# Shows that started off strong and then quickly went downhill ...



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

I was thinking today about how some shows get off to a great start, and then rapidly devolve into a complete turd. It's amazing how the writers/showrunners can take something so great and ruin it so quickly.

Here are a couple examples that spring to mind:

*Heroes* - I consider its first season to be among the best single seasons of any show I've watched. The second season was extremely average, and the subsequent seasons were just garbage.

*The 4400* - A very cool idea that started off strong and then completely went off the rails.

*True Blood* - This show didn't fall as far or as fast as the others, but each season has gotten progressively worse. I absolutely loved the first couple seasons.

What other shows would you guys add to the list?


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## Doggie Bear (Jan 16, 2008)

gweempose said:


> I was thinking today about how some shows get off to a great start, and then rapidly devolve into a complete turd. It's amazing how the writers/showrunners can take something so great and ruin it so quickly.
> 
> Here are a couple examples that spring to mind:
> 
> ...


I thought "FlashForward" had an *incredible* pilot episode, but then it just spiraled down the drain under the weight of an increasingly byzantine conspiracy (and Joseph Fiennes' wooden acting).

Much the same could be said about "Revolution," replacing Fienne's wooden acting with the annoying acting by the woman who plays Charlie.

Does the original "Star Trek" count? Season 3 was pretty horrendous.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

I just thought of a couple more:

*Alias* - The show was positively brilliant in its first season. Unfortunately, it became a convoluted mess with the whole Rambaldi story arc.

*Nikita* - I enjoyed the first season way more than I ever would have thought possible. The second season paled in comparison, and I'm struggling to even finish the third season.


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## Mr. Soze (Nov 2, 2002)

Heroes was my first thought.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Sadly, Community


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

Heroes, Prison Break, The Following...


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Glee



But I still watch


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Doggie Bear said:


> I thought "FlashForward" had an *incredible* pilot episode, but then it just spiraled down the drain under the weight of an increasingly byzantine conspiracy (and Joseph Fiennes' wooden acting).


I always lump FlashForward together with The Event. They both started off great, but never found their footing.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

pmyers said:


> Sadly, Community


Let's hope Harmon can get the show back on track. I have serious doubts.


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## smak (Feb 11, 2000)

Heroes. I think the perception of season 1 was helped by some really great endings to episodes. But starting with the last few episodes of season 1, it started to go downhill.

How good the first episodes were was almost an impossibility.

I think Prison Break is a good example. It almost couldn't be good after season 1 with it's premise.

-smak-


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## MacThor (Feb 7, 2002)

24


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

smak said:


> Heroes ... How good the first episodes were was almost an impossibility.


Yep. There has certainly never been a show that has fallen as far so fast. It simply wouldn't be possible for most shows to fall that far, since it's rare that a show is that good to begin with.



smak said:


> I think Prison Break is a good example. It almost couldn't be good after season 1 with it's premise.


I have to admit, I enjoyed season 2. It wasn't nearly as good as season 1, but I thought the writers did an admirable job coming up with entertaining plots outside the prison. The third season was just bizarre.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

gweempose said:


> I just thought of a couple more:
> 
> *Alias* - The show was positively brilliant in its first season. Unfortunately, it became a convoluted mess with the whole Rambaldi story arc.


Good answer.

For another "classic" example, I'd say _SeaQuest DSV_. First season was interesting, but apparently the network thought it was too boring and didn't attract a young demographic, so they dressed the cast in wetsuits that were perpetually half unzipped, dropped some of the characters that "didn't test well" (i.e. they were older or didn't look good in a wetsuit) and cheesed up the show. When THAT didn't work, they thought "Aliens are cool now. Let's do that" and things got weird fast. By the time they realized "oh, crap, we've meddled too much" and tried to reset the show for season 3, it was too late.

I'd personally add _Covert Affairs_. It started off with promise, with actual location shoots every week, lots of good and believable action, and great cinematography, but then quickly the show turned Annie into the worst spy since... well... _Alias_'s Sydney Bristow.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

MacThor said:


> 24


Also agree. When it became blatantly apparent that the shows's creators didn't really care too much about the whole "hook" for the show -- "all events occur in real time" -- the show just became _Die Hard_ for TV.


