Every-Episode Ending

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
(Redirected from Every Episode Ending)

"Th-th-that's All Folks!"

—Porky Pig, Looney Tunes

An element that appears at the conclusion of every episode, chapter, or Story Arc. It can be dialogue, narration, or Paratext. Either way, it informs the audience that the episode/arc is over, without resorting to a generic "The End" or "To Be Continued..." title card.

So Once Again the Day Is Saved is the narration-specific subtrope. For some viewers, "On the Next..." and Closing Credits tend to function like this (even though that's probably not the intent of the creators). Oh, Cisco is the variation that ends every ep with a joke, which may lead to everybody laughing. May include catchphrase.

As an Ending Trope, Spoilers ahead may be unmarked. Beware.


Examples of Every-Episode Ending include:

Anime and Manga

  • Many anime shows have the ending theme start to fade in during the last scene.
  • Episodes of Cowboy Bebop ended with a small text slogan on a black background; most episodes ended with "See You Space Cowboy..." Certain episodes that were dramatically significant ended differently, usually with a line that indirectly related to the character development that had occurred. "You're Gonna Carry That Weight" was used at the close of the final episode after Spike and Vicious (possibly) kill each other.
    • The best subversion was in the episode with Andy, a literal Space Cowboy. At the end of the episode, after he's been defeated, he shows up again, now a samurai. Sure enough, the ending mark say "See you Space Samurai..."
  • The Big O ended with a black-and-white text card, reading either "We Have Come To Terms" or "No Side," depending on the results of the negotiations in the episode, or "To Be Continued" for a multi-part story. The holiday episode used "Merry Christmas" instead.
  • Almost entirely done in Code Geass, as virtually every episode of both seasons ends with some form of a cliffhanger (and on top of that, a decent percentage of the cliffhangers involve screwing over/complicating the protagonist's plans in some way).
  • Every episode of Hamtaro would end with Laura saying that it had been a great day, that the next day would be even better, and Hamtaro squeaking in agreement.
  • Pokémon does the "To Be Continued..." sign at the end of every episode on the corner of the screen. The narrator, at least dub-wise, always says some sort of speech relating with the last scene to overlap with this.
    • Actually, this is a somewhat-regular occurrence in anime (and other Japanese TV shows as well) with continuing stories (i.e., it doesn't always happen). Each episode until the finale will say "Tsuzuku" (which means "To Be Continued). Once a show reaches the final episode, it will then say "Owari" ("[The] End").
    • A variation of the above occurs in One Piece. The first two episodes had "TSUZUKU" in a large font. All episodes thereafter say "TO BE CONTINUED" in English with big letters.
  • Every episode of Transformers Super God Masterforce ended with the narrator exclaiming "Now, you too use the Masterforce to TRANSFORM!"
  • In Hidamari Sketch, Yuno (or any character who's the center of the episode's story from the second season) got a Furo Scene reflecting that episode's events at the end of each episode.
  • Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou not only has the Ending Theme fade-in thing, but also uses the time between the start of the fade-in and the start of the actual ending sequence to put on the screen a tanka poem that somewhat reflects the events of the episode. This effect doesn't change even when the default ending song gets replaced in some of the character-centered episodes; the only time it gets altered is the series' finale, where the ending song plays over the next-to-the-last scene, and the poem appears at the very end of the episode.

Comic Books

Film

  • James Bond movies' endings have evolved since Dr. No, but the vast majority (at least pre-reboot) end with a scene of Bond and the Bond Girl together, often with a Double Entendre One-Liner to close out the movie.
    • James Bond movies also nearly always end with the statement during the ending credits: JAMES BOND WILL RETURN.
    • In a documentary about the making of The World Is Not Enough, the makers commented that "You need an ending that's like 'Bond and the girl escape in a rubber raft while the villain's base blows up', but isn't actually 'Bond and the girl escape in a rubber raft while the villain's base blows up.'"
  • Superman flies off into space every time.
  • Harry Potter has the last line in every film except for the last one, where he shares an exchange with his son, instead.

