{TV} Ended badly: TV series that ended messily, badly, or 'straggly' . . . instead of neatly & appropriately

It might not have ended too soon, as any good story has an appropriately timed ending, and IMHO the third and final series of this excellent - and thought-provoking - series would have been the best place to end. But it DEFINITELY ended badly.

TV programmes should be neatly pulled together, not left with any straggly ends. Sadly this programme's final episode/s had far too much of the above. And definitely there should never be the multiple cliffhangers that series 3 gave the viewer!

The endpoint of this series was a cliffhanger. Oh how I hate this now all-too-often-seen feature of TV dramas!

And all the programme needed was one more series - a second - which would have brought the whole story to an appropriate close.

Sadly, straggled to an end . . . Then went to a version that was a Canadian-BBC combi-production - 'Primeval: New World' (2012-13). And that lasted all of 1 series i.e. had little success.

Straggled on & on, changing in casting & style - to no good end.

The last series was horrendous! The series just straggled on & on, changing in cast lead character, team characters, & style - to no good end. Such a destruction of a previously good series.

Appallingly ended on a major cliffhanger. And now we shall never have the neat end this great series deserved, as Series 3 was never made!

[ ! SPOILER ALERT ! This list entry contains spoilers : ]

The last series (S7) was NOT good!

The loss of the 2nd lead 'McCall' - who had exited the drama at the end of the penultimate series - signed the drama's death knell . . . Not because the drama couldn't have recovered with a new 2nd lead, but because the new casting & then REcasting of the 2nd lead was confusing. Too many changes to adapt to in the course of one series.

It was worse when the interaction of 'Hunter' with the second lead character started meandering all over the place: he seemed loosely pally with his 2nd lead in the first few episodes, but his character then strangely became almost aloof & bossman-like. No more meeting of equals, then! This stuck out as odd within the plotlines of the series.

The episode storylines also became somewhat lame - e.g. S7 E10 'La Familia'. As if the production team were just troping out episodes.

So 'Hunter' straggled on to the end of series 7, changing in lead characters, & even altering in the feel and style of the show. And to no good end. The drama lost its original touch, where 'Hunter' & 'McCall' had such a great relationship - both working & as friends - with witty banter, and overall undeniable chemistry. Instead the series became a police procedural like all others of the early '90s. And no longer a standout series.

Such a shame to peter out a previously good drama. At least, though, they ended the drama - for good - just one series after the 'McCall' character left.

[ ! SPOILER ALERT ! This list entry contains spoilers : ]

Oh dear, oh dear.

I gave Series 1 a great mark - 8 stars out of 10 - but Series 2 I gave just 6, & by the final - thankfully! - Series 3 this had dropped to 3 out of 10.

As the finesse - indeed panache - of this series dropped phenomenally from the outset, to the final dirgeful series 3.

We watched each of these series as the BBC rolled them out, awaiting the subsequent year's offering with bated breath. But . . .

Series 1 was original in style, artistically filmed, had inspiring camera angles, great incidental music, and contained believable family relationships. Faith was a likeable mum - and a flawed but believable human woman. And the scenery & settings were mesmeric. The series proved to be a different spin on both a home-drama and on a crime drama, having intriguing qualities of both. Even the end of Series 2 had a nice resolution to the romantic question. So the drama could well have ended there. But by the start of Series 3 we had Faith's character having split with her new beau Baldini, suddenly hating him for some puffed-up reason. And as for such a bitter divorce, Faith's such extreme hating of her soon-to-be ex, and in turn her ex's spiteful teenage grumping & refusal to accept that Faith no longer wanted him - well, this simply did not smack of realism. Faith had been so in love/caught up with her emotions for her hubby in the first 2 series, that this about-face of Series 3 was literally incredible.

So it seems to be a deterioration of finesse that was also seen in the TV dramas 'Broadchurch' & 'Lost': a bad case of stretching out a scenario for the sake of doing so.

Largely this seems caused by dragging in new characters - to make the story roll on & to give the Beeb another programme to flog. Or a situation of characters having a new - & unbelievable - crisis thrust upon them, for no good reason except the same: more episodes means more money in the BBC's coffers.

If only they had had a nice neat Series 2, ending the initial Faith/Evan/Baldini story. And with no unnecessary side-stories. Instead we were subjected to by-plots of drug-dealing psychopath baddies; the unbelievable stupidity of not one but several lawyers getting caught up in money laundering; and evil relatives-from-the-past turning up, gnashing their teeth while plotting their own demonic demands. Ploys to drag the series on & on.

And badly written characters & their own story: alcoholic friends whose tragedy was partially but not fully discussed; a father who unbelievably failed to at least keep an eye on his son & instead let him down (more convenient crisis for the son's character); and a best-friend lawyer whose role in the drama seemed written with no real purpose.

Then there was a police detective from the first 2 series who was conveniently related to someone in Series 3 - just, it seemed, so that her character could reappear. Not to mention the old cop friend in London who then made a play for the lead. Again, another character 'forced' by the production team to reappear in Series 3, just to bring the 'old gang' of characters back in.

