Thursday Movie Picks - TV Edition: Lukewarm Second Seasons

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This week's TV theme at Wandering Through The Shelves are shows that had very lukewarm second seasons. There's plenty of those to choose from, and here's what I came up with. I made it a point to avoid anthology series, because it's hard to compare completely separate stories. 


1) Heroes - As there ever been a show that crashed and burned between it's first and second season as hard as Heroes? That show was HUGE when it first came out, and I feel like everyone universally hated the second season. I didn't even finish it. 


2) The Wire - Now, I came into The Wire late, and I still stand by the fact that season 5 is the worst season of the show overall, but there's no denying season 2 felt like a dud compared to what came before and after it. Since I was binging it all at once, I didn't feel it as much as I imagine those watching in real time did, but it's very noticeable. I blame Ziggy.


3) Westworld - For what it's worth, I never stopped liking Westworld even when it turned into Black Mirror, but it's hard to argue that the second season was very lukewarm compared to the first. Not bad enough to stop watching like Heroes, but season 1 was near perfection. It's hard to match that.

Comments

  1. joel65913April 27, 2023 at 9:16 AM

    I watch so little regular television anymore that I'm 0 for 3 on your picks. I have heard of all three and have seen the original Westworld movie from the 70's with Yul Brynner and James Brolin which was not a bad watch, once!

    I watch so little as I said and I seem to be a show's doom when I do try out new ones. If I really like them (My So-Called Life, Forever, Firefly, The Tick etc.) they rarely last past their first season. :-( The only one that comes to mind is House of Cards with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, though the second season wasn't terrible but the first was so bangin' it set a near impossible bar to meet. I also thought of the great 80's undercover spy show Wiseguy but it doesn't really fit since it fell off in its third season after two brilliant seasons.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 28, 2023 at 8:33 AM

      I never got into House of Cards even though everyone that I knew watched it loved it. Now with Spacey I'm not so sure. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I have to deal with him in two of my all time favorite movies lol. (American Beauty and Se7en)

      Delete
  2. BirgitApril 27, 2023 at 11:29 AM

    I have heard of all 3 but never watched them. I wouldn't mind watching The Wire. My brother loves that show

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    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 28, 2023 at 8:32 AM

      The Wire is excellent! I'm glad I finally watched it after waiting so long.

      Delete
  3. thevoid99April 27, 2023 at 3:51 PM

    Yes, Heroes was a let-down in the second season as I really became annoyed by some of the new characters on the show as I just tuned out afterwards. Westworld had a great first season as I knew the second season had a lot to live up to. It was still good but I think I tuned out during the third which is a shame. I still haven't seen The Wire. I no longer have HBO and I'm wary about going into Max. The Max... sounds like that awful diner from Saved by the Bell. Terrible fucking show.

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    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 28, 2023 at 8:32 AM

      I think Westworld's second season is its second best season, but it had so much to live up to that there was really no way it possibly could. I hate what Zaslov is doing to HBO Max. I still have the service because I've been an HBO subscriber for over a decade, but I'm also wary. The Wire is 100% worth the watch though.

      Delete
  4. Wandering Through The ShelvesMay 12, 2023 at 11:31 AM

    I think I saw the whole of season 2 of Heroes hoping that something great was to come, there wasn’t. I didn’t catch much of season 3 and none of season 4 I think. Did you try Heroes Reborn? The Heroes revival series. I saw the first few episodes…it was terrible, no surprise it didn’t get a second season.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 12, 2023 at 3:20 PM

      Nope. I honestly can barely recall what season 1 was about at this point outside of Claire's story because she was my favorite. I've been so far removed from it.

      Delete

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