Your favourite TV shows... when did they get shit?

[Drfunke]

Im a fan of some great comedy shows. Frasier, Arrested Development, Seinfeld and ofcourse Alan Partridge.

 

I am not ashamed to admit i also like a bit of friends. In the beginning it was a very funny show and for its time the writing was excellent. But i always thought after the London episodes it goes to shit. Ross especially becoming an annoying cunt and characature of himself.

 

Wondered what shows do other people think were awesome but had that point where the quality noticeably dropped.

[Boycie]

Dexter immediately springs to mind. The last two seasons were piss poor. Season 4 was some of the best TV I've seen with John Lithgow's superb performance as the Trinity Killer. Seasons 5 & 6 were also decent but the last two series I just found really weak. It was like they just wanted to wrap it all up because they were bored.

[The Gaffer]

Anything to do with Trailer Park Boys from the season 6 ending on has been irreconcilably shit, even the original final series which seems to have been a lot of peoples initial exposure to it because it was on TV over here a lot more than older episodes. They capped it all off in season 6 with peace being made between the boys and Jim Lahey. Everything imediately following became a here-we-go-again rinse and repeat and it sucked, even if the show always kinda repeated itself before that.

 

I held on for awhile afterwards kidding myself, which I normally never do with TV shows. I was just really invested in the characters. I cared about them more than I've ever cared for fictional people in other more burdensome universes like Breaking Bad or The Sopranos. That ignorance is bliss part of my brain at times kind of wished I could go and be a dumbass in a trailer park like these guys were because I gravitated to the show as a pick me up quite a lot years ago. I loved the idea that Ricky, Julian and Bubbles were happy. Season six gave you that so well in the end. God it was so perfect.

 

I convinced myself the movies were alright. I even gave a pass to the first Netflix series. The constant, unignorable overexposure of the shows tropes across various platforms since then have become intolerable though and now I'm done with it, and it just keeps coming. The show is no longer in the hands of it's creator, Mike Clattenburg. Instead the three principal actors have the intellectual property and they're mining it for all it's worth.

 

Endless Netflix series, podcasts, some stupid shit where they pretend to inhale blunts with Snoop Dogg on YouTube, Swearnet. All of it filled with smokes, liquor, goofy Rickyisms... all the stuff I used to love which is now so past it's sell by date I don't even have a decent enough analogy to explain it. To explain my dissapointment and loathing for it.

 

I see through the people involved and I hate them for it. In playing characters in public and on screen for so long they've actually regressed and instead of becoming the characters they've now become old, bent out of shape looking charlatans still flogging their horse for all it's worth. Ricky, Bubbles and Julian are dead. Robb Wells, Mike Smith and John Paul Tremblay remain and I want them to make like a tree and fuck off.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Arrested Development is one mentioned in the first post, so I'd have to say season 4 of that. There are those that defend it, but I'd rather pretend it didn't exist.

 

I do pretend that season 4 of The OC never happened. Christ that was awful even if you thought The OC was a bit rubbish to begin with (it wasn't, seasons 1-3 are ace).

 

I never thought I'd say this, but Buffy takes a real downturn from season 6 onwards. I've been rewatching it start to finish for the first time in ages with the girlfriend, who's never seen it, and the difference from the early seasons to the last couple is so marked - the odd standout episode aside. I still have a soft spot for season 4, which many don't like, and I'm still a big fanboy for it all, but we got towards the end of season 6 about a year ago and the other half's just lost interest. It's just so grim compared to the earlier seasons, I honestly don't blame her for not wanting to continue, there's just no (badly needed) levity. I can't imagine season 7 stands up especially well but we may never reach the point where I found out!

[Sergio Mendacious]

Seinfeld is on shaky ground for the last couple of series — Larry David wasn't around that much, it's VERY sitcom-y, and the final episode is generally terrible.

 

I was a big fan of True Blood for the first couple of seasons, but it fell to bits after that — the last two seasons would have filled a ten-minute clipshow with their interesting moments.

 

I fear Veep heading that way — it's getting very broad, I find. It's mainly carried by how excellent the cast is these days.

[WyattSheepMask]

The Simpsons from series 11 onwards. There had been a bit of a drop off even before that, but S11 was when the majority of episodes in the series were poor compared to what was good. It's also around the time that they started to bring in newer writers who were writing characters they seemingly didn't understand anymore and also got a bit lazy by just having Homer get some sort of different job for the week or they went to some other country for no real reason.

