and as a result [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready they never really had to leave "Pekopon" after all]].

* ''{{Dollhouse}}'' has one of these as its DVD-only 13th episode of the first season, jumping ahead a decade or so and showing that the technology showcased has, not unsurprisingly, been used for terrible purposes. [[spoiler: The end result? Worldwide apocalypse, of course!]] Shockingly, the show was not canceled, but the second (and now final) season seems to be moving in a direction that indicates that episode is the likely conclusion. Of course, this is a Joss Whedon show, so [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready a happy ending was probably never likely anyway]].

* Episode 13 of the 1990s ''Series/{{X-Men}}'' cartoon, "The Final Decision", has a number of arcs cleanly tied up in case the series wasn't renewed: The Sentinels are defeated, Beast is released from prison, Senator Kelly stops his anti-mutant rhetoric, Magneto and Xavier form a truce, Rogue and Gambit share an IndirectKiss, and Cyclops asks Jean to marry him. It ends with a [[AuthorsSavingThrow clearly-tacked-on voice-over]] by Mr. Sinister to set up the next season's arc.

* Due to a lack of understanding and faith in ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' for long term survival by the various networks, when it was finally given its chance by Fox it was only meant to last for one season of 40 episodes total, only to be replaced by a more suitable long term show once found. The show's intended series finale would have been the two part episode Doomsday in which Rita Repulsa would have been permanently defeated in a similar manner as her counterpart in ''KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''. Due to the show's unforeseen popularity however, the Doomsday episodes were edited last minute to leave them open ended. In addition, new suits and footage were quickly and specially commissioned from Toei by Saban to expand the first season to 60 episodes total, as Saban had exhausted his supply of ''Zyuranger'' footage and costumes by episode 40. At this same time Saban also secured the rights to the subsequent ''SuperSentai'' series for future seasons of ''PowerRangers''.

* ''MagnumPI'''s episode "Limbo" in which Magnum literally walked off into the sunset.

** This one is more complicated than that. MGS4 wasn't supposed to be a final end to all things Metal Gear. What it ''is'' meant to close off is the story of Solid Snake. Prequels continue to be released, and a further sequel is being released starring a [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap post-resuce Raiden.]]

* ''AquaTeenHungerForce'' plays with this by naming a recent SeasonFinale "Last Last One Forever and Ever" and ended with the titjlar trio moving away, with Carl poignantly saying, "Truly, they were an Aqua Teen Hunger Force." Then it was revealed that the producers were already planning new episodes, and the next aired revealed that the Aqua Teens moved into the other house next to Carl's.