Literature

  • Compare the last words from each of the Wayside School books:
    • Sideways Stories From Wayside School: "Everybody booed."
    • Wayside School Is Falling Down: "Everybody mooed."
    • Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger: "Everybody oohed."
  • Sharpe novels usually end with the title of the book, e.g. Sharpe's Tiger ends with "It was Sharpe's tiger."
  • Standard Fairy Tale ending: "And they [all] lived happily ever after [except for X]."
  • Arabian Nights endings are more restrained "They lived happily until there came to them the One Who Destroys All Happiness." (i.e., death) Sweet dreams, kids!
  • Every Discworld Watch novel ends with Vimes and the Watch being rewarded usually by the Patrician, and often in a way that reflects the changing politics of the books:
    • Originally, in Guards! Guards!, the gag was that the only reward they wanted was a small wage increase, a kettle and a dartboard. (And even then, Sergeant Colon thought they were pushing it.)
    • Men at Arms starts out the same way, before it turns out that the reason Carrot wants a new kettle is because he plans the Watch's increase to 56 officers (from six), and the reopening of the section houses. Vimes becomes Commander of the Watch and (reluctantly) a knight.
    • In Feet of Clay, the Patrician does a McCloud Speech, saying that since Vimes has upset every Guild leader in the city, his wages will have to be increased again. "And I expect they need a new dart-board in the Watch House? They usually do, I recall."
    • In Jingo, Vimes insists there's nothing the Patrician can offer that will make him accept a Dukedom ("We've got the Watch set up, we've almost got the numbers, the widows and orphans fund is so big the men are queuing up for the dangerous beats, and the dartboard we've got is nearly new!"), before getting caught off-guard by Vetinari's suggestion that the history of Sam's regicidal ancestor might be re-examined. Nobby and Fred, meanwhile, are rewarded by being put in charge of Traffic Control ("A chance to be 'self-financing' and not get shot at.")
    • Since Vimes is still in Uberwald at the end of The Fifth Elephant, it's Rhys Rhysson, Low King of the dwarfs who rewards the Watch for their aid. This includes the very political aknowledgement of Cheery (an openly female dwarf) and Detritus (a troll) as friends of the Low King. Vimes is given a dwarfish battle-axe, an ironic thing for a king to give a Vimes.
    • At the end of Night Watch, Vetinari suggests commemorating the Watchmen who died on the 25th of May, but Vimes shoots this down. He reiterates there's nothing he wants ("We don't even need a new bloody dartboard!"), but the Patrician again catches him off-guard, this time by re-opening the Treacle Mine Road Watch House.
    • Thud! ends with Vimes in Uberwald again. Sybil says that Vetinari would be wondering how to reward him, and he replies "He can go on wondering. I've got everything I want." ... leading to an Ironic Echo Cut back to the city, where Carrot is telling the Patrician that "Commander Vimes wouldn't settle for anything less" than sixty new officers to join the Watch.
    • Played with in Snuff; the reward scene comes two thirds of the way through the book, complete with Vimes getting a new title as King of the River for saving The Wonderful Fanny. When Vimes and Vetinari have their conversation at the end the Patrician is not in a mood to reward him.
  • The Riftwar Cycle: "Ah, Arutha, you take all the fun out of life!"
  • In the epilogues (or prologues) of the books of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, the P.O.V. character narrating that chapter dies.

