Surprisingly Dark TV Finales

Alf was captured by federal agents. In the final moments of Dinosaurs the family huddled together as the world ended. These are some of the most well-known examples of tv show endings taking surprisingly dark turns. But they're not alone.

Lost

At the urging of Jack, Hurley agrees to take one more look at the map. "Oh," he says, then rotates it ninety degrees. Turns out they should have taken a left at Albuquerque.

Dexter

In the finale of the second season, Dexter finds out there will be several more seasons. (See also: Sons of Anarchy)

Home Improvement

Tim works his butt off building a ladder. He climbs it to see over the fence, finally getting a good look at his neighbor Wilson. It's a golden retriever standing on two legs. The very same golden retriever standing on two legs that murdered Tim's parents all those years ago.

Friends

The scene from the opening credits is re-enacted. Chandler, Ross, and Joey jump into the fountain. Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel jump in at the same time, hoping their combined blue gaia will offset the guys' planet-devouring red gaia. The gambit is successful and the Earth goddess is safe, but the friends have sacrificed themselves in the process.

Breaking Bad

Walter gets caught by the police. He is tried and convicted for all his crimes. As punishment, he is forced to clean up the pizza that he threw on a roof.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

A giddy Picard commands the pilot to do a make the Enterprise climb at a steep angle. Data warns Picard that such a maneuver could stall the spaceship, but Picard insists. The Enterprise stalls and enters a freefall from which it never recovers, exploding in a loud fireball.

Cop Rock

The grand jury concludes that if the bomb squad hadn't spent several minutes dancing and singing, the device found beneath the Super Bowl bleachers could have been defused.

Cheers

Sam does the glass polishing motion with his hands, but finds that the glass he was polishing has been worn down to nothing. He turns to the rack. Every glass and mug is gone. Sam's right hand twitches, the bar towel flapping eagerly. He eyes Norm and Cliff. "Carla," Sam croaks, his voice little more than a whisper, "lock the door."

The Sopranos

Tony goes out in a blaze of glory, taking out all the federal agents as he defends the constitution in an Oregon wildlife refuge.

24

Double crossed! As it turns out, there was a mole in CTU. And another one. And another one. And the director was a mole. And Jack's hacker friend Chloe. And the vice president. And the president. And, in the ultimate betrayal, Jack discovers that Jack himself was in on the terrorist plot all along.

The Office

Jim turns toward the camera, mugs, and serenely lets himself fall backwards into an industrial cauldron of lava.

– Dennis "Corin Tucker's Stalker" Farrell (@DennisFarrell)