* The half season episode of ''TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'' titled "Crystal Hawks" was structured in case the series wasn't extended for a full season: Brisco catches John Bly, forms a partnership with Lord Bowler, resolves a NoOneCouldSurviveThat moment from the pilot, and finally gets some vague information on the series MacGuffin, the Orb. The final scene where Socrates tells Brisco that Bly had escaped DiabolusExMachina style was put in once the full season order had come through.
* ''AllInTheFamily'': "The Stivics Go West", which wrapped up season 8 with Mike, Gloria, and Joey bidding a tearful goodbye to Archie and Edith and moving to California. Norman Lear had indeed intended for this to be the show's finale, but CBS executives (along with Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) convinced him to let the show continue for another season without his participation.
** It can be argued that the show's ''actual'' series finale, "Too Good Edith", was this as well. ''All in the Family'' was then [[ReTool re-tooled]] into ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which lasted for four more seasons. Ironically enough, ''that'' show - and thus the entire 13-year story of Archie Bunker - [[LeftHanging never got a proper finale]].
* ''ArrestedDevelopment'': Season 1 finale, "Let 'Em Eat Cake", which ends with George Bluth escaping prison, Tobias and Lindsay reconciled, George Michael deciding not to pursue Maeby, and Michael Bluth deciding to let the family fend for themselves.
* Happened to ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'' when it appeared that it was going to be canceled at the end of its fourth season (five seasons had been planned). So JMichaelStraczynski (the show's creator and writer) squeezed the first half of the fifth season's plot into the three penultimate episodes at the end of season four in order to resolve most of the major story arcs, resulting in season four's second half containing nothing ''but'' [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]]. Then the show got UnCanceled, season five happened on schedule, and [[JMichaelStraczynski JMS]] had to scramble to fill the gap in season five's plot by stretching out what was planned as a minor continuing storyline into a half-season-long arc. PacingProblems result, with most fans agreeing that the first half of season five is the weakest stretch of the entire show.
* The season 4 mid-season finale of ''BattlestarGalactica'' was written with the intent of serving as a finale in the event that the 2007 writer's strike prevented the remaining episodes from being made. The results were... divisive.
* According to [[WordOfGod Bob Forward]], the writing staff of ''BeastWars'' didn't know if they were going to get a second season... So at the end of the first, there was an impending EarthShatteringKaboom. Then the same thing happened at the end of the ''second'' season, which ends with Megatron causing the fabric of ''time itself'' to start unraveling. In both cases, this was meant to imply that if there wasn't another season, it meant the world had ended.
* ''[=~Blake's Seven~=]'': the third season ends with the [[spoiler: destruction of the protagonists' almost-magical spaceship, the Liberator.]] In the 4th season, the actual series finale [[spoiler: very strongly suggested the protagonists were all killed,]] but left a little wiggle room, in case there was a fifth season. (There wasn't.)
* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': "Prophecy Girl", the first series finale, where Buffy defeats The Master, the UST is temporarily resolved and she goes off to the school dance with Angel. Also, the fifth season finale (the last on TheWB) counts, even though the show had been picked up by {{UPN}}, because of the feeling of finality surrounding the proceedings.
** Also, Season 3, where Sunnydale High is destroyed, the characters graduate anyway, Angel leaves and the demon that created Sunnydale is destroyed. In fact, out of seven seasons, the only ones that wouldn't cut it as the SeriesFinale are season four and season six - and the only reason season six wouldn't cut it is the scene at the very end where Spike [[spoiler:gets his soul back]].
* ''CornerGas''' Season 4 finale "Gopher It", where Hank pitches an idea that takes off, eventually leading to [[spoiler: Corner Gas and the Ruby getting bought out by a large chain gas station, Emma being elected mayor, and Lacey leaving Dog River to open up a restaurant in Toronto (among other things).]] At the end of the episode, it is all revealed to be [[spoiler: one giant ImagineSpot by Hank after Brent, Wanda, and Lacey told him to think about his idea before pitching it.]]
** That was actually a ''parody'' of [[GrandFinale grand finales]]. In actuality, the show was a ''huge'' hit for CTV throughout its run, and would only have ended if creator, showrunner, and star Brent Butt had wanted it to. He ''did'' end it on his own terms two years later, with a much more [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue subdued finale]].
* ''{{Dollhouse}}'' has one of these as its DVD-only 13th episode of the first season, jumping ahead a decade or so and showing that the technology showcased has, not unsurprisingly, been used for terrible purposes. [[spoiler: The end result? Worldwide apocalypse, of course!]] Shockingly, the show was not canceled, but the second (and now final) season seems to be moving in a direction that indicates that episode is the likely conclusion. Of course, this is a Joss Whedon show, so [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready a happy ending was probably never likely anyway]].

* The Season 4 Finale of ''[[EdEddNEddy Ed, Edd, And Eddy]]'', "Take This Ed and Shove It", said that the entire Series was AllJustADream, which would explain the fact that there are only twelve Characters. However, the Season 5 Premiere not only retcons 413, but it proves that there ''are'' other Characters, even if [[TheGhost only their arms or shadows are shown.]]
* ''TheFairlyOddparents'' did this at least twice: the TV movie Abra-Catastrophe, and the 1-hour special Fairy Idol.
** Many, also, think that Wishology may have been intended as a series finale. It certainly has a "finale" like feel to it, especially if you read the original script drafts. However, it was renewed for two more seasons, so it's definintely not a finale. Whether or not it was intended as one is still an open question.

* ''Series/FridayNightLights'': "State", the season one finale, where the Panthers go to the state championship.
* ''FridayThe13th Part Four: The Final Chapter'': It was indeed meant to be, but... wasn't.
** Also, ''Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'', which was the ''ninth'' movie in the franchise. It was followed by [[RecycledInSPACE two]] [[EvasiveFightThreadEpisode more]] Jason films, and a remake of the original.
*** Also the eighth movie [[spoiler: where Jason is turned back into a little boy]]. The sequels stopped directly following one another after that.
*** Well, since the main character had just been shot up with heroin, some people consider that a hallucination. And Jason's appearance in part 9 looks like his mask had melted to his face, like by the toxic waste he was hit with in part 8...

