What show, ended comletely different than it started

[Atom_basher]

..Or rather what show can you think of that jump the shark the hardest..

my vote goes to Boy meets world, i understand that the nature of the show would change, as Corey got older, but the show went from a light hearted, almost cartton like sitcom, to a melo-dramedy that felt so emo it hurt, the change was drastic.

[i_mmmchocolate]

For some reason, I want to say HBO's Carnivale.

Two seasons and poof, gone, finito.

[Buzz Dixon]

A lot of shows grow and meld along the way. It's been said a star-driven show will turn into an ensemble show if it's successful, and an ensemble show will turn into a star-driven show if it succeeds.

I think THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW is a good, though not so obvious, example of a show growing and changing. CHEERS, too.

[G. Wayne]

There's no Jumping the Shark, but I'd say Angel qualifies.

At the start, Angel is on his own in LA. He slowly gathers allies, loses a few, loses a son, and eventually ends up running the local branch of the evil corporation he was fighting since the show started.

(Paraphrasing)

...And you stopped Paradise on Earth. The senior partners were really impressed by that.

N-no! We stopped the Apocalypse! ...Didn't we?"

Sure honey, here's the keys to the office. You guys earned it!

:D

[Shellhead]

Melrose Place started out as a drama that was going to tackle serious *issues* each week. After a handful of episodes, it abruptly turned into a primetime soap opera, and stuck with that format for all subsequent episodes.

[brundlefly]

For some reason, I want to say HBO's Carnivale.

Two seasons and poof, gone, finito.

Eh, not really. Carnivale maintained the same cast, style, and tone it started out with throughout its two-season run (as it was the first part of a six-season series concept) and just got canceled early by HBO for being too cerebral/Twin Peaks-like, which seemed to turn a large number of viewers off. But creatively it never "jumped the shark" or tried to make itself over midstream or anything like that.

I would say the X-Files. Ending with a different cast (they had to bring Mulder and Scully back for the series finale, since they weren't even full-time cast members anymore) and no longer really having the same feel or being about the same thing (starting with Mulder and Scully investigating aliens & paranormal activity, ending with the two new FBI agents investigating something about "super-soldiers"), it really strayed wildly from its initial roots and had jumped the shark creatively long before the finale.

[Callie]

SeaQuest. The show drastically changed every season until NBC finally took it out back and shot it.

[DDM]

Eh, not really. Carnivale maintained the same cast, style, and tone it started out with throughout its two-season run (as it was the first part of a six-season series concept) and just got canceled early by HBO for being too cerebral/Twin Peaks-like, which seemed to turn a large number of viewers off. But creatively it never "jumped the shark" or tried to make itself over midstream or anything like that.

I would say the X-Files. Ending with a different cast (they had to bring Mulder and Scully back for the series finale, since they weren't even full-time cast members anymore) and no longer really having the same feel or being about the same thing (starting with Mulder and Scully investigating aliens & paranormal activity, ending with the two new FBI agents investigating something about "super-soldiers"), it really strayed wildly from its initial roots and had jumped the shark creatively long before the finale.

X-Files should have ended with the movie in 1997.

[DDM]

Caroline in the City was a decent show until they introduced the Malcolm Getts character's wife. She ruined the show. She was like the fifth wheel who was completely out of place. Why was she even written into the show?

[Deathstroke]

For some reason, I want to say HBO's Carnivale.

Two seasons and poof, gone, finito.

Yeah it went from really good in the first season to absolute crap in the second season. Big drastic change.

[Deathstroke]

Caroline in the City was a decent show until they introduced the Malcolm Getts character's wife. She ruined the show. She was like the fifth wheel who was completely out of place. Why was she even written into the show?

Have you LOOKED at Sofia Milos? I'd write her into furniture commercial to get to ogle her.

[The Batman]

I'm going to second the X-Files, it started off good, got great, and then ended kinda sucky. Too much focus on grand conspiracies, or at least too much effort in making said grand conspiracies needlessly complex and silly, and not enough on the single episode stories that the show did so well.

Also, Star Trek: The Next Generation started off so-so, little more than a late 80's TOS without the fun and by the end it was a great show and a worthy successor to the Original Series. Both DS9 and Enterprise had a similar quality arc, starting off so so but ending well enough, Voyager on the other had sucked when it started, sucked in the middle of its run, and sucked when it ended.

[Phil Clark]

Three's Company... It started and ended as a sitcom, but it went from being about a straight guy living with two women in a platonic relationship while pretending to be gay to his landlord to being a show about Jack being engaged to a woman while he owns and operates a restaurant, and the roomates from the original concept were relegated to cameo's in each episode.

[Sean Walsh]

Caroline in the City was a decent show until they introduced the Malcolm Getts character's wife. She ruined the show. She was like the fifth wheel who was completely out of place. Why was she even written into the show?

Because she was hot.

But yeah - that showed suffered horribly as a result of that.

I even remember the series finale and audibly groaned (even swore) at the stupidity of its ending. Don't even remember what it was, but I thought it was awful and hated it and the show as a result.

[Deathstroke]

Because she was hot.

But yeah - that showed suffered horribly as a result of that.

I even remember the series finale and audibly groaned (even swore) at the stupidity of its ending. Don't even remember what it was, but I thought it was awful and hated it and the show as a result.

Caroline is getting married, Richard shows up with baby son, Caroline hears him cry, looks up and sees Richard....END OF SERIES. No resolution.

[The Foreigner]

Seinfeld began as a show about nothing-- Four friends living in New York, hanging out, eating lunch, going to work, and getting paranoid about all of those little gaps in society that we don't like to admit we think about.

By the last few seasons, the stories were so silly and over-the-top and the characters had become so unlikeable, it was like watching a cartoon.

