Gone too soon or overstayed its welcome?

[Hagi]

I'd say gone too soon is definitely worse.

I can decide to not watch something that has been made.
I cannot decide to watch something that hasn't been made.

Sure, it'd take me a while to figure out said show is no longer worth watching and during that period I'd be wasting my time and somewhat spoiling the feeling left-over from the other episodes. But those good old episodes are still there, I can still look back fondly on them as they were actually made and if I ever decide to rewatch the show I know exactly where to stop to get what I consider a complete and fulfilling experience.

Achieving that complete and fulfilling experience is possible with a show that's overstayed it's welcome, it's harder certainly but possible. On a show that's gone too soon it's impossible. Which is the far worse fate.

 

[The_Echo]

Overstaying its welcome, bar none.

When a show goes to shit, it ruins all of the preceding content. The current state of The Simpsons, for example, have ruined for me the time when the show was good, because now I associate the show with the unfunny husk of its former self, and seeing classic Simpsons only reminds me just how bad it is now.

When a show goes too early, the integrity is kept intact. Yeah, you'll never really get that closer, but at the same time that show will never get to the point where it's another episode instead of a new episode.

Also, HIMYM. If they didn't set the show up expecting to explain how the fuck Ted met his wife so early on, it wouldn't feel so dragged on at this point.

Ugh, yes.

I mean, I enjoy the show, but holy God damn fuck why is this story so long? The frame story is really what's screwing the pooch in HIMYM. No child would ever seriously listen to a story this long (especially when all characters are pre-established to them so only season 9 seems to be relevant).

 

[King of Asgaard]

I'd prefer it to be gone too soon, rather than outstayed its welcome.
That way, the final impression remains positive, instead of being tarnished by the final episodes.

Case in point: Deep Space Nine.
An absolutely phenomenal series, until the final season, when it was ruined by space magic and space devils.
Not only that, but they took an amazing antagonist, Gul Dukat, and completely ruined his character because someone thought having a main bad guy IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING INTERGALACTIC WAR was a good idea.

 

[DANEgerous]

Overstaying it's welcome is far worse, Lost for an example went from awesome to tired to bad and got so bad that it started to make the previously good episodes bad. It is a perfect example they find something and that thin is intensely fascinating and important for some time but in the end they are all red herrings that just stop showing up.

Then you have shows that get the ax and birth massive fandoms and in a seance live on through the show even though it was short, fan fiction and cosplay.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Gone too soon.

It is unfair that we do not get to see what might've been for all the shows that never made it to their end. I mean, if it reached the end and nobody likes it, that's one thing, but to never know is worse.

Agreed.

If a show loses its way, you can always just stop watching it and move on to something else. But with shows that died too young you're left with all the unanswered questions and stories that could have been.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'd rather have a show that's gone too soon. That way, all the episodes are good.

 

[Something Amyss]

Gone too soon.

I'd much rather a show overstay its welcome, because then I can watch the good eps on DVD.

 

[rofltehcat]

Why not both at once?
How, you wanna know? Whenever they make a rushed miniseries to finish it or pump the plot points for the next 3 seasons into one just to give the series an end. Or when they cancel a show because the next to last season was weak but the last season shows lots of potential.

Though the mini series and crammed season are probably the worst of those. Not only feel they incredibly unsatisfying, they also leave no room for the series to be ever picked up again later because their story arc is already over.
Basically, the series itself is gone too soon but the rushed ending has very quickly overstayed its welcome.

If a series ends well without having a rushed ending because the overall story arc was filled in a satisfying manner then it is great even though some people may feel like it ended too soon.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I would rather see a show overstay its welcome, just because I usually don't start watching a show until it's over or has a pretty big backlog of episodes. If I hear "everything after season 3 is shit" I can just stop watching there and pretend that's where it ends.

Also in a lot of cases where a show overstays its welcome, there's a clear point where the show was supposed to end before it got renewed that will give you closure if you stop watching it there.

 

[Deathlyphil]

Not only that, but they took an amazing antagonist, Gul Dukat, and completely ruined his character because someone thought having a main bad guy IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING INTERGALACTIC WAR was a good idea.

Dukat was an amazing character. By turns heartless beast, and by others, a loving family man. I guess what they were trying to do with the war thing was to put a face on it. You can't mention WW2 for example without mentioning Hitler. He was the face of the Axis Of Evil, he was the focal point. Looking at most wars, there is always a hate-figure that we know about. However, the whole good/evil timeless prophets thing was a little odd... Technically, since time doesn't exist for them, they are both at peace and in constant war with the pa'wraiths forever.

OT: I posit a third choice. What if a series is cancelled early, then brought back a few years later? This was my greatest fear for Firefly, bringing it back would never be the same as it was when it was first made. I would accept another series in the same 'verse, but not with the same crew. It would never, ever be the same.

