In the life of a television show there are always changes. It could be the departure or addition of a cast member, a new set or shooting location, or just the aging of characters. But, those are subtle changes that many viewers just shrug off as the natural progression of a program.
Then there are those changes that are so drastic that they take viewers by surprise, making them wonder if this is the same show they watched the previous season. When these changes take place between the freshman and sophomore seasons of a show this really takes a toll on the fan base. Throughout the history of television there have been a number of shows that have seen such changes between the end of season one and the beginning of season two. After the jump you'll read about nine such examples.
The Odd Couple -- The first season of this comedy was a one-camera deal with a laugh track. The apartment was similar in setup to the one seen in the 1968 film of the same name. When the second season premiered viewers were met with a live studio audience sitcom. In addition, the apartment configuration was changed to be more open and suitable for a three-camera environment.
Facts of Life -- In the first season of this Diff'rent Strokes spin-off, Mrs. Garrett was housemother to seven girls at Eastland Academy, and most of the action took place in the common room of their dormitory. By the second season only Blair, Natalie and Tootie remained out of the seven and were joined by juvenile delinquent Jo. Because of Jo the girls were removed from their cushy dormitory digs and placed as permanent staff for the school's cafeteria and lounge, which was now under leadership of Mrs. Garrett.
A Different World -- The freshman season of this Cosby Show spin-off focused on Denise Huxtable's (Lisa Bonet) time at Hillman College. Bonet dropped out of the show after the first season due to a pregnancy, and so the second season saw Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert promoted to central players. Other changes were the addition of Cree Summer and Charnele Brown to the cast and the promotion of Sinbad and Darryl M. Bell to the primary cast.
Star Trek: The Next Generation -- Wesley Crusher got a new "Ensign" uniform; Geordi became head of Engineering; Troi let her hair down; Dr. Pulaski replaced Beverly Crusher as Chief Medical Officer; Worf became head of Security; Ten-Forward and Guinan were introduced, and they got rid of those damn reclining chairs on the bridge. Oh, and Riker grew a beard. That, of course, was the most important change between seasons one and two.
Lost -- During the first season of this always-frustrating drama, the focus was on the survival of the remaining passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 and what the mysteries of their "deserted" tropical island held. By the second season people were opening hatch doors to find an underground bunker-like setup and discovering the existence of the DHARMA Initiative, which was funded by the Hanso Foundation. What was a personal drama in the first season became some type of weird espionage drama in the second.
Saved by the Bell -- Yes, yes, I can't really call this a drastic change from one season to another because the first season of Saved by the Bell was, in reality, another show named Good Morning, Miss Bliss. However, the series eventually was retconned into the Bell universe, so it's here now. Anyhoo, the first season of the show focused on the life of Miss Bliss (Hayley Mills) and her interactions with students like Zach, Screech and Lisa, as well as Principal Belding. By the "second" season Miss Bliss was gone and three new students (Slater, Kelly and Jessie) joined Zach, Screech and Lisa.
Charles in Charge -- Again, there is a bit of a technicality with this show, as the first season was network-based (CBS) while the second was in syndication. However, there was a dramatic change since the entire Pembroke family Charles was taking care of in the first season up and left the house to be replaced by the brand-new Powell family in the second season.
SeaQuest -- When all else fails, get young, sexy, and totally unrealistic. While the first season of SeaQuest featured shows with fairly scientific realism, the second season moved into Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea territory with episodes about aliens and other science fiction subjects. The second season also features a much younger cast than the first as well as a smaller version of the SeaQuest.
Valerie -- I'm guessing that the off-screen death of a show's namesake is a pretty dramatic change from one season to another. Such is the case with Valerie, which starred Valerie Harper as the matriarch of the Hogan Family. Between season one and season two Harper had a falling out with the show's producers and left. In came Sandy Duncan as Aunt Sandy and the show was renamed Valerie's Family. Eventually, Harper's name was taken out of the title all together and the show was renamed The Hogan Family.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
8-20-2007 @ 12:19PM
Lampbane said...
My god, I loved the first season of Seaquest so much, because it was realistic. The second season? Not even close. And let's not mention the third season.
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8-20-2007 @ 12:32PM
Tom said...
I have to admit I was surprised to see Lost on this list but now that you lay out the case you are totally right (and I think a lot of what you said explains the steady drop in viewers as the seasons have progressed). I don’t know, I love “Mystery Lost” but I really miss “First Season Lost” and the truth is, I probably enjoyed “First Season Lost” a lot more.
But again, I can live with “Mystery Lost”…
P.S. On another note, I remember the first time I saw a Miss Bliss rerun (packaged as “Saved by the Bell” at that point). After having watched Saved by the Bell for several years it was as much of a “What the hell?!?” moment as I’ve ever had in life.