[SnowTrooper]

Roseanne. The Characters pretty much stay the same throughout the whole run of the show but that last season(last episode especially) caught me off gaurd and didnt really have a Roseanne-esque feeling to it.

[SnowTrooper]

Seinfeld began as a show about nothing-- Four friends living in New York, hanging out, eating lunch, going to work, and getting paranoid about all of those little gaps in society that we don't like to admit we think about.

By the last few seasons, the stories were so silly and over-the-top and the characters had become so unlikeable, it was like watching a cartoon.
I agree with you on that one. Some of the stories were over the top and silly, especially how when something goes wrong for one person in the group it ends up fucking up like 3 other peoples days and stuff like that, all that interconnection just wasnt realistic.

The characters werent really that unlikable, Cosmo Kramer will go down in TV Character history and George Costanza will always be one of the funniest things on TV, Stage, or Screen.

[Buzz Dixon]

Three's Company... It started and ended as a sitcom, but it went from being about a straight guy living with two women in a platonic relationship while pretending to be gay to his landlord to being a show about Jack being engaged to a woman while he owns and operates a restaurant, and the roomates from the original concept were relegated to cameo's in each episode.A perfect example of an ensemble show becoming a star vehicle.

[brundlefly]

X-Files should have ended with the movie in 1997.

Too true. By "long before the finale," I meant "after the movie." The change in direction & tone following the movie/location change was alarming. I held out for a couple more seasons after that, but when they started the groundwork for the "cast change" from Mulder/Scully to Doggett/Reyes, I saw the writing on the wall and checked out, returning only for the series finale to see if they would actually, you know, resolve their ongoing storylines or something silly like that.

[hugh45]

The Jeffersons:It spun off well at the beginning,but when the original son
(cast) left,it got worse every season,and by the 3th/5th it really went
downhill.

Good Times:When James left,the show became too cheesy.

[Chiasm]

Alias

Started out being about spies.

Ended up being a sci fi show about an immortal fifteenth century prophet and lot of other fantastical things that were quite a ways from the original premise.

Lost

Thought it was going to be Lord of the Flies meets Mysterious Island when it started. Now its the Jack / Sawyer / Kate soap opera.

[Shellhead]

Millennium. The show started out as a very creepy show about a police profiler, and gradually turned into a conflict between two rival conspiracies that started as a single secret society.

[Scorpion13]

Bar-none, MASH. Theres no contest.

Wacky, slapstick comedy, with a lovable, nutty cast of characters, went to a half-hour "Dramadie" replete with Alan Alda's maudlin whining throughout the episode. War is bad. Ok we get it. We got it all the way back in the first season, Alan. We got the message, and the show was funny too.

[The Batman]

Too true. By "long before the finale," I meant "after the movie." The change in direction & tone following the movie/location change was alarming. I held out for a couple more seasons after that, but when they started the groundwork for the "cast change" from Mulder/Scully to Doggett/Reyes, I saw the writing on the wall and checked out, returning only for the series finale to see if they would actually, you know, resolve their ongoing storylines or something silly like that.


I really liked the Doggett character and Robert Patrick and thought that some of the stand alone episodes he was in were pretty good. I think that had they continued to tell solid stories and not gone back to the grand conspiracy theory well so often that they probably could've shifted the show from Mulder and Scully to Doggett and Scully to even Doggett and Reyes.

That being said, any show is going to suffer if it's forced to forego the hotness that is Gillian Anderson.

http://www.poster.net/anderson-gillian/anderson-gillian-photo-gillian-anderson-6200793.jpg http://www.gillian-anderson.e-znane.pl/zdjecia/gillian-anderson.jpg

[Subotai]

Too true. By "long before the finale," I meant "after the movie." The change in direction & tone following the movie/location change was alarming. I held out for a couple more seasons after that, but when they started the groundwork for the "cast change" from Mulder/Scully to Doggett/Reyes, I saw the writing on the wall and checked out, returning only for the series finale to see if they would actually, you know, resolve their ongoing storylines or something silly like that.

Yeah, leaving Vancouver was a bonehead move. Fuck you, Duchovney. I did like Patrick as Doggett, though.

I remember playing a lot of X-Com around the same time the X-File started, and I always hoped to have X-Files go that way. IIRC an issue of CGW gave X-Com a stellar rating and advertised it as 'what they should do on the X-Files'.

I'll say Millennium. When it started - and Henriksen has talked about this - it was a dark show about people catching serial killers driven by the oncoming millennium. Manhunter: The Series. There was always some sub-plot, but when Morgan and Wong took the reins (and I love their work), they wrote the show into a corner, Frank vs. the Millennium Group. Season 1, season 2, and even season 3 to an extent were gold though.

Also, Law and Order - it's hard to believe in its current incarnation, but once upon a time L&O was as good as The Wire. Its need to be 'ripped from the headlines', go for the shock value, and turf quality actors did it in.

[Buried Alien]

Three's Company... It started and ended as a sitcom, but it went from being about a straight guy living with two women in a platonic relationship while pretending to be gay to his landlord to being a show about Jack being engaged to a woman while he owns and operates a restaurant, and the roomates from the original concept were relegated to cameo's in each episode.

To be fair, THREE'S COMPANY proper was effectively already over except for the wrap-up, and THREE'S A CROWD was being set up. That was only the final two episodes or so, however. The majority of the final season of THREE'S COMPANY was still the tried and trued formula of the show.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[joegottman]

Silk Stalkings. They had 3 different pairs of male/female detectives, but none of the replacements could hold a candle to the first pair (Chris and Rita).

[DDM]

Three's Company... It started and ended as a sitcom, but it went from being about a straight guy living with two women in a platonic relationship while pretending to be gay to his landlord to being a show about Jack being engaged to a woman while he owns and operates a restaurant, and the roomates from the original concept were relegated to cameo's in each episode.

