Series as long as they needed to be

You know the drill. A television or comic series comes out, it sells well and soon it gets another season and then another. The writers weren't really prepared for this so they start repeating situations, breaking off couples and turning characters into caricatures of themseles. That sucks and I don't think most series are worth my time for this very reason.

So here's a question: Which are your favourite series, of any medium, that are exactly the lenght they should be, without filler or awkard "growing the beard" phases? Something you can point and say "Every episode of this was worth a read".

The Simpsons.


kidding.

Um...good question, Erik. My favourite TV series of all time is probably still Star Trek: the Next Generation and even that felt like it was one season too long (maybe two).

Right now I can easily say that about A Game of Thrones but it's still going and is relevant so it is unfair to judge. Then again, The Walking Dead feels like it's too long already.

I think The West Wing was also one season too long. The whole Jimmy Smits stuff, while enjoyable, was too much.

The ultimate example, for me, of a show going too long is Prison Break. They break out of the prison and every single episode after that has you asking yourself, "Why is this still on?"

I think two examples of shows that WOULD have been the perfect length (had they not started up again) are Arrested Development and Family Guy. If neither of those had started up again, I think both would have been forever regarded as cult hits but instead they over-extended themselves.

Even Seinfeld was a season too long I think. (or maybe just an episode or two too long)

You gotta leave your audience wanting more and this is a very hard thing for TV producers to do because if the audience wants more then you give them more because money. Money, money, money. That's why we don't see many great TV shows ending high.


if I'm allowed to say Band of Brothers, I'd say that.

edit: I should probably say Felicity too. I think J.J.Abrams ended that perfectly, pretty much exploring all possible venues of what could happen (even introducing time travel in the last season to explore 'what if...' leaving fans super pissed off wanting more. Which I think is a good thing. Also you want to stop that show before Keri Russell stops being adorable.

/was made to watch it with an ex-g/f and got addicted

The Wire.

Angel also had a very good curve. It ended perfectly, I think. Coupling worked great with four seasons (each of six episodes) as does Green Wing with two and a christmas special. British The Office (including christmas special) was also a perfect length.

What I think I'm saying is that the brits can totally nail series length.

Another vote for The Wire. My only caveat would be that it maybe needed a full order of episodes in the final season to unwind at the perfect pace. But that's a really minor quibble ultimately.

I would say that Breaking Bad pulled off just about the perfect run. No wasted moments on that show.

As for network TV, no one will agree with me, but I think Lost had about as perfectly-paced a run as could be expected from any network drama.

Bwaaaaa - Lost.

I think the final episode absolutely ruined the entire last season. The last season was pretty good all in all, but the big reveal at the end meant none of it really mattered.

At the risk of losing my sanity trying to defend one of my favorite TV shows, why did none of it matter? They pretty clearly stated that everything that happened to the characters ACTUALLY happened.

If anyone claims "they were dead the whole time" they weren't paying attention.

TV: Breaking Bad. I would say The Wire, as well, except that it was starting to creak a bit in the final season, even if the central plot had been better. I suppose one could say Firefly, too, except that there were a couple clunkers in there.

Comics: Y: The Last Man. There was a consistent narrative sense. It see-sawed in a couple spots but never lost its charm for me. And Transmetropolitan. Ellis has never done anything as good.

Books: Daniel Abraham's The Long Quartet. Very real characters about whom you stayed actively interested between books. I'll add the still-running Song of Ice and Fire, if only because I seem to be among the extreme minority that actually enjoyed Feast for Crows.

The British version of THE OFFICE. I think Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant have a good feel for how long a show can be before it starts to get boring and/or turn into a different show. This goes for EXTRAS as well.

Off the top of my head:
Breaking Bad - that show ended exactly when it needed to.
Freaks & Geeks - ended early - but that's a good thing, cause there's not a bad episode.

It's still going so it might be too early to say but I've thought just about every episode of Louie has been great. Even the ones that weren't amazing still were awesome failures.

IMHO - The Wire up until the very last season when it got pretty silly

Freaks and Geeks might be the only show I've ever seen that is just about perfect. It's truly the ultimate one-season wonder. Good call on that one.

Firefly.

ABC's Last Resort from last year was cancelled after only 13 episodes. I was initially disappointed to hear that, because I think it's a great series with terrific writing and acting, but I do think the premise was going to be stretched too thin if it went any longer than that. So it ended up being a perfect extended mini-series kind of thing.

Agree with Breaking Bad, Freaks & Geeks, Firefly, BBC Office.

I would probably agree with The Wire, but I haven't seen all the seasons yet.

I'll add:
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Prisoner
Monty Python's Flying Circus
I kinda liked how Stargate Universe went out.

While I was watching season two of Sherlock, I had no idea that it had been picked up for another season. At the time, I thought that was the perfect ending.

This is more of a problem for shows that have a continuing story. Which is why Firefly is perfect. The Prisoner is perfect.

Flight of the Conchords was the perfect length. I thought the same thing about Arrested Development before the new season. Now I'm not so sure, I enjoyed the new season but I didn't like the ending and it felt like an Epilogue... ie: not necessary.

Original Series Trek is perfect at 3 seasons. It's not a continuing story so it can handle the extra length (no continuing story should last more than three season, that's just too fucking long). SCTV almost ended at the right time. The last season probably needs to go. Flying Circus is the same thing, Kids in the Hall as well.

Freaks and Geeks I can get on board with. It's a rare thing that a series ends when it should, too much greed gets in the way.

If Ren and Stimpy ended when John K got fired it would have been perfect... in my mind it still ended then but I've seen boxes with a different idea written on them. I refuse to watch that.

I'm curious to see what Louie does in it's fourth season, great show, I really hope it doesn't end up being long in the tooth though.

I agree regarding The Wire and Band of Brothers. The Prisoner ended so badly that I can't agree with that choice.

One that fell short was Veronica Mars. It was handling the high school to college transition so well, when many shows have stumbled and fallen, but then it got cancelled in the middle of the third season.