With the news that Ugly Betty might be getting canned soon; it was pulled from TV unexpectedly and cast members are leaving the show, I thought back to some of my favourite TV shows that started off brilliantly but so completely lost their way I had to stop watching. Some of these shows are still on the air and some were, mercifully, pulled from their prime-time line-up.
Grey’s Anatomy: Grey’s is a prime example of a once good show that slowly needs to die. Early episodes made me laugh and cry in the same scenes, made me care about the original interns and didn’t rely on over-the-top medical cases all the time to impress me. Then Isaiah Washington was fired, Kate Walsh left the show, they replaced them with about 5 new cast members, Meredith drowned and was revived, Izzie fell in love with George, Denny wouldn’t die and became a ghost/hallucination and Callie became a lesbian. The show turned into a night-time soap opera and that’s around the time I pulled the plug on this barely breathing show.
Prison Break: Prison Break was finally cancelled this year, two seasons past its expiration date. The concept of a genius architect who gets sent to prison to break out his innocent brother was good for one maybe two seasons but never four. The first season was a gritty, intense and smart prison drama with a conspiracy twist. The second season had the brothers on the run from the FBI. It was a decent season and should have ended with Michael and Sara sailing off into the sunset. But instead Michael was sent to another prison. From then it became silly, farfetched and implausible. By the fourth season, they weren’t even in prison anymore and the conspiracy was so convoluted not even the writers knew where it was going. Let’s hope that spin-off in a women’s prison never sees the light of day.
Bones: I have to include this one here. I used to watch Bones regularly for the past 3 years. The allure of David Boreanaz in a lead role drew me to the series at first but my love for procedurals, the supporting cast, the perfect balance of light and dark, the will-they-won’t-they relationship of Booth and Brennan and the interesting murder cases kept me in. What eventually killed the show for me was what they did to Zac’s character. In season 3 we were introduced to the Gormogon, a cannibalistic serial killer that was terrorizing the FBI and Jeffersionian. When it was revealed the Gormogon had an apprentice doing his dirty work, no one, not even the fans, thought it would be Zac. Zac was sent to prison and conveniently forgotten, safe for helping out his team on a consulting basis once in a blue moon. The gimmick of having a new grad student every week got annoying fast, because it was obvious no one could replace Zac. If one day they release him from his jail cell, I might give it another chance.
House: Same here. While I love Hugh Laurie and his portrayal of House, the show lost me when he fired Chase and both Cameron and Foreman resigned at the end of season 3. I know most of you watch House to see Wilson and House interaction and you couldn’t care less about his team, but I did! Plus if I’m allowed to be shallow Chase was my eye candy and he was replaced by...Taub? 2/3 of the cast were reduced to 2 minute cameos in every episode. I still don’t know why their names are still in the opening credits at this point. Plus, his new team gets on my nerves, especially 13 who’s getting way too much screen time (and who looks eerily like Cameron.) Cuddy used to be this smart, tough, independent woman who tried to stop House every chance she got, this season they turned her into this silly, baby-crazed hormone bomb and ever since Amber died Wilson's been too mopey, it’s depressing.
Dishonourable mention; Dexter: The first two seasons were brilliant and I still re-watch them from time to time. This is a show that has a serial killer as the protagonist yet still makes us sympathize with him and wish he could outsmart the police all the time. Past seasons were darkly humorous, witty, bloody and intense, but this year’s was a major letdown. We were subjugated to Dexter getting domesticated by getting engaged to Rita and becoming a father. His friendship with district attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) took up way too much time that could have been better invested in the main case of the season, the Skinner. In the end, the finale didn’t pack the same punch because Dexter couldn’t care less about the Skinner. The only glimmer of hope for next year is Debra finding out the secret of Dexter’s biological mother. Dexter doesn’t deserve to die just yet, but another season as ho-hum as season 3 and America’s favourite serial killer might just have to turn himself in.
Buffy Summers and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer): Forget Twilight’s Bella and Edward, Buffy and Angel were the original vampire and human romance. I didn’t think there could be anything more poignantly romantic (or as Giles said poetic) as a vampire falling in love with his mortal enemy, the Vampire Slayer, and turning his back on his very nature. Their star-crossed love was doomed from the start and their path filled with obstacles. On the night of Buffy’s 17th birthday, Angel lost his soul from one moment of true happiness and Buffy was forced to send her now evil boyfriend to Hell. After his miraculous return, they knew it was too dangerous for them to stay together and Angel left Sunnydale for L.A and his own spin-off.
Jim Halpert and Pam Beasley (The Office): The most adorable and dorky (adorkable) couple on TV right now (Take that Derek and Meredith!). The romance between these two was the reason I watched The Office. Cutie paper salesman Jim Halpert fell in love with his best friend and co-worker Pam, something I can totally relate to. Everything about their slow-burn courtship from friendship to something more — the shy peeks through office blinds, the inside jokes, that hot first kiss — seemed so real that it was hard not to blush right along with the characters. When Jim faked proposed I nearly passed out from cheering and grinning like an idiot, imagine when he proposes for real?
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice): They were named the greatest couple in English litrature for good reason. They are the perfect example of two individuals who couldn’t stand each other at first and prolonged exposure made them see just how perfectly they fit together. She's unimpressed by his wealth and he's not intimidated by her smarts. They spend most of the book bickering, trading insults and witty rebuttals, and avoiding each other until Mr. Darcy's explosive confession of love. There's a shimmering lust and tension in the air with them at all times, especially when they're dancing at the ball in the beginning. It makes you want to fan yourself. What I wouldn't give to be called Mrs. Darcy. Sigh!
Paul Montague and Henrietta Carbury (The Way We Live Now): Paul is a young, financially-challenged engineer hoping to build the first railway connection from California to Mexico who falls madly in love with Henrietta, a girl of good standing with very little money. It’s love at first sight for both of them when they meet at her cousin's estate. When they share a dance at Melmotte’s ball, the electricity between them is sweet and innocent yet you can totally sense it. Her family wants her to marry her cousin because of his wealth. Paul has none until he sees a profit from his railway and her family refuse for them to marry and leave her destitute so I couldn’t help smiling when the two love birds finally wed in the end, because happiness trumps money.
Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson (Titanic): Who hadn’t wanted to be Rose back in 1997? Rose and Jack’s way to short romance aboard the doomed ship was the dream of every young girl who went to watch the movie in theatres. A poor boy raised on the tougher, rougher side of life meets and falls in love with a rich, British socialite who’s already engaged to an arrogant prick. The most iconic image of the entire movie besides the "I'm the King of the World" whoop of victory is the two of them at the front of the ship sharing the most passionate, longing-filled kiss. Only death could seperate them in the end and my sad, sad heart smiled wide when Rose used his last name as hers when she was rescued, proving that their love transcended death and disaster.
Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton (The Notebook): The most romantic movie of 2004 that made grown women fall in love Ryan Gosling. And him and Rachel McAdams became a real-life couple! He's from the wrong side of the tracks, she's from the right side, but they make a go of it, only to be separated when her parents take her away. Time passes; he hardens to the ways of the world after the war when she doesn't write back. But fate intervenes and she comes to her senses on the eve of her wedding. It's all the things we hoped our relationship would be but know would never happen. The ending and the realization that the old amenisiac woman being told the story is Allie made me bawl like a baby. That is enduring, eternal love folks. 