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

Weeds


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

To add a little flavor to the Heroes comments: Tim Kring's* original plan was to kill off the majority of the characters in the first season. Should it get renewed, he would use just a few carry-overs to "re-boot" a second season.

TPTB saw what a hit it was, and supposedly ordered him to save everyone. Hence the season finale, which had to go down in history as the first ever series to get an "F" for a finale in a season rated "A".

And now you know the rest of the story...

I think I stuck around for S2, purely on the goodwill of S1. After one or two eps of S3, it was adios.


* Tim Kring--showrunner for Heroes


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

I think the biggest drop in TV history may be Homeland, which went from being one of the best shows ever in its first year, to ordinary at best in its second.


hefe said:


> ...The Following...


Oh, come on, when was The Following even remotely good? It was exactly what it was from the beginning! 


gweempose said:


> *Nikita* - I enjoyed the first season way more than I ever would have thought possible. The second season paled in comparison, and I'm struggling to even finish the third season.


I actually thought it improved in the second season, and I still liked the third although not as much as the second. I admire the way they genuinely shake up the status quo every year.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

cherry ghost said:


> Weeds


It's interesting that you should say Weeds. I only watched the first season, and I just thought it was okay. After I quit the show, it seemed like everyone was talking about how awesome it got. I've actually been thinking about going back and watching all the episodes from season two on.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

How about Chuck? Another great show that they ruined.


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## NatasNJ (Jan 7, 2002)

gweempose said:


> It's interesting that you should say Weeds. I only watched the first season, and I just thought it was okay. After I quit the show, it seemed like everyone was talking about how awesome it got. I've actually been thinking about going back and watching all the episodes from season two on.


Just stop after season 2 or 3. It gets unwatchable the last 2 seasons


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

How I met your Mother
Glee
Burn Notice


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

gweempose said:


> How about Chuck? Another great show that they ruined.


I disagree. I thought Chuck remained solid throughout.


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## bsnelson (Oct 30, 1999)

Under The D...

Nah, I can't even type it with a straight face. 

Someone mentioned "The Event" - totally agree with that one. My wife and I were really into that one, and it just went to hell. 

Brad


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.


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## MegaHertz67 (Apr 18, 2005)

While I agree with many of the suggestions above, I believe *Twin peaks* was the ultimate show that fell off the cliff. It was wildly entertaining and supremely weird. But after they figured out "Who killed Laura Palmer," what else was left? Season 2 sucked, and the movie was just a cash grab.

I think *American Horror Story* has figured out a formula that works. A self contained mini-season, and a complete reboot the next season utilizing many of the same actors. Keeps everything fresh and interesting.


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

There were a few short lived shows years ago that I really liked, then they were retooled and became junk. These two I am thinking of are so obscure, I doubt many will even remember them: "The Burning Zone" (1996) had a terrible pilot episode, which I missed, but went on to be a good series until they fired the cast and replaced it with a single actor.  "M.A.N.T.I.S." (1994) was at least okay until they retooled it to oblivion. Horrible decisions on the part of the network!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

You all covered most of the ones I was thinking. I'll add Last Resort, from last year, which had one of the better pilot episodes I've ever seen, and then quickly went downhill.

Smash was another one, although I never loved the show, the first few episodes of S1 were pretty interesting.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Homeboys From Outer Space


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

1. Heroes - first season was among the best ever. S1 Finale stunk, S2 and beyond plummeted.

2. Prison Break - it really should have been a single season.

3. 24 - great start, but got repetitive.


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## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

Homeland. Great first season. Second season not good. Hoping season 3 gets back on track.

Dexter, interesting premise, good guest casting, then fell off the cliff and is limping to the end this week.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

How do we define "quickly". After a few episodes? After one season? Three seasons?

I can think of a few shows that had one or two good seasons and then "jumped the shark". But I'm not sure that is what I'd call "quickly".


