FTA-TV Good TV show's that decline in quality.

Remove this Banner Ad

Animal Kingdom is becoming like this now.

Last 3 seasons were brilliant but now Smurf is dead its just kind of got a bit stale.

Sent from my CPH2025 using Tapatalk
 
Dexter went from amazing to farcical in the last couple of seasons. Ditto Sons of Anarchy. Oz probably fell away a bit too.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

For all the stick Dexter cops I still found the last few seasons watchable enough. Miles off the earlier brilliance but still watchable. Same with GoT actually.

But something like Westworld (to use that as an example again), that just became completely unwatchable. Boring as batshit.
 
The Drew Carey show definitely fits here and it also fits in the other thread about shows that had mediocre first seasons before becoming big hits.

When The Drew Carey Show commenced in 1995 it was a strange little sitcom that didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, but with a few changes quickly found its niche and turned into an extremely funny and popular sitcom from the mid 1990s through to the very early 2000s. Then in Australia from about 2002 Channel 9 stopped screening The Drew Carey Show and I was disappointed. I soon found out why when I watched some episodes from the last three years of the show's run (2002, 2003 and 2004) as re-runs a few years later - it was just flat out awful. Really, really bad. For example one episode had Drew Carey starting a new job and with no explanation at all Mr. Wick and Mimi were waiting for him at his new place of employment. Christa Miller (Kate) departed and IIRC Craig Ferguson (Mr. Wick) also left before the end.

Today, if you want to watch The Drew Carey Show you would have a hard time doing so, unless you have a lot of VHS tapes of the show you recorded in the 1990s and early 2000s and a working VCR. Season 1 of Drew Carey had a limited DVD release circa 2008, but is long since out of print. No other seasons have been released due to music copyright issues and are unlikely to be at any stage. The show hasn't aged all that well, hasn't been shown in syndication for years, and has never been available on streaming services.
 
Last edited:
Australian soap E Street would also qualify for both the successful TV shows with poor first series and those that fell away at the end.

In 1988 Channel 10 debuted a new soap called Richmond Hill, but it was not a success and axed after only a year. A new soap was commissioned for 1989 - E Street - and it was to be much darker and edgier than its predecessor and other popular soaps Home and Away and Neighbours. It was also to have the same format as Channel 7's 'A Country Practice' with two hour long episodes per week, rather than a serial soap like Home and Away and Neighbours.

Unfortunately, the creators seemed to take the dark and edgy a little too literally. The new show was completely devoid of lighter moments and any semblance of humour, and the storylines had such strong and unpleasant material that the show was drab and at times downright depressing. Viewers turned off in droves, the new show was a disaster and Channel 10 executives might have been wishing they had stuck with Richmond Hill.

It seemed likely E Street would be axed mid year, but it was given a reprieve and major changes. It was turned into a serialized soap, and while it did still have some stronger material, it was nowhere near as bleak as those stories seen in the early months of the show and more relatable characters and humour injected into the mix. The results were immediate and successful and the revamped E Street was a huge hit for the second half of 1989, and into 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Unfortunately, in the second half of 1992 ratings for the soap started to soften. Like Home and Away and Neighbours, E Street had a 'real world' setting, but in an attempt to boost ratings for 1993 it started to include outlandish, unrealistic storylines like werewolves and a lifelong paraplegic suddenly finding the ability to walk with no explanation. These weren't a success with viewers and the revamped E Street axed before mid year, a situation unthinkable just 12 months earlier.

However, as weird as the last few months of E Street in 1993 were, if the ratings had improved things would have become weirder still if it had continued in the second half of 1993 and 1994. The setting of E Street was a fictional suburb in Western Sydney called Westside. However, it was planned to move the show to Melbourne and retcon Westside to always having been a western suburb of Melbourne rather than Sydney.
 
As others have said here...Seinfeld went downhill after LD left, the comedy got so broad it ended up more ridiculous than funny and since George was no longer LD's alter-ego, that character particularly becomes unbearably shouty and cartoonish.

The X Files - the early stuff (seasons 1-4) is some of my all-time favourite TV but maintaining that whole arc of Mulder's sister and the alien elite just becomes intolerable in the long run, they really should have put it to bed by season 5 imo.

Roseanne - again, seasons 1-5 genuinely entertaining and funny, after that it gets weaker by the episode and once they win lotto, forget it.

