The long goodbye

Ten years after ‘Seinfeld’ said farewell, does it (and other finales) still hold up?

PROFILE. A decade after its finale — yep, on May 14, 1998 — “Seinfeld” is still as ubiquitous a sitcom as when it propelled “yada yada yada” into the pop culture lexicon. With re-runs airing practically around the clock, it’s no surprise that even now, fans are still debating whether or not the 75-minute closer, which was seen by an estimated 76 million viewers, was a worthy farewell. In “The Finale,” the characteristic apathy and self-involvement of the core foursome — Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Kramer (Michael Richards) — lands the group in court (they laughed at the carjacking of an overweight man rather than helping him, ignoring a Good Samaritan law). A parade of character witnesses from throughout the series’ nine seasons proceeds to testify against the friends for their selfish ways.

Ten years removed from the hype and speculation that originally surrounded the episode (remember Seinfeld’s mug on the cover of Time magazine?), the finale remains as self-indulgent as its characters. The bloated, clip show-like rehashing of characters and storylines aside, at its core the episode quite perfectly encapsulated the series — at the close of “the show about nothing,” Jerry and company are punished for doing absolutely nothing. In honor of today’s “Seinfeld” anniversary, we take a look at other memorable — if not debatable — TV finales.

‘M*A*S*H*’
(Feb. 28, 1983)
Through two-and-a-half hours, the most-watched television finale of all time is a sentimental farewell with — as always throughout its 11 seasons — a serious heart. Documenting the toll the Korean War had taken on its characters, “M*A*S*H*” concludes as the fighting subsides and the camp’s personnel go their separate ways. Not before, of course, Hunnicutt’s (Mike Farrell) iconic “goodbye,” written in stones, to Hawkeye (Alan Alda) as he flies away in a helicopter.

‘Newhart’
(May 21, 1990)
The “hey, it was all a dream!” plot twist is the kind of lazy deus ex machina that makes TV fans loyal to a show grit their teeth. But when Bob Newhart woke up next to his former TV wife (Suzanne Pleshette) in his old “Bob Newhart Show” bedroom and realized his days as a Vermont innkeeper had all taken place in his head, the “Newhart” ender played more like a hilarious in-joke.

‘Cheers’
(May 20, 1993)
Everybody’s favorite bar closed after 11 seasons with more than a few tears in our beer — particularly in the last scene, when Sam (Ted Danson) paid tribute to Coach, played by Nicholas Colasanto, who died in 1985, during the show’s third season. The finale remains television’s second-most watched closer.