Has their ever been a serialized genre show that was liked ALL the way through?

[Arfguy]

For me? Angel. There were weak episodes, for sure...but the cast was so good and it had some great moments. Hell, I liked most of season 4.

[Arfguy]

Angel immediately pops into my mind. But I'm one of the few that didn't have a problem with the 4th season (Jasmine was the Big Bad).

Damn. Are we twins? I swear, when I saw the thread topic, I immediately jumped to make a post without reading anyone's post. I just saw yours as I was scrolling up to start reading.

[Nate Grey]

Damn. Are we twins? I swear, when I saw the thread topic, I immediately jumped to make a post without reading anyone's post. I just saw yours as I was scrolling up to start reading.

I would have said Buffy but season 6, while a good premiere, got on my nerves quick. Angel barely had a misstep and in fact each season felt like a natural escalation of the previous one.

I'm sure there are more shows that were good from beginning to end with barely a misstep (and I don't mean an ep here and there I mean an entire season one wouldn't mind avoiding). I keep hearing the Wire is like this, and depending on who you ask the Sopranos, but I've never seen either show in their entirety so I couldn't say. When I think of the title of this thread, I think of "If I had the entire series box set, and spare time, would I watch every episode without skipping a season?" Angel fits that.

[Arfguy]

I would have said Buffy but season 6, while a good premiere, got on my nerves quick. Angel barely had a misstep and in fact each season felt like a natural escalation of the previous one.

I'm sure there are more shows that were good from beginning to end with barely a misstep (and I don't mean an ep here and there I mean an entire season one wouldn't mind avoiding). I keep hearing the Wire is like this, and depending on who you ask the Sopranos, but I've never seen either show in their entirety so I couldn't say. When I think of the title of this thread, I think of "If I had the entire series box set, and spare time, would I watch every episode without skipping a season?" Angel fits that.

Agreed...especially about the box set and watching all episodes from beginning to end. I personally wasn't a big fan of season 7 of Buffy, either.

I am thinking that Game of Thrones will most likely skyrocket right to the top for me once season 8 finishes.

[Powerboy]

Depends on who you ask and on what serialized is exactly. I think shows are often exciting at first but as they get to be old news, the ratings slip or they switch gears and stay fresh but that freshness takes them in a direction that makes them different from what attracted a lot of the original audience.

[AndrewCrossett]

Did Veronica Mars ever slip? I suppose some people didn't like the Piz episodes... he was kind of the Riley Finn of that show.

There are quite a few shows that I personally loved all the way through, but that's not the consensus opinion. I liked all of Buffy, but season 6 (and sometimes 7) has quite a few haters. Same for Angel season 4 and Xena season 5. I loved Lost right up to the last episode... even the weird Jacob/Man in Black stuff. I also liked season 3 of the original Star Trek, but a lot of that is probably childhood nostalgia talking.

[Basara]

The closest I can think of is Babylon 5, but even it had its hiccups. Many people complain about the slow start of the series and the excruciating Byron arc at the beginning of season 5 as major letdowns of the series, but imho, it was largely a fantastic show from beginning to end.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

I think shows are often exciting at first but as they get to be old news, the ratings slip or they switch gears and stay fresh but that freshness takes them in a direction that makes them different from what attracted a lot of the original audience.

THIS.

A lot of shows have audiences that just kinda trail off. Did Agents of SHIELD ever get the viewers that abandoned it after season 1?

Also serialized tv is basically none episodic shows. At least that's what i was always told.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

I find the question confusing because no show is universally liked. So if we say instead "if you started out liking a show at the beginning, did you continue to like it at the end" then I guess we just need to look at ratings.

next, I'm not sure what "serialized genre show" means.

I meant genre as in speculative fiction, Iknow there's no universally liked tv show, but there's a degreeism to it i guess. I find that shows with multiple plots and arcs tends to have the most disgruntled fans.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

Depends on who you ask and on what serialized is exactly. I think shows are often exciting at first but as they get to be old news, the ratings slip or they switch gears and stay fresh but that freshness takes them in a direction that makes them different from what attracted a lot of the original audience.

I think this is what's happening to The Walking Dead

THIS.

A lot of shows have audiences that just kinda trail off. Did Agents of SHIELD ever get the viewers that abandoned it after season 1?

Also serialized tv is basically none episodic shows. At least that's what i was always told.

I remember IGN said that the show got better tho

[jump]

Did Veronica Mars ever slip? I suppose some people didn't like the Piz episodes... he was kind of the Riley Finn of that show.

There are quite a few shows that I personally loved all the way through, but that's not the consensus opinion. I liked all of Buffy, but season 6 (and sometimes 7) has quite a few haters. Same for Angel season 4 and Xena season 5. I loved Lost right up to the last episode... even the weird Jacob/Man in Black stuff. I also liked season 3 of the original Star Trek, but a lot of that is probably childhood nostalgia talking.

The last season of Veronica was weak imo, like you said Piz was awful and I remember people finding the mix match of mysteries odd.

I liked season 5 of Xena, for me the hindsight problem was building up Eve to only then ditch her in the next season. If Eve became liked/important to the overall show that season would be viewed differently. That Selma Blair episode was bloody weird tho.

I think this is what's happening to The Walking Dead

I remember IGN said that the show got better tho

I've been tricked into watching Agents of Shields so many times by people saying it's gotten better, it never hugely did.

[AndrewCrossett]

I liked season 5 of Xena, for me the hindsight problem was building up Eve to only then ditch her in the next season. If Eve became liked/important to the overall show that season would be viewed differently. That Selma Blair episode was bloody weird tho.

I think they mishandled Eve by having her conversion be so sudden and totally unearned by the story (a literal deus ex machina). Also by then turning her into such a goody-goody rather than a more complex character like Xena herself.

The Selma Blair episode was actually a failed pilot for a show called "Amazon High." The producers decided to salvage it by Frankensteining it into a Xena episode. It was a bad idea, as was "Married With Fishsticks," which was supposed to be a soft pilot for a new sitcom.

[jump]

The only time Xena really annoyed was when they changed the Chakram, I really didn't like the new design and her original was so iconic. That to me was a bigger crime than the fishsticks episode!!!

[Tuck]

Also serialized tv is basically none episodic shows. At least that's what i was always told.

There aren't many shows that have no "stand-alone" episodes. Most of the ones that are purely serialized like this are HBO or Netflix type shows.

Personally, I prefer the Buffy model for serialization. Have a season arc (with some skeletal structure for the long term), and then move the main story along in spurts, keeping it in the background sometimes . . . but keep things on theme. (This is what the Arrowverse does . . . YMMV regarding how well it does it.)

BSG is a weird one, because it started out episodic, and became more serialized over time.

[John Ossie]

There's been a couple of series, if we're not including series that only lasted one or two series, that I've pretty much enjoyed all the way through. It's not often it happens though as majority of shows tend to go through slumps if they're on long enough, or in some cases they just simply go on for too long. Anyways, the most recent series that I enjoyed all the way through was Grimm personally.