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7->''"An era may be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted."''
8-->-- '''Creator/ArthurMiller'''
9
10There was a time our lives and the world were new and [[HereThereWereDragons full of wonder]], when innocence and curiosity led people to explore, trust each other plainly, make amazing discoveries, invent amazing technologies, or simply make awe inspiring works of art.
11
12And then it ended.
13
14It can be because we, or the world we are born into, have [[GrowingUpSucks grown up]]. It seems smaller by comparison, understandable; no longer mysterious, full of adventure and romance. Children can't grow up to be famous explorers if there are no new continents to explore (space or the deep sea floor being expensive future exceptions), and some works of art made with the expertise of long dead masters can never be truly replicated, whether sword or song. This is what the End Of An Age feels like: [[{{Tragedy}} tragic]], cynical and full of loss.
15
16There are many plots and stories that evoke this trope to add the bitter in a BittersweetEnding, or less commonly as something to be fought against in order to preserve the Age or at least the relics thereof:
17* An AdventurerArchaeologist inspired by stories of TheTimeOfMyths and other bygone wonders may make it their life's work to prove it existed, and the story becomes a quest for a MacGuffin or other [[WhatMeasureIsANonUnique unique relic of the time.]]
18* If it's a ComingOfAgeStory, it can be [[OneLastFieldTrip children trying to live one last adventure before growing up]] because GrowingUpSucks, or even trying to grow up... only to discover they've lost something in the process.
19* Or most [[TearJerker heart-wrenching]] of all, ''destroying'' said Age or its relics to keep them out of dangerous hands, perhaps even having to do so simply to survive. This can be done by TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt or by genocide.
20
21If magic is involved, it becomes a case of TheMagicGoesAway. If it's technological, then LostTechnology. And if it's religious, see either DeathOfTheOldGods or {{Gotterdammerung}}. See also, HereThereWereDragons and DoingInTheWizard. FirearmsAreRevolutionary, or a VillainousEthicsDecay, can be a major cause of an end to an age.
22
23For the opposite where the age of wonders is just ''beginning'', see DawnOfAnEra. See also AfterTheEnd and HumanitysWake. Remnants of a past age may be kept in a FantasticNatureReserve. Supertrope of TwilightOfTheOldWest and SoiledCityOnAHill.
24
25'''To prevent knee-jerk reactions, [[Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease real life examples must be five years or more before being added]].'''
26
27----
28!!Examples:
29[[index]]
30* EndOfAnAge/AnimeAndManga
31* [[EndOfAnAge/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
32* EndOfAnAge/{{Literature}}
33* EndOfAnAge/LiveActionTV
34* EndOfAnAge/VideoGames
35* EndOfAnAge/RealLife
36[[/index]]
37
38[[foldercontrol]]
39
40[[folder:Comic Books]]
41* In a broader sense certain comic books are said to bring about the end of an age, ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' for instance is often cited as the end of the Dark Age of Comic Books.
42** Even more common is to describe ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' (''Amazing Spider-Man'' #121) as the story that marked the end of the Silver Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age of comic books.
43* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': "The Dark Age" explores how the optimism of the TheFifties and TheSixties transformed into an era of public skepticism in their leaders, the rise of [[SociopathicHero violent and reckless "heroes",]] and more. At the end, it is agreed that this age ended when Samaritan averted the ''Challenger'' disaster[[note]]In the very first issue of ''Astro City''[[/note]] and ushered in a new, brighter era of inspirational heroism.
44* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
45** Batman Issue #400 is the last story of the pre-Crisis Batman, and ends with: "And so the night of resurrection nears its end, but when next he strides forth from this dark womb of bats... it all begins anew. 'Hello again. Beware... forever.'"
46** [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age Batman's]] story ends with "Only Legends Live Forever", where an older, widowed Bruce Wayne dons the cape and cowl one last time to help the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica stop Bill Jenson, a thief given magic powers. He defeats him, but dies doing so, and the story ends with his funeral. What makes it the end of an age, specifically for this version of Batman, is that unlike most continuities, the LegacyCharacter trope is [[DefiedTrope defied]]; when Dick Grayson decides he'll take over as Batman, Helena Wayne (Bruce's daughter and the Huntress in this continuity) tells him not to, instead suggesting that he continue fighting crime but as his own man, since [[TitleDrop "only legends live forever]] - not the men who make them".
47** One of the key themes at the heart of ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' and ''ComicBook/BatmanDarkVictory'' is the Gotham mob and traditional criminals in general having to come to terms with their own increasing impotence as the age of flamboyant supercrime begins.
48* ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' is about the end of the multiverse and the birth of the universe. Several other comics came out at the same time dealing with each hero's personal End of an Age.
49* ''ComicBook/DraculaVsKingArthur'' ends with the Knights of the Round Table dead and Camelot in ruins after the war with Dracula. Arthur knew well before going into battle this was going to happen. And as a final request, rather then rebuilding the kingdom, that Excalibur and the Holy Grail be returned to the Lady of the Lake in hopes of his kingdom's subjects making their own future.
50* In ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' a knight asks if Hyacinthe will [[spoiler:avenge his father's death]] by the traditional way (duel with the offended party one at a time), Hyacinthe says he will use the ''modern'' way [[spoiler:(slit everyone's throat while they are sleeping)]]. The knight goes away mourning the end of the romantic era and the chronologically this is the last book of Early years where all the other stories will take place in Dungeon Zenith, where barbarism rules and Hyacinthe becomes a bitter Dungeonkeeper who attracts adventurers to die in his castle.
51* In ''ComicBook/Earth2'', after Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman died fighting off the [[{{ComicBook/Darkseid}} parademon invasion]], the world considers the "Age of [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Wonders]]" to be over. [[TimeSkip Five years later]], superheroes [[DawnOfAnEra start to appear again]].
52* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' -- magic and magic users still exist but the age of magic is over and most magical beings retreated to other realms some time ago.
53* ''ComicBook/TheGoldenAge'' is about the transition between the Golden Age of Comic-Books, and the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, with all the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron members inactive or retired, and the start of the Silver Age in the mid-50s.
54* ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'' has this as an overarching theme. As Scrooge travels and learns from everyone he meets throughout the latter part of the 19th century, he is a witness to the end of the Frontier-era. The age of the riverboats ends as the railroads take their place, the cattle barons' time comes to an end as the Great Plains are divided up into homesteads, the great gold rushes are at an end, and the TwilightOfTheOldWest finally occurs in 1890, as the frontier is officially closed, America has been settled, and the great names of yesteryear pass into legend. Finally, Scrooge becomes part of legend himself as he participates in the last gold rush in Klondike, finally striking it rich at the top of the world.
55* This is also the idea behind the ''Malibuverse'' comics. The superheros were {{Human Popsicle}}s from the last "golden age" of men. Or [[NinetiesAntiHero demons]]. By the way, we are the tenth generation, while they were the ninth.
56* By the time ''[[ComicBook/TheMultiversity The Just #1]]'' begins, the legacies of famous superheroes have not seen any real battles since the previous generation had put an end to war and crime, instead living their lives as celebrities. However, after years of complacency, Earth-16's era of peace comes to an end with the rise of [[spoiler:Alexis Luthor]].
57* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' is about the end of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman legend and all the myths surrounding him.
58* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'':
59** ''ComicBook/TransformersLastBotStanding'': The series is set in the far future with Rodimus hiding out on a distant planet long after the rest of the Transformer race has died off. In addition to being a hypothetical "last story" for the Transformers franchise, the series is also the last Transformers series put out by {{Creator/IDW|Publishing}} after a 15-year tenure.
