TV renewals that were a disaster

[cultcross]

I'm going to pre-emptively say Glee. Even the second half of the first season has been... meh. It's going to take something impressive to resurrect that show for a full second season. A shame, because I loved the first dozen episodes or so.

House, around the end of season 3. Before it just became 'how close to mental breakdown is House this week?'

SG-1, end of season 8; it should have bowed out with its story complete.

 

[Sparky]

I remember the last episode of ER I watched was the one where they killed Romano It was painful to watch.

Funny, this is the last episode I watched as well. I thought "They dropped a helicopter on him? That's it. I'm done"

I just found all the other characters very boring I know he was a evil little man at times but at least Romano was fun to watch.

This.

Killing Romano killed my interest in the show. His assholeishness was the only reason I was still watching it at that point.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Moonlighting really should have ended with the third season.

NBC shouldn't have done the fifth (abbreviated) season of Remington Steele.

 

[Cap'n Caveman]

Incredibly, this thread has lasted 77 posts and there has yet been no mention of Galactica: 1980.

That's because it took us 29 years to completely and utterly erase any and all traces of that horrid show from our collective consciousness and you, with one sentence, just completely obliterated what we have worked so hard and long to accomplish. THANKS A LOT

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I stopped watching ER whent hey made Dr. Greene a cold-blooded killer.

Eh?

 

[NuFan]

the second half of the first season has been... meh.

It's weaker but still good.

 

[Tulaberry whine]

I'm going to pre-emptively say Glee. Even the second half of the first season has been... meh. It's going to take something impressive to resurrect that show for a full second season. A shame, because I loved the first dozen episodes or so.

Me too. The funny thing is the first half of season 1 was really being hurt by the silly soap-ish storylines (the fake pregnancy was just too stupid for words), so you would think moving away from that aspect of the show and concentrating on musical numbers would have improved it.

But no - Glee has quickly turned stale with the same tired formula being trotted out week after week and the musical numbers rapidly degenerating into kiddie karaoke (the Lady Gaga ones in particular).

 

[Broccoli]

Earth: Final Conflict - should have ended with season 4. Yes, I know it was retooled for season two, but the show was still enjoyable, followed the same storyline, and was still recognizable as EFC. By the end of season 4, your main plot lines were resolved and/or concluded in a fairly satisfying way. True, it left doors open, but if the final shot of the series was the shuttle flying away from the volcano, it would have felt as if the series told a complete story (albeit one that wasn't w/o faults) with events that built upon previous events.

Then season 5 came and EFC became a completely different show, but the writers tried to force the idea the everything prior in the show built up to this new storyline. The sad thing is that it really didn't and everything with this new direction was very weak, overly cliched, and needlessly contradicted with stuff previously established.

 

[cultcross]

I stopped watching ER whent hey made Dr. Greene a cold-blooded killer.

Eh?

I assume the reference is to the scene where Greene is alone in the lift with a patient who was some criminal or something, I forget precisely what; said patient crashed and Greene discharged the defibrillator into the air to make it look like he was attempting resuscitation. "cold blooded killer" is a tad strong. Malpractice, certainly, but the person who shot the patient killed him. Greene simply didn't save him.

 

[Broccoli]

^ He was using Nolan Batman Logic.

 

[Corran Horn]

Firefly. Some of the decisions in later seasons were horrible. Like, after Book died and they revealed that his big secret was that he was God's brother. I hung around and kept watching, but when he kept appearing to the crew as a floating head in space was ridiculous.

Great reference.

(I think he was God's cousin)

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I stopped watching ER whent hey made Dr. Greene a cold-blooded killer.

Eh?

I assume the reference is to the scene where Greene is alone in the lift with a patient who was some criminal or something, I forget precisely what; said patient crashed and Greene discharged the defibrillator into the air to make it look like he was attempting resuscitation. "cold blooded killer" is a tad strong. Malpractice, certainly, but the person who shot the patient killed him. Greene simply didn't save him.

But surely since Greene is a doctor, he has the duty to save a patient - ANY patient? If you have the power to save someone, but do nothing, and the patient dies, you are therefore the ultimate cause of the patient's death. The shooter only wounded the victim; death only occurred because of Greene's inaction. Therefore Greene essentially killed him. Greene, as a doctor, is NOT ALLOWED to make judgments like this. He is obligated to save all patients. Whether they be saints or criminals. Therefore in this instance, Greene WAS a killer.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I seriously don't get the hate for the Simpsons, Family Guy or South Park. All three are still funny IMO. I'm looking foward to Futurama's return. As for the show that should have ended sooner. Smallville should have ended around season 5 or 6. X-Files around season 8.

