Not what you think.

TV Shows that should’ve ended before they did

It’s a common way to get hits on your website. “TV shows cancelled before their time!” “Gone but not forgotten – TV shows that should’ve lasted longer!” It’s not very often that you see things from the opposite point of view – TV shows that went on too long. Ones that should’ve been killed off before either becoming shadows of their former selves, or losing the things that made them popular in the first place.

The Simpsons

Kicking off with the show that inspired this list. Everybody knows what The Simpsons is. They’re one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, their distinctive overbites and yellow hue known to everybody. Everyone has their favourite Simpsons moments (from the Monorail song, to Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes, to Hank Scorpio) and invariably, 95% of those favourite moments will be from seasons 2-10. After that the gradual transition of writing staff had completed – none of the writers who made the show great were left, and only those who had come in as substandard replacements remained. Like a photocopy of a photocopy the quality eroded.

There was an image doing the rounds online of memorable moments before and after season 10. Those before had moments you can instantly recognise and which invariably raised a chuckle (or a tear) at the memory; those after involved the family meeting somebody famous – usually a three line cameo introduced by Lisa exclaiming “wow!” then following with their name, profession and an example of their works. What used to be must watch TV (dinner times in our house – certainly on a Sunday – were timed so that we could be ready for the hour long double bill at 6pm on Sky One) turned into something that barely raised a smile, before becoming a show that I would rather eat a whole box of Krusty-Os than sit down and watch an episode of. Why is it still on the air? The beginning of this section is a pretty big clue. It’s a huge brand, it’s known worldwide, and it’s a phenomenal money spinner for those involved.

Glee

As is this show. I used to be a huge fan. After the first 13 episodes aired, in December 2009, I was pushing the show to all who would listen ahead of its UK debut. It was smart, funny, dark, fresh and new. The characters had depth (Quinn Fabray becoming the first cheerleader since Cordelia Chase to have layers) and the songs felt like a natural extension of the plot, rather than a crowbarred attempt to show off the cast’s talents/pay tribute to whoever had died/excuse to dress up in whacky costumes far beyond the budget of a high school Glee club. If the show had ended there it would be on the lists mentioned in this piece’s introduction in years to come, alongside Firefly, Arrested Development and Veronica Mars.

But it didn’t. After the initial block had been filmed and only three episodes aired, Fox picked up the “back nine” giving season 1 a full season order. That summer the network renewed it for two extra seasons – giving the creators room to plan, we thought, but actually time to get complacent and plot a unprecedented nose-dive in quality.  Out went the characterisation (unless you were a creator’s pet, and even then Chris Colfer took to rewriting his own lines). Out went the natural songs in favour of outlandish staging (contrast the audition room hangout of “Ride Wit Me” with the Superbowl mashup of Thriller and Heads Will Roll). Out went any attempts at continuity (Quinn’s baby wasn’t mentioned for an entire season; Blaine’s age changes depending on the episode). The show seemed to be written based on what was said by the fans online – the jury’s still out on whether things have been as a response to fan feedback, or a general attempt to alienate the fanbase that promoted the show initially. A shocking cliff-hanger car crash was hand waved away in favour of an episode based around a secondary character’s older brother. The show seems to be pandering to fans who think they have a relationship with characters from talking to the TV screen, rather than intelligent fans who’ve been rewarded for their devotion with a slap in the face.

Veronica Mars

Bit of a controversial one this, as this show frequently appears in the lists of those “gone too soon”. And based on the first two seasons they’re correct – the show was a fantastically clever blend of high school teen drama and noir-ish detective show. The smartest show aimed at teens featuring a blonde protagonist since Buffy The Vampire Slayer went off the air (and Joss Whedon, the creator of the latter, even cameoed in VM after lavishing the first season with praise) it was a critical darling and kept a steady fanbase during the first two years, on UPN. The show had a distinct structure: Veronica solves a different “case of the week” while continually trying to solve a season-long mystery arc, in which the conflict is introduced in the first episode of the season and resolved in the finale. It worked, giving a line of continuity while enabling new viewers to drop in on the show and pick it up quickly.

And then it changed. UPN merged with The WB to become The CW – a new network with new executives. The show’s previously successful style was forcibly changed to shorter arcs to try and bring in new viewers; this, coupled with the setting change from school to college, and a second story arc that most fans figured out very quickly, saw viewing figures decline. Having the show off air between February and May in favour of the Pussycat Dolls left no doubt as to how little the new management thought of the show and it was no surprise when it was killed off in the summer. A last ditch attempt to save it – jumping forward three years and setting the show in the FBI – was unsuccessful. Had the backroom staff known how poorly they were going to be treated, I think they would’ve agreed with me that with hindsight the show should’ve ended come graduation at the end of season two, instead of being bastardised as it was. The few highlights (Ed Begley Jr.’s Dean character, Dianna Agron, Mac getting more screen time) were far outweighed by the uncertainty and dip in quality. I love this show, and eagerly await the movie, but only if it’s in keeping with seasons one and two – not three.

Coupling

It’s quite weird that a list featuring shows that should’ve been killed off earlier features both my second and third favourite TV shows of all time. Coupling was written by Steven Moffat, the writer of all of the good episodes of the new run of Doctor Who. Unfairly compared to Friends (a sitcom about relationships between three guys and three girls) it was incredibly funny and taught a generation how to handle the differences between men and women. It introduced the Sock Gap, the Giggle Loop and the Nudity Buffer to many, giving names to that thing that you do that you can’t quite describe properly. It had episodes shown unconventionally – shooting half an episode in Hebrew for a cheap gag about breasts, using split screen to show the same events from different perspectives. Such is its charm – the show is a good decade old – that I’m typing this giggling at Steve’s speech from Inferno.

Why, then, did it go on too long? Between the third and fourth seasons, the actor playing Jeff (the male representative of “paranoia”, to Patrick’s “confidence”) quit the show. In his place was a new character, Oliver, who was like Jeff, but not quite. While the character grew when he wasn’t reading lines clearly written for Jeff, it wasn’t enough to develop an identity of his own. This was coupled with a subtle shift in tone, incorporating Susan’s pregnancy and Sally and Patrick’s attempt at a relationship. It didn’t feel quite as fun anymore and wasn’t as funny either. While this season’s existence meant that I could watch it live (in fact, what would turn out to be the last ever episode), it tends to sully the memory of the show – there are no passages from season four that I can quote verbatim, and the only thing that raises a chuckle nowadays is Oliver’s “Bring Back Doctor Who” t-shirt – funny in hindsight. The show should’ve ended just after the Spiderman dance at the end of season three.