12 Sci-Fi TV Shows Let Down By Terrible Endings

9. Lost

J.J Abrams’ calling card for a career as a major Hollywood talent in the world of cinematic sci-fi, Lost probably needs no introduction a decade and a half after the show’s enigmatic debut. The stylish, dark mystery had a conceit genius in its simplicity and bolstered by an ensemble cast free from weak links.

A small group of survivors, their personalities at odds and backstories only gradually hinted at, are stranded on a strange island after a plane crash. With intersecting flashbacks, flash forwards, parallel timelines, and alternate realities, the show soon made it clear that its eventual explanation would something be altogether more complicated and sophisticated than the typical “It’s all a dying dream” Jacob’s Ladder lark… Right?

Well, it was certainly more complicated than that, but when the finale finally arrived on our screens critics and audiences alike were furious to find that, after years spent decoding all manner of subtle minutiae, the ending wasn’t all that far from the cliché everyone expected from its first episode.