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

Dark Angel is the one that comes to mind. It was such a good premise and start but went downhill really quickly.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> How do we define "quickly". After a few episodes? After one season? Three seasons?
> 
> I can think of a few shows that had one or two good seasons and then "jumped the shark". But I'm not sure that is what I'd call "quickly".


I'd say a great season followed by a stinker would qualify as "quickly". A great pilot followed by a weak season would obviously be "very quickly". And then you have those shows that have a couple good seasons, and then fall off the rails. I'm not sure that qualifies as "quickly", but those shows are still worth discussing in this thread.

An example of a show that went downhill big time after its first season would be *Dead Like Me*.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Greys Anatomy is another one that I thought quickly fell off the rails. I thought that it started out as a pretty good medical drama, but rather quickly ended up in soap opera territory.

I think I might add The Newsroom to this. I thought the first season was great, but, the second season was mostly good, but kind of lost it's footing in the finale episodes.


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## leeherman (Nov 5, 2007)

I've got to agree with "Glee".

I'll probably be alone here by adding "South Park" and "Family Guy". 

To me, South Park was at its best at during its first season and went downhill. I stopped watching after season 3. "Family Guy" wasn't the same after it was cancelled and came back for the first time.

LH


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

leeherman said:


> I've got to agree with "Glee".
> 
> I'll probably be alone here by adding "South Park" and "Family Guy".
> 
> ...


The problem with shows like SP and FG is that they have quite a few stinkers every season, but there's almost ALWAYS one episode that makes up for it. So it's hard for me to put those in the downhill category when they still put out some good stuff.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

How about *Alphas*? I thought it was pretty darn good the first season. Second season, not so much.


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Oh, come on, when was The Following even remotely good? It was exactly what it was from the beginning!


The previews were great.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Desperate Housewives
Terra Nova
Once Upon a Time
The X-Files


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## etexlady (Jun 23, 2002)

_The Killing_. I couldn't even finish the first season and I was not interested in a second.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

There are a lot of shows that have a great concept for a mini-series, but no one seems to think about how you drag it out for 22 episodes and then another 5 seasons after that. A few recent ones for me are _Once Upon a Time_ and _Revenge_, that I think would have been great mini-series, but I gave up on both in the latter halves of the first season.

I thought _Lost_ had a fantastic pilot, but after another 5 or 6 episodes gave up.

_Heroes_ would have been better on a cable channel - 13 episode seasons and more likely to kill people off to save money then bring in new people.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

gweempose said:


> An example of a show that went downhill big time after its first season would be *Dead Like Me*.


Another one where I disagree. Although there was a slight drop from season 1 to 2, I thought it wasn't a major fall, and there was more than enough in season 2 to keep it worth watching.

The movie, though, that was a pretty epic failure. (Although, there was a very little bit there in the movie that would have been interesting to see them follow up on... I'd have been interested to see what it would be like if George took over as the leader of the reapers, like it seemed they were setting up for.)


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

etexlady said:


> _The Killing_. I couldn't even finish the first season and I was not interested in a second.


_Nobody_ finished the first season of The Killing, because the _writers/producers_ didn't finish the first season of The Killing. They left viewers completely hanging with no resolution.

I never bothered to check how big a hit their second season ratings took as a result, but I hope it was huge.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> Another one where I disagree. Although there was a slight drop from season 1 to 2, I thought it wasn't a major fall, and there was more than enough in season 2 to keep it worth watching.
> 
> The movie, though, that was a pretty epic failure. (Although, there was a very little bit there in the movie that would have been interesting to see them follow up on... I'd have been interested to see what it would be like if George took over as the leader of the reapers, like it seemed they were setting up for.)


Totally agree. I still miss Dead Like Me.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

gweempose said:


> How about Alphas? I thought it was pretty darn good the first season. Second season, not so much.


I'm the opposite. I almost have up at the end of season 1. Watched the first of season 2 and got hooked again.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Zevida said:


> There are a lot of shows that have a great concept for a mini-series, but no one seems to think about how you drag it out for 22 episodes and then another 5 seasons after that.