 

[Broccoli]

The Simpsons and South Park are still pretty good (although, The Simpsons is not nearly as clever as it once was). However, Family Guy is just, just weak. The storylines are extremely paper thin and most of the humor relies on overly-shocking the audience, being overly offensive (which I don't mind, but there seems to be no substance to it other than to be offensive), needlessly gross (anyone remember the needless abortion song and dance where the fetus came out and joined in? ugh), and too reliant on cutaway gags.

Granted, the show has always teetered on the brink of that since day one, but they always seemed to know when to push the envelop and when to hold back. I dunno...it seemed like there was a marked change from when it was first taken off the air in 2002 and it's return in 2005.

 

[Goliath]

^Oh, I don't know. Personally, I think it was worth renewing Family Guy for the ipecac scene in Season Four alone.

 

[Nowhere Man]

The Simpsons and South Park are still pretty good (although, The Simpsons is not nearly as clever as it once was). However, Family Guy is just, just weak. The storylines are extremely paper thin and most of the humor relies on overly-shocking the audience, being overly offensive (which I don't mind, but there seems to be no substance to it other than to be offensive), needlessly gross (anyone remember the needless abortion song and dance where the fetus came out and joined in? ugh), and too reliant on cutaway gags.

Granted, the show has always teetered on the brink of that since day one, but they always seemed to know when to push the envelop and when to hold back. I dunno...it seemed like there was a marked change from when it was first taken off the air in 2002 and it's return in 2005.

I get what your saying about Family Guy, but the jokes are still funny. The Prom night dumpster baby song was funny though. Fucked up, but funny. I realize they just sorta string jokes together. South Park though, they always have a plot and story. Im pretty sure they have offended all 6 billion of us. A lot more than Family Guy. I can live without Family Guy or by now The Simpsons, South Park, not so much. The Daily Show either.

 

[barnaclelapse]

Do you mean after one season, or just at any point in their run?

If the latter then X-files, should have ended when Duchovny cut back his appearances. S8 & 9 are an insult, a pathetic waste of airtime.

I think Robert Patrick is about the only saving grace of those seasons. He had and still had more acting talent in his left index finger than Duchovny has in his entire body.

 

[Broccoli]

The Simpsons and South Park are still pretty good (although, The Simpsons is not nearly as clever as it once was). However, Family Guy is just, just weak. The storylines are extremely paper thin and most of the humor relies on overly-shocking the audience, being overly offensive (which I don't mind, but there seems to be no substance to it other than to be offensive), needlessly gross (anyone remember the needless abortion song and dance where the fetus came out and joined in? ugh), and too reliant on cutaway gags.

Granted, the show has always teetered on the brink of that since day one, but they always seemed to know when to push the envelop and when to hold back. I dunno...it seemed like there was a marked change from when it was first taken off the air in 2002 and it's return in 2005.

I get what your saying about Family Guy, but the jokes are still funny. The Prom night dumpster baby song was funny though. Fucked up, but funny. I realize they just sorta string jokes together. South Park though, they always have a plot and story. Im pretty sure they have offended all 6 billion of us. A lot more than Family Guy. I can live without Family Guy or by now The Simpsons, South Park, not so much. The Daily Show either.

Maybe, but if it crosses a certain line, I no longer find it funny. With South Park, generally speaking, when to do something offensive, there is some sort of larger point to it as opposed to being offensive for offensive's sake. To each their own, I suppose. I'm not one who looks down on others who like something I don't.

I'll admit, I do check FG out every now and again to see if things have improved and I find the Star Wars specials to be pretty good.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think Robert Patrick is about the only saving grace of those seasons. He had and still had more acting talent in his left index finger than Duchovny has in his entire body.

Too right. The only reality TV series I like - Disorderly Conduct - is narrated by him. Does a great job at it, too (not like that narcissistic jackass John Bunnell from World's Wildest Police Videos).

 

[barnaclelapse]

I've never seen that show, but I can imagine him having a "John Walsh" kind of quality to his narration.