Supernatural, season 14. Completely scattered, confused and sometimes downright cheesy. I LOVE this show and can forgive the odd "clunker." It's been on for 14, going on 15, years; they can't all be gems. But this past season....yeesh. I hope they can pull it all together for this last season.
IIRC, most of the changes for the second season (Buck being more serious, the exploration mission of the Searcher, etc.) were Gerard's idea. And I'll put S2's "Testimony of a Traitor" (where Buck is brought up on charges of high treason for supposedly causing World War III) as one of the best of the entire series.
I loved Seasons 9/10. Probably because I always found O'Niel to be the least interesting character, I was fine seeing him leave and Bowder/Black added much needed fresh blood to the show. Sure, the Ori weren't the greatest villains, but they were something different, and by Season 9 the show needed new stuff. Anyway, as for my own opinion of Worst Seasons of good shows (off the top of my head: The Flash Season 4: Horrible villain, horrible new characters, worthless plot points and the removal of some great characters (I'll never forgive them for what they did to harry). Star Trek TNG Season 1: Do I even have to say anything? Some of the worst episodes of TNG were in this season (along with probably the most racist episode in the entire franchise). Farscape season 4: I have weird thoughts on Farscape. I enjoy Season 1 and LOVE season 3, but I barely tolerate Season 2 and hate Season 4 so much that I never finished it (the show completely dies once...well, to avoid spoilers I'll just say once John's journey is completed, the show hits a wall and just dies a painful death). Doctor Who Series 11: A good actress playing a incarnation of The Doctor who had so much potential, but literally all the episodes are basically the most bland, boring writing in the entire franchise. There have been seasons with much lower "lows", but this season had absolutely no "highs", and being boring and forgettable can be worse then being extremely bad in my opinion. Xena Warrior Princess Season 4: Of the 22 episodes in this season, there are literally only 2 that I like. Season 5 isn't great, but it has a handful of good episodes. I haven't bothered with Season 6, but I doubt it could be as bad as Season 4. After liking to loving the first three seasons of Xena, it was honestly shocking to see how bad Season 4 was.
Overall the season four change to a one-hour format was not good for The Twilight Zone. There are some decent episodes but most of them feel poorly-paced and padded. Going back to a half hour for the next season was a good decision.
Sweet. I heard the rumor somewhere he was happier but also read he was unhappy. I wonder if he liked the Space Vampire episode as it's a camp-free retelling of a Dracula-like tale and not too badly done, apart from some questionable makeup. Erin carried the show as well... I dunno, I've seen both seasons and largely prefer the more intellectual nature of the 2nd season. The one where time changes and they go through horrific scenes was really well done. As was the one where a mysterious ailment turns Buck into an animal. VHS tape lifespan aside, Testimony of a Traitor is top notch. The series finale where the big reveal is how everyone looks the same is really creepy and in a good way. And Time of the Hawk is still exceptional as an opener. I only recall three subpar stories (the one with the gold kid, the one with Mark Lenard popping off his head (it's a bit of a gimmick given the show's new format), and Scorxyxllkklef or whatever it was called with the dwarves that just wanted to telepathically undress Colonel Deering, which was trying to feel like a lighthearted season 1 episode after everyone doped acid or something...) If anything, Buck's hair is bad, Wilma is needlessly relegated, the new outfits (white/pale blue) are more worthy of tennis team outfits, Twiki's new voice is so abysmal is it's nice to get Mel Blanc back (too late in the season's run, sadly), Admiral Asimov is a bit heavyhanded (yet charming in its own way, that a sci-fi author's lineage would pursue real life outer space)... but Chrichton is hysterical. I know I'm one of the 4 people in the world who likes the robot...
