4. Battlestar Galactica
First Episode: December 8th, 2003 Final Episode: March 20th, 2009 The 21st century incarnation of Battlestar Galactica had some serious magic, becoming one of those genre shows that manages to transcend its niche genre and become mainstream pop canon (the current best example of that being Game of Thrones). Terrific pacing, excellent acting and dynamite plot twists, all of that and more kept people tuning into the Sci-Fi (now Syfy) Network every week, as well as angrily demanding the missing DVDs from their video rental shops. But eventually, the creators seemed to lose control of their series, not unlike how the humans lost control of the Cylons. Like Lost, Battlestar Galactica was a show built on mystery. And also like the story of that crazy island, BSGs writers didnt seem to have the answers. At the start of every episode, it was stated that the Cylons have a plan. As the show went on, this appeared to be less and less true, despite the efforts of 2009s made-for-tv-movie The Plan. Battlestar Galactica had an extra long, double episode finale. The first half was non-stop action, some of the most intense stuff ever seen in the series. However, the second half was non-stop denouement. Throughout Battlestar Galactica, one of the big questions was supernatural vs. science. All ambiguity is guilelessly eradicated. And then youve got the main characters making odd final decisions (such as Adamas Im sick of looking at you, son ending). There was some major awesomeness in the end of BSG, but there were also stumbling blocks. Is 100% terrific too much to ask? Should we just be happy with the good stuff we get? Maybe. But when you get so sucked into a television serial, often you wont be happy with anything less than perfection. Slight quibbles at the end of a top level production will cause more ire than glaring inconsistencies in a crummier shows finale. Breaking Bad wont be able to rest on its well deserved laurels. There's no letting up, not until the very last moment.