View Full Version : TV Shows you think could last forever.
There are alot of show that are run so long that it's like they'll last forever. It would be great if they would, and if so, which ones do you think can?
To me:
Simpsons
Family Guy (cancelled once and came back, what does that say?)
South Park
Stressfactor
03-15-2010, 06:30 PM
Actually, now, NCIS. I could see it actually becoming a bit like Law and Order with a kind of revolving cast...
Mark Harmon could leave NCIS now and the writers could believably move Michael Weatherly's character of Tony into team leader. They add a new rookie and the team keeps going. Even Palmer the 'autopsy gremlin' has started to show signs of becoming more of a collegue to Ducky than an apprentice. David McCallum could retire, the actor playing Palmer could move into a regular cast role and then HE gets assigned a new apprentice to train.
Pauly Perrette leaving could be a little more difficult but, rather than giving her a rookie to train they could always just bring in a new character cold and have a sub-plot about the team learning to deal with and accept a new person in the role.
The show has proven in the past that it's willing to let the characters grow and change and when they have replaced cast members they've made sure they've replaced them with very different characters in order to keep changing the dynamic.
But yeah, I've already commented to one of my friends that you can see 'Team Gibbs version 2.0' in the show now.
thwhtGuardian
03-15-2010, 07:17 PM
I don't think any show ever lasts for ever, sooner or later they all die out and become replaced.
passer-by
03-15-2010, 07:26 PM
With good writers to keep the edge of social, cultural and political comments:
South Park
American Dad
Love both.
The non-animated shows are too dependent on changes within the cast.
a. non
03-15-2010, 07:50 PM
Law & Order literally could: ever-changing cast, ripped-from-the-headlines stories
"Season 57 premier: Did the clone or the original commit the murder?"
Kusanagi
03-15-2010, 08:07 PM
Soap-Operas
Monday Night Raw (which is just a soap opera for guys)
What they have over shows like the Simpsons, is that they can and have actively replace the cast and move right the hell on.
Animated shows eventually are going to have their casts retire or move on. The question is will they find new voices, or end it there.
carlyquin
03-15-2010, 08:53 PM
i just wish that they give shows notice that they won't be coming back so that they can give the fans a really good last show! instead of a cliffhanger that will never be answered
thwhtGuardian
03-15-2010, 09:58 PM
Meh, even the long running soap operas are coming to an end. Guiding light ended last September, and As the world Turns is set to follow it this coming September as well and even General Hospital is said to be contemplating ending its run. Even shows with a revolving door of casts die out, the only shows that will truly run indefinitely are news programs like Meet the Press or the CBS Nightly News and maybe comedy talk shows like the Tonight Show. Everything else though will most likely end at some point.
malephoenix
03-15-2010, 10:04 PM
I would have watched Veronica Mars forever as long as my favorite character - the Dad-daughter dynamic itself - was still functioning in some way. Maybe even if it wasn't there.
I don't think any show ever lasts for ever, sooner or later they all die out and become replaced.
I would generally agree, on certain specific shows, but I think Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and some other game shows have the potential to last a long, long time. :wink:
thwhtGuardian
03-15-2010, 10:45 PM
I would generally agree, on certain specific shows, but I think Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and some other game shows have the potential to last a long, long time. :wink:
This is true, as long as there is an interest in game shows these will stick around, also their budgets are almost non-existent which really prolongs their staying power.
This is true, as long as there is an interest in game shows these will stick around, also their budgets are almost non-existent which really prolongs their staying power.
true, but it seems like, over time soo many of them have gone away.
ever watch a cable channel that has all the old game shows on it? we have one here and it's amazing, even with reboots, how many gameshows don't make it. some shows get big, then poof! they're gone. but Jeopardy and Wheel seem like staples for American audiences (rightly placed at dinner time) for a long time now. :wink:
JCAll
03-15-2010, 11:02 PM
Doctor Who is still putting up the good fight, despite a death and resurrection or two along the way.
Professor Moriarty
03-15-2010, 11:19 PM
Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
after all these year's it's still crazy.
Stony
03-15-2010, 11:41 PM
Smallville.
Who knew it would last this long?
Ned McDodd
03-15-2010, 11:50 PM
i heard Futurama comes back with new episodes. I really like the show, so i wouldn't mind if they stay for many seasons.
marshal99
03-16-2010, 07:10 AM
Scooby Doo - in one form or another , it will never die.
Power Rangers , while they are reshowing all the old series again. As long as the japanese franchise is still strong and ongoing and as long as there are fan interest , they can easily make a new season anytime.
mortari
03-16-2010, 08:22 AM
Even though I rarely get to see any new stuff, Ultraman is still going strong, I think.
Libaax
03-16-2010, 08:34 AM
Simpsons
Futurama
Law and Order: Special Victim Unit - the only LO i liked and hoped would go on years more.
NCIS is the show that is most dependent on its cast. It could never survive without Mark Harmon and co.
Surtur
03-16-2010, 08:40 AM
Simpsons, I mean..the Simpsons for me now is like a really really old person who is only alive because they're hooked up to various machines. Yet nobody wants to pull the plug and let this damn thing die, no matter how terrible it gets.
marshal99
03-16-2010, 09:10 AM
Even though I rarely get to see any new stuff, Ultraman is still going strong, I think.
