TV shows that started off bad but got better

Beware the Beast Man

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:21 PM
Original message

TV shows that started off bad but got better

Edited on Fri Dec-10-04 12:32 PM by Beware the Beast Man

I'll have to go with "The Simpsons." While the first season's episodes weren't terrible, they weren't as quick-witted and packed with pop culture references like subsequent seasons. Oh, and Dan Castellanetta hadn't refined Homer's voice yet.

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Richardo

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:23 PM
Response to Original message

1. True. I can't stand to watch the first season for the most part.

Homer is more angry than stupid. He's better angry AND stupid. ;)

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Zuni

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:27 PM
Response to Reply #1

4. I hate the 1st season

Homer isn't funny and the voice is wrong

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Plaid Adder

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. I don't know whether it was first or second season

But that episode where Bart cheats and becomes a "gifted student" for a while was priceless. Dark, nasty, and brutal, but funny as hell and so true.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

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terrya

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:25 PM
Response to Original message

2. I second that, BtBM.

Edited on Fri Dec-10-04 12:25 PM by terrya

The animation was very crude, by today's standards. It didn't have as many as the pop culture references as now. And, this is subjective, but I like seeing how buffoonish Homer has become. Also, the first few seasons seem to have been oriented towards Bart. It's more evenly divided between the characters, now.

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progressiveBadger

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:26 PM
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3. Scrubs

I'm not sure if it's just grown on me or got better. I didn't like the show at first, now it's one of my favorites.

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Aiptasia

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:32 PM
Response to Reply #3

8. Scrubs has always had great writing

I also love that show.

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Kid_A

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:34 PM
Response to Reply #3

14. It's been one of my favorites since it started...

I don't know quite what it is, but that show is just hilarious.

But the best bad-to-good show transformation is definitely Seinfeld. The pilot episode was AWFUL, and it's a miracle that it became what it did.

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Plaid Adder

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:27 PM
Response to Original message

5. Star Trek: Next Generation.

Edited on Fri Dec-10-04 12:27 PM by Plaid Adder

The pilot was so bad I didn't watch it for another 4 years. By that time, it had gotten pretty good (though they did produce the occasional stinker: http://www.plaidder.com/spocks.htm)

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

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terrya

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #5

7. That was the first appearance of Q, right?

It was a 2 hour pilot. Plus, it had a cameo by DeForest Kelley...as a 137 year old Dr. McCoy...

I didn't know quite what to make of the show after seeing that.

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Plaid Adder

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:33 PM
Response to Reply #7

12. Yes, that was the one.

Q put them all on trial for being idiots and they saved themselves from destruction by rescuing a giant jellyfish-shaped alien. It was awful.

"Genesis" was pretty bad, as were many of the later episodes. But by skipping the first few seasons I missed such classics of suckiness as "Skin of Evil." Until I caught them in syndication. Shudder. Shudder.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

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Deja Q

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:33 PM
Response to Reply #5

11. Seasons 2, 3, 4, and 7 were the best.

Season 1 had some good ideas but were BADLY produced. And there weren't many good ideas either...

Seasons 5 and 6 have a combined handful of good episodes, but the music truly sucks and the show is at its most banal and preachy as it could get. Yuck. Even the Kirk era's more preachy shows could still be ENTERTAINING. :-)

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DrWeird

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:32 PM
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9. Stargate SG-1.

But now it's going downhill again.

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Aiptasia

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:33 PM
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10. Seinfeld

Remember the original concept? Half stand up, half show?

Thank god they tossed that idea after the first season. Seinfeld's first season sucked.

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terrya

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:39 PM
Response to Reply #10

16. The first episode didn't even have Elaine's character.

I agree, the first season wasn't very good. Plus, the actor who played Jerry's father was changed after the first season.

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ChavezSpeakstheTruth

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:42 PM
Response to Reply #10

18. Hell yeah - the 1st 2 seasons were utterly forgetable

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Beware the Beast Man

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:34 PM
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13. Late Night With Conan O'Brien

The first couple seasons were dreadful; unfunny and painful to watch. He finally hit his stride around '96 with his ridiculous sketches and recurring characters like the Masturbating Bear and Gaseous Weiner, but he jumped the shark again when Andy Richter left.

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One_Life_To_Give

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:36 PM
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15. StarTrek

I forget the episode name. But their first show was the one with the Salt Sucking Monster.

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SnowGoose

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Fri Dec-10-04 12:39 PM
Response to Original message

17. Babylon 5

eom

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progressiveBadger

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Fri Dec-10-04 02:08 PM
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19. Daily Show

Night and day difference with Jon Steward.

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