Shows That Got BETTER Over the Seasons

[amybrickwallace]

You took the words right out of my mouth. I certainly wasn't.

[Khan]

I was talking about myself, Carl, not you, lol. I'm the one who has several '60's sitcoms listed among my FB faves. (Sorry for the confusion.)

[Taoboi]

Other than Queen Cordelia...uh, you know i love you, but no.

Given the direction of the seasonal arc which was dark upon dark, that 180 it did was a hell no.

[Khan]

I believe that's why Telma Hopkins (Aunt Rachel) left as well. Even after they gave Rachel her own diner to run, she STILL got pushed aside. Ironically, though, I think Urkel saved FM, in a way. I still remember the first 13 episodes, when FM was coming off as this milquetoast clone of "The Cosby Show." They had some good talent in front of the camera (Hopkins, Peyton, Reginald VelJohnson and Rosetta LeNoire) but the show overall just wasn't very exciting.

[amybrickwallace]

I think Telma Hopkins left to do that short-lived sitcom that she co-headlined with Cindy Williams called Getting By.

One of the things I liked best about FM was how in its glory era that a lot of different friendships/romances/dynamics were played out. I loved Eddie, Weasel and Waldo, Laura and Maxine, and then Waldo and Maxine hooked up. I also love how Lt. Murtaugh always was hitting on Rachel and she turned his advances down cold every single time. LOL

[Khan]

Actually, Eric, I've heard that Bill Cosby WANTED to explore Denise being an unwed mother and college dropout on "The Cosby Show," but that both NBC and his RL wife, Camille, warned him against it. Just as NBC years earlier advised him against writing in Phyllicia Rashad's RL pregnancy with the explanation that Claire was having a "change-of-life baby."

Of course, that's probably just rumor, come to think of it.

Which might have been a perfect spinoff for Rachel and Ritchie, IMO. Not that it would have guaranteed success, but still.

[JackPeyton]

I have yet to read the thread so likely a lot of mentioned agains here, sorry.

Roseanne.

Charmed.

Melrose.

Angel.

Buffy.

90210.

Party of 5.

Popular only had 2 seasons but 2 was better IMO.

Sons of anarchy.

Queer as folk.

Mad men.

Crossing Jordan.

One tree hills mid seasons (3-6) are it's best.

Sex and the city gets better every season, til the last, IMO

Brady bunch, Family matters, full house, step by step, etc. basically any sitcom involving kids gets better as the kids get a bit older IMO.

I almost put dynasty but it's so up and down.

[amybrickwallace]

Yeah, Getting By was originally on ABC, and then switched to NBC. The late Merlin Santana played one of Hopkins' sons.

[Shawn]

My all time favorite FM moments:

The Old West fantasy sequence when Telma sang "That's why they call me Ricochet Rachel. I bounce from man to man."

Waldo becoming a culinary superstar

Carl saved Eddie at the pool hall when he gets in over his head.

Urkel spends Christmas alone and the Winslows invite him over.

It WAS a great show. It really went downhill before it ended.

[Darn]

They tried a show with that concept starring MJW, it lasted one season.

Breaking Bad got better by the season. By the episode practically. Great show.

[amybrickwallace]

I loved it when Mother Winslow started pummeling that one guy at the pool hall with her purse. She was a firecracker - and I loved her!!!

Who could forget Urkel's BMW Isetta? The first episode where that car was featured, the ending credits showed the cast leaving it one by one, clown car style. It was a scream.

Also, some of the more serious moments were very moving and not overdone. Rachel, widowed tragically, is afraid when a man takes interest in her and asks her out. The scene where she finally takes off her wedding ring - Telma Hopkins played the heck out of it. There was also the time when Mother Winslow was telling Laura about the time she was Laura's age and kicked out of the library because she was black. Then Harriette and Rachel had to deal with the return of their long lost father, who had deserted them when they were children. Those are just the ones I remember offhand, I can't think of any more at the moment...

[Mathewson]

Party of Five got better later on as it became less OTT and heavy handed. Season 3 was better than the last seasons though mostly because of Bailey's alcoholism that we got to see. Oh, and the hair and the clothes improved too but that goes without saying.

In some ways, Boy Meets World got better. Eric became the same character as OLTL's David Vickers but he was still good for a laugh. It was nice seeing Cory and Topanga grow up and live on their own. I also liked seeing Alan and Amy still support their kids, while finally learning to stop coddle that doofus Eric. And teaching Cory how to be independent after he married Topanga, while still being there for them. It was good to see the characters in more adult situations. Towards the very end, there were a couple of episodes (it was sporadic of course) where I could actually take Eric seriously and he wasn't a complete carbon copy of a David Spade character. I also liked seeing Alan and Amy, especially Alan, be there for Shawn when he became an orphan. I really liked the episode in the last season where they told Shawn they wanted him to be a part of their family.

What did everyone think about "Mad About You"? I thought it got better later on because the acting improved and I got to know more about Paul and Jamie's families and there were less plotlines with the dog later on (the dog was adorable but it was just absurd!). We also got to see conflict between Paul and Jamie later on, which I liked. It was an example of how the show could also be dramatic instead of being JUST a sitcom!

Since people are talking about Family Matters, I still have visceral reactions to Steve Urkel. Ugh!!! That show got worse by the season, IMO. I never cared about the younger daughter but other than that, I didn't see any improvements at all.

[BKuzak]

How about Married with Children? I think it got better with age. The first seasons (the Steve era) were OK but I perfered the Jefferson seasons better. It also brought Marcy more into focuss because it wasn't just the yuppie couple next door. Jefferson and Al were very good friends so Marcy was in a lot more situations she wasn't in before. and Kelly just got funnier with age. Every season she got a little dumber and it worked for her. I still can't beleive the show lasted 11 seasons but it did.

[amybrickwallace]

Plus, Christina Applegate has matured so much as an actress since the MWC days. Plus, Ed O'Neill has become one of those actors to have two signature roles - Al Bundy and Jay Pritchett (Modern Family).

My favorite MWC quote?

"I was born in February. I'm an Aquarium." - Kelly Bundy

LOL!!!

[Khan]

I loved that scene, too. You could tell Rosetta LeNoire loved having such meaningful material to work with.