Top 10 Shows That Ended 20 Years Ago
Feel old yet? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top television shows that had their series finales in 2004.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "He's just so comfortable and safe."
00:03 "Are you dating a man or a minivan?"
00:04 Welcome to Miz Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top television shows
00:09 that had their series finales in 2004.
00:13 "For 11 years you've heard me say, 'I'm listening.'
00:16 Well, you were listening too."
00:19 Number 10. The Practice
00:22 "Every man and woman gets his day in court."
00:25 "I understand. This guy's pure scum, isn't he?"
00:29 "He's a human being."
00:32 The great television writer David E. Kelly conceived of The Practice as an antithesis
00:37 to the hit legal show from the '80s and '90s, L.A. Law. While that series portrayed the legal
00:42 system in a glamorized fashion, Kelly took The Practice in the very opposite direction.
00:47 "On a personal level, it's one thing for a corporation to engage in systemic
00:52 discovery abuse, but for an attorney, these are real people."
00:57 The series was much grittier, and characters often found themselves fighting a battle of
01:02 legal ethics versus their own personal morals. The show ran for eight successful seasons,
01:07 and took home the Emmy Award for Best Drama Series two years in a row in 1998 and 1999.
01:14 "It's not enough to insist on fidelity or honesty or fair dealing.
01:19 A good leader has to practice it."
01:23 Number 9. Johnny Bravo
01:25 "SUNLIGHT! Check the packs. Man, I'm pretty."
01:31 Whoa, mama. Johnny Bravo is at number nine on our list. The funny and pop culture
01:38 reference-filled animated show ran for four seasons on the Cartoon Network, and featured
01:43 the eponymous Johnny Bravo's continuous failures to live up to his self-proclaimed "ladies' man"
01:48 image.
01:49 "I've, uh, never been in a woman's apartment before. I mean, I've been in them. I mean,
01:55 I'm not scared. Hey, look! Flowers!"
01:57 Although it was his continuing failures with the ladies that often made for the biggest laughs,
02:03 Bravo's macho and misogynistic attitude might be a little cringe-inducing these days,
02:07 but at least his attitude and his game rarely worked in his favor,
02:12 and he usually got his much-deserved comeuppance.
02:15 "Hey, pepper spray. Don't they use that for…"
02:17 Number 8. Hollywood Squares
02:22 "If you're going away, you don't have time to wash them.
02:25 What does Heloise advise you to do with your dirty dishes?"
02:29 "Toss 'em out!"
02:30 Hollywood Squares has had many iterations over the decades,
02:34 from the 1965 pilot to the final series, hosted by Tom Bergeron. That ran from 1998 to 2004.
02:42 But regardless of the year or the host, one thing remained the same — a large 3x3 stack of cubes
02:49 populated by celebrities answering questions, with the contestants deciding if those answers
02:54 are correct or not.
02:55 "No, I know this! Trust me! This is rowing the Atlantic."
03:01 "Unagreed."
03:02 The tic-tac-toe premise gave this show a low barrier of entry for viewers,
03:09 and the simple questions set up the celebs for plenty of easy jokes and laughs.
03:13 In a 2013 list, TV Guide called Hollywood Squares the seventh-greatest game show of all time.
03:19 "Pirating some music."
03:20 "No, I was watching my DVD. Sorry, it just came out."
03:22 "Oh, your own DVD."
03:24 "Hilarious. Oh my God. Hilarious."
03:27 Number 7. The Drew Carey Show
03:36 LeBron James put Cleveland on the sports map in the mid-aughts when he was drafted by his
03:42 hometown team, the Cavaliers. But Drew Carey fans already knew that Cleveland rocked years
03:48 prior to James' entry into the NBA. And that opening credit sequence, with the big dance
03:53 number, is a great example of what The Drew Carey Show was all about. While it was framed
03:59 as a typical sitcom, Carey and the gang had a lot of fun playing within that framework and
04:03 creating something truly original and hysterically different.
04:07 "I have a bottle of Rothschild 67 back at my place, and I was wondering if you'd…"
04:12 "Paul, stop the camera. Sir, what are you doing?"
04:15 "Connery. Sean Connery."
04:18 Along with dance numbers, they also did live and semi-improvised shows. And you might also
04:24 remember the April Fools episode, in which mistakes were purposely inserted into the
04:29 episode for fans to find.
04:30 "This Wednesday is April Fool's Day, and to celebrate, Drew's having a contest called
04:34 'What's Wrong With This Episode?'"
04:36 Number 6. Rugrats
04:38 "Tommy, it's the next yard. You're only a baby. A baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do."
04:47 Premiering in 1991, for a while it looked like Rugrats wouldn't make it to 1995,
04:52 let alone chug along all the way to 2004. After its initial run of 65 episodes ended in 1994,
05:00 there was no guarantee of more.
05:02 "Ahh! Angelica, you made him cry!" "Hey, you know what they say, if the truth works."
05:10 However, over the course of the next couple of years, the reruns on Nickelodeon continued to
05:15 gain in popularity, and this led to a new bunch of episodes being produced, starting in 1996.
05:21 And that's when The Rugrats really blew up with over 100 more episodes,
05:26 airing over the next eight years, as well as three theatrical movies which have grossed
05:31 almost $300 million combined.
