Dark Angel wins in my book. How about "War of the Worlds?" Anyone else remember season 2 starting as an entirely different show set in some sort of Mad Max universe?

Buffy got rocky after season 5, but really it only dropped down to being a "good show that used to be better, but still having the occasional great moment or episode that makes it still better then 90% then anything else on TV."

I thought the first half of the first season of Heroes was really really dull... it then picked up significantly. I still maintain it wasn't as great as people think.

Alias lost it's way after a few seasons, I think mainly due to them trying to pick up ratings.

Yeah, once Alias went into syndication-friendly mode by making each episode stand alone without the fast-paced-cliff-hangery endings it lost a lot of its energy. And yes, stuff does mostly fit together in a rather satisfying package by the end.

I'm still watching Heroes, but I have no problem admitting that it's a mere shadow of what it was during Season 1.

After the S1 episode "Five Years Gone", I thought that if they keep up the quality, this will be a classic show.

However, when they added new characters in Season 2 and moved the existing characters out of normal, everyday life situations, that's where the quality began to slide.

The quality slid to the point where last season, I would DVR Heroes and Chuck along with other Monday night shows since I had class and then when I had time to watch those shows, Heroes was usually the first one I watch. I'll probably do the same this season. I'm hoping the quality goes back up, but the departure of Tim Kring leaves me thinking otherwise.

Another one I thought of was The West Wing. The first 4 seasons are fantastic, but the show took a nosedive after Aaron Sorkin left at the end of Season 4. The show recovered to the point where I was actually looking forward to new episodes in Season 7, especially after John Spencer's death, since it was obvious that the show wouldn't continue after Season 7.

Twin Peaks is the first I think of, though it did manage to roar back in the last 5-6 episodes.

also:
Homicide
Simpsons
X-Files

I just finished Heroes: season 2, and while it definitely lacked compared to the stellar first-season, I'll still pick up season 3 at some point. Maybe it's better watching them all in a row later since I don't follow any shows in broadcast anymore.

I don't know if I could clump ER into this bunch. When your show starts declining in Season 8 after being the top show on TV, it's tough to call it a "promising show"

As far as Boomtown, they ran with the original premise for the entire first season. The network came in season 2 and told them to get rid of it, and it was cancelled mere episodes later. It was surprisingly quick. The first season on DVD is a superb series standalone though (including a great finale, which for all purposes answers the major question throughout the first season).

Heroes I think is the clearest example of this. The first season I was hooked, the 2nd is terrrrrrrrrrrible.

Dawsons Creek

Season one and two had some of the best teen drama episodes that still hold up to this day. Season 3 was okay but there were signs that the show was going in a different direction (I think that's when Kevin Williamson left the show) season 4 was so bad I didn't even bother with the other seasons. I did tune into the series finale which was actually really good probably because Kevin Williamson came back for it.

Commander in Chief - started out so great but ABC really screwed up by replacing Rod Lurie with Bochco as show-runner. I have never seen a show nosedive in quality so fast.

Also agree with aforementioned Heroes and Dead Like Me.

Heroes
Prison Break
Twin Peaks

Other than Heroes I think the 4400 is the worst offender. The first season was amazing and bubbling at the seams with potential. The second season failed to capitalize on a single ounce of that potential and was completely unwatchable.

The half-life of any single cast member of 24 is roughly 6 hours.

Similar to Alias, but maybe not as drastic, I thought Veronica Mars kinda meandered once they tried to open it up to "new viewers." First season was incredible, which was understandable because they had some time to script it out, second season wasn't quite as good, but when they went to college I started losing interest.

Also, Friday Night Lights had a pretty lackluster second season, though the third season was much better.

Heroes. I wish a network like HBO or Showtime handled this show. The show started off great, but near the end of season 1 I couldn't believe they dragged it out so much. I have no interest in watching anymore of the series.

Sliders was great for it's time, but jumped the shark in it's second season. Stupid Fox...

The Office. One of my favorite comedies for a while, but started to go down hill big time around season 4 in my opinion and has never really recovered.

100% agree with you here. I loved this show when it premiered, but once Lurie was canned and Bochco took over it became a train wreck especially after he hired Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

The only bad direction Veronica Mars took was the horrible mini-pilot they made for the potential season 4. Fortunately The CW didn't go forward with that idea.

As for shows that lost their way, Grey's Anatomy is right up there.

I actually enjoyed season 3 of Prison Break, although I admit bits of it were truly ridiculous. Bellick in prison with just his underwear?

If they ended the series in season 2, we still wouldn't know what the whole story was about The Company.

I'm gonna throw in a vote for Survivor. The first seasons of Survivor had me so hooked because they would bring together every day folk from different walks of life. The Kentucky farmer with the Boston loudmouth etc... The show has become all about surviving the vote, and little about surviving the elements which was the interesting part for me.

Now, they don't even both seeking out interesting applicants. Most of the contestants are Mactors or people they see on the street in LA. Samoa starts this week and it looks like 80% of the contestants are from CA.

I think we're starting to confuse "promising shows" with "established shows that jumped the shark".

Twin Peaks, definitely. Writers coming up with major plot points involving games they don't even understand is inexcusable.

Just wondering what your reasoning is behind this one..?

Because it pretty much abandoned most of its fundamental premise in the second season?

I'm actually surprised the first season was as good as it was, considering that Bryan Fuller was fired from the show after the pilot.

Heroes is a big let down. Season 1 was pretty good and they had places to go, but it was obviously not well thought out, Season 2 was a mess and it despite talk of finding focus, it continued to be pointless. I gave up early last season on it.

Claire's acting also seemed to go from bad to worse.

I have to agree, even with the producton of the show actually shooting in New York City, as much as I have enjoyed the show, I can honestly only see this season being it's last - the move to Friday night is the first nail in the coffin IMO.

Agreed. Here are the shows I thought showed great promise in the first season or first few episodes, then faltered:

• Heroes
• Alias
• Samantha Who?
• My Own Worst Enemy
• Dawson's Creek (after season 1)

Even Enterprise had great promise as something new, but they just couldn't execute it.

Heroes
Alias
Heroes
Alias
Heroes
Alias
Profiler
Heroes
Alias