# What television series have you given up on recently? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223 "2013-02-13T22:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 14, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/41 "2013-02-14T20:34:40Z")
There are varying degrees of “give up”; as we dumped cable some time back, we have to make a special effort to watch any of the ongoing shows. We can wait some period until they show up on Netflix or Hulu, but those we want to watch in something like realtime mean we have to go to Amazon Video or Vudu. We did quit _Hell on Wheels_ a couple of eps into the second season. Just pointless. Passed on starting the second season of _Boardwalk Empire_ after kind of grinding through the first season. Like HOW, it’s got a great setup and wonderful period feel, but the story just kind of wanders around without point or purpose. I think it’s a bad place to be when, like \*Deadwood \*before it (and I’d like to retroactively have quit watching before season 3) you are neither strictly following history nor completely telling a fresh tale, so every story is caught between limits of reality and series viability. Not sure we’ll make too much effort to pick up _Warehouse 13_ until it’s on one of the bundled services. Went off the rails this last season. And then, of courses, \*Alphas \*quit on us, but I’m not sure I’d have made too much effort to pick up the third season anyway. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/42 "2013-02-14T20:40:11Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Bunheads. Too close to Gilmore Girls. I kind of like when a producer/director has a stable of actors they draw from, so I wasn’t annoyed when Palladino transplanted half of Stars Hollow. But I quit Bunheads because it ran into the same issue I had with GG towards the end - an unlikeable lead character. GG at least had Rory to counteract her mother’s selfishness and immaturity - Sasha is no Rory. My favorite character was Mel, and that wasn’t enough to stick with it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/43 "2013-02-14T21:44:18Z")
I haven’t given up on anything lately, but I’m in a holding pattern on NCIS, Person of Interest, and Falling Skies. I have multiple episodes to watch but just haven’t been interested. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/44 "2013-02-14T22:07:01Z")
I haven’t given up on _Ripper Street_, but they better start doing something imaginative, or different. I’m sure they’re shaking in their boots at the threat, but still… Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/45 "2013-02-14T22:13:02Z")
I gave up on _Once Upon a Time_ at the end of season one. As some one upthread said, the adding in of more and more fairytale characters just grew tiresome. I’ve also given up on _Sons of Anarchy_, the whole murdering drug lords are actually CIA ending to season four(?) was the final straw, especially as it rendered the show’s most interesting antagonist (Lincoln Potter) utterly pointless. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/46 "2013-02-14T22:31:31Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I’ve also given up on _Sons of Anarchy_, the whole murdering drug lords are actually CIA ending to season four(?) was the final straw, especially as it rendered the show’s most interesting antagonist (Lincoln Potter) utterly pointless. Agree, but we keep hanging on. For one thing “Charming” is on top of where Mrs. NitroPress lived for many years and it’s not too far from where I grew up. The details are amusing. But star power aside, someone should have shot Clay about Season 2 and been done with it. I predict the CIA drug lords will protect him in prison and get him out on some BS technicality by episode three of the next season, at which point we’ll probably give up. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/47 "2013-02-15T04:16:19Z")
I realize that I’m a decade or two behind the times with this one, but I’m about to bag _Millennium_. I’m only half way through Season 1, but it’s too dour and depressing, with none of the humor of the X-Files. I also gave up on _Homeland_, _Coppers_ and _Ripper Street_. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/48 "2013-02-15T09:54:39Z")
I think I just set a record. My mom is in her 90’s and half blind, so I call her every night about 7:45 and read the primetime TV listings to her. Tonight, there was a new show called Zero Hour on ABC at 8PM that I literally had no idea existed before I read her the listings, five minutes before it premiered. She said she had seen an ad for it and it sounded interesting. I hung up about 30 seconds before 8PM, and decided to take a look. I had it on for about 90 seconds, saw that it was about Nazis doing something related to Biblical prophecies of the End Times, and switched it off. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/49 "2013-02-15T11:31:45Z")
