You ever have one of those posts that you're meaning to make for a while, but you just don't get around to it for one reason or another? Yeah, this is one of those.

Season 4 - of just about ANY show that's been on the air. At least in those of my experience that don't fall under certain 'exceptions' to the rule (which I'll explain in a bit), have this tendency to suck.

There's something about Season 4 (S4) in a series that seems to almost never work out well. I started thinking about this some time ago, but it really hit me during S4 of House, MD. Something happens when the shows hit S4 and they seem to 'struggle' a little bit.


House, MD - S4 had some good episodes, but overall, despite the strike, it just wasn't shaping up to be 'spectacular'. I understand the idea of 'moving on', but it almost felt like the writers were trying too hard to come up with a new 'hook' to keep the viewers interested. While I respect the desire to move the show along and keep things fresh, S4 had the odd feel of 'well, we've explored all we can of these 3 characters, sweep them out the door and bring on the new, younger, folks'. Which, really, isn't what they were after, I don't think, but it's very much what happened. Suddenly Chase and Cameron are relegated to random appearances in the hallway, while the 'new kids' get to come play with the shiny genius and Foreman is 'let back in' for - whatever the stupid reasoning for that idea was. I'm not a fan of Foreman, but the dynamic between Cameron, Chase and Foreman and House was working and now it's been skewed, but nothing's been done with it - except the fans being shown that House doesn't think Foreman's an idiot. What happened to that 'fun friendly play' with Cameron that started off the season? Skip the ''ship' stuff, just 'friendly'. House may hate change, but he respected her decision to do something else and I'm sure it chuffed the hell out of him that she kept slinking her way back to the DDx dept to mess with him or yell at him or whatever. (You know he's cackling in the corner - 'I still have control!')

BtVS and Angel - S4's of doom. Literally and figuratively. The Initiative was a lame plot device and Adam was a boring foe. Demon-baby-carrying-Cordy was lamest lamesauce in Lame-onia. Seriously, what the HELL was that? (And I thought Angel having a kid was stupid.) I came into Buffy fandom very late (like S6 late), but I played catch-up pretty quick and S4 bored me to tears. It's another of those 'shifts' - 'oh, high school's over, now what?'. I don't understand at all the brainchild of Angel S4, and to be honest, I'm not sure I remember all that happened, aside from Angel's angsty teenage kid boning Cordy and Cordy having Cleopatra 2525 burst out of her gut - ewwwww.

Queer as Folk - US - Arguably, one of the WORST S4's known to TV. This series' S4 was way out in left field. Justin completely lost his mind and I honestly don't remember what else happened - probably b/c I tried to forget the bad as soon as it was over. All I can remember is Justin joining that stupid gay-bashing-bashing group and turning into something resembling a neo-skinhead. I'm not sure that S5 was much better, but the show ended after that, so I'm not sure it mattered much.

Doogie Howser, MD - Genius kid, doctor at 14, great for comedy and drama. Really, it was a fun show - then Doogie got all growed up and moved out of his parents' house and had his own place. That should have been a CLUE to the writers that suddenly, this wasn't the show they started with. The original schtick of 'boy genius' doesn't work as well once the 'boy' isn't a boy anymore.

Stargate SG-1 - Here's where the 'exceptions' begin. S4 didn't suck. It wasn't smashing, but it didn't suck. S5, otoh, was a waste of time. Here's why I think S4 worked out ok on SG-1: Showtime initially contracted for 88 episodes (4 seasons at 22 episodes a pop), thus the writers didn't have to 'try' so hard to keep coming up with fantastic ideas to convince the network to renew the show, they were already set for the next 4 years. Okay. So, were they lazy? No, not really, but they may have exhausted too many really great storylines too soon. It started out as a fast-paced adventure show, then it got bogged down somewhere in there with too many Goa'uld and not enough ass-kicking other enemies to play with. What happened after S4 was a series of shit episodes (Red Sky being the exception) that started S5 with a huge slump. It didn't get much better after that. I remember finding myself really not caring that I'd missed half of S5 b/c I was sure I hadn't actually missed anything. I hadn't.

