When a Show Airs For Too Long

in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Seth McFarland creator of the Beloved adult animated comedy Family Guy proclaimed part of me thinks that Family Guy should have already ended I think seven seasons is about right at the time of saying this family guy was just reaching its 10th season on the Air 13 years later and it is currently airing its 22nd season with a 23rd on the way yikes obviously a lot more has to be considered when deciding not to renew a show Beyond it's bad Nar if a series is is still popular and bringing in steady viewers AKA still making money a studio would see no justifiable reason to stop producing new episodes quality be damned something also worth considering is that these shows keep a lot of people employed like Seth McFarland is a multi-millionaire who does collabs with logic and J from Victorious that's real look it up he's a celebrity with stuff to fall back on but is it really worth putting all the artists animators and Riders out of a job especially if the series is still popular just because you personally don't want to continue working on it anymore you see a lot of folks online claiming that certain series have gone on for too long that rhymes I'm obviously guilty of this myself in the past but really what does it even mean for a show to go on for too long are there definitive signs that can be pointed to or is it simply a k by bis the point in the show where most agreed it started going downhill but even then that can be entirely subjective look at a series like The Simpsons quite possibly the most popular show ever most share the sentiment that at a certain point the charm started defeated but you'd be hard pressed to get a majority of folks to agree on one particular moment there are people who point to season 9 some who point to 10 hell some go as far back as season 7 or was it a shift in staff a bad rut they never managed to get out of or could that point to One Moment One Episode which marked the beginning of the end stuff like this always gets me wondering again this is such a vague subjective uh subject and so today I wanted to take a look at a variety of long running shows Infamous for having a catastrophic downfall live action cartoon whatever and point out some clear signs that things were beginning to run its course so without further Ado let's explore and discuss when does a show go on for too long but first if there were anything I'd describe as being uh long it's my brand new standing desk from flexispot this video is sponsored by flexispot being someone who spends 90% of their day working at a screen I know all about the importance of having a good workpace so what could be better than an E7 Pro standing desk there's this easy to ous keypad that allows you to automatically change the height to whatever you want allowing you to comfortably stand as you work so you don't get uh scoliosis or something this thing is sturdy too not only does it not wobble easily but it can also carry a ton this is high yeah up it's a standing desk dude I didn't think it would be that hard I've loved having this thing it has been a great addition to my working environment I got like two more as well I'm going to fill my heist with these things so if you were looking for an excellent desk at an affordable price check gu Flex a spot in the description below and get more savings by using the exclusive promo code provided in the description as well and thanks to flexi spot for sponsoring this video the most infamous way for folks to point out when a show is warn not it's welcome has got to be with the jump the shark moment the situations characters find themselves in getting increasingly more absurd like just look at the Simpsons that's got to be the best example I think Homer becomes a voice actor hover becomes a talk show host he's part of the paparazzi n then he joins the nevi becomes a farmer this time a boxer a [ __ ] astronaut it says nothing about the actual quality of these episodes I like quite a few of these it's more so a highlight of how the writers feel the need to keep topping themselves and at a certain point you forget that this started as a simple series about an average workingclass dad trying his best to provide for his family and become a better person and role model that was a consistent theme of the first season sure it wasn't always the focal point but that was the core of the show what is The Simpsons about n well it's about The Simpsons and they can fill in any role to plot desires also dude it took me until like two years ago to realize the phrase jump the shark was referencing Happy Days in which they quite literally had the fs jump a shark guess I should have expected that there he goes this was considered devastating I personally don't think it's entirely fair to boa shows dfall to one specific moment you know there's so many other factors that play along with it implying that a series can continue to then regain its footing afterwards but I definitely agree with the sentiment that it highlights a point in which the characters start taking a backseat in favor of gimmicks it's like episodes are being written from the perspective of how to entice viewers with Sol a spectacle or big reveals designed to rejuvenate interest rather than a genuine attempt to tell a story I tried looking up crappy BuzzFeed desque articles for examples of this but there they all either endlessly giving the same examples of providing really odd cases of it like here's one from stacker by Graz Anatomy a series I unfortunately have become quite familiar with don't judge me this long running medical drama has experienced