One mini-series that I wish was expanded into a full series was The Lost Room. I thought it was brilliant, and I would have loved to explore that universe in more depth. Instead we got Warehouse 13, an inferior knockoff.


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## nickels (Jan 11, 2010)

Under the Dome - just read the threads.


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## jr461 (Jul 9, 2004)

Pretty much in agreement with what's been mentioned:
Lost
Heroes
Weeds
Alias
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy

Adding:
American Idol
Boston Legal
30 Rock
The Apprentice


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## late for dinner (May 17, 2013)

pretty much any good show, not too many start strong and stay that way.


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

So many I agree with here. I don't have any to add to the list, but for whatever reason I feel it interesting that this discussion makes me think of Journeyman, which was a show that was never given a chance to go downhill.


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## jr461 (Jul 9, 2004)

late for dinner said:


> pretty much any good show, not too many start strong and stay that way.


The distinction in this topic might be those shows that really grabbed you and then fell off the rails.

What you're describing is common to many shows that start off strong and simply overstay their welcome. I almost put Entourage on my list but decided it was more this than having fallen apart. Dexter and The Office would also be examples (IMO of course!).
Mad Men I think is also borderline in this category.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

jr461 said:


> 30 Rock


Fascinating. I am one who thinks that 30 Rock stared horribly and got better. The first two or three episodes are still painful to watch.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

TonyD79 said:


> Fascinating. I am one who thinks that 30 Rock stared horribly and got better. The first two or three episodes are still painful to watch.


30 Rock, like most sitcoms, took a little while to find its footing. It probably peaked around season three.


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## billboard_NE (May 18, 2005)

Rescue Me, the show started off so strong, then went in a million different plot directions with hardly anything being followed up on.


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

DancnDude said:


> Dark Angel is the one that comes to mind. It was such a good premise and start but went downhill really quickly.


I have to agree strongly on this one. The first few episodes had her as a conflicted anti-hero, and the then, suddenly, that all evaporated. The rest of season one was passable, but anything after that was a hideous caricature of what the show started out as.


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## Borack (Dec 14, 2004)

Under the Dome....


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Borack said:


> Under the Dome....


I'm amazed how universally people call this show "Under the Dumb". Not just on TCF. Everywhere.

I've never seen it, though I have a friend who is a big fan.


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## danielhart (Apr 27, 2004)

Breaking Bad imo







NOT!!!!!!!!!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

gweempose said:


> 30 Rock, like most sitcoms, took a little while to find its footing. It probably peaked around season three.


That's about how I see it. I thought the first season was ok, but it did get better as things moved along. But, I think like most shows, they just run out of new things to write about and it just seems to be the same old, or some really dumb plot points to try and be different.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

billboard_NE said:


> Rescue Me, the show started off so strong, then went in a million different plot directions with hardly anything being followed up on.


Agree. The characters were still entertaining, while the plots meandered. But I thought it finished strong.

To me, I don't think we should include in this discussion shows that had at least a couple of good seasons before it derailed. That's more like jumping the shark. I think the show would have to take a major turn downhill by the latest the second season to be considered.


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

A lot of people have already mentioned my first pick, Glee, but that reminded me that Ryan Murphy seems to have a habit of making shows that have really good first seasons and then go off the rails.

Nip/Tuck, anyone?


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## jr461 (Jul 9, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> That's about how I see it. I thought the first season was ok, but it did get better as things moved along. But, I think like most shows, they just run out of new things to write about and it just seems to be the same old, or some really dumb plot points to try and be different.


That's pretty much it, although I did forget it took a bit to find its footing. It eventually just got beyond the usual silliness into just unfunny dumb.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

Heroes is what I immediately thought.

Prison Break had an awesome first season. Went off the rails. Have to agree with that!

4400 was another good one that I forgot about.

I wouldn't include Lost in this list though. A lot of seasons were GREAT! I thought the ending was God awful and basically ruined the show for me but I loved it until the final episode. Half of the final season was terrible for me as well.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

David Platt said:


> A lot of people have already mentioned my first pick, Glee, but that reminded me that Ryan Murphy seems to have a habit of making shows that have really good first seasons and then go off the rails.
> 
> Nip/Tuck, anyone?


