JeffTheAlpaca

Survivor

what is so interesting and fascinating about being stranded on an island and for the show to last 10 years?

Real World

I could think of more but I am tired.

rfduncan

Well part of the original concept was "Family redefined." Tony, Livia and Melfi in a bizarre triangle in Tony's life. Remember that Livia sort of was controlling the family business through the impressionable Uncle Junior when Tony thought he was in charge. Once Nancy Marchand died, they had to drop the whole puppet regiem/power struggle.

I will cast my vote for Big Brother. The first season was bad enough and successive 8 installments even worse.

DeanoBKN

I still can't believe Jerry Springer is still on the air. To make matters worse, they moved his studio to downtown Stamford.

Mikael79

I'm amazed that shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20 are still on the air. Whenever I stumble across them, it seems like they haven't changed one bit since my grandmother used to watch them back in the 1980s.

I don't have a problem with slow-burning stories, but you'd think that they'd have made the shows a little more current.

Mikael79

Isn't Stamford where Maury Povich's show is now as well?

Maybe they just have the guests bounce from one show to the other and save on airfare/hotels.

PopcornTreeCt

Desperate Housewives

chowderhead

many of the shows listed are highly (relatively) rated in demos or in general. Networks will show test bars if it will get enough ratings.
Having said that, Brad Garrett must have something on the head of programming at Fox because his show 'Til Death gets horrible ratings even after good lead-in support (followed AI for a bit) but manages to get renewed each and every season. It's not even a Fox-owned show. I guess they want it to limp into syndication but still it averaged less than 5 million people last season.

DJariya

I'm surprised that Law and Order is entering it's 20th season this coming Fall. It hasn't been a ratings "hit" since probably Orbach and Bratt were still on the show and has gone through crazy cast turnover in recent years.

The Bus

Quack

American Idol. Jumped the shark a while ago. Can't believe people still tune in.

Fandango

The interesting part is watching the people and how they play the game, what alliances are made and who gets betrayed, the being stranded part is a small part of the game now.

Bill Needle

Ice Road Truckers - Three minutes of entertainment drawn out over three seasons. I find it incomprehensible that this show is still on.

SexualPudding

Friday Night Lights- I'm ecstatic that it is still on, but I really figured it would have been axed after the first season.

Bluelitespecial

I really hope One Tree Hill ends after this season. Season five was a bore after Lucas's Wedding, and I quit watching half way through last season. Even Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton were smart enough to know its time to move on.

mike7162

This thread should be re-titled Til Death.

JeffTheAlpaca

Dog the Bounty Hunter

how interesting can it be to nab a new icehead every week and you would think after the racial comments he made a couple years ago that would have affected the ratings?

it is a guilty pleasure but even I wonder why it is still on the air.

SexualPudding

Because it takes time, money, and effort to come up with a new show and launch it- a show which, at the end of the day, isn't all that likely to draw higher ratings. It's easier and a hell of a lot cheaper for them to just ride existing shows until the wheels fall off. Dog has definitely gotten beyond stale, though.

fujishig

I wonder if other shows will be saved by similar deals like the DirecTV deal that saved this show. If so, I'm all for it.

Not a tv show per se, but I am surprised that the WNBA is still pretty widely televised. Even with it's NBA backing, one of it's premier teams folded, and others are getting the soccer/nascar treatment with ads instead of logos on their jerseys.

I am also surprised by the onslaught of Entertainment Tonight type shows. I guess people can't get enough of celebs, but with news so readily available on the internet or even covered in local news, I don't see the point. And while TMZ has gotten a lot of entertainment scoops, their show is just them making up stuff to say about random clips they happen to capture.

Also, nearly every show on G4TV.

warmfire

- One Tree Hill -

movielib

Dick Wolf seems to be obsessed with beating Gunsmoke's entertainment show record of twenty seasons. I think it's the sheer force of his will and long association with NBC that's keeping it on. Plus NBC doesn't have much going for it anyway.

That said, I thought last season was pretty good, the best in a long time. And I like Waterston as DA.

rfduncan

See but you're argument makes no sense. If FOX doesn't own it, why would they keep it around to get syndication when they'd see no proceeds from that achievement?

Blu Man

seconded

astrochimp

America's Funniest Home Videos

FatTony

Aside from any/all reality shows and many of those previously mentioned, my vote goes to The Office. I think it jumped the shark back when Michael drove into a lake and kidnapped a pizza delivery boy and it hasn't gotten back to the quality of seasons 2-3. I still watch it, but I'm finding it to be more and more of a chore these days.

firteen88

You do drugs