CSI (the OG) - massive hit when it first came along and rightfully as it was a new way to present what was basically another US cop show, embellishing the duties of a CSI crew didn't bother me because it was very well shot and so watchable but as always they just couldn't give it up and it became laughably bad the longer it went on.
 
emuboy said:
The Drew Carey show definitely fits here and it also fits in the other thread about shows that had mediocre first seasons before becoming big hits.

When The Drew Carey Show commenced in 1995 it was a strange little sitcom that didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, but with a few changes quickly found its niche and turned into an extremely funny and popular sitcom from the mid 1990s through to the very early 2000s. Then in Australia from about 2002 Channel 9 stopped screening The Drew Carey Show and I was disappointed. I soon found out why when I watched some episodes from the last three years of the show's run (2002, 2003 and 2004) as re-runs a few years later - it was just flat out awful. Really, really bad. For example one episode had Drew Carey starting a new job and with no explanation at all Mr. Wick and Mimi were waiting for him at his new place of employment. Christa Miller (Kate) departed and IIRC Craig Ferguson (Mr. Wick) also left before the end.

Today, if you want to watch The Drew Carey Show you would have a hard time doing so, unless you have a lot of VHS tapes of the show you recorded in the 1990s and early 2000s and a working VCR. Season 1 of Drew Carey had a limited DVD release circa 2008, but is long since out of print. No other seasons have been released due to music copyright issues and are unlikely to be at any stage. The show hasn't aged all that well, hasn't been shown in syndication for years, and has never been available on streaming services.
Click to expand...
I've actually been wanting to watch this again for a while now.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 
Spazz Cat said:
Yeah Homeland. Why the f**k did they tack extra seasons on to that after it was meant to end?
Click to expand...

Homeland’s an interesting one because even though it went to s**t after the first 2 seasons it’s one of those rare shows that actually came good again eventually.

The last 3 seasons (6-8) were terrific.
 
There's some obvious ones that have been mentioned already:
  • Homeland (it had its moments in later series, but was nowhere near the level of Season 1)
  • Westworld (I actually enjoyed Season 2 more than most people, but Season 3 was a dumpster fire)
  • House Of Cards (the loss of Kevin Spacey was always going to be a massive hole to fill)
  • Game Of Thrones (is there a show that has dropped further in terms of how much people talked about it?)
  • Arrested Development (this was tied as my favourite show of all time, yet somehow they managed to make two disastrously unfunny seasons to follow up)
Some that haven't been mentioned though:
  • UnReal - It started off as a brutal take-down of the reality behind reality TV and was really clever, with some amazingly terrible characters. But the second season (and later ones) was a pretty quick descent into scenarios that they had parodied in the first season.
  • Master Of None - Presumably Aziz wanted to be in less of Season 3 due to being kind-of-cancelled, but it was just torturously boring. I understand wanting to create a cinematic atmosphere, but the amount and length of the pointless scenery shots were a huge step down from the first two seasons (that were both really fantastic in very different ways).
  • The Affair - This was a fantastic concept to show the same story from different points of view and had a great mystery intertwined with the main story (ie the affair itself). But the concept became farcical the longer they tried to keep it going and the storylines ended up turning the show into a soap opera.
  • The Outsider - This one has the distinction of managing to fall from grace within the timeframe of a single season. And incredible mystery that ramped up in intensity and craziness as it went along and then ... it just went really crap. Characters acted completely differently, plotlines didn't make sense, and a ludicrously underwhelming shoot out before the whole thing ended with a whimper.
  • Making A Murderer - The first season was an amazing journey through the failures of the American criminal justice system with an entirely unlikeable protagonist, but generated so much discussion about his guilt/innocence. Then the second season just felt like a money grab from everyone involved, stretching out the same story with not much more insight.
 
JackOutback said:
I’m always surprised when people say the last season of Game of Thrones was terrible, like it came out of nowhere. There was a steady decline from the end of season three.
Click to expand...

