# TV Series That Spun Off The Rails **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2016, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819 "2016-05-15T04:13:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/61 "2016-05-16T04:52:35Z")
> [@btcg](#): > > Opinion? What of fact? > > Just watched it… and you could see they cut the budget: Klingon’s no longer needed makeup; just let em look like everyone else. The writing too: Klingon’s can now impersonate humans: it takes reading their body temperature to tell them from humans. And it took the entire episode (and even eluded the mastermind Vulcan) that they could lock on every tribble and beam them off simultaneously. > > But hey, it was great work, eh? Yes, it was. And I mean that quite seriously. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/62 "2016-05-16T05:01:10Z")
> [@Santos\_L\_Halper](#): > > Have you watched ‘Errand of Mercy’, the episode from season one that showed Klingons for the first time? > > Screen cap below. Is that the expensive makeup you’re referring to? > > [http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/c/c1/Klingon\_invasion\_of\_Organia.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081224105027&path-prefix=en](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/c/c1/Klingon_invasion_of_Organia.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081224105027&path-prefix=en) The main reason the Klingons looked different in The Motion Picture and in TNG and later was because they indeed had the budget to make them look more alien. And other than main characters such as Worf, Gowron, or Martok, they still used generic masks instead of individual makeup for background Klingon characters. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/63 "2016-05-16T05:10:29Z")
> [@btcg](#): > > From 1965, they lost an entire place. Looks like droves to me. Oh come on, from the previous year they gained 2 places. If you want your opinion to be taken seriously you can’t make such ridiculous reaches. If you’re doing your Baghdad Bob impression though, spot on! I would be interested in any other shows you hate though. We seem to have completely opposite tastes in television and I am looking for some new shows to watch. So, what else do you hate? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/64 "2016-05-16T06:10:54Z")
**Glee.** The show started out as a cynical parody of earnest ‘message of the week’ shows, and became the thing it was parodying. **Supernatural** went off the rails for a few years after season 5, carried primarily by the charisma of the cast. A new showrunner turned out to badly misunderstand the show, and after a few seasons of mediocrity the original showrunner came back and the show has been getting its mojo back. ---
**Author:** ![12mgdaily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/f08c70/32.png) [@12mgdaily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/12mgdaily)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/65 "2016-05-16T07:26:22Z")
I love Lucy ran for years with a program about a middle class couple living in a New York apartment and the comedic events surrounding them and their best friends/landlords. The show went ‘off the tracks’ when nearly every episode began casting a major celebrity as a guest star… Eve Arden, William Holden, Hedda Hopper, Cornel Wilde, Rock Hudson, Harpo Marx, Van Johnson, Richard Widmark, John Wayne, Charles Boyer, Orson Welles, and Bob Hope. For me, this is when the show lost it’s charm. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/66 "2016-05-16T08:48:27Z")
Hannibal (the tv series), season one was excellent, but by the end of season three, when it was cancelled, it was a confused mess. It was a shame because the casting was excellent, they just lost the plot by the end. The same is also true of Dexter, but this at least had 5 or 6 good seasons before jumping the shark. Battlestar Galactica (both the original and the reboot, don’t even mention Galactica 1980). Doctor Who (original series) by the end of the 1980’s there were some ridiculous moments, anyone remember the Candyman? A villain made of sugar.:rolleyes: ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/67 "2016-05-16T12:47:43Z")
CSI Vegas flirted with this a couple times, but they always bounced back. Every season or three they would have some episodes that were just weird for weirdsake. Clown killers, furry convention killers, weird sex things…and just when it seems like they were trying for shock, they would throw in some kickass serial killer to make it all right again. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/68 "2016-05-16T13:17:05Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > … > > I’ll go with **Farscape** – a perfect space opera that became just plain goofy in the final season, with a silly plot and the “instant Crichton – just add water” cliffhanger. Purely my personal opinion but I enjoyed **Farscape** from beginning to end however I would call the first season the weakest since it contained, for me, the two biggest errors. Firstly an episode where the bad guy was apparently a purely supernatural wizard - using actual magic as opposed to advanced technology indistinguishable from magic. So a fantasy episode rather than the usual science fiction. Secondly the episode which revolved around needing to forcibly amputate one of Pilot’s arms. While the conclusion of the episode partially justified things by revealing Pilot could grow limbs back it didn’t really explain why Zhaan enthusiastically joined in the violent assault on Pilot - Although memory could be failing me here. I recall Zhaan had a ‘dark side’ however at the time the episode jarred. So for me it got better and better. Until… Unlike many, I was really disappointed with the much later Peacekeeper Wars TV Movies which I felt really stank. To me they looked like what they were - The plot ideas for a complete but aborted 20 episode season compressed into two movie length episodes while, again this is only me, much of the rapport between the characters / actors had gone stale. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/69 "2016-05-16T13:26:25Z")
M_A_S\*H went from being a black comedy about war based on an excellent book and movie to being Alan Alda’s little anti-war crusade. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/70 "2016-05-16T13:44:48Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > M_A_S\*H went from being a black comedy about war based on an excellent book and movie to being Alan Alda’s little anti-war crusade. Hornberger (Hooker)'s book \*was \*an anti-war crusade. His sequels became stupid sitcoms on paper. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/71 "2016-05-16T14:09:52Z")
