TV Shows With Great Ratings That Dropped

[roadman65]

Was going through old articles about I Dream of Jeannie ( NBC sitcom from 1965-1970) and noticed a few interesting things about the program. Not only was it a vehicle for launching the careers of some actors such as Larry Hagman who later became iconic Oil Barron JR Ewing eight years later, it had a big turning when they decided to have both the male and female leads tie the knot.

Apparently ratings did fall after that move as it took away the shows edge that was keeping the Character of Jeannie a secret from the outside world especially the nosy Dr.Bellows who was out to expose him for all the supernatural and unexplained with logic things Tony Nelson was demonstrating from the never seen Genie he had. In fact the top man at NBC insisted that the show were to feature both Jeannie and Tony marrying if the fifth season were to be renewed.  So Sidney Sheldon and both stars Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman reluctantly went along with the demand to save their careers.  Even Hagman was against the change in storylines as he felt it was taking something good and making it bad, in which he was right. The show fell in popularity after the wedding took place and got eventually cancelled.

People did watch that show because of tensions built between Tony and Jeannie from their desire for each other romantically.  The plots of the show were driven from the will they or Won't they premise similar to The Nanny and Who's The Boss leads.  Now with the two married and Jeannie no longer hidden kept them from the drama of Dr. Bellows  trying not being able to discover her and removed the romantic tensions that drove the show' s storylines.  So people lost interest.

What other shows that were popular were no longer popular after the show MO changed.

[Big John]

Scooby-Doo after adding Scrappy-Doo. Not only was the character annoying, but they changed the show to be Scrappy-centric.

[Rothman]

Twin Peaks after the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer was solved halfway through Season 2.  David Lynch also cut back his involvement and the show was inconsistent from that point forward due to different directors, writers and plots not fully thought out.

Not sure how Season 3 turned out ratings-wise.  That was one where they gave Lynch too much freedom...

[ZLoth]

Heroes (2006) has a fantastic first season but had a strike-shortened second season that it really didn't recover from. Also, SeaQuest DSV (1993).

[Rothman]

Heroes (2006) has a fantastic first season but had a strike-shortened second season that it really didn't recover from. Also, SeaQuest DSV (1993).

Heroes also went haywire after the finale of season 1.  Writing sucked.

[texaskdog]

The A-Team.  They began working for the government and declared Murdock sane.  Watching it it was actually still a good show and that premise had promise, but it got cancelled mid-season.

Beavis & Butthead after toning it down.

All in the Family when Mike & Gloria left.  All the tension between Mike & Archie is what made the show.

[KeithE4Phx]

What other shows that were popular were no longer popular after the show MO changed.

I take it that you're describing what was later called a show's "Jump the Shark" moment.  I can think of a few (in no particular order).

Bewitched:  When Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as Darrin in 1969, due to the latter's medical issues.  The show lasted another 3 seasons, but it was never the same.

The Andy Griffith Show:  A combination of Don Knotts leaving and the show being filmed in color, both in 1965.  The beginning of the end because it stopped being funny.

Dennis the Menace:  Joe Kearns (Mr. Wilson) died in 1962, and was replaced by Gale Gordon as his brother.  Gordon basically phoned it in, as he was waiting for a call from Lucille Ball to join The Lucy Show.

The Drew Carey Show:  This one jumped the shark when the department store he worked at was taken over by some Internet start-up in 2002.  Two seasons of that were two seasons too many.

Happy Days:  When Fonzie jumped the shark (literally) in 1977, so did the show.  But a phrase was coined. 

Laverne and Shirley:  They (and the rest of the cast) moved from Milwaukee to LA in 1980.  'Nuff said.

All in the Family:  The Jeffersons had moved on up to that dee-luxe apartment in the sky.  Gloria and the Meathead moved to California.  Jean Stapleton was tired of the Edith role and wanted out.  Archie began to mellow with age, and had almost nobody to fight with anymore.  Changing it to Archie Bunker's Place for 4 seasons was putting lipstick on a pig.

M*A*S*H:  Two words:  Alan Alda.  His ham-fisted takeover of the show almost destroyed it.  Were it not for Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers, it wouldn't have made it as long as it did.  They saved the show.

Good Times:  John Amos (R.I.P.) was fired after 3 seasons, and Jimmie Walker was made the star.  Unfortunately, the J.J. character made Stepin Fetchit look dignified (even Walker himself complained), and Esther Rolle left for awhile because of it.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I think the 1960s Batman went from being #1 on TV to off the air in about two years.

[Scott5114]

Scooby-Doo after adding Scrappy-Doo. Not only was the character annoying, but they changed the show to be Scrappy-centric.

