I think the problem is that most shows the things that attracted you get overplayed to keep you so they get stale. Then there are shows that become such staples and money makers for the network they don't let them end until the stars say enough or they have gotten so bad the audience can no longer tolerate them... like M*A*S*H, All In the Family, the Jeffersons, Cheers, Night Court, Drew Carey, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Friends, Seinfeld, Fresh Prince, Cosby, Hill Street Blues, Knots Landing, Dallas, and the list goes on. Part of this is syndication... the more shows you have the more money you'll make showing the reruns on Nick at nite, tvland, tbs and other places.

Another problem is no matter how bad the show gets there are those who are so used to watching it and love it that they don't want to see it end and fight to keep it alive. There are shows here listed in my post and others that I absolutely loved and hated when they went off and missed.... but watching them in reruns I am like wow, I watched this tripe. And others that bring back fond memories or are still as funny today but you can see why they ended.

I love Monk and would watch it for years to come... but I am also very accepting of the fact and in some ways happy that this coming season will be it's last one. House is the same way (although they haven't announced it's ending and may not be)... although both could change a little and keep going longer... but would that change be something good? I doubt it, for some it would be great only because they love the show no matter what, for others it would be jumping the shark.

There's an old adage that shows, producers and even the viewers would benefit if it were used more often..... leave the audience wanting more.

I don't know about not long enough, I think seven seasons was pretty much perfect. The thing, pun intended, is where do you go from here? I mean she faced off against a god in season five, six was a combo of comedic duo/close ally, and seven was the first evil. What do you do next?

I just wish Angel hadn't been cut off early.

The running of Wolfram and Hart for the last season was a bad idea. Sure, it ended up in an interesting place, eventually... and then they ended with a cliffhanger ending... ugh... honestly, the show was never the same without Doyle.

Ok then...spike should have gotten a show of his own then...Angel got one so should Spike lol lobbing him off as a ghost on Angel wasnt enough for me

It's Tommy Chong man.... Worth every puff! :thumbsup:

Hey...Hey...Hey!!:mad:
Alyson's on that show. She's the only reason that I watch it.

I watched a biography show on The Facts of Life yesterday and realized just how much I missed that show, although not as much as Little House on the Prarie

Hmmm...as corny as that show was...it was good wholesome quality television. Something lacking in todays lineup. 99% garbage. But, even little House, I think, went on for far too long.

The Waltons was another very good, very quality show that went on for far too long.

Twin Peaks.

It blew my mind when it first it aired but should have contained itself to the first season. I remember being so pissed when the finale was revealed as a cliff-hanger.

I think shows overstay their welcome because people would rather keep watching a show that isn't what it used to be than get invested in a new show that the network will just cancel after 4 episodes.

Hot chicks, worst acting ever.

American Idol shouldn't have even done a pilot. Same with Dancing with the Stars.

The ending for Angel bugged me at first but it kind of when with the idea that the fight never ends for him and in that way it worked.

The Real World

The first few seasons were ground breaking: Pedro's death, race issues, all the conflicts - great stuff. It's current iteration is nothing more than purposefully mismatched kids with far too much alcohol and a lack of self-control. Ughh, someone at MTV shoud've pulled the plug on The Real World a long time ago.

I think that the spinoffs of Law & Order were actually much better than the original. A lot of shows should have only been one season shows. Heroes comes to mind. Season 2 was okay until the writer's strike but season 3 sucks so bad.

I would tend to agree that Buffy had run its course. I really like seasons 5 and 6 (though they're far from perfect) but 7 has a lot of problems and feels, from start to finish, like end the of the series. I haven't read the comics at all, so maybe they make something of it, but I don't really care. They were TV shows and they ended as TV shows, as far as I'm concerned. My primary lament about the end of Buffy is how abruptly and pointlessly Spoiler: Anya dies. He also should have kept alive Jonathan in season 7 instead of Andrew. He had way more history with the show and I fucking hated every whiny minute of Andrew.

I cannot disagree more with this. I loved them running W&H, especially after how angsty the end of season 4 got. Jasmine was cool and all, but yeesh. Connor's storyline never really gripped me either. I think the true tragedy of the end of Angel was 1) not getting more Spike and 2) not getting all the intensely creepy and interesting stuff out about Wesley and Fred/Ilyria. The commentary on those episodes gives you some great ideas about where that storyline could have gone and man would it have been cool.

Doyle did exactly what he was supposed to do and while he was a nice flavor character, he was going the same direction as Angel. Replacing him with Wes (and everything that happened with Wes thereafter) made for a much better story. Also, it goes perhaps without saying (if morbidly) that if Doyle had stuck around, he would've made a sudden and unsatisfying exit.

New characters don't always signal the decline of a TV show.

Look at M.A.S.H. - BJ replaced Trapper John - that worked.
Charles replaced Frank Burns - that worked
Colonel Potter replaced Colonel Blake - that worked.

I can agree about E.R., though - it became such a revolving door of characters that it couldn't hold my interest any longer.

Kelly C - you and I would require two separate living rooms - your list includes most of my favorites!
I was wondering when BOR was going to chime in on How I Met Your Mother!

Conversely, it's a shame that Life on Mars never got a chance to develop at all - it was my favorite show (having been a teenager in 1973 probably had something to do with that - loved the music!)

Agreed. After Season 1, I was pumped for Season 2... an excitement that soon turned to confusion and disappointment. The plot holes quickly started piling up as the writers tried to cover up all the super powers they were handing out left and right.

"Ok, so this guy... he has all the powers. All of them."
"Then why doesn't he just clear everything up and end the conflict?"
"Well, uh... he doesn't like to use them... so now he lost them all, problem solved."

I wouldn't say any of them actually "worked". Made the best of the situation sure but BJ is no Trapper, Charles is no Frank and Potter is definetly no Colonel Blake.

Even though it's one of my favorite shows of all time and I've actually seen every episode.

Beverly Hills 90210



How many times can Kelly get shot or hit by a car in one season?

The music was great. I rediscovered some songs that I haven't heard in a long time. I loved this show, and I hated the way they ended it. Oh well.

Well, to each his own, I guess. They were all well-developed, individual characters, IMO.

Funny thing is, the TV series M.A.S.H. would be my answer to a "Have you ever been really, really wrong about something?" thread.

I loved the movie, and when I found out they were bringing it to TV with only one of the actors from the movie (Gary Burghoff), I thought it was one of the worst ideas in television history. Then again, at the time I didn't have the terrible decisions made over the past 35 years to weigh in my decision. In any case, you could say I was very wrong about its chance of success. 251 episodes in 11 seasons? Not too shabby.

Funny - it was a few choice quotes from Barney that drew me into the show, but my surprise at finding a more than just decent supporting cast is what kept me interested. If it weren't for them, I would've grown tired of Barney's over-the-top stuff by now.

I dunno, regarding How I met Your Mother, they seem to have improved the writing per character (never thought that was gonna happen but they WERE just befor 3 and A Half Men which I think is hilarious. - making the best of a few really good comedians. And yeah, goofing on Canadians is kinda sick fun! I found that Barney is kinda perfect, in an imperfect New York story. And he makes me laugh out loud - which is huge for me & TV comedy. Perhaps it's because of all the Barnies I've known in Dallas and San Fransisco! I'm really glad it's still there. Love to watch and eat in front of the TV with them!

The fact that Life on Mars died is a real shame!!! Several of my old high school friends and I loved that (esp. the tunes & characterizations!) and I do feel it needed time to "set" as they say in LaLaLand... i.e. Hollywood.

No wonder everyone's in a huge depression - ever since the writers strike just a very few years ago. God save us from Reality Shows!! Um, or rather "Reality Blows" as we say at my house.

Smallville started to get a bit wacky after the first few seasons, but its actually gotten more interesting. I have a feeling he will never put on superman tights though.

Reality show is a misnomer. There's nothing more fake. However, when a show that connected with its audience like M.A.S.H. left the air, its farewell was heartfelt. That's substantial.

The term 'show' has troubled me for a while now.
I do recognize a few 'american films that would qualify for one of
Mr. Wonkas, golden tickets. ( tickets for what, I won't hazard an inkling of a speculation.)

The most terrible show that overstayed its welcome:
Was the thirteen days my husband's brother, parked his 40 ft. mobile home. uhh, on our lawn.
His wife who clung dearly to her inner scabrous conditions;
would only venture forth from her self sequesterings, if her inner scabrous condition,
cooperated enough to manifest itself on her face, ( the platinum presentation)

When The 'Condition', would appear on her arms, she'd gleefully do a little jig,
roll up her sleeves and prepare for a day of....

I saw her, once in the bathroom. She was using foundation, and a variety of eyeshadow coloring within her lines, to enhance her Condition.

Fuck a bunch of television.
Read a book and let the magic of envisioning inside your brain happen.
This welcome mat is always there for you and me.

Prison Break: Its a 2 season concept.
Smallville: Should have ended after 4 seasons. I mean really, if you found out you can fly, wouldn't you spend every minute of every day trying to fly again?

I have a bit more tolerance for talk shows and sitcoms that go on for a long time, but some dramas need to learn that just because your concept is good, doesn't mean it should be milked until its ratings become poor. Plan a story with a arc set to play out over a set amount of episodes, and be done with it. Then start being creative and invent something new.

For me it's The Office.

They have run out of plotlines and it has become terribly boring.

All reality shows especially those dealing with kids or babies. Why are people so interested in watching other peoples lives I really don't know. The worst has to be Big Brother. Watching people sitting around strategizing (scratches head).

Was it just me, or did anyone else have to force themselves to make it all of the way to the end of the Scrubs finale? I think the writers mailed it in from their retirement villas.
Of course, you could say they've been doing that all season.

I watched the british version of this from start to finish. They only did 2 seasons (of six episodes), wrapped up the story and disappeared. This is the way to do TV - don't worry about next year, just get your whole story done and get out (as someone above said 'leaving the viewer wanting more').

I did enjoy the end of the episode but yes: the entire season was shit. They kept introducing new and new characters!! please stop doing that!
And JD wouldn't leave the hospital like that. I was disappointed with that part.

Blasphemy! Not on the J-Lo part but the ITAS part. It remains one of the most interesting programs on television.

" My Name is Earl" needs to go Bye Bye too. The first 3 or 4 episodes in the very beginning showed a little promise.

But now, E-Gawd! It's lame.

I would nominate American Idol and any of the 45 seasons of Survivor. I feel my IQ dropping just seeing that Justin guy that badly needs a haircut discuss the show.
Perhaps if they did "Survivor: the Ghetto" with a bunch of completely spoiled rich kids it might start to get my interest. Of course last I knew that Richard Hatch?? fellow won.

Heroes? I love the show but damn, it's much like an abusive relationship. Incredibly hot and sexy cast, You know it's going to cocktease you all season long and then just let you down.

Scrubs should have ended after season 5, and the news that they are actually picking it up for next season, probably with those stupid interns, sucks.


But, for me, no show has fallen more precipitously than Breaking Bad. Holly crap, what an awful season finale. It's like for half the season they did everything thinking that the show would end in 2 seasons, and all of the sudden they were extended but didn't know what to do to stretch the plot. That Jane character was a waste, its amazing how the whole cancer thing has become pretty much irrelevant, and they just glossed over some key points of the show.

American Chopper.

Back when they were a small operation and it was just the Teutels, Vinnie, and Rick, it was a fun, creative, and different show. And every bike was unique and representative of its client.

Now with seemingly hundreds of employees, huge new mega-acre showroom, and production bikes, it's just an hour-long commercial about a corporation churning out mediocre products with little individuality. Their custom bikes have become production bikes - there's very little customization done to make the bikes unique because time is money. Although I agree they're a great American success story, I no longer care about the Teutuls - they've been too affected by all the money they've made.

Like most celebrities, they got a lucky break - it's the only thing that distinguishes them from hundreds of other custom bike builders with equal or greater talent who will never enjoy the same success.

How dare you!! This is great hangover material where I get to learn about life lessons. Where else do I learn something absolutely vital to my survival as a moral human in a mere 30 minutes?

---------- Post added at 08:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------

Okay I guess I will be the only person to say this: Lost

Yea I said it, Lost has overstayed its welcome. Bloody good show, but they are really stretching for ideas. They really need to wrap this up in a way that does not just piss people off. After saying this I must also say that I have not started season 5 yet, I am waiting for it to come out on Blu Ray. And yes I will keep watching it until the end, I just hope it gets here someday.

I'm friends with Adamo. I'll pass it on haha.

Strong disagree on that one. Season 3 was a bit low, but now things are coming together. Of course, if you haven't seen 5 yet, you have no idea what is coming. :expressionless: Of course, the ending of Season 6 won't please everyone, but I'm expecting a solid and legit. ending.

Just noticed how absurd law and order: criminal intent has become. Vincent Donofrio's character used to be the lovable weirdo that could get into people's head to decipher what happened, but now he is just a freaking genius that knows everything about everything. I just watched a recent rerun after a few months of not watching any: in a single episode, he was able to identify a typewriter by make and model by looking at a piece of the tape, he was able to identify precisely what type of tile was being used in a construction by seeing a particular type of nail on the floor, and, best of all, he was able to tell that a French guy spoke Chinese by talking to him in English for five minutes, was able to identify that the person spoke Chinese with an accent from a different country by hearing him say the name of a Chinese restaurant, and from that was able to pinpoint the name of the prison the guy was jailed in...

Top Gear - The latest series is just not that good - shame as I love tht show.
Wish Angel had not ended so soon - still ife in that, and also Farscape finished too early.