Live-Action TV

  • Quantum Leap always ended with Sam making a new leap and saying "Oh, boy." The scene would then double as the beginning of the next episode.
  • In The Prisoner, a photo of Number 6's face rises from a bird's-eye view of the Village. Bars slam shut.
  • Yes Minister almost always (Jobs For The Boys was an exception) ends with a character, usually Sir Humphrey, saying "Yes, Minister" - in an astonishing variety of different intonations. When the title was changed to Yes Prime Minister...
  • The Tracey Ullman Show always ended with Tracey emphatically telling the audience to "Go home!"
  • Carol Burnett always tugged on her ear at the end of her shows.
    • It was a holdover from her days on stage. She did this as a covert way of saying "I love you" to her grandmother.
  • Knight Rider (and probably a lot of 1980s action series) ended with stock footage of the car, and earlier episodes had a narrative epilogue as well.
  • Up until about the start of The Nineties, most Sit Coms would end on a freeze frame, with the studio audience applauding the episode.
  • The freeze frame was parodied by Police Squad!, where the credits would roll while the principal characters stand really still, and everything around them continued moving.
  • Quite a few series have the credits music kick in a few seconds before the credits. Doctor Who's electronic "scream" comes to mind.
  • And Eastenders iconic "Dun-dun, dun, dun, d-d-dun-dun." drumbeats. In fact one episode of EastEnders even had the latter two blended together in one episode; when Bradley and Stacey Branning were at a Doctor Who convention, the "scream" was played as part of the convention 'atmosphere' just before the drumbeats showed up so one segued into the other.
  • The Waltons with the family telling each other good night.
  • Most episodes of Sliders ended with the group sliding into the next world. In some episodes (mostly during the first season), they are also shown landing in the new world.
  • Most episodes of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation ended with Picard saying "Engage." They dropped this later on.
    • Almost every episode of Star Trek: The Original Series ended with the music playing over a closing shot of the Enterprise fading amongst the stars, probably headed out for their next destination.
  • Dragnet usually ended with the narrator describing the fate of the accused over a shot of the perp looking uncomfortably at the mugshot camera.
  • Every episode of Sesame Street ends with the "sponsor" announcement: "Sesame Street was brought to you today by ..." the featured letter(s) and number.
  • Every episode of NCIS between "Bete Noire" and the season 1 finale ended with the same shot of Gibbs' computer running a photo database ID search attempting to identify the terrorist from "Bete Noire", signifying Gibbs' obsessive quest to find the mysterious terrorist Ari.
  • Every episode of Mama's Family ended with an Establishing Shot of the house, and Mama always spoke the last line, which was always a zinger.
  • Almost every episode of Boston Legal ended with Denny and Allan discussing the episode's Aesop (or lack thereof) over Scotch and cigars on their balcony.
  • Doogie Howser, M.D. always ends with Doogie typing in his journal about a lesson he learned from the events of the episode.
  • The Two Ronnies ended with their catchphrase of "It's goodnight from me..." "..and it's goodnight from him."
  • Most Top Gear episodes end with Jeremy Clarkson saying "...and on that car driving bombshell, it's time to end Top Gear" or variants thereof with few exceptions. Such as when Clarkson was caught and devoured by a pack of hunting dogs...
  • Beakman's World always ended just like it began: Don and Herb Penguin give an Oh, Cisco-type joke, then turn off the teevee.
  • The classic '50s sitcom The Honeymooners almost always ended with Jackie Gleason's saying to his wife "Baby, you're the greatest" followed by a kiss.
  • With the exceptions being the first part of a two-parter (or the first two parts of the series opener when divided into three parts), every episode of the original Battlestar Galactica series ended with a shot of the fleet and Lorne Greene's voiceover describing the premise of the series.

"Fleeing the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestar, Galactica, leads a ragtag fugitive fleet, on a lonely quest. A shining planet known as Earth."

