TV shows that lasted waaaaaay too long

[NightTrain]

I'm talking about programs that should've gone off the air much sooner than they did, mainly because they had run out of steam and were resting on their laurels. Here are some examples:

"All in the Family." When Mike and Gloria went to California, that should have ended the series. Unfortunately, it was dragged out
(primarily under its new name "Archie Bunker's Place") for another four years--even after Edith was killed off! Meanwhile, the centerpiece of the series--Archie's bigotry--became less and less a part of it. This once frothing-at-the-mouth racist even went so far as to hire a black housekeeper, take on a Jewish business partner, and date a Puerto Rican woman! Talk about withering on the vine.

"Happy Days." That series should have gone off the air before Mork from Ork ever landed his egg-shaped spaceship in Milwaukee. And that was only when the show *began* to get bad! There also was Fonzie's cousin Chachi (with his late '70s haircut in 1959), Ron Howard wisely quitting the show, Fonzie taking a job as a shop teacher and buying half-interest in Arnold's, and worst of all, the show's complete abandonment of its original "nostalgia" theme. By the time ABC finally pulled the plug, "Happy Days" was less than a shadow of its former self.

"Laverne and Shirley." Moving the show's setting from Milwaukee to L.A. was a serious mistake, as was keeping it on the air after Cindy Williams quit and shortening its name to "Laverne."

"Welcome Back, Kotter." It could've survived John Travolta's departure, but when Gabe Kaplan started doing fewer and fewer episodes, that should've been the impetus the programming director at ABC needed to pull the plug. Instead, the show's fans endured Mrs. Kotter becoming Mr. Woodman's secretary (what happened to the Kotters' twin babies?), Horshack not only abandoning his trademark "ooo-ooo-ooo" routine but actually calling it "kid stuff," and the show's title being shortened to "Welcome Back." More like "good riddance!"

Those are the most glraing examples that I can come up with of shows that remained on well past their prime. Feel free to add more!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Cheers

No particular reason...but they needed to take it out and shoot it.

[SiobhanClancy]

2. Friends

I just don't get that show

[iluvchicago86]

26. You mean...

You just don't get 6 white good looking people living in a trendy part of New York who rarely stumble upon minorities or people that are somewhat less fortunate than they ?????:wtf: You must be out of your mind not to understand that show! *turns back and stalks off dramatically*

[terryg11]

28. any "reality" show from this century

and a few from the last (any real worlds after what, '96?)

:)

[Skittles]

3. I think Frasier is about cooked

it's time

[SmileyBoy]

33. Fraiser's been around for nine years now, I think????

Yeah, It's about time for that show to be put to sleep. It's too bad, cause Kelsey Grammar is probably the only funny right-wing Republican human being on our planet Earth.

[CMT]

4. MASH

lasted about four years too long in my view. Bewitched should have ended its run when Dick York was forced to leave the series due to his back problems. Happy Days when Richie left--even before then it was getting dumber by the season.

[terryg11]

29. MASH ??

I found some of the better episodes to be later when they made Winchester more likable. there were a few gems in there

[KCDem]

5. XFiles and MASH

Files because it started sucking long before it finished, and MASH because it lasted way longer than the war!

[aquaman]

6. Three's Company

I agree Happy Days too, really many popular sitcoms should stop in their prime so as not to taint the show.

[wtmusic]

24. One show was too much n/t

[tjdee]

25. But I'm glad it lasted long enough to have Mr. Furley.

I hate the Ropers....catching it on Nick at Nite from time to time, and the Ropers are so unfunny it hurts. Mr. Roper is creepy. Who in the world gave them a spinoff? Good Goodness!

The perfect window of acceptability for that show was when Don Knotts first showed up, to Cindy's arrival. Personally, I prefer the ones where it's Larry, Jack, and Janet (I think there were only a handful of those)...and Mr. Furley too, LOL...Terry just plain sucks.

[CMT]

7. Andy Griffith when Don Knotts left

it just wasn't the same.

[Gloria]

8. JAG--"ripped from the headlines" is getting to be a bore......

as is the Mac-Harm crap. One of the worst written "relationships" I have ever seen. They yo-yo between kissing and ignoring each other. They are infantile. Bellasario, the producer, thinks getting them together would "harm the show." Well, he's harmed the show anyway by making this ridiculous back and forth nonsense a joke. There's no "sexual tension" in what he's doing...that's his aim, but he's WAY off the mark....

[arwalden]

9. Married With Children

.

[SmileyBoy]

32. I know you hate MWC, arwalden, but I agree on it being too long.

They had a good run after seven or eight years, they were already syndicated, Ron Leavitt and Mike Moye could've just run with the royalty cash when Kelly was 21 and Bud was 18. You'd think two street-smart kids such as them wouldn't be living in their parent's house at the age of 25. Marcy started becoming more of a dick and less of the stereotypical embodiment of the "hypocritical feminazi". Jefferson started becoming just pathetic. But I STILL maintain that from 1987 to 1993 the show was PURE GENIUS!!!

[BigMcLargehuge]

36. I second that

I actually liked the last couple of seasons too, all except the season with the new little kid... I tried to black that one out from my memory.