all kinds of highs and lows over the years an ambitious season 7 musical episode called song beneath the song is every bit as cringe inducing as it signs call it one of the many times the series has jumped the shark only to subsequently regain its footing now not really a jump the shark moment if you immediately admit it gets right back on track now is it that show is filled with so many gimmicky episodes to choose from I'd probably highlight the one where half the cast gets in a plane Crush over the one where they sit around singing Snow Patrol also [ __ ] you KY Torres should didn't do anything in this episode that egregious I just I I just hit Kelly Torres like again [ __ ] you and stuff to me that jump the shark moment was more so a b it representing a point in0 return a time in which the series abandons its original goals in favor of trying to regain its dwindling viewership you know you could point out moments like in the office where they get rid of Steve Carell their mean character attempting to replace him with will frell a show especially one like the office is all built around the character Dynamics and now they all interact with each other it's bizarre to think they assumed they could simply remove such an integral part of the series and hope that everything would stay the same my mind jumps to moments like Brian's death in family guy oh my God r an episode I've discussed kindless times on this channel now W I need a hobby did the writers kill him because they wanted to teach you a lesson on not taking your loved ones for granted as they could be gone at any moment that's what Seth would like you to believe but it was about an advertisement it was by making a Facebook post saying which Griffin will be killed off find di tonight on Fox I swear Brian better be brought back onto the show or all or y'all are going to loose a lot of viewers Brian is the most beloved character and it was a big mistake on your part to kill him off Vinnie is a sucky new dog he needs to sacrifice himself and get hit by a car to bring Brian back or Stewie needs to make a new time machine sincerely a very pissed off fan that was the goal here you just got someone to realize how invested they are in your series you got this person by the balls Brian's dead now they're going to be sure to tune in every weekend because if you stop watching then I don't know maybe we'll just kill him off the man huh other times it comes off a little more desperate but they're still an attempt to keep the core ID in mind like Fairly Odd Parents being at threat of cancellation with Butch harman's big idea to keep marind being to have Cosmo and wand to have a baby specifically Cosmo it works in the moment throughout its entire run there's no episode of that show that did better than fairly odd baby but it's one and done the spectacle wears off it's a BB they don't do much and also that well is already dry there's no double dip in here you can add another BB a dog and a little girl all you want but eventually folks do wise up to what you're doing and they're not going to fall for that Cheap Trick again and again which is why these jump the shark moments are ultimately what people Mark as being the end of a series again you're past the point of no return there's no turning back here I really don't have a name for this next one but I guess it's more of a feeling A vibe when a series gradually starts changing over time but it's not something you notice until taking a step back to look at the bigger picture in which the shift starts to become more apparent this is most notable when it comes to the characters of long running series and how you can slowly see them all start filling in their respective roles they don't feel like characters anymore and instead caricatures of what they once represent oh flanderization that's the word this phrase was obviously coined in reference to Ned Flanders from The Simpsons a trait which I personally deem as being the result of a long running series rarely being able to keep the CM writers and directors throughout its run new Talent has to be brought into take over and through the process of new staff being cycled in an art you have to accept the fact that these new guys haven't spent nearly as much time with these characters as the previous ones did and so often times you find them starting to lean into one or two specific treats that they're most known for becoming increasingly more one note with the tit Ned Flanders himself it's in relation to how he was initially nothing more than Homer's rival a better and Kinder man who had more money a nicer family a [ __ ] pool table in his basement but also he was a Christian I always figured that was used to elevate the joke a bit in the same way all his other traits were it's a way of him one uping Homer like not only is he super well off but he's also an incredibly nice guy who follows the Bible to a te however after a while this got simplified further and further and while I certainly do a lot more with him naring the show it's hard to deny that for a large chunk of the series he remain does nothing more than Christian laugh I could continue talking about like half The Simpsons cast or Family Guy but I want to highlight a show in which I believe had it the worst of any I've ever seen and that's SpongeBob I feel completely neutral towards new SpongeBob again my point here isn't to say one is objectively bad more so just pointing out that these differences do exist between between old and new but something I always enjoyed about early SpongeBob was that he was just a guy he had such a wide range of emotions happy sad angry sure they more often than not focused