What show dipped the most in quality? What show started bad/just ok and got great?

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

The shield is one of the most underrated shows ever. Its brilliant.

Yeah I got all of season one done in a day and I'm very impressed. Last thing I watched was the killing which Is good.

I always seem to be the last person I know to watch all the programs. Its great

Fringe went from an ok premise in the first season with X-files like monster of the week to being this fantastic arc

Babylon 5 was very episodic in the first couple of seasons to bloody fantastic for season 3 and 4 with 5 limping due to them having to wrap up a 5 season arc in 4 due to threatened cancellation

For me Justified is the best example of a show that started off "alright", it was a straightforward case-of-the-week show with an overall plot arc that you'd get snippets of every so often. But then around three quarters of the way through the first season it's as if they suddenly realised how generic that format was and decided to focus on the overall plot instead. Ever since then it's been pretty much unmissable. Hideously under-watched too despite all the praise that gets heaped on it.

I found Sons of Anarchy got very dull after the first two seasons. I just couldn't care less what the biker group got up to.

Dymo wrote: »

Heroes after season 1

Beat me to it, first show that came to mind.

Conversely - Cougar Town started a bit haphazard but got better as it went on, even if it didn't get the eyeballs it needed. Ditto for New Girl which is becoming a fixture on the schedule.

Dexter was amazing at the start but rapidly went downhill after S04. Prison Break was another show with an amazing initial season then turned into sh1te of the highest calibre.

A show that is often overlooked is The 4400, in my opinion that was going from strength to strength before it was axed.

Heroes started quite well but got lost in itself. Lost was great but once it became popular they milked it dry.

Glenroe! Slow first season but ramped up with the Fidelma thing half way through and then the epic Biddy tractor crash in the last season!

Have to point to the Simpsons myself as the most Good to bad really.

Covert Affairs has to get a mention as an OK show early on. It was cutesy and interesting but we'd all have gotten very bored by now if they hadn't decided to retool the show as a hard core spy saga. It's unmissable now.

Have to agree with Friends. The decline started (although not necessarily because of) when Chandler and Monica got together.

The characters became parodies of themselves by the end.

Joey was a stupid/witty character to becoming borderline retarded. Not being able to replicate sound? A one year old can do that.

Pheobe should have been checked into a mental home by season 10. Collecting rats and keeping them in the same area where you keep food was a big give away that her bf should not have stayed with her and indeed should have called the authorities.

Monica became incredibly annoying by the end. Her "I know!" catchphrase wasn't ever funny.

Shows that dipped in quality: The Simpsons being the most obvious one. And Family Guy too. There's talk of both shows doing some sort of crossover episode so both shows can officially jump the shark together, hand in hand. Most shows tend to downhill over time anyway.

Shows that started poor and got better: I'd say RTE's very own Love/Hate. The first series was poor. But by series 3, it improved and became somewhat decent (for a homegrown production). Series 4 was slightly dissapointing in comparison to 3. It could well go downhill again when the next series comes.

bogmanfan wrote: »

Good to bad:

Alias
First 2 seasons were superb. Went seriously downhill after that.

Homeland
Should have ended after one season. Once they ran out of material to copy (the original Israeli show it's based on) they ran out of steam.

Modern Family
Used to be excellent. Last season was ok at best. The two young lads used to be great, but only Phil Dunphy keeping it watchable now.

Game of Thrones
Yep. First season was excellent, now it's just bogged down with way too many plotlines and characters. At this rate it'll be 2020 before there's any progress.


Bad to good:

Seinfeld
Was never bad, but first 2 seasons were only mildly amusing before it really took off and became the greatest show of all time (imo). I started watching when BBC2 picked it up, around season 4 I think. Mightn't have persevered if I'd seen it from the very start.

Its going like the books and you will be glad to know it only will have 7 books. If he dies then the TV series will end it the way it should

Chuck - an ok start, then an excellent Series 2 and then it all fall apart from Series 3 and ended with a whimper in Series 5

The Bridge - a strong start to Series 1 let down by a weak ending, Series 2 was exceptional with a superb finale.

Person of Interest is one of those shows that really has rewarded those who stuck with it, fair enough it take about 40 odd episodes to get to the good stuff, but the first 40 episodes werent really that bad, its just the ones that came after have been so great,

Covert Affairs is another that still on air, the current season is barely related to the first season, season 1 was pure style over substance, and it has to given credit for doing a total 180 on that, like POI it has rewarded its loyal viewers,

Louie, not that it was ever bad, but its gone from an okish odd kind of show, to a real must watch show, its kind of a hard show to get into, but once your in your never leaving

Parks and Recreation, a show that has just gotten better as it went along, i watch season 1-5 last summer, i thought it was starting to get bad, but i think i just done the dog on it, i stopped after season 4 for a month or so to rest the brain, and as soon as i started it again i was back in fits of laughter :D

Star Trek Deep Space Nine, started out ok, but once it got to season 3, it just became essential viewing, i thought it took a bit long to get to know all the characters, mainly cause there were a lot of character to get to know, one just as interesting as the other, it was funny that sisko was probably the worst character in the whole show and he was the lead, but i must say when i re-watched it 2-3 years ago, it was just as great if not better cause i knew all the characters already,

Now for the bad

Heroes, my god did this show crash badly, even before season 1 ended the cracks were already appearing, i made myself watch season 2 and 3, but then i just couldnt take any more, and now for some reason im kind of optimistic about the reboot next year, a stand alone 12 episode could be a great idea, it just doesnt work when you have someone like in the show for a prolonged period of time, its always gonna descend into ludicrousness

Prison Break, season 1 and 2 were great, i think season 2 was better than 1 (i tend to be in the minority there) but season 3 when they it was just to much, i dunno was it because they were so narrow minded calling the show prison break that they found it necessary to keep , but my god by the end it was just utter utter ridiculousness,

Dexter, now here is a show that just completely misjudged its audience, its all well and good making a show with the premise that they did, it was great, but i think they thought we loved dexter, but it was the fact that he was who he was and was just hiding there in plain sight, literally a wolf in sheep's clothing, that we loved the show, not him personally, and there are some characters that they just completely ruined along the way, i remember this and breaking bad finishing within a week of each other last year, just polar opposites, BB had a perfect end to a great show, and dexter had just a complete **** you crap ending, to what could have been a great final season,

How i Met Your Mother, just thank god that show finally ended, it was actually and okish season overall, better than the previous 2 seasons, but that final episode, my dear ****ing god, thank god its over,