Three's Company had a completely different chemistry when Suzanne Somers was fired from the show. I don't think the 3 stars understood the show's success. All three of them were important to Three's Company success. Afterwards, Three's Company just became a star vehicle for John Ritter. The Janet character was never central to any story most of the time.

The same holds true for Charlie's Angels when Farrah Fawcett left after the first season.

[Captain Trips]

Bar-none, MASH. Theres no contest.

Wacky, slapstick comedy, with a lovable, nutty cast of characters, went to a half-hour "Dramadie" replete with Alan Alda's maudlin whining throughout the episode. War is bad. Ok we get it. We got it all the way back in the first season, Alan. We got the message, and the show was funny too.

Absolutely agree with this. The first three years of that show are comedic gold. Trapper and Heny Blake were such great characters. And Frank Burns was such a classic "villain," and he and Hot Lips were perfect counterparts to Hawkeye and Trapper.

I always liked the show, and I think Charles Emerson Winchester was the best of the "replacement" cast of characters. However, watch the first episode and then watch the last one right after it. It really is an entirely different show. And I believe that the final episode of MASH was one of the best final episodes of a series ever done.

[J. Robb]

Happy Days was almost a completely different show by the time it ended. Still a terrible comedy, but with different characters.

[brundlefly]

I really liked the Doggett character and Robert Patrick and thought that some of the stand alone episodes he was in were pretty good. I think that had they continued to tell solid stories and not gone back to the grand conspiracy theory well so often that they probably could've shifted the show from Mulder and Scully to Doggett and Scully to even Doggett and Reyes.

As an actor, I really like Robert Patrick (he's pretty good these days on TV in THE UNIT, which I catch every so often because of its David Mamet connection) and thought he worked well with what he was given and in the situation that he'd been put in regarding the X-Files. I did catch a few of the episodes he was in and he put in very solid performances. But the creative drift had irritated me too much by that point to stick around just for his sake.


That being said, any show is going to suffer if it's forced to forego the hotness that is Gillian Anderson.


Heh, right you are. Duchovny's off-camera smugness had caused him to wear out his welcome for me, so I didn't mind the initial Doggett/Scully pairing as they searched for the missing Mulder. It was when it was obvious that she was going away, too, and they started killing off the supporting cast (Krychek, Lone Gunmen) that I reassessed tuning in every week.

[i_mmmchocolate]

Yeah it went from really good in the first season to absolute crap in the second season. Big drastic change.
Yep, that's what I meant.

[i_mmmchocolate]

How 'bout Ally McBeal?

[hoffmandu]

Silk Stalkings. They had 3 different pairs of male/female detectives, but none of the replacements could hold a candle to the first pair (Chris and Rita).

Is this a serious post? Silk Stalkings? Is this the softcore USA latenight detective show? FOR SHAME!

[Dan Apodaca]

I can't believe that anybody here is actually admitting to watching Caroline in the City.

[Legato]

Charmed. In the early seasons the show was pretty dark but as Prue died the show gradually began to become light-hearted and turned into a self parody.

[Headhunter]

Bit of a cheat, but The Simpsons. Obviously it hasn't officially ended yet, but it's been dead to me since Season 7/8. From socially aware, morally relevant and timelessly funny to a dreary parade of guest stars and buffoonish screwball-event-of-the-week, it's been the worst decline in television history.

Instead of inspiring more series in the show's vein from the early years, it ended up spawning off Family Guy (which I kind of liked until its terrible and offensive 5th season). Huge disappointment.

There's no Jumping the Shark, but I'd say Angel qualifies.

At the start, Angel is on his own in LA. He slowly gathers allies, loses a few, loses a son, and eventually ends up running the local branch of the evil corporation he was fighting since the show started.

(Paraphrasing)

...And you stopped Paradise on Earth. The senior partners were really impressed by that.

N-no! We stopped the Apocalypse! ...Didn't we?"

Sure honey, here's the keys to the office. You guys earned it!

:D
All fair points. That said, Season 5 was fantastic: the dynamic between Fred/Illyria and Wesley, return of Lindsey, and the standalone/"freak of the week" shows were all engaging. Although it totally deviated from the original episode, I'd say it was a huge step forward.

Plus Eve (Sarah Thompson) and especially Nina (Jenny Mollen) (http://cityofangel.com/behindTheScenes/bts5/jennySpot1.html), smoking!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/EvePromo.jpg http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/27/62/10/10f.jpg

The finale was horribly rushed, but it wrapped up a lot of loose ends and finished strong. Still kills me that the show didn't get a 6th season...

Seinfeld began as a show about nothing-- Four friends living in New York, hanging out, eating lunch, going to work, and getting paranoid about all of those little gaps in society that we don't like to admit we think about.

By the last few seasons, the stories were so silly and over-the-top and the characters had become so unlikeable, it was like watching a cartoon.
Especially the horrible finale, I can't fathom why someone didn't step in during the process and say "Look, this is a really bad idea...".

I really liked the Doggett character and Robert Patrick and thought that some of the stand alone episodes he was in were pretty good. I think that had they continued to tell solid stories and not gone back to the grand conspiracy theory well so often that they probably could've shifted the show from Mulder and Scully to Doggett and Scully to even Doggett and Reyes.
Doggett and Reyes would have worked for me (especially since I didn't tune in until Duchovny went part-time, can't stand the guy). Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish had good chemistry, I'm surprised they didn't get a longer run together.

Is this a serious post? Silk Stalkings? Is this the softcore USA latenight detective show? FOR SHAME!
:o

[saintsaucey]

Voyager on the other had sucked when it started, sucked in the middle of its run, and sucked when it ended.


my buddy josh would second you on that. but i don't agree it had some grea moments. it over used the borg though

[Deathstroke]

Roseanne. The Characters pretty much stay the same throughout the whole run of the show but that last season(last episode especially) caught me off gaurd and didnt really have a Roseanne-esque feeling to it.

