AOL TV: "When Good Shows Go Bad"

[JamesG]

All in the Family (1971-1979) / Archie Bunker's Place (1979-1983)

After eight seasons and hundreds of political arguments between Archie and son-in-law Mike, the landmark sitcom had run its course, but CBS kept it alive by moving it out of the Bunkers' living room and into the neighborhood tavern that Archie had purchased.

Still, all the principal stars except Carroll O'Connor soon left the show. Mike and Gloria moved out, and beloved Edith died (killed off by a stroke that occurred, mercifully, off-screen), leaving only annoyingly perky singing-and-dancing moppet Stephanie (Danielle Brisebois) as Archie's family.

Miraculously, Archie Bunker's Place hung on for four years, due largely to residual fondness for O'Connor's indelible curmudgeon.




Dallas (1978-1991)

Over its 13 seasons, Dallas became a victim of its own longevity, as the writers resorted to increasingly desperate stunts to shake things up, like having an entire season prove to be a dream, something Pam realizes when she sees long-presumed-dead hubby Bobby casually taking a morning shower. (That's how the writers brought back Patrick Duffy, who had left the show for a season.)

Cast attrition meant that by the end, few of the original characters were left. J.R. found himself with a child bride and a grown son. The increasingly miserable tycoon ended the series on a gloomy note, with a perverse It's a Wonderful Life parody that saw a demonic figure (Joel Grey) showing J.R. how much better off everyone would be without him around.

A gunshot was heard; had the depressed J.R. shot himself? No, he'd merely put the series out of its misery.




Mork & Mindy (1978-1982)

The alien fish-out-of-water sitcom made an instant star out of otherworldly Robin Williams, but the show never recovered from the ratings damage inflicted by its season 2 move to another timeslot.

Season 4 introduced the brilliant-on-paper idea of casting old-school absurdist comic Jonathan Winters as Mork and Mindy's child (on Mork's planet, children age in reverse, Benjamin Button-style), but in execution, the laughs weren't there.

The series was canceled at the end of that season. Shazbat!




The Practice (1997-2004)

Sometimes you have to destroy a show in order to save it.

Early in its run, the ABC legal drama was an Emmy-winning hit, but as ratings dipped, ABC forced the show to tighten its budget in its eighth and final season, leading to layoffs of six principal cast members, including Dylan McDermott and Kelli Williams.

The show limped on with the skeleton crew until the last-minute addition of James Spader as ethically slippery attorney Alan Shore. That made possible a spinoff, Boston Legal, which carried on the same fictional universe of egotistical lawyers and offbeat court cases for another five seasons.




Prison Break (2005-2009)

Ingenious premise (man gets himself jailed in order to free his framed brother), but how were the writers going to carry it off for more than a season or two?

Answer: They couldn't. (Even early on, the writers were already relying too much on Michael's mysterious tattoo as an all-purpose gimmick to plaster over plot holes. Hey, any excuse to get Wentworth Miller to disrobe.)

By seasons 3 and 4, the formula was becoming tired, the characters were becoming less edgy and interesting, and the plot contrivances too glaring.

Mid-season interruption by the industry-wide writers' strike didn't help. Characters began coming back from the dead, but the series could not.




Roseanne (1988-1997)

For eight of its nine seasons, Roseanne was a top-20-rated show that presented a hilarious, candid look at blue-collar life.

In season 9, however, the Conners won the lottery and became rich and frivolous.

The series finale, with its shocking twist (the whole season was just wishful thinking; Dan had actually died of a heart attack, and everyone else was still miserable and poor) didn't help.

The show had gone off the rails, and audiences felt betrayed by the radical changes undergone by the formerly salf-of-the-earth characters.




Weeds (2005-present)

Weeds started out as a gentle social satire about conformity and consumerism, centering on a suburban mom who deals pot in order to preserve her family's upper middle class lifestyle after her husband dies.

At the end of season 3, however, Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) was indirectly responsible for burning her whole town to the ground, and when her family landed in a seedy beach town near the Mexican border in season 4, the show took a much darker turn.

By the end of season 5, Nancy's son Shane had turned from naive kid into an adolescent badass; her frenemy Celia had turned from anti-drug crusader into a big-time pot dealer, and Nancy herself had turned from supermom into a woman increasingly unable to cope with the destruction she left in her wake.

And Weeds turned from a sweet, tart comedy into Scarface.




Will & Grace (1998-2006)

The show about a straight woman and the gay man/best pal she lived with was a brilliant joke machine at first, as well as an exploration of a relationship unlike any ever seen in primetime, but the series suffered from three flaws that grew more apparent over time.

First, if Will and Grace ever grew as characters (that is, fell in love with someone and had a lasting relationship with them), the show would be over, so they remained shallow and narcissistic for nearly eight years.

Second, flamboyant second bananas Jack and Karen were a lot more fun and frequently stole the show from the leads.

Third, an endless parade of big-name stunt-cast guests (from Demi Moore to Britney Spears) dropped by, as if to paper over the show's other problems.

Instead, it just made the series look like a dry-docked Love Boat.




The X-Files (1993-2002)

For seven seasons, fans thrilled as Agents Mulder and Scully fought off mutants and monsters and plumbed an alien conspiracy.