I loved the whole Psycho Dad subplots, and especially the episide where Jefferson takes Al to Cuba to get a part for his car...

Where the beer gives you gas
And the Bundy's kick ass...
The Nudie bar!

[DS1]

37. Where the cops are at the door

and a Kennedy's on the floor..

The Nudie Bar!

[Kamika]

42. Simpsons

Its running on nothing but fumes

[arwalden]

10. Dr. Laura

[anti_shrub]

11. I always thought the end of Happy Days

was when Ron Howard was sporting the 70s porno mustache.

[mitchum]

12. "The Michael Richards Show"...

what a letdown

[TrogL]

13. Star Trek

and its various reincarnations.

[Yaoi_Huntress_Earth]

14. Jump the Shark

Have you guys heard of this site (www.jumptheshark.com)? It chronicles the moment TV shows went down hill. I think you'd like it. For me, I'd go with...

-That 70's Show: When Hyde started dating Jackie. Hyde is way to good for her and Erick and Donna's yo-yo relationship to boot. (Then again, almost anyone is too good for Jackie.)
-The Simpsons: Though this season has redeemed itself.
-Passions: One season is more than enough. Extreme GhostBusters didn't live to see it's second season and this peice of crap does with a TV Guide cover.
Love,
Yaoi Huntress Earth

[NashVegas]

35. I heard Jon Stewart Use the Phrase

In just the last week or two. Cool to see that site getting into the vernacular.

[short bus president]

15. I'll be flamed, for sure, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer

should damn well have ended at the end of Season 5, when the heroine died, and the world was saved. It went MOSTLY downhill from there.

[celestia671]

19. I loved Buffy...

But it did go downhill in the last couple of seasons. The ending sucked, hated seeing Spike die! He is coming back to Angel next season, though! :bounce:

[short bus president]

21. I've been unable to track Angel down this year

it started out as a Sunday night thing, then went to Mondays, and now I'm damned if I have a clue when it's on.

[celestia671]

22. Wednesdays at nine...

I think.

[arwalden]

16. Sopranos

Plotless... touchy-feely episodes.

[aquaman]

23. I agree.

Last season was pretty bad.

[celestia671]

17. On Happy Days...

Did you notice that the characters dressed like the late 70's and early 80's, instead of the early 60's? I watch it sometimes on TV Land at night, and it just got plain cheesy at the end.

[Ein]

18. The O'Rielly Factor

ok, to be completely serious...

X-Files, after like the 3rd season, I just didn't get what was left. The last episode was a rip-off with a huge Ford SUV marketing campaign/tie-in integrated into it. Blah.

[celestia671]

20. Here's another one!

The Bush administration!:evilgrin:

[phaseolus]

27. "Action"

twelve episodes too long. Urinating in a cobb salad, har har har. Whatta knee slapper.

[AWD]

30. Cop Rock

Only lasted one episode, and if you saw it, you know why I think it was on too long.

[SmileyBoy]

31. Yes. All In The Family when they had that stupid little girl.

Once Meathead and Gloria moved out of the Jefforson's house, done.

[DS1]

34. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE!

Wow, it took this long for the King of dead horses to get mentioned?

[UrbScotty]

40. What?! That's the GREATEST show on TV!

:-)

[Deja Q]

38. All in the Family - when Mike and Gloria moved to the Jeffersons' home...

The show became less daring, more "typical" in return. It was no longer about political viewpoints and in-your-face brashness, but about family matters - which was/is typical sitcom fodder. AITF los its specialness by the 4th or 5th season, but definitely by the tme Joey came into the world...

One episode featured more than a passing glance at a rather stupid game which Archie bought for little Joey. Mike had a limp argument about the game teaching kids violence (Rob Reiner did his best with the dialogue), which was good. But far more time was spent showing the Milton Bradley game "Karate Men" in front of the cameras with Archie playing it for effect. :eyes:

That sell-out episode pissed me off; which was amazing as the same season I think had the Edith being raped story (though it's a different type of daring than the usual political arguments) and the rather good season finale where Mike and Gloria left. That should have been THE finale, though it lost its soul sometime earlier...

But when it was good, it was DAMN GOOD! Seasons 1-4 are definitely the best. When does season 3 come out on DVD? There was a powerful epsode where the Bunker house was marked with a swaztika and dealt with anti-Jew hatred. The guy at the end of the episode gets blown up in his car. Very provocative stuff you'd never see on TV today. Not even in "Boston Public", which is arguably the most daring show on tv these days. I loved last season's finale where the Principal cut all the sports programs instead of acedemics to solve the budget problem. Real school districts should have done the same. But they obviously don't watch the right TV...

[Deja Q]

39. Are You Being Served

After Mr. Grainer left (series/season 5), it lost its charm. Even Mrs. Slocombe's pussy couldn't help matters. But the show went on for 7 more seasons (!!!), losing more of the good characters and replacing them with stick figures that add nothing...

Then a year or two later came "Are You Being Served Again", with Mr. Humphries of all people getting a GIRLFRIEND, despite havng been played out as a poof through the original show's 12 year tenure!!!

[UrbScotty]

41. "Scarborough Country"

One night of that was more than enough.