* ''{{Futurama}}'' has had two of these. ''Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings'' rather sweetly concluded the fourth season, and it was canceled for several years... until the straight-to-DVD movies, which ended with the real finale, ''Into the Wild Green Yonder''. The show has recently been completely UnCanceled and will be starting up again soon.
* ''{{Gargoyles}}'': ''Hunter's Moon'' where the exhistence of the clan is revealed to the world.
** it should be mentioned that most fans, as well as the creator, treat the third season as {{Discontinuity}}, so ''Hunter's Moon'' is kind of a final.
* Strangely, the Volume 4 finale to ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' feels like one of these. Sylar is ([[spoiler: seemingly]]) defeated once and for all, and all the Heroes come together to contemplate the future and start "a new beginning". There's just two little hitches in the plan...
* The {{iCarly}} episode "iQuit iCarly", but this is more of an example of TheyJustDidntCare.
* ''JusticeLeague'' had two: "Starcrossed", which is the GrandFinale made before the decisions to change it into ''Justice League Unlimited'', and "Epilogue'', expected to be the last episode of the DCAU, before another season was ordered.

* ''KimPossible'': "So the Drama", the MadeForTVMovie expected to be the end of the show, complete with LastMinuteHookup.

* ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'': Season 7 finale, the last on Comedy Central, where Mike and the Bots escape the SOL and Dr. Forrester is transformed into a baby.
* WordOfGod says that the episodes of ''NewsRadio'' at the end of seasons two, three, and four were made with the expectation that they would be the finale. The ''actual'' finale was also made with enough wiggle room in case the show could continue.
* ''NorthernExposure'': "The Quest", where the show's main character finishes his work in Alaska.
* ''OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': "Time on Our Hands", where the Trotters succeed in becoming millionaires.
* ThePowerpuffGirls originally ended with a MusicalEpisode, ''See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey'' in which the girls make a deal with a reality altering gnome to rid Townsville of the villains plaguing it in exchange for their powers. Realizing that evil still lurks in Townsville in the form of a cult formed by Gnomey, and that evil will always exist as long as there is good, the deal is broken and they go to stop him. Then the 10th Anniversary Special came out.
* Due to a lack of understanding and faith in ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' for long term survival by the various networks, when it was finally given its chance by Fox it was only meant to last for one season of 40 episodes total, only to be replaced by a more suitable long term show once found. The show's intended series finale would have been the two part episode Doomsday in which Rita Repulsa would have been permanently defeated in a similar manner as her counterpart in ''KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''. Due to the show's unforeseen popularity however, the Doomsday episodes were edited last minute to leave them open ended. In addition, new suits and footage were quickly and specially commissioned from Toei by Saban to expand the first season to 60 episodes total, as Saban had exhausted his supply of ''Zyuranger'' footage and costumes by episode 40. At this same time Saban also secured the rights to the subsequent ''SuperSentai'' series for future seasons of ''PowerRangers''.
** The finale of ''PowerRangersInSpace'', Countdown to Destruction, was also made to end the series, with all the villains of the past and present launching a full-scale conquest of the universe, only for [[spoiler: Zordon's death being required for his power to spread through the universe, reducing the overwhelming majority of the villains to dust and purifying a small handful of fan-favorites into non-evil humans]]. Of course, the SuperSentai formula was adopted after that, making ''every'' season finale a series finale.
* ''PrisonBreak'': "Sona", the second season finale.
* The final episode of RedVsBlue (notable for having multiple endings thanks to the magic of the internet)... until Red Vs Blue: Reconstruction and now Red Vs Blue: Recreation came along.