One of the most magnificent shark jumps ever, IMHO, was the “Paintball Assassin” episode of _Community_. When they went back to that well, it just wasn’t as tasty, in my opinion. Then they amped up Abed’s - well, personality - and then…(shudder)…Chevy Chase… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/72 "2016-05-16T16:54:44Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Doctor Who (original series) by the end of the 1980’s there were some ridiculous moments, anyone remember the Candyman? A villain made of sugar.:rolleyes: One of the best episodes of the series; the show was definitely declining at that point, but “The Happiness Patrol” (with Helen A, one of the show’s best villains) and “Paradise Towers” and to some degree “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” were oases of light that made the show refreshing to watch. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/73 "2016-05-16T18:59:54Z")
There are a number of pages at TV Tropes dedicated to this topic but I don’t have time to list all of them. Instead, [here’s a relevant article from Cracked.](http://www.cracked.com/article/242_6-tv-shows-that-completely-lost-their-shit/) ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/74 "2016-05-16T19:35:25Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Anything produced by JJ Abrams that last longer than a couple seasons… famously Lost- but the one perfect example of “off the rails” is without a doubt Alias. > > Alias started as a regular spy show with Jennifer Garner trying to uncover your standard TV conspiracy- it ended up as a glorious fever dream involving magic numbers, ancient technology and most characters changing sides from good to evil to good to evil again sometimes in the same episode. Oh? I stopped watching Alias after a few episodes, this makes it sound much more interesting. I apparently have “bad” taste in TV though, because I’m really digging the plot arc in Person of Interest when everybody I knew hates it because of that arc. J.J Abrams, yeah, I bailed out on Fringe before Season 1 ended (I missed a few episodes I think and the multiple universe thing threw me), so I was watching it again and got to the whole “Future thing” and just seemed like it went way off the rails. I couldn’t even understand how he had Future self’s memory. More of the treatment they did to what’s her name on the other Earth? Anyway, another one that went way off the rails, though I also enjoyed, was Dollhouse. The shift to the Future was a bit jarring at first, but it was such an enjoyable show that it didn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/75 "2016-05-16T20:05:41Z")
> [@12mgdaily](#): > > I love Lucy ran for years with a program about a middle class couple living in a New York apartment and the comedic events surrounding them and their best friends/landlords. The show went ‘off the tracks’ when nearly every episode began casting a major celebrity as a guest star… Eve Arden, William Holden, Hedda Hopper, Cornel Wilde, Rock Hudson, Harpo Marx, Van Johnson, Richard Widmark, John Wayne, Charles Boyer, Orson Welles, and Bob Hope. For me, this is when the show lost it’s charm. Ricky was a celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/76 "2016-05-16T20:09:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > One of the best episodes of the series; the show was definitely declining at that point, but “The Happiness Patrol” (with Helen A, one of the show’s best villains) and “Paradise Towers” and to some degree “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” were oases of light that made the show refreshing to watch. Not to mention the best line ever uttered in Doctor Who history was from that episode: [QUOTE=The Candyman] Impolite guests feel the back side of my candy hand! [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![dizzee\_dee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@dizzee\_dee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dizzee_dee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/77 "2016-05-16T20:15:16Z")
> [@btcg](#): > > At one point, she was ‘coming out’ every week to somebody. When the week came that she came out to her plumber… I think the show met this thread’s criterion. I was a big Ellen fan. Following her from her stand up days to tv. There was a stretch where everything was about her sexuality, and she just wasn’t funny. I stopped watching then. But I think she has found her groove again with her talk show and I am happy to see it. She is a gifted comedian. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/78 "2016-05-16T20:18:56Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Battlestar Galactica (both the original and the reboot, don’t even mention Galactica 1980). Strangely enough, the final episode of _Galactica 1980_, “The Return of Starbuck”, was one of the best episodes in the entire franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/79 "2016-05-16T20:22:07Z")
I really used to enjoy _SVU: Special Victim Unit_ until it became about the female characters’ personal woes. I used to watch the show for the fast-paced plots and it jumped the shark for me when it became about the detectives (Olivia, especially) and their oh-so-serious-issue-of-the-week. Come to think about it, I usually quit watching crime shows when they become character- rather than “crime of the week” driven. _The Wire_ has been one of the few exceptions that interested me in the characters’ lives outside of work. Ditto for _X-Files_ in the later seasons: I liked the Monster-of-the-Week, not Scully’s and Fox’s stupid personal drama. ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819/80 "2016-05-16T21:11:17Z")
I figured that this thread was inspired by Castle. Shocked that nobody has mentioned it. Went from hit show to cancelled in one stupid season. Where to start? Beckett leaving Castle without telling him why? The season opener with seven or eight bodies and Beckett sewing up a gunshot wound with needle and thread in a dry cleaner? Adding Haley? Vikram? Firing Penny Gerald? Firing Tamala Jones? Firing Stana Katic? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-spun-off-the-rails/754819.md?page=5)