[bliblah]

Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple.

I really dislike TV/Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons.

Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every character is distilled to their most basic formula Homer -> Idiot who causes events to happen Bart -> Same as above Marge -> Straight man / Voice of reason or Satire of moralistic conservative adults depending on the situation Lisa -> same as marge but liberal piñata

Old episodes had genuine moments where you saw them become closer as family, now every episode is a hodgepodge of nonstop comedy.

Family Guy also went through this, especially after they got revived. The early episodes focused on the trials of the family with some goofy humor peppered throughout (Peter getting fired, Louis dealing with being a bored housewife) but now its just nonstop comedy.

Once you get syndicated it's not about making good episodes just churning out 26 more a year and cashing in that paycheck.

Even Steven Universe which has a very straightforward story with an end planned feels bloated with a bunch of filler episodes and lazy character development.

[dmortin]

> I really dislike TV/Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons.

Isn't this an American thing where TV/movie things are primarily for money making?

I mean the British Office had 2 seasons and 12 episodes. The US version had 9 seasons and 200 episodes.

I didn't watch The Office, so I don't know if the US version got worse towards the end, but in general in the US they keep making episodes while the series is profitable, regardless of quality and in the end they usually drive it to the ground.

They just can't stop until there is no money in it. Most of the time they can't end a TV series on a high note.

[ConceptJunkie]

The American "The Office" ran about 2 seasons past its sell-by date. Losing Steve Carrel was the point when the show should have ended. There were certainly good episodes after his departure, because he was far from the only thing that made the show good, but we often say, when watching Seasons 8 and 9, "When did this show become a cartoon?"

[monetus]

Maybe not British, but it is very much a Japanese tendecy, ime. If I see a good anime/comic, I try to appreciate what I saw and expect no resolution. I'm curious how often they even have resolution in the outline.

[crooked-v]

A key thing with manga is that many series originally run in serial format in magazines that will drop the series and the author like a hot potato if popularity with readers wavers, so (a) it's impossible for the authors to actually plan for an ending and (b) authors are incentivized to insert whatever it takes to keep readers coming back based on this specific week in the real world instead of having a plot outline.

[delecti]

Every year has a slew of animes which wrap up in 13 or 26 episodes. A sparse few go to 52. An even sparser few fit the mold you describe, but even many of those end eventually with a planned conclusion (Bleach and Dragon Ball <Suffix>).

[monetus]

Sorry, I wasn't speaking in absolutes. I'm not a pollster or statistician, so I was relaying my anecdote. I think your comment's sibling, and one of mine, elucidate why I have that anecdote.

[beatgammit]

I just can't do that. I typically only watch anime that has ended so I know that there will be resolution. I really appreciate well thought out series.

In short, I appreciate the story far more than the story telling. The longer the story is, the bigger the payoff needs to be.

Perhaps that's the difference between British and Japanese audiences?

[bliblah]

Americans make money via ads and dvd/streaming but the Japanese use merchandising to fund all their endeavors.

DVD/Bluray sales usually dictate if a show gets renewed. Also most anime are adaptations from light novels or manga so the expectation is that they all drive up sales for one another. Then we have things like figures, video games, pillow cases, etc. This is why One Piece has over 850 episodes spread over at least a dozen box sets and 900 manga chapters collected in 60 volumes.

[yardie]

I've watched both and I think the US series is the better of the 2. Maybe it was just me but I found the Office UK's David to be a completely unlikable sociopath. The Office US had enough time to develop most of the characters and create some very funny scenarios. And most fans barely remember the trying to hard to be British 1st season.

200 episodes was probably too much, yet 12 episodes would not be enough.

[flashgordon]

I think it was wierd that the UK office finally came upon their own "redemption" moment for David Brent with the movie that came out a couple of years ago. I felt this was actually inspired by the US version where even though Steve was initially incompetent and selfish, by the time of his departure his incompetence had mellowed down a lot and his social "integration" was quite the highlight.

[utopcell]

Star Trek TNG summed it up best on its last episode: ``[..] you had such potential, but then again, all good things must come to and end'' [1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-olnnGBJQV4

[ConceptJunkie]

Tat was a show that did a pretty good job of not overstaying its welcome. Seasons 6 and 7 weren't as strong as the previous seasons, but the show was still good. Ending when they did was a good idea, even though we fans were sad to see it go.

[Jun8]

Exactly, and you have to know when to let go, a la Seinfeld. Adventure Time handled this very well, I think: told what they had to tell and ended after that. Another canonical good example exiting at the right time is Calvin and Hobbes.