  • Every episode of The Daily Show ends with a "Moment of Zen," which is usually a funny clip pertaining to something mentioned during the show.
  • Made in Canada (generally known elsewhere as "The Industry") always ended with a character, usually Richard (Rick Mercer), looking at the camera and saying "I think that went well." Usually something has gone terribly wrong for another character.
  • Most shows by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer conclude with a characteristic musical duet (sometimes with changed lyrics to fit the episode). Vic Reeves Big Night Out had "Oh Mr Songwriter," The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer had "I Love the Smell..." and Shooting Stars had a reprise of the opening "Welcome to Shooting Stars."
  • Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?: "Do it, Rockapella!"
  • Roundhouse would end every episode with an occasionally random segue into the line "Reprise the theme song, and roll the credits!"
  • The Red Skelton Show: "Good night, and may God bless."
  • On The Red Green Show, The Possum Lodge meeting is called. Red gives a risqué message to his wife, and then says "On behalf of me and Harold and everyone else here at Possum Lodge... keep your stick on the ice."
  • Wonder Woman ended episodes on a freeze frame of Lynda Carter smiling.
  • Touched By an Angel ended (and began) with a dove flying around the scene. No matter how the scene started. There's even one in a Snow Globe!
  • The Twilight Zone always ended with a epilogue by series creator Rod Sterling concluding with the words "...in the Twilight Zone." or something similar. Rod actually started appearing on screen after the first season finale, in which the character broke the fourth wall to talk to Rod.
  • Most, but not all episodes of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour ended with a closing skit in which Fleagle would "adjourn" the club meeting; he would usually say "The Banana Splits Club is now officially adjourned," or some other variation.
  • Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company M-I-C... see ya real soon! K-E-Y... Why? Because we like you! M-O-U-S-E.
  • In the sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie, every episode of the last 2 series ended with Stephen Fry making a bizarre cocktail and serving it up, after instructing Hugh Laurie "Please Mr Music, will you play?" Laurie played the theme tune on the piano (and made weird noises with his mouth), and each show concluded with the toast "soupy twist."
  • Frequently occurs on news shows, with the anchor's trademark signoff. Edward R. Murrow's "Good night and good luck," later stolen by Keith Olbermann, who now uses "That's Countdown, on this the [XXXXth] day since the previous president declared Mission Accomplished in Iraq. I'm Keith Olbermann, good night and good luck."
  • Cold Case has this down to a science. Every episode concludes with a sombre montage which is bound to include:
    • Period music from the same time as the flashback segments of the preceding episode.
    • Shots of the major characters in the case doing things in the present, as both their "present" and "past" selves.
    • The case itself being re-filed in the evidence room, with the word "closed" stamped on it.
    • An apparition of the murder victim, seen briefly by one of the detectives before fading from sight.
  • Many old game shows, especially those produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, would end with The Announcer signing off for the show over the ending credits, audience applause, and scenes of the winners. For example, "This is Gene Wood speaking for Family Feud. A Mark Goodson Television Production." Substitute name of show and announcer's name as needed. (Occasionally this would be accompanied with a short production or legal note, e.g. "The third contestant on today's show was found to be ineligible and his prizes were forfeited.") The Price Is Right is the only show that still does this.
    • Speaking of The Price Is Right, when Bob Barker was the host, he ended every show since the '80s by imploring people to spay or neuter your pets today (this was carried over from the Drew Carey era of the show since 2007).
  • At the end of Kenan and Kel, Kenan would ask Kel to grab three random items, meet him at a random location, and call him a random nickname. Kel would then end the episode with his trademark, "Awwww, here it goes!"
  • Amanda Bynes ended every episode of The Amanda Show by telling the audience, "Well, that's our show. I gotta go ________. See ya!" The blank would always be some bizarre or impossible task, such as "overthrow Canada" or "stir-fry a bikini."
  • Lost consistently ended with the word "LOST" in white over a black screen, but for one notable exception: when Season 5 ended with the explosion of the hydrogen bomb, it was reversed so that "LOST" was written in black over a white screen.