on his naivity and optimism but it was never overbearing unless the plot demanded it I really think SpongeBob is a franchise that suffered from its success when it came to fland Rising their characters like over time it bought into its hype too much his face got slapped onto everything with a massive toothy smile and wide shiny eyes so much so to where after a while that kind of became all SpongeBob is in those middle Seasons they really focused on him acting like a dumb kid bordering on being a baby at times and as a kid I didn't bad ey but I could always tell something was slightly off but you know it's SpongeBob I like SpongeBob and for most kids that's good enough but when being able to look at the series then in comparison to how it began it's night and day that issue certainly got better as they started transitioning into their modern era I guess it's called but SpongeBob still has that issue of being too happy go-lucky from itest again he's 21 no in a way it's like the character trats become gags in and of themselves Spongebob works at the Crusty Crab he loves Krabby petties and jellyfishing that's his character SpongeBob acting naive is no longer a character treat that is the joke in and of itself again it becomes too obsessed with itself in the early Seasons the Crusty Crab is the sort of Rundy not good but not bad fast food place that's usually struggling for consistent business yeah sure SpongeBob loves it and thinks it's the greatest place under the sea but that's his naivity at play however as the series goes on and becomes so popular that every aspect of it becomes a staple and pop culture selling [ __ ] gummy crabby patties and crusty crab plets it becomes this weird shell of its former self n Bikini Bottom contains a society that will quite literally collapse if the Crusty Crab isn't selling Krabby Patties SpongeBob went from this kind of nerdy guy who nobody respected to KN frequently being the savior of the entire ocean because of his Burger making abilities I have to stress again it's not bad but it's so far removed from where where we started there's always that point in these long running shows where it's as if the realness starts to feed it's hard to describe but it's like the characters no longer treated as people they just are the characters and do what said character is expected to do it's really hard to do that however without making your series come off like a Lim sitcom where everyone's lives revolve completely around each other again G Anatomy nobody has a life outside that [ __ ] Hospital another thing that comes from you closing off your world so much and creating these ensembles is that you have to start retreading the same story beats over and over again like in friends how they draw out Rachel and Ross's will they won't their relationship constantly throughout the series not definitively getting together until the [ __ ] finale they're consistently teasing the audience with what they know they want to see but they spend so much time doing that that by the end of the series you realize you only got to see them actually be together for like a tenth of the show but I understand why they have to do that because if you give the audiences what they want there's always the question what's next it's easier to have Ross and Rachel get together spend some time as a couple get get mileage out of that and then have them break up because now there's new storytelling potential and now the audience can get excited at the prospect of them eventually getting back together you seriously don't want the other outcome here where the viewer becomes bored and wants to see something new again to bring it up again gra Anatomy suffers from this exact problem first of all they will have so many different matchups and character pairings that they start to trip in themselves you can feel them wanting to go a certain way but having to reel it back in because of some other [ __ ] that P like five episodes ago there's this really annoying point where the character of George gets married to KY Torres I hate her if you forgot they make it apparent that they have no real chemistry together and that George has immediately regretted this decision and this is when he starts getting feelings for his roommate Izzy at this point the show is all but abandoned their desire for Cali and George to be together nor they want Izzy and George and so it becomes this whole big thing of them being together and trying to keep it a secret before Kelly eventually finds I and they get divorced but who cares all that's out of the way and I Izzy and George can just be together except W oh in their Hasty decision-making rushing through this marriage like they were going for the world record the audience n not only hits George for cheating on his wife but they n also hit Izzy for being a home wrecker well damn n in an attempt to win folks back over they make it so George and Izzy lose all chemistry that had for each other they used to be able to [ __ ] just fine had no problem doing it when he was married but n they just can't make things work and decide to be friends George dies The Following season you run into a common issue where the story ends but there's still more show to make and so now they have to scramble to find a way to shake things up so the 40-year-old women and me watching this thing don't want to switch the channel to Scrubs Instead This is especially troubling if your series goes on for as long as Gray's Anatomy that [ __ ] is still airing to this day even though gray left with her Anatomy like three seasons ago that is quite possibly the saddest case of a show going on too long when all you