# Shows that need to stop beating the old horse and put her out to pasture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660 "2011-07-28T19:44:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/41 "2011-07-29T08:49:29Z")
Fox completely dropped the ball with Firefly. Episodes shown out of order, bad promo, changing the broadcast slot or preempting with with other events. It never got a chance to get its legs. Oh, and Out of Gas is the best episode. Rescue Me was great for about a two thirds of a season. Complete and utter trash in season two when I stopped watching it. Wife and I liked Desparate Housewives for about two seasons, and we stopped after season 3. I watched season 1 of Lost, Heroes, and 24. To this day I can not figure out why they were so popular. I found them horribly boring. I’m sick of watching TV shows that always promise ‘you won’t believe the super-duper surprise ending that will keep you on the edge of your seat’ that will likely be blindingly obvious, but either way just means that the previous 42 minutes of the show were pointless. The Wire, West Wing, Firefly - these shows didn’t need fake ‘surprises’ or bizarre head-fakes to keep you watching - they kept you watching because they were good. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/42 "2011-07-29T14:39:17Z")
**The Apprenctice** , which should have had a stake driven through both it and it’s creator’s hearts many years ago. **Celebrity Apprentice** should have been aborted with a knitting needle before it ever saw light of day. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/43 "2011-07-29T15:45:36Z")
Agree with **30 Rock**. The first season was great because Liz Lemon was the sane center surrounded by a hurricane of crazy. Sure, she felt unlucky in love and had some quirks, but she was relatively normal and likeable. But in subsequent seasons, she morphed into the most pathetic character on the show. I love Tina Fey and it’s great that she can make herself the butt of a joke, but the change in Liz Lemon after the first season really degraded the show, IMO. **The Office** has pretty much run its course, though they still come up with some great stuff occasionally. And I’m interested to see what happens this season without Michael. I still watch **Survivor** and enjoy it, but they could have ended years ago and I wouldn’t have been upset. **Top Chef** and **Project Runway** , too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/44 "2011-07-29T16:40:54Z")
**Man vs Food** : you’re a pig; we get it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/45 "2011-07-29T16:42:59Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Doctor Who has been going since 1963. They are on the eleventh person to play The Doctor. What happen din 2005 was not a reboot, it was a relaunch. It continued with the, err, continuity. Well, yes, although the feel of it is substantially different. I went back and watched a bunch of the old episodes. Regardless, as I was saying, I think most series pass their sell-by date around Seasons 5 or 6, and was demonstrating why I don’t think Doctor Who fits this. I could be wrong, though. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/46 "2011-07-29T17:42:08Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > **Burn Notice** - Miami is a big city, but even so, how many times can Michael realistically go undercover and infiltrate a criminal gang before he becomes recognized? How many times can he talk in an accent or strange speech pattern, befriend a paranoid crime boss, convince said crime boss to trust him, and then screw him over in the interest of the good guys at the last minute before one of the plans fails and said guy just says “Waste him”? (True, Michael’s in good shape and can take care of himself in a fight, but his house is not bazooka proof and he has to sleep sometime.) But, uh, that happens all the time. The plans go awry more often than not, and he’s forced to improvise. His house (and his mom’s house) (and his car) have been blown up more than once. I think Burn Notice has done an amazing job keeping it fresh, despite the limited nature of the premise. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/47 "2011-07-29T17:52:39Z")
I dunno. I love Burn Notice, but really, Jeffrey Donovan couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. He has no range, and when he has to adopt one of his disguises, it’s always painful to watch. I’ve been able to forgive him for it thus far, because the show’s chemistry works so well (apart from Scrappy Doo…I mean, Jesse). But it’s getting pretty threadbare. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/48 "2011-07-29T23:14:25Z")
_Hell’s Kitchen_. No one in the last 5 seasons or so should be allowed anywhere near a kitchen or sharp objects. Add to that each show is totally predictable. Every challange will end up a dead heat tie, coming down to the last people. He won’t dump the person with the most drama, until the last possible episode. The men’s team starts out sucking then bonds after 2-3 guys get cut, while the women’s team self-destructs from in-fighting until the teams merge. In the finale, one person will get hosed because the losers brought in for the brigade sabotage them intentionally or through incompetance. either really mix it up or kill it. We have seen this one already. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/49 "2011-07-29T23:25:01Z")
