Current Events > Are there any "checklist" shows with a conclusive ending? *Spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

From what I've noticed, shows that have the protagonist complete some kind of checklist of tasks generally ends before the protagonist could complete it.

For example, in My Name Is Earl, the lead character Earl creates a list to right many wrongs he made before he went to prison. The show, unfortunately, ended without any kind of satisfying conclusion of him finally finishing the list. (The off-screen handwave in Raising Hope doesn't count)

Another show, 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, has the protagonist turned into a dog and forced to complete 100 good deeds before he could be turned back human. The show got cancelled before he could finish so he supposedly ended up as a dog forever.

And the gang in 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo never actually managed to catch the 13 ghosts after releasing them in the pilot. (Though apparently they made a movie in 2019 that brings in Fred and Velma and serves as the finale for this series, but the point still stands for the original series)

From what I gather, making checklist shows is risky due to the creators never knowing if and when they'll be cancelled. Are there shows of this genre that had a successful and satisfying conclusion?

How I met Your Mother was about meeting the kids mother and ended when they did so.

Though the nature of the show allowed them to stretch the whole adventure WAY out (and all kinds of crazy **** that ruined the show in the last few episodes)

Mighty Orbots

Minky Momo did, then the toy company that sponsored it backed out because the toys sold poorly so they killed off the main character via a toy truck.

Proto_Spark posted...

How I met Your Mother was about meeting the kids mother and ended when they did so.

Though the nature of the show allowed them to stretch the whole adventure WAY out (and all kinds of crazy **** that ruined the show in the last few episodes)

I guess that technically counts, although it's a checklist of one item, lol.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Mighty Orbots

What's this about?

Proto_Spark posted...

How I met Your Mother was about meeting the kids mother and ended when they did so.

Though the nature of the show allowed them to stretch the whole adventure WAY out (and all kinds of crazy **** that ruined the show in the last few episodes)

It went pretty far beyond him just meeting the mom. Didn't it go all the way to the wedding and whatnot?

Zanzenburger posted...

What's this about?

Giant-Robot anime contracted by an American company for a saturday-morning cartoon, in 1984.

bigblu89 posted...

It went pretty far beyond him just meeting the mom. Didn't it go all the way to the wedding and whatnot?

No the main character meets the "Mother" in literally the last episode (though she becomes a recurring character in the last season being a cartoonishly-perfect match for our protagonist, interacting with the rest of the cast)

They do include a wedding and all that, but its all in the last episode.

Pirates of Dark Water finished properly IIRC.

Sakura finished capturing all the cards in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Dont think the sequel series ever finished though.

Tyranthraxus posted...

Pirates of Dark Water finished properly IIRC.

Really?

I actually used to watch that one...

Tyranthraxus posted...

Pirates of Dark Water finished properly IIRC.

It didn't

Tyranthraxus posted...

Pirates of Dark Water finished properly IIRC.

The cartoon series was cancelled with only half of the treasures recovered.

The Sega Genesis game pulls its cutscenes directly from the show's storyboards. Its ending gives us what likely would have been the closing scene of the series. But that still leaves plenty of story gaps.

FortuneCookie posted...

The cartoon series was cancelled with only half of the treasures recovered.

The Sega Genesis game pulls its cutscenes directly from the show's storyboards. Its ending gives us what likely would have been the closing scene of the series. But that still leaves plenty of story gaps.

Right I must have smoothed over that in my head to match my brain.

Tyranthraxus posted...

Pirates of Dark Water finished properly IIRC.

Alteres posted...

Really?

I actually used to watch that one...

AllHeDoesIsWin posted...

It didn't

This is one of those things where I'm almost certain that I remember seeing a final episode with a conclusion once where Wren and the others face a final confrontation with the Dark Water entity and use all the treasures to destroy it once and for all (and no, I don't mean the mid-point episode where they heal half of the land), but the fact that I can only recall seeing that episode once, being unable to find it anywhere on the internet, and the Wiki page saying it ended before the story was concluded makes this a blurry memory where part of me assumes my mind may have conjured it up on its own somehow.

Jackie Chan Adventures was about getting all the talismans and they managed to do that. Every season had a new checklist of magic things to collect

Avatar?
If you count learning the elements a checklist

Blue_Inigo posted...

Jackie Chan Adventures was about getting all the talismans and they managed to do that. Every season had a new checklist of magic things to collect

This one is like the ultimate checklist show. They collected the talismans twice, the demon sorcerers twice, and the oni masks once.

Pokemon, at least the first couple seasons that I watched, is about Ash collecting gym badges, and competing in the Pokemon League.

Is Ash still trying to be the very best?

Turbam posted...

Avatar?
If you count learning the elements a checklist

He was supposed to master the elements but he never mastered fire and his earth could still have used some work by the end of the series. Thankfully those were all stepping stones to beating the Fire Lord, which he did, so the ultimate goal of mastery wasn't necessary.

A_Good_Boy posted...

Is Ash still trying to be the very best?

He did beat two island championships of literal nobodies.

A_Good_Boy posted...

Is Ash still trying to be the very best?

I think he already is.

I believe he's also the only Pokemon League Champion to have an article on CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/15/entertainment/ash-ketchum-pokemon-win-trnd/index.html

A_Good_Boy posted...

He was supposed to master the elements but he never mastered fire and his earth could still have used some work by the end of the series. Thankfully those were all stepping stones to beating the Fire Lord, which he did, so the ultimate goal of mastery wasn't necessary.

Yeah, I guess that's true.

I haven't watched it all but there are 193 episodes of Inuyasha and, from what I understand:
They collect all the shards of the jewel, but it breaks again. Then they recollect them all and kill Naraku.
Again, I didn't watch it all, that's a recollection and might be a mix of manga/anime.

Edit:
If a series-long tournament counts, Zatch Bell concludes very snugly.

My Name is Earl has a pseudo-finale via an Easter Egg in Saving Grace. >_>

Also the intended finale was that he was never going to be able to finish the list anyway, and the point was that by doing good deeds he had inspired other people to do good deeds

AvlButtslam posted...

Sakura finished capturing all the cards in Cardcaptor Sakura.

As well as completed converting them all into star cards and creating her own unique card by the end. Though she never technically "captured" them all in the first place, the "become the master of the Clow" goal was completed.

Nickelodeon used to have a tendency of cancelling everything after 25 episodes. Eddie McDowd had no chance with that company.

A_Good_Boy posted...

Is Ash still trying to be the very best?

Spoilers for current season
He's literally in the final 4 of the World Championships with Leon, Diantha, and Cynthia. Already beat Steven
He has said he wouldn't even consider himself a Pokemon Master even if he wins the championship

Oh, you may not count it, but the Lilo and Stitch series ends with a movie where it's said they successfully found all 625 experiments. There are only about 125 or so that were actually characters and the group shot with all of them has a lot of duplicates.

pegusus123456 posted...

This one is like the ultimate checklist show. They collected the talismans twice, the demon sorcerers twice, and the oni masks once.

True, Jackie Chan Adventures is definitely one of these.

Ash will never Ketchum all