SAYING GOODBYE 12 season finales you won't want to miss

Going out with a bang seems to be important to these network shows.
By MIKE DUFFY
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
It's prime time's annual spring fling, the mad dash through May days of big finales as another TV season rolls to a climax.
Sentimental farewells, cliffhangers, emotional moments, mysteries solved and Jack Bauer saves the world again! They're all here this month. So pass the remote. It's time to get clicking with our eye candy sampler of season and series finales, starting off with the Swell 12:
"Veronica Mars" (UPN, 9 p.m. Tuesday). Let's play Clue. Rockin' teen sleuth Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) finally gets to the bottom of the scintillating, season-long whodunit. Will the real killer of Lilly Kane please stand up? Reasons to tune in: Great writing, a merrily dark sense of humor and Bell's self-assured smart-girl charm.
"Jack & amp; Bobby" (WB, 9 p.m. Wednesday). Father's day. Grace McCallister (Christine Lahti) and her sons go on an emotional road trip to visit the boys' father, Juan (guest star Lou Diamond Phillips), who's an inmate in a Texas prison. But the refreshingly original -- and depressingly low-rated -- family drama is staring straight at a cancellation fate. Reasons to watch: It may be your last chance. And Lahti has been giving an Emmy-worthy performance all season.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS, 9 p.m. May 16). Buh-bye, bickering Barones. After nine seasons of big laughs and bigger ratings, Ray Romano's rambunctiously fractious, sarcastic family sitcom pulls the plug. Reasons to watch: They didn't bury us in endless farewell hype like "Friends." It's just a sweet, simple, regular half-hour series finale. Awright.
"Lost" (ABC, 8 p.m. May 18 & amp; 25). The producers are promising a cosmic cliffhanger as the first season of the beguiling suspense thriller rolls to a finish. What's up? The spooky Frenchwoman returns with a dire warning. So does the monster. And some of the castaways try to split on a raft. Reasons to watch: Great characters, cool flashbacks and that cliffhanger, of course.
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 8 p.m. May 19). Blood feast? It could happen with that crazy Hollywood action auteur Quentin Tarantino ("Kill Bill") directing the two-hour season finale as the CSIs rush to save an imperiled colleague. Then again, it's network TV and not the R-rated multiplex. But "CSI" has grown ever more grisly and gory. Reason to watch: To see if Tarantino can put his own audacious cinematic stamp on "CSI."
"The O.C." (Fox, 8 p.m. May 19). You booze, you lose. Kirsten's (Kelly Rowan) been hitting the bottle and Sandy (Peter Gallagher) makes a life-altering decision to save their marriage on the stylish California soap. Meanwhile, sardonic teenyboppers Seth, Summer, Ryan and Marissa are caught in the crossfire down at the Bait Shop. Reasons to watch: "The O.C." is that rare guilty pleasure with a brain. Plus, the adults are just as cool as the kids.
"ER" (NBC, 10 p.m. May 19). Will the last original cast member to leave the hospital please turn out the lights? Not gonna happen. Noah Wyle is shedding his scrubs after 11 seasons as Dr. John Carter works his last shift at County General. But "ER" hasn't flatlined in the ratings yet and returns for at least two more years. Reason to watch: Prepare tear ducts. Sentimental good-byes are nice.
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC, 9 p.m. May 22). Wisteria Lane is hoppin' as the sublimely wack soap opera satire rolls to the conclusion of its smash opening season. Somebody dies. There are answers to the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's demise. And Betty Applewhite (new series regular Alfre Woodard) moves into the neighborhood. Reasons to watch: The most divine female ensemble on television. And to find out who dies, of course.
"Deadwood" (HBO, 9 p.m. May 22). Heart of hilarious darkness. The saving grace of David Milch's profane, malignant masterpiece -- a voyage to the dark side of the human condition on the lawless, untamed frontier -- is its unfailing sense of twisted humor. But hark, who's coming to town? We finally get a look at scheming tycoon George Hearst (Gerald McRaney). Reasons to watch: The western noir's deliciously ornate, neo-Shakespearean dialogue, and Ian McShane's wickedly inspired performance as volatile saloon owner Al Swearengen.
"24" (Fox, 8 p.m. May 23). The digital clock is ticking. And Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) rides the high-tension roller coaster for 120 minutes in a two-hour season finale. A terrorist strike is still imminent? Check. Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) is still cool? Check. The nuclear apocalypse is gonna be stopped? Geez, we sure hope so. Reason to watch: After staying tuned for 22 hours, it's silly to stop before Jack saves the world again.
"American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m. May 24-25). If by some perverse twist of fate, snide Pillsbury Dough Boy crooner Scott Savol is still in the running on the final two nights, I'll keep my rubber brick handy. Though it's a certified ratings blockbuster, this has been the lamest "Idol" yet. Reason to watch: To see what ridiculous things dithering diva Paula Abdul might say. The show jumps the shark every time she opens her yakkety yap.
"House" (Fox, 9 p.m. May 24). It's been a magical medical mystery tour for the quirky new hospital drama. The disease-of-the-week whatdunit is anchored in the vivid performance of Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, a brilliant medical diagnostician with a painkiller addiction and a sourpuss personality. Sela Ward ("Once and Again") guest stars as a woman from Dr. House's past, stirring up old feelings. Reason to watch: Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie.
BEST OF THE REST
Some other notable May finales:
"The Amazing Race" (CBS, 9 p.m. Tuesday).We're rooting for ABR & amp;A to win. That's anybody but Rob and Amber.
"Scrubs" (NBC, 9 p.m. Tuesday). Their residency is coming to an end. And a bittersweet J.D. moves out on his own as Turk and Carla contemplate starting a family.
"Star Trek: Enterprise" (UPN, 8 p.m. Friday). Spaced out. After four generally forgettable seasons, what is supposedly the final installment in the "Star Trek" family of TV series signs off.
"Survivor: Palau" (CBS, 8 p.m. May 15). We are Koror, hear us roar. They banged the gong on the entire Ulong tribe -- the first tribe to go extinct on "Survivor" -- leaving only Koror members to battle for $1 million as ultimate survivor.
"Gilmore Girls" (WB, 8 p.m. May 17). Upon rescuing Rory after a night of reckless behavior with boyfriend Logan, frantic antic Lorelai is shocked by her daughter's plans for the future.
"America's Next Top Model" (UPN, 8 p.m. May 18). Catfights on the catwalk. With two more episodes left until the May 18 finale, 20-year-old Detroit coffeeshop waitress Naima is in the final five and one of the favorites to win it all.
"Smallville" (WB, 8 p.m. May 18). Pomp and superhero circumstance. It's high school graduation for Clark Kent and his classmates as something wicked comes Smallville's way.
"Revelations" (NBC, 9 p.m. May 18). Sister Jo and Dr. Massey arrive in Galilee, hoping to prevent the impending birth of the Antichrist, stop the apocalypse and get renewed for the fall season.
"The Apprentice" (NBC, 9 p.m. May 19). Is the Donald wearing out his welcome? The ratings are down and the show has lost all its early buzz. Maybe greed isn't so good.
"Without a Trace" (CBS, 10 p.m. May 19). While agent Vivian Johnson undergoes open heart surgery, her FBI colleagues desperately search for a missing woman who is part of an identity theft ring and may have ties to international terrorism.
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC 10:02 p.m. May 22). It's the surprise hit of spring. And the slick, sexy medical soap opera bumps into its own raging hormones when a sexually transmitted disease affects several hospital staffers.
"Everwood" (WB, 9 p.m. May 23). Rocky Mountain bye-bye? Dr. Andy Brown contemplates packing up and leaving Everwood for a job in Chicago.
"CSI: Miami" (CBS, 10 p.m. May 23). All aboard the emotional roller coaster. After four years, moody CSI Horatio Caine finally discovers what happened to his brother Raymond.
"Alias" (ABC, 9 p.m. May 25). She's baaaack! Lena Olin returns from the dead as double trouble Irina Derevko, Sydney's lethal mommy, as the spooky Rambaldi prophecy edges closer to reality. Yikes.