10 TV Shows That Almost Had Much Better Endings

The pressure inherent to any TV show ending is huge. After all, audiences have spent years and years watching the story play out and, when it finally comes to wrapping things up, fans aren't quite as forgiving as they might be with a motion picture. Which after a mere two hours feel a lot less consequential than a lengthy TV saga.

You're looking at a vast and epic construct of more than 50 hours, in most cases, going on the notion that most beloved shows run for at least 5 series, comprising of anywhere between 10 to 22 episodes per season. No wonder people get so irked when said show fails to culminate in a way that feels justified.

Not that that's an easy task or anything; you have to tie everything up in a way that seems fitting and yet manages to be unpredictable at the same time; characters must live or die; couples must come together together or break apart; a few curveballs and some ambiguous notes are expected to be thrown in for good measure, too.

Yes, it's tough to find the "perfect" ending because everyone expects something entirely different. In the cases of the following 10 TV shows, though, some of which were deemed unsatisfying, the alternate endings proposed or revealed by the showrunners would have probably made a lot more people a whole lot happier...

The Ending: After 208 episodes, How I Met Your Mother finally gave fans the elusive moment that they had long been waiting for: the identity of the "mother" of the show's title - a woman named Tracy, played by Cristin Milioti.

Then, later on, the show dropped a bombshell in its super divisive ending: Tracy had actually been dead for six years, and the reason Ted had been relaying the entire story to this kids was as a sort test to see whether or not they'd accept Robin, his romantic interest for most of the show, as his new lover. Talk about a bum note.

The Alternative Ending: It could have been so much better! At least, going by the alternative ending that can be glimpsed on the DVD release of the show's final season.

In that far better ending, then, Tracy doesn't die from a terminal illness and Ted doesn't end up with Robin. Two changes that would have meant that things weren't so damn depressing, and that How I Met Your Mother wouldn't have ended on a romance that nobody really believed. The final shot would have consisted of Ted and Tracy, the train arriving, and the yellow umbrella floating down the road. Aw.