[Johnny 1989]

There are a couple of good episodes but the season is not helped by the fact that all 24 episodes take place over a 3 day weekend. Bit of overkill in my opinion.

Yeah I heard that it was which did make me raise an eyebrow, IIRC I think they were going to end on Series 8 originally but when it got renewed for a 9th they went for something different. As I understand it Jason Segal wasn't going to do it originally, to be honest if they wasn't able to persuade him they should have just done a feature length special for the finale of Series 8 and leave it at that.

[bmstinton93]

Yeah, I know that both Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan both weren't going to do it. And yes, a feature length special would have been a much better idea. Or at least half a season.

[Johnny 1989]

I didn't know Alyson Hannigan wasn't up for it originally either, oh well I'll just have to hope for the best then when I eventually get round to seeing it

[Nicola_Red]

Also finally caught up with How I Met Your Mother Series 8, another good series just Series 6 that seemed to be off (the again the Zoey character was bloody annoying), it's a shame that the series is coming to an end in some respects but having now seen Series 8 you can tell it's the right time to go now.

I'd give up now if I were you, Season 9 is bloody awful.

To be honest I gave up with it during season 6. Even most of season 5 I didn't love, apart from Girls Vs Suits of course. I have seen most of the subsequent episodes now due to them being in heavy rotation on E4, and I haven't ever really regretted giving up on it - it just seemed to lose its mojo. Same with Big Bang really, although I find it more difficult to pinpoint exactly when that jumped the shark.

[chrysostom]

Commercially successful sitcoms which bring in the viewers from the US will almost always out stay their welcome - unlike dramas they tend not to have a logical conclusion, and aside from the actor/writer's salary are quite low cost to make.

Unless the writers take an artistic integrity standpoint, or the actors leave - then they'll probably keep going

[Nicola_Red]

Yeah, it seems like most stop around 10 - Friends, Seinfeld was 9, HIMYM will be 9, Cheers was 11, Scrubs 8 (9 if you count that dreadful Interns season). I don't think any sitcom can keep the same level of quality for that long.

[neilt0]

The actors are generally signed up for 7 seasons from day one so the studio can get 100ish episodes, which is (or used to be) required for syndication of the show.

Hence why actors renegotiate near the end to get more me money after S7. See Friends, for example.

After S7, it often gets very expensive to make the show, and that's why you see cancellations after S8 etc.

[chrysostom]

That's really interesting.

Still gutted that Rules of Engagement & Happy Endings don't get renewed while the god-awful (badly written, sexist, racist, homophobic, everythingist) 2 Broke Girls (which I shamefully watch) marches on.

[Badger Mark]

......Same with Big Bang really, although I find it more difficult to pinpoint exactly when that jumped the shark.

I've only seen the show a couple of times and I thought the episodes were funny enough, but it's not a show that grabbed me so that I wanted to start watching it regularly. Even if it has jumped the shark though, it's just been renewed for 3 more seasons here in the US.

[Bonanzoid]

I used to be infatuated with HIMYM, watched it religiously up until a season or 2 ago when I felt like it was just shite. I think Ted told Robin he loved her again and I just turned off there and then and have never watched it again. I was never the biggest Big Bang fan, but I've drifted away from watching that too for some reason. To be fair, I always thought it was 'not bad' rather than particularly good.

I'm working my way through the US Office again (it's amazing) then I've earmarked Whites as my next watch. If it's good I've you lot to thank.

[Bruvva]

I'll tell you what's responsible for Big Bang Theory not being any good these days, giving all the characters bar one girlfriends. As a show it worked with Leonard mooning over Penny but as soon as Howard and Sheldon got paired up, it killed it. I still watch it, mind.

[Nicola_Red]

I have very mixed feelings about all the female characters and their roles in the show. I understand that Bernadette exists to show Howard's journey as a character but at the same time I feel she's kind of pointless in most storylines. It bothers me that while the male characters and Amy often refer to each other as Dr, I've only once heard someone - Sheldon - address Bernadette as Dr Rostenkowski (I have no idea if I spelled that right). It's as if because she's cute and small and high-pitched, she isn't meant to be taken as seriously as the others.

[Johnny 1989]

Also finally caught up with How I Met Your Mother Series 8, another good series just Series 6 that seemed to be off (the again the Zoey character was bloody annoying), it's a shame that the series is coming to an end in some respects but having now seen Series 8 you can tell it's the right time to go now.

I'd give up now if I were you, Season 9 is bloody awful.

To be honest I gave up with it during season 6. Even most of season 5 I didn't love, apart from Girls Vs Suits of course. I have seen most of the subsequent episodes now due to them being in heavy rotation on E4, and I haven't ever really regretted giving up on it - it just seemed to lose its mojo. Same with Big Bang really, although I find it more difficult to pinpoint exactly when that jumped the shark.

See I liked Series 5 a lot and thought it was the last time they were fully bang on (barring the smoking one) but Series 6 was all over the place, it got a lot better with Series 7 and 8 was good too but I do have slight reservations with Series 9, oh well at least if it isn't that good it's the end and won't be dragged out for another 2-3 series

I'll tell you what's responsible for Big Bang Theory not being any good these days, giving all the characters bar one girlfriends. As a show it worked with Leonard mooning over Penny but as soon as Howard and Sheldon got paired up, it killed it. I still watch it, mind.

