With its almost universally praised final episode, Breaking Bad defied the odds: many thought they’d be disappointed. Expectations ran so high, given the quality the series has maintained and the increasingly rabid fan base it’s built over six years. Plus, there was the drama’s tricky moral framework. It’s testament to the abilities of cast and crew and writing team of the show that they were able to deliver a cathartic, dramatically satisfying closure to the five-season saga.
But there’s an sad tradition of shows will seemingly go out of their way to alienate loyal fans. (See last week’s Dexter finale – or, rather, please don’t.) Defying expectations, failing to offer closure, making the characters act out of character – these will all make fans feel they’ve invested countless hours of their lives in vain. Sure, you insure that your show will be talked about forever, but not in a good way. Here are 10 classic shows whose bizarre finales had us gnashing our teeth and pulling out our hair then, and that still have us griping about them today.