While we might be in a golden age for TV creatively, we're nowhere close to the appointment viewing of an older era.
Modern technology like DVRs has made it so people can watch several shows that air at the same time whenever they want. Before that, fans had to make hard choices about what to watch and make sure they got home in time for it.
And TV ratings don't come in the huge numbers of yesteryear. When they do, they tabulate viewing over several days. The 1990 series finale of alien comedy "Alf" brought 21.7 million viewers to their TV sets all at the same time. For comparison, last year's season finale for the most-watched show on TV, CBS's "The Big Bang Theory," had 14.73 million viewers.
Since we're in that time of year when dozens of shows are ending their runs, we compiled the finales that had the most Americans gathered around to watch ever.
Here are the 20 most-watched scripted TV series finales of all time:
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20. "L.A. Law" (NBC) — 22.1 million viewers
After eight seasons, "L.A. Law" made its final closing argument on May 19, 1994. On the series finale, Becker (Corbin Bernsen) is feeling his best days are behind him at the ripe old age of 42. At the same time, the firm plans to celebrate senior partner Mckenzie's (Richard Dysart) 65th birthday, but he has a surprise for them: He's retiring. That throws the firm into chaos and forces the partners to look for new jobs.
Source: The Quad City Times
19. "MacGyver" (ABC) — 22.3 million viewers
The adventures of a young MacGyver are currently airing on CBS, but it's tough to live up to the success of the original crafty secret agent. The "MacGyver" series finale, which aired on May 21, 1992, in its seventh season, revealed that Sam — a cool, young biker, who helped out on a tough case — was actually MacGyver's son!
Source: World Heritage Encyclopedia
18. "St. Elsewhere" (NBC) — 22.5 million viewers
"St. Elsewhere" was a groundbreaking urban medical drama that aired on NBC from 1982 to 1988. Its alumni include Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., Howie Mandel, and Mark Harmon. Viewers tuned into its May 25, 1988, series finale to find out that the whole series took place in the very active imagination of a young autistic boy!
Source: Star-News
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