I'm so encouraged about the ...
Question: I'm so encouraged about the next couple of seasons of
Lost and
Desperate Housewives, since the producers have established arcs for the shows and know which seasons will be their last. I really enjoyed the season premiere of
Housewives Sunday night and can't wait for
Lost to come back. On the other end of the spectrum, I really used to like
ER and looked forward to it the same way. Two seasons ago, I started deleting every third episode or so from TiVo without watching it. Last season, I think I watched two or three episodes before giving up on it altogether, not even tuning back in for the season finale. I just couldn't get excited about this season's opener, and looking at the ratings, apparently a lot of other people felt the same way. Is the phenomenon of shows wearing out their welcome a new thing, or has it been that way since TV was created? Lately I've been thinking about 1) terrific shows that were canceled way too early (
My So-called Life,
Freaks & Geeks,
Veronica Mars,
Arrested Development,
Once & Again and
Everwood), 2) terrific shows that overstayed their welcome (
ER,
Alias,
Gilmore Girls) and 3) terrific shows that did it right and went out leaving us wanting more (
Sex and the City,
The Sopranos). What shows fit these three categories in your opinion? And why can't I remember which categories some of my favorites of all time fall into:
Thirtysomething,
The Cosby Show,
Friends,
Cheers,
Boston Common (just kidding).
Answer: I'll duck the historical question — this time of year, I pretty much have to live in the here-and-now — except to say that
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is probably the perfect example of a show that bowed out gracefully, giving us bittersweet closure very much on its own terms. Looking back, it's hard to imagine it only lasted seven seasons. But
ER is a pretty classic example of a show that way overstayed its welcome. Its influence on prime-time storytelling is unquestionable, and there was a time you wouldn't dream of missing it, but in recent years I had the same experience as you. I'd go into each season trying to get back into the groove, but I'd quickly lose interest as the characters and situations grew more miserable and morose by the week. Even when they'd bring in interesting new actors, they'd quickly leech them of energy and turn them into depressive mopes. With
Lost and
Housewives, it probably is the smartest strategy to announce a limited number of seasons, to help focus the storytelling. It certainly worked for
Lost last season, and the time jump for
Housewives has been very promising so far. It's not that
Housewives is all of a sudden a brand-new show, just a refreshed one, and it's rare to be able to say that about any series going into its fifth season.
