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Following on from the other thread…. Which tv series did they carry on too long?

140 replies

Tillow4ever · 29/08/2025 08:07

We have seen some excellent examples of shows ended in their prime that we all wanted more of - now what about the tv series that we loved… but then they carried on too long and ruined it.

Scrubs - I like to pretend the whole Med School drain just never happened

House - What were they thinking in the final season?

OP posts:
NooNakedJacuzziness · 29/08/2025 08:11

You (as in the show, not you OP!) - I gave up on the last season as I realised I didn’t care about anyone in it, especially creepy old Joe himself

TheNightingalesStarling · 29/08/2025 08:12

Big Bang Theory.
But on the other hand... it got the perfect ending.

KelsCommemorativeSausage · 29/08/2025 08:13

Only Fools and Horses should have ended when they got the millions.

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CharlotteStreetW1 · 29/08/2025 08:13

Only Fools & Horses. Show me a decent episode once the womenfolk arrived.

Imabitbusyatthemoment · 29/08/2025 08:15

Lost

willtrent · 29/08/2025 08:16

Grey’s Anatomy. It’s still going, and should have stopped pre-Covid.

Silverbirchleaf · 29/08/2025 08:16

TheNightingalesStarling · 29/08/2025 08:12

Big Bang Theory.
But on the other hand... it got the perfect ending.

Yes, I agree. Some of the later seasons were weaker, but the ending was good.

WaneyEdge · 29/08/2025 08:20

Still Open All Hours, the original series was sublime. I think the re-boot could’ve worked if they’d made Granville the opposite of Arkwright and Leroy the reincarnation. I do kind of like it and there is pathos in Granville becoming what he wanted to avoid but while it had a few laughs, it just wasn’t as good as the original.

MrsWojadubakowski · 29/08/2025 08:21

willtrent · 29/08/2025 08:16

Grey’s Anatomy. It’s still going, and should have stopped pre-Covid.

I completely agree. It’s unwatchable now. In fact, I rewatched it from the beginning earlier this year and stopped after series 11 as the whole tone shifts and it’s just not the same.

TheTecknician · 29/08/2025 08:26

Last Of The Summer Wine outstayed its welcome by at least twenty years. The original run of Doctor Who should have stopped when Peter Davison stepped down.

thatwasclose · 29/08/2025 08:27

Not going out. Just absolutely embarrassing now. Loved it when it started.

R0ckandHardPlace · 29/08/2025 08:28

Brookside. Fantastic in its day, bloody ridiculous by the end.

cliffdiver · 29/08/2025 08:29

Breaking Bad.

Good ending, but the last 2 seasons were dragged out.

JulietSierra · 29/08/2025 08:30

Walking dead. It was so good at the start but I had to give up after season three thousand.

Whenthetimeisright · 29/08/2025 08:40

R0ckandHardPlace · 29/08/2025 08:28

Brookside. Fantastic in its day, bloody ridiculous by the end.

I' m currently watching the rerun on STV player and absolutely loving these early episodes.
I know when it was originally shown there came a point where I said Enough is Enough because it became so unbearabley ridiculous I gave up watching.
I'm interested to see with this rerun how long I actually continue to enjoy it and at one point I'll give up on it second time around for the same reason.

luckylavender · 29/08/2025 08:41

Killing Eve.

ExcellentDesign · 29/08/2025 08:45

Yes to Brookside, once the gangster storylines took over it became unwatchable.

ER - they managed to get it back on track in the end but it did go all sorts of wrong in the multiple helicopter crashes era.

Comedycook · 29/08/2025 08:46

Birds of a feather.... original episodes were brilliant. I really didn't like it when they brought it back.

Aquababe73 · 29/08/2025 08:47

As an absolute TV addict so many but some shows I absolutely loved and were completely ruined by the last season or two. Standouts for me Dexter, True Blood, Lost, and probably somewhat controversially Friends (the last season was so shoddily written and every episode made me cringe).

Lifesyoungdream · 29/08/2025 08:49

The Handmaiden’s Tale. Started out good when it related to the book but it dragged on too long.

MinnieCauldwell · 29/08/2025 08:51

ExcellentDesign · 29/08/2025 08:45

Yes to Brookside, once the gangster storylines took over it became unwatchable.

ER - they managed to get it back on track in the end but it did go all sorts of wrong in the multiple helicopter crashes era.

Agree about gangster story lines in Brookside, it's what is ruining the other soaps currently. Simple stories of infidelity etc work better in soap land.

PsychoHotSauce · 29/08/2025 08:52

The Blacklist. You could tell even the actors were fed up of the whole thing the last few seasons.

Re Lost, I recently watched it all for the first time. I liked it and think it ended in the right way at the right time, however it's a very binge appropriate show. I can imagine losing interest if I had to wait a year between seasons and would probably agree it dragged on too long then.

MinnieCauldwell · 29/08/2025 08:53

Cold Feet, Walking Dead, Dr Who after Christopher Eccleston, Casualty.

EverardDeTroyes · 29/08/2025 08:55

Downton Abbey. Should have stopped when Mary and Matthew had their baby. I know Matthew was killed off because Dan Stevens wanted out of the series, but if the whole programme had ended there, on a lovely happy note, his character would not have to have died.

We would have been spared all that ludicrous storyline of Edith and Marigold, Tom becoming gentry and fat, Mary and Henry, the political awakening of Daisy, Lord Granthams stomach ulcer, Lady Granthams flirt with the art expert, and Joanne Froggart having to do all those grimaces and quivering.

Weekmindedfool · 29/08/2025 08:57

Lifesyoungdream · 29/08/2025 08:49

The Handmaiden’s Tale. Started out good when it related to the book but it dragged on too long.

Agreed. I Havent even seen the last two seasons tbh.