Are you always happy when a show gets renewed?

[Nick Adams]

Name a soap opera. Any of them, really. One hour, every week day, for decades on end, just makes it seem like the writers can't think of anything better. All My Children is a the best example - it even became a running gag in the real world, since one of the big stars kept getting nominated for Emmys year after year after year and didn't even win one until the show was well past its 30th year. Heck, the show Hot in Cleveland made fun of it, just for kicks. Yeah, I get the concept, I get the point that it was intended to run for that long, but really, the number of ridiculous plots that spanned the years, characters that came and went that just seemed there as plot devices instead of people... that show just made me wonder about how "daytime dramas" can be successful, but Saturday night programming has turned entirely in to reruns.

Of course, I only know about any of it because of my mother. She used to watch it religiously when Continental Airlines was based in Denver. And of course she just HAD to watch the finale; I happened to be home at the time. However, it is a show where, whenever I read that it had been renewed (again and again and again...), I almost groaned. Apparently, as a kid, I called it "All My Garbage".

As far as shows that ended right when the should have, probably the seven-season Star Trek series. TNG, DS9, and Voyager, all felt like they went on just long enough, and concluded in a way that made me feel like I could watch more, but the conclusions were fitting as the writers presented them.

[Damian WayLNKe]

Weeds: This past season shouldn't have been made and it should have ended after six.

The story of the whole show should have been the rise of Nancy Botwin from neighborhood pot dealer to being involved in one of the biggest drug operations in North America

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret: Perfect length. Nothing else needs to be said.

[TGC]

House was a show where I was not pleased the last two years that it kept getting renewed as the ratings and the quality went down, so the end this year was a pleasant and happy turn of events. It went two years too long, but it wasn't a complete and utter parody of itself yet.

As for Supernatural, I don't think it's dead dead yet, it's just that the showrunner that took over for Kripke (Sera Gamble) failed at delivering the season long quality story arcs that the show was known for. There were plenty of single episodes that worked the last two years (Sam and Dean in the real world come immediately to mind) it was just nothing else did overall and bigger picture.

Sam having no soul, The Mother Of All Monsters, Cass going Darkside, The Leviathans, all of it paled in comparison to the stuff that came in The Kripke seasons as season long arcs.

So I guess I'm saying, if the new showrunner can work out the bigger picture stuff and continue to bring us great smaller single episodes like the show has always done then I am happy it will be back for two more years, and if not I will wish it ended when Kripke left.

[apsham]

Arrested Development is a toss up - I really like season three, I just don't like anything pertaining to the main story with Rita. My girlfriend on the other hand, loves it.

[livid]

I would definitely agree with Supernatural. I adore the first five seasons and think it really should've just wrapped then because that's what Kripke had in mind the entire time and I think that by extending it, they ruined its "legacy" with stuff that really just pales in comparison to what the major arc for the first five seasons was. It's even gotten to the point where I didn't even watch the second half of the latest season and I rarely just drop shows.

I would also say Entourage. The show gets shit on in general but the first three seasons were really good. However, from Season 4 to Season 7 the show wasn't very good and nowhere near the quality of the first three seasons. The last season was actually pretty solid but at that point, it was pretty much a lost cause. I'm not sure if I'll be that interested in the movie they want to make.

I'm starting to think Sons of Anarchy is reaching this point because the way they ended of the latest season, after some really great episodes throughout, was embarrassing.

I actually have no qualms with how long Chuck went on. Season 4 was obviously inconsistent (that's probably putting it lightly) but we got Timothy Dalton as the season's big bad so I'm willing to put up with that inconsistency in the long run. And the last season was actually really good up until the finale which, as good as the actual episode was, I felt should've ended on a more positive note.

[Noah]

Most of the hate of latter scrubs is justified. Problem I have is some people who seem to be implying that the show as a whole sucked because of the last few seasons, rather than that it was a good show with a few bad seasons tacked on unecessarily at the end.

[KONGO]

Most of the hate of latter scrubs is justified. Problem I have is some people who seem to be implying that the show as a whole sucked because of the last few seasons, rather than that it was a good show with a few bad seasons tacked on unecessarily at the end.

