elektra

Most shows have a fairly rough first season as they are introducing the characters, laying the foundation for what to expect and introducing the overall tone of the show and what is occuring in the "universe" surrounding the show.

You expect them to start showing improvement in the second season and to grow better from there.

I'm just curious to know if you feel there were shows who actually had a better First Season than any other season that followed? I'm talking overall epsisode story telling encompassing the season and not just seasons that had a few stellar episodes that everyone really likes.

I would start by saying Voyager and Enterprise, but since I stopped watching both shows in their second seasons, I don't know that I can comment. I know from talking with Trek fans that I know, Voyager didn't really have much improvement. Who knows if Enterprise will.

Dark Angel definitely had a better first season than second. Don't know what the writers were on to take that in such a weird direction, but the first season wasn't really too bad of that.

This one is the one I might catch flack on, but Xena has one of the best first seasons of a show that I recall, but much of the rest of the series was just not that good to me. There were some stand out episodes that I liked and will always enjoy watching, but I feel the creators missed so many opportunities to tell some really good stories with that show. I've read reviews of the DVD's released overseas for Xena's first season and they were horrible. Low quality and little to no extra's. I hope they step it up for a US release. I really want first season on DVD in the worst was as my VCR died and with replay don't plan to replace it, and all I have is all of season one on DVD.

Your thoughts?

Groucho

Boston Public really went downhill in Season 2 as they tried to revamp it into an Ally McBeal clone. I stopped watching after that.

elektra

Groucho - really? I'll have to ask Glenn (b/f) as I think that's one he still watches. I'll have to ask him what he thinks of the changes.

das Monkey

Depends on what you mean. Do you mean second season vs. the first or the entire show's run vs. the first? For example, I think Xena had some good seasons after the second that topped the first. I think the same could be said for Voyager in its third season.

I agree that Dark Angel's second season was complete crap, and Boston Public has never been close to the strength it had when it first started. It's almost a parody of itself or maybe a parody of the DEK universe now.

das

elektra

das - I was thinking more like season by season. Which seasons of Xena did you feel really stood out overall? I get Oxygen now and I'm recording them to rewatch them all. I really want to pay attention to see if there is something I was missing that others picked up on.

Red Dog

Boston Public is definitely one.
The Agency has definitely slipped from last season.

rfduncan

While I love the show to death, I would say that The Sopranos was at its best in the first season. Other seasons have been close or as good as the first but have never surpassed it IMHO.

Chew

Easy: original Star Trek. First season had Balance of Terror, City on the Edge of Forever, Menagerie, Space Seed, several other classics. Second season had a few less classics and third was rather sparse on ANY classics.

Red Dog

I prefer the 2nd season to the first myself. Plus there was no Chekov on the first season (although Khan must have seen him ).

das Monkey

No one disses 'A Piece of the Action' on my watch (anyone for a game of Fizzbin?), not to mention 'Mirror, Mirror', 'The Trouble with Tribbles', 'I, Mudd', 'Amok Time', etc.

das

adamblast

Seaquest showed a lot of potential in the first year as an intelligent underwater Star Trek clone-- and got progressively worse each season as they kept revamping it and dumbing it down trying to spike the ratings....

grunter

"Will & Grace"

Need I comment more?

elektra

adamblast - good one. I forgot about Seaquest. I enjoyed first season and wish second had been better. I didn't watch much of second. The Dr. was gone and I was enjoying the relationship between her and the captain.

das - I'm up for some Fizzbin. Is that regular or strip?

das Monkey

• Quoth elektra •<HR SIZE=1>das - I'm up for some Fizzbin. Is that strip? <HR SIZE=1>

Only on Thursdays.

das

MrX

Dark Angel without a doubt.

I don't think Alias is as good as it was last season with the exception of the Marshall episode.

bboisvert

Space: 1999 comes to mind. Pretty radical changes in tone for Season 2, and it wasn't a good thing.

elektra

I'll have to rewatch Space 1999. I thought second season was the one I really liked.

adamblast

I considered saying Space:1999, but Maya and Tony are sentimental favorites of my youth... I can agree the tone was smarter in season one, but I like both versions of the show in their own ways...

nny

If I had a better memory, I could probably list more, but off the top of my head: Boston Public, Once and Again, Gilmore Girls, Alias, 24, Oz, and most of the shows on Adult Swim. Also, there's been several shows cancelled during their first season that I felt would've have probably gone downhill if they had been renewed. For instance, Police Squad and My So-Called Life are 2 of my favorite shows ever and I find it hard to believe they could've actually topped themselves if they had continued.

It seems most shows I watch have great first seasons and it's a delightful surprise if they actually improve. Maybe my expectations just get too raised after the first season.

elektra

adamblast - okay, thanks. Yes, I did like Season Two. Can you drop me an email?

adamblast

ygm...

nny -- While I liked it all, I think I preferred Once and Again later -- since the courtship/marriage direction was clearly inevitable from the beginning...

I particularly liked the way the direct-camera-confessionals gradually evolved... at the beginning they were like interviews... I thought they were a cliche, and wanted the show to dump them... But gradually they evolved into this thematic device they could use practically any way they wanted...

I've only seen Oz Season One so far, but I've heard at least 2 or 3 folks around here claiming that Season Two is the show's high point...

Jadzia

I also think Alias was much better in the first season than it was this season.

The first season was more about Sydney having this secret life in addition to her "regular" life. Now spying is her regular life, what with Mamma and Pap spy and her spy friend Will (although I do like his character better this season).

I also liked how last season was more of an action show with drama sprinkled in while this season seems more like a drama with action sprinkled in. I don't have anything against TV dramas, but I already watch a lot and I don't need to see Sydney crying all the time.

Plus I miss the weekly cliff-hangers. It gave the series kind of a cool retro hook. I also think they have dumbed down the plots this season.

majorjoe23

How about 24 and Murder One?

Groucho

24 has improved dramatically in season 2 (although it still won't be perfect until Kim dies a horrible death...preferably onscreen).

das Monkey

• Quoth adamblast •<HR SIZE=1>ygm...

nny -- While I liked it all, I think I preferred Once and Again later -- since the courtship/marriage direction was clearly inevitable from the beginning...

I particularly liked the way the direct-camera-confessionals gradually evolved... at the beginning they were like interviews... I thought they were a cliche, and wanted the show to dump them... But gradually they evolved into this thematic device they could use practically any way they wanted...

I've only seen Oz Season One so far, but I've heard at least 2 or 3 folks around here claiming that Season Two is the show's high point... <HR SIZE=1>

I would agree on all of these points. I would also agree with Groucho that 24 has improved significantly on its first season. The "concept" isn't new, but the execution is better with fewer plot holes and less reliance on contrived actions.

Murder One is an excellent example and can be attributed to the show's original vision being too intelligent for viewers to handle, so they had to dumb it down for season 2.

das