Season 4 was still great. Mountain and the Viper is one of the greatest episodes of television ever.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

MC Bad Genius said:
There's some obvious ones that have been mentioned already:
  • Homeland (it had its moments in later series, but was nowhere near the level of Season 1)
  • Westworld (I actually enjoyed Season 2 more than most people, but Season 3 was a dumpster fire)
  • House Of Cards (the loss of Kevin Spacey was always going to be a massive hole to fill)
  • Game Of Thrones (is there a show that has dropped further in terms of how much people talked about it?)
  • Arrested Development (this was tied as my favourite show of all time, yet somehow they managed to make two disastrously unfunny seasons to follow up)
Some that haven't been mentioned though:
  • UnReal - It started off as a brutal take-down of the reality behind reality TV and was really clever, with some amazingly terrible characters. But the second season (and later ones) was a pretty quick descent into scenarios that they had parodied in the first season.
  • Master Of None - Presumably Aziz wanted to be in less of Season 3 due to being kind-of-cancelled, but it was just torturously boring. I understand wanting to create a cinematic atmosphere, but the amount and length of the pointless scenery shots were a huge step down from the first two seasons (that were both really fantastic in very different ways).
  • The Affair - This was a fantastic concept to show the same story from different points of view and had a great mystery intertwined with the main story (ie the affair itself). But the concept became farcical the longer they tried to keep it going and the storylines ended up turning the show into a soap opera.
  • The Outsider - This one has the distinction of managing to fall from grace within the timeframe of a single season. And incredible mystery that ramped up in intensity and craziness as it went along and then ... it just went really crap. Characters acted completely differently, plotlines didn't make sense, and a ludicrously underwhelming shoot out before the whole thing ended with a whimper.
  • Making A Murderer - The first season was an amazing journey through the failures of the American criminal justice system with an entirely unlikeable protagonist, but generated so much discussion about his guilt/innocence. Then the second season just felt like a money grab from everyone involved, stretching out the same story with not much more insight.
Click to expand...

Each to their own but I would argue against MaM purely on the basis of the hopeless state of Brendan’s case. The lawyers in season 2 came to Australia pre Covid and gave an engaging expose on not just his case but the whole charade of Police interrogation and the inconsistencies in interviewing and processing Minors.

For such a self righteous defender of justice every where else they don’t need to look too far for injustices.
 
Red Black and Blue said:
Season 4 was still great. Mountain and the Viper is one of the greatest episodes of television ever.
Click to expand...
I feel like there was a clear decline from season 3 on...4 is still pretty good because it's still the closest to its peak, but the cracks start to show at that point. Tyrion starts to become far less interesting. By the time he hooks up with Daenerys, he's a shadow of himself.
 
emuboy said:
Australian soap E Street would also qualify for both the successful TV shows with poor first series and those that fell away at the end.

In 1988 Channel 10 debuted a new soap called Richmond Hill, but it was not a success and axed after only a year. A new soap was commissioned for 1989 - E Street - and it was to be much darker and edgier than its predecessor and other popular soaps Home and Away and Neighbours. It was also to have the same format as Channel 7's 'A Country Practice' with two hour long episodes per week, rather than a serial soap like Home and Away and Neighbours.

Unfortunately, the creators seemed to take the dark and edgy a little too literally. The new show was completely devoid of lighter moments and any semblance of humour, and the storylines had such strong and unpleasant material that the show was drab and at times downright depressing. Viewers turned off in droves, the new show was a disaster and Channel 10 executives might have been wishing they had stuck with Richmond Hill.

It seemed likely E Street would be axed mid year, but it was given a reprieve and major changes. It was turned into a serialized soap, and while it did still have some stronger material, it was nowhere near as bleak as those stories seen in the early months of the show and more relatable characters and humour injected into the mix. The results were immediate and successful and the revamped E Street was a huge hit for the second half of 1989, and into 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Unfortunately, in the second half of 1992 ratings for the soap started to soften. Like Home and Away and Neighbours, E Street had a 'real world' setting, but in an attempt to boost ratings for 1993 it started to include outlandish, unrealistic storylines like werewolves and a lifelong paraplegic suddenly finding the ability to walk with no explanation. These weren't a success with viewers and the revamped E Street axed before mid year, a situation unthinkable just 12 months earlier.

However, as weird as the last few months of E Street in 1993 were, if the ratings had improved things would have become weirder still if it had continued in the second half of 1993 and 1994. The setting of E Street was a fictional suburb in Western Sydney called Westside. However, it was planned to move the show to Melbourne and retcon Westside to always having been a western suburb of Melbourne rather than Sydney.
Click to expand...
E Street was great viewing in the late 80's/early 90s era but the Mr Bad storyline was close to the Shark Jump moment. The actor himself (Vince Martin) said he asked producers for more character development so the scriptwriters simply had him kill more people. He left mid-storyline so they had Mr Bad shot to within an inch of his life while they scrambled for a replacement off-screen. The new actor was swathed in bandages with just an eye visible and not speaking as - allegedly - the new actor couldn't speak English particularly well. Killing off Reverend Bob also didn't help things. By the end the show was only just short of a cartoon.

