TV shows that jumped the shark

[Sean Hollyman]

So what are some TV shows that you watched, and maybe enjoyed that at one point really began to descend into a lesser quality than it once was?

For me it's Shameless, the first couple of seasons were good, but as the show went on most of the Gallaghers left, and the Macguires became the main focus, and I just find them really unlikeable. Bring back the Gallaghers!

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Supernatural actually had an episode titled "Jump the Shark"
although I don't consider that episode a jumping the shark moment.

 

[Scrustle]

Heroes. I used to love that show. I was so sad about how it turned out, especially at the end.

Series 1: Brilliant.
Series 2: Really good.
Series 3: Terrible.
Series 4: Almost as good as series 2.

Series 4 also ended on a massive cliffhanger and then it got cancelled just as things were looking up! I think the quality of the show was so screwed up was because of the Hollywood writers strike, but I don't know the specifics. I just miss the heyday of that show.

 

[Raven's Nest]

INB4 Battlestar Galactica:

I'd have to say Lost. The first season was fantastic, a story about a bunch of complicated mysterious people who all shared the fate of crash landing on a desert island and faced with the struggle of survival. In the background, there is a mysterious, ominous presence on the island which complicates the issue of survival and leads to confrontation between different groups of survivors.

After half of season 2... What the fuck happened??

Needless to say I stopped watching because the premise of the first season was apparently thrown away, pissing on the tone and context of the story thus far. It was like the main creators had completely abandoned ship and left the story up to a bunch of people who had absolutely no idea what to do with the characters but were forced to drag out it out and milk the franchise for as long as possible.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Happy Days. Hey, someone had to say it.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Need I say more?

 

[MorganL4]

I honestly think HBO's True Blood has done just that.

 

[Vivi22]

I'd have to say Lost.

I'll agree with pretty much everything you said. Lost was pretty up and down throughout. The first season is still freaking amazing and a great example of how you make a damn interesting TV show. Most of the other seasons serve as an example of how you fuck up a great premise. Now some of the later seasons were better than others. I remember quite liking Season 3 though I don't remember what happened in it at all now. But none of them ever managed to live up to the promise Season 1 had, and I can't quite place where they went wrong aside from not having a plan as they went forward. You could probably argue they explained too much as well and ruined the mystery, but I think they actually explained too little and so poorly explained other things that it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Plus, you know, the ending.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I second Heroes. The first season was great, the second season was underwhelming, the third picked things back up, but I just didn?t bother watching the fourth season. I only tuned in for the finale, when I saw Claire exposing her ability to the public and then I was just like, ?Fuck this!?

 

[IPunchWithMyFists]

"Streets of Rage 3."
Wryly spoke the internet commenter as he beamed about his horseshit response, gleefully and stubbornly unaware of the fact that this is a TV thread.
"I would say Streets of Rage 3 is my choice."

 

[Hollyday]

oh god, so many...

The main one for me is Twin Peaks. First series = One of the best things ever put to film. Second series = So mediocre it hurts.

I think any TV show that goes on for a significant length of time is going to dip in quality. Especially so when the writers don't have the whole storyline planned out already. Quality over quantity please!

 

[Gizmo1990]

I think that Supernatural should have ended after the series 5. The bad guys of 6 and 7 have not been as good. Of cause series 5's bad guy was the freaking DEVIL! And they spent the whole series trying to stop the apocalypse. You cannot top that. At least they have not been able to.

Smallville went on waaaaaaaaaaay to long. And their Doomsday and Darksied sucked. Clark is told many times that if you kill Doomsday then he will come back stronger. So he then kills Doomsday and is suprised when he come back.

Stargate SG-1 should have ended after Series 8. The Ori thing just sucked. Plus Ben Browder was not a good replacement for Richard Dean Anderson.

 

[excalipoor]

Happy da...oh, too late.

 

[Greni]

I think The Simpsons have overstayed their welcome, and unless the writers of Futurama remove their heads from their rear, that's going down the drain too.

 

[Gone Rampant]

Heroes. I used to love that show. I was so sad about how it turned out, especially at the end.

Series 1: Brilliant.
Series 2: Really good.
Series 3: Terrible.
Series 4: Almost as good as series 2.

Series 4 also ended on a massive cliffhanger and then it got cancelled just as things were looking up! I think the quality of the show was so screwed up was because of the Hollywood writers strike, but I don't know the specifics. I just miss the heyday of that show.

Uh... you know there was a Season 5, right?

 

[kortin]

The Office.

The EXACT moment when Steve Carrell left the show.

 

[hermes]

Heroes, Prison Break, 24 and Lost are great examples of series that overstayed their welcome by having more than one season.

In comedies How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Scrubs also jumped the shark somewhere after too many seasons. By the last season, Scrubs was basically in the shark's digestive tract...

Babylon 5 when to crap after season 4, but at least it had an explanation for it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Stargate SG-1 jumped the shark at one point, though it's hard to put my finger on when. However, Season 9 was pretty good and Season 10 is one of my favourites. Also, Valla's the best thing to happen to the show since Teal'c first joined.

House probably jumped the shark. All I know is personally, my interest started to fade with the Tritter arc, and it just kept going.

I can't think of any more at the moment, but....

Supernatural actually had an episode titled "Jump the Shark"
although I don't consider that episode a jumping the shark moment.

It's become common to mock the "jump the shark" concept on TV. It's part of the "LOOK AT ME! I'M SELF AWARE!" Movement.

Granted, I like the elements of self-awareness in Supercallafragilisticexpialadocius.

Heroes. I used to love that show. I was so sad about how it turned out, especially at the end.

Series 1: Brilliant.
Series 2: Really good.
Series 3: Terrible.
Series 4: Almost as good as series 2.

Series 4 also ended on a massive cliffhanger and then it got cancelled just as things were looking up! I think the quality of the show was so screwed up was because of the Hollywood writers strike, but I don't know the specifics. I just miss the heyday of that show.

Heroes' Season 2 ending was heavily impacted and it further altered the way season 3 ran. While it's unfortunate for the show, I find these things fascinating in terms of how the real world impacts TV.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Arrested Development. And it was all down to Henry Winkler again...

 

[Terramax]

If you consider 'Ashes to Ashes' a continuation from the great Brit show 'Life on Mars', then I'd say 'Ashes to Ashes'. It felt more like fan service.