60** The story "The Death of Optimus Prime" ([[MetaphoricallyTrue for once, it's not literal]]) brings an end to the Great War, which had loomed over the Autobots and Decepticons for several million years, especially the countless ones brought online to fight in it. ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' and ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' are about what it means when ''the'' defining struggle of your species is technically over and nobody is quite sure what to do now or how to move on.
61--->'''Fulcrum:''' But there's ''always'' been a war! That's like saying there's no more ''blue'' or - or the ''weather's'' stopped!
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Fan Works]]
65* The ''Anime/CodeGeass'' fic ''The First Servant'', which takes place after Zero Requiem, chronicles not only the end of one era but also the events leading the end of ''another''. [[spoiler:Which involves Empress Nunnally's death and the final downfall of the Britannian Empire]].
66* ''Fanfic/NineteenEightyThreeDoomsdayStories'' has this trope as one of the overarching themes. The world as ''we'' know it ended in 1983, with the remaining [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers Nations]] doing their best coping with the new one taking its place. On the other hand, it's also treated as a DawnOfAnEra: humanity's rebuilding, Survivor-Nations are finding their place in the brave new world and the pre-Doomsday Nations are coming to terms with their ultimate fate.
67* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': The G2 world is shown to have been a Golden Age of pony civilization, surpassing even the modern day of G4/''[=FiM=]'' (according to Luna, the ponies of that period had even landed on the moon, technology that the ''[=FiM=]'' ponies do ''not'' have). It's been seen from two different perspectives -- first from Celestia's, and then from the main seven G2 ponies' -- how this period came crashing down [[spoiler:when Discord's brother Destruction basically nuked the planet back to the Dark Ages in order to [[CosmicRetcon prevent the G3 world from coming into existence]], thereby preventing the errors of that period from causing [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt universal collapse]]]].
68* ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'': When the four first meet Grunnel, he speaks longingly of the good old days when monsters and Tayhil roamed around and the skahs happily slaughtered them. But the skahs were too efficient and killed everything off, and for the last ten years Baravada has been in the grip of the Rusting: there's nothing for the skahs to do any more, no one is breeding (though Grunnel doesn't talk about that), even the populated places are falling apart, and the gods won't do anything about it. The four have to fake being sympathetic, as they are [[ActualPacifist Actual Pacifists]] and disgusted by Grunnel's joyous descriptions of piles of bodies. And later, they are ''not at all happy'' about inadvertently providing the means to reverse the Rusting. [[spoiler:Though they do manage to prevent that.]]
69* The subject matter of ''Fanfic/{{Eugenesis}}'' deals with the end of war on Cybertron, but there's hell to pay first.
70* ''Fanfic/RomanceAndTheFateOfEquestria'': ''Legend of the Goddesses'' shows Celestia and Luna's childhood in a village populated entirely by alicorns, and that alicorns possess a BattleAura which surrounds them at all times. Four hundred years later, for no adequately explained reason, alicorn birth rates have dropped, the males of the race are gone altogether, and so they're integrating with the other pony races, while those who do live no longer have auras, not even Celestia and Luna themselves.
71* ''Fanfic/ANewWorldIcedFairy'' depicts a Gensokyo where Yukari has long since died. Without her to smuggle human meat from the other side of the barrier, human-youkai relations degrade to a far harsher balance than Reimu could ever have dreamed of, beginning a slow descent into oblivion. Ran and Keine fear this is the start of Gensokyo's death, [[spoiler:but Maribel arrives with time to spare to prevent this and begin reversing the stagnating effects. As it turns out, Yukari successfully predicted her death and all ensuing events, and arranged her final trap to usher Gensokyo, Luna, and all of Earth, into the DawnOfAnEra.]]
72* ''Fanfic/ASparkOfIceAndFire'': Barristan Selmy and Jon Arryn believe this is the case with the arrival of [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Agatha Heterodyne]]. With her inventions of guns and engines (to name a few), Barristan fears that the time of knights and honourable battle is over, while Jon believes he is simply too old to see the new world the brilliant Spark will create.
73* ''Fanfic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness'', which takes place after the events of ''VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight'', has one in the form of Yuuka Kazami. Whereas Reimu, Marisa, and Alice—the other mainstays from the PC-98 era—have all undergone major changes in their lives since the events of ''Mystic Square'', Yuuka is the only one still fully sporting her physical appearance[[labelnote:*]]slacks instead of a skirt, plus much longer hair[[/labelnote]] and attacks from the games in question, not using any patterns from Phantasmgoria of Flower View. Following her battle with Megas, she takes note of the increasing number of powerful figures that have been making themselves known and finally decides to get with the times, starting with her hair.
74* In ''Fanfic/EverybodysGottaLeaveSometime'', the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' gang have just found out that their creator is retiring, which entails the end of their eternal childhood. After their last get-together they'll part ways, perhaps forever, and from that moment on, they'll grow up and eventually join the adult world.
75* ''Fanfic/ItsADangerousBusinessGoingOutYourDoor'': The end of the old world was ushered in by the great war between the deer; as Lady Falalauria eventually reveals, they are responsible for magic being required to keep the world running in most areas outside bastions like the Everfree Forest.
76-->'''Lady Falalauria:''' You ponies must manage nature because we deer broke it.
77* By the end of the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/FireDarkMark'', several heroes like Captain America are dead, and most of the villains are dead or have been exiled to another planet. Most of surviving heroes -Spider-Man, the original X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Thor- decide retire or move out of New York and are succeeded by another generation of heroes.
78* Near the end of ''Fanfic/MastermindStrategistForHire'', the League of Villains, with the help of [[spoiler:a [[FaceHeelTurn recently-defected Hawks]], attacks the Hero Commission and exposes their corruption, leading to its collapse. Whilst Hero society had been suffering blows from them ever since All Might's [[DeathByAdaptation death at the USJ]], this ends up forcing it to restructure.]]
79* TheAbridgedSeries as a concept has faced this in the lead up to the 2020s. Rewriting a long-running anime series as a parody is a demanding task that can be expected to take years to complete, so unless content creators can generate revenue per episode, they'll inevitably have to call it quits after a while. Factoring in copyright feuds leading to episodes being taken down and creator's personal issues causing ScheduleSlip and it ultimately doesn't give audiences a reliable source of entertainment. By 2020, one of the longest-running series ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' was announced to be effectively over with any possible continuation to be done as web animation. (Said continuations, ''WebAnimation/DragonShortZ'' and ''WebAnimation/{{HFIL}}'', are more akin to straight up fanfiction, concepts being 'what happened a year after the Cell Games' and 'what if Goz and Mez tried to reform the villains' respectively.)
80* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': [[spoiler: ''Fall of Britannia'' and ''Rise of the Decepticons'' (the two chapters that form the climax of ''R1'') see the dissolution of the Holy Empire of Britannia, with [[EvilerThanThou the Decepticons moving in to take their place]]. Come ''R2'', the [[TheRemnant last remnants]] of the Empire have been captured/killed off by the alien warlords, and all that remains of Britannia are the quasi-independent Euro-Britannia, and Marrybell's Glinda Knights (whom are in hiding).]]
81* ''Fanfic/TheWeaverOption'': The finale of the "Black Crusade" arc sees the end of the age of [[spoiler:Chaos Undivided. With Malal assuming the seat of Fourth Chaos God, Anarchy has returned and the age of Chaos Divided has begun]].
82* ''Fanfic/ExtendedStay'': The fanfic ends with [[WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}} Warden and Mistress]] leaving Superjail along with their youngest child to go live in the White House, but not before handing the reins of Superjail and Ultraprison over to the twins. Thus, their eras as wardens of Superjail and Ultraprison come to an end.
83* ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'': Given how it's literally prophesied when a new age would begin (when the heir to the throne is born just before sunrise, she is a Star Queen destined to usher in a new era), it's obvious when an era is about to end, and Solena (The Early Years), Festivia (Age of Ascension), Galaxia (Age of Heroes), Heaven (Dark Age), and [[spoiler:Moon]] (Renaissance) oversaw the end of their respective eras. Thematically, though, the last three era changes play this trope straighter than the others due to how much change occurred-going from the Butterfly Kingdom being a strong military power to its lowest points in history, then back to a revival of the kingdom's prestige and influence, to [[spoiler:the Cleaving, the end (and return) of magic, and a destructive War of Two Worlds that left most of Mewni's population dead.]]
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Films — Animation]]
87* ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'': The NASCAR-style stock racers like [=McQueen=] are quickly being sidelined by new [=GT3=]/Le Mans-style racers such as Jackson Storm.
88* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld'', [[spoiler:the dragons depart en masse to the Hidden World to wait until humans are ready for them to return. Over the years, they fade to myth]].
89* This is a major theme in ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist2010'' as nobody wants to see stage magicians anymore and nobody believes in magic.
90* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' has this as a theme of the story as the advent of [[spoiler:the cannon]] threatens to make kung fu irrelevant and useless in battle. However, Po averts this spectacularly [[spoiler:by discovering an effective kung fu CatchAndReturn technique to defeat cannon fire, making kung fu still a vital skill in battle that can counter artillery. Furthermore, Po rather casually makes it clear that he can teach his friends this technique, which means it will be spreading throughout China in due time]].
91* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' centers around an energy crisis, with the source of energy being the scaring of children. [[spoiler:Henry J Waternoose initially attributes it to newer generations of scarers not being good enough, he finally accepts to Sullivan that times have changed and that means scaring isn't a good enough resource of energy anymore. This fuels his villainy through kidnapping children to extract screams from them for energy. By the end of the film, scream-based energy is rendered obsolete with the discovery of laughter as a higher-yield source of energy.]]
92* ''WesternAnimation/TheSeaBeast'': Early on in the film, the King and Queen inform Captain Crow that the kingdom's days of relying on ragtag crews of monster hunters like his are coming to an end, as they intend to use a massive war ship crewed by the Royal Navy to deal with the monsters. [[spoiler:In the end, ultimately, a different age ends -- the age of monster hunting, following Maisie exposing the royal family's lies about monsters.]]
93* The ending of ''WesternAnimation/SongOfTheSea''. [[spoiler:Saorise regains her coat and sings her song, ushering all of Ireland's fair folk across the sea to Tír na nÓg. She also sacrifices her selkie coat to remain on Earth with her human family, taking with it the last remaining bond to the fairy world.]]
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Music]]
97* The Music/BlueOysterCult anthem ''Golden Age of Leather'' is about the last stand of old unrepentant Hell's Angels for whom the world has got too small, who choose to go out and die in a blaze of glory:
98-->''There passed from man to man\
99A wanton child, too dead to care,\
100That each would find his pleasure as he might;\
101For that fantastic night was billed\
102As nothing less than the '''end of an age''',\
103A last crusade, a final outrage...''
104* ''Music/PuffTheMagicDragon'' is about the end of childhood innocence and imagination, [[spoiler:[[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory not pot]]]].
105* Music/IceT's "Gotta Lotta Love" is about the Watts Truce ushering in an age of peace.
106-->''Woke up the other morning. I heard a rumor. They said the gang wars was over...''
107* The song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Music/TheBuggles, which relates to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the replacement of Radio]] as the national medium. In an interesting side note the music video was the first one to ever be played on Creator/{{MTV}}. In producer/composer Trevor Horn's own words, he felt that "an era was about to pass".
108* [[Music/TheEagles Don Henley's]] "End of the Innocence" and "Boys of Summer".
109* The Music/BruceSpringsteen song ''The River'' is about a man who steadily has to give up his dreams and face the realities and responsibilities of life, with the eponymous river symbolic of those dreams.
110-->''But I remember us riding in my brother's car,\
111Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir\
112At night on them banks I'd lie awake and pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take\
113Now those memories come back to haunt me\
114They haunt me like a curse\
115Is a dream a lie if it don't come true?\
116Or is it something worse?''
117* Music/KurtCobain's suicide is considered to have hastened the end of the {{Grunge}} era. (Generally speaking, 1996 was the last year of grunge.)
118* The rise of PunkRock was the beginning of the end of ProgressiveRock.
119* The Disco Demolition Night of 1979 ended {{disco}}'s brief dominance in music that had been popularized with Film/SaturdayNightFever, and the genre was soon CondemnedByHistory.
120* The biggest symbol of the rise of the "teenybopper", meaning a separate class of people defined by teenagers moving away from their parents' culture, was the time when Music/FrankSinatra became the very first musical teen idol. Ol' Blue Eyes was the first music star to elicit screams from moonstruck teenaged girls, copious copying from teen boys eager to mimic their new idol, and disgust from the older generation toward the skinny Italian who was causing all this commotion. Sinatra's rise to fame thus marked the end of the era where there were no defined generations, pop culturally speaking.
121* The album ''Music/QueenOfTheWave'' depicts the downfall of {{Atlantis}} and the loss of their advanced knowledge, due to the Atlanteans' own corruption and the machinations of an evil wizard.
122* Music/{{Sabaton}}'s song ''Shiroyama'' combines this with LastStand to cover the fall of the {{samurai}} and the end of [[FeudalJapan Japanese feudalism]]. The song itself is about the bravery of the last samurai in the face of the CurbStompBattle they were on the receiving end of. The 500 Satsuma samurai are outnumbered 60:1 and armed with swords against Imperial guns -- the fact that they even survive until dawn is impressive.
123-->''Imperial force defied, facing 500 samurai\
124Surrounded and outnumbered\
12560 to 1, the sword face the gun\
126Bushido dignified\
127It's the last stand of the samurai\
128Surrounded and outnumbered\
129\
130Until the dawn they hold on\
131Only 40 are left at the end\
132None alive, none survive\
133Shiroyama''
134* Music/{{Shinedown}}’s smash hit "Second Chance". It was a #1 hit on both rock formats and reached #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also marks the final pop radio hit to ever originate from the Active Rock format. Since then, the only big pop radio hits to also chart on Active Rock were songs that got their start on the Alternative format.
135* "That's What Friends Are For", originally written for the 1982 film ''Film/NightShift'' and performed by Music/RodStewart, provided an example of this when it was {{covered|Up}} in 1985 by Dionne and Friends, a one-off collaboration between Music/DionneWarwick, Music/EltonJohn, Music/GladysKnight, and Music/StevieWonder as a charity single for AIDS research. The Warwick version spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 and was ''Billboard''[='=]s year-end #1 for 1986. Because of Wonder's involvement, it was the last US #1 for any artist who had topped the Hot 100 before the British Invasion (he had taken "Fingertips" to #1 as a 13-year-old in 1963).
136* Music analyst Michaelangelo Matos considered Music/{{Prince}}'s 1987 album ''Music/SignOTheTimes'' to be one for popular music in two senses. The first is that it marked the end of the phonograph record's status as the dominant medium for music distribution, being the last double-LP to achieve blockbuster-level sales; additionally, its fourth single, "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", was the last of Prince's to not immediately receive a CD release. The second sense is that ''Sign '☮' the Times'' was the last commercially successful album from a black artist to predate hip-hop's emergence as the dominant genre in black music.
