What shows have jumped the shark this season?

[dr.strangelove]

I echo a post in another thread that Smallville jumped this year. I think it jumped once Lana came back and her love affair turned out to be the new coach. That is such cheese.

Any other shows left their best days behnd them.

Someone mentioned Charmed, but I think that jumped two seasons ago.

[kaitykaity]

1. Yeah, Charmed jumped when they wouldn't let

Cole really die. They brought him back even though
Phoebe was done with him and turned him into a pathetic
loser stalker.

I'm watching the reruns on TNT with Shannen and realizing
just how much I miss her.

[Phillycat]

2. Smallville, yes.

It used to be a complete addiction for me and now if I miss it, I'm not even that upset about it. The whole point of the show was the relationship between Clark and Lex and now that's basically gone. :(

[cynatnite]

8. Their relationship was why I watched in the first place

I don't anymore and once in a while I'll still catch a bit of it and catch up in no time. I hated them bringing Lois in.

After watching the season opening show, I just didn't care for how they changed it.

[Mojambo]

3. Law and Order has not survived Orbach's departure n/t

[dr.strangelove]

4. I've heard that

My wife watched it last night and said the same thing.

[Chovexani]

6. Amen

I used to watch L&O weekly, it was appointment TV for me. Not anymore. I like Dennis Farina, he's a great character actor and would have been a great choice on one of the spinoff shows, but Lennie is just irreplaceable. Ever since he's been on the show he's been the one wisecracking constant in the revolving door cast, he anchored the first half of the show the way Sam Waterston anchors the second half. It's just not working with Farina.

Also, IMO this "ripped from the headlines" nonsense, which has been getting steadily worse over the last few seasons, has finally reached the utter depths of absurdity. Last week's thinly-veiled McGreevey ep was one of the worst hours of TV I'd ever seen--and I don't buy for one second that Jack McCoy, formerly one of the most principled characters on TV, would go to court and nullify gay marriages just to convict a guy. Dick Wolf has always been a winger of sorts but in light of the current climate this episode just felt like a slap in the face. Beyond the politics of it, it's just really badly written crap. When you find yourself spending less time caring about the actual crime and investigation, and spend the episode instead wondering what news story they are going to rip off next, you know a show is in trouble. That episode was even worse than the awful Staten Island Ferry/homewrecking 9/11 widows episode. Between this crap on original L&O, Vincent D'Onofrio's mugging scene-chewery on Criminal Intent (I'm a big fan of his but I HATE that character), and Chris Meloni's impending departure from SVU, I'm about finished with this franchise.

Hopefully the long overdue departure of the Rohm-bot will inject some life into the show...but I really think it's time to stick a fork in the show and the franchise in general. But as long as people continue to watch out of habit (which I think is what largely accounts for the consistently good ratings), I don't think that will happen any time soon.

[Longhorn]

7. I had the same reaction to last week's show.

I wonder how Sam Waterston puts up with it, as I always thought he was a progressive. And I don't like some of the comments that Dennis Farino's character has been making either -- I find them offensive. I'll probably keep watching but I may not mind as much if I miss one now and then!

Did you hear about the lawsuit filed about the Law & Order episode from last year about the legal kickback scheme involving an attorney, a judge, and divorce property settlements? Apparently, the attorney says this "ripped-from-the-headlines" story made him entirely too recognizable. That may slow L&O down a bit -- or maybe they'll just exploit the publicity!

[Chovexani]

10. Whoa I didn't hear about that!

Hopefully it will force the writers to actually come up with original plots!

[Longhorn]

11. Here's a link:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/1100543889444_95951606/

[Chovexani]

5. Argh don't get me started on Smallville

I said it in the episode thread...and I mean it. Lana is like a cancer on that show, she drags down every damn scene she is in. This season is already starting to look like last season...opened up with a bang, really good stuff...and quickly returned to the same old tired crap the fans have grown to hate: meteor freaks, Lanaville, Clark's Creek teen love triangle crap, etc. Last year I hung in there because of the Luthors (Rosenbaum and Glover are like the only reasons this show is still even watchable), but Al/Miles have for some stupid reason to start building to the Rift way too soon, and it's going to be meaningless in the end because Clark never really treated Lex like a real friend thanks to the dumbass writers. In the last couple of seasons or so Clark only ever went to Lex when he needed money or some other kind of help. I'm a slash fan but even if you don't buy into the Clark/Lex subtext their relationship (however you choose to interpret it) is really the cornerstone of the show and they have neglected it like crazy in favor of pushing a character that's not even a footnote in the mythos. These stupid monkeys with typewriters don't seem to understand the opportunity they had and completely blew. I mean, the whole reason the inevitable Rift would be so tragic is because Clark and Lex were *best friends* in this show's version of the mythos. Something happened to drive a wedge between them, something that didn't need to happen, and now they're sworn enemies for life. That's the stuff of superhero tragedy and we'll never get it because the writers have their heads up Kristen Kreuk's ass.

Like an idiot I will still watch the show, but I'm downloading it and watching at my leisure. It is no longer appointment TV for me, I've been watching Lost and been blown away by how good it is.

[cynatnite]

9. Smallville is a disappointment this season

I straddle the line in whether I see slash with Clark and Lex. It was intriguing to watch and I wanted to see where it would go. I was disappointed when they shifted them into different paths the way they did.

[Chovexani]

12. It's such a wasted opportunity

I will be honest, I missed most of the first season of the show because I skipped out on it thinking it was just another stupid WB teen drama, only it was about Superman. But I am in several slash fandoms and people were going ape about Clark and Lex and how they were so hot together so I started watching. I personally know tons and tons of people who also started watching for the same reasons. So, the slash fans are a big part of the audience whether TPTB like it or not.

I understand we live in a country with Jesusland and that they can't really play with subtext on Smallville the way they could for instance in the Buffyverse, partly because in the beginning Smallville was really pushed as a family show and also we are dealing with an iconic figure in American pop culture. Okay, fine. But they need to understand that the lead actor is a very pretty boy who can't act his way out of a paper bag but happens to have AMAZING chemistry with the guy playing his best friend and future archrival. This relationship however you want to call it plays a crucial role in their development, for good or ill. So WHY do they ignore it?

The writers just don't seem to know how to play with the show's strengths properly, so we get loads and loads of Lanaville all the time because they think that's why people watch. Maybe for the 13 year old Clark + Lana = 4FR!11!1 fanboys/girls that post on the WB boards that is true but the rest of us want to see an origin show about a great superhero's early years. Sometimes I have to break out the tinfoil hat...I honestly believe TPTB started the Rift so early and ran away screaming from the Clex subtext because Tom and Michael light the damn screen on fire whenever they are together. And when you compare their scenes with Tom's scenes with Kristen the latter looks like a fucking joke. They can't show too much Clex because it makes the Clana look so damn pathetic.

I think I'm such a Clex shipper (at least in this version of the Supes mythos) because it makes the inevitable Rift even more tragic. I admit I am a sucker for star-crossed lovers and hell Clark and Lex would be like the ultimate in that.

Oh well that's why there's fanfic. :)

[Deja Q]

13. Which haven't?

:shrug: :-(