Bad Final Seasons of Classic TV Shows

[TMC1982]

The Adam West Batman TV series is a perfect example of this if you ask me:
*Shoehorning Batgirl in a desperate attempt to perk up dwindling interest

*The absence of Julie Newmar's Catwoman

*Madge Blake's (Aunt Harriet) severely limited appearances because of her declining health

*Cheap looking sets (i.e. the villains' hideouts) due to budget cuts

*The elimination of the two-part episode, cliffhanger format

*The campiness being more "bad" (as if they were exclusively trying to appeal to little kids) than good. By this point, the producers were focusing more and more on satirizing whatever was "in" at that particular point (e.g. flower children, beach blanket movies, "Swinging London", etc.), thus making the third season episodes feel seriously dated.

[G. Wen]

I thought the last season of X-Files was pretty poor, esp. compared to the previous seasons' stellar writing.

[Mike Spartz]

60s Batman was going downhill from episode 1, let alone season 3.

Adam West's portrayal of Batman is worst in history. He literally made a joke of the character. On the other hand, the 60s show was so terrible it actually became comedy gold. But that was the problem, Batman is never suppose to be funny. Batgirl was the only good thing about that show in this entire run. Her looks appealled to many men and she is the only reason I even bother to watch that show, if anything they should've made the proposed 4th season where Robin would be cut and it'd only be Batman and Batgirl as partners.

[Kiddington]

The Drew Carey Show -- Seasons 8-9

To be fair, this series (one of my all-time favorite sitcoms) had gradually began delving into more and more experimental silliness with each passing season, from about the start of Season 6. At heart, though, it was still a fun-filled, workplace comedy... and some of the new weird stuff they were doing at this point ("What's Wrong With This Episode", "Drew Live!", etc.) was actually pretty darn good.

Once Season 7 wrapped up, though, and Season 8 began... that was it. This show had completely jumped the shark, almost overnight, for a number of reasons:

--Dropping Christa Miller (Kate) in favor of Cynthia Watros (Kellie), a move basically seen as adding eye-candy to the main cast.
--Gradually reducing, and eventually dropping, the roles of several long-time recurring characters (namely, Mr. Wick, Larry Almada, Steve Carey, Mrs. Lauder, etc.)
--Dropping Winfred-Louder as the workplace setting, and replacing it with some lame, internet shopping company.
--Completely phasing out Drew and Mimi's mutual hate for one another (to the point where they actually became friends).
--Over-the-top and completely ridiculous plotlines for later episodes (Mimi's son Gus burning down their house, forcing her to move in with Drew, etc.).
--New writers failing to deliver the same type of wit and humor the old guard brought.

I could go at length at just how bad I thought the later seasons were, but it'd take too long. Basically, to sum up; this once fun, charming workplace comedy just completely devolved into an incoherent mess by the time Season 8 rolled around. The humor, chemistry, charm, fun... none of it was there anymore. During the transitional period from Season 7 to Season 8, this show just lost all sense of direction.

In fact, I'd even go as far to say that, if the rest of this series ever does make to DVD (sans Season 1, which had little in the way of licensed music), I don't think I'd buy the last two seasons. Although I will say Season 9 had a few nostalgic moments near the end (the finale was pretty good, and the new remix theme for Cleveland Rocks and Five O'Clock World was cool), there just wasn't much good that came out of this show's later years. It's really a shame, but it wouldn't be the first time a sitcom has gone on autopilot near the end of its run.

[Monterey Jack]

I thought the last season of X-Files was pretty poor, esp. compared to the previous seasons' stellar writing.

Definitely this. I even liked the eighth season of the show despite the limited involvement of David Duchovny, but season nine was just terrible across the board (and don't get me started on the second movie... ).

[AnimatedSnow47]

I actually like some episodes of these series, but:

* Star Trek: The Next Generation - The show slowly went downhill for me after mid Season 4, and there were a few gems in this season like "Parallels" and "The Pegasus," but mostly bland and dull, IMO.

* Laverne & Shirley - Laverne and Shirley's last season didn't have Shirley. Strange, but oddly entertaining, at least for me.