137* Like Music/{{Prince}}'s ''Music/SignOTheTimes'', Music/DireStraits' 1985 blockbuster album ''Music/{{Brothers in Arms|Album}}'' was a send-off to the vinyl era that heralded the rise of the CD, being the first album to sell more copies on the format than on vinyl. The album had longer tracks on cassette and CD than vinyl, and was also digitally recorded, showing off the CD's greater sound quality and longer running time than the LP. The album's double-LP release in 2007 also heralded the beginning of the end of the CD era, the same year that the "vinyl revival" began.
138* The {{Vaporwave}} genre as a whole likes to depict a grainy, consumerist, faux-nostalgia of TheEighties and TheNineties, and the unspoken rule is that the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11 attacks]] are the cutoff point for this era. To that end, the album ''Music/NewsAt11'' by 猫シ Corp. extends this to the very moments ''right before'' the terror attacks were announced on the morning of September 11, 2001, at the extreme end of the era.
139* Music/RadioTapok's original song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx_7s5hx_0E "Tsushima"]] mournfully describes the Baltic Fleet as "the last fleet of the emperor". Historically, the UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar cost UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia almost her entire navy and was a massive blow to the nation's prestige, becoming one of the factors in the build-up to the UsefulNotes/RussianRevolution.
140* Don Edwards' song "Coyotes" is about an old cowboy who is the last remnant of the Wild West as the modern industrial age is beginning.
141-->''Then he'd look off some place in the distance\
142At something only he could see\
143He'd say all that's left now of the old days\
144Those damned old coyotes and me''
145* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}:
146** Their 1968 TV special, ''Film/TheRollingStonesRockAndRollCircus'', featured their last live performance with founding member Music/BrianJones, and their 1969 album, ''Music/LetItBleed'', was the last to involve Jones, who died tragically in July 1969 at age 27, and the first to involve his replacement, Mick Taylor.
147** Their 1986 album, ''Music/DirtyWork'', was the last to include founding member Ian "Stu" Stewart" (who had been demoted to sideman and road manager at their manager's insistence), who died suddenly of a heart attack in December 1985 at age 47.
148** Their 1989 album, ''Music/SteelWheels'', and their 1991 live album, ''Flashpoint'', were the last to include bassist Bill Wyman, who left the group in 1993. Since his departure, the Stones haven't officially replaced their bassist position out of respect to him.
149** Their 2016 album, ''Blue & Lonesome'', and their 2020 single, "Living In A Ghost Town", produced during and written about the Music/COVID19Pandemic, were the last to feature drummer Charlie Watts before his death in August 2021 at age 80. Watts had been the only member besides Music/MickJagger and Music/KeithRichards to have played on every Stones album and tour from 1963 until his death. Similar to Wyman, the Stones haven't officially replaced their drummer position out of respect to Watts. Their 2023 album, ''Hackney Diamonds'', will be the last to have included Watts.
150* Music/{{Sanctuary}}'s "Future Tense"
151* The history of music consumption:
152** In the 19th century the record player was introduced. It served as the dominant form of music consumption until the mid-[[The20thCentury 20th century]].
153** {{Radio}} also emerged by the late 19th century and peaked in the late 20th century and has been on a decline since the rise of TV (especially in the [[TheEighties 80s]] and [[TheNineties 90s]]) and the internet (in the 2010s). {{Creator/MTV}} emerged in the 80s as a live video alternative to radio stations.
154** TheSeventies also introduced Cassettes which could be played in cars, walkmans, and boomboxes. They became more rare around the 90s.
155** In the late 20th century the {{UsefulNotes/Compact Disc}} (CD) was an on-demand alternative to the radio. The success led to the {{UsefulNotes/DVD}}'s creation. The CD became obsolete with the rise of [[IProduct iPods]] and social media.
156** The replacement of the CD as the dominant form of media was introduced in the next century. The [=MP3=] player trend of [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]] was carried heavily by {{Creator/Apple}}'s iPod but was short-lived due to smartphones becoming popular.
157** The late [[TheNewTens 2010s]] was the introduction of online streaming sites such as Apple Music, Spotify, [=SoundCloud=], and Website/YouTube to listen to music. It is easily the most dominant form of music consumption since the mid-late 2010s.
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
161* ''Literature/TheBible'' has several examples:
162** The loss of a "Golden Age" in this case is the "fall of man", and being cursed with sin, suffering, and death.
163** Both destructions of Jerusalem are this for the Jews.
164** The Literature/BookOfDaniel compares the four ancient empires around the Mediterranean (which reigned over the Israelites) area to metals: Babylon is gold, Media is silver, Persia is bronze, and Greece/Macedonia is iron. (Some interpretations have it Babylon, Persia, Greece/Macedonia, and Rome.)
165** According to some interpretations, inverted in Revelation, where the result of the FinalBattle between {{God}} and {{Satan}} will result in the DawnOfAnEra that restores humanity to its former glory.
166* Dharmic religions (mainly, but not limited to, Hinduism and Buddhism) has the Wheel of Time, with ages beginning and ending in perpetuity like the seasons. An age typically come to an end due to evilness (WorldHalfFull or goodness) of men have exceeded the threshold of that age. Sages usually see the current age as part of a long decline in morality, and claim that the old time was better, but the better time had to go because people lost righteousness and began to misrule the world. With the ending of the age of wisdom, people also lost superhuman powers, lifespan, and the capacity for morality.
167* The Trojan War is often believed to be the event that put an end to the Heroic Age of Myth/ClassicalMythology.
168* Myth/CelticMythology: The Mythological cycle ends with the gods defeated by the incoming Irish people and leaving for the Otherworld, ending the time of the gods and other supernatural races openly walking the earth and ruling as kings, and beginning the age of heroes like Cu Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill.
169* The concluding Myth/{{Arthurian|Legend}} myths, depicting the fall of the King's forces to foreign invaders and the disappearance of Myth/{{Merlin}}. Not very surprising, as they initially emerged as patriotic tales by Britons who were fighting the Anglo-Saxon invasion - and eventually lost, effectively TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt for them.
170* Myth/NorseMythology: Ragnarok is TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and "The End of the Time of the Gods" but life will continue after them and a new era, with new gods, will come about.
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
174* Wrestling/ShaneDouglas throwing down the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is generally seen as the final nail in the coffin of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance and the old territory system.
175* The death of Wrestling/GiantBaba and the mass defection of the roster to Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH was the end of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling as a major force in Wrestling.
176* Literature/TheDeathOfWCW marked the moment that wrestling in the West became an effective monopoly, with only one "major" national promotion left[[note]][[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], bless its little cotton socks, tried its best, but it was never more than a very, very, ''very'' [[UnknownRival distant second to WWE]]. Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling started up in 2019, while not quite as distant as TNA they still have a ways to go to catch up[[/note]].
177* The resignation of Wrestling/AntonioInoki from Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling.
178* In July 2022, Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, the man who had dominated professional wrestling in North America since UsefulNotes/TheEighties, resigned as the CEO of Wrestling/{{WWE}}.
179** This proved to be only temporary, as Vince was able to muscle his way back in a few months later to facilitate the sale of WWE to UsefulNotes/{{UFC}}'s parent company in April 2023.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Roleplay]]
183* ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'''s BackStory has the Iormunean Imperium, {{precursors}} (based on the Roman Empire) who were more or less the greatest civilization in the world... until they turned a blind eye to some heretics, causing their goddess to turn her back on them while they were in the middle of a war against invading barbarians.
184[[/folder]]
185
186[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
187* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': The Amaris Civil War and the Fall of the Star League, marked the end of humanity's golden age, and the start of two centuries of seemingly endless war between the Successor States. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg...
188** The attrition, technological decline and total warfare seen in the Succession Wars ended with the recovery of the Helm Memory core which saw the resurgence of lostech, and the Clan Invasion, who brought with them technology that had either been forgotten since the Fall of the Star League or completely unheard of altogether.
