Sometimes we discover new TV shows through our own efforts, and sometimes they're introduced to us by friends and family. Maybe we see a good review and decide to try it out and end up binge watching it on a weekend. Others we discover completely by accident and end up loving it: case in point, I just stumbled on Impractical Jokers through their guest appearance on Conan and I have been hooked ever since. Sometimes TV shows are like sports teams: its a good show, but it feels one key ingredient away from awesomeness. Whether it's a clear expiration date on its main premise (Prison Break, for example) or being tied down by decisions that network executives have no business making (the show creators usually know what's best for the story, after all), or being bogged down by outside issues, some shows just slightly miss the mark at becoming an instant classic. Here are some good TV shows who are just a single flaw away from being great.
8. The Big Bang Theory Focuses Too Heavily On Relationships, No Clear Ending In Sight
The Big Bang Theory is a tribute to all things pop culture: the heroes are the geeky scientist roommates who are into comic books, superhero movies, and video games. Their interactions with their friends and colleagues make up the bulk of the show, and it is still highly entertaining in its current iteration. Here's a question for the show creators, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady: how exactly do you end this show? What is the end goal: will it be Leonard and Penny getting married? What about Sheldon and Amy tying the knot? Or Raj finding true love? For a show that started out with geeky references, the present episodes seem to focus more on relationships now. In season 1, the payoff is for Leonard to overcome his fears and ask Penny out. We then got Howard Wolowitz, who started off as a creepy putz, get married and go to space. And I enjoyed the way Amy Farrah Fowler was introduced as Sheldon's love interest, as well as the way they got together. But after all that has happened, what is there left to do, really? It is a show with no clear end in sight. We can continue on and on and not get any payoff for our viewership, because really, what is still there to wait and long for? It is still a good show, just not great since we don't have anything to watch out for except the same old things.