The Lifespan of a TV Show

Cool article, I can definitely see some Buffy parallels. One show that I thought of that does not apply to this is Smallville (IMO), the first 4 seasons of that show were pretty bad, the stories were mostly stand-alones and the show was taking itself way too seriously. Seasons 5-7 were amazing, the show becomes larger, more serialized (very important!) and the show develops a sense of humor. Seasons 8-10 were the best, the show becomes epic and (pretty much) Superman, the quality of the character and stories go up and the show ends on a a very high note.
 
Black Eye Guy
Black Eye Guy
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I agree with some of the points mentionned, but it can't apply to every show.

Supernatural was great even in its first season and, even though the 4th and 5th seasons are generally the most loved ones, every single season is epic. Okay, I admit that my point of view is totally biased(sp?) but still... on the contrary of Buffy, there is not a single season that I don't like about SPN, which is saying a lot.

On the subject of TV shows following this pattern, I think all the CSI, along with the Law & Order series are a good example. The shows were good at the beginning, but to keep going after 9 and 12 seasons is too much... I stopped watching regularly pretty much all the CSI shows because I was getting bored to see the same kind of story over and over again.
 
I don't think it's that accurate for BtVS, except the first season. And maybe the sixth and seventh, but they weren't as horrendous as the article makes them out to be.
 
Hale Caesar said:
Cool article, I can definitely see some Buffy parallels. One show that I thought of that does not apply to this is Smallville (IMO), the first 4 seasons of that show were pretty bad, the stories were mostly stand-alones and the show was taking itself way too seriously. Seasons 5-7 were amazing, the show becomes larger, more serialized (very important!) and the show develops a sense of humor. Seasons 8-10 were the best, the show becomes epic and (pretty much) Superman, the quality of the character and stories go up and the show ends on a a very high note.
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I disagree, I think seasons 3-5 was the height of the show. They had the best storylines and character development and the writing was at its best. I agree season 8 though is one of the best (its personally my favorite) but the point of smallville was not to be Superman. The point was to be about Clark before he became superman, his journey. So in that sense the first eight seasons are what the show is about. Season 9 & 10 are way to focused on rushing Clark into the Superman costume and loses sight of what the show was really about, particularly season ten felt very rushed which is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of it. That and the storyline was stupid and way to focused around the Clois (whom I love) wedding which is so not the point of the show.

As for the article I think its perfect I've seen it before and I agree it fits a lot of shows. I think for me Buffy is kind of the exception. For me it starts getting really good in season 3, and then 5-7 its at its best. I think a show that fits that perfect is Charmed. Season 1 its starting out showing what its got, season 2 they try some new things and realize what works and what doesnt, season 3 its found itself and is amazing, from then on its really good, season 5 is the only exception it starts to go down hill a little bit, season 6 is good but has major flaws, then season 7 and 8 are nowhere near as good.

Same with Smallville, first two seasons are cute but kinda boring, season 3-5 is the peak. Season 6 you see how stupid the writers are. Season 7 is pretty pointless. 8 is the exception its amazing and then 9 & 10 make you wonder why its still on, it has its moments but not enough to still be on the air.
 
I'm not sure what tv shows they were basing this on, but I don't think that applies to most of them... For example, Dexter was definitely not at its best during season 3. 😉 Same for Lost... Which was at its best during S1 and S2, imo. Another example is Prison Break where the best season was the first one. The examples goes on and on...

As for Buffy, I guess it kinda fits this... except for S5 which was really good. But I'd agree with the rest.
 
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