That's because it wasn't Roseanne the series. It was Roseanne's final ego trip.

[Frodo-X]

I may get heat for this, but what about Ellen? I used to watch that show every week, and when her character "came out" I was thrilled. But then it changed. Instead of having the show go on as it was only with Ellen being gay, it switched into "The Adventures of Gay Ellen". Every single episode focused on nothing but the fact she was gay.

I still say that's why it got canned. It wasn't that people had a problem with her being gay, it just wasn't funny anymore.

[The Foreigner]

I may get heat for this, but what about Ellen? I used to watch that show every week, and when her character "came out" I was thrilled. But then it changed. Instead of having the show go on as it was only with Ellen being gay, it switched into "The Adventures of Gay Ellen". Every single episode focused on nothing but the fact she was gay.

I still say that's why it got canned. It wasn't that people had a problem with her being gay, it just wasn't funny anymore.

Have to agree with this.

Funny is funny, gay-related or not.

[The Foreigner]

Lost

Thought it was going to be Lord of the Flies meets Mysterious Island when it started. Now its the Jack / Sawyer / Kate soap opera.

First of all, Lost isn't over yet. Secondly, criticizing a show based on what you "thought it was going to be" is pretty silly. Thirdly, the soap opera elements, especially the Jack/Sawyer/Kate love triangle have been around since season one.

[Hush Little Batman]

Also, Star Trek: The Next Generation started off so-so, little more than a late 80's TOS without the fun and by the end it was a great show and a worthy successor to the Original Series. Both DS9 and Enterprise had a similar quality arc, starting off so so but ending well enough, Voyager on the other had sucked when it started, sucked in the middle of its run, and sucked when it ended.

DS9 started out very ho-hum. Upon seeing the first episode, I thought it was going to eventually be a train wreck. By the time it ended, I considered it the best ST show of all.

As bad as Voyager was (and it was awful), it is notable for producing one of Trek's finest episodes ever - Deathwish.

I may get heat for this, but what about Ellen? I used to watch that show every week, and when her character "came out" I was thrilled. But then it changed. Instead of having the show go on as it was only with Ellen being gay, it switched into "The Adventures of Gay Ellen". Every single episode focused on nothing but the fact she was gay.

I still say that's why it got canned. It wasn't that people had a problem with her being gay, it just wasn't funny anymore.

Before it was Ellen, it was called "These Freinds of Mine" and was a Seinfeld ripoff. Then they retooled the show by getting rid of her supporting cast and centered it much more around her character, but once she came out, it was all about being gay. It was neither funny or insightful, it was just boring.

Now my pick is: Baywatch Nights. It started out with Hoff as a private investigator taking on regular run-of-the-mill cases and ended as some sort of X-Files monster of the week show. :D

[Subotai]

First of all, Lost isn't over yet. Secondly, criticizing a show based on what you "thought it was going to be" is pretty silly. Thirdly, the soap opera elements, especially the Jack/Sawyer/Kate love triangle have been around since season one.

Well, the show's going into it's third season, so I think it's fair game for criticism. However, I think they've done a pretty great job of keeping the possible love triangle to the sidelines.

[lonewolf23k]

Family Matters definetly counts. It started out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family, and ended up becoming "the super-science adventures of Steve Urkel and Friends"..

...They even had a Time Travel episode, of all things!

[Legato]

Family Matters definetly counts. It started out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family, and ended up becoming "the super-science adventures of Steve Urkel and Friends"..

...They even had a Time Travel episode, of all things!

Also Androids, Clones, Alter Egos, Cross-Dressing Nuns, and Urkel joining NASA.

[Knightmare10880]

Roseanne. The Characters pretty much stay the same throughout the whole run of the show but that last season(last episode especially) caught me off gaurd and didnt really have a Roseanne-esque feeling to it.


I agree completly, to me the main problem was that instead of doing a complete final season they really should have ended the show with the birth of Darlene's daughter. I've never been bothered by the Conner's winning the Lottery, was it realistic? No. However, it was a good start to the last season of the series, epsecially because in the first episodes of the season they dealt with all winning changed their lives and when Darlen almost lost her daughter it showed the entire family coming together has they had before and conquering adverity. after that, the series just went downhill and lost it's identy.

[Buzz Dixon]

LOST IN SPACE started as a straight forward kid sci-fi adventure series, but when Dr. Smith proved too interesting a villain to kill, it became the Will-Robot-and-Smith show, finally devolving into outlandish parody at the end.

[saintsaucey]

Felicity had a really weird ending with time travel and Noel Dying then Not Dying.

Roswell had a weird ending as well but thats just cause it got canceled.

[Paul Newell]

Here's one. Mork & Mindy.

The first season had Mindy's dad, grandma and a black orphan called Eugene and was based around Mindy's dad's record store.

The second season they dropped all of the supporting characters, brought in new ones and it was based around a local deli. They also focussed less on the zany stuff and more on the romance between Mork & Mindy.

Third season they dropped most of the supporting cast, brought back the dad & the Grandma and dropped a lot of the alien themes.

Fourth Season, they were married and had a kid played by Jonathon Winters and concentrated on the alien themes.

[The Foreigner]

Well, the show's going into it's third season, so I think it's fair game for criticism. However, I think they've done a pretty great job of keeping the possible love triangle to the sidelines.

How can you criticize a show based on how it has ended when it hasn't ended yet?

Criticize all you want, but based on this topic, I can't fathom how it can be considered "fair game."

[The Batman]

Family Matters definetly counts. It started out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family, and ended up becoming "the super-science adventures of Steve Urkel and Friends"..

...They even had a Time Travel episode, of all things!

Didn't it start out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family that spun out of the hit show Perfect Strangers?