Dirty Jobs aren’t so much dirty any more as much as ‘oddball jobs that don’t involve sitting in a cubicle staring into a computer screen all day but still need to be done by someone’. I thought Dirty Jobs hit the high point when Mike was sent to the diaper laundry, and to the day care center to procure a sample for a lab. All that’s left is ‘Mike goes to a strip club and a massage parlor for this week’s dirty jobs.’ As a worker, not a customer, lol! ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/50 "2011-07-29T23:45:24Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > **Pawn Stars**. Still interesting, but I can’t get past the obvious and insulting “Subway” vignettes. What’s a subway vignette? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/51 "2011-07-29T23:50:25Z")
The rather blatant product placements on the show for Subway. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/52 "2011-07-29T23:57:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The rather blatant product placements on the show for Subway. Okay. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/53 "2011-07-30T00:05:58Z")
**2 and a Half Men** should have stopped long before it became 3 Whiny, Pathetic Men. \*\*Dexter **should end the run soon. \*\* The Office** is a shell of its former self. **American Idol** needs to go to a biannual or triannual format in order to draw some interest. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/54 "2011-07-30T00:18:27Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I dunno. I love Burn Notice, but really, Jeffrey Donovan couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. He has no range, and when he has to adopt one of his disguises, it’s always painful to watch. I’ve been able to forgive him for it thus far, because the show’s chemistry works so well (apart from Scrappy Doo…I mean, Jesse). But it’s getting pretty threadbare. It’s the Sam Axe and Maddie Westen show. That said, Anwar is so bad that Donovan looks good in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/55 "2011-07-30T00:25:41Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, yes, although the feel of it is substantially different. I went back and watched a bunch of the old episodes. And Tom Baker’s shows feel different to William Hartnell’s. The show has always changed and adapted. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/56 "2011-07-30T02:41:09Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > What’s a subway vignette? 😕 Five bucks if you want the foot long. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/57 "2011-07-31T03:59:47Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > Isn’t **The Simpsons** the poster child for this thread? That and SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/58 "2011-07-31T23:54:03Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m talking about shows that perhaps haven’t jumped the shark necessarily but they’re just old and need to be put out to pasture. They were once goog but now they’ve done all they can and it’s going to end badly if they keep going on. > > Two for me: > > **30 Rock** - I used to love it but now every episode is pretty much the same: everybody’s wacky wacky wacky and it’s all driven by their already well set and defined personalities. Tracy says something that is obviously nuts, Jack says something that is obviously ultra conservative, Liz says something that is clueless, Kenneth says something about his southern gothic upbringing, Jenna says something amazingly shallow and neurotic, and every character is completely utterly self absorbed. There’s just really no place to go with it, and if they decide to get Liz and or Jenna pregnant that would make it worse, not better. (Few shows were ever improved by a character’s pregnancy.) > > **Burn Notice** - Miami is a big city, but even so, how many times can Michael realistically go undercover and infiltrate a criminal gang before he becomes recognized? How many times can he talk in an accent or strange speech pattern, befriend a paranoid crime boss, convince said crime boss to trust him, and then screw him over in the interest of the good guys at the last minute before one of the plans fails and said guy just says “Waste him”? (True, Michael’s in good shape and can take care of himself in a fight, but his house is not bazooka proof and he has to sleep sometime.) > Again, just… bow out now, you had a good run, you made a lot of money for everybody involved. I have trouble keeping interest in episodes now, let’s end it before it gets really embarrassing. > > Any shows you’d add? I’m English,been there, what a shit hole ! Been to Miami beach, very average. Las Vegas is quite exceptional, as is Orlando. But the the non tourist parts of O are equally “third world” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/59 "2011-08-01T01:09:12Z")
There aren’t that many shows I watch that I’d be heartbroken if they ended soon, and True Blood, Bones, and Supernatural are the only ones who have been on for 4 or more seasons that _would_ tear me up to see leave. So… Desperate Housewives Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice (they should have axed this and saved Off the Map) House Dexter Chuck One Tree Hill All of them can wrap up this season and, unless they strongly returned to form, I wouldn’t make a peep of complaint. I could probably let go of Gossip Girl and CSI without much angst as well. I’d love to see the networks put an end to a lot of the network reality shows too (or, even better, create a cable channel just for them, so people who like that sort of thing would have a central place to watch people sing/dance, be jerks, and pretend to be in survival situations), but mostly because it’d make more room for scripted shows if the irritatingly long fad ended. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660/60 "2011-08-01T01:11:35Z")
I would hesitate to put The Simpsons on this list. There is a difference between running out of ideas because you’ve been on for 20 years, and using the same tired formula for every episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-to-stop-beating-the-old-horse-and-put-her-out-to-pasture/590660.md?page=4)