At the peak Channel 10 were so desperate to capitalise on it they offered to axe Neighbours while asking producer Forrest Redlich to move the show to Melbourne so the show could be stripped in the old Neighbours slot 5 nights a week. Redlich said it took him a minute of maths to work out 10 were asking for an extra 30 minutes of TV produced at the same price as the original two hours and then getting him to foot the relocation costs to Melbourne.
 
JackOutback said:
I feel like there was a clear decline from season 3 on...4 is still pretty good because it's still the closest to its peak, but the cracks start to show at that point. Tyrion starts to become far less interesting. By the time he hooks up with Daenerys, he's a shadow of himself.
Click to expand...

that’s after season four. Season 4 is the trial. Which is some of the best of Tyrion.
 
MC Bad Genius said:
There's some obvious ones that have been mentioned already:
  • Homeland (it had its moments in later series, but was nowhere near the level of Season 1)
  • Westworld (I actually enjoyed Season 2 more than most people, but Season 3 was a dumpster fire)
  • House Of Cards (the loss of Kevin Spacey was always going to be a massive hole to fill)
  • Game Of Thrones (is there a show that has dropped further in terms of how much people talked about it?)
  • Arrested Development (this was tied as my favourite show of all time, yet somehow they managed to make two disastrously unfunny seasons to follow up)
Some that haven't been mentioned though:
  • UnReal - It started off as a brutal take-down of the reality behind reality TV and was really clever, with some amazingly terrible characters. But the second season (and later ones) was a pretty quick descent into scenarios that they had parodied in the first season.
  • Master Of None - Presumably Aziz wanted to be in less of Season 3 due to being kind-of-cancelled, but it was just torturously boring. I understand wanting to create a cinematic atmosphere, but the amount and length of the pointless scenery shots were a huge step down from the first two seasons (that were both really fantastic in very different ways).
  • The Affair - This was a fantastic concept to show the same story from different points of view and had a great mystery intertwined with the main story (ie the affair itself). But the concept became farcical the longer they tried to keep it going and the storylines ended up turning the show into a soap opera.
  • The Outsider - This one has the distinction of managing to fall from grace within the timeframe of a single season. And incredible mystery that ramped up in intensity and craziness as it went along and then ... it just went really crap. Characters acted completely differently, plotlines didn't make sense, and a ludicrously underwhelming shoot out before the whole thing ended with a whimper.
  • Making A Murderer - The first season was an amazing journey through the failures of the American criminal justice system with an entirely unlikeable protagonist, but generated so much discussion about his guilt/innocence. Then the second season just felt like a money grab from everyone involved, stretching out the same story with not much more insight.
Click to expand...
Good call on Outsider. Cracking first couple of eps...
 
jackn said:
Every single show that lasted long enough. Tougher question would be name a show that goes five seasons where the quality doesn't drop by the end.

Lots drop off much quicker but very few maintain their quality for 5.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed Fringe to the end.
I binge watched most of the 5 seasons.
Actually come to think of it. The last season I had caught up in real time and had to wait weekly to watch it which was annoying.
The story went a bit weird in middle (around season 2 or 3 I think) which never made sense to me fully how a character that used to exist no longer exists and then other characters remember him when he comes back. That temporary was doing my head in a little but once I got over that, and trying to work it out the rest of the show I enjoyed to the very end.

I think Curb Your Enthusiasm in it's 11th season, I still enjoying it as much as the first season I saw long long time ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rooz90
Movie Old Australian Spooky/thriller show
Replies
5
Views
113
Roobs321
Roobs321
GreyCrow
FTA-TV Your Best TV Show - Ever!
2
Replies
48
Views
2K
HAPPY CHEFFY
HAPPY CHEFFY
Exe Gesis
FTA-TV Evil - TV Show
Replies
5
Views
417
BlakeyNoFlakey
BlakeyNoFlakey
Gasometer
FTA-TV 2022-Top 5 Tv shows
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
Caesar
Caesar
Marcel Proust
Streaming 40k tv show. (Henry the geek)
Replies
2
Views
300
Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
BlakeyNoFlakey
Renewed and Canceled TV shows 2023 (FTA & Streaming)
Replies
10
Views
816
BlakeyNoFlakey
BlakeyNoFlakey
Sketi
Your go-to TV comedies
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
burge13
B

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top