Of the two main choices, I think it's sadder to see a series go on for too long. Everything has it's time and place.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Which would you consider to be the worse fate for a television show?

Gone too soon.

Do you think Firefly would have such a massive impact as it did if it were 20 seasons long and people where sick of it? But 1 season and gone = uber fan army deploy.

If something overstays it's welcome people just start to ignore it and it fades into the background.

If something is taken away too soon on the other hand people scream to get it back.

 

[Cazza]

Overstay. For some people over stay might be more then 1 season others 10. You can just stop watching when it's enough. Cut short is making that choice for you.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Not only that, but they took an amazing antagonist, Gul Dukat, and completely ruined his character because someone thought having a main bad guy IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING INTERGALACTIC WAR was a good idea.

Dukat was an amazing character. By turns heartless beast, and by others, a loving family man. I guess what they were trying to do with the war thing was to put a face on it. You can't mention WW2 for example without mentioning Hitler. He was the face of the Axis Of Evil, he was the focal point. Looking at most wars, there is always a hate-figure that we know about. However, the whole good/evil timeless prophets thing was a little odd... Technically, since time doesn't exist for them, they are both at peace and in constant war with the pa'wraiths forever.

I wouldn't have minded that so much, but by that point, Dukat was no longer part of the Cardassian-Dominion alliance, so having him as the 'face of the enemy' doesn't make sense as much as, say, the female changeling. He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly. It's especially aggravating considering it comes after his best episode, 'Waltz' which is such a great character piece for him.

I agree with the prophets thing, I feel their inclusion was ridiculous, and really only served to push the weaknesses of the series (the Bajoran culture/religion) to the forefront for most of the final season.

 

[Nadia Castle]

"He's more like if Hitler was overthrown and went to the Orient to learn Firebending; it was just silly. It's especially aggravating considering it comes after his best episode, 'Waltz' which is such a great character piece for him."

Hitler the Firebender.......now there is a made for syfy film that has to be made. And kudos that 'Waltz' was indeed his best episode, just like 'In the Pale Moonlight' was for Sisko.

I'd say lasting too long is easily the worst fate. Had Family Guy stayed dead we'd still be lamenting the death of great series instead of getting tired of its overlong repetitive dullness. Personally I'm glad my fave animated series 'Daria' never got a comeback like Beavis and Butthead did because the story is over, stretching things out beyond what's needed just taints the good memories.

 

[Evonisia]

I think gone too soon is a worse fate, because any ideas the writers had are just gone, or are forced to awkwardly go into a new project. At least if it's drawn out they can get all the ideas out.

 

[Hero of Lime]

It would probably be gone too soon, but for me personally, the way the Simpson's keeps being renewed over and over again makes me want it to die so badly. Granted, the bad new episodes don't destroy the great old ones, it makes them look better actually. However, it hurts the image of the show overall, people love the old episodes, but the new episodes help to give the show a bad image.

It's not even like beating a dead horse anymore, it's just a pile of dust being blown around to keep it relevant.

 

[DeimosMasque]

"Plato's Stepchildren,"

What was wrong with Plato's Stepchildren?!

*grins* Well me personally I think its an interesting concept of an episode that is killed by silliness like what's in your Avatar. It wasn't -horrible- by any means but it also was a sign that TOS was losing steam.

 

[MrBaskerville]

I think it's a shame that there is only 6 episodes of Garth Marenghis DarkPlace, it doesn't need a lot more but 6 episodes more would have been very welcome. But i guess it has a certain charm that's kinda reinforced because it's fairly obscure and short. It's just this little thing that shouldn't exist but does so anyway.

And i can't help but feel that Simpsons probably should have ended around season 10-11, i do kinda enjoy must of it up to the movie but it started losing it's steam around season 10. That's where the filler episodes and weird jokes started appearing. Now that we are around 25 seasons in i can't help but feel that the new stuff is tainting the legacy a bit. Not so much after i stopped watching it though, after hating the show for awhile i've finally gone back to the good seasons which made me remember why i liked it in the first place. I would rather have a 'what if they never cancelled the show after 10?" than what we have now. Same goes for Futurama, just seemed like it lost its spark when it came back.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

I kind of think SGU did both after the first season was done i wasn't sure if i was would carry on watching. Then season 2 picked up dramatically and i ended up gutted it got canned.

 

[MCerberus]

A while back I would have said gone too soon... but we're living in a time where two certain Fox shows are clinging to life long past their cultural relevance, actively sabotaging attempts to move forward. They're like the CoD of television, bringing their bland non-entertainment to bear on a confused public while pre-teens and lizard people give them money for it.