That's one of the good things about Internet fandoms existing now—producers are less likely to double down on a horribly unpopular idea like this now since they can get all the feedback they'd ever want off the Internet.

[LilianaUwU]

That's one of the good things about Internet fandoms existing now—producers are less likely to double down on a horribly unpopular idea like this now since they can get all the feedback they'd ever want off the Internet.

Counterpoint, and one even involving Scooby-Doo: the recent series about Velma.

[roadman65]

The A-Team.  They began working for the government and declared Murdock sane.  Watching it it was actually still a good show and that premise had promise, but it got cancelled mid-season.

Beavis & Butthead after toning it down.

All in the Family when Mike & Gloria left.  All the tension between Mike & Archie is what made the show.

However the show lasted even after Mike, Gloria, and Edith left under the Archie Bunker's Place Banner.




Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons and one year short of I Dream Jeannie that lasted five full seasons.
 
Both Mike and Gloria moved out in Season 6, but left after Season 8.  So eight seasons lasted till the end of Archie Bunker that was as long as the complete run of Andy Griffith.

Even with Andy Griffith, it held after both Don Knotts and Jim Nabors left.  It didn't get cancelled until Griffith got tired of the role of Andy Taylor.  It even spun Mayberry RFD that lasted three seasons and only got cancelled after CBS did the Rural Purge dropping all rural sitcoms including the Beverly Hillbillies to make room for shows like All In The Family.

[DTComposer]

M*A*S*H:  Two words:  Alan Alda.  His ham-fisted takeover of the show almost destroyed it.  Were it not for Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers, it wouldn't have made it as long as it did.  They saved the show.

While that may be an opinion (and one that is shared by others), the reality is M*A*S*H didn't jump the shark. It changed tone, to be sure, but after Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds left and Burt Metcalfe took over it remained a top-ten show to the end of its run, received a comparable number of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins, and of course, the finale remains the most-watched non-Super Bowl broadcast in history.

It was Alda who wanted to end the show after season 10 because he felt the show was running out of ideas, so if anything, he was trying to keep it from having a jump-the-shark moment. The network insisted on season 11.

This part is my opinion: Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers' characters actually better reflected the tone that Alda and Metcalfe wanted for the show. Col. Potter and Major Winchester were more complex, more intellectual, more human characters than Col. Blake and Major Burns, who were essentially slapstick foils for Hawkeye and Trapper (if I recall correctly, part of the reason McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville left the show was that their characters were so one-dimensional). So rather than "saving" a show (that was in no need of saving), Potter and Winchester reinforced the shift in tone.

[JayhawkCO]

Prison Break. I will go on record saying the first season is one of the best in TV history, but they escaped at the end of the first season so how do you proceed with the show? Have them escape to Panama and then get caught and go to prison there? Lame. But, first season, amazing.

[roadman65]

M*A*S*H:  Two words:  Alan Alda.  His ham-fisted takeover of the show almost destroyed it.  Were it not for Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers, it wouldn't have made it as long as it did.  They saved the show.

While this may be an opinion (and one that is shared by others), M*A*S*H didn't jump the shark. It changed tone, to be sure, but after Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds left and Burt Metcalfe took over it remained a top-ten show to the end of its run, received a comparable number of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins, and of course, the finale remains the most-watched non-Super Bowl broadcast in history.

It was Alda who wanted to end the show after season 10 because he felt the show was running out of ideas, so if anything, he was trying to keep it from having a jump-the-shark moment. The network insisted on season 11.

This part is my opinion: Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers' characters actually better reflected the tone that Alda and Metcalfe wanted for the show. Col. Potter and Major Winchester were more complex, more intellectual, more human characters than Col. Blake and Major Burns, who were essentially slapstick foils for Hawkeye and Trapper (if I recall correctly, part of the reason McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville left the show was that their characters were so one-dimensional). So rather than "saving" a show (that was in no need of saving), Potter and Winchester reinforced the shift in tone.

From what I read, Linville left on his own as producers wanted to renew his contract for more, but Larry said that he thought it was time to end Frank Burns as he took his character as far as he can possibly take it.

McClean Stevenson left to pursue other interests, but later regretted that decision especially after he saw how prosperous the show still was after he left.

[SEWIGuy]

The A-Team.  They began working for the government and declared Murdock sane.  Watching it it was actually still a good show and that premise had promise, but it got cancelled mid-season.

Beavis & Butthead after toning it down.

All in the Family when Mike & Gloria left.  All the tension between Mike & Archie is what made the show.

However the show lasted even after Mike, Gloria, and Edith left under the Archie Bunker's Place Banner.

Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons and one year short of I Dream Jeannie that lasted five full seasons.

