Sorry that's a weird thread title, but here's what I am getting at.

Take "The Andy Griffith Show". Everybody pretty much agrees it's last three seasons aren't nearly as good as the first five. But how much does that dip in quality affect the appeal of the show overall?

Someone recently posted a thread of our Top 100 TV shows, and I realized about halfway through it that I hadn't included TAGS. And I really think I had not included it because of the last three years. They made a real stain on the show; whereas the first five years would probably put it in my top ten sitcoms of all time, when you add in the last three, it dips quite a bit.

Do others feel the same way about TAGS or other shows? That's one big reason I think it's a shame networks don't end shows in their prime; when they have them limp along like that, it really tarnishes the show's historical standing.

Good observations. I feel the same way about Bewitched. The first years were delightful. But then the good actors/actresses on the show were gone (Alice Pearce, Marion Lorne, and of course, Dick York), and their replacements were inferior. I guess, just like TAGS, I think of the series as two separate shows.

Good observations. I feel the same way about Bewitched. The first years were delightful. But then the good actors/actresses on the show were gone (Alice Pearce, Marion Lorne, and of course, Dick York), and their replacements were inferior. I guess, just like TAGS, I think of the series as two separate shows.

Good example. I agree; there's a whole list that could be compiled, honestly (and sadly). Shows that end when they should (like Mary Tyler Moore or The Odd Couple) are really the exception rather than the rule.

Take "The Andy Griffith Show". Everybody pretty much agrees it's last three seasons aren't nearly as good as the first five. But how much does that dip in quality affect the appeal of the show overall?

MeTV ran an article earlier this year stating TAGS was the 60th most-watched TV show in 2016. For a show that ended production almost 50 years ago, that's incredible. In the case of TAGS, the quality of the last seasons seems to be irrelevant to many viewers.

Source: https://www.metv.com/stories/the-andy-griffith-show-was-the-60th-most-watched-tv-show-in-2016

Do others feel the same way about TAGS or other shows? That's one big reason I think it's a shame networks don't end shows in their prime; when they have them limp along like that, it really tarnishes the show's historical standing.

I feel the same way about original-recipe Dallas on CBS, and I think the cutoff point should have been when Pam ran into that trailer and was killed in 1987. After that, Dallas seemed to have been a whole other show, and limped ignominiously (IMO) to its end in 1991.

I feel the same way about original-recipe Dallas on CBS, and I think the cutoff point should have been when Pam ran into that trailer and was killed in 1987. After that, Dallas seemed to have been a whole other show, and limped ignominiously (IMO) to its end in 1991.

I feel the same way; for me, it never really was the same after the year Patrick Duffy left the show. Even after his "return", there was something missing. It seemed like all the plots were just rehashes. For me, the big fight for Ewing Oil after Jock died was really the last good Dallas plot.

Many times when I first see the show, I don't have much to grumble about. It's when I see the show again many years later and I am older too, that I sometimes say, lord how did this stay on the air.