[lostgame]

Calvin and Hobbes also managed to avoid selling out. Bill Watterson was a genius for sure. Due to his actions, Calvin and Hobbes has retained it's wholesome charm, and as far as I can see, will for many years to come.

[fortyseven]

I was rocking along with this and then BAM a slam on Steven Universe out of nowhere.

It's all subjective, of course, but personally, I've found SU to be rock solid. The main arc is there, but the stand alone eps are just as valuable for that show. Not every episode of a show that doesn't obviously advance the main story arc is 'filler'. Some are just trying to tell a story. I notice that people tend to label those kinds of stand alone stories "filler" if they didn't like them.

I say this because I'm guilty of this kind of thing, too.

And that's not to say there AREN'T episodes of shows that are just spinning their wheels burning off quotas-- see the Arrowverse for lots of THAT. Oof.

This is why I've been increasingly becoming a fan of 13 episode seasons for some shows. Tell a good story. Get the hell out. Or if you just have 23 episode seasons, break it in half. Tell two solid arcs. Maybe bridge them if you must.

[ip26]

but eventually every character is distilled to their most basic formula

So-called Flanderization

[ed_balls]

> Nothing lasts forever

South park is still funny. Last season was great (not sure about the current one)

[wefarrell]

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the David Bowie's of comedy. They develop a formula for success, and instead of milking it they toss it out completely and start again from scratch. True inspirations for any creative professional.

[eqdw]

I've been binge watching all of south park for the past few weeks and it has definitely changed, along the same lines as people are saying about the Simpsons. It has not gotten worse. In fact, I think it is better than when it first started. But it has definitely changed. It's gotten quirkier and wackier, characters have become more caricaturey, etc. It's found its rut

[Jarb]

Meh. I quit watching some time around 2010, not long after they were butt-hurt about the 200th/201st episode censorship (which, to be fair, was bs), and did some really shitty episodes. The one that comes to mind was the one with weird live-action bits. That really made me think about the show as a whole and how much it had changed. I realized that it had turned into a weekly moralizing/bashing showcase for whatever had rubbed Matt and Trey the wrong way. Instead of Cartman getting his bully's parents killed and cooking them in a chili or Chef singing about eating his chocolate salty balls, it was now about Jimmy (hate that character, btw) doing stand-up or getting a job as uber driver or making a lame LOTR or Batman "parody" without much to say about either genres. While some episodes did hit the right notes on raising awareness on an important issue (e.g. crack baby athletic league, kenny's last will, etc.), I miss the anarchic, crude humor of the first seasons.

[nathcun]

An interesting thing I came across writing this: the top writers, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, were showrunners for seasons 7 and 8, immediately stepping down after as:

    Oakley and Weinstein stood down as showrunners after 
    season eight because they "didn't want to break [the 
    show]." Oakley said: "We always said we'd never do a 
    joke that we'd done before."

[tonyedgecombe]

The obvious TV series that went on far too long was Lost but even stuff like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad is/was stretched out too far.

[eberkund]

To the contrary, Game of Thrones was too short. The books were just so long and detailed that even 8 seasons did it no justice. I think the mistake was making the show before the books were finished being written and spending so much time on the first couple books so that the later seasons were just skimming through the major plot points from the books.

[bliblah]

Breaking Bad definitely went off the rails in the final seasons but I felt they were a quality show until the end; if anything the original tone was kinda goofy for how serious and dramatic it ended up being.

GoT however has gotten much worse the closer they got to running out of source material. The last season I watched had incredibly stilted dialogue and relationships (Jon going rambo all the way to the north with no plan and then falling instantly in lust with Danny) and the pacing was hyperspeed compared to the previous seasons. If anything it feels like they really want to end it but have run out of room so they are just rushing it.

[rm_-rf_slash]

Well that’s, like, your opinion, man.

This stuff exists on a spectrum. The near end in my opinion are shows like GoT and Breaking Bad have long narratives to tell and imo they use the time well.

Further away are shows like Archer which were amazing when they came out but tend to drag on without having a significant story to tell.

The far far end is exemplified best by animes like Dragonball or Hunter x Hunter which go ON AND ON AND ON and somehow never seem to go anywhere.

[adzm]

> Even Steven Universe which has a very straightforward story with an end planned feels bloated with a bunch of filler episodes and lazy character development.

The filler episodes are some of my family's favorites, however. I think the comparison is a bit premature compared to something like the Simpsons where every episode pretty much can stand alone.

[afterburner]

It's not just that it lost the family moments; the comedy writing got much, much worse. Comedy doesn't have to have tender moments, but it does have to be funny.