"The Pretender" was a very formulaic, "pretending" to be someone different every week, but in the last season and a half it was Jarod running around and the Centre trying to catch him. I liked the change, but it wasn't the same show near the end.

"ER" after the seventh or eighth season turned into "Grey's Anatomy".

Yes. It started as a serious "post-college" drama trying to learn to live on your own to the outrageously over-the-top soap.

I'd also nominate Buck Rogers when they stopped being "Earth issue of the week" to a Buck-led Star Trek thing minus Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis.

When I was a kid, I remember Moonlighting turning from a comedy mystery-solver even I could enjoy to a whiny, listless love story, complete with Bruce Willis pining for Cybil Sheppard at the sliding glass door. Ugh.

Wow, someone metioned SBTB and Das Monkey is nowhere to be found - he must be on vacation!

SeaQuest was another one I forgot. After I bought and finished Season 2 I also went and looked up the final season. It was then I recalled never watching the final and now I remember why.

I get what you're saying, but Grey's Anatomy debuted in 2005. That would make it ER's 11th season.

Angel changed quite a bit after its 1st season. It went from an episodic detective series to a heavily serialized show.

I never followed Deep Space Nine very closely, but didn't it get more "adventurous" near the end?

Since most of the obvious ones have been mentioned, I throw out Cheers. It started out as an entertaining show exploring the dynamics of romance with basically intelligent but flawed lead characters from different backgrounds and how they came to fall for each other.

After Diane left and Sam lost the bar (and about 40 IQ points) the show devolved in wacky stories revolving around Sam trying to get his bar back.

Still one of the funniest shows ever written, but the Diane years versus the post Diane years are as different as night and day to me.

Alias also radically changed multiple times.

Sydney started as a mole in SD-6 working secretly for the government, and having to keep both "aliases" a secret from her friends.

Eventually they pretty much got rid of the friends and the "normal" life, she was outed as a mole and worked for the CIA directly.

At the end of Season 2, beginning of season 3, she had been abducted and brainwashed by yet another secret organization, and led a wildly divergent life, which she had to find out about as the season progressed. The big bad leader of the first organization had been pardoned in the meantime, and her boyfriend had gotten married as well.

I still haven't watched all of the last season, but they rebooted it again and it became a more straightforward government organization thing with the same cast of characters.


Some would argue that Friday Night Lights strayed away from it's small hometown Texas community feel and away from the football games and more towards standard soap opera territory in it's second season.

Another interesting example is the way The Practice gradually morphed into Boston Legal. Its final season has more in common with BL, doesn't it?

Twin Peaks strayed pretty far from the main plotlines midway through Season 2 before getting back on the rails and ending on a fantastic cliffhanger.

I'll admit that I stopped watching a season or two before it ended, but The X-Files felt like a completely different show once Scully and Mulder only showed for the occassional guest appearance.

You're kidding right?

While the first season of Angel had more "monster of the week" episodes than the other seasons, the show was heavily serialized since day one. The same would apply for Buffy's first season and what should've been Firefly's first season (instead of it's first and last).

The Dukes of Hazard went from "Walking Tall" to "Hee-Haw"

The 4400 changed alot since it was a mini-series.

It went from stand alone "New ability of the week" episodes to a large scale serial drama in it's last 2 seasons.

Actually it was a TV version of the movie MOONRUNNERS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonrunners

MOONRUNNERS was narrated by Waylon Jennings and about 2 cousins who ran moonshine for their Uncle Jesse. Oh, and the evil county boss is assisted by Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane.

"The Office"

At first, it was about the awkward, hilarious, and sometimes painful, relationships and situations that arise when you're crammed into an office with a bunch of co-workers. But now it's a cartoon about anything but an office.

Are you being serious? He's talking about Chuck Cunningham, Ritchie's older brother who was seen walking up the stairs in the first episode and never seen again.

Of course, if you were just trying to be funny... then ignore this post.

Exactly.

Until the writers have confirmation that the network will stick with the series, they can't make long, sweeping, multi-season arcs.

I wouldn't say Buffy and Angel changed their premise so much as they were able to become more of what Joss intended.

I could've sworn I read interviews with Joss where he said Angel was originally intended to be more like its first season instead of so heavily serialized.

Yeah, I know. I was just making an example of what "ER" turned into. "Grey's Anatomy" isn't that popular around here so I thought it would make a good example.

I was reading these posts and waiting for someone to comment on that one! Not only the Chuck mention but also Doug which is the poster's name and he was signing his post!

Family Matters from a family to the Urkel show
Dawson's Creek went from a show about Dawson coming of age to Joey's relationships with men.
Gargoyles went from a the main characters adapting to the 20th century to the characters traveling through time.
90210 went through to many plots changes to count

Boomtown stopped telling non-linear stories, got rid of a few characters, and made the paramedic a cop.

Then it got cancelled 6 episodes later.

Way to go.