JAG - Another exception, but only b/c the show changed networks after the first season. S1 was okay, S2 was only a half-season, thus pushing the 'bad' to S5. At the end of S4 Harm's changed his designator and is going back to flying. This is fine, until the opening of S5 with the most ridiculously contrived storylines one could imagine (not to mention an obnoxious guest star who grates on my nerves). Not only that, but anyone watching the show knows that there is NO way Harm will stay as a pilot, b/c the show is called JAG, not Top Gun: Redux. It also introduces Mic Brumby who has few redeeming or appealing qualities until his final appearance when he leaves because Mac seems to want Harm instead and Mic's heartbroken (but that's not until S7). Thus, JAG falls into the SG-1 trap - they had it going good until they had to write a fourth full season, then they slumped (only, it was S5, but 4th full season on the new network).

The Pretender - Now, while I didn't hate S4 of tP, I didn't love it either. There were some good things and some bad things. The bad - namely that stuff about 'the Inner sense' that was intro'd near the end. Now, it *is* possible that the writers/creators fully intended to explore this further and flesh it out in the S5 they never got (b/c NBC had braindamage that year), but that didn't happen, so the viewers were left with the weirdest ending for a show that was resolved in the two made-for-tv movies produced by TNT (which really didn't 'resolve' anything). In this case, tP's S4 being less than stellar may have been a victim of 'circumstance', since the PTB at tP were pretty sure they were going to be renewed, only to find out that 'whoops! NBC would rather air 'football-gone-stupid'. Fandom: *sighed dramatically and started a campaign*

Profiler - This is another 'unique' circumstance. The main actress for the show decided to 'quit' after the third season, so the writers had to come up with a way to keep the show going w/o bringing in Sam Mark II. They did this with a 'new' Profiler who did sort of the same thing that Sam had. Since I didn't start really watching Profiler until after it was over, I didn't have a problem with S4, but those who'd been watching from the beginning REALLY didn't like the new Profiler at all. I can understand that, it fits the same dynamic as the House scenario, only the actor left instead of the writers pushing out the character. I'll admit that S4 wasn't as well-planned as the previous seasons, but it didn't suck as much as some other S4's. Profiler seems to be ahead of the 'sucky S4' game.

L&O SVU - This show has the same type of layout as JAG, except, instead of switching networks, the PTB assigned a separate DA to the SVU group (in this case, Alexandra Cabot). S1 is actually weaker than the next 3.5 seasons, IMO. Alex is there from S2 through episode 5 of S5. After she leaves (another that was the choice of the actress), a new DA is brought in and I really did try to like her, but she didn't appeal to me and S5, after Alex left, seemed to suffer from some lack-luster writing, despite the fact that it did appear they had made plans for Alex's exit.



Based on the aforementioned examples: S4 (or the 4th season after a major change on the program) seems to suffer from either the writers trying too hard to make the show work differently from the original premise or the writers trying too hard to keep the show alive with 'something new' that fits the premise to draw in additional viewership. I don't know what, exactly, they're looking for, but I know they seem to be missing the mark.

Are they really trying to keep the ratings up by veering off the initial premise of the program? Are they trying to 'revamp' the show and springboard from some unknown point that they think is the original premise of the show?

For a moment, let's examine a series that didn't fall into this trap: MacGyver

Here's why: THEY NEVER CHANGED WHAT THEY WERE DOING! The show is about this guy who doesn't like violence, hates guns, helps people because it's the right thing to do (House would hate him, Cameron would cling to him like a lifeline) and he's even 'good' enough to help his enemies when it's necessary. How many other 'good guys' on TV do that? Oh - and he can make ANYTHING out of the random junk in your garage. Srsly!

S4 - still the same set-up. 1) Person in trouble/danger/etc; 2) Mac sent in/discovers them/etc; 3) Mac builds something to save the person; 4) Person is eternally grateful; 5) Mac smiles and blushes... or 4a) Person backstabs Mac; 5a) Mac has to build something else; 6) New person in danger b/c of backstabbing is eternally grateful; 7) Mac smiles and blushes... you get the idea.

While all of MacGyver S4 wasn't stellar, all of the episodes followed the same general 'MacGyver' theme.

Therein, I believe, lies the crux of the issue: The writers (or someone) try to change what the show fundamentally is (Doogie Howser, MD, QaF-US), or tries to make too many changes all at once (House, MD, BtVS, Angel), or, sometimes, is faced with a contingency they weren't prepared for and struggle at filling in the holes (Profiler, SVU).

Is there a solution to this problem? Given the state of TV networks today? Probably not. If a show doesn't bring in the ratings, the show, typically, will get the axe. But let's think on this a moment: If a show like MacGyver can manage to pull it off (hell, even Highlander made it through S4 with only a few bumps along the way, b/c even the episodes that were crap stayed w/ the same general theme), why can't some of these other series make S4 work?