  • Charmed's door telekinetically closed by Prue or else by a ghost of a dead Halliwell, like Prue.
  • Every episode of the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley (except one) ends with the Vicar telling the verger Alice a joke. Alice usually doesn't get the joke, so the Vicar has to try, unsuccessfully, to explain the punchline. Only one episode does not end with a joke, but in that episode the joke is at the beginning.
  • Nearly every episode of Mork and Mindy ended with Mork's report to Orson. ("Mork calling Orson, come in, Orson.") The execptions are the Christmas Special, the finale of season 3 (which ended with Mork and Mindy confessing their love to one another), and several season 4 episodes.
  • Every episode of Pee-wee's Playhouse ended with Pee-Wee riding on his red motor scooter after flying out of his playhouse. Later episodes showed him wearing a red one-eyed monster helmet, and also had him fly past Mt. Rushmore.
  • Reading Rainbow: "I'll see ya next time!"
  • In Mystery Science Theater 3000, one of the mad scientists would end the show by pushing a button to cut off the transmission. In fact, Dr. Forrester's "Push the button, Frank," became something of a catch phrase. This was dropped when the show moved to Sci-Fi Channel.
  • Wipeout 2008: "Good night...and big balls."
  • "Jesse's got metal to burn and sparks to fly! The next Monster Garage challenge ...is just...around...the bend!"
  • In The Avengers, Steed and Mrs Peel would depart the area into the distance in whatever conveyance was available or appropriate.
  • Frasier ends with 'Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs' being played over a scene.
  • Lamb Chop's Play Along "This is the song that doesn't end...yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because" (repeat!)
  • Barney "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...."
  • Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In always ended with Dan and Dick saying goodnight (Dan: "Say goodnight, Dick." Dick: "Goodnight, Dick!"), followed by the joke wall, some blackouts then have the sound of one person clapping during the ending graphics and the NBC snake logo.
  • Every episode of The Man Show ended with girls jumping on trampolines over the credits.
  • "And the clown jumped over the moon!"
  • Mr. Belvedere: The titular Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal making observations about his host family.
  • 3rd Rock from the Sun: The family, sitting on a rooftop, discusses what (they think) they've learned about human civilization.
  • Every episode of Spooks ends with a colour-inverted version of the episode's final shot, before (with the exception of season finales) cutting to the "On the Next...".
  • Every episode fo Two Broke Girls ends with the picture of a counter showing the amount of money the titular characters have saved up to start their cupcake business. It can go up or down depending on what happened in the episode.
  • Most Cheers episodes had an abrupt ending—the last word (typically a Punch Line) was immediately followed by a cut to black.
    • An exception: In one episode, Sam did an old Three Stooges trick. Saying "come here, porcupine," he grabbed Rebecca's nose between two fingers of his clenched fist, then slapped his fist away. When she told him that hurt, he said it was all in fun like with the Stooges. She immediately repeated the same trick on him. They cut to black just as her hand connected with her fist. Then there was the sound of a very loud slap. Then Sam yelled, "OW! Hey, the Stooges didn't bleed!"
    • Sometimes, one more line can be heard. In "Death Takes A Holiday On Ice", which ends with Carla heading to the backroom to play a game of billiards. After the cut to black, we hear the cue ball hitting the balls and one falling into a pocket.
  • Nearly every episode of Scrubs ends with JD comparing and tying together all the different plot threads in a voiceover, either learning An Aesop or making an observation of some sort. Subverted as often as not in later seasons, but the lack of a summation to make sense of everything usually only occurs in particularly bleak or jarring episodes (for example, "My Lunch").
  • From 1973 to 2001, all but two episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ended with Rogers singing "It's Such A Good Feeling".
    • The two exceptions were opera episodes from The Eighties, where the song was presumably cut for time (they also opened with a Truncated Theme Tune).
    • Before that, from 1968–70, every episode closed with the song "Tomorrow". The 1971 season featured a different closing song ("The Weekend Song") on Fridays, while the 1972 season featured a rotation between "Good Feeling" and the two previous songs.
  • Every episode of the short-lived sit com Ivan the Terrible -- set in 1970s Moscow -- ended with a visit from Harvey Korman in an uncredited cameo as a Soviet bureaucrat.

