Crocker Jarmen

I watched Seinfeld today, the subway episode, which I consider the worst of the entire series for the cringe inducing moment when the blind begger turns out to be (gasp) an undercover cop who saves Kramer from a robber and they dub over the sound of the audience applauding and cheering. Did the show turn into Happy Days all of a sudden? I remember in interviews for the show Larry David always prided himself on the "no hugging, no learning" rule they set down for the show, which makes me wonder how this cheesy-ass cheering was allowed onto the soundtrack. If the audience really did spontaneously burst into applause (which I doubt), Seinfeld's producers would have been better served leaving it out of the show. That part is so embarrassing. Worse than when the black guy on the street thinks Kramer is a pimp and gets all excited and gives him a big high-five.

mcnabb

That was an episode early in Seinfeld's run, and I think Larry/Jerry changed the tone after that season (no hugging, etc rule). There were many other times that had a weird tonal shift compared to later seasons (Jerry buys illegal cable from Kramer and in his dream he is shot by the feds in his apartment.)

I think by the 1992-93 season (which I feel is the best Seinfeld Season), that is when Larry/Jerry found their groove for the show. and I think that is when they decided to never make a show where the audience gets involved in the drama, etc.

Brian Gentz

Friday Night Lights - Season 2 - Landry Clark

Decker

Homeland - Season 3. The whole season.

TGM

Lem's fate in The Shield.

stvn1974

Conner in Angel. The entire time.

Goat3001

I was watching some episodes of season one of Community the other day. There were two storylines from different episodes, both involving Troy and Abed that really sucked. The first was when Abed and Troy had to take care of a lab rat. The second was when Abed was randomly better at athletic activities than Troy. In both plots, Troy turns into a dick for no good reason.

I'm happy they tinkered with the Troy character and made him to be sillier and dumber instead of being a typical jock asshole.

danfindlay

Sure was poignant though.

For my pick any of the bizarre and awkward sexual stuff that has been cropping up in SOA, for example the whole forced congical business or the you'll need both hands bit. Just brings everything to an awkward screeching halt.

DWilson

"Wiseguy":

Classic case of a show that was terrific in its first season, but slowly went downhill as (I assume) the producers responded to network notes to make it more attractive to a broader audience, -and then there were the health problems of lead actor Ken Wahl.

As I said, the first season was terrific, featuring two long-form stories over the course of the season featuring stellar work from Ray Sharkey and Kevin Spacey (in the first role I ever saw him in). The show also featured terrific supporting work from Jonathan Banks as Wahl's boss, which gave him a chance to play something other than heavies (over the holidays I was talking to my 40-year-old nephew who was surprised that Banks had a whole career before "Breaking Bad").

After the first season the show started making changes, with shorter story arcs and more one-shot episodes, with more "emotional" storylines for the Female audience. Most of the second season episodes were good, and replacing the injured Wahl with Anthony Denison (previously the big villain of "Crime Story") turned into a terrific arc with Ron Silver and Jerry Lewis.

The second half of the third season was where it went drastically downhill. They did an arc featuring a corrupt music label "Dead Dog Records" with Tim Curry as the villain and the whole thing sort of meandered and nothing memorable happened. The final arc of the season was the worst, -my least favorite, -as Wahl went undercover in a corrupt company town involved in dumping hazardous waste. Wahl injured himself again and had to leave the show and his exit was "covered" by having a stand-in for Wahl (generally shot from a distance from behind) have a breakdown and walk off the last scene of the episode. They brought in William Russ to reprise his morally compromised CIA agent from Season One (Spacey's henchman) to take Wahl's place, but they didn't modify the role, he just read Wahl's lines more-or-less. It wouldn't have worked better with Wahl anyway, since the climax hung on the villain being obsessed with the old William Castle cult film "Mr. Sardonicus", and Russ and Banks defeated him by re-enacting the film and "gaslighting" him into thinking he was going crazy. Considering the power of the first season, this was sort of an embarrassing pratfall.

The show came back for a fourth season, replacing Wahl with Steven Bauer as a brand new character, but only two episodes were shown on CBS. I eventually caught the remainder of the arc in the syndicated package, and it wasn't bad. However, it was a shadow of the original show and was probably better off put to sleep.

