Written by: Kevin Berge
Melissa Benoist as always at the head trying her best to carry the franchise. (Image Courtesy of: forbes.com)
There's a dangerous trap that any fan can fall into when watching a television show. Once something is good enough to pull you in, you can feel committed to the product. For this reason, it can take me a while to bail on a show even though I know most shows generally fall into the same routine of lowering in quality with each season.
Arrow has taken me the longest to give up on of any show I have ever watched. Season 2 of the show was so good that I was willing to forgive season 3. I even watched through every episode of season 4's awkward second half. There was no reason I should have given season 5 a chance, but I did and got bland enough to stay invested.
The Flash followed a similar pattern. Season 1 was fantastic with a strong second season. When the third came around and showed that the speedster wars come in threes, I sat through the repetition even as I forgot what I was watching once it finished. I have always liked Barry Allen as a character, and I just wanted to stay connected.
Arrow has taken me the longest to give up on of any show I have ever watched. Season 2 of the show was so good that I was willing to forgive season 3. I even watched through every episode of season 4's awkward second half. There was no reason I should have given season 5 a chance, but I did and got bland enough to stay invested.
The Flash followed a similar pattern. Season 1 was fantastic with a strong second season. When the third came around and showed that the speedster wars come in threes, I sat through the repetition even as I forgot what I was watching once it finished. I have always liked Barry Allen as a character, and I just wanted to stay connected.
The Walking Dead took a lot longer to turn me off mainly because it had a fairly consistent pattern. It started weak and got better with time though never incredible before falling flat around season 6 with a complete fall at season 7 that has not improved with season 8.
These three seasons worked in unison to remind me that time is precious, and it is all right not to watch a show to its completion if it's not worth the time invested. I may skip through these shows or read recaps, but it would take a monster turnaround for me to return to them for more than a season finale.
What happened to these shows? They're all dealing with simple series fatigue. The Arrowverse has never been built on strong storytelling. The CW's staple of superhero shows now dominate the network, and it was easy at first to see them as just fine entertainment ala Smallville. That show though was a chore to watch in the same way.
Arrow and The Flash have always been soap operas disguised as superhero shows, and that's not a bad thing when the elements are told with cohesion. Arrow and The Flash lost that cohesion in their third seasons, and they've been drifting through the same tired tropes ever since.
These three seasons worked in unison to remind me that time is precious, and it is all right not to watch a show to its completion if it's not worth the time invested. I may skip through these shows or read recaps, but it would take a monster turnaround for me to return to them for more than a season finale.
What happened to these shows? They're all dealing with simple series fatigue. The Arrowverse has never been built on strong storytelling. The CW's staple of superhero shows now dominate the network, and it was easy at first to see them as just fine entertainment ala Smallville. That show though was a chore to watch in the same way.
Arrow and The Flash have always been soap operas disguised as superhero shows, and that's not a bad thing when the elements are told with cohesion. Arrow and The Flash lost that cohesion in their third seasons, and they've been drifting through the same tired tropes ever since.
Who can forget important Walking Dead characters like CGI tiger? (Image Courtesy of: thesun.co.uk)
They're more or less the same show. Both villains this season are inhumanely smart with long term plans to prove their brilliance. The heroes are both tested by having their real and superhero lives in balance against real world prosecution, and they have to rely on their group of sidekicks to save the day in their absence.
The Walking Dead actually has fallen into the same pattern with itself. Each season is the same setup and execution with new casualties. These last two seasons, despite having a great villain played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, are playing that same game but with no playoff. It feels like complete filler.
It feels like a show that would have been great if it took all its ideas and put them in six total seasons. It's certainly stretching itself thin now and making more than a few terrible decisions along the way. I'm probably more disappointed about The Flash and even Arrow, but this was a series with high potential.
Every show has a different lifespan, and few get to play them out cleanly from start to finish particularly shows with a more procedural focus. I can count on one hand how many series I've watched on one hand that were reliable throughout their run, but it is only now that I can find enough TV to replace what I stop watching.
There are so many shows I need to watch from the past, present, and coming in the future. The Arrowverse still has the consistently excellent Legends of Tomorrow and the surprisingly growing stronger each season Supergirl carried by the best actor in the entire franchise Melissa Benoist.
This is my definitive goodbye to three shows I have long watched, and my tentative greetings to the show that will replace it. Hopefully, I can finally get to Legion and finish The Gifted. Maybe I will sit down with the greats that have haunted me like The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Star Trek The Next Generation, and Doctor Who.
Thank you for the years of entertainment, Arrow, Flash, and Walking Dead. I did have fun with my time.
The Walking Dead actually has fallen into the same pattern with itself. Each season is the same setup and execution with new casualties. These last two seasons, despite having a great villain played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, are playing that same game but with no playoff. It feels like complete filler.
It feels like a show that would have been great if it took all its ideas and put them in six total seasons. It's certainly stretching itself thin now and making more than a few terrible decisions along the way. I'm probably more disappointed about The Flash and even Arrow, but this was a series with high potential.
Every show has a different lifespan, and few get to play them out cleanly from start to finish particularly shows with a more procedural focus. I can count on one hand how many series I've watched on one hand that were reliable throughout their run, but it is only now that I can find enough TV to replace what I stop watching.
There are so many shows I need to watch from the past, present, and coming in the future. The Arrowverse still has the consistently excellent Legends of Tomorrow and the surprisingly growing stronger each season Supergirl carried by the best actor in the entire franchise Melissa Benoist.
This is my definitive goodbye to three shows I have long watched, and my tentative greetings to the show that will replace it. Hopefully, I can finally get to Legion and finish The Gifted. Maybe I will sit down with the greats that have haunted me like The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Star Trek The Next Generation, and Doctor Who.
Thank you for the years of entertainment, Arrow, Flash, and Walking Dead. I did have fun with my time.