Good call. When Nip/Tuck first aired, it quickly became one of my favorite shows. It was so edgy and different. I loved the first season, but it did go downhill pretty fast. Believe it or not, I still have the last 5 episodes of the final season that I never watched. The show had become that bad by the end that I've never felt compelled to even finish it.


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## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

gweempose said:


> Good call. When Nip/Tuck first aired, it quickly became one of my favorite shows. It was so edgy and different. I loved the first season, but it did go downhill pretty fast. Believe it or not, I still have the last 5 episodes of the final season that I never watched. The show had become that bad by the end that I've never felt compelled to even finish it.


Nip/Tuck is a great call. I think it went off the rails towards the end of the first season, but the first few episodes were pretty good.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

lambertman said:


> Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.


I thought it started pretty good and got better, but unfortunately NBC didn't see it that way.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

bsnelson said:


> Under The D...
> 
> Nah, I can't even type it with a straight face.
> 
> ...


UTD started strong, but the downhill slide pretty much started right after the cow got split in half.

Now I'm having to watch in short bursts of 3 to 5 minutes at a time it's so painful.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

unitron said:


> I thought it started pretty good and got better, but unfortunately NBC didn't see it that way.


It wasn't so much NBC that was the problem. The viewers simply tuned out because they expected a totally different show than what they got. They couldn't process a serious drama about the making of a comedy show.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Or we may have just thought it was poorly written.


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## doom1701 (May 15, 2001)

I bring it up every thread like this...Earth: Final Conflict. The first season had a couple of misses, but overall it was incredible, and the arc being set up promised to be one of the most intelligent sci-fi stories ever done on television.

But then they dumbed it down for season 2 (and replaced the lead). Each season got progressively dumber, until season 5 turned into some strange vampire story.


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

gweempose said:


> *Heroes* - I consider its first season to be among the best single seasons of any show I've watched. The second season was extremely average, and the subsequent seasons were just garbage.


Wasn't the second season the one affected by the WGA strike? (That season of _Friday Night Lights_ suffered as well because of it - they had to force-feed the viewers an ending (at the start of the episode, the local radio sports announcer said that verbal commitments were more important than Letters of Intent).)


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

doom1701 said:


> I bring it up every thread like this...Earth: Final Conflict. The first season had a couple of misses, but overall it was incredible, and the arc being set up promised to be one of the most intelligent sci-fi stories ever done on television.
> 
> But then they dumbed it down for season 2 (and replaced the lead). Each season got progressively dumber, until season 5 turned into some strange vampire story.


If you're going to there, then you may as well also mention Andromeda, which after season 1 turned into The Kevin Sorbo Show.

(Of course, after seeing the outline that Robert Hewitt Wolfe posted on the Internet of what he intended for the show, had he not been ousted, it wouldn't have been much better. IMO, of course.)


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

That Don Guy said:


> Wasn't the second season the one affected by the WGA strike?


I do believe you are correct.


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## MegaHertz67 (Apr 18, 2005)

unitron said:


> I thought it started pretty good and got better, but unfortunately NBC didn't see it that way.





LoadStar said:


> It wasn't so much NBC that was the problem. The viewers simply tuned out because they expected a totally different show than what they got. They couldn't process a serious drama about the making of a comedy show.





lambertman said:


> Or we may have just thought it was poorly written.


if I remember correctly the ratings were not that bad, but for the cost of that cast and what they were paying Sorkin, NBC was not getting its monies worth.


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

Maybe mentioned and I missed it, but Battlestar Galactica


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

cherry ghost said:


> Maybe mentioned and I missed it, but Battlestar Galactica


Although BG (and Lost, for that matter) is a somewhat different animal, in that its flaws were always there, but only became apparent over time.

So to the extent that it ever sucked, it always sucked, but its flaws were well-hidden to begin with.

(Probably not a coincidence that both were shows that leaned heavily on a Master Plan, only to learn that they didn't really have a Master Plan and were mostly making it up as they went along.)


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

*Eastbound & Down* - Such an awesome first season. Downhill from there.
*Party Down* - It was never the same after Jane Lynch left


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

doom1701 said:


> I bring it up every thread like this...Earth: Final Conflict. The first season had a couple of misses, but overall it was incredible, and the arc being set up promised to be one of the most intelligent sci-fi stories ever done on television.
> 
> But then they dumbed it down for season 2 (and replaced the lead). Each season got progressively dumber, until season 5 turned into some strange vampire story.


+1

The first season was, as you say, very good, but then it just became all but unwatchable. I never made it to the end. I quit long before that.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

unitron said:


> I thought it started pretty good and got better, but unfortunately NBC didn't see it that way.


Well I don't think it was NBC as much as it was poor ratings that did them in.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

MegaHertz67 said:


> if I remember correctly the ratings were not that bad, but for the cost of that cast and what they were paying Sorkin, NBC was not getting its monies worth.


I do think, if that show was made today, it would still be on. The bar is set so much lower, ratings wise, for NBC now.

IRC the ratings were very strong the first week or two and then sunk quickly.


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## brianric (Aug 29, 2002)

nickels said:


> Under the Dome - just read the threads.


Under the Dome never started out strong.


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## doom1701 (May 15, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Although BG (and Lost, for that matter) is a somewhat different animal, in that its flaws were always there, but only became apparent over time.
> 
> So to the extent that it ever sucked, it always sucked, but its flaws were well-hidden to begin with.
> 
> (Probably not a coincidence that both were shows that leaned heavily on a Master Plan, only to learn that they didn't really have a Master Plan and were mostly making it up as they went along.)


Even in the final season, when you realized that the "Master Plan" was just some guy pulling storylines out of his rear every week, Battlestar was still excellent. The acting was incredible, visually it still stands as some of the best Sci-Fi I've ever seen, and even the stand alone storylines (or the storylines that only went across a couple of episodes) were rivetting.

But we reached the end and realized that some drunk guy had been driving us around in circles for 4 years.


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## Fahtrim (Apr 12, 2004)

Borack said:


> Under the Dome....


By started out strong, you mean the first 25 minutes of the pilot?


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## Fahtrim (Apr 12, 2004)

That Don Guy said:


> Wasn't the second season the one affected by the WGA strike? (That season of _Friday Night Lights_ suffered as well because of it - they had to force-feed the viewers an ending (at the start of the episode, the local radio sports announcer said that verbal commitments were more important than Letters of Intent).)


Yes the second season was the WGA Strike. Unfortunately for "Heroes", the demise began when the executives shoved the "keep the characters alive" down the creators throat and the finale of Season 1 turned into a steaming stinking pile of poo.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

doom1701 said:


> Even in the final season, when you realized that the "Master Plan" was just some guy pulling storylines out of his rear every week, Battlestar was still excellent. The acting was incredible, visually it still stands as some of the best Sci-Fi I've ever seen, and even the stand alone storylines (or the storylines that only went across a couple of episodes) were rivetting.


The superficial aspects of the show were, indeed, amazing. But the writers' contempt for science (and the people who care about it) was especially disturbing in a science fiction show, and in addition to the long-term plotting issues, there was also pretty bad characterization (e.g., Apollo and especially Starbuck were whoever that week's script required them to be, regardless of who they had been before).

Often great episodes, which combined to make for a pretty terrible series.

Lost, on the other hand, had enough going for it on a week-to-week and season-to-season basis that the giant rip-off that was the ending only really pissed me off, instead of ruining the whole show for me.

But I know other people both liked and disliked Lost a lot more than I did, and other people certainly liked BG a lot more than I did. I guess it boils down to what matters to an individual, and of course personal taste.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

Human Target on Fox, 
First season was uneven but finding it's way, especially with Lee Majors as the previous Chance in the S01 finale.

Then came Ilsa Pucci and S02, it was pretty awful, they even dumped Bear McCreary's awesome score for S02.


