Comments on: Which TV Character Had the Most Egregious Absence From a Show’s Series Finale?

By: John Trumbull

John Trumbull — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 20:06:56 +0000

It kind of stunk that Kevin Williamson didn’t see fit to include Meredith Monroe as Andie McPhee for the last episode of Dawson’s Creek.

Williamson, as I recall, hadn’t been involved with the show for several years by the time the show ended, but he returned to co-write the finale, which had Dawson & all the other characters coming back together after a five year time skip. Williamson devoted a lot of time in the finale to Jack McPhee being in a relationship with Pacey’s brother Doug, a character who hadn’t really been a big part of the show since Williamson was writing it. (And, IIRC, Doug hadn’t even been positively established as gay before the finale, even though Pacey relentlessly mocked him as being closeted.)

According to this Dawson’s Creek wiki I found, Meredith Monroe DID film scenes for the series finale, but all of her scenes were cut in the aired version and only appear on the DVD. That’s pretty shitty, right? A well-regarded actor who was a regular agrees to return for the finale, you make a deal with them, fly them out to North Carolina and everything, but then you just cut all their scenes out? WTH, Williamson?

https://dawsonscreek.fandom.com/wiki/…Must_Come_To_An_End#Trivia

Here’s her stuff from the finale if you’re interested:
https://youtu.be/YyozhqAgWt4?si=I0m7G1RKEEk73kI2

By: Neil C.

Neil C. — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 23:25:07 +0000

The total absence of Chuck in the Happy Days finale. He was totally retconned, I remember in his final speech saying “My two wonderful kids.” He’s the anti-Dawn.

By: Geno

Geno — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 20:19:56 +0000

Would have been nice to have included Gary Burghoff in M*A*S*H* finale. Have him call the base or some such event.

Charisma Carpenter being ignored in Angel was wrong, but many things with Josh Whedon choices were wrong in hindsight.

By: Tim Pendergast

Tim Pendergast — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:32:11 +0000

Does Robert Reed not being the last episode of The Brady Bunch count? Not a true series finale I know.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 20:42:52 +0000

In reply to John King.

I get Tina not being there when the finale made a point of retconning her out of existence, but yes, Donna got done DIRTY.

By: John King

John King — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 21:55:39 +0000

I would pick the 1994 Quantum Leap episode Mirror Image for its poor treatment of 2 female characters.
Admittedly both had only appeared in 2 episodes each (and different actresses in each episode) but both had so much personal significance to the lead characters that they deserved much better than they got – which in both cases is worse than simply not appearing.

Donna Eleese-Beckett – Sam’s wife, left waiting for him but in the ending he never returns

Tina Martinez – Al’s ladyfriend – one of the 2 characters in the opening scene of the first episode – bringing her back could have served as a bookend – instead her relationship with Al is retconned out of existence (which begs the question of why Dr Ruth had to fix the relationship issues)

By: Scott Fry

Scott Fry — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 20:08:42 +0000

Jadzia Dax from Worf’s flashbacks on DS9. They showed him somehow remembering being Duchamps in “Our Man Bashir” which was a hologram who looked like Worf, not actually Worf, but they didn’t show his WIFE who he was with for two ENTIRE seasons, married for one of them.