Newspaper Comics

  • Every Little Nemo In Slumberland strip would end with Nemo either falling out of bed or being woken up by something.

Radio

  • The "News From Lake Wobegon" segment of A Prairie Home Companion ends with the monologue, "And that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children... are above average."
  • "Well, that's all the time we have this week for The Vinyl Cafe. Special thanks to [musicians and special guests] and Anton Szabo for the technical assistance. Dave Amers is the founding producer of The Vinyl Cafe, Louise Curtis is the production assistant, Julie Penner is the music producer, Meg Masters is the long-suffering story editor. The Vinyl Cafe is produced by Jess Milton. I'm Stuart Maclean, in [location]. So long for now." (CBC Radio)
    • Other than radio talk shows, this is also common in radio sportscasts as well. Even TV sportscasts do it occasionally. In fact, this is common to any radio show since they can't quickly scroll (or whatever) the credits for all to see.
  • Car Talk ends with Klick and Klack noting that you've frittered away another perfectly good hour before reading the credits - then reading some fake credits such as "...Our optimetric firm is C.F. Eye Care, Our personal chef is Howard M. Burgers, Our researcher is Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Marge Innovera..." and concludes with:

Klick: "And until next time... don't drive like my brother."
Klack: "And don't drive like my brother!"

Video Games

  • Paper Mario and its sequels had "END OF CHAPTER" followed by a plot summary after the defeat of each major boss.
    • In fact, nearly every Mario game has something like this: Hopping on the pole, playing a card-matching game, or in the 3D games getting a magic star-shaped item signified the end of a normal level, and usually the rescue of some significant being signified the end of the Zone (Toads/Princess in the original, Kings of the Kingdom in the third).
    • Super Paper Mario also narrates Timpani/Tippi and Blumiere/Count Bleck's backstory piece by piece once each chapter is ended.
  • For the Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games, the non-final acts of each zone would be concluded by whizzing past a revolving sign that changes from Robotnik/Eggman's face to Sonic's (or another character if Sonic's not the one being used). Sonic 3 and Knuckles maintained this tradition, even when there was a miniboss at the end of these zones, by having the sign fall from the sky after you defeat the miniboss.
    • The final act of each zone would conclude with you opening a capsule of captured animals after the boss fight.
    • Knuckles Chaotix instead ended every zone by having a giant ring fall out of Dr. Eggman's latest contraption.
  • When a level in Devil May Cry is cleared, the screen fills with bullet holes and shatters to reveal the ranking screen.
  • Race victories in Need for Speed: Most Wanted are punctuated by a camera zooming in and taking a picture of your car.
  • After important events (For example, saving Mesarthim in Asellus' game, or receiving the gift for a new school of magic in Blue's) in SaGa Frontier ends with a portrait of either the protagonist you're using, or an important character from it.
  • Okami ends every boss battle with a victory howl from Amaterasu. (It gets subverted in the battle against Yami when he doesn't stay down the first time and drains all the power from Ammy, but then Ammy comes back to kick ass anyway.
  • In the little known Sega Saturn game Astal, when the title character clears a level, he yells "YATTA!!" (even in the English versions where he [and all other characters] are performed by Lani Minella [best known as the voice of Rouge the Bat in Sonic games prior to Shadow the Hedgehog]).
  • When Japanese video games released in the U.S. display "owari" (which consists of the hiragana o, wa, and ri) at the end of the credits, it will usually be replaced by "END," in which the three English letters substitute each of the three Japanese kana.
  • Every game in the Ace Attorney series ends with the protagonist shouting "OBJECTION!"
  • Every Goemon Impact boss battle in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (except the last one, being the Final Boss of the game) ends with Impact punching down the boss at its moment of defeat, then the boss blows up, one of Impact's eyes flashes, then the Mystical Ninja logo drops down.
  • Suikoden games typically end with still screens rattling off every character you recruited for the hero's army, and their fates following the game. Occasionally, these things would reference earlier or later games. In a few instances, depending on the player's actions, the ending text could differ for certain characters.
  • Every mission in Mass Effect 2 ends with an after action report from the Illusive Man and a snippet of his theme.
  • In inFamous 2, every time after absorbing a Blast Core, the screen will go black and inform how many miles The Beast is away from your location, and how many Blast Cores is still needed to activate the RFI.

Web Animation

  • Every Homestar Runner cartoon has "Back" and "Again" buttons appear. In addition, the Strong Bad Email cartoons feature The Paper printing off Strong Bad's email address, and the Teen Girl Squad cartoons end with an "iT'S OVER!" title card.

Web Comics

Web Original

Western Animation

  • Porky Pig's Catch Phrase at the end of many Looney Tunes shorts, "T-T-T-That's all, folks!"
    • It wasn't always Porky. In the early days it was said (minus stutter, of course) by various characters, like Bosko or Buddy. For the early Merrie Melodies, it was a nameless jester character. There are even a few cartoons that end with Bugs Bunny saying, "And that's the end!"
  • The Earthworm Jim TV series would literally Drop the Cow on someone, usually Jim.
  • In Inspector Gadget, after his nefarious scheme is foiled, Claw would threaten, "I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next time!" over the end credits.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures, in a nod to Looney Tunes, had several of the show's characters giving their own unique parting words:

Babs and Buster: "Say good night, Babs." "Good night, Babs."
Babs and Buster wearing Hawaiian shirts: "A-loooooooha!"
Plucky: "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
Gogo: "It's been surreal!" (initiates Iris Out with a remote)
Buster: "And that's a wrap!"
Elmyra: "Let the show begin!"
Byron Bassett (sniffs the ring for a bit) ".......Woof!"
Furball: "ROAR!!!...meow."
Fifi: "Au revoir, ma petite potato de couch."
Dizzy: "SHOOOOOOOOOOOWW OVER!!!" (eats the entire screen, leaving only his eyes, which fall down)
Baby Plucky: "I wanna flush it again."

