Squeeze to the last drop: 8 TV shows that did not close on time

It is quite difficult to give up the goose that lays the golden eggs, especially if it occurs once in a hundred or even a thousand hens. So it turns out that if some studio removes a successful season of a sitcom or detective story, then you can be sure that it will be squeezed to the last drop, sucking the plot out of your finger, until the ratings fall to a critical minimum. It is for this reason that popular shows usually end in the form of something dull, boring and unprincipled – how else, if the writers were preparing to write a story for three seasons, and then the bosses were given the task of stretching the events for another ten. And today I propose to recall the most striking examples of this golden rule of small cinematography.

the walking Dead

• 11 seasons (episode 161), the final is expected.
• It was necessary to close after season 4.

We can safely say that this is the best series about zombies in the entire history of mankind – the authors of the project came up with an excellent story, bright outstanding characters and created a lot of cool action scenes with the participation of the living dead. Each episode delighted with events, stirred up the blood and made you nervous in anticipation of the imminent death of one of the main characters. The only problem is that gradually zombies almost ceased to be a problem – the writers spent more and more time on dialogues, boring scenes, storytelling without a twist and the relationship of survivors. And although the devoted fans, of course, watched it to the very end, in their hearts they understood that they were doing it automatically, and not out of great desire.

The Big Bang Theory

• 12 seasons (279 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 5.

Initially, the sitcom was conceived as a story about a company of geek scientists who are well versed in theoretical physics, video games and comics, but absolutely do not know how to communicate with women. Unfortunately, the writers abandoned the original concept at the beginning of the third season after the polar expedition, starting to redo the project towards relationships, love, marriage and even children. And although the jokes, ridiculous situations and oddities of the main characters did not disappear, already in the sixth season, “Theory” was more like a restart of “Friends” than a sitcom about science, geeks and their addictions. But this did not stop the showrunner – in total, 12 full seasons were filmed!

Dr. House

• 8 seasons (177 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 6.

Probably, there is no person who in 2004 did not watch “House Doctor” – the series blew up television with black humor, deadly diseases and, of course, charismatic characters. The only problem is that literally every episode developed according to a standard pattern – while the patient is waiting for the doctor’s conclusion, House scandals with everyone in a row, gives the interns a chance to solve the riddle on their own, and then, a couple of minutes before the end of the episode, he gives the diagnosis (usually deplorable). At first it was delaying, but pretty quickly the format got boring and tired – the series could have been safely closed in the sixth season, but, of course, no one did it.

Stay alive

• 6 seasons (122 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 2 (or not shoot at all).

The plane crash, survival on a desert island and attempts to return home looked incredibly exciting at first, and the director at the end of each episode showed some interesting shots from the next episode, literally forcing him to sit and wait for the continuation. The problem is that already in the second season it became clear that the heroes are marking time, and the authors of the project come up with threats just so that at least something happens on the screen, gradually moving away from science fiction into religion. The case when a gorgeous plot of the story was invented, but no one thought how to finish it beautifully. As a result – walking in circles and the worst ending in history.

Supernatural

• 15 seasons (327 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 3.

When the first episode of this series was filmed, the actors looked like young fit guys with fire in their eyes and a smile on their faces – in the last season, even computer graphics did not save them from wrinkles and fatigue. And this is understandable, because it was originally planned to close the story in three seasons, but in the end they were filmed fifteen. During this time, the series managed to transform from “witch hunters” with understandable plots and bright moments into something completely unimaginable, with deities, Death, archangels, angels and more. The scriptwriters, apparently, themselves no longer knew what difficulties to come up with for the brave Winchesters brothers, and, only finding themselves in a complete impasse, they nevertheless decided to close the project.

The escape

• 5 seasons (90 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after 1 season.

The first season of “Escape” had a scenario that was perfectly thought out to the smallest detail – the older brother was imprisoned for a murder he did not commit and sentenced to death, and the younger one arranges a robbery to get into the same prison and then arrange an escape, saving a relative from the electric chair. And although the original plan breaks down literally in the second series, the brothers, together with other prisoners, find a solution to each new problem, eventually reaching the cherished freedom. But the series was so successful that the writers invented new escapes with the same characters for four more seasons, until the audience was finally tired.

Two and a half people

• 12 seasons (262 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 8.

In some incomprehensible way, this project escaped the standard problems of American sitcoms – the jokes after years did not become cloying, the actors still played their roles perfectly, there were no drawdowns in the plot. The only problem was Charlie Sheen – he played the main role, along the way kissed the bottle and illegal drugs. Once, after a 36-hour party at his home, he was hospitalized, and the studio bosses decided to expel the actor, putting Ashton Kutcher in his place. And although views from this did not fall at all, the former chemistry between the characters disappeared, that Charlie Sheen charm, which, in fact, took off from the sitcom, disappeared.

Clinic

• 9 seasons (182 episodes).
• It was necessary to close after season 8.

Thanks to the utmost simplicity, kindness and pleasant atmosphere, the “Clinic” has existed for so many seasons without a single hint of obsolescence or simple. The characters developed, the plot did not turn into drama, the audience was more than happy. For the eighth season, a cool ending was written with soulful farewell scenes, each character was given attention, a fat point was put in an almost ten-year history. But instead of ending at this and moving on, the showrunners of the series for some reason decided to shoot more, but with other actors in the center of the frame – the idea failed in the first season, the sitcom was finally closed, but the sediment remained.

All that remains is to accept and watch

Of course, many fans would be incredibly happy about the correct, appropriate and timely ending of each of the above stories. To prevent the storyline from being artificially prolonged, the heroes did not turn from young guys into retirees, and a clear answer was given to each question. The only problem is that TV shows, like any type of digital entertainment, are primarily created to make money, and only then to meet the needs of the viewer. And until the situation changes, and, most likely, this will happen five minutes after never, fans of the TV show will have to continue to look at the main characters turning graying from season to season.