Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

I'm not asking about a TV show you don't like. I'm thinking of TV shows I liked, but dragged on too long and needed to be saved from themselves. (Especially the lucky ones when the show gets told that it's making a final season, so it can wrap things up.)

E.g.:

Babylon 5 should've ended at season 4. (The story was over; stop, already.)

Dollhouse became much more interesting when it was given 13 episodes to finish.

Lost should've stopped when it still had a coherent plot. Even with a full season to wrap up, the writers had no clue what to do.


We all want more of something we like (hoping we'll still like it), and networks are all too happy to keep cranking out episodes as long as people keep watching.


Question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins? Is it better to burn out or fade away?

It is a problem, isn't it? I agree with all your points. I like them when they have a point to work to. When they are just continuous, relying on ratings, they wander all over the place.

Looking at a list of the most popular SF shows
http://www.tv.com/shows/category/scie...
I found that I quit watching most of them long before their final episodes & never wanted to see a sequel. "True Blood" was one that should have ended sooner. 5 years in & we didn't care for the 6th & couldn't watch the 7th. It was obviously just being milked, going for the gore & sex. Pointless.

The original "Star Trek" & "Firefly" both left me wanting more. I happily watched all the sequels & movies available.

"Dollhouse" would be my pick for wrapping up about perfectly. "Eureka" did pretty well, too.

G33z3r wrote: "Babylon 5 should've ended at season 4."

It was supposed to be a 5-season run from the start. Although they had to make changes because of casting issues. That's why they started a new show after the Babylon 5 run.

G33z3r wrote: "Question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins? Is it better to burn out or fade away?"

Many stories have dealt with the reverse situation. Where a formerly evil person has changed and is now a pillar of good. Do we forgive the evils they did?

When I was a kid, I always thought it unfair when a witch burned at the stake would curse someone's descendents. What did they do?

OTOH, I didn't think it was unfair that descendents could benefit by an ancestor that accumulated a fortune. But it's just the other side of the coin.

Andromeda in general should be redone. But specifically- that last season was garbage. And I completely blame Kevin Sorbo. (I still like him and all, but really- it was just one giant ego trip.)

This could turn into a video parallel to the thread on the length of books. Many people would faithfully watch their treasured show even if the plots were the cast standing in line at the DMV. As long as they're off and away in That Universe

Personally, I think Buffy the Vampire Slayer should've stopped at the high school graduation. Likewise, Supernatural should've quit with the successful derailing of the Apocalypse. In each case, the seasons previous were a steady climb of quality and plot challenges and character growth. After these major moments, both series plateaued. This is a credit to the creative folk that they didn't go into a marked decline, but the shows stopped that healthy growth factor. A whiff of "stagnation".

I think a key symptom a show needs to maybe think about packing up is when a major nemesis returns from extinction. Not "returns from the dead", because that happens all the time. I use "extinction" for those operatic storylines where there are no loop holes, the hero is covered in blood, sweat and tears and the nemesis is dead. And, a year later they are back. (or their clone or time twin or never-mentioned love child or essentially the identical character wearing a funny hat)

I'll go with V 2009 series, just as it was getting good, no more, oh and another that left at a major cliffhanger is Terminator: TSCC. Loved that show.

when they start to stink...3ed season of the original Star Trek was pretty bad....Spock's Brain wasn't good for anyone.....

Murray wrote: "when a major nemesis returns from extinction. Not "returns from the dead", because that happens all the time. I use "extinction" for those operatic storylines where there are no loop holes, the hero is covered in blood, sweat and tears and the nemesis is dead...."

So, that's it for Arrow, then? (And Dragon Age> :)

I'm deeply suspicious of time travel do-overs, too. (I'm looking at you, Heroes.)

If Heroes had stopped at the writer's strike and resumed when they decided to pay good writers

Raylion wrote: "If Heroes had stopped at the writer's strike and resumed when they decided to pay good writers"

Yes!

Well... they are rebooting it, so maybe they'll fix that. AND the fact that they just dropped Caitlyn into the future and left her there, and no one mentioned her again.