TV series that shouldve stopped after one season. Club. FX shocked viewers in 2. Harmon family was but the first in a revolving door of American Horror Story victims. It was an occasion for rejoicing, and not just because this meant the permanent shuttering of the first seasons absurdly crowded haunted house. American Horror Story co creator Ryan Murphy is TVs current king of diminishing returns, a writer whose flashy premises burn bright for one season, then fade away as characters die, get paralyzed and then un paralyzed, turn out to be serial killers, andor engage in increasingly convoluted sexual exploits. The recurring reboot plan was perfect for a guy like Murphy, giving him endless chances at self contained first seasons. It seemed especially refreshing in the fall of 2. Glee co created by Murphy with Ian Brennan and AHS collaborator Brad Falchuk was already showing signs of a third season devolution. But then he didnt And then the Christmas episode was a too faithful homage to two terrible holiday specials It was a far cry from the first season of the show, which told New Directions comeback story with the verve of an underdog sports movie similar problems plagued NipTuck, the Murphy jam that began as an examination of American superficiality and ended as The How Deeply Can We Torture Matt Mc. Namara Show. Both couldve been fascinating single season stand alonesand, unfortunately, American Horror Story couldve been, too. Midway through its fourth season, however, it seems like annual reinvention isnt enough to keep each new reiteration from repeating the same themes, stock characters, and shock tactics. Maybe AHS shouldve stayed in that haunted house after all. But then viewers fell in love with Damian Lewis and, as is so often the case at Showtime, the network balked at any tampering with success by refusing to let Nicholas Brody die. Instead, the traitor whose time ticking mission made the first season so compellingly tense just kept hanging around, necessitating increasingly convoluted ways to have him in the story, and turning the taut cat and mouse thriller into an exhausting doomed romance and, in its worst offense, subjecting viewers to countless Dana episodes. Homelandonce hailed as Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa answering their own 2. That never would have happened had the series ended in its first season, preferably with Brodys death. Even Brody agrees. Plus, Greg Grunberg was in it, so people just assumed it was a J. J. Abrams show and gave it a chance. It worked like gangbusters. The first season balanced the thrill of characters discovering they have super powers with the drama of a superpowered serial killer on the loose. It made breakout stars of Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, and Zachary Quinto, and the shows grand ambition, scope, and ratings seemed to make a case not just for superheroes on TV, but that network television still had a place in the golden age of cable drama. Then it all fell apart like Green Lantern in the crowd at a Pittsburgh Steelers game, starting with the first season finale. Heroes had been building up to a super battle that fizzled when it hit the screen, and the show backed down from killing off Quintos popular supervillain, Sylar. Desperate Housewives Season 4 Episode 14 Tv Links' title='Desperate Housewives Season 4 Episode 14 Tv Links' />When it returned for a second season, the well hidden cracks in the formula had burst wide opensome characters were far too powerful, the non powered characters didnt have much to do, the ensemble was too disconnected. Krings efforts to solve these problems just made things worsecharacters lost their powers for long stretches, ill considered storylines stuck some characters in the past with no contact with the rest of the cast, and the show kept adding new characters, making it abundantly clear the writers had no idea where the show was going. Had the show aired for one seasonor even killed off Sylar and then stayed focused on a new villainitd be remembered as one of the 0. TV successes, instead of one of its great debacles. My Name Is Earl. When this vehicle for Jason Lees laid back charms debuted in 2. Not so much the shows ostensible setupthat Lees amiable, befuddled redneck wins the lottery, and decides to earn this bit of good karma by using the money to right old wrongsthe true genius of the show was what lay behind that premise. Earl genuinely wants to do the right thing, but because hes spent his life as an irresponsible neer do well, hes hilariously bad at it. Watch Damsels In Distress Online Forbes here. He tries to get an old lady to quit smoking by kidnapping and torturing her he makes up for spoiling his fathers run for mayor by tricking him into running again against his will and when he meets a genuinely terrible person who seems to have everything going for him, Earl decides to set his karmic balance right by punching the guy in the face. But by the end of the first season, the show had lost that note of cynicism, and the central theme of righting wrongs and helping others got treacly and less funny fast. Things got even further off track with a season long arc that put Earl in jail for a year. The show also began as an affectionate sendup of redneck culture, but by the time Giovanni Ribisi joined the cast, the jokes came across as Hollywood Scientologists making fun of the rubes from flyover country. The first season of Twin Peaks redefined the medium, injecting David Lynchs worldview into the broadcast drama to create memorably quirky characters and situations. However, the shows second season saw Lynch and Frost moving away from their hands on involvement, reluctantly going along with network pressure to identify Laura Palmers killer, thus eradicating the shows prime talking point. Without the LynchFrost vision, Twin Peaks began to embrace the soap opera twists and turns it had once expertly subverted, marginalized its entire teenage ensemble into even worse narrative dead ends, and spiraled into some of the most memorably awful side plots ever to grace television. Deputy Andy takes a surly orphan under his wing Nadine Hurley regresses to high school age and becomes the towns strongest cheerleader Twin Peaks always asked the question What on earth are we watching Unfortunately, between seasons, the tone of that question turned from mystified fascination to confused disgust. Bewitched. Despite running for eight seasons, Bewitched never again reached the heights hit in its first year on the air, during which it was a legitimately great sitcom. Flirty and fresh, the show used witchcraft as a metaphor for a rising societal issue women tapping into their own power and refusing to continue existing in the shadows of men. Watch Lawrence Of Arabia Online Hulu. M/MV5BMTI4MjEyMTY0OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzQyNTUxMw@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg' alt='Desperate Housewives Season 4 Episode 14 Tv Links' title='Desperate Housewives Season 4 Episode 14 Tv Links' />Previously on Brooklyn NineNine The NineNine is in trouble, thanks to an unstable ex. This week on Brooklyn NineNine The NineNine is still trouble, thanks to an. Watch Blue Bloods online, Blue Bloods tvshows, download Blue Bloods, Blue Bloods links on Tvlinks. Though Darrin may have looked like he wore the pants in the family, the audience knew the true power player was witch Samantha, a concept expressed perfectly in the scripts from season one scribe Danny Arnold. Following Arnolds departure, Bewitched devolved into a generic gimmick sitcom, sadly never again rekindling the magic of that premiere season. Miami Vice. Although many of its finest episodes appeared in season two, the first season of Miami Vice made the greater impression on pop culture. The shows lush and vivid visuals sculpted by series producerthough never episode directorMichael Mann made it one of the first television series that could truly be called eye popping, while the terse scripts had the air of modern film noir. Unfortunately, such cinematic intensity couldnt last, and the show grew less tethered to recognizable reality with each passing season. But the season one version of Miami Vice remains a landmark television series, proving cop shows could be both brutal and stylish. Watch An Eastern Westerner Youtube. Desperate Housewives. Debuting in the fall of 2. Desperate Housewives was an immediate smash, averaging 2. American Idol and CSI. It appeared as though Americans were all in for the return of soapy, sexy, dark comedy, and the adventures of Wisteria Lane did not disappoint.