need to do to realize that is to look at it when the actor start physically aging Meredith goes from this to this nothing wrong with that of course I'm aware we can't stop the aging process yet but there's something about it that's just sort of sad you think about the past 17 seasons and realize boy this character's life just sucks head and abusive mother gets Alzheimer and dies finds out she has a long lost sister gets in a playe crash and dies finally marries the guy of her dreams after seven seasons gets hit by a track and then Wham Co we're at the point now where the actors are starting to die in real life rest in peace James Pickins don't even get me started on The Simpsons [Music] voices a lot of people get real defensive when you point out how old these actors are getting and let's be real it's not as if Fox are holding them a gunpoint or anything but to me I just wish they would get some much needed rest I think after 30 plus seasons you've done your duties take a break I don't want these actors doing this until they die same goes for Tom Kenny with SpongeBob because you will get to a point where they're just physically unable to do it anymore and instead of forcing it and creating a product that can be genuinely hard to listen to at times I don't know maybe eventually it'll be time to call it a day to me though the worst thing a show can do after a while is just bring in people who don't care or respect the material that should be obvious right but it happens this is LS Mark so of course I got a shot at the Fairly Odd Parents for completely bastardizing every single aspect of itself by the final Seasons I didn't get to mention this much in my ranking video but I did a lot of digging in my own time to try and figure out what happened there and it all seems to stem from one person who was brought in as a head Rider and his neem is Ray dentus I hope that's his name this is nothing against this man he has had a long and extensive career creating hit shows like the Bubsy cartoon on Coconut Fred fruit salad Island I mean all I have is this crappy YouTube channel but again this is nothing against the guy I just think he came into the series so late in production it was already so far removed from where it started that all he could do was P it further this guy worked on a lot of old sitcoms and it seems like that was his mindset he brought into Fairly Odd Parents the riter's room also suffering from an extreme kiss of too many cooks early Fairly Odd Parents seem to be written by a couple people with multiple episodes being handed off to different writers however in the leader Seasons it appears that Ry offered a new approach that being every writer would be given the same episode everyone would then go off and write the episode whatever way they wanted and then by the end they would all rejoice and make some sort of hodgepodge of each's script's best aspects I can see the vision there but it perfectly explains why the later episodes feel so unfocused characters just standing around telling each other Liam jokes and it's because there was no consistent idea there he also highlights how you really grew attached to Timmy's dad Crocker and Cosmo in particular a lot of the most iconic characters of the series and so the mindset seemed to be well we have all these funny characters so if we put them all in a room together it'll be like one two three times the funny and while that may work in an ensemble sitcom this is the Fairly Odd Parents there are quite literally Dar rules that prevent at least one of these characters from being there another one of these guys is just Timmy's teacher and then his dad why would these three people ever be in a room together doesn't matter listening to Butch Hartman's podcast with him really put into perspective why I hate the leader seasons of Fairly OD parents so much everything took a backseat to the comedy which was never even fairly OD parent strong suit it was so huge because of the characters and the Magical element opening up so many opportunities for Creative set pieces and sweet little dumb morals it was like a fine family show that was its core but somewhere along the way it just lost itself it was no longer immersed in it own world the gold became telling rapid fire jokes with the most popular characters by any means necessary and while that may have worked for a sicom back in the 70s it sure as hell didn't work for a show that had already spent Seven Seasons building up its world and characters only for it to all be thrown away I'm depressed now writing for a long running show is like walking a tight RPP you constantly have to be pushing it in a New Direction and wowing the audience but at the same time you have to balance it with keeping in mind why people like in the first place you can't divert too greatly or else you risk going overboard and falling flat in your face if your show goes on for 10 20 30 Seasons then that means in some way people grew up with your characters your world they're as real to them as any regular person in their lives and that's not really something you can take for granted the end I [Music] guess [Applause] I

Channel: LS Mark

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Keywords: LS Mark, LS Mark Simpsons, LS Mark Family Guy, LS Mark Spongebob, The Simpsons, When a Show Airs For Too Long, Family Guy, Spongebob, Spongebob Squarepants, Brian Griffin, LS Mark Brian Griffin, Grey's Anatomy, Friends, The Office, The Office Steve Carrell Leaves, Seasonal Rot, Flanderization, Ned Flanders, New Spongebob, New Simpsons

Id: nCtVrvF43r0

Length: 20min 14sec (1214 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 19 2024