Shows that became caricatures of themselves.

[Jinx]

I've been re-watching The Office, and watching one season to the next makes it painfully obvious how contrived this show became. It was always meant to be satire, but the beginning seasons still had an air or realism to them. The portrayed the frustration of working in an office, and some of the ridiculous things that happen (pranks, Diversity Day, sexual harassment training, etc.)

While the later seasons still have some hilariously delight moments, they aren't believable, and it takes away from the show. (I'm specifically thinking of the episode where Dwight does Fire Safety training.)

(Also, on a tangent, it always bugs me that Pam was kind of frumpy and nice, but as soon as she and Jim start dating, she "pretties up" and becomes kind of a .)

Another show that comes to mind is Sex and the City. The first couple of seasons are really enjoyable, but it goes very downhill. It starts out portraying professional women who are self-sustaining, but trying to find love. Again, it's satire, but that's the point. You can relate.

The series fell apart to the extent it spawned two godawful movies. Did anyone see Sex and the City 2? Really? All these muslim women wear designer labels underneath their burqas?


What shows can you think of/do you watch that have stayed and (negatively) developed into a joke of its former glory?

[charliepanayi]

Many US shows are on the slide when they end (British shows tend to fare better as they don't often go on as long), even stuff like Frasier and Seinfeld which were genius at their peak. But in terms of shows that were once good and became completely awful by the end, certainly Roseanne.

[Slothy]

Many US shows are on the slide when they end (British shows tend to fare better as they don't often go on as long), even stuff like Frasier and Seinfeld which were genius at their peak.

I agree with this, though I think both Frasier and Seinfeld were still better than they had any business being after so long on the air by the end.

Lost would qualify for me. Prime example of a show being dragged out several years longer than it should with no actual plan for where they were going and how to get there. Sliders as well. I love me some sci-fi and it had an awesome premise, but my god all that stuff after the first season or two.

Also, Beast Wars. Granted it had some awesome episodes late in its run, but most of it wasn't as good as the first or second seasons.

[Chris]

Lost "lost" its steam half-way through, and they really dragged it on and on and on and on... and then on some more. It became ridiculous, really.

It's a shame that so many great shows are cancelled after only one or two seasons, and a shows like Lost just keep dragging on and on.

[Slothy]

Lost "lost" its steam half-way through, and they really dragged it on and on and on and on... and then on some more. It became ridiculous, really.

It's a shame that so many great shows are cancelled after only one or two seasons, and a shows like Lost just keep dragging on and on.

Yeah, I hate to always beat up on Lost because in it's prime it was one of the best shows on TV, but it's one of the most suitable examples I can think of of the idea that some shows really should just be a season or two (maybe three tops). Particularly shows with such overarching plots where everything that happens is supposed to feel important. Keep them tightly plotted, go in with a plan on how you're going to get to the end and what that will be. It's a shame networks don't really understand that operating that way might actually be better for them. I'd much rather finish a series finale wanting more instead of saying "that's it?" and wishing it had ended back when it was still good.

[charliepanayi]

The trouble is, the usual scenario is either a show is successful and it goes on for a number of years and often past its prime, or it's not very successful and gets canned early on. Rarely are people going to say after one or two seasons when a show is riding high on critical praise and/or high viewing figures, 'OK, better wrap it up now'. It happens more often in UK shows (for instance, they planned to end Father Ted after three seasons even before Dermot Morgan passed away as they were running out of ideas), but of course they're a lot shorter to start with anyway.

Oh yeah, how could I forget The Simpsons. The obvious answer really.

[Bunny]

Lost would qualify for me. Prime example of a show being dragged out several years longer than it should with no actual plan for where they were going and how to get there. Sliders as well. I love me some sci-fi and it had an awesome premise, but my god all that stuff after the first season or two.

The biggest problem with Lost is that J J Abrams had a hand in it. He has a tendency to create shows and then either lose interest in them or pick up another project to pay more attention to. This has happened with all of his shows and, coincidently enough every one of them got worse as they continued on. For Lost, he left, I believe, midway through the first season to work on MI3, which explains why the show began to go downhill after the initial season. The same could be said for Alias and Fringe, as well as possibly Person of Interest and, if it lasts longer than one season, Revolution, despite serving only as executive producer of the last two.

Lie to Me is one of the examples that comes to mind for this topic. The first two seasons were really good and the last was decent, though it definitely felt like the main character was becoming a caricature. Castle is another one that can be used. It is still enjoyable, but too much emphasis has been placed on the relationship between Castle and Beckett that it has become almost all about whether or not they will get together. The new season seems to lessen that emphasis and hopefully continues to do so (I've only seen the first episode so far). Most television comedies have a tendency to suffer from this as well. How I Met Your Mother is atrocious and not even remotely funny now, because no development actually occurs and the purpose seems to just push the "story" for however long CBS will continue to shovel money its way.

[blackmage_nuke]

Off topic but I actually loved The Office after Steve Carell left (before I was just sort of watching it as background, and it wasnt very funny) but now that the side characters get to really shine the series has been amazingly funny and not just the same "Micheal Scott has done something awkward and/or childish and/or politically incorrect har har har" joke over and over. I also love Nate in the warehouse.

On topic 'Just Shoot Me' went through the traditional end of sitcom decline, trying to introduce a new character, reusing plots, making continuity errors from old plots and the like.

[Hollycat]

So, I just watched about 4 episodes of the office, and I'm wondering, am I the only person on the planet who thinks this show isn't funny?

[Bunny]

Yes, on a planet with almost seven billion people, you have a unique thought.

[Shorty]

I can only imagine that the next run-through of Arrested Development might go this way.

[Hollycat]

Yes, on a planet with almost seven billion people, you have a unique thought.

If I stick peanut butter to the top of my head and jump real high, I might get stuck.

[Jinx]

I can only imagine that the next run-through of Arrested Development might go this way.

Are they really restarting the show, then? It's been in talks for awhile.

[The Man]

It's not a reboot, it's a continuation, and it involves all the original cast and (I believe) writers so hopefully it won't suck. But yes, they're restarting it. Netflix is producing, I believe, ten additional episodes, and then there are plans to make a feature film to conclude the series, although I do not believe it has been confirmed that the latter is really going to happen yet.

As for shows that became caricatures of themselves, I'm shocked no one has said Family Guy yet.

[Bunny]

They are pretty much picking up AD where it left off (if anyone remembers the actual ending). It's 10-13 episodes that are all going on Netflix at the same time and will lead up to a film.

Family Guy doesn't count because it was always a horrible show.