I don't agree with the women been added been a problem per se but I have to be honest I started losing interest with it come Series 4/5, I think it's because Sheldon sometimes is just too much and I'm not always in the mood to watch it because of him.

[Badger Mark]

This weeks episode of The Walking Dead aired last night here in the US. Wow. Probably the most disturbing episode that has ever aired. Excellent and intense.

[Bruvva]

Yeah, THAT happening in the Walking Dead was a bit of a shock. Even though something similar happened in the comic (slight variations in the characters involved) I didn't expect mainstream US telly to actually do what they did.

Anyway, been meaning to say, Community is back up and running in America and, sadly, won't be shown here. Shame that two of the cast have left, hopefully David Glover will be back at one point but sending him off on a round the world yacht trip with LeVar Burton was fantastic. And if any of you haven't watched Community yet, bloody download it.

Also, because I've just found it, I'm putting Troy and Abed's Christmas rap here :

[bmstinton93]

So after hearing so much about this week's episode of the Walking Dead it finally encouraged me to catch up on the 5 episodes I've fallen behind by. I have just finished this week's. Oh my, what a fantastic episode. So deep and so brave! This show is definitely back to its best. I hadn't enjoyed it for a long time.

[Bruvva]

Meanwhile, back in the Arrow universe, if that mysterious former psychotherapist in jail isn't Harley Quinn, I'll sulk and pout.

[bmstinton93]

So has anyone seen the final HIMYM? Thoughts? I'm unsure right now, although I think I liked it!

[dimtimjim]

Not yet Benji... looking forward to it though.

[Bruvva]

Bored so I thought I'd post a list of new, renewed and cancelled US stuff :

New :

Agent Carter : Her from Captain America gets a series about working for SHIELD in the 40s
Constantine : TV version of Hellblazer
Daredevil : Another comic book adaptation
Forever : Ioan Gruffudd plays a 200 year old doctor
Gotham : Bruce Wayne before he becomes Batman, it'll be shit.
Heroes Reborn : A weird decision to revisit this
Last Man on Earth : A story about, well, the last man on earth...
Sense8 : God knows, it's by the Wachowskis though so it'll be odd
The Flash : Bloke in a red suit who can run really fast
The Whispers : Aliens attacking earth via our Children

Renewed :

Agents of Shield,
American Horror Story,
Beauty and the Beast,
Da Vinci's Demons
Game of Thrones (BIG surprise, that )
Once Upon a Time,
Person of Interest,
Resurrection,
Sleepy Hollow,
Supernatural (yay),
Walking Dead

Cancelled:

Community (BOOOO),
Almost Human,
Dracula,
Intelligence,
Revolution,
Tomorrow People

[Misfit]

is anyone watching happy valley? if so, thats where I live, and the cafe bar they were in tonight is where I work! cracking tv show!

[Badger Mark]

Bored so I thought I'd post a list of new, renewed and cancelled US stuff :

New :

Agent Carter : Her from Captain America gets a series about working for SHIELD in the 40s
Constantine : TV version of Hellblazer
Daredevil : Another comic book adaptation
Forever : Ioan Gruffudd plays a 200 year old doctor
Gotham : Bruce Wayne before he becomes Batman, it'll be shit.
Heroes Reborn : A weird decision to revisit this
Last Man on Earth : A story about, well, the last man on earth...
Sense8 : God knows, it's by the Wachowskis though so it'll be odd
The Flash : Bloke in a red suit who can run really fast
The Whispers : Aliens attacking earth via our Children

Renewed :

Agents of Shield,
American Horror Story,
Beauty and the Beast,
Da Vinci's Demons
Game of Thrones (BIG surprise, that )
Once Upon a Time,
Person of Interest,
Resurrection,
Sleepy Hollow,
Supernatural (yay),
Walking Dead

Cancelled:

Community (BOOOO),
Almost Human,
Dracula,
Intelligence,
Revolution,
Tomorrow People

The only cancelled show I'm unhappy about is Almost Human. I know that show just started in the UK, and I was surprised because it started AFTER it was cancelled here in the US. It's a good show IMO, but I think the problem with it was it didn't have a big long story arc running through it. The show's creators wanted a show that anyone could jump in at any point and not have to worry about what happened in earlier episodes. The problem with that approach is that most who like these types of sci-fi genre shows like the big story arcs. Very unfortunate.

Happy to see Agents of Shield renewed. The show started off rather weak, but the 2nd half of it's first season has been fantastic. Don't know if the season finale has run yet over in the UK, but I can say it did not disappoint. There's a new show that just started here in the US on our Showtime cable channel called Penny Dreadful. The cast includes Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Billie Piper and others. Only two episodes in. Not sure where it's going to go, but my wife and I are intrigued enough to keep watching for at least a couple more episodes.

[R94N]

Silicon Valley is a quite funny new HBO show.

[chrysostom]

Anyone watching the new series of Friday Night Dinner?

I didn't like the episode just gone as it all seemed a bit 'jump the shark'

[Nicola_Red]

I have been watching it. Can't make up my mind if I find it funny or just cringeworthy.