Gone too soon or overstayed its welcome?

[KazeAizen]

Two shows I believe were gone too soon were Young Justice and Dollhouse yet another Joss Whedon project. In the latter case he luckily got the memo that it was cancelled so the story does wrap but it was very obviously a rush. Especially in the second season finale. In both you could tell that he might've had a whole season taking place in that scenario. Young Justice on the other hand actually did have a satisfying ending. Only one plot thread remained unresolved and save for the tag at the end of the last episode I would've been perfectly happy and not pissed as hell that it got cancelled.

I can't think of a show I've watched that has overstayed its welcome....actually one I don't watch anymore. Fairly Oddparents.

On a side note other then these two scenarios there is one more that drives me insane is the show that had a good run and was heading for a conclusion but got cut off before it could reach that. Two shows I've seen got that treatment. Teen Titans and Star WArs: The Clone Wars. Both had a respectable 5 season run. Not too long but not too short. The end of both of their 5th seasons though showed they had one or two more major plot points to explore before ending. I would've bet money that each would've gone for 1 maybe 2 more seasons before doing their season finale. Again though in the Teen Titans case it was the very last episode that had a plot point that had been relegated to the background for the last season put right back in front of our face saying "Hey remember this? We are doing this now!" So yeah I went from satisfied to pissed off when it left on a cliffhanger.

Also one final show that never got a real shot. Terra Nova....on Fox. So I guess it makes sense. They don't seem to like fun, smart, genre shows there apparently between Dollhouse, Firefly, and Terra Nova all getting cancelled with only 1 getting a second season.

 

[KazeAizen]

A while back I would have said gone too soon... but we're living in a time where two certain Fox shows are clinging to life long past their cultural relevance, actively sabotaging attempts to move forward. They're like the CoD of television, bringing their bland non-entertainment to bear on a confused public while pre-teens and lizard people give them money for it.

What shows are those? Glee and something else? I stay away from them since I finally found out why Firefly fans hate them with a passion. Because they did that to me when they cancelled Terra Nova.

 

[shogunblade]

If everybody wants to hear something silly, when Breaking Bad ended, all I kept saying to myself was "Awww... Gone too soon...."

That has been driving me nuts consistently since last week, and that's stupid, especially since the show went as far as it could go, in all honesty, and I was rooting for the end of the series.

I guess that's just the depression that follows that sort of thing.

I think shows that end before their time can be the lesser of two evils, just because while you can't see what is on the horizon for some shows, you at least have that concentrated brilliance to keep you happy, instead of the show and its overly long stay clouding any sort of goodness you may have had for it.

 

[Reaper195]

Stargate Universe as a show I liked that falls under this category.

*Clings to King Billi*
Someone else that saw and liked Universe? WE MUST NEVER SEPERATE!


I'd rather a show go on for too long. That way, at least we get more of it. I thought Jericho (05) was a great show, but it got cancelled after it's first season, then got brought back for a nine episode second seasons before being cancelled. There are the comics, but they aren't a good enough replacement. And there is so much shit left unanswered. Stargate SG-1 on the other hand shou;d have neded in season 8. 9 and 10 weren't bad, but they weren't as good. But because of that, we did get 8 fantastic seasons of a fantastic TV series. Not to mention Atlantis and the aforementioned Universe.

 

[Lionsfan]

With TV and entertainment, I would rather have a show go on for too long than to be gone too soon.

If a show is amazing for 50 episodes, but just ends, that sucks more because everything feels unfinished.

If a show goes on for 200 episodes, and the last 50 suck, well I can just ignore them (it's worked for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Star Wars prequels).

You can't ignore something that never happened though

 

[Kinitawowi]

Two of my favourite shows ever exhibit one of each, and I can tell you that overstaying its welcome is far, far worse.

I was in tears when Pushing Daisies was cancelled. I couldn't comprehend how a show that wonderful, that glorious, that damn good could be so uncermoniously dumped, and I still can't. I still love every single one of the measly twenty-two episodes (spread over two half seasons) that it got.