189** For the Clans themselves, the destruction of Clan Smoke Jaguar and their loss in the Great Refusal lead to the end of the Clans' Warden/Crusader philosophical .
190** [=ComStar's=] decision to become a neutral, secular organization led to a schism, where its religious fundamentalist side split to form the Word of Blake.
191** The Second Star League's disbandment not only led to the final extinction of mankind's dream of being united under a single benevolent banner, but the beginning of the Word of Blake's outstandingly violent "Jihad", which saw the return of both [=WMDs=] and the death of [=MechWarriors=] being seen as hi-tech knights in shining armor.
192** During the Jihad, the Homeworld Clans saw their Invader brethren as being irrevocably "tainted" by the Inner Sphere's "barbarianism", leading to the Wars of Reaving that left four Clans destroyed and the two groups permanently estranged from another.
193** Finally, the era of peace that endured since the end of the Jihad came to a screeching halt on "Gray Monday", when the entire HPG Network shut down simultaneously, mysteriously and indefinitely. Faster-than-light communication became impossible, with political boundaries changing dramatically as ancient enemies took advantage of the confusion and chaos. And thus begins the Dark Age...
194** The Dark Age ended with the fall of Terra to Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon and their subsequent Trial for who would become ilClan. The Wolves won, proclaimed the birth of a new Star League with their Khan at its head, and so began the current era...
195* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
196** ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' featured the imperfect but relatively idyllic continent-spanning (in theory) Kingdom of Galifar, which allowed slow yet steady improvements in sapient rights, {{Magitek}}, concepts of justice, and educational standards... until finally an ascension dispute broke out and the five provinces collapsed into over a dozen warring states over the course of a hundred years. When the dust finally cleared, nationalism, distrust, and cynicism ran high. Many of Galifar's achievements remained, but not the optimistic outlook that allowed them in the first place. For those not paying attention, it's UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in fantasy-land.
197** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'':
198*** Ancient Netheril was a highly developed [[TheMagocracy magocracy]] where even servants used minor magics, Magitek was used routinely and most main cities were made of mountaintops cut off, overturned and [[FloatingContinent enchanted to float]]. When all magic across the world "turned off" for a short while, the empire fell -- literally. The same event damaged the 'Weave' which supports all magic on Toril, so the goddess who guards it curtailed access to prevent more damage and the greatest spells of old Netheril just ''don't work'' anymore. Now even their minor artifacts are guarded jealously by new owners.
199*** Subverted by the epoch of Myth Dranor. It's known as a lost Golden Age (magical Renaissance and goodwill festival), but, with all its wonders, it wasn't completely idyllic, nor was its technology ''absolutely'' superior -- for example, some Myth Drannan magic items are vulnerable to [[PhlebotinumOverload explosive overload]], while modern counterparts aren't. Additionally, the end of the age led to a proliferation of the arts.
200** ''TabletopGame/NentirVale'' takes place 100 years after the collapse of Nerath, the last great human empire. [[PointsOfLightSetting Towns and villages are pretty much states unto themselves and there's no central government]], so the heroes are usually all that stand between a community and the dangers of the wilderness. The history of the setting also has other collapsed empires, making the rise and fall of nations cyclical.
201** The last book of the 3.5 edition was ''Elder Evils'', which introduced various [[EldritchAbomination Elder Evils]] capable of [[ApocalypseHow wiping out whole campaign worlds]] -- or, at the very least, [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore radically altering them]]. [[WordOfGod According to interviews]], the idea was to give players the option of wiping out/changing their old campaign worlds to make one more compatible to the new system.
202* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
203** The world had an incredibly advanced state of magical technology in the First Age, when the godlike Solars ruled over everything. Then their servants rebelled, replacing their system with the less-advanced Shogunate. Unable to maintain the Solars' technology, they've slowly lapsed into more and more primitive societies, aided by a massive plague and an invasion of the chaos beyond the boundaries of reality.
204** The First Age itself took place directly after the Primordial War, which culminated in the Three Spheres Cataclysm, which [[RetGone retgoned]] nine-tenths of Creation right down to erasing existential concepts and possibilities. [[UnreliableNarrator Those outside Creation at the time (Fair Folk, etc.)]] describe the High First Age as a "tiny, burnt-out remnant" of what Creation used to be.
205** The game proper takes place during the Second Age, and specifically very shortly after the return of the Celestial Exalted -- such as the ancient Solars -- and after the machinations of the remnants of the Primordials begin to come into play. A concept emphasized on and off in official material is that, due to the sheer scale of plots that are only beginning to come into their final stages and the immense gravitas of the Exalted themselves, the period of the mortal and Terrestrial civilizations that marked the Second Age is itself coming to a close.
206* ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D20]], the DarkerAndEdgier version of the setting, has some feel of this. Humanity had advanced science to an incredible degree, with robotics, bio-tech, genetic engineering and nanotechnology not merely possible, but ''commercially available'' -- that's right, you could create your own life-form in your living room, and do it legally. Then came the catastrophe, and, well, most people barely know how to build crossbows and forge swords, or maintain old-fashion slug-thrower type guns, never-mind create technology that manipulates matter on the atomic level, maintain robots with human (or greater) levels of intelligence, or design whole new lifeforms from scratch.
207* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The ''Time Spiral'' block concluded with almost all of the original, godlike planeswalkers dying or becoming human to save TheMultiverse, and more limited, mortal planeswalkers rising to take their place.
208* ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' had a sense of Gotterdammerung. For instance, ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' had a group of magi called the Technocracy using [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the power of belief]] to erase the fantastic from existence. ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'' was probably the worst, though; the period of fae influence on the Earth was described in terms of seasons, from "Spring", when myth was vivid and the fae interacted fully with humans, to "Winter", when the Dreaming is mostly cut off from Earth and everything fantastical withers and dies. And most of the game takes place in Autumn...
209** And now, in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', we have the fact that, in the time before history, there was a great civilization of all-powerful mages (Atlantis) who, through their [[AndManGrewProud hubris]], brought about the creation of the Abyss (a great gulf of anti-reality between this world and the higher "Supernal" world), which led to the destruction of Atlantis, the scattering of mages, the loss of much magical lore and artifacts, and the general weakening of magic. Things have been getting worse ever since.
210** Similarly, in ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'' the [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Uratha]] believe the Material World and the Spirit World used to be one, until the death of their great ancestor Father Wolf tore it apart. Despite not technically being a "paradise" (depending on who you ask), the general consensus seems to be that everyone's worse off for it.
211** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' has its own example in the [[MythologyGag Camarilla]], the vampiric government of the Roman Empire. It wasn't perfect, but it was the one time when there was an overreaching body of vampiric politics that oversaw the span of the "known world"... and it fell when Rome did, making modern vampiric politics almost entirely local with occasional feuds between covenants.
212** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'': Enoch, the First City, where vampires and humans coexisted.
213** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' lore states that the Weaver, the Wyrm and the Wyld worked in harmony at one point until the Weaver ensnared the Wyrm and the latter went mad and hellbent on destroying the world from within.
214** ''TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen'': the titular Fallen know that they were better off before...erm, the Fall. To the best of their less-then-perfect memory, everyone else around was better off, too.
215** Ironically, the fact that every other splat's having its Dark Age makes ''now'' the Golden Age for Hunters. They might not readily agree, but imagine them trying vampire hunt in Enoch or witch hunt in Atlantis, and you get the idea.
216* ''TabletopGame/SecretsOfTheThirdReich'' has this as a backdrop for the setting. Albeit the world is slowly turning more and more into this as UsefulNotes/WorldWarII drags on and on.
217* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' by FASA adapted the idea of different Worlds or Cycles from the Mayan calendar. The Sixth World started in 2011 with the renewed rise of magic (our own magicless world was the Fifth Age), but there had been previous ages, many thousands of years ago, where magic was far stronger, strong enough that everyone could do magic and Horrors from Another Dimension had broken through and walked the Earth. This was the setting of ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}'', another TabletopRPG by FASA.
218* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The End Times; [[TheBadGuyWins the Old World was completely destroyed]], with almost all the characters slain in the final battle against Chaos (with only a small spark recovered by Sigmar to create [[TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar a new set of realms]]). Out of universe, Games Workshop used the End Times as a sendoff for ''Warhammer Fantasy'', concluding the story to make way for ''Age of Sigmar''. [[BrokenBase Fan reactions were mixed]], to say the least.
219* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has the Dark (or Golden, if you ask the [[MachineCult Adeptus Mechanicus]]) Age of Technology, when mankind first colonized other planets and created amazing technological advancements. Most of the fanciest stuff used by the Imperium are barely understood and often nearly irreplaceable relics of this time.
220** The general underlying theme of humanity in ''40k'' is that it is doomed to die a long, slow death from not only its own beliefs but also the vast hordes of unimaginably strong aliens, traitors and daemons. But that is very far away and right now has lots of explosions and chainsaws.
221** For a specific point, the Horus Heresy killed the Emperor's dream of a unified, secular human empire, plunging the Imperium into the theocratic CrapsackWorld is is today.
222** The Eldar are no better off -- most of their greatest achievements came before the Fall. It's unclear in their case, however, how much this comes from loss of knowledge or lack of the resources required to put that knowledge to use. The Eldar are rather deep into this twilight. The only real consolation that the Eldar have is the growing strength of a new god to replace their dead pantheon, a god of the dead that grows stronger with each slain Eldar. Essentially, he will reach such great power when the last Eldar dies that he will be able to kill Slaanesh... but all the Eldar will still be dead.
223* ''TabletopGame/{{Witchcraft}}''. The future iteration ''Armageddon'' deals with...well, Armageddon. Though instead of what everyone expected (The Old Gods vs. the Fallen Angels vs. The Heavenly Host with mortal and immortal creature caught between them), an EldritchAbomination came in and waged war on everyone--and it's '''winning''', forcing the groups to team up or die.
224[[/folder]]
225
226[[folder:Theatre]]
227* ''Theatre/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'', the era of art and openness sponsored by Lorenzo "The Magnificent" de'Medici, which will end when he dies, and he's very ill. The song "Primavera", based on [[Art/{{Primavera}} the painting]] by Creator/SandroBotticelli, shows this most directly.
228* A heartbreaking moment towards the end of ''Film/DirtyRottenScoundrels''. The main characters realize that as thrilling and exciting as their adventures and lifestyles were, they have to accept the fact that they're over and they need to move on. [[spoiler:Or do they? The show ends on a high note.]]
229-->[We] must accept the con is done,\
230But now and then you may recall,\
231the moments when you had it all.\
232You had the charm, you had the talent--\
233and by god, you had some fun.\
234It was a ball, it was a blast,\
235and it's a shame it couldn't last,\
236but every chapters got to end you must agree!
237* ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'' is this in spades.
238* Music/RichardWagner's opera cycle ''Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen'' chronicles the end of an age. In ''Das Rheingold'' Wotan is warned that a dark day is dawning for the gods. By the end of ''Siegfried'', Wotan's power has been broken by the destruction of his spear and also the last of the giants is dead. In ''Götterdämmerung'' the gods are finally destroyed, the dwarf Alberich who made the ring of power can only appear in his son's dreams and the ring itself is cleansed by fire and returned to the Rhine from which it came. Humanity are left alone in the world to make their own fate free of the corruption of supernatural beings.
239* ''Theatre/{{Hair}}'' is considered the end-marker of the golden age of musicals that began with ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}''.
240[[/folder]]
241
242[[folder:Web Animation]]
243* ''WebAnimation/PuffinForest'': The end of Malikar Campaign. When the end of the Covenant War came, the gods withdrew from the world, divine magic faded, and gave way to the rise of {{Magitek}} and steampunk technologies. The players lived to see this, as they had been granted the Boon of Immortality.
244* The end of Volume 3 of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' sees the destruction of main setting, death of main characters, a massive tonal shift in the narrative, and the reveal of the series' BigBad which would lead to a major expansion of the series' mythology.
245[[/folder]]
246
247[[folder:Web Comics]]
248* ''WebComic/AndShineHeavenNow'': 1999, in which the [[BrokenMasquerade masquerade is broken]] and humanity as a whole become aware of the existence of the supernatural, due to Millennium's worldwide vampire attack.
249--> It’s a night that will be branded in the collective memory of the world for generations. Everyone who lived through it came out with a story to tell. The people who took shelter, and the people who took a stand. The people who lost things they could never recover, and the people who found ways to gain. It will be years before anyone truly understand what the scope of what it means to live in a post-’99 world. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Which is why Seras is kind of relieved that there are still a few Nazis left to shoot. At least that part’s easy.]]
250* The end of ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' was seen as the final death knell for the 2000s-era sprite comics. The fad had been dying out for years, with Screw These Comics, The Primer Chronicles, and more all ending only two or so years prior, but ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' ending was the last nail in the coffin.
251* In ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'', leading up to the climax of Book 4, [[spoiler: Mottom explicitly calls this out as herself and the rest of the Seven, demiurges who each rule a slice of the multiversal Wheel, come to a final battle with their rogue member, Jagganoth.]] [[spoiler: She turns out to be right. Herself and Mammon die shortly after Jagganoth reveals his war form, Solomon David is presumed defeated but his status is unclear, as is Jadis', and Incubus and Gog Agog have both also broken their original pact, fleeing the battle and joining forces with Jagganoth respectively. Only the newest demiurge, Allison, the heir to Conquering King Zoss, seems to be in anything close to fighting form.]]
252* In ''Linburger'', the Cyll were once were the typical [[OurElvesAreDifferent fantasy elves]], with long lives and high class. Unfortunately, some strange, catalclysmic event happened in the distant past, stripping the Cyll of their long lives, and now they live in slums with the other DemiHuman races.
253* In ''Webcomic/{{Yosh}}'', the magic in the world was sealed away in the distant past after the Magi abused it and were beaten down by a unique individual who was completely immune to magic. The story begins in a world that looks much like our own, a few years after some of the sealed magic was released, causing a world-spanning magical event. The results of that event include {{Cat Girl}}s, {{Talking Animal}}s, and FunctionalMagic, among other things.
254[[/folder]]
255
256[[folder:Web Original]]
257* In the Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom timeline ''Literature/AMorePersonalUnion'', the conclusion of the Great War completely alters the course of European history, as [[spoiler:the Hapsburgs lose control of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, while the latter also loses its northern half to Denmark and Poland.]]
258* The first two years of ''Literature/TheQuestportChronicles'' take place in the [[CityOfAdventure millennia-old]] [[FantasyKitchenSink eponymous village]]. Then a [[FromNobodyToNightmare jealous]] [[EvilSorcerer magician]] destroys the village, and the next two years of the Chronicles are concerned with [[TheRemnant the survivors]] searching for a new home.
259* ''WebVideo/URealmsLive'', with the death of the Sun Dragon Phanto, the once peaceful Realm where Elves and High Bears were immortal and could only feel emotional pain ended, and the six Children of the Sun Gods became the source of all the Magic in the Realm, from Light to Dark.