I actually love Batman: Season 3. The reduced production values and addition of Batgirl really add to the camp value for me, IMO.

[the greenman]

I actually like some episodes of these series, but:

* Star Trek: The Next Generation - The show slowly went downhill for me after mid Season 4, and there were a few gems in this season like "Parallels" and "The Pegasus," but mostly bland and dull, IMO.

What made it even worse was the revelation of a family member from every single character. Picard's "son", Troi's dead older sister, Worf's human brother, I think they,even threw in Data's "mother".

[The Penguin]

The Drew Carey Show -- Seasons 8-9

To be fair, this series (one of my all-time favorite sitcoms) had gradually began delving into more and more experimental silliness with each passing season, from about the start of Season 6. At heart, though, it was still a fun-filled, workplace comedy... and some of the new weird stuff they were doing at this point ("What's Wrong With This Episode", "Drew Live!", etc.) was actually pretty darn good.

Once Season 7 wrapped up, though, and Season 8 began... that was it. This show had completely jumped the shark, almost overnight, for a number of reasons:

--Dropping Christa Miller (Kate) in favor of Cynthia Watros (Kellie), a move basically seen as adding eye-candy to the main cast.
--Gradually reducing, and eventually dropping, the roles of several long-time recurring characters (namely, Mr. Wick, Larry Almada, Steve Carey, Mrs. Lauder, etc.)
--Dropping Winfred-Louder as the workplace setting, and replacing it with some lame, internet shopping company.
--Completely phasing out Drew and Mimi's mutual hate for one another (to the point where they actually became friends).
--Over-the-top and completely ridiculous plotlines for later episodes (Mimi's son Gus burning down their house, forcing her to move in with Drew, etc.).
--New writers failing to deliver the same type of wit and humor the old guard brought.

I could go at length at just how bad I thought the later seasons were, but it'd take too long. Basically, to sum up; this once fun, charming workplace comedy just completely devolved into an incoherent mess by the time Season 8 rolled around. The humor, chemistry, charm, fun... none of it was there anymore. During the transitional period from Season 7 to Season 8, this show just lost all sense of direction.

In fact, I'd even go as far to say that, if the rest of this series ever does make to DVD (sans Season 1, which had little in the way of licensed music), I don't think I'd buy the last two seasons. Although I will say Season 9 had a few nostalgic moments near the end (the finale was pretty good, and the new remix theme for Cleveland Rocks and Five O'Clock World was cool), there just wasn't much good that came out of this show's later years. It's really a shame, but it wouldn't be the first time a sitcom has gone on autopilot near the end of its run.

Regarding the Kate-Kelli switch, I believe Christa Miller left the show when her contract expired to appear on Scrubs full-time and was then replace with Cynthia Watros.

Those last two seasons were not great, but I realized part-way through that the biggest problem for me was Drew's job—I hated it. The infrequent appearances of Mr. Wick was of course one of the biggest problems (though I loved the times he showed up with his plans to ruthlessly climb the ladder). I found the brothers rather insufferable and the show was at least two years too late for working at an online story to be topical and interesting (let alone funny).

When Drew didn't go to the office the entire episode during the last two seasons it was a far better episode (though still measuring up to earlier). One minor highlight of those years was Bill Cobbs as Tony the bus driver. I thought he was great.

[Classic Speedy]

I remember being less than thrilled with the last season of "I Love Lucy" (as well as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour), when they all moved to the country. Setting changes, while they do bring a new coat of paint, are a classic "jump the shark" syndrome, where the writers change things up to try to keep the show fresh when it's clear the show had more or less run its course.

In addition, this was around the time that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's marriage was starting to go south, and you could easily tell from the way Ricky yelled at Lucy (and others) a lot louder and more frequently than in earlier seasons. Their on-show feuds almost became a parody of themselves at times.

That said, the last season does feature "Lucy Does the Tango", which is one of the funniest episodes ever. Or at least features one of the funniest scenes in any Lucy episode.

[DarthGonzo]

I can't think of a better "awful final season" than the last season of Roseanne. Cute how they tried to ret-con that in the final episode but that doesn't make up for a full season of terrible episodes.