Wasn't the mom on Family Matters working in the same downstairs office as Balky and Cousin Larry or something? Maybe she was running the elevator?

Did that happen or was it all some glorious fever dream?

Speaking of glorious fever dreams, the Scott Biao vehicle Charles in Charge totally changed the families Charles was in charge of half way through the show's run so I guess it totally counts.

Also, didn't Beverly Hills 90210 go from being a culture clash show about down to Earth midwestern kids Brandon and Brenda trying to fit in in the crazy mixed up world of Beverly Hills until it became just another soap opera where Brenda and Brandon were just as crazy and mixed up as anyone?

[Knightmare10880]

Didn't it start out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family that spun out of the hit show Perfect Strangers?

Wasn't the mom on Family Matters working in the same downstairs office as Balky and Cousin Larry or something? Maybe she was running the elevator?

Did that happen or was it all some glorious fever dream?

Speaking of glorious fever dreams, the Scott Biao vehicle Charles in Charge totally changed the families Charles was in charge of half way through the show's run so I guess it totally counts.

Also, didn't Beverly Hills 90210 go from being a culture clash show about down to Earth midwestern kids Brandon and Brenda trying to fit in in the crazy mixed up world of Beverly Hills until it became just another soap opera where Brenda and Brandon were just as crazy and mixed up as anyone?

Yes the mom from Family Matters started out on Perfect Strangers and was then spun off into her on show, the original premise of Family Natters was to be a more realistic version of the Cosby show showcase a hard owrking middle class family and thier lives, then came Urkel and well you know the rest of that story.

And again you are also correct about the Charles in Charge thing, I can't for the life of me remember why it was done that way, the only thing to me that makes any sense is that it was like the case with Mama's Family in which the show started out on network TV but didn't get strong enough ratings for the network to want to keep the show but the production company and the show's star thought that they had a good concept and decided to make the show a first run syndicated market show, and they had to make major changes to show's cast. This same incedint also occured with Baywatch NBC cancled the show but star David Hasseloff took a pay cut and they moved it into the first run syndication market and the rest is history.

[Nate Grey]

I still contend X-Files's only problem is that it went on EXACTLY one season too many. The next to last season where Duchovney was only in half the season, and where they introduced Doggett...I thought it was pitch perfect, and had the perfect finale, ending Mulder/Scully's story and beginning Doggett/Reyes's story. It could have ended there and we would have just assumed they were the new Mulder/Scully just with the genders reversed.

Anywho...

Earth: Final Conflict. The final season was HUGE departure from the previous seasons. It went from alien intrigue to...Renee the Space Vampire Slayer.

[oddieson]

Its got to be Gingers show at the body shop first she had on all this sexy silk lingere but when she took it off you could see all the bullet holes.. oh wait this is tv film forum. I'd say STAR TREK at first kirk was tough and had hair, then he lost his hair and got all introspective, I guess because spock left. then I guess he got exposed to radiation because he turned real dark but at least he stayed bald. then I dont know what happened to the poor guy, he had some sort of sex change operation. really open minded of the studio to let him stay on. then they got the guy from hercules to play him. great show, must have run for thirty years, I mostly read cuz my hearing is so bad.

[Scorpion13]

I agree completly, to me the main problem was that instead of doing a complete final season they really should have ended the show with the birth of Darlene's daughter. I've never been bothered by the Conner's winning the Lottery, was it realistic? No. However, it was a good start to the last season of the series, epsecially because in the first episodes of the season they dealt with all winning changed their lives and when Darlen almost lost her daughter it showed the entire family coming together has they had before and conquering adverity. after that, the series just went downhill and lost it's identy.


Very disappointing. Before that, for a few seasons, the show had evolved into a pretty damn good mix of comedy and drama. A drama about people who werent rich. It was pretty good stuff. Compelling. But, I dont know what the hell happened.

The Roseanne Wiki has something about the producers getting in there and turning it into what it was, but I dont buy it. That last season just stinks of Roseanne whacked out ego.

[Typo Lad]

I'd have to say "The John Larroquette Show". It started as a dark, cynical comedy and ended as a typical, boring ho-hum sitcom.

[The Batman]

And again you are also correct about the Charles in Charge thing, I can't for the life of me remember why it was done that way, the only thing to me that makes any sense is that it was like the case with Mama's Family in which the show started out on network TV but didn't get strong enough ratings for the network to want to keep the show but the production company and the show's star thought that they had a good concept and decided to make the show a first run syndicated market show, and they had to make major changes to show's cast. This same incedint also occured with Baywatch NBC cancled the show but star David Hasseloff took a pay cut and they moved it into the first run syndication market and the rest is history.

Wasn't Baywatch also a more straightforward show during its time on NBC and not the campy, slow-motion swimsuit fest it would become?

[thehod]

Twin Peaks started out as a murder mystery of a sorts.

I'm damned if I know what it ended up as.

[mattbib]

Laverne & Shirley ended as just Laverne.

[i_mmmchocolate]

Family Matters definetly counts. It started out as an ordinary sitcom about a black family, and ended up becoming "the super-science adventures of Steve Urkel and Friends"..

...They even had a Time Travel episode, of all things!
Definitely. As a kid, I really enjoyed the non-Urkel parts about the show. Too much Urkel annoyed me.

[90'sCartoonMan]

I can't believe that anybody here is actually admitting to watching Caroline in the City.

Why not? It was a decent show, and Leah Thompson is awesome.

I'd have to say Drew Carey. After Kate left, they tweaked the show so that Drew was working at an online store rather than Winfred-Lauder. The idea of Drew being "screwed by the man" as it were sorta just went out the window. The new character's weren't funny, and there wasn't much to the Drew/Mimi rivalry anymore.

[Nate Grey]

New York Undercover. Besides the unnecessary drastic change, I kept seeing their new boss as just Tommy from Martin.

