I always think about shows where the lead made me seethe.  

 

House - I'm sure there was some appeal somewhere which is why Lowry was chosen, but I feel because the character was so disgusting, Lowry couldn't do anything to salvage House.  The cases were wonderful but the character was so disgusting and not funny.  Then they put this stunning, intelligent, well educated prestigious hospital administrator with that despicable pill popping cripple?  Set women back hundreds of years!  

 

Scandal - Why would anyone choose Washington to lead any show.  Her stank walk alone is a major turn off.  Kerry simply does not possess enough talent to lead a show.  Shonda is no good for anything that requires more than one season, so deficient Kerry didn't help matters!

 

Greenleaf - Grace played by that god awful Merle Dandridge.  Nuff said!

Agree with those who mentioned Linda Lavin on Alice and SMG on Buffy.

Sort of a 2nd lead with this one but I didn't like DiNozzo/Michael Weatherly on NCIS. I especially tended to fast-forward the first scene in the office where they all chitchat (mostly because of him)...although I still do it now, too, that he's gone. The narcissism and badgering was just annoying to me. To hear it from Eliza Dushku these days, it seems DiNozzo and Weatherly are not all that different.

 

It almost pains me to say this, but Mariska Hargitay on SVU. I liked her/Olivia Benson well enough in the show's first few years when the squad was a true ensemble (Meloni, Belzer, Florek, Wong, Tunie, etc.) rather than the All Saint Olivia, All The Time Hour. Since MH has taken more and more control behind the scenes, the character has become insufferable. It became even worse after they added Scrappy Doo, ahem, Noah. Also at fault is the insipid writing, which helped neuter my favorite character, ADA Rafael Barba (they should have fired whoever came up with his final episode).

 

I have the last six or so episodes on my DVR and really have no desire to watch them. Time was, I couldn't wait for a brand new SVU episode. I know they want to break Gunsmoke's season record, but in hindsight they should have called it a day at least five years ago.

Amy Amy Amy!!!!!  I went from loving Mariska/Olivia and not wanting to watch The Closer because it felt like I was cheating to wanting Olivia Benson dead.  I don't believe an Elliot return could get me to tune back in, but Olivia in a coffin most certainly would!  

 

Whew!  I feel good getting that out.  

1 hour ago, ChitHappens said:

Amy Amy Amy!!!!!  I went from loving Mariska/Olivia and not wanting to watch The Closer because it felt like I was cheating to wanting Olivia Benson dead.  I don't believe an Elliot return could get me to tune back in, but Olivia in a coffin most certainly would!  

 

Whew!  I feel good getting that out.  

+1 to both of you

@ChitHappens and @dragonflies, it's nice to know that I'm not alone. 😎

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one, too, Amy!

2 hours ago, Khan said:

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one, too, Amy!

 

@Khan...

On 1/9/2019 at 10:03 PM, DRW50 said:

As mentioned above, Carrie on SATC.

 

Anything with Buffy after season 3. SMG became cold and dead, and, along with the show running out of ideas (beyond Whedon beating heavy-handed arcs into the ground before leaving to do other projects), she weighed the material down heavily. 

 

McMurphy on China Beach. I don't care how pretty Dana Delaney was, it became ludicrous for every man on the canvas (bar I think one) to fall madly in love with her, with, in some cases, this love lasting for decades, complete with marrying nurses who had the same name as her just to drive the point. The character was cold and hard, and ruined through overexposure. Episode after episode about how she was drinking, about how she didn't want to remember, all while some other characters got the barest of scraps. 

 

Abby on ER. So sour and bitter I quit watching the show and never looked back.

 

The woeful, woeful Fred on Angel, one of Whedon's most precious Mary Sues. She took over the show wholesale,  ruining and downgrading established characters, and was never, ever worth the time. I also quit watching thanks to her, with zero regret.

 

ITA with all of these. SMG hated doing it after season 3, and it shows. And ugh, please don't get me started with Fred. Abby had all these incredibly sexy, handsome men throwing themselves at her and it just never made sense. I think Luka even told her once she wasn't pretty enough to be that nasty, and he was right.

On 1/17/2019 at 3:41 PM, applcin said:

Sort of a 2nd lead with this one but I didn't like DiNozzo/Michael Weatherly on NCIS. I especially tended to fast-forward the first scene in the office where they all chitchat (mostly because of him)...although I still do it now, too, that he's gone. The narcissism and badgering was just annoying to me. To hear it from Eliza Dushku these days, it seems DiNozzo and Weatherly are not all that different.

 

I remember the interviews he gave back in the day with Jessica Alba, when they were on Dark Angel. He had that sleazy frat boy vibe going on then, too.

Getting back to SVU, I read a few days ago the Warren Leight will be returning as showrunner for Season 21. I guess it doesn't matter who the official showrunner is - as long as Mariska is around, with the power she wields, the quality of the show will never improve.