When Buffy Summers died in the fifth season finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” fans… When Buffy Summers died in the fifth season finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” fans couldn’t help but be in shock. Was it possible that she could die…twice? Just when a TV viewer thought that a title character could never die, “Buffy” made them think again. With a finale like that of “Buffy,” viewers were, without a doubt, glued to the screen to discover what would happen during the next season.

A proper season finale can make or break a show, especially when the season is less than stellar. The finale is the last move a show can make before saying goodbye to the viewer for the summer months. A good final episode will leave a lasting (and often shocking) impression on the viewer. A show wants its audience to be counting down the days until the new episodes begin. It’s always in the show’s best interests to really wow the viewer in order to maintain high ratings for the next season.

To produce a successful finale, a show must go above and beyond a typical episode, so as to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat with situations he had always hoped might arise but never thought actually would. These include shocking marriage proposals, a character on the brink of death and true love finally being declared. The options are endless, and the more outrageous the better.

The ABC show “Alias” is notorious for finale cliffhangers that leave the audience crying for the next season to begin as soon as possible. One of the most shocking scenes from “Alias” occurred in the final moments of the second season, when the main character, Sydney Bristow, awakes to find out she had been missing for two years. Avid fans of the show saw their dreams come true: Sydney finally got the chance to be with her love, Agent Vaughn. Fans’ hopes were shattered during the finale, however, when Vaughn sported a wedding ring during a rendezvous with Sydney.

Hopefully, TV viewers are in store for some excellent finales this year. “CSI” appears to be giving finales everywhere a run for their money this spring with the two-hour extravaganza directed by Quentin Tarantino. If the previews are any hint of the other finales to come, the end of this television season could be just as exciting as ever.