[titanfan]

Queer As Folk -- Started as a fairly serious quality drama about a group of gay friends and their lives and tackling realistic issues. Then changed the main character to a different actor and tried to become the gay version of Melrose Place with crazy over the top storylines.

2 And a Half Men -- 1.5 of the men seem to be barely in the show anymore.

Sliders -- I watched the first season and then watched a couple of episodes of the last season and was like "WTF are these new people are WTF are they doing talking about some alien invader thingies".

[Frodo-X]

Yeah, Sliders. I used to love that show. I watched it every week while it was on Fox. Then, one day, it disappeared. I never knew what happened until years later when I found out it had been sold to Sci-Fi.
I finally caught the reruns of the end of the series(though there really isn't an "end"), and wow did it change. The only original left was Crying Man, who was always the least important anyway.

[DDM]

The Facts of Life: Originally, the show is about a large group of girls from Eastland Private School; the second season wisely retooled the large group to 4 girls--Blaire Warner, Tootie, Natalie Green, & Jo Polnochek. The girls got in trouble for shoplifting then sent under Mrs. Garrett's care for the duration. The problem is, as the girls became women, the school became irrelevent. Mrs. Garrett left the show. And Garrett's bakery was burned down in place of a hip 80's store. Blaire eventually bought Eastland. The show should have been cancelled when Edna's Edibles burned down & the girls should have parted ways. The Facts of life overstayed its welcome by 3 or 4 years...

[Nate Grey]

Now, Edna Garrett and her sister (played by Cloris Lechman) were never on screen at the same time, were they?

[i_mmmchocolate]

Then changed the main character to a different actor and tried to become the gay version of Melrose Place with crazy over the top storylines.
Who?! Brian?

I stopped watching after season 2 because I stopped getting Showtime.

[Ontir]

The Facts of Life: Originally, the show is about a large group of girls from Eastland Private School; the second season wisely retooled the large group to 4 girls--Blaire Warner, Tootie, Natalie Green, & Jo Polnochek. The girls got in trouble for shoplifting then sent under Mrs. Garrett's care for the duration. The problem is, as the girls became women, the school became irrelevent. Mrs. Garrett left the show. And Garrett's bakery was burned down in place of a hip 80's store. Blaire eventually bought Eastland. The show should have been cancelled when Edna's Edibles burned down & the girls should have parted ways. The Facts of life overstayed its welcome by 3 or 4 years...


Blaire buying Eastland was actually one of two in-show pilots done as possible continuations of the show. The other featured Natalie, who had moved to New York, where she was paying a ton of money to rent a section of a dumpy, cramped apartment in Brooklyn, and beginning her life as a writer.

Titan,

None of the characters were re-cast in Queer as Folk. Michael Novotny and Brian Kinney were played by Hal Sparks and Gale Harold respectively, from the first to final episodes. Either of them might be considered the Lead; but it was, in fact, an ensemble show. I can't say it was balanced; but there were some very realistic stories mixed with some highly over-the-top stuff. It's a mixed bag; but it was generally pretty entertaining.

[DDM]

Now, Edna Garrett and her sister (played by Cloris Lechman) were never on screen at the same time, were they?

I don't think so. As the girls got older, Mrs. Garrett played a cameo role in The Facts of Life. Cloris Leechman's character came in when the actress who played Mrs. Garrett saw the writing on the wall & left.

I still think The Facts of Life was on 3 or 4 years too long.

[KenK]

New York Undercover. Besides the unnecessary drastic change, I kept seeing their new boss as just Tommy from Martin.

Well, I think partial blame might go to Michael DiLorenzo, or so I've heard, as the story is he started demanding too much from the makers of the show, and they decided to kill him off.

Damn, Fox really give blacks a reason to watch television in the early to mid 90s (not that we ever needed one, 'cause we'll watch anything)!! Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover! Now that was balance!! You had Martin's physical humor and oddball characters, Living Single with its diverse representation of black women, and New York Undercover, an hour long drama with a minority cast!! Damn, what da f*** happened?!?

[Atom_basher]

Well, I think partial blame might go to Michael DiLorenzo, or so I've heard, as the story is he started demanding too much from the makers of the show, and they decided to kill him off.

Damn, Fox really give blacks a reason to watch television in the early to mid 90s (not that we ever needed one, 'cause we'll watch anything)!! Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover! Now that was balance!! You had Martin's physical humor and oddball characters, Living Single with its diverse representation of black women, and New York Undercover, an hour long drama with a minority cast!! Damn, what da f*** happened?!?


Hell the same thing happened to the WB and started happening to UPN before the merger. upstarts use black shows a springboard, then drop all the black shows that helped them.

[Nate Grey]

Well, I think partial blame might go to Michael DiLorenzo, or so I've heard, as the story is he started demanding too much from the makers of the show, and they decided to kill him off.

Nah, they don't get off that easy. Common sense would dictate just get ANOTHER Latino actor to play Malik Yoba's character's new partner, in fact why not the same guy who played the landlord in a few eps on Martin (the one Pam married so he could stay in the country)? He was in the season premiere that introduced the new cast of New York Undercover anyway, only he was playing a criminal. You keep the same dynamic plus get more stories to boot since its a new character.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

X-Files should have ended with the movie in 1997.x-files would probably be fine if they had trimmed down the UFO conspiracy.or at least ended the show before they started to inroduce the shapeshifting alien hitmen to the show.and that was around season 3 or 4.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

I'm going to second the X-Files, it started off good, got great, and then ended kinda sucky. Too much focus on grand conspiracies, or at least too much effort in making said grand conspiracies needlessly complex and silly, and not enough on the single episode stories that the show did so well.
.yeah what he/she said.

[adamthered]

Felicity had a really weird ending with time travel and Noel Dying then Not Dying.

