4. Structured Storylines
As is typical with long-running TV series (5+ series/seasons), each series/season finale often begins to be written as if it is the show's curtain call, as the possibility of renewal becomes less and less likely. As a result, many shows develop a pace which can become, somewhat, jarring as the writers struggle to out-do themselves every year. This has resulted in entire seasons becoming disconnected from the collective series, affecting the shows overall quality, known, in pop-culture parlance, as jumping the shark Think Dallas 9th Dream Season. One could argue that fantasy-based series suffer from this problem more acutely. For example, Ghost Whisperer: when ghost-communicating Melindas husband, Jim, dies tragically, only for his soul to take over another persons body (which looks the exact same) and which she later marries, Supernatural: even though the demon-fighting Winchester brothers worked tirelessly to defeat Lucifer, at the end of Season Four they conveniently managed to reseal Hell and, literally, trap him back down-under after four seasons of building up to his release in the first place, and also Charmed: after three and a half seasons of preparation for the battle between The Charmed Ones and the Source of All Evil, his defeat at the end of Season Four leaves the Halliwell sisters with little else to do for the next four years. So, we can say with some certainty that high-concept, fantasy shows often fall victim to the most grievous of shark jumps. Therefore why should Harry Potter by any different? Well, quite simply, because it is thought out, obviously, as most novel series are. Not just that though: Harry Potter, in many ways, is the fantasy series par excellence. Its intricately-woven character stories, as well as its magical stories, are what has made it popular over such a large spectrum of age and culture. Admittedly, paper cannot simply be translated to screen without some teething problems. JK Rowling herself has admitted that certain sub-plots are inherently more novelistic than cinematic. So, whilst even a TV show still probably would not include absolutely EVERYTHING from the novels, the Powers That Be would still have a lot more leg-room. Above all, the series retains an element of truth, a realism that would, despