  You know when you watch a series on TV that you really liked but then,after a while, you just stop caring? It gets to the point that while it is on, you check your bank accounts or just twat about on the internet and don't pay any real attention until it gets to the point that you just don't watch. Well, last night, I made a concious decision - I WILL NEVER WATCH E.R. AGAIN. E.R. has basically had problems in that it's original major stars, George Clooney and Goose from Top Gun, left and they've had to bring in new cast members who just don't interest in the same way. This year, they have already got rid of the most interesting character in a helicopter crash and had 2 episodes concentrating on two characters trips to Africa to helpfully inform us "Africa is poor". So, last night, I sit down to watch and we get another "Africa is poor" episode combined with the introduction of a new character played by Thandie "Blandly Bland's Bland" Newton.
I watched the first ten minutes and turned off. There is a real problem for me at the minute. The US could consistently produce hour long drama series that were clever, funny and interesting. It made UK drama look cheap and badly acted. But look at the past few years. Buffy The Vampire Slayer A brilliant, funny series which managed to take the one-note idea of the film (Blonde girl is the hero instead of screaming and running away) and turned in six quality series. Unfortunately, it's now gone and it's last series blew chunks. Angel A spin-off of the above, which I did not get into until TFMrs bought the DVDs. And just as it hits it's stride and produces a series better than any it's parent show did, it gets cancelled. The X-Files The X-Files used to be awesome. It was creepy, intelligent and well written. Then it started to suck, they brought in the T-1000 when Duchovny left to become a film star. It stuck around for about 3 too many series before it was finally mercy killed. (My theory on the X-Files - in the first 3 series, they limited 'funny' episodes, like the man who could predict people's deaths, to one per series. Because they got a good response, the final few series became funny episodes with conspiracy episodes that made no sense to continuity, forgetting that people liked the episodes with creepy mutants and psychic serial killers.
) Star Trek After the greatness of TNG and DS9, Voyager was a real drop in quality, only peaking, appropriately, when Jerry Ryan's breasts became involved. After they destroyed the scariest the bad guy in the series week after week, people stopped caring. Now we have Quantum Trek, which isn't all that great. That's five series that I constantly used to watch that are now gone or I just won't watch.
That doesn't include various cop shows and the like that I also occasionally watched. The scary thing - nothing is replacing them! There are two US drama series that I will still religiously watch - The Shield (corrupt cops in the rough area of LA) and Alias (Spy girl stuff - which may get stupid with the end of Series 2 'twist'). There is nothing coming along to replace the old stuff. What have we been offered? Without A Trace, a series about missing people, and The OC , Dawsons Creek with 'tude. Shite. But then, there is another problem - US comedy series are dying too! Friends Ended in the US, soon to be done here too. I guess endless T4 repeats will have to suffice. * The Simpsons Face it, it's dead. The new ones aren't putting in 'joke' jokes - they're just putting in ridiculously signposted puns and slapstick. A mercy killing would probably have been in order Frasier Also in it's final series. Yes, there may have been a drop in quality, but any show which can get laughs out of Patrick Stewart believing Frasier is his new boyfriend is still top draw.
Sex And The City HA! Fuck off, I'm glad this fucking overrated bilge will be off our screens in 2 days. When your cast start looking like emaciated mummies, it's probably time to give up. This, to me, is a serious problem. The US forced the UK to come out with comedies and dramas that could compete with the quality they produced, and now there isn't anything else coming.
I also like long series - UK shows tend to be bought in blocks of six, while the US produce 24 episode series, which allow more character exploration. So, if anyone can recommend a new series to me, please do. It's that or get a hobby. *shudder* *Dan, two Friends points. 1. Did you realise how much Series 1 blew? Watching a block of repeats, it became really obvious. There is a heavy reliance of unfunny monologues, such as Monica's underage boyfriends really terrible speech about "Gunpoint".
It got much better towards the end, but you can tell in the final episode and the first of Series 2, there has been an active push to turn the characters to pretty much what we know today (well, except Ross). 2. Do you remember Danny - got fogged because he looked like a yeti, pissed of Rachel, fucked his sister? Did you know that he was introduced to replace Ross, due to Schwimmer stalling on his contract as he wanted to go direct proper stuff, who was wondering whether to go off with Emily or not? Fortunately, Schwimmer resigned, so Danny was sent off to commit incest. 