I know that's a long-winded answer, but I don't know how many people even remember "Wiseguy" anymore.

Crocker Jarmen

I remember Wiseguy. Oddly, the season I did watch was the "Dead Dog Record" storyline with Tim Curry and Debbie Harry. I can still remember the song she was singing in every single episode, and the bizarre ending where Tim Curry dressed up in tux and tails to tap dance on Paul Winnfield's booby-trapped grave.

madcougar

The episode of The Office when Jim has his DUI and runs over a guy.

Paff

Yes, they found their groove that season....eventually. The beginning of the 92-93 season has some of the show's worst moments, particularly this plotline of Kramer and Newman and a trade of a motorcycle helmet for a radar detector. It culminates in an unfunny courtroom sequence where Newman is trying to get out of a speeding ticket by claiming to be racing to save his friend (Kramer) from suicide because he was distraught at his inability to become a banker. Seriously.

I was telling everyone that Seinfeld had "jumped the shark" (although not using that exact phrase since I don't think it'd been coined yet) and was no longer worthy of viewing. Then they did the episode of Jerry and Elaine on the same flight, Jerry having a wonderful time in first class, Elaine stuck in coach. Great episode, and the season just took off from there.

But yeah, that Kramer/banker thing is probably my least favorite moment in the entire run of the show.

robin2099

Human Target Season 2: Adding the Ilsa Pucci character.

Macgyver: When he basically stopped being a globe trotting adventure character and basically became a social worker.

TimeandTide

My top choice, too.

Also:

Hippy Cult Leader Baltar in BSG
The Kalinda/Nick storyline in season 4 of The Good Wife
Tough girl Tori replacing Kelly and Jessie in Saved by the Bell
Any scene featuring skeletal Laurel in Arrow
The decision to have Jess and Nick hookup in New Girl

Michael Corvin

The laugh track in Sports Night.

X-Files: Agent Reyes. I was down with Doggett and even down with the subpar final seasons, but Reyes was just a Mulder wannabe, and terrible performance as well.

and...

tonyc3742

The episode of the Simpsons where Homer wrecks the car after drinking and driving and puts Marge in the drivers seat so she unknowingly takes the rap for him. I know the Simpsons, both the show and the family, get a lot of flack, but I think (alcoholism, gluttony, and son-choking notwithstanding), that Homer overall really does try to do the best he can for his family, with his limited skills and limited intelligence. But that episode/moment really bothered me.

I agree with the Baltar/BSG and Jess/Nick things as well.

E Unit

Michael Scott left The Office.

RocShemp

Yeah, it was terrible and poignant all at once. Shane's final act of cowardice hit me harder still.

No such season exist. The show was wrongfully cancelled after one season.

GoldenJCJ

I can forgive some of the ridiculous moments in the first couple seasons of Seinfeld because the show was still finding its groove. Some of the plot lines in the final couple of seasons were a lot worse for me. The story where Elaine waited around a bagel shop for days on end trying to intercept a phone call from someone who had a her free sub sandwich voucher was painful to watch. Of course that plotline was in the legendary "Festivus" episode so I guess it wasn't all bad but it certainly put negative marks on an otherwise great episode.


I never cared for the unusually serious parts of the M*A*S*H finale. I know the show always had its share of serious material but having Hawkeye yell at a Korean mother until she smothered her crying baby to death and then spend half the finale in a mental institute was a bit too much for a show that prided itself on its comedy. It just seemed like a strange arc for the main character of one of the most beloved shows in history on the very final episode.

Crocker Jarmen

Did this part have a laugh track?

Charlie Goose

Two words: Kevin Finnerty.

Bill Needle

Beat me too it.

It was otherwise such a consistently great show and then out of nowhere a jarringly bad stretch plopped by early in the send-off season.

cleaver

Star Trek The Next Generation when Crusher goes to some Scottish cabin or some shit.

slop101

Armin Tamzarian

Rob V

+1

Also Entourage --- the entire last season sucked... but Vince getting married was preposterous.