Skins made it to seven seasons. The seventh is the most determined effort I've ever seen from a TV show to piss all over its own legacy to satisfy the whims of some clearly disinterested and/or disgruntled and/or plain incompetent writers. It makes me mad to know that a show that was as brilliant at its height in S2/3 could go that far downhill and get that pathetic a non-resolution.

A show cut down in its prime still has its love. A show that went on too long loses most of it. I know which is worse.

 

[MCerberus]

A while back I would have said gone too soon... but we're living in a time where two certain Fox shows are clinging to life long past their cultural relevance, actively sabotaging attempts to move forward. They're like the CoD of television, bringing their bland non-entertainment to bear on a confused public while pre-teens and lizard people give them money for it.

What shows are those? Glee and something else? I stay away from them since I finally found out why Firefly fans hate them with a passion. Because they did that to me when they cancelled Terra Nova.

Family Guy and the Simpsons

 

[KazeAizen]

A while back I would have said gone too soon... but we're living in a time where two certain Fox shows are clinging to life long past their cultural relevance, actively sabotaging attempts to move forward. They're like the CoD of television, bringing their bland non-entertainment to bear on a confused public while pre-teens and lizard people give them money for it.

What shows are those? Glee and something else? I stay away from them since I finally found out why Firefly fans hate them with a passion. Because they did that to me when they cancelled Terra Nova.

Family Guy and the Simpsons

Ah. I've never actively ever watched either of them. Parents said no to Simpsons and I just didn't care to watch Family Guy. Also when I did see an episode thanks to my friends they decided to show me the Passion of the Christ 2: Crucify This episode with full knowledge that I am a devout Catholic. I can take a joke and all but honestly not the best episode to start out on for someone like me.

 

[suitepee7]

overstayed is worse IMO, i would rather remember it fondly then have my memories tarnished, because even when i try not to, i just remember if it got shit and can't easily put it out of my memory

 

[Signa]

"Plato's Stepchildren,"

What was wrong with Plato's Stepchildren?!

*grins* Well me personally I think its an interesting concept of an episode that is killed by silliness like what's in your Avatar. It wasn't -horrible- by any means but it also was a sign that TOS was losing steam.

Aw man, you didn't have to respond seriously. It kinda ruined the joke.

You're right though. It wasn't a stupid episode, but it was clear that they had no idea how to fill 50 minutes with that concept, and they didn't even bother with a B plot when it desperately needed one.

 

[DeimosMasque]

"Plato's Stepchildren,"

What was wrong with Plato's Stepchildren?!

*grins* Well me personally I think its an interesting concept of an episode that is killed by silliness like what's in your Avatar. It wasn't -horrible- by any means but it also was a sign that TOS was losing steam.

Aw man, you didn't have to respond seriously. It kinda ruined the joke.

You're right though. It wasn't a stupid episode, but it was clear that they had no idea how to fill 50 minutes with that concept, and they didn't even bother with a B plot when it desperately needed one.

Ah man! Your right! I ruined the joke. SO here is a new response:

EVERYTHING! And what's going on in your Avatar is what Shatner -DESERVES- for being in that drek!

 

[immortalfrieza]

Of the two, I would GREATLY prefer that a show overstayed it welcome, for 2 reasons:

1. If it turns into crap I'll be burned out on it by the time it actually goes and not really care that it's gone.

2. The show will have the chance to improve as long as it keeps running.

Both are much better than the alternative of dealing with a show that was great that ended up getting screwed.

That said, I can't really think of a show that I'd really consider as having overstayed it welcome that I can remember, if I liked it in the first place I'm probably going to at least be able to tolerate it by it's end. Quite the opposite, I almost seem to cursed as a great deal of the shows I end up really liking only end up lasting a season or 2.

 

[Mersadeon]

I would rather have it overstay its welcome - that way, I can just ignore the filler or feel only mildly entertained by bland stuff. If it's too short, I'll feel annoyed forever, if it's a bit too long, I'll just feel bored during the filler.