[Desensitized]

I could throw in Family Matters which, while not really "classic", had a completely awful final season which was extremely worse than any of the seasons that came before it. They should have left it for dead.

I can't think of a better "awful final season" than the last season of Roseanne. Cute how they tried to ret-con that in the final episode but that doesn't make up for a full season of terrible episodes.

Yeah, that last season was awful. It's not surprising that it was apparently made on a whim like that, but yeesh, talk about missing the whole point of the series. IMO, the season before it was kinda lackluster but that last one was terrible.

[Jin Kazama]

60s Batman was going downhill from episode 1, let alone season 3.

Adam West's portrayal of Batman is worst in history. He literally made a joke of the character. On the other hand, the 60s show was so terrible it actually became comedy gold. But that was the problem, Batman is never suppose to be funny. Batgirl was the only good thing about that show in this entire run. Her looks appealled to many men and she is the only reason I even bother to watch that show, if anything they should've made the proposed 4th season where Robin would be cut and it'd only be Batman and Batgirl as partners.

Rip on it all you want, but that show saved Batman. The comic's sales (and all comics, really) were so far in the crapper at that point that, if the show had not made the character popular again, the series would have been canceled. It's also why the comic itself went campy for a good while there, to tie into the show and save the book.

It may be very un-Batman, but it's pretty much the reason we have any Batman at all right now.

[ShadowBlinky]

"Dukes of Hazzard". 'Nuff said.

[veemonjosh]

"Dukes of Hazzard". 'Nuff said.

Please, expand on what you mean.

[defunctzombie]

Law and Order Criminal Intent. Lose Goren, lose the show. The Noth episodes were okay, but when they added Goldblum I had no interest in watching (ESPECIALLY since Eames left as well). Apparently many others felt the same, as the final season is bringing the two back.

[Tobias]

Yeah, that last season was awful. It's not surprising that it was apparently made on a whim like that, but yeesh, talk about missing the whole point of the series. IMO, the season before it was kinda lackluster but that last one was terrible.

Agreed on this one, although the 'Under Siege' parody was probably my favorite episode of the whole series, next to the episode where D.J., um, discovers himself.

[CyclonatorZ]

60s Batman was going downhill from episode 1, let alone season 3.

Adam West's portrayal of Batman is worst in history. He literally made a joke of the character. On the other hand, the 60s show was so terrible it actually became comedy gold. But that was the problem, Batman is never suppose to be funny. Batgirl was the only good thing about that show in this entire run. Her looks appealled to many men and she is the only reason I even bother to watch that show, if anything they should've made the proposed 4th season where Robin would be cut and it'd only be Batman and Batgirl as partners.

"Batman's rich history allows him to be interpreted in a multitude of ways. To be sure, this is a lighter incarnation, but it's certainly no less valid and true to the character's roots than the tortured avenger crying out for mommy and daddy." - Batmite

Okay, so he was talking about a different show, but I gather from your post that you probably feel the same way about Batman: The Brave and the Bold as well. And that's a darn shame, personally, because there's nothing wrong with a lighter, goofier take on the Batman mythos.

[Tobias]

The final season of Mad TV. Granted, it had been going downhill for several years since all the best players (Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Mo Collins, etc.) started jumping ship, but that final season just untolerable by any measure.

[Desensitized]

The final season of Mad TV. Granted, it had been going downhill for several years since all the best players (Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Mo Collins, etc.) started jumping ship, but that final season just untolerable by any measure.

Agreed on that one. I actually liked most of the seasons of Mad TV including the ones that the early fans hated, but that last season was a whole new level of suck.

Wasn't there a lot of clip shows and such? I remember it being a total mess.

[stephane dumas]

Please, expand on what you mean.

I think he might refer to the 1982-83 season when Bo and Luke Duke was replaced by Coy and Vance, John Schneider and Tom Wopat wanted a raise and Warner Bros wasn't agree, They returned and WB gived them some concessions after the rating plummeted but it didn't helped then even with Bo and Luke comeback, the episodes plotlines was more family friendly and other episodes got very corny plotlines like "Strange visitor to Hazzard" about aliens in Hazzard county. It was a sign then the show was on its last legs.