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.
Scooby-Doo after adding Scrappy-Doo. Not only was the character annoying, but they changed the show to be Scrappy-centric.
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...
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).
Quote from: ZLoth on October 06, 2024, 09:37:05 PMHeroes (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.
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.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 06, 2024, 09:13:15 PMWhat 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.
I think the 1960s Batman went from being #1 on TV to off the air in about two years.
Quote from: Big John on October 06, 2024, 09:21:07 PMScooby-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.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 07, 2024, 04:24:23 AMThat'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.
Quote from: texaskdog on October 07, 2024, 02:17:23 AMThe 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.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on October 07, 2024, 02:49:04 AMM*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.
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.
Quote from: DTComposer on October 07, 2024, 11:26:57 AMQuote from: KeithE4Phx on October 07, 2024, 02:49:04 AMM*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.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2024, 06:30:45 AMQuote from: texaskdog on October 07, 2024, 02:17:23 AMThe 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.
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.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 11:45:50 AMQuote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2024, 06:30:45 AMQuote from: texaskdog on October 07, 2024, 02:17:23 AMThe 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.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 11:48:12 AMMork & 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.
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
Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 11:52:06 AMNewhart 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.
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.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 11:45:50 AMQuote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2024, 06:30:45 AMQuote from: texaskdog on October 07, 2024, 02:17:23 AMThe 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.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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.
Quote from: SectorZ on October 07, 2024, 01:51:44 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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?
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 01:57:32 PMQuote from: SectorZ on October 07, 2024, 01:51:44 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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.
Quote from: Rothman on October 07, 2024, 01:59:06 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 01:57:32 PMQuote from: SectorZ on October 07, 2024, 01:51:44 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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.
After a reunion show, eleven years later. Not during the run of the sitcom.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 02:04:59 PMQuote from: Rothman on October 07, 2024, 01:59:06 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 01:57:32 PMQuote from: SectorZ on October 07, 2024, 01:51:44 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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.
After a reunion show, eleven years later. Not during the run of the sitcom.
Whatever. I just remember the Skipper bemoaning their missing of mini-skirts and Ginger rejecting sleazy movie producers and that's about it. :D
Quote from: Rothman on October 07, 2024, 01:59:06 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 01:57:32 PMQuote from: SectorZ on October 07, 2024, 01:51:44 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 11:28:48 AMPrison 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.
That and the title of Gilligan's Island didn't leave the uninitiated to think that they were stranded on it and wanted to leave. Prison Break kind of does.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2024, 01:57:32 PMI mean, did Gilligan and the Skipper ever get off the island?
Funny... I just received that series today. I haven't watched that show since I was a young kid and it aired at 4 or 4:30 PM.
I don't know if it was even a 'top rated' show, but after Gene Roddenberry died, Star TrekTNG) had a bad 'Jump the Shark' moment when envirowhackos got into the writers' room and imposed their cosmic 'speed limit' on the ship. ( GggRRrrrr . . . )
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on October 07, 2024, 04:23:58 PMI don't know if it was even a 'top rated' show, but after Gene Roddenberry died, Star TrekTNG) had a bad 'Jump the Shark' moment when envirowhackos got into the writers' room and imposed their cosmic 'speed limit' on the ship. ( GggRRrrrr . . . )
Mike
I don't know if that was a jump the shark episode. I think it was just a crappy episode - especially since the "speed limit" was completely ignored later that season.
"Without a trace" was in the top 20 when cancelled by CBS, due to cost.
"Blue Bloods" gets the same this season.
Quote from: tigerwings on October 07, 2024, 05:04:19 PM"Without a trace" was in the top 20 when cancelled by CBS, due to cost.
"Blue Bloods" gets the same this season.
Blue Bloods though I fear half their "viewers" are watching the back of their eyelids given the air time and demographics watching it.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 04:34:54 PMQuote from: mgk920 on October 07, 2024, 04:23:58 PMI don't know if it was even a 'top rated' show, but after Gene Roddenberry died, Star TrekTNG) had a bad 'Jump the Shark' moment when envirowhackos got into the writers' room and imposed their cosmic 'speed limit' on the ship. ( GggRRrrrr . . . )
Mike
I don't know if that was a jump the shark episode. I think it was just a crappy episode - especially since the "speed limit" was completely ignored later that season.