^There was a funny scene I’ll always remember from “Alien Nation” where the alien family is watching a show debut on Fox and it’s canceled right after the credits. As for Zero Hour, ABC posted it online on January 31 and it’s been free on iTunes as well, so I saw it a while back. I made it thru the entire episode, but I’ve got no plans to watch another. It’s a pretty standard mix of **The Da Vinci Code** and **National Treasure**. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/50 "2013-02-15T11:49:30Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I can’t blame them too much. Do No Harm was [“the lowest-rated, in-season debut of any scripted Big 4 series ever.”](http://tvline.com/2013/02/01/ratings-big-bang-beats-american-idol-do-no-harm-failure/) Then the ratings went lower in the second episode. IMO it’s normal for a show to need a few episodes to get into its groove and FIND an audience. I don’t recall much in the way of promotion for this show, and two episodes is not really enough time for word-of-mouth to kick in. It won’t be possible to convince me that two episodes is anywhere near a fair chance for ANY show. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/51 "2013-02-15T12:14:01Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > IMO it’s normal for a show to need a few episodes to get into its groove and FIND an audience. Not anymore. Anyone releasing a new scripted show in the last decade or so knows they’ve got to come strong out the gate or they’re dead. It sucks, but that’s the way it is. What’s worse is the networks refuse to acknowledge that their quick-kill policy is self-destructive - lots of people don’t bother with new shows because they don’t want stranded mid-story if it’s canceled. They don’t want to hear about how shows like **Seinfeld** and **Cheers** took a while to find their audience. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/52 "2013-02-15T12:28:09Z")
I guess I gave up on _Dexter_ and _Burn Notice_, after watching both of them for several seasons. The funny thing is that I don’t recall noticing a decline in quality of either show, nor do I recall deciding that I wouldn’t watch them any more. I just stopped watching them for some reason, and I don’t have much interest in starting again. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/53 "2013-02-15T12:37:16Z")
I gave up on The Last Resort shortly before it was announced that it was cancelled. I gave up on The Walking Dead after the first couple episodes of this season for the same reason as the OP: too relentlessly depressing and hopeless. I have no desire to get attached to characters just to see them tortured and killed. I am thisclose to giving up on the Following for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/54 "2013-02-15T13:36:00Z")
American Idol. I actually gave up on it last year. This year, I haven’t heard or read a single thing about it, the new judges - nothing! (though I haven’t looked very hard.) The Americans. I was all intrigued to see this, reading good previews. Some bad things about it just turned me right off, and the good things weren’t enough to make it balance out. I’ve almost forgotten about Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday nights. I caught it last night and it was hardly worth watching, so I guess there’s a reason. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/55 "2013-02-15T14:51:11Z")
American networks can’t find the happy medium. A new show is either cancelled before it can build an audience or it gets the big audience and the show is dragged out long past its prime. It’s easier to run a good idea into a rut than to come up with a new idea. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/56 "2013-02-15T15:09:55Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > _The Middle._ I’m pretty desperate to find a third sitcom to watch each week—but not that desperate. This. It finally dawned on me that I didn’t care what happened to any of the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/57 "2013-02-15T16:15:17Z")
Add another vote for **The Following**. And **Glee**. When I realized I still had all the episode from this season on my DVR and I hadn’t had any urge to watch them, I just deleted them all and I don’t even care. ---
**Author:** ![Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver_of_Nightmares)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/58 "2013-02-16T19:43:00Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Also, I have a fairly good track record at avoiding drek, though some might disagree since I did watch all five seasons of _ **Leverage** _. 😛 Piffle. Leverage was a fun show, and I’m sad to see it’s gone. I gave up on White Collar. Once S4 came back from its break I realised I didn’t care anymore about it. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/59 "2013-02-16T20:01:13Z")
Not watching a show for fear of being left hanging is the Firefly Effect. (someone please add TvTropes link) ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223/60 "2013-02-17T14:15:40Z")
I give up on a show when I see that my Tivo has recorded another episode and my reaction is, damn, I don’t want to watch that! Glee The Last Resort (maybe that’s why it got cancelled) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-television-series-have-you-given-up-on-recently/650223.md?page=4)