TV renewals that were a disaster

[Deckerd]

... or at least very ill-advised.

I'm going to say Prison Break here because that was a natural one-season show if ever there was one. I didn't try watching any of the rest of it because in my mind the story was over.

What shows should defninitely NOT have been renewed?

 

[firehawk12]

Yeah, Prison Break is the most obvious example. Nothing else really comes to mind though because very few shows hinge on a singular premise like that.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Hero's.
Loved the first series never made past episode two of the 2nd series.

 

[Pingfah]

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.

 

[Deckerd]

Any time in their run.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Mission: Impossible after season four; it should have ended in 1970, or found a cabal of bad guys similar to SPECTRE for the IMF to fight.

Heroes was bullshit from day one; yet another TV show about superheroes that really wasn't. I NEVER brought into the hype about that one, and so I didn't watch it.

 

[DeafPoet]

Scrubs. They knocked out a hell of a finale and then renewed it with Zombie Scrubs. That season wasn't without its charm but they really should have left it where it was. It tarnishes the actual show to a certain degree.

 

[Orac Zen]

Prison Break was (originally) planned to run for two seasons - one to get them out of prison and one to clear their names. It was a hit and the two-season plan went out the window, with unfortunate (at best) results.


The best example (IMO) is ER, which should have been taken off the iron lung at least six years before it was finally killed off. Its decline from must-watch TV to ludicrous soap opera was painful to see.

 

[Captain Shaw]

The best example (IMO) is ER, which should have been taken off the iron lung at least six years before it was finally killed off. Its decline from must-watch TV to ludicrous soap opera was painful to see.

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

 

[Deckerd]

I stopped watching after Dr Greene died. It should have ended then.

 

[Angel4576]

I see that we've made if so far down the thread without a single mention of the woeful 'Til Death yet!

Surely the worst TV show to have EVER been renewed.

After taking it off the air due to extremely low ratings, what was its reward? Cancellation? Nope, a full season order. WTF?

 

[Finn]

I'll add Family Matters. It turned into a sci-fi show.

 

[ParticleMan]

I'll add Family Matters. It turned into a sci-fi show.

Especially after the move to CBS for the final season...

And along those lines, I'd add Perfect Strangers to the list too...

 

[OmahaStar]

Heroes was bullshit from day one; yet another TV show about superheroes that really wasn't. I NEVER brought into the hype about that one, and so I didn't watch it.

Oh, so you don't really know what you're talking about. That's ok, I understand.

Heroes season one was brilliant, and is the best possible example of an answer to this thread's subject. Season two took the concept and dumbed it down to mush. But gods, that first season ...

 

[FreezeC77]

Every season of According to Jim?

Hmm. Some of these were less than stellar

Sliders S5 when they renewed it continued on Sci-Fi and by the end only 1 of the original cast was left (Rembrandt)

A-Team S5 - They changed the format of the show. The A-team got caught and was working for the government doing spy missions outside the US. Ratings sank and the season was cut in half before the show was canceled.

Babylon 5 S5 - (I'm sensing a Season 5 thing) The whole Byron subplot was horrible and dragged out way too long.

Buffy S6 & S7 - As much as I enjoyed the musical episode that was S6 I think and I think there were some good episodes for the whole I think the series would have had a much better end if it had ended with the WB finale and Buffy sacrificing herself to save the world. The whole Willow and magic being addictive like a drug stuff which followed in S6 was immensely irritating.

 

[Deckerd]

I agree about Babylon 5.

 

[Pingfah]

I didn't mind S5, clearly not as good as the rest of the show, but not a complete disaster.

 

[Icemizer]

Airwolf with all new cast was wretched.
Dukes of Hazard when the other Duke boys took over.
Second season of War of the Worlds.

 

[Trekker4747]

The best example (IMO) is ER, which should have been taken off the iron lung at least six years before it was finally killed off. Its decline from must-watch TV to ludicrous soap opera was painful to see.

This. I stopped watching ER whent hey made Dr. Greene a cold-blooded killer. And even-then I was kind of wavering off, at that point the show just became absurd and over-the-top and melodramatic. It used to be captiavating, engaging, and fairly realistic in terms of people working in an ER. Than it became a soap-opera.

 

[Amasov]

The Cosby Show - S8

The previous season should have been its last. It began to focus too much on Cousin Pam and her unlikable posse of annoying friends.