05:33 "So this is the world?" "I miss my old room."
05:36 "This wall baby dear just ain't the same. This world is something strange."
05:40 "Baby, I'm cold." "I need a change."
05:42 "This world is something new to me."
05:45 Number 5. Lizzie McGuire
05:47 "McGuire? Lizzie?" "Oh, that's me!"
05:54 If you were a young person, or had a young person in your life that was watching the
05:58 Disney Channel in the early aughts, there's very little chance you don't remember Lizzie McGuire.
06:04 The show was a huge hit for the network from 2001 to 2004,
06:08 and upped star Hilary Duff's celebrity profile a few notches as well.
06:12 Nominated for two Emmys and a Writers Guild of America award, Lizzie McGuire presented a fun and
06:24 endearing cast of characters, and episodes that were, as one review wrote, "clever, funny, and
06:30 pretty sincere." There may have only been two seasons produced, but with a total of 65 episodes,
06:36 there was plenty of Lizzie to enjoy.
06:39 "Scotto, promise me that we'll always stay close to each other, even in high school."
06:42 "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
06:44 Number 4. Angel
06:46 "I can't just wedge myself into your life back in Sunnydale. It wouldn't be good for either of us.
06:50 Not to mention the fact that you just started college. And what about slang? I mean,
06:54 if you had me to worry about, you might not be as focused."
06:56 While we all remember and honor the ending of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2003, we shouldn't
07:01 forget that just one year later, one of the best spin-offs in television history also came to an
07:06 end. Angel began just two years after The Vampire Slayer, when Joss Whedon took Buffy's dark and
07:12 tormented vampire-with-a-human-soul love interest, Angel, and sent him to Los Angeles.
07:17 "Well, I like the place. Not much with the view,
07:20 but it's got a nice Batcave sort of an air to it."
07:23 As a private investigator, he and his associates help the helpless and fight the demonic forces
07:29 at play in the city. The series might have initially been viewed as a second-rate
07:33 offshoot of the O.G. Buffy, but the smart writing and darker tone eventually helped it stand out,
07:38 with both fans and critics, as a worthy series in its own right.
07:42 "There's a hole in the world.
07:44 Feels like we ought to have known."
07:48 Number 3. Sex and the City
07:51 Sex and the City helped make HBO a must-have channel in the late '90s and early aughts.
07:56 "There always has to be obstacles in Act 2 before you can live happily ever after in Act 3.
08:01 But what happens when the obstacles aren't there? Does that mean there's something missing?"
08:06 It made the cosmopolitan Many a ladies' drink of choice, and it had women everywhere contemplating
08:12 whether they were a Carrie, a Miranda, a Charlotte, or a Samantha. Then, after six seasons,
08:18 a plethora of award nominations and wins, critical and cultural acclaim,
08:23 just like that, in 2004, the series had its big finale.
08:27 "But the most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all
08:31 is the one you have with yourself."
08:34 Over the course of the next six years, the adventures of four friends continued in two
08:39 feature films. And then, finally, in 2021, the gang, minus Samantha, returned to HBO in a sequel series.
08:47 "No, no, no, no, she didn't die."
08:48 "Oh, no!"
08:49 "No, I'm so sorry, no. I just meant she's not with us. She's in London."
08:54 Number 2. Frasier
08:56 "Now that Chapter 2 of your life is in full swing, would you mind if I ask you something?"
08:59 "No, go right ahead."
09:00 "Are you happy?"
09:01 "You got a question?"
09:05 "Yes, I'm thinking."
09:07 After nine seasons on Cheers and 11 seasons on the Frasier spin-off, Kelsey Grammer's 20-year run
09:13 as Dr. Frasier Crane finally came to an end, until the Frasier revival spin-off hit Paramount+ in 2023.
09:20 And while the revival has received lukewarm reviews,
09:23 the original series is one of the most honored sitcoms in the history of television.
09:28 "Are you happy?"
09:28 "You know, in the greater scheme of things, yes, I'd say I am."
09:36 Its five consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys is tied for the record,
09:41 and its 37 total wins is second only to Game of Thrones.
09:45 How many of you are now hankering for a serving of tossed salad and scrambled eggs?
09:50 "Hey baby, I hear the blues are calling, tossed salads and scrambled eggs. Quite stylish."
09:57 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get
10:01 notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos,
10:06 or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on
10:10 notifications.
10:11 Number 1. Friends. Could number one on our list be any more obvious?
10:18 "I mean, I've never looked at you that way before."
10:20 "Well, start looking."
10:23 It's Friends. Do we really need to say any more? As one of the most popular television shows of
10:32 all time, we probably don't. But we will.
10:35 "You wanna return this couch?"
10:39 "It's cut in half."
10:40 While the critics took a little time to come around to the show, right from the jump,
10:45 Friends was a hit with audiences, from the Rachel Hare cart to Joey's "How You Doin'?"
10:51 The series infiltrated pop culture on a level that few ever have.
10:55 "Hey, how you doin'?"
10:57 It made mega-celebrities of its six stars, and continues to find new fans via repeats
11:07 every year, even though it's been two decades since the Central Perk Gang closed the door
11:12 on 495 Grove Street. Which of these shows do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.
11:19 "This is harder than I thought it would be."
11:20 "It's gonna be okay."
11:22 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
11:28 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.