They had a mention or two (always in the context of ignoring it), before just forgetting about it. Deep Space Nine and Voyager never mentioned it at all, although Word of God is that the problem was eventually fixed and that this is why Voyager's nacelles move. And doubly not an example for this thread because TNG was already planned to end after seven seasons when that episode aired (and work on Generations had already started).
Looking at the franchise as a whole, moving away from Picard and crew might be the point, or when they decided to use a pop song as a theme song.
It's too bad we don't have ratings data for Star Trek: Discovery. The move to the 32nd Century was very controversial, with some saying it ruined the show and others saying it saved it. I'm curious how the numbers actually shake out, but we don't have them.
Speaking of ratings, I looked at a couple other shows and noticed that Young Sheldon saw a noticeable drop when Sheldon graduated high school and went to college. Once Upon a Time is interesting because it does this several times (warning: massive spoilers for multiple seasons in the rest of this post), first when it switches to half-season stories focused on specific guest characters, then again when Emma becomes the Dark One, then again when Robin Hood dies, and finally when it decides to continue past what essentially was the series finale and swap out most of the cast while doing a soft reboot on the setting and plot (I'm pretty sure the only reason we started to see other universes that were similar to the Enchanted Forest is because the producers wanted to do Cinderella even though they
already did, and also because they couldn't get the actress who played Emma to come back as a regular so they needed an excuse for why Hook was there but not her).
Quote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2024, 11:56:53 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 11:52:06 AMNewhart 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.
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.
And there were some of other shows that mimicked the Newhart ending, such as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Breaking Bad.
Two and a Half Men fell apart after Charlie Sheen got kicked off. Nothing against Ashton Kutcher, who did a fine job in its last four years, but it was Charlie who really carried the show.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (the 80s TV series) had production interrupted when Stacy Keach got arrested, and when it got restarted as The New Mike Hammer, it tried a sexier approach, but unfortunately, it lost so much of its earlier edginess that led to its cancellation. One thing I remember most about that version was the brassier, more contemporary opening theme that replaced the slow, sultry number from before the arrest:
Quote from: vdeane on October 07, 2024, 09:54:21 PMQuote from: SEWIGuy on October 07, 2024, 04:34:54 PMQuote from: mgk920 on October 07, 2024, 04:23:58 PMI don't know if it was even a 'top rated' show, but after Gene Roddenberry died, Star TrekTNG) had a bad 'Jump the Shark' moment when envirowhackos got into the writers' room and imposed their cosmic 'speed limit' on the ship. ( GggRRrrrr . . . )
Mike
I don't know if that was a jump the shark episode. I think it was just a crappy episode - especially since the "speed limit" was completely ignored later that season.
They had a mention or two (always in the context of ignoring it), before just forgetting about it. Deep Space Nine and Voyager never mentioned it at all, although Word of God is that the problem was eventually fixed and that this is why Voyager's nacelles move. And doubly not an example for this thread because TNG was already planned to end after seven seasons when that episode aired (and work on Generations had already started).
Basically what happened here was they were trying to do a typical Star Trek
roman a clef type thing, but once they did realize what a mistake they had made, since they'd basically written themselves into a corner. So they had to back the change out somehow, so sure, let's make Voyager wave its nacelles around and call it good.
TNG's Season 7 highs were pretty high, but the lows of season 7 were probably generally the worst run since about season 2 with laughers like "Masks" and "Attached", and what is often considered the worst post-Season 1 episode in "Sub Rosa". Poor Dr. Crusher getting a rare featired episode for her character in that last one.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on October 07, 2024, 11:59:14 PMTNG's Season 7 highs were pretty high, but the lows of season 7 were probably generally the worst run since about season 2 with laughers like "Masks" and "Attached", and what is often considered the worst post-Season 1 episode in "Sub Rosa". Poor Dr. Crusher getting a rare featired episode for her character in that last one.