* ''Saw'' III was clearly intended to finish the series since it wraps up everything pretty nicely. There was even a box set released of the "Saw Trilogy". A few [[SequelHook SequelHooks]] were added (Jigsaw's brief flashback, as well as the wax covered tape and Amanda's letter) so that the series could continue.
* ''{{Scrubs}}'' was intended at least two years beforehand to end with its eighth season. It almost didn't get an eighth season due to the WritersStrike, but {{Channel Hop}}ped from NBC to ABC (who owned the show) and ended with a GrandFinale that both poked fun and emulated most series finales... before being picked up for its ninth season, with a mostly new cast.
* ''SeaQuestDSV'': "An Ocean on Fire", where the titular sub is destroyed.
* ''[[SeventhHeaven 7th Heaven]]'' is a weird case, as they weren't ''told'' to wrap it up because they were being canceled--they were intending to end the show after 10 seasons. Then TheCW [[ExecutiveMeddling told the writers that they wanted the show]] around to help with the transitional period after [[{{UPN}} the]] [[TheWB merger]], so make an eleventh season. It didn't quite work out.
* Season 1 of SledgeHammer ended with a very large bang, as Inspector Sledge [[CatchPhrase "Trust me, I know what I'm doing"]] Hammer attempted to disarm a nuke. When the show got picked up for a second season, the cliffhanger was handwaved away by setting the new episodes "five years earlier", while continuing all ongoing story elements and character development unchanged.
* ''SpongeBobSquarepants'': The Movie
** Well, despite the blatant NegativeContinuity the show has, the creator made it clear that no matter how long the show goes for, the movie will always be the series finale {{Canon}}-wise
* ''StargateSG1'' had ''four'' of these throughout its run: the finales of seasons 5, 6 7 and 8. The first two came when the writers were almost sure the network would end the series, and both ended on cliffhangers that were intended to lead up to a follow-up [[TheMovie theatrical movie]], which in turn would set up the spinoff series ''StargateAtlantis''; both times, the series got renewed for a new season after all. For season 7, the planned theatrical movie was reworked into a two-episode GrandFinale that would lead directly into ''Atlantis'' -- but the series was renewed yet again, resulting in the finale's ending being rewritten so that ''Atlantis'' would be set in a different galaxy (to limit crossovers, as it was going to be contemporary with SG-1 rather than replacing it). The fourth and final SeriesFauxnale was a full-blown multi-part GrandFinale that ended with an epic battle, the defeat of every major antagonist in the series, and the resolution of 8 years worth of character threads and plotlines. In fact, it wrapped things up so completely that the next season necessitated a complete ReTool of the show. Ironically, when the series was actually cancelled after season 10 the writers were expecting an extra year, so they weren't able to make a proper GrandFinale -- instead, the series ended with most major storylines unresolved, and the planned arc for season 11 was reworked into a direct-to-DVD movie follow-up ''Stargate: The Ark of Truth''.
* ''TeenTitans'': The three-part finale of the fourth season, "The End".
* The seventh season of ''{{Charmed}}'' ended with the gals foresaking magic and assuming new identities, due to the possibility that the show might not be renewed.
* Episode 13 of the first season of ''24'', written when the producers were unsure they'd be coming back for another half-day, has Jack rescuing his wife and daughter, and has all the hallmarks of a climactic happy ending. Only the addition of a couple of scenes, revealing a new threat, were necessary for the show to keep on going.

* {{The Movie}} of {{The X-Files}} was meant to be the ending of the show, then Fox decided to hang onto their cash cow a while longer. The film's third act shows definite signs of being hastily rewritten to leave things open enough for the series to continue (Cigarette Smoking Man showing up in Antarctica and then leaving without actually doing anything being the most obvious).

* Episode 13 of the 1990s ''Series/{{X-Men}}'' cartoon, "The Final Decision", has a number of arcs cleanly tied up in case the series wasn't renewed: The Sentinels are defeated, Beast is released from prison, Senator Kelly stops his anti-mutant rhetoric, Magneto and Xavier form a truce, Rogue and Gambit share an IndirectKiss, and Cyclops asks Jean to marry him. It ends with a [[AuthorsSavingThrow clearly-tacked-on voice-over]] by Mr. Sinister to set up the next season's arc.
* ''AquaTeenHungerForce'' plays with this by naming a recent SeasonFinale "Last Last One Forever and Ever" and ended with the titlar trio moving away, with Carl poignantly saying, "Truly, they were an Aqua Teen Hunger Force." Then it was revealed that the producers were already planning new episodes, and the next aired revealed that the Aqua Teens moved into the other house next to Carl's.
* ''MetalGearSolid4'' conveniently wraps up all the plot threads and cliffhangers from previous ''MetalGear'' titles, leaving little room for further sequels... Which is why the installment that follows it, ''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'', is another prequel like ''MetalGearSolid3''.
* Of course...Episode 29 of ''KaBlam''. It wrapped the series up in a satisfying manner...then came more episodes. (And even more that never aired!)
* ReBoot ended it's third season assuming that there wouldn't be a fourth season. Aside from the Daemon story started in season 3 everything was wrapped up nicely. Then the series was UnCancelled and ended on a CliffHanger.

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* ''ArrestedDevelopment'': Season 1 finale, "Let 'Em Eat Cake", which ends with George Bluth escaping prison, Tobias and Lindesay reconciled, George Michael deciding not to pursue Maeby, and Michael Bluth deciding to let the family fend for themselves.

* ''{{Halo}} 2'' was going to be the end of the series, but the developers ran out of time, so they ended it with a CliffHanger and [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo concluded the story in ''Halo 3'']].