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8-20-2007 @ 12:37PM
boxlight said...
Twin Peaks?
Of course, the transition from brilliant to trash happened because creative talent moved on, not due to an intentional series re-tooling which is more what your article is about.
Retooled shows ... hm ... Newhart is a great example of a retooled show -- but we Larry, Darryl, Darryl, Michael, and Stephanie added after season one, or later?
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8-20-2007 @ 1:00PM
Oreo said...
I do not believe Lost should be on the list, but oh well. The first show that came to mind was Seaquest, boy they wrecked the show. It's the only show I can remember that EVERYTHING completely change every season.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:05PM
Carl said...
You could make a case for every season of The Wire -- we go from the cops vs. the drug trade to cops vs. crooked unions to the drug trade vs. the drug trade and politics to the school system vs. politics in four seasons, with the upcoming season focusing on the media. Still the best show you'll ever see, no matter what the subject.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:06PM
seamus said...
How about Happy Days? Granted, some of these may have happened in the midst of the second season. This entry may make more sense for an article about shows changing from first to last season. But what a continuity mess!!!
- Characters were retooled.
- Fonzie moved in and became a main cast member (and his members only jacket was replaced with a leather jacket)
- The oldest brother (Chuck) no longer existed. His disappearance may have happened during the second season.
- The house completely changed (how did the front door move from one side of the living room to the other side?).
- And the general feel lost that fifties feel.
Loads more changes happened in later seasons--most notably, the fact that the show seemed to start out in the fifties but skipped the 60s, eventually feeling more like it was set in the current 70s/80s time-frame when Joanie was sporting her big perm and blue eye shadow.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:07PM
Man said...
"The Torkelsons" was a show about a single mom of five living in-country.
Season two came as Almost Home and 2 kids disappear and they move in with a man and his daughter for no good reason.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:16PM
RadioScott said...
I thought for sure that you'd mention Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The first season involved Buck living on Earth and generally trying to protect the planet. The second season got rid of several characters and added new ones, and moved everybody to a ship called the Searcher. The Searcher explored the galaxy kind of like the Enterprise. I remember hating the second season when I was a kid.
Scott
http://www.sacksofwetcement.com
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8-20-2007 @ 1:20PM
Frank said...
"Saved by the Bell" - They also moved from Indiana to California.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:21PM
Gordy said...
Based on your logic with including Lost on the list, I guess Prison Break should have been included too. While seasons 1 & 2 were different on both shows, each were natural progressions of the storyline.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:32PM
subdan said...
Earth: Final Conflict was another. Killed off the main character.... and became less dramatic and more stylized in the second season.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:41PM
Akbar Fazil said...
RadioScott, the second season of Buck Rogers did indeed suck (especially with the changing of Twiki's voice) but it did give us Hawk who was pretty damn cool.
One show that did a shift/change in between seasons that I found handled it well was The Invisible Man. Being a super secret government agency being schlepped around to what ever regular agency had a surplus budget was a neat idea.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:43PM
Man said...
I would say Lost, Happy Days, and others are just a minor change not dramatic.
Like Roseanne, in season one it was a well balanced show with more or less realistic husband wife team. Season two came and she became the queen of town, her husband became a scared loser. Let's not mention the final season.
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8-20-2007 @ 1:53PM
mrbooze said...
Let's not forget the original Battlestar Galactica, which after one season reappeared as Galactica 1980.
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8-20-2007 @ 2:03PM
bd said...
Mama's Family. First it was about Viki Lawrence, her two daughters who dropped in and out, and her son with his kids that came to live with her. Then in the second season the grandkids disappeared without explanation, while another one randomly moved in.
There were other family members, but my memory is foggy.
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8-20-2007 @ 2:04PM
Rich Keller said...
I had completely forgotten about 'Buck Rogers' and 'Newhart'. Changes in 'Newhart' were subtle as compared to total change of location in 'BR.
Happy Days: I was going to add it, but I did some research and found out that the change from single-camera to three-camera sitcom took place in the third season. There was one episode in the second season that featured a three-camera format and live audience but that was a test run.
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8-20-2007 @ 2:05PM
Dave said...
Chuck Cunningham, anyone?
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8-20-2007 @ 2:09PM
Mase said...
No mention of "Melrose Place"?!?!?
1st season was, essentially, "Beverly Hills, 90210: The Later Years".
2nd season and on was the campy, soap-opera-esque show everyone 'loved' and remembers.
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8-20-2007 @ 2:11PM
Jack said...
How About Dukes of Hazard? Went from Bo and Luke, to Coy and Vance, to Bo and Luke again!
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8-20-2007 @ 2:16PM
Jason Hughes said...
Wonder Woman changed the setting from World War II to the modern era with its second season. The actor who played Steve Trevor in Season One was suddenly playing his own son who could be an all new love interest for our heroine...
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