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## philhu (Apr 11, 2001)

The 4400 was intended to be a 5 part miniseries, and was. It focused on a character a week with a unique ability. Those were good episodes

Then they turned it into a show with plot arcs, etc, which muddied it up badly.

I heard the reason that 'The event' had problems was that they kept moving forward and back with stories and flashbacks that really confused the audience. I tend to agree. After the reboot and hiatus for 10 weeks, the last half was much easier to understand, but alas, it was already too late.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

philhu said:


> I heard the reason that 'The event' had problems was that they kept moving forward and back with stories and flashbacks that really confused the audience.


You need a really talented team of writers to successfully pull off stuff like that. *Lost* did it better than any other show before or since.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

doom1701 said:


> I bring it up every thread like this...Earth: Final Conflict. The first season had a couple of misses, but overall it was incredible, and the arc being set up promised to be one of the most intelligent sci-fi stories ever done on television.
> 
> But then they dumbed it down for season 2 (and replaced the lead). Each season got progressively dumber, until season 5 turned into some strange vampire story.


And then they recycled those vampires for Stargate:Atlantis


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

brianric said:


> Under the Dome never started out strong.


Sure it did. They sliced a cow right down the middle.

Of course it's been downhill ever since.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

dianebrat said:


> Human Target on Fox,
> First season was uneven but finding it's way, especially with Lee Majors as the previous Chance in the S01 finale.
> 
> Then came Ilsa Pucci and S02, it was pretty awful, they even dumped Bear McCreary's awesome score for S02.


I thought it was still pretty good even then, but me liking a show is usually enough to get it killed off, and sure enough...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

gweempose said:


> You need a really talented team of writers to successfully pull off stuff like that. *Lost* did it better than any other show before or since.


You mean overdid it better?


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

I agree with Under the Dome and Last Resort and add Continuum (although I haven't seen the latest season). All of these had good 1st episodes and while Under the Dome went straight downhill starting with the 2nd episode, Last Resort and Continuum lasted a few more episodes before dropping into suckdom.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Wow, in my mind Continuum started off interesting but shaky, and got better and better as it went.


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## billboard_NE (May 18, 2005)

unitron said:


> Sure it did. They sliced a cow right down the middle.
> 
> Of course it's been downhill ever since.


I agree downhill starting at the cow being sliced in half.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

billboard_NE said:


> I agree downhill starting at the cow being sliced in half.


I just hope that cow's family gets residuals for every time they show the scene, like the guy James Arness shot during the Gunsmoke intro year after year.


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

Not exactly on topic because the word "quickly" does not apply, BUT, Mission Impossible was very good for the first four and a half seasons, but then it change, and went downhill pretty rapidly. It was the elimination of the international plots to concentrate on domestic stories exclusively that did it for me.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Fahtrim said:


> By started out strong, you mean the first 25 minutes of the pilot?


By 25 minutes, did you mean 2.5 minutes? 

(UTD)


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

Borack said:


> Under the Dome....





brianric said:


> Under the Dome never started out strong.





Fahtrim said:


> By started out strong, you mean the first 25 minutes of the pilot?





sharkster said:


> By 25 minutes, did you mean 2.5 minutes?
> 
> (UTD)


Well, I would have given it five to ten minutes, but certainly by 25 minutes, it was obvious just how bad it was, and was going to be. I can't believe I watched the whole thing. It must have been wishful thinking.


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## Fahtrim (Apr 12, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Wow, in my mind Continuum started off interesting but shaky, and got better and better as it went.


Completely agree. Continuum is quite good now for my (and my kids) enjoyment.


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## MacThor (Feb 7, 2002)

Survivor. Loved the first season; Season 2 (Outback) started to fade into Colby's ridiculously dumb strategic blunder towards the end. It hasn't been watchable (for me) since.

I guess I'd put most reality competitions into this category (except for the ones that were never strong). Although AI peaked a few seasons in.


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## DarkMatter1968 (Sep 23, 2013)

My picks for shows...Murder One, Heroes, 24,(3rd season on).


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