 

[Fox12]

Overstaying it's welcome is the worst fate of any piece of fiction. I miss Firefly, but I'd rather have one great season then eleven terrible seasons. Atleast then it becomes a martyr and gains cult status. That said, I consider television the worst story telling medium in history, since it's nearly impossible to have good story structure on a medium that is by its nature self perpetuating. Shown benefit from filler and story styles that make things up as they go along, both of which are terrible habits for a professional fiction writer. The Twilight Zone is the exception, since it's more of a collection of short stories.

 

[tabristhegreat]

overstayed without a doubt. gone too soon at least leaves a positive feel for the show makes you more pissed at whoever axed it. Whats worse though is tv/direct dvd movies that fail to provide closure to shows. Dead like me is a perfect example, i was so sad when it got the axe and was pretty excited when I heard it was getting a movie. Rather then answer questions/let me say goodbye to the characters it kind of sadly stumbled along while Ellen Muth ran to cash the check before it bounced

 

[CleverCover]

Gone too soon is waaaaay worse. At least with overstayed its welcome, I can just pause the show in my head past a certain point and say "it ended there". I can choose to let it continue to its canon stopping point or headcanon it instead.

With gone too soon, there's always that feeling of having missed out on something that could have been epic. Hey Arnold! was supposed to have a movie where Arnold discovers his parents on some grand adventure with Helga, Gerald, Phoebe and the gang. I want to know how it would have gone and some part of me will always wish for that. Now DBZ should never have continued onto DBGT, but I can always pretend that it didn't and Goku didn't abandon his family to train a complete stranger.

I'd rather have completion.

Captcha: perfect world

Why yes Captcha. If this was a perfect world, I'd have seen that movie at least ten years ago.

 

[Summerstorm]

I disagree with (most?) of my nerdy peers here *g*

Ending too soon is WAY worse than overstaying.

Overstaying and "jumping the shark" or "losing steam" or getting milked to death just ruins the later episodes. As long as you remember and clearly can divide good from bad everything is fine (Maybe you can see a lonely flicker of the old genius in even the "everything is terribad"-episodes. For example Family Guy still has a funny scene on occasion.

Now Firefly is of course first on the list of "WTF - why didn't they make more?"

To bring myself under fire here i will add "The Cape" to my list of never had a chance... gone after 2/3 of a season.

The Pilot of "The Cape" was fucking TERRIBLE. It was a hastened mess of an origin story. Absolutely atrociously paced, acted and directed. But since it was a superhero show with good production values i stayed and kept watching. And it totally got better all the time: The villain(s) were hammy - the characters were creative. The show itself was "dark" but had a sense of humor and didn't take itself so serious.

Was a bit like "Arrow" in tone - just with a more The Shadow/Batman-like character and all original. So it got like 10 episodes. Curses...

 

[Zetatrain]

Dukat was an amazing character. By turns heartless beast, and by others, a loving family man. I guess what they were trying to do with the war thing was to put a face on it. You can't mention WW2 for example without mentioning Hitler. He was the face of the Axis Of Evil, he was the focal point. Looking at most wars, there is always a hate-figure that we know about. However, the whole good/evil timeless prophets thing was a little odd... Technically, since time doesn't exist for them, they are both at peace and in constant war with the pa'wraiths forever.

I wouldn't have minded that so much, but by that point, Dukat was no longer part of the Cardassian-Dominion alliance, so having him as the 'face of the enemy' doesn't make sense as much as, say, the female changeling. He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly. It's especially aggravating considering it comes after his best episode, 'Waltz' which is such a great character piece for him.

I disagree with the notion that Dukat was portrayed as the main bad guy or the "face" of the Domainion-Cardassian alliance in the final season. Dukat and the Pai wraiths are the main focus in like only 4 episodes in the last season. After the episode "Waltz" he pretty much stops being the primary antagonist as well as the "face" of the Dominion-Cardassian alliance and this is reflected by how little he appears in the final season. At this point he stops being a threat to the Federation and is only a personal threat to Sisko.