Roswell had a weird ending as well but thats just cause it got canceled.

I'm probably not remembering this correctly but Felicity was supposed to end before all the time travel episodes. Then the WB gave them 5-6 episodes extra they weren't expecting so they did those "What If..." episodes. I'm sure there's more to it, my memory is foggy.

[brundlefly]

I'm going to second the X-Files, it started off good, got great, and then ended kinda sucky. Too much focus on grand conspiracies, or at least too much effort in making said grand conspiracies needlessly complex and silly, and not enough on the single episode stories that the show did so well.

yeah what he/she said.

I think the big problem with the conspiracy was that originally the pieces held together and it was probably leading up to a coherent finish around season four or five, but as the show got more popular they started rewriting the conspiracy angle midstream in order to stretch it out for more and more seasons, afraid viewers would tune out if they ended that storyarc and Mulder found out what happened to his sister and uncovered/foiled the alien/government conspiracy. Then it got too bloated and nonsensical for its own good, every attempt to "fix" it made it more confusing (heh, sounds just like comics continuity), and they dropped it altogether without any kind of real "finish" in favor of a new supersoldier threat/conspiracy and new agents. I think if they instead had brought the conspiracy angle to its natural conclusion in season five or thereabouts, then had Mulder and Scully continue the single episode stories and started a fresh, new serialized subplot/storyarc in place of the alien conspiracy, that approach would have been a lot more satisfying in the end.

[Nate Grey]

I think the big problem with the conspiracy was that originally the pieces held together and it was probably leading up to a coherent finish around season four or five, but as the show got more popular they started rewriting the conspiracy angle midstream in order to stretch it out for more and more seasons, afraid viewers would tune out if they ended that storyarc and Mulder found out what happened to his sister and uncovered/foiled the alien/government conspiracy. Then it got too bloated and nonsensical for its own good, every attempt to "fix" it made it more confusing (heh, sounds just like comics continuity), and they dropped it altogether without any kind of real "finish" in favor of a new supersoldier threat/conspiracy and new agents. I think if they instead had brought the conspiracy angle to its natural conclusion in season five or thereabouts, then had Mulder and Scully continue the single episode stories and started a fresh, new serialized subplot/storyarc in place of the alien conspiracy, that approach would have been a lot more satisfying in the end.

In other words, and I had heard this somewhere on the net/TV like right after X-Files ended, Chris Carter didn't map out his own mythology. I guess that's why I like the next to last season, it was stop open but in a way closed, and new agents were gonna handle the task, just offscreen (had there been no last season that is).

[brundlefly]

In other words, and I had heard this somewhere on the net/TV like right after X-Files ended, Chris Carter didn't map out his own mythology. I guess that's why I like the next to last season, it was stop open but in a way closed, and new agents were gonna handle the task, just offscreen (had there been no last season that is).

I remember reading online well before the last season that Carter and company had gotten off-track from the originally conceived beginning-middle-end for the conspiracy and were making it up on the fly because of the show's popularity and FOX wanting to run with it more than five seasons. And since more seasons meant more money for them, Carter and the braintrust of the show jumped aboard that train and started modifying the conspiracy angle to stretch it out. I just don't remember where I read it since it's been so long. I agree with your take, since the next-to-last season was the last season that I watched (I only checked out the finale of the final season) and a fade-to-black "unanswered questions, but the search for truth goes on" ending of that nature would have worked better than the series finale's anemic, unsuccessful attempt to wrap everything up in a satisfying conclusion.

[handOFfate]

Drew Carey show really went downhill towards the end. The funny thing is that Kate was the least-funny member of the main cast, but the show died when she left. The writers tried changing the formula too much, and that girl who Drew hooked up with in the final season was irritating.

Family Matters changed drastically, and not for the better. Steve Urkel was both the best and worst thing to happen to that show. On one hand, he made the show a hit, but he ended up overshadowing the rest of the cast. Too bad, because I still consider Family Matters one of the most underrated of the 90s.

That 70s Show- Everybody but the writers seemed to know the show couldn't survive without Topher Grace. Instead of cancelling the show after he and Ashton Kutcher left, FOX let it sputter through one miserable season.

[Hush Little Batman]

That 70s Show- Everybody but the writers seemed to know the show couldn't survive without Topher Grace. Instead of cancelling the show after he and Ashton Kutcher left, FOX let it sputter through one miserable season.

The show should've ended after season two or three. It was one of those niche shows that ran its course fairly quickly and would've been better remembered had it not overstayed its welcome by 5-6 seasons.

[Buried Alien]

AIRWOLF: the entire cast got replaced and the production moved from Hollywood to Canada. The only constant was the eponymous helicopter.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Bob Newhart starred in a sitcom called "Bob" in the early nineties about an old cartoonist whose creation was being revamped into a grim n' gritty avenger of the night, then in the second season, that entire premise was dropped and he was working at a greeting card company.

[Michael P]

As I understood it, the guy who knew what was going on with the conspiracy left the show sometime around the fourth or fifth season without telling anyone the ending, and they had to make it up from there.

[Stellar]

what about Sliders?

[Patient Boy]

what about Sliders?

Mentioned earlier. I think this is my prime example of shows that jumped the shark.

Here's another thought: does changing direction necessarily mean jumping the shark though? Are there shows that changed direction for the better?

[Stellar]

South Park. at first it was just nonsensical comedy, then they started talking about important subjects like globalization, Iraq, scientology and such. that was definitely for the better.

[DDM]

Here's another thought: does changing direction necessarily mean jumping the shark though? Are there shows that changed direction for the better?

The Facts of Life began with 14 (?) girls in Season 1, but paired down to 4 from Season 2 onward. The show was completely retooled because it had no direction initially. Yes, it worked for the better, but, unfortunately, it overstayed its welcome when the girls became woman & graduated from Eastland & eventually graduated college.

