Everybody makes mistakes. It's sometimes hard to admit that in the age of overzealous Internet criticism and ardent fanboy defenses of any decent media that comes down the pike. No matter how bad it is to openly acknowledge, even the best shows can have down moments, or even down years. While some televisions shows, like The Wire and Arrested Development were able to make it through their run without a weak season, most programs, especially those that enjoy long runs, occasionally, and disastrously, run afoul.
Off seasons can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes a show loses a showrunner, other times they can't negotiate a new contract with the lead actor, and from time to time the story just comes to an end before the ratings and accompanying ad money are ready to call it quits.
When Groucho Marx said, "They can't all be gems," he was, prophetically speaking, talking about The 25 Worst Seasons of Great TV Shows. Or so we'd like to think.
Written by Brenden Gallagher (muddycreekU)