In earlier episodes, the family (or even just one of the lead characters) leaving the town actually meant something as it didn't happen all that often and it also developed their character by doing so ('Lemon of Troy' is a prime example)

 

Agree with Drfunke regarding Friends too. I can't remember what point it happens, but Ross seemed to turn into an ultra camp parody of himself

[The Gaffer]

I figured that TPB rant was enough for one post but as I sit and think about it I'll chuck Shameless on to the scrap as well just in case somebody else forgets to. Even the old episodes have aged horrendously now but for awhile it was great fun and again one I held on for longer than most.

 

I think the general consensus is the show died on it's arse when all the Maguires moved in during series 4. I thought they were a riot for a year or two after that though. Scary Paddy and all his dumb kids. I'd put the decline somewhere around series 6 when they do a heroin angle and have Mandy blown up in a weird drug revenge daughter thingy something. Then it became Manchester Brookside. All the while the Frank character became the actual honest-to-god sporadically appearing comic relief distraction in a show that was always David Threlfalls vehicle.

 

How long did it continue for past that? It feels like it might have been 20 years. There's a huge chunk of my life where I flicked it on every now and then to see none of the original cast, Mrs. Doyle and really bizarre, brightly lit and shot scenarios where loads and loads of super funny things would happen to prostitutes and council workers. It looked like the bloopers from the earlier years with the contrast turned way up on your television set.

 

I did watch the final episode. A nice whimper, noble enough attempt at trying to remind the viewer why Shameless was at one point trendy enough.

[cobra_gordo]

Red Dwarf from series 8. I was a massive fan of the show, particularly series 6 and 7 which seem to get a lot of flack but 8 was a festering turd and the less said about Back On Earth the better.

[The Gaffer]

I genuinly liked season 10 Red Dwarf. It wasn't earth shattering or anything but it was nice, warm and friendly. A good return to some sort of form. I reckon it's actually the best they could have done by the show at that point. If season 11 keeps it up I'll be happy out.

 

On a more dubious note I also really enjoy latter day Friends. It's all brain faff anyway. Ross channeling Cosmo Kramer is alright by me.

[Gus Mears]

Bullseye from about series 4, when they stopped letting Jim Bowen do horrifically sexist/homophobic stand up routines at the start of each episode.

 

PC went mad, I tell you. Ever heard the one about the gay darts player and his limp wrist? Well you didn't after about 1992, that's for sure.

 

Oh, and Frasier after Daphne and Niles started fucking. All of the tension spurted out of the show, much like spunk out of Niles winkle picker after those two got together.

[Chest Rockwell]

Only season 11 for Simpsons??

 

Anyway. I feel I must defend Arrested Season 4. I didn't enjoy it on first viewing, but I recently watched it for the second time through and it's actually really good. I think it had a lot of expectation around it the first time, and it is very different from the first three. But it's still really good comedy.

 

I also think Frasier is a good example of the only show I can think of that didn't get worse for finally popping its will they/won't they cherry.

 

As I mentioned in another thread recently - Futurama. The films were pretty iffy, and s6 and 7 are just plain shit.

 

Archer has gone off the boil, but I'll still watch it (but it's not a patch on those early seasons). Parks and Rec got bad after about s5 I think as well.

[WyattSheepMask]

Re: Simpsons S11, for me that's where it was most noticeable. Like I posted initially there had been a dip before that, but S11 is where I gave up watching it religiously. Series 3-5 are absolutely untouchable and it was easily the best show inthe world at that point and S6-10 were still above average for the most part.

Matt Greoning even says inthe commentary for 'The Principal & The Pauper' (S9) that that episode was a mistake and marked the end of the 'golden age' of the show

[patiirc]

 

 

I was a big fan of True Blood for the first couple of seasons, but it fell to bits after that — the last two seasons would have filled a ten-minute clipshow with their interesting moments.

 

 

 

I was introduced to True Blood by an ex and ended up watching it backwards. Rutger Hauer, Rob from Eastenders were about the only stand outs towards the end.

 

Supernatural took a dive not long after Crowley was introduced

 

Battlestar Galactica's quality nose dived in season 4. Writer's Strike basically gave it the kiss of death.

 

It gets no love on here, but Scrubs nosedived after season 6. There is no Season 9!

 

Transformers, was never that good to begin with if I'm honest, barring some stand out episodes likeFive Faces of Darkness, War Dawn, The Key to Vector Sigma, Headmasters Rebirth. But the drop off from Season 1 to season 2 was phenomenal and AKON ( Simpson's animators) episodes are utterly awful

[Sergio Mendacious]

Akon animated Transformers and the Simpsons? His hand must've been knackered all the time.

[patiirc]

Akon animated Transformers and the Simpsons? His hand must've been knackered all the time.

Akom even. FFS lol. That'll teach me