TV's Best Season Finales Ever

With this strike-shortened season coming to an abrupt close, we look back at the greatest send-offs, from ''The West Wing'' to ''The Office''

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GOODBYE, TERI!
Day 1 — 11:00pm-12:00am

Oh, to think we were once so innocent! Conditioned as we were by years of TV-watching, we never thought it would be possible for a major character to be so unexpectedly dispatched. But no, when all seemed right with the world — Victor Drazen was dead, Nina was captured, Senator Palmer was safe — Jack discovered that his wife Teri had been shot dead by treasonous minx Nina, prompting the first ever use of the ''silent clock.''

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Felicity (1998-2002)
In J.J. Abrams? Felicity, Kerri Russell starred as the titular character who passes up enrollment at Stanford to follow her high-school crush Ben (Scott Speedman) to the fictional University of New York. Dorm drama, life lessons, and an angst-filled love triangle followed.

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Carole Segal

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3. ''Whitecaps''

Season 4, episode 13

The Sopranos' imperfect marriage always got by on a screwed-up code of omertà, but it takes a near-fatal whacking when one of Tony's ex-comares drunk-dials the house and tells Carm about Tony's dalliances. The fallout is family drama at its unparalleled best. Watch this episode for Edie Falco's fiery, Emmy-winning performance as a woman both exhausted and scorned. It's a historic exercise in onscreen fearlessness. —Nicholas Fonseca

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