  • Similarly, Animaniacs has a final gag with the Warners (or sometimes other characters) popping out of the water tower.

Brain: "Let's get back to the lab and plan for tomorrow night."
Pinky: "Why, Brain? What are we going to do tomorrow night?"
Brain: "The same thing we do every night, Pinky: try to Take Over the World!"

    • Here are some of the slight variations:

"try to take over the world from Joyce DeWitt!"
"try to take over Chia World!"
"try to take over Oz!"
(in an episode that takes place in Shakespearean times): "try to take over the Globe...Theater!"
(in a tongue twisting episode) "try to wake over the torld!"
(in a Very Special Episode where the Brain gets hooked on cigarettes): "* coughs* try to quit smoking. Hand me that Nicorette patch."
(in episodes where Pinky and the Brain actually have to save the world from Brain's Arch Nemesis): "The same thing we didn't do last night, Pinky: try to take over the world!"
"try to take over the world - without Larry!"
(in the episode where the Brain gives sentience to the Earth) "Well, there's one thing we can do: try to take over the moon!"
(in Wakkos Wish) "plan for the sequel where we'll take over the kingdom and the world!"
(in which the Brain suffers a Never Recycle Your Schemes crisis)
Pinky: What now, Brain? Back to our mushroom house to prepare for tomorrow night?
Brain: No, Pinky. We shall stop at a pharmacy and purchase a tube of denture adhesive and then attach our bodies to the bottom of Air Force One.
Pinky: So we can take over the world?
Brain: No, it's just fun, fun, silly-willy... narf.
(in which the duo become popular children's show characters in The Fifties)
Brain: Come, Pinky. We have work to do.
Pinky: You mean taking over the world?
Brain: No, Pinky. Finding a good hiding place.
(in which the Brain tries to create a story about himself as a folklore hero)
Pinky: What are we going to do tomorrow night, Big Crabby See-Saw Kwanzaa Hot Mutton Chop Zeke?[1]
Brain: Work on learning each other's names, and then... try to take over the world!
(last, but not least, in a rare daytime episode involving their "day jobs" as lab mice in mazes):
Brain: We must prepare for tomorrow morning.
Pinky: What are we going to do tomorrow morning?
Brain: The same thing we do every morning, Pinky: run through that stupid maze.

      • And of course, there's the subversion in the episode "Ambulatory Abe":

Brain: Come, Pinky, we must--well, you know.