There are people who just don't like Scrubs.

[Noah]

That to

[Benji]

Most of the hate of latter scrubs is justified. Problem I have is some people who seem to be implying that the show as a whole sucked because of the last few seasons, rather than that it was a good show with a few bad seasons tacked on unecessarily at the end.

I can understand the sentiment. A bad ending can sour your experience re-watching the rest, because the show felt like it outstayed it's welcome. Quality over quantity, but if you can have both then that's great too.

[Noah]

I suppose I get that.

I watched Roseanne all the way through and I remember really liking some of the early seasons but after that horrible way it ended, I have had no desire to rewatch it since.

[TGC]

I would definitely agree with Supernatural. I adore the first five seasons and think it really should've just wrapped then because that's what Kripke had in mind the entire time and I think that by extending it, they ruined its "legacy" with stuff that really just pales in comparison to what the major arc for the first five seasons was. It's even gotten to the point where I didn't even watch the second half of the latest season and I rarely just drop shows.

I have to say, it is worth watching the second half just for some good stuff by the regular cast (you know all three of them) even in poorly written and executed episodes. Also it's worth watching just for the episodes entitled:

Episode 12 Time After Time

Episode 14 Plucky Penyywhistle's MAgical Menagerie

Episode 17 The Born Again Identity

Episode 18 Party On Garth (by far the best episode of the season)

Episode 20 The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo

Episode 21 Reading Is Fundamental

This is assuming you already watched the first half (first 11) episodes of the season and saw :

Episode 6 Slash Fiction

Episode 8 Time For A Wedding (by far the second best Episode of the season)

Episode 9 How To Win Friends And Influence Monsters

Episode 10 Death's Door

Looking back on it, 11 of the 23 episodes this season are really good or have moments of greatness that remind me of the best of the show pre Season 6.

[TKz]

Party on Garth was one of the better Supernatural episodes since like, the start of Season 5. That guy is wonderful.

[Cactus Drags]

I disagree on ER. It definitely got worse quality-wise overall, but there were still some great episodes and ltos of good ones. Although I could do without things like the helicopter tragedies for Romano.

[TGC]

Party on Garth was one of the better Supernatural episodes since like, the start of Season 5. That guy is wonderful.

I have never in my life liked DJ Quails in anything...until he showed up in those two episodes of Supernatural this year. And yeah, it was just such a great episode.

[Jimmy]

Supernatural's one of the shows I need to pick up again. I watched the first 2 seasons and had some great fun watching it, but just never got the third. It'll have to take a backseat though, because I've got so much else to watch.

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

I disagree on ER. It definitely got worse quality-wise overall, but there were still some great episodes and ltos of good ones. Although I could do without things like the helicopter tragedies for Romano.

Agreed. Once they stopped focusing on nonsense on like John Carter & Luca Kovac's seraches for their souls in Africa, it was fine. There was an episode with Ray Liota in a guest star and it was amazing, which he won an Emmy for. The stuff in the hospital was still pretty good, they made Archie Morris a likable, competent doctor. And the last season, with Angela Basset and Stanley Tucci guest runs and the original cast returning was pretty good.

[Cactus Drags]

There were some legit moments in ER that choked me up. Obviously when Greene died, and I think the new doctor with Parkinson's was pretty compelling as well.

I'm kind of indifferent in general regarding shows carrying on past their prime as I'll just stop watching, but it absolutely kills me when good stuff doesn't carry on. I've been watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for the past week, and I cannot fathom how it didn't get picked up for a second season. I get that it was up against 30 Rock and I presume it was pretty expensive, but it was so good!

[Jimmy]

Glad I'm not the only one that loved that stuff, especially the early episodes. At least there's new Aaron Sorkin in a few months.

[Cactus Drags]

I have downloaded Sports Night to get a fix. Is Sorkin the one who's doing the political one with Sigourney Weaver?

[livid]

No, he has The Newsroom with Jeff Daniels on HBO.

But yeah, Sorkin (and Studio 60) is awesome.

And the Sigourney Weaver one is from Greg Berlanti (Everwood) on USA.