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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