260[[/folder]]
261
262[[folder:Web Videos]]
263* Website/YouTube's discontinuation of the annotation feature was this for ''Webvideo/TheAnnotatedSeries''. Their last season, which was made between march 2017 (the month in which the discontinuation of the feature was annouced) and May 7 of the same year [[ScrewedByTheNetwork (the day said feature was scheduled to be removed)]] was even ''named'' ''"The End of an Era"''. They shall be dearly missed.
264* ''WebVideo/TheBritishRailwayStories'': As the story went on, it started dealing with the looming shadow of modernization and dieselization with increasing severity. The final episode is [[spoiler:of Allen waiting to be scrapped in a siding]].
265* Season 5 of ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' was the last original run of the show before their two-year hiatus and their last year with Maker Studios.
266* Several seasons of ''WebVideo/{{React}}'':
267** Season 3 (2012) was the last year for several first season reactors, namely Emma, Sammie, Athena, and William.
268** Season 4 (2013) was the last year ''Kids React'' featured kids who were born in TheNineties.
269** Season 6 (2015), for major reasons.
270*** It was the last year that a ''Kids React'' episode featured any of the inaugural cast or those who debuted in the first season on it.[[note]]Some graduated to ''Teens'', while others [[PutOnABus just stopped appearing]]. The last Season 1 reactors to remain were Dylan (graduated that very year), the original Morgan (left the show quietly) and Elle (also graduated).[[/note]] [[labelnote: Another note]]2018 could have featured an inaugural ''Kids'' cast on the show had either or both the aforementioned Morgan and Sammie (both the youngest of the original cast) choose to return before turning fourteen that year, but neither did[[/labelnote]]
271*** It was the last year that Creator/TheFineBrothers themselves did the regular hosting for the shows.
272*** Finally, it was the last year for several long-time and prominent reactors ([[TheBusCameBack at least for a while]]) such as the original Morgan (see first note), Riley, the male Shannon, and [[SeriesMascot most notably]] Creator/{{Lia|MarieJohnson}}.[[note]]Marlhy, Cooper, and Krischelle also departed the series that year, but all returned in 2017 along with original cast member Jake who left in 2013[[/note]]
273** The period between late 2014-2017 (specifically the very end of Season 5 to Season 8) saw several of both inaugural and prominent cast members of ''Teens'' either leave the series altogether or graduate to ''Adults''. "Teens React to Music/GreenDay" in particular features Ethan, the last remaining member of the inaugural ''Teens'' cast, do the latter. Several of the departed teens did eventually return for ''Adults'', however.
274** The period of 2017-2018 is where most of the second generation ''Kids'' cast started graduating to ''Teens''.
275** Season 10 (2019) is the last year ''Teens React'' will feature teens who were born in TheNineties.
276* ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'' discusses a lot how internet criticism is one day going to die, but in the end this is seen as cynical nonsense while "we're a family" wins out. However, with the [=#ChangeTheChannel=] scandal in April 2018 revealing the horrific backstage mistreatments of its contributors, many contributors left Channel Awesome and it may signify the end of the era about them being the biggest pool of critics in the internet. The later audio play by Creator/LewisLovhaug, ''AudioPlay/AVoiceFromTheDark'', would serve as the official end of the era as an InternalDeconstruction of the prior films, and an ending wherein while the former producers involved are still friends and will continue their lives, any positive association with Channel Awesome itself and its style is gone and buried.
277* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall''; Linkara's review of ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' is the last to feature cover art done by WebAnimation/DrCrafty, ending a 12 year run as Dr. Crafty moves on to personal projects.
278[[/folder]]
279
280[[folder:Western Animation]]
281* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' could be thought of as a sort of inversion; the Age that ended to become the world seen in the show is actually modern Earth. When the apocalypse happened, it apparently led to the introduction of several new species, magic, and adventure (making it seem the more wondrous of the two). But yet, episodes dealing with the setting's past give it a nostalgic and tragic feel. [[spoiler:The end of one episode set 1000 years in the future reveals that the Candy Kingdom will share this fate.]]
282* The 1967 cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'' (directed by Creator/ChuckJones) was the final animated short that MGM ever distributed.
283* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
284** ''EENE'' is notably the last Western animated series to use traditional cel animation, with the show only switching to digital ink-and-paint after its fourth season.
285** ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow'' on November 8, 2009 was not only the end of the show itself, but also the unofficial end of ''Creator/CartoonNetwork'''s Creator/CartoonCartoons brand. While the network had stopped using the branding for its original productions in 2003, it was the last show to end that had premiered under that label.
286* ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' was the final cartoon left airing out of the lot that Tom Ruegger created for Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation during UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation,[[note]]''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'' premiered five days later, but ended almost a year earlier than ''Histeria!'' did[[/note]]ending a partnership that lasted a decade.
287* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
288** The Martian Manhunter used this term almost verbatim on Lex Luthor in the first season of Justice League, when Lex Luthor is outwitted for the first time by the teamwork of the Justice League, something Superman can't do by himself. This marks the shift of Luthor's grudge from Superman to the entire Justice League, and also the increasing trend of supervillain team-ups since the existence of the Justice League made it tougher for the villains to act alone.
289** The (final) cancellation of ''Justice League Unlimited'' marked the end of the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse that had been a staple of cartoon programming since 1992.
290* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
291** It's made clear in the second season that people are becoming increasingly less connected with the spirit world then they were in [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender the original series]], though the modernization of the setting has led to breakthroughs in technology, such as automobiles, radios, telephones, etc., making it somewhat bittersweet.
292** The second season ends another era, [[spoiler:with the spirit world no longer separated from the human world, and Korra's connection to the past Avatars being severed]]. Quite the change.
293** Season 4 ends with Prince Wu dissolving the Earth Kingdom monarchy after centuries of rule (and misrule) by his family line, giving the people of the Earth Kingdom a real choice in deciding how to govern themselves.
294* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
295** The cartoon ''We're in the Money'' (1933) was the final cartoon from Harman and Ising, as the duo would jump ship to MGM shortly afterwards after a dispute with Leon Schlesinger.
296** ''Puss n' Booty'' (1943), the final Warner Bros. cartoon produced in black-and-white.
297** ''WesternAnimation/BuckarooBugs'' (1944), the final cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger before he sold the studio to Warner Bros.
298** ''To Itch His Own'' (1958), the final cartoon scored by Carl Stalling before his retirement.
299** ''WesternAnimation/TheJetCage'' (1962), the final cartoon produced to have a score by Milt Franklyn ([[DiedDuringProduction he died midway through production]]), with Bill Lava taking over until the series ended.
300** ''WesternAnimation/FalseHare'' (1964), the final golden age WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon, the last one to use the rings in the intro, and the final one completed before the shutdown in 1963.
301** ''Señorella and the Glass Huarache'' (1964) (which, incidentally, came immediately after ''False Hare'') was the final Termite Terrace produced cartoon that aired before it shut down in 1963 (this cartoon was produced before “False Hare”) the rest being made at Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises, Format Films, and Seven Arts.
302** ''WesternAnimation/DaffysDiner'' (1967), the final cartoon produced at Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises.
303** ''WesternAnimation/SeeYaLaterGladiator'' (1968), the final cartoon to have any of the original characters (in this case, Daffy and Speedy).
304** ''WesternAnimation/InjunTrouble1969'', the 1000th Warner Bros. cartoon released, was the very last ''Looney Tunes'' short to be made by the original Warner Bros. studio, symbolically marking the end of the theatrical shorts era for the franchise.
305** ''WesternAnimation/FatherOfTheBird'' (1997), the final cartoon in which any member of the original WB staff had any involvement (in this case, Creator/ChuckJones as producer) and the final ''Looney Tunes'' production to be cel-animated.
306** ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' is the final ''Looney Tunes'' production to have any of the original voice cast (in this case, June Foray reprises her role as Granny).
307* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' marked the end of the Franchise/MyLittlePony franchise being marketed exclusively to young girls, due to the rise of the [[PeripheryDemographic brony fandom]], and this also caused several other merchandise-driven and child-oriented shows to evolve to allow for adults to derive just as much entertainment as kids. While the show is still a bit on the girly side, it's much more gender-neutral than its predecessor generations and still draws insane levels of engagement from its fandom's different age groups.
308** Season 9 has Celestia and Luna abdicate the throne in favor of Twilight Sparkle, thereby ending their time as Equestria's rulers and protectors.
309* In the ''WesternAnimation/PeterPanAndThePirates'' episode [[OriginsIssue "First Encounter"]], Peter said that when he cut off Hook's hand (illustrated by a ScreamDiscretionShot), things in Neverland would never be the same again.
310* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'' and the pilots for ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' and ''WesternAnimation/WhateverHappenedToRobotJones'' were the last cartoons produced under the Creator/HannaBarbera name. By the time the latter two shows went into full production, the Hanna-Barbera name would be mostly retired, and all future Creator/CartoonNetwork shows would be produced under the Cartoon Network Studios name.
311* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
312** Season 5's "Cape Feare" was the last episode by the original Simpsons writing team (e.g. Sam Simon, David Stern, Jeff Martin, Jon Vitti, Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky), most of whom left the show afterwards.
313** Season 5's "Treehouse Of Horror IV" was the last "Treehouse Of Horror" to utilize a FramingDevice.
314** Season 6's "Treehouse Of Horror V" was the last "Treehouse Of Horror" to use the graveyard opening, [[GraveHumor where the tombstones contained amusing messages - such as the names of dead celebrities or cancelled TV shows]]. The THOH V iteration lampshaded this, with a gravestone for "Amusing Tombstones", which was the writers' way of showing that they were tired of coming up with ideas for humorous tombstone messages. It was also the last to open with Marge giving a [[ContentWarning content warning]], parodying ''Film/Frankenstein1931'', until season 29's "Treehouse Of Horror XXIX" and season 31's "Thanksgiving Of Horror"
315** Spoofed in the Season 10 episode "D'oh-in' In The Wind", where a couple of hippies say that the 60s ended the day they sold their VW Bus -- December 31, 1969.
316** Season 10's "Bart the Mother" was the last Simpsons episode to use the production code "#F##" or "#G##", the last episode to feature Creator/PhilHartman (playing Troy [=McClure=], [[InMemoriam and a closing dedication for him]]), and also the last full-length Simpsons episode written by David S. Cohen (his last Simpsons work was the "Treehouse of Horror IX" story "Starship Poopers"), who became executive producer and head writer for ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' and adopted the name "David X. Cohen" there. However, he did later return to write the Season 32 episode "Podcast News."
317** Season 13 (2001-02) was the final full season to be entirely animated with cel animation. Season 14's "Helter Shelter" was the final episode aired to be animated with cels before transitioning to digital ink and paint. Though it wasn't the final cel-animated episode ''produced''; "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", which aired 3 weeks earlier in the season, takes that honor.
318** Season 13's "Treehouse Of Horror XII" is the last WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror episode to officially be titled "''The Simpsons'' Halloween Special".
319** Season 14's "Treehouse Of Horror XIII" was the last to have 3 separate writers, or 3 separate sets of writers, credited for each story, as every subsequent "Treehouse of Horror" episode has only 1 writer credited, until "Treehouse Of Horror XXXIII" 20 years later.
320** The season 18 finale, "You Kent Always Say What You Want" was the final episode to air before the release of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''. Doubles as MilestoneCelebration since it is also the 400th episode of the series.
321** Season 19 (2007-08) was the final full season to air in 4:3 standard definition. Season 20's "Lisa the Drama Queen" was the last episode to air in standard definition and feature the classic opening sequence used since season 2, before switching to high definition and introducing a brand new opening sequence.
322** Season 30's "E My Sports" was the last episode to air before Disney purchased 20th Century Fox.
323* Most of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' takes place during what the Gem Homeworld dubs "Era 2", which begun with Rose Quartz shattering Pink Diamond. [[spoiler:When it was revealed to the Homeworld Gems that [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond herself all along]]]], the episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E26TogetherAlone Together Alone]]" officially marked the beginning of "Era 3".
324* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
325** "Pranks a Lot" was the final pre-movie episode, and therefore the final episode from the original crew.
326** The episode "[=SpongeBob You're Fired=]" symbolically marks the end of ''[=SpongeBob=]'''s AudienceAlienatingEra, as in the next episode, "Lost in Bikini Bottom", Stephen Hillenburg would return as the executive producer of the show.
327** The last episode to air when the series creator Stephen Hillenburg was alive was "Goons On The Moon", as he died from ALS the day after it premiered.
328** The final episode that Hillenburg completely oversaw before his death was "Pineapple RV", [[https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1188891489041936386 according to Vincent Waller]].
329* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'':
330** ''Tot Watchers'' (1958) is the final cartoon during the classic era to be directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. After this, the MGM cartoon studio shut down and the duo founded Creator/HannaBarbera.
331** ''Carmen Get It'' (1962), the final cartoon directed by Creator/GeneDeitch.
332** ''Purr-Chance to Dream'' (1967), the final cartoon produced by Creator/ChuckJones and the final ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon to be released during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation.
333** ''The Karate Guard'' (2005), the final cartoon in which any of the original creators (in this case, Joseph Barbera, as William Hanna had died four years prior) worked on and the final short to be screened in theaters.
334* Creator/TexAvery has a few.
335** ''The Heckling Hare'' (1941), the final ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon he directed and the one that directly contributed to his move to MGM due to a dispute between him and producer Leon Schlesinger. However, it was not the last one to be released; ''WesternAnimation/AllThisAndRabbitStew'' (also from 1941) takes that honor.
336** ''WesternAnimation/{{Cellbound}}'' (1955), the final cartoon he would direct during his time at Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer.
337** Also from 1955, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shhhhhh}}'' was the final cartoon he ever directed (and, by extension, the final cartoon he directed during his brief stint at the Creator/WalterLantz cartoon studio). After this, he underwent a CreatorBreakdown.
338** His final creation before his death was ''WesternAnimation/TheKwickyKoalaShow''. [[DiedDuringProduction He didn't live to see it premiere]].
339* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'':
340** "Thomas & The Missing Christmas Tree", the final episode to be narrated by Ringo Starr in the UK and US dubs.
341** "Mind That Bike", the final episode to be narrated by George Carlin in the US dub.
342** "Faulty Whistles", the final episode to be narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US dub.
343** "Three Cheers for Thomas" ("Hooray for Thomas" in the US dub) is the final episode of the classic series as well as the final episode to feature the original crew.
344** "Wash Behind Your Buffers" was the final episode to exclusively use live-action before switching to a CGI/model hybrid in Season 12. However, "The Great Discovery" is officially the final Thomas production to exclusively use models.
345** "Best Friends" was the final episode to use a live-action model set before switching to CGI exclusively in Season 13. It’s also the final episode of the New Series era.
346** "The Christmas Tree Express" was the final episode to have the involvement of Sharon Miller, to be animated by Nitrogen Studios, to be narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK dub and Michael Branden in the UK dub respectively and of the series’ Seasonal Rot era.
347** "Confused Coaches" was the final episode to be narrated by Mark Moraghan in the UK and US dubs respectively as well as the final episode to have the standard narration format as Thomas himself takes over as the narrator for the series in Season 22.
348** "Thomas' Animal Friends" was the final episode of the original series before the reboot.
349[[/folder]]

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