"The Critic" - season 2 stinks. It's sad that ABC nixed the show after season 1 due to claims of it being outrageous (it was tame compared to "Roseanne"), so FOX scoops it up as they were riding on being the ribald bawdy network. What do they do with it? They managed to make it tame and ditching the edge that made the ABC version actually funny. "Doctor Who" (1963) - Seasons 17 and 24. 17 is just vapid pointless comedy that falls flat no matter what the subject material is, making 'City of Death' feel out of place to the rest of the season. 22 is imperfect but is written off by many just because it's "JNT" or "80s". Post-hiatus, season 23 was amazingly lackluster but wasn't a total self-parody with undeservedly small budget either. Season 24 was, and ahead of its time in some regards. Seasons 25 and 26 turned things around given such limitations of time, money, recording medium quality, and episode count (look at the extended edition DVD cuts and those stories are chock full of content that puts the plot together much nicer), but it was too late. What's been said of season 27 for 1990 wasn't promising either but some of that could be retroactively induced and not put there at the time. "Doctor Who" (2005) - Series 11. All the makings are there and a couple episodes are very good despite a couple erratic moments, but the end result is so inconsistent between episodes that it feels like a po-faced self-parody with undeservedly big budget as if the visuals somehow make up for narrative nitpicks. In terms of exploring the new gender, being friends but then doing a 180 for no reason, ditto for wielding weapons, and lame cop-outs with the sonic screwdriver that set a new low after the embarrassing contrivances used for "The End of Time"... characters clearly shoehorned in without any finesse to make them feel integral or at least authentic... Jodie and crew are stuck with a bunch of rough drafts and if there was an ensemble writers' room, it doesn't show. Jodie's done wonders in other shows and, as with Eccleston in 2005, having to do much with silliness in their dialogue that are forced and unbecoming of their Doctor personas. Series 4, the 2009 specials, 6, and 7 also qualify. TNG - seasons 5 and 6. Never cared for the tonal change, which became too one-sided, contrived, and preachy. Even the episodes that had a good message or one could even agree with, just ended up being presented too contrived to believe. I'm still amazed season 7 tried a turnaround back to the explorative and arcane mystery season 2 was blessed with but the sledgehammer was still there. TOS - none if one really digs in enough. Season 3 is excessively criticized due to elements outside Freiberger's ability to control and as his era produced the classics like: * The Enterprise Incident * Is There in Truth No Beauty * Day of the Dove * for the world is hollow and i touched the sky * The Tholian Web * Plato's Stepchildren (kudos to Shatner and Nimoy playing it straight, roll with the story and telekinetic control of another's mind is truly horrifying) * Wink of an Eye * Let that be your last Battlefield * Requiem for Methuseleh * All Our Yesterdays (despite a glaring plot point with Spock's devolving, with an easy fix had McCoy and Kirk succumbed the same way somewhat after Spock started to fall - hence another need for Atavocron processing, but it's neither here nor there now) and arguably others to varying degrees but as much as I'd write a sleep-inducing book about season 3's stories and what's good and bad, I was aiming at B+ or higher episodes -- I'd ultimately opine that season 3 isn't a plummet in quality the way other shows bounced around... he was saddled with budget reduction and Friday night "We know the intended demographic is covertly copulating at some hilltop drive-in theater with the convertible's hood down, whoops" time slot being the real cause of the show's demise, but later reports showed the demographics were there and the network didn't realize it - if they had, season 3 would be in a better time slot, same budget, same producer... sci-fi was not popular back then, in part due to the cost of making new props all the time. Unless you're on the Jupiter II, go figure... He also wrote a halfway decent episode of "All in the Family" and prevented "Space 1999" from being axed. Now S1999 is where he deserves some flak, but he had the right ideas. Story execution of said ideas... completely incomparable compared to season 3.
Were the Ori actually different though? They were the gu’ald with a new paint job and the power level raised another 9000.
The thing that made the Ori interesting or at least different from the Goa'uld was that they kind of were gods. I mean how do you define a god? By most definitions they must come pretty close. However, the story didn't really use that dilemma at all and just made it another 'Hunt the maguffin to defeat the evil alien' arc. And the thing about them gaining literal energy from being worshipped was just silly. Having said that, there was plenty I did like in the last two seasons of SG1, mostly the B plots about the Jaffa and Ba'al, and the Arthurian elements. Other shows with a weak season? Angel, its fourth season is just cringe on a cracker. Season 3 of Orange is the New Black got too caught up in its own hype and the formally interesting and clever prisoner characters' dialogue started sounding like tweets from Guardian columnists. Luckily it regained it's nuance for season 4.
@kirk55555 you’re doing yourself a disservice by not watching season 6 of Xena. It has some great episodes and a fantastic trilogy arc. However I don’t recommend watching the series finale. It’s awful! For me the first season is the worst. I find it kind of boring.
I can't exactly pinpoint when this happened, but Murdoch Mysteries. It had always been a fairly whimsical mystery show, but over time they decided the show needed to be darker. It might have started with season 10. They still have whimsical episodes from time to time, but later seasons seem to have shifted to being darker, a bit bloodier and gruesome. One of the Christmas specials even involved a monster (Krampus or some such) and on first viewing, I was turned off by it as I felt it didn't mix with what I'd been wanting out of the series.
Well, as possibly the only fan of Joxer, I refuse to watch a season where he is gone but Eve is around stinking up the whole thing. Also, I LOATHE the Christian based stuff that pretty much ruined the show in season 4, and so a season with no Joxer, a lot of Eve and the return of a focus on the Christian analog stuff is not a season I'd ever watch. I prefer to consider Season 5's Antony and Cleopatra as the series finale, since that is the last episode that represented a version of Xena that i liked (although Season 5 overall is a really, really weak season, and that episode is mediocre, immediately after it the show just becomes unwatchable for me).
You are definitely not alone in the Joxer fan club. I love him! He’s such a nice guy and a devoted friend. He’s featured in two episodes of season 6 if you’re curious. I also hate Livia/Eve and thankfully she’s only it in for 7 episodes.
Glad I’m not the only one who disliked Good Fight. Went from being one of my favourites to a show I’m not even watching. I’d say Game of Thrones would go on there. Also season of The Simpson’s since 10.
Oh, final season of Netflix version's of House of Cards. It was already declining by season 4, but final season was an absolutely horrible audience-insulting fiasco. It shouldn't have even been made. It felt as though the showrunners were flipping the audience the middle finger for sticking through it to the end. And that ending! Ugh!
I always liked Buck and Wilma working together. I disliked Col. Wilma Deering being turned into just a member of the Searcher crew without the authority that she had at the Earth Defense Directorate. I think that season 2 would have been better without Admiral Asimov and with Colonel Wilma Deering being the captain of the Searcher.
I truly think the '80s audience would have liked that dynamic of Wilma commanding the Searcher with Buck as her first officer. The 1979 movie and season one established Colonel Wilma Deering as commander of the Earth's forces, so a female captain of the Searcher would be a natural progression from season one.
Agreed. And sadly they never quite got the mojo back after Harmon returned in S5, as by that time, the actors started to leave. Truthfully, only the first season B&W episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. really work for me, probably because of showrunner Norman Felton. After that, it just got too campy for me. I liked the tongue-in-cheek quality the first season had. Yes, I came into this thread specifically to mention the last season of Quantum Leap. Pretty much nothing they tried in that season worked, from the leaping into famous people, to the idiotic Evil Leaper storylines (too much like what you'd find on the Saturday morning cartoon version of QL, IMO), and worst of all, an episode where the show broke its own rules of Sam only leaping into his own lifetime by having Sam leap into an ancestor during the Civil War because they were genetically similar or something. I was so annoyed with them doing that that I refused to watch the episode. I liked the episodes where the serial killer escaped in the present and the finale, but honestly, considering its declining quality, I wasn't too sorry that Quantum Leap didn't come back for another season after that.