After the initial series the programme began to smack of a soap rather than a drama!

We feared that such a now daft series would never cease!

. . . Fortunately it did. Yes, I spent most of my time in Series 3 clock-watching, & wondering if I could at the same time write up that supermarket need-to-buy shopping list. Then during the last episode I actually checked on the Beeb's iPlayer to see how much viewing time there was left to live through. My OH laughed & said - Now I know you've had enough - & offered a nice cup of tea!

Enough, indeed!

And a welcome respite that cuppa was too.

A case of 'flogging a dead horse'.

Deteriorates after Series 1, having been SO brilliant throughout the first series.

A neater Series 2 - tying up all the loose ends and giving the required psychological explanations for the murders - would have been perfect. Many roles were just stretched out too far, including Pauline Quirke's role, although it had been good to see the actress in a character where she was allowed be so in-depth.

Series 2 was too convoluted, and little remains in my memory of many events. The extra crime storylines just served to confuse, and - bar a few exceptions, such as enjoying seeing James D'Arcy play against type (such an unlikeable and edgy character) - I didn't rally to the 2nd series at all.

And as for the 3rd - and thankfully last - series: Series 3 seemed to offer actors the ideal bandwagon, after the success of the first series. It had far too many stars being cast, with little to do. Lenny Henry was wasted in a frankly rambling role.

The initial series had been original as it showed how a big shocking crime can affect a small seaside town. The events stuck in the viewer's memory, which is why the series hit the success button. In comparison, the 3rd series was so laboured - and disconnected to the first story - that details of the plot and characters have all but fallen away from my memory. Selective memory, indeed!

What is the point of stretching out the superb story of the 1st series, and trying to drag it on? Like a good holiday, you can never relive it. Best to remember the good vacation for what it was, and move on to holidaying in a new venue and creating fresh memories!

Badly ended after Series 1, on three cliffhangers - one for each of the three main protagonists.

And now we shall never see the end to each character's story, that this rather witty series deserved.

If not that original in concept - the same old tale has been seen hundreds of times in romcoms/comedies of the past few decades: three 30+-something women can't get their home/work lives in order or in balance - the drama at least deserved a better wrap-up. A second series could have offered that.

A really innovative & stylish piece of television. Funny & original. A true piece of British whimsy, incorporating a humorous look at the UK 'youngling' lifestyle with a groundbreaking fantasy/sci-fi angle.

Sadly the series ended on a huge cliffhanger, at the end of the 4th episode. And even the rest of that episode started meandering. The 1st three episodes were, frankly, brilliant (an 11/10, if ever there was one!). The 4th episode however lost the series its pith & wit . . . and direction. Too much scrambling about in the storyline. What happened?! . . . Who knows!!

This drama didn't really need a 2nd series, anyway. It would have been far more effective to end it after it was a short series i.e. a miniseries. Four episodes, & it could have been pulled together neatly. Then I would have rated it a 10/10, rather than a 9. The Brits do such mini-dramas so deftly . . .

The endpoint of this series was a MAJOR cliffhanger. The final episode's title said it all: the ep is named "Who shot Barbara?" And we never find out just who did the deed!

Although . . . whether this storyline was really a bad offering in the ultimate episode in the series is perhaps a moot point. As in all truth the comedy series had plenty of quirky plot features, throughout the 4 series, that just served to make the drama the fun 1990s sitcom that it was. And this styling to the very last episode just made the series end on the fun note that the programme always offered.

Badly ended after Series 1; on a bit of a cliffhanger, from what I remember (am writing this list entry at IMDb 3 years! after we watched the series).

So now we shall never see the end to the characters' tale.

If the series was not that original in concept - a woman's husband dies suddenly, leaving her life in a growing mess the more she unravels what he had left behind - and is adequate as a TV watch rather than excellent - the drama at least deserved a better wrap-up. A second series could have offered that. Apparently one was originally planned after the first series was broadcast, but then it was scrapped. Oh dear . . .

Ended after Series 3, on a cliffhanger.

So now we shall never see the end to the will-they-won't-they romance. Shame because this excellent and witty series deserved a neater resolution. A one-off special would have worked to do this, if a whole series wasn't viable.

(The very last broadcast episode - at the end of Series 3 - was a standalone episode, a Christmas special. It was very funny, but had nothing to do with the ongoing storyline. It just featured all the key players, and showed the comedic and other talents of the 4 lead actors.)

It didn't exactly end messily e.g. straggly . . . nor did it end on a cliffhanger . . . it just became ridiculous and unlikely in plot.

The first series was great. And very original in concept. The plot of the second series was just about believable. Some time after that, it went into paranoia zone. I think the producers thought they were on to a 'winner', so kept flogging a dead horse by producing more series of the drama. But sadly they were just more stories of a similar ilk. And who needs 7 series of that?!

The number of policemen and women in the entire programme who were corrupt was both laughable, and depressing for the viewers to have to absorb. As if the number were likely in real life - ha! I'd hope not. In fact, the conspiracy level amounted to the style that is often seen more in American TV series than UK TV dramas. A police service with a cohort of secret society members . . . Laughable!