[KenK]

The Facts of Life began with 14 (?) girls in Season 1, but paired down to 4 from Season 2 onward. The show was completely retooled because it had no direction initially. Yes, it worked for the better, but, unfortunately, it overstayed its welcome when the girls became woman & graduated from Eastland & eventually graduated college.

14!! try 7, 8 at the most (One of the original cast members being Molly Ringwald).

I never had a problem with the direction the show took. Plus, the latter season gave us The Clooney!! I saw big thangs in that boy's future from day one!

[Jared]

South Park. at first it was just nonsensical comedy, then they started talking about important subjects like globalization, Iraq, scientology and such.

And World of Warcraft and the Dog Whisperer. :)

The Naked Truth went from being about shifted Tea Leoni's workplace to some big-time tabloid magazine for the final season.

Just Shoot Me became much more about David Spade as time went on.

[DDM]

14!! try 7, 8 at the most (One of the original cast members being Molly Ringwald).

I never had a problem with the direction the show took. Plus, the latter season gave us The Clooney!! I saw big thangs in that boy's future from day one!

George Clooney also starred in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 2 when he was guest starring on The Facts of Life & Roseanne.

[Ontir]

14!! try 7, 8 at the most (One of the original cast members being Molly Ringwald).

I never had a problem with the direction the show took. Plus, the latter season gave us The Clooney!! I saw big thangs in that boy's future from day one!

There were 7 or 8 regulars, and then another 4 or 5 recurring - including Helen Hunt - which brings it into the range DDM was talking about. That's not including Mrs. Garret, the Dean, and various other adults that appeared in the ep, which is a whole lot for a sitcom. I enjoyed the 1st season, as it aired; but looking back at it, it was really a mess. Did the show eventually jump the shark? Probably. I have to say though, that the arc they did with Blaire is one of the best bits of characterization I've ever seen in a sitcom. She began an extremely spoiled, bitter, vindictive bitch, and ended up a responsible, compassionate and self-aware woman, who was still from and of a privileged world; but was keenly aware of it, and worked to negotiate between that world, and the needs of others.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

..Or rather what show can you think of that jump the shark the hardest..

my vote goes to Boy meets world, i understand that the nature of the show would change, as Corey got older, but the show went from a light hearted, almost cartton like sitcom, to a melo-dramedy that felt so emo it hurt, the change was drastic.

BMW was as you said a good light hearted sitcom. But became something else as the writers decided to focus on this " love story " of Topanga and Corey. The fact the 2 shared no chemistry to me ( she seemed the type who would hook up with Shawn more or less) made me relunctant to watch it past the 3rd or 4th seasons.

Then as the show grew older they decided to hire younger cast members like Mathew Lawrence and 2 other women.

But it became a strained drama. With no comedy hardly at all. Will Friedle tried to be the guy , but when the writers sit down and do massive episodes on Cory and Topanga's love life you kinda wanted to throw up. The loss of the parents and Mr.Feeny not around hurt a lot.

[blackdragon6]

i'm also one of the few (along with my mother) who thinks that the x-files should have ended well before the film.the ufo conspiracy arc was only interesting during the first 2 seasons.after that it was only the creepy monster of the week episodes that stood out.especialy the episode "home".

[hoffmandu]

i'm also one of the few (along with my mother) who thinks that the x-files should have ended well before the film.the ufo conspiracy arc was only interesting during the first 2 seasons.after that it was only the creepy monster of the week episodes that stood out.especialy the episode "home".

Was that the one with the family of mutant inbreeders?

[titanfan]

None of the characters were re-cast in Queer as Folk. Michael Novotny and Brian Kinney were played by Hal Sparks and Gale Harold respectively, from the first to final episodes. Either of them might be considered the Lead; but it was, in fact, an ensemble show. I can't say it was balanced; but there were some very realistic stories mixed with some highly over-the-top stuff. It's a mixed bag; but it was generally pretty entertaining.

Sorry, I meant that the focus of the show was originally shifted to be from Michael, who was originally the lead of the show, to Brian, by the last season.
Depending on who you ask, the the reasons for it are different, but by the last Season, Brian was the hero of the show when he wasn't originally meant to be. (Not that most people minded, he was always a more interesting and engaging character to begin with)

[blackdragon6]

Was that the one with the family of mutant inbreeders?yep it sure was :)

[hoffmandu]

yep it sure was :)

Awesome episode from start to finish.

[Legato]

Awesome episode from start to finish.

I could rank that as one of the most f***ed up episodes on X-Files ever.

[Ontir]

That was the most disturbing, yet delightfully perverse, and interesting bits of sci-fi, ever to get onto network TV!

[Loren]

what about Sliders?

I think Sliders deserves a little more exposition here.

Season one and season two stuck largely to the 'alternate history' concept. Show creator Tracy Torme left the show at the end of season two.

In season three, the episodes increasingly became little more than movie-ripoffs. And Professor Arturo was replaced with a hot chick.

Season four became virtually all-Kromagg, and lost Sabrina Lloyd from the cast too.

And season five replaced Jerry O'Connell as the series lead, leaving only one original cast member. I honestly have no clue what those episodes were like.

[Knightmare10880]

The last season of sliders was a very mixed bag affair, some of the episodes were very good while others just stunk completley. The series finale was going good until they ended it with a cliff-hanger and we never got to learn what happend to Rembrant. I remeber there being talk of a Sliders mini-series to fix alot of the plot holes from the last two seasons and to answer all the unanswered questions as well as featuring of all the orignal Sliders, but it for some reason never came about, which was probably beacuse most of the actors were invovled with other projects because three of the originals were involved with other shows, Sabrina Lloyd on Sports Night, John Rys-Davis was doing the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Jerry O' Connell became a regular on Crossing Jordan.