I think that was something that plagued a lot of the Star Trek series as they were wrapping them up.
"Hey, let's do a two-part DS9 episode that shows the horrors of war with them barely hanging on against the Dominion, followed up with a jaunty episode about Quark's mom making the Ferengi less ruthless."
"Hey, Seven of Nine has become almost fully human at this point, but she hasn't had sex yet. Let's pair her up with <spins wheel> Chakotay!"
Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on October 07, 2024, 11:59:14 PMTNG's Season 7 highs were pretty high, but the lows of season 7 were probably generally the worst run since about season 2 with laughers like "Masks" and "Attached", and what is often considered the worst post-Season 1 episode in "Sub Rosa". Poor Dr. Crusher getting a rare featired episode for her character in that last one.
Am I the only person who actually likes "Masks"?
The more I hear about Star Trek, the more glad I am I didn't get fully sucked down that rabbit hole.
Doctor Who's quite enough.
Besides casts changing who was a factor in decline, some shows changed networks. After 4 seasons on NBC, Get Smart switched to CBS who only lasted one season on CBS. After being married Max and 99 got twins and I think it might have hurt the ratings. Still, the tv-movie reunion Get Smart Again aired on ABC and the short 1995 revival on Fox.
Jag got more lucky with the switch to CBS and got even a spin-off series named NCIS and some NBC executives still have regrets for cancelling Baywatch once it reached a bigger popularity in syndication. My Three Sons switched from ABC to CBS because CBS beginned to air in color and menaged to have new episodes until 1972.
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on October 12, 2024, 01:27:24 PMBesides casts changing who was a factor in decline...
Speaking of cast changes, or in this case, additions, there was the poster child for jumping the shark, Ted McGinley. Not only was he the 2nd JTS factor on Happy Days, there was also The Love Boat, Dynasty, and Married With Children, among others. Not that McGinley's such an awful actor; it's just that he was brought in toward the end of some of these series and got a lot of good-natured grief for his shows' failing. I'm sure he cried all the way to the bank. :biggrin:
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on October 12, 2024, 03:59:59 PMQuote from: Stephane Dumas on October 12, 2024, 01:27:24 PMBesides casts changing who was a factor in decline...
Speaking of cast changes, or in this case, additions, there was the poster child for jumping the shark, Ted McGinley. Not only was he the 2nd JTS factor on Happy Days, there was also The Love Boat, Dynasty, and Married With Children, among others. Not that McGinley's such an awful actor; it's just that he was brought in toward the end of some of these series and got a lot of good-natured grief for his shows' failing. I'm sure he cried all the way to the bank. :biggrin:
In the case of Happy Days, if it wasn't a 2nd JTS, it might be a nuke the fridge moment. Besides Ted McGinley, there was also producer and director Fred Fredburger, who directed the last season of Star Trek and the 2nd season of Space 1999 got the reputation of being a "show killer". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Freiberger#Negative_reputation_in_science_fiction_fandom
NBC wanted to axe Trek after season 2, but due in part to a famous letter writing campaign the show was spared. The network subsequently further cut the show's already infamously low budget and moved it to the Friday night death slot, which is much more why Season 3 is less well regarded.
Quote from: vdeane on October 08, 2024, 12:53:27 PMQuote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on October 07, 2024, 11:59:14 PMTNG's Season 7 highs were pretty high, but the lows of season 7 were probably generally the worst run since about season 2 with laughers like "Masks" and "Attached", and what is often considered the worst post-Season 1 episode in "Sub Rosa". Poor Dr. Crusher getting a rare featired episode for her character in that last one.
Am I the only person who actually likes "Masks"?
No, you are not. I thought it was a pretty decent episode.
Batman '66 started strong but ratings was falling ratings and even the introduction of Batgirl didn't helped and there was also budget cuts then ABC cancelled Batman but there was once some plans for a season 4 when NBC showed some interest but they dropped once they learned then the show sets was already destroyed. https://bamsmackpow.com/posts/why-batman-1966-tv-show-was-cancelled-why-season-4-didnt-happen