Archie Bunker's Place was a top 15 show its first three years. It's last it fell to 22, but that wasn't terrible.

[SEWIGuy]

Mork & Mindy. In it's first season, it was the #3 show in the country. It inexplicably made cast changes in year two, and it steadily declined until the fourth season when Jonathan Winters was introduced as Mork & Mindy's child. (They were married by this point.) It was dropped after that since it had fell into the 60s.

[roadman65]

The A-Team.  They began working for the government and declared Murdock sane.  Watching it it was actually still a good show and that premise had promise, but it got cancelled mid-season.

Beavis & Butthead after toning it down.

All in the Family when Mike & Gloria left.  All the tension between Mike & Archie is what made the show.

However the show lasted even after Mike, Gloria, and Edith left under the Archie Bunker's Place Banner.

Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons and one year short of I Dream Jeannie that lasted five full seasons.

Archie Bunker's Place was a top 15 show its first three years. It's last it fell to 22, but that wasn't terrible.

I believe that had to do with Martin Balsam departing. The tension between him and Archie carried that show.  The final season became about Billie Bunker and her lover Gary, and it lost appeal.

[roadman65]

Mork & Mindy. In it's first season, it was the #3 show in the country. It inexplicably made cast changes in year two, and it steadily declined until the fourth season when Jonathan Winters was introduced as Mork & Mindy's child. (They were married by this point.) It was dropped after that since it had fell into the 60s.

They did it bad firing Elizabeth Kerr and Conrad Janis in Season Two.  They thought they can fix what wasn't broken.

Marrying Mork and Mindy was the same as Jeannie and Tony in IDOJ.

[SEWIGuy]

Newhart was a top show for many years, but fell off in its last two seasons.

It had the most unusual opening song for a sitcom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0StDroRiCs

[roadman65]

Newhart was a top show for many years, but fell off in its last two seasons.

It had the most unusual opening song for a sitcom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0StDroRiCs

They made a correction though after Season Two by firing Steven Kampman as Kirk.  Producers saw his storyline was one dimensional and that's when Peter Scolari was introduced as the adviser to Dick when he was on TV.  They kept it going after that, but it ran is course and lost more ideas to save it.

BTW that surprise ending was ingenious . Telling folks he died and instead waking up as Dr. Bob Hartley in the bed he slept in on his previous sitcom making Newhart a dream of his previous character. That was a great way to end the show.

Dallas did some influence on that show that paid off.

[Life in Paradise]

Moonlighting. Some of the dynamics changed after the major characters got together, then there was also the issue of Cybil Shepherd being pregnant and then also the fact that they had a hard time of getting 22 episodes done in a season (which they never made it there) and having to broadcast so many repeats.  The show was a masterpiece for dialog (plots were secondary) and would be a template show for current streaming where only 10-13 episodes are done at a time.

[Rothman]

The A-Team.  They began working for the government and declared Murdock sane.  Watching it it was actually still a good show and that premise had promise, but it got cancelled mid-season.

Beavis & Butthead after toning it down.

All in the Family when Mike & Gloria left.  All the tension between Mike & Archie is what made the show.

However the show lasted even after Mike, Gloria, and Edith left under the Archie Bunker's Place Banner.

Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons and one year short of I Dream Jeannie that lasted five full seasons.

Archie Bunker's Place was a top 15 show its first three years. It's last it fell to 22, but that wasn't terrible.

Still thought that show was weird when I was a kid.  Surprised it lasted that long.  In my mind, it was a flash in a pan.

[SectorZ]

Prison Break. I will go on record saying the first season is one of the best in TV history, but they escaped at the end of the first season so how do you proceed with the show? Have them escape to Panama and then get caught and go to prison there? Lame. But, first season, amazing.

The show was called Prison Break, at some point the point was to break out.

The Panama season was lame, but the second season before that and fourth after it were both pretty good.

[JayhawkCO]

Prison Break. I will go on record saying the first season is one of the best in TV history, but they escaped at the end of the first season so how do you proceed with the show? Have them escape to Panama and then get caught and go to prison there? Lame. But, first season, amazing.

The show was called Prison Break, at some point the point was to break out.

The Panama season was lame, but the second season before that and fourth after it were both pretty good.

I mean, did Gilligan and the Skipper ever get off the island?

[Rothman]

Prison Break. I will go on record saying the first season is one of the best in TV history, but they escaped at the end of the first season so how do you proceed with the show? Have them escape to Panama and then get caught and go to prison there? Lame. But, first season, amazing.

The show was called Prison Break, at some point the point was to break out.

The Panama season was lame, but the second season before that and fourth after it were both pretty good.

I mean, did Gilligan and the Skipper ever get off the island?

Yes.