    • There's also the trademark voiceover ending of "They're dinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain..." just before the end credits music. Certain episodes change this slightly in either the wording or the delivery. The Halloween episode had demon voices saying it followed by Pinky's Catch Phrases and the Devil yelling "Stop that!"
  • Three Delivery ends each episode the same way: The trio and Nana put the rescued recipe in the cookbook before returning to the restaurant for another comedic moment.
  • Nearly every episode of The Powerpuff Girls ended with a shot of the titular protagonists and the narrator exclaiming, "And So Once Again the Day Is Saved, thanks to... the Powerpuff Girls!" The only exceptions are when the ending segment is purposefully subverted.
    • Where the girls don't save the day: "And so...uh...hmm..."
    • When the girls get fed up with the people of Townsville's Dying Like Animals attitude and force them to destroy a monster without the girls' help: "... the day is saved with no thanks to the Powerpuff Girls. Hey... I did that all by myself!"
    • When the Time Travel episode reveals Mojo Jojo's caused the Stable Time Loop that led to the girls' existence: "And So Once Again the Day Is Saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls... but thanks originally to Mojo Jojo who, once again, had a hand in creating the Powerpuff Girls!"
      • This variant is used twice. Once when it's revealed that he caused the Chemical X accident, which led to the creation of the Powerpuff Girls, and again when it's revealed that his attempt to kill Professor Utonim as a child was foiled by the Powerpuff Girls, leading to his interest in science and his attempt to create the three perfect girls.
    • When the episode centered around a couple of elderly heroes who were out to fight their out-of-retirement, equally elderly foes, and Blossom refused to allow the girls to intervene: the episode ends with all the old men falling over and breaking various limbs. Instead of the narrator, an in-story newscaster says over the end card "in this reporter's opinion, all this could have been averted if Blossom had just LET the Powerpuff Girls save the day."
    • The episode "Boogie Frights" ended with the narrator beating the audience over the head with the ironic use of "the day is saved" while the girls try to sleep in their bed (Bubbles in particular was not bothered at all).
    • The episode where Antidote X is introduced ended with, 'And the day is saved by the little girls'
    • In the episode where the Powerpuff Girls are given a curfew, letting the villains run amuck at night, they finally beat them when they're told it's Daylights Savings Time and it's actually an hour earlier ended with "And the day is saved thanks to... Benjamin Franklin for coming up with the idea to move clocks back an hour to save on lamp oil."
    • "And for the first, and final time. * sniff* The day is saved, thanks to Powerpuff Bunny! * sniff* * sob* "
    • The Narrator was very uncomfortable the one time he was forced to announce that "the day was saved by Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and Him."
    • He also once had to say that the Powerpuff Girls saved the day...even though they were the ones who caused the trouble in the first place...
  • In Superjail, dumb recidivist criminal (and arguably main character) Jackknife escapes from the titular The Alcatraz at the end of every episode only to be recaptured at the beginning of the next.
  • Nearly every episode of Scooby Doo ends with the villain of the day being unmasked and then saying "and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for You Meddling Kids!"
    • Afterwards, Scooby would give his trademark "battle cry" (if you can call it that) of "Scooby-Dooby-Dooooooooooooooo!!!" (although, this didn't happen until later), usually after he initiates one last gag.
  • The Flintstones. "Wiiiiiiiilllmaaaaaaa!!!"
  • Animal's "Go bye-bye!" skit at the end of every Muppet Babies episode, usually with him engaged in some dangerous activity as Gonzo fruitlessly tries to stop him.
    • This occured after not just the credits, but also the closing logos as well.
  • Each episode of COPS. ended with the scene going to a still frame, which then pans out to reveal it is actually a photograph being entered into a police file. Bulletproof then restates the name of the episode and closes the file while saying "Case Closed."
    • Subverted in part one of the two-parter, when Bulletproof leaves the file open and ends with, "Case...continued?"
  • Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: "You know what the music means. Our time is up."
  • Every episode of Birdman would end with Birdman flying into the sky, bellowing his own name, often followed by Avenger cawing.
  • As a parody of Oh, Cisco-type endings, every Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode ends with the cast and a few walk-ons laughing uproariously at something (or nothing).
  • Most episodes of Doug end with Doug writing a journal entry stating what he learned from all that.
  • The Playhouse Disney "Tasty Time with Ze Fronk" shorts usually end with "Get out of my kitchen you silly cat!" complete with Ze Fronk chasing Dom (the cat) around the kitchen.
  • In the 90s Action Man series, each episode ends with Action Man reflecting about the missing memory he has recovered during that episode.
  • Nellie The Elephant dreams of going back to the jungle where all the other elephants lived.
    • Subverted in one episode, when Nellie gets stuck on the train, and can't get out, and wants to go back to the jungle, but she can't. Until she squiggled and wiggled and bumped, and left with edited Stock Footage.
  • Just about every single episode of House of Mouse would end with Mike Microphone presenting a different sponsor parodying a different Disney movie. For example, one such sponsor is that of a magic spritzer that can make Eeyore gain a smile on his face, and turn Grumpy into Happy.
  • Count Duckula: "Good night out there, whatever you are."
  • Codename: Kids Next Door: "End transmission."
  • Little Bill: "Little Bill, who are you talking to?"
  • The snake and mouse from Fish Hooks.
  • Phineas and Ferb

Phineas: "Oh, there you are, Perry."
Perry: *chortles*
Ferb: (insert one-liner here)

    • Expect a guitar strike at the really end of each episode.
  • Albie: someone shouting "AAAAAAAALLLBIIEEEEEEEE!"
  • My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: "Dear Princess Celestia..."
  • The Mega Man cartoon always has Rush doing something stupid.
  • The Jetsons: George, trapped on the dogwalker running for his life, shouting "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!"
  1. ↑ Pinky meant to call him "Big Johnny Brain Jones Peachpit Bill Boone Crocket"
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