For me this is the modern She-Ra and the Princesses of Power show.
I can’t think of any, but I can think of a ton in the reverse direction lol. How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones, etc.
Failure to stick the landing has been a very common problem with very good series. Dexter, Scrubs, and Gilmore Girls comes to mind. Not that it’s a “good” series, per se, as it was often hit or miss, but I was a diehard fan of Smallville and was incredibly disappointed in the last season and the finale, too. I’ve also never finished Battlestar Galactica’s last season because I’ve heard it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. And I never even picked up watching Lost because of its notoriously unsatisfying ending after its also notoriously addictive mystery breadcrumbs lead to nowhere. It applies to a few novel series from my childhood too, like the Pendragon series, and The Inheritance Cycle. It sucks when you devote years following a series, loving the characters, plots and mysteries, only to end up not ever wanting to consume it again because of the massive disappointment in the end.
Yes, I think writing a proper ending generally seems to be more difficult. Especially as a show gets more and more seasons. Which is why I think the opposite is kind of more interesting to discuss.
Black Mirror S01E01 (National Anthem) is the worst episode of the entire series. Yet Netflix decided to use it as the premier.
I told my gf’s parents to watch it and just to start at the beginning because “they’re all great!”
Took a while after they told her that they really didn’t like it for me to realize what I had done.
I hope they didn’t think that you had a thing for pigs.
The first two series of black mirror were originally done for channel 4 in the UK, it wasn’t until after that that Netflix took over. I think that episode is great and much better than a lot of the newer ones, but maybe it doesn’t translate as well for an international audience.
SO many shows are the reverse of this…
Bee and Puppycat! The original pilot webseries starts off as a bit of a fever dream with a lot of stuff just… happening. I still found it enjoyable as a spectacle, but over time the show started to pull on some plot threads and start tying things into longer running arcs. It also had some absolutely lovely and somber parts in the later episodes. The Netflix series did even better, reworking the story a bit to establish characters earlier and more deeply and planting seeds for deeper intrigue. The type of humor may not be for everyone, but it’s ended up being one of my favorite shows.
Also, Summer Camp Island. Starts off with some pretty charming but generic episodes, but it really started to dig into that Julia Pot weirdness from the second season onward. They also started doing some longer 3-episode arcs that explored character backstories much more deeply.
Oh that’s interesting. Never even heard of Bee and Puppycat. Somehow this totally flew under my radar. The first season appears to only be an hour long too. Will probably watch it all today or tomorrow. Thanks for the rec.
Love to hear it! Just to clarify, there’s the original webseries on YouTube and then Lazy in Space on Netflix. The latter is roughly a retelling of most of the webseries episodes but with more characters and a story that goes a bit past where the webseries ends. If you watch one, I’d do the Netflix one if possible, but both are good.
Babylon 5.
The sets still sucked, but the storyline got better and better.
Star Trek: The next generation
Growing a beard is literally a tv trope because of TNG
The Magicians, but only in regards to getting someone new into it. It’s a slow starter while they’re super confused but then they’re hooked.
Reverse it for Firefly!
That show became some of the best tv once they decided they weren’t following the books anymore.
Ooohhh that explains a bit!
My boss Katie has read the books but not watched the show while I did the inverse. She always says she can’t remember any of what I’m saying about it.
Yeah I’ve only watched the show but my wife has done both. The first season attempts adaptation, the second diverges, and the third abandons the books outside of characterization and themes. And like, I love the way they both stick to the theme of “the cishet white man with pain isn’t the main character of the world” but in very different ways. Oh also several characters from the books either had their names changed or were combined in the show.
Cishet? I hope you don’t think you’re referring to Quentin that way. Maybe you’re due for a rewatch. Also if anything, I think it showed how it can be pretty great having someone around with the sense of responsibility that can only be instilled by delusionally thinking you’re a main character in a story driven by irresponsible gods and shit.
Peaches and plums motherfucker.
In the books he was straighter apparently. But yeah he’s very much bi in the show. Though I could go for a rewatch.
As a character he is beneficial but his “chosen one” shit is routinely subverted. He’s a linchpin of this apocalypse, those are a regular occurrence. More than anything he’s a mentally ill grad student who happened to be obsessed with a world that was coming to destroy shit.
He certainly is a bundle of coincidence.
