On May 14th, 1998, the controversial "Seinfeld" finale aired on NBC. The episode starred many past characters from the hit TV series, who all testified against the iconic four after they arrested for an unknown law called the "Good Samaritan" law. The price for a 30 second commercial during the U.S. broadcast hit over $1 million, marking the first time a regular prime-time television series commanded at least a $1 million advertising rate. In its original American airing, the finale was watched by 76.3 million television viewers, making it the fourth most watched overall series finale behind "MASH", "Cheers", and "The Fugitive". The "Seinfeld" finale is commonly either loved or hated, and is regularly put on both "Best series finales" and "worst series finales" ranking lists.