Not in the US , it's not. When was the last ultraman series they imported from japan ? Ultraman tiga ?
Kusanagi
03-16-2010, 09:17 AM
Meh, even the long running soap operas are coming to an end. Guiding light ended last September, and As the world Turns is set to follow it this coming September as well and even General Hospital is said to be contemplating ending its run. Even shows with a revolving door of casts die out, the only shows that will truly run indefinitely are news programs like Meet the Press or the CBS Nightly News and maybe comedy talk shows like the Tonight Show. Everything else though will most likely end at some point.
Hmm didn't know that about those soap operas.
Raw I suppose could always meet the same fate as WCW if the right conditions are met (though TNA seems far more likely to fold)
News Shows/Tonight Show can stay viable forever, I'd throw in something like Sportscenter as well which basically meets the same criteria.
edit: Dr. Who does seem to be making a fantastic go of it. With their ability to have an in plot reason for why the Doctor looks, sounds, and acts different they're really only limited by how long their fanbase keeps going, and with popularity on two shores that could be awhile.
edit 2: though apparently Dr.Who wasn't running during the 90s, so I suppose it doesn't count.
The Black Guardian
03-16-2010, 10:10 AM
NCIS is the show that is most dependent on its cast. It could never survive without Mark Harmon and co.
You took the words from my fingers.
They were able to replace Caitlin because the show was still rather young. Her death came at the right time.
They might be able to replace Ducky, but the replacement won't be as liked.
His assistant could easily become a revolving door of characters.
Directors could come and go.
But trying to replace the main team will be next to impossible.
Toonimator
03-16-2010, 11:06 AM
Smallville.
Who knew it would last this long?
"Clark, you're 45 now. It's REALLY time you picked up this flying thing. And took a superhero name related to the S on your chest."
Scooby Doo - in one form or another , it will never die.
Power Rangers , while they are reshowing all the old series again. As long as the japanese franchise is still strong and ongoing and as long as there are fan interest , they can easily make a new season anytime.
Well I heard Disney may be planning a new season for 2012.
lonewolf23k
03-16-2010, 08:47 PM
Spongebob Squarepants is showing signs of outlasting the average All-Ages Animated Series, being now in its tenth year.
dupersuper
03-16-2010, 10:03 PM
I'll add my vote for DR. Who.
Schornforce
03-17-2010, 07:35 AM
Simpsons, I mean..the Simpsons for me now is like a really really old person who is only alive because they're hooked up to various machines. Yet nobody wants to pull the plug and let this damn thing die, no matter how terrible it gets.
Personally, I think this season and the past (two?) were pretty good. Much better than they'd been previously (but not as good as their heyday).
As for a show that could last forever?
Sesame Street.
That is all.
Libaax
03-17-2010, 09:43 AM
You took the words from my fingers.
They were able to replace Caitlin because the show was still rather young. Her death came at the right time.
They might be able to replace Ducky, but the replacement won't be as liked.
His assistant could easily become a revolving door of characters.
Directors could come and go.
But trying to replace the main team will be next to impossible.
Caitlin was never as good for the show as Ziva. Not because she is more hardcore,mysterious Mossad agent but because of her chemistry with Tony is so great.
Even Ducky with his smaller role is important. His attitude,toying with Palmer,his friendship with Gibbs etc
Is it still nr.1 show in US i wonder. Which is shocking that that many viewers has good taste in characters.
Soap Operas, Pro-Wrestling (and sports in general), reality TV shows, and sketch comedy shows..
Anything that doesn't revolve around a set cast really. I fully expect my great grand kids to be watching Survivor, SNL and Monday Night RAW (provided the earth doesn't end before I have great grandkids).
dupersuper
03-17-2010, 07:40 PM
I fully expect my great grand kids to be watching Survivor
What a bleak future you predict...
Jared
03-18-2010, 06:01 PM
I think NCIS could get away with replacing one character at at time. Gibbs would be the toughest, I think he'd have to be phased out, retiring but still appearing frequently at first, as a mentor to Tony and the others.
Alternately, Gibbs could become the director. I know, I know, he swears he'd never want the job. That's why it could be fun to see it happen.
Dr. Who is going to need another set of regenerations after the next guy, isn't it?
thwhtGuardian
03-18-2010, 06:13 PM
I think NCIS could get away with replacing one character at at time. Gibbs would be the toughest, I think he'd have to be phased out, retiring but still appearing frequently at first, as a mentor to Tony and the others.
Alternately, Gibbs could become the director. I know, I know, he swears he'd never want the job. That's why it could be fun to see it happen.
Dr. Who is going to need another set of regenerations after the next guy, isn't it?
The Doctor, I believe, still has two more, or one more if you count the aborted regeneration that created the meta-crisis doctor as a proper regeneration. But even then, they could easily come up with a plot device to give him more regenerations.
Still, it has a distinct possibility of ending if the rating falter so it too is not safe.
The Xenos
03-18-2010, 07:56 PM
Please. No show should run forever. You have changing writers and casts. You end up with entire years of filler garbage. The best stories are done in finite spaces by creators who have a vision for where a show goes. I don't get why TV exsecs and even fans of shows expect them to go on forever. It's a foolish delusion if you think a show can continue to be good indefinately.
Now excuse me, I have to go read what happens in Batman 697.
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