Personally, I never really had a problem with Dukat allying himself with Pai wraiths. The end of Waltz pretty much made it clear that the death of his daughter left him unhinged and that he blames the Bajorans and Sisko for the death of her. Joining with the Pai-wraith was a way for him to get revenge as well as settle his long standing rivalry with Sisko. So given that he is mentally deranged and has motivation, him joining the Pai-wraiths isn't so far fetched. While I do believe Dukat's character in season 7 wasn't as good as it was in previous seasons and that he could have been handled better, IMO season 7 didn't ruin his character.

The final season might have focused on the Prophet vs Pai-wraith conflict a bit more than the previous seasons, but I never felt that they became the main focus of the the final season. The main focus was still the Dominion war and Dukat and the Pai-wraiths were more of an over arching sub-plot tied to Sisko.

He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly.

LOL, considering Hitler's interest in occultism that description seems rather appropriate.

EDIT: As for the OP

Gone to soon

Firefly (duh)
Star Trek: Enterprise (while much of the series is bad IMO season 4 is where they had finally found their footing but it was too little too late)

Overstayed Its Welcome

Star Trek: The Next Generation

While I didn't think the last season was bad it was clear that by this point they had run out of ideas and were retreading old plots and themes. At least they were able to end the season and series on a high note.

 

[ThreeName]

Overstayed is much worse.

I can't deal with shows that drag on past their use by date. While I understand the thirst for more (God I love The Hollowmen) it's better to see them die with dignity than go coughing and spluttering.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Dukat was an amazing character. By turns heartless beast, and by others, a loving family man. I guess what they were trying to do with the war thing was to put a face on it. You can't mention WW2 for example without mentioning Hitler. He was the face of the Axis Of Evil, he was the focal point. Looking at most wars, there is always a hate-figure that we know about. However, the whole good/evil timeless prophets thing was a little odd... Technically, since time doesn't exist for them, they are both at peace and in constant war with the pa'wraiths forever.

I wouldn't have minded that so much, but by that point, Dukat was no longer part of the Cardassian-Dominion alliance, so having him as the 'face of the enemy' doesn't make sense as much as, say, the female changeling. He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly. It's especially aggravating considering it comes after his best episode, 'Waltz' which is such a great character piece for him.

I disagree with the notion that Dukat was portrayed as the main bad guy or the "face" of the Domainion-Cardassian alliance in the final season. Dukat and the Pai wraiths are the main focus in like only 4 episodes in the last season. After the episode "Waltz" he pretty much stops being the primary antagonist as well as the "face" of the Dominion-Cardassian alliance and this is reflected by the how little he appears in the final season. At this point he stops being a threat to the Federation and is only a personal threat to Sisko.

Personally, I never really had a problem with Dukat allying himself with Pai wraiths. The end of Waltz pretty much made it clear that the death of his daughter left him unhinged and that he blames the Bajorans and Sisko for the death of her. Joining with the Pai-wraith was a way for him to get revenge as well as settle his long standing rivalry with Sisko. So given that he is mentally deranged and has motivation, him joining the Pai-wraiths isn't so far fetched. While I do believe Dukat's character in season 7 wasn't as good as it was in previous seasons and that he could have been handled better, IMO season 7 didn't ruin his character.

The final season might have focused on the Prophet vs Pai-wraith conflict a bit more than the previous seasons, but I never felt that they became the main focus of the the final season. The main focus was still the Dominion war and Dukat and the Pai-wraiths were more of an over arching sub-plot tied to Sisko.

He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly.

LOL, considering Hitler's interest in occultism that description seems rather appropriate.

While Dukat and the Pagh Wraiths may have had focus only towards the end, most episodes in the final season had parts of that subplot interspersed throughout. It's not like it was introduced 5 minutes before the deadline and tossed in for shits and giggles; it had been building up for a long time. And I agree, after 'Waltz' he was done as a character, but someone didn't get the memo and insisted he be brought back because he's the most recognisable antagonist in DS9. I'm of the opinion that Dukat should have dropped off the face of the universe after Waltz, because it was a great character examination, and it tied up his loose ends. To bring him him back as a stereotypical villain is just a disservice.