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What are tell-tale signs a series has jumped its shark? (piefed.social)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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[–] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Normally when I see that, it is a signal to me that the show as intended ended but it was so popular/lucrative that moneypeople demanded it keep going, so the writers have to take an already concluded story and and un-conclude it. I'm sure shows in this situation have worked, but I'm struggling to think of one.

I suppose certain animes, especially shonen essentially do this, but they are designed from the outset to be nearly endless if successful. I'm thinking about shows like Stranger Things which clearly had one intended season, and then four seasons of whipping together something to put on screen.

Like I disclaimed at the top, it is contextual to the type of show, but I get a Spidey-sense when a show essentially restarts. Even Stargate SG-1 did it near the end, and it was overall a pretty weak few seasons.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, I 100% get where you're coming from. (And I agree with you; the Ori seasons weren't the strongest of SG-1. Babylon 5 had a similar problem where they wrapped up the entire show's myth arc, only to be told there'd be a sudden fifth season. It showed.)

    I think for me a lot of it depends on whether they decide to "un-conclude" the existing story or branch it off in an entirely new direction. Like, looking to Stargate again, the Ori seasons struggled, but Atlantis was a great way to propagate the concept with a new cast, characters, and story.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago*

    Atlantis was, if I recall correctly, intended for a while to be the successor. The plan was for the SG-1 show to end with the Atlantis mission beginning, and then the Atlantis show to be the next stage of the Stargate franchise. What ended up happening was the Atlantis mission kicking off but then also TV people in charge wanted to keep the SG-1 show going so you had the shows airing at the same time. That is partially why SG-1 mildly turned into a zombie version of itself. Certainly not as bad as other shows, but I could still feel it.

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