But in the final seasons, Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish, though fine actors, were poor substitutes for the cerebral chemistry of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

Duchovny's Mulder came back for the final episodes, but it was too little, too late, especially as it became clear that viewers were never really going to get the answers or the resolution they'd been awaiting for nine years.

http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/11/20/w...hall-of-shame/

[browneyes106]

I loved the show Roseanne but I thought season 9 was awful. I also agree about Prison Break it was great during the first two seasons.

[Schmoopie]

I only watched Dallas on and off (of course I watched "The episode of all episodes", to find out who shot JR), but I didn't watch every season.

I completely agree with "Mork and Mindy". Ugh... those episodes with Johnathan Winters were just awful. I always thought the concept of being born OLD and "growing young" was such a stupid concept.

I've never watched Prison Break because I always thought it was a reality show of some sorts, but from what I've heard, it's a pretty good show. I'll have to check out the DVD's. Never watched Weeds either.

I've always hated Rosanne, but I also hated the episodes featuring Darlene's wedding.

Never really cared for Will and Grace (yep, even with Harry Connick Jr in the cast!), and I only watched X Files , and The Practice a few times.

I was surprised to hear about The Practice, since I'd never really known the reason for its' cancellation.

Of all these shows, the one I would have to disagree with would be All in the Family. I actually liked Archie Bunker's Place and I found the episode where Edith died very emotional and well acted by Carol O'Connell. He was such a great actor and I miss him.

[treky]

I agree about "DALLAS". Thise later episodes were, for the most part; boring or dumb, or let's face it, just plain stupid. (that whole story where J.R. was in the mental hospital come painfully to mind).

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by treky

I agree about "DALLAS". Thise later episodes were, for the most part; boring or dumb, or let's face it, just plain stupid. (that whole story where J.R. was in the mental hospital come painfully to mind).

i agree about dallas too by the 11th year it was just a pale shaddow of what it had been

[janet42]

Falcon Crest should gone off the air after Robert Foxworth and Susan Sullivan left the show.

[yankeesrj12]

I thought the final season of Roseanne was pretty good. Sure it wasn't like the rest of the series, but it wasn't awful.

I don't know how Will and Grace is on the list. I loved that show!

[KurtfromPitts]

I'm surprised they didn't mention The Andy Griffith Show once Don Knotts left.

[JulieSomoski]

Originally Posted by yankeesrj12

I thought the final season of Roseanne was pretty good. Sure it wasn't like the rest of the series, but it wasn't awful.

I don't know how Will and Grace is on the list. I loved that show!

There were a few episodes of season 9 that were better than the others - all the pre-vacation episodes, especially the season premiere, was good. The one at Martha's Vineyard was okay, while every episode from the Thanksgiving one one were the best. I always thought season 9 got a bad rap, because it wasn't that bad at all.

Will & Grace had gotten pretty bad with all the guest stars. Honestly, I don't how it could have kept going for 8 years without the guest stars, because the plot would have worn thin so fast. The season 8 live episodes were great, though.

I would've added Ally McBeal to this list. Season 4 with Robert Downey, Jr. was the best since season 1, but season 5 was terrible. Way too many new characters to keep track of. It just seemed like Calista Flockheart took a backseat role in the final season, when the show was named after her.

[ekkostar]

The Practice but no Sliders?
Sliders and Practice/Legal tie in worst cast rotations ever. Towards the end all three shows fell apart and stopped making sense. When you're only adding in new actors to play new versions of old characters and inserting them as obvious romantic devices, the show has gone BAD.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by browneyes106

I also agree about Prison Break it was great during the first two seasons.

Yes, Prison Break is a great example of a "good show gone bad".

Season One, I think, was one of television's best programs. To me it's mainly for Robert Knepper as "T-Bag" as he put on an amazing performance.

The character became a joke later on.


Season Two was good but not as great as the first one. It was mainly good for seeing what became of everyone right after they broke out.

Seasons Three and Four they tried to repeat One by going back to prison but it just didn't work. Then they tried to wrap up everyone's loose ends quickly.


By the way, I personally didn't like it when they brought Dr. Sara back. She should have stayed dead (great for plot purposes) but I guess it was for the Michael/Sara fans.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

i agree about dallas too by the 11th year it was just a pale shaddow of what it had been

Honestly, just about everything post-Jim Davis was sub par. The war for the control of Ewing Oil was good, but once they lost Bel Geddes (for a while) and all of those lackluster characters like Jenna and John Ross Jr. and Mark Grayson, et al starting showing up the essential family conflict was lost or mortally wounded.

It should have ended right around the fifth season.

[factsoflife]

I can't believe they didn't mention "Melrose Place" which was so good between seasons 2 and 5 but got really bad in season 6 and continued on a downward spiral until it limped out off the air. That last season was god-awful and Rena Sofer basically destroyed the show.

Also the original 90210 (Beverly hills, 90210) lasted far too long. it should have come to an end when Jason Priestly left the series... maybe even before then. It grew more and more boring as the years went on. and the dreadful last year was absolutley BORING. Matt Durning was a boring character and the increased focus on Kelly was awful to watch. especially since by then she had become such a boring shrew.

[Zebra 3]

How about when Happy Days "jumped the shark".