So, now I offer a few 'alternative' S4's:

House: Instead of pushing the original trio out, incorporate them into House's life differently. Let them still be part of his world, not as his employees, but as his colleagues. (I'd say equals, but House would laugh hysterically.) They should be on the same level as Wilson now. They *almost* had that going with Cameron when she was playing his game and giving little tips to some of his applicants, but that disappeared somewhere along the way and was never revisited. It would've played in nicely with some of the things House was supposed to 'learn' in S3 - Wilson's pizza advice from 'Half-Wit' and the vacation suggestion from 'Fetal Position' or Cuddy's comment that he should 'be happy'. The fact that the writers brushed all of this into the trash, leads us to believe that House actually *is* incapable of learning new things like Chase said in S1.

BtVS/Angel: Instead of the Initiative - honestly, I'm at a loss. This disadvantage with this one, is that S5 was so amazingly brilliant, I'm not sure what would have lead into it to move along the same directions. Maybe fewer 'main' cast members would've helped, that way the episodes wouldn't have been quite so 'crowded' with people who didn't need to be there. I think they should've chosen either Spike *or* Anya to play a major role, leaving the other as a guest spot until S5 when their presence was more 'required', or keep them BOTH as recurring guest characters; neither was specifically crucial to the entirety of S4 (despite my love for Spike), and I think the season would've benefited from the writers not having to try to FIND ways to fit both of them in. Same for Riley. Unless needed, he shouldn't have been part of the episodes. Angel: How do you save the season of 'creepy demon baby' and 'Shiny Happy People'? (I get Denis Leary screaming "I want the shiny people over here and the happy people over there!" every time I see that ep title.) Is there any redemption for that season? It makes me wonder what EXACTLY was the 'prophecy' Angel was supposed to fulfill.

QaF - US Uh - don't have Justin be a moron? Make Ted not a giant stupid? This S4 was beyond hope. They should've just quit at the end of S3.

Doogie Howser, MD: I think they just had Doogie go through too many 'major life changes' all at the same time. The ending wasn't 'bad', but man, was Doogie a tightass. After Wanda left, Doogie seemed to kind of be missing part of himself (OMG, it's the reverse to resolving the UST!). Having Vinnie step-up and be more of the 'balance' he was in the earlier seasons - the guy who let Doogie be a 'kid', might have helped a LOT, but since Vinnie was starting to grow up, I think the show was just ready to be done.

SG-1: (This is S5, remember.) Er - losing that "Fifth Man" episode would be a GREAT start. Not having Cassie be a royal bitch for no apparent reason other than she's a teenager (and obviously a stereotypical one at that) would also help. Having a decent season arc would have gone a LONG way to make this work better. A 'decent' arc would have been: Here's a seemingly harmless bad guy that we flick off the sleeve of Earth for the time being, but he comes back with a swarm of his buddies and boy are they pissed! But - not the Goa'uld. We've beaten them up. Why not some group of rebels from one of the worlds SG-1 visited? Some group that's spent the last four years being really pissed off b/c the balance of power was upset by something SG-1 did, so now they're working their butts off to get some revenge. They know how to use the Stargate now, so they can get to Earth, but they needed a large enough force to be a threat. Now they are. Normal-type humanoids. That would be interesting. And maybe they have their 'god' back too - it could be a Goa'uld, or it could be something else filling in the old god's shoes.

JAG: Uh - I think this one is hopeless. Harm has to go find out that flying isn't his life anymore, the only help here is to have less contrived storylines. Uh - yeah.

The Pretender: Have NBC not be an asshat and give them their 5th season so we could ACTUALLY see what would happen next. B/c, honestly, the last 2 episodes were the only ones that were just 'out there', a couple earlier ones w/ Mr. Cox were 'off', but mostly the season wasn't all that bad.

Profiler: Again - NBC, asshat, S5. Better planning for the S4 arc to give the writers time to really work on Jamie Luner's character.

L&O SVU: Not much to fix on this one w/o keeping Alex Cabot around, but since this one suffered as a result of the actress deciding to leave, little to be done unless they had just tried a bit harder. Though, Casey isn't a terrible ADA, she's just not nearly as strong as Alex was.


This has gotten a lot longer than I'd planned, but I did finally write this all down like I'd been meaning to do.

Anyone know of other S4's that either follow this 'omg suck!' pattern or break it, like MacGyver? I wanna know.


 

Tags: [fandom], [fandom]: season 4s, [fandom]: theories
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