I like tidy endings.

That's why I dislike the way David Chase lured us through six seasons and eighty-six episodes of a great television series then abandoned the audience when it needed him most.

So Dave ... exactly how did 'The Sopranos' end?

Oh, I see. The ending is however each viewer interpreted the abrupt blackout at that crappy little restaurant known for its terrific onion rings ... but not so known that we'd ever previously seen the Soprano family dining there. And that suspicious-looking guy headed for the men's room? Or those two African-American men who acted like they'd stumbled into the wrong neighborhood? And Tony Soprano. Did he really enter the restaurant, or was he having an out-of-body experience gazing upon a family gathering that might have taken place had he gone into the aluminum siding business?

I read some comments posted online. Most expressed disappointment, but a few called the ending "arty" and "creative."

Yeah, right. It was a cop-out, pure and simple. Oh, I understand the reason. No matter what Chase and various cast members or HBO officials may have said about the show coming to an end, the door was left open for future episodes. A wise business decision ... even should nothing come of it.

I realize it was impossible to live up to expectations. That's why no long-running television series has ever ended well. Yes, 'M*A*S*H' had a sweet finale – the Korean War ended and everyone came home – but it begged the question, whatever happened to Hawkeye and the rest of the medical unit? Unfortunately, two subsequent series - 'Trapper John, MD' and 'AfterMASH' – tried to provide answers, but succeeded only in temporarily tarnishing the memory of one of television's best programs.

To me, 'The Sopranos' finale most resembled the farewell of 'Dallas.' And that's not a good thing. 'Dallas', which had ruled prime time a few years earlier, ended with a gunshot. Did J. R. Ewing kill himself or attempt to shoot the annoying spirit (Joel Grey) who'd shown him what life would have been like had J.R. never been born? Or did J. R. simply fire the gun into the floor or out a window? (Years later we'd learn J. R. survived to scheme another day, but by then no one cared.)

As I recall, ambiguity became the TV ending of choice as the result of 'The Fugitive,' perhaps prime time television's first great soap opera. The show had only two regular characters – Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), an innocent man on the run, wanted for the murder of his wife, and Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), the policeman obsessed with his capture. Recurring characters were Fred Johnson, the one-armed man (Bill Raisch) and the real killer; Donna Taft (Jacqueline Scott), Kimble's sister, and, in flashback, Helen Kimble (Diane Brewster), Kimble's wife.

After a long and successful run, the show's producers went with the obvious ending – Kimble caught the one-armed man and was vindicated. Fans were ecstatic. Trouble was, the series later tanked in syndication. The theory: people knew how the story ended so they had no interest in watching it in reruns.

Since then most series have treated finales as invitations for a sequel, or at least a two-hour reunion. An exception was the fine hospital series, 'St. Elsewhere', which violated 'The Fugitive' rule with an ending that said the show existed in the mind of an autistic boy, the son of a doctor. Like 'The Fugitive', 'St. Elsewhere' flopped in syndication.

So let's get back to 'The Sopranos'. Here's my version of what happened:

Tony and his family finished the onion rings, ordered pasta and talked of many things, including A.J.'s exciting new career in the porn film business. Carmela announced plans to build homes on the site of a Newark landfill and Meadow revealed she's abandoning her law studies to pursue a career as a driving instructor. Carmela obviously didn't approve, but became positively giddy when Tony gifted family members with iPhones from a shipment Paulie Walnuts had hijacked at a New Jersey Turnpike truck stop. Life goes on as usual.

Whatever. 'The Sopranos' was fun while it lasted, but I wish it had provided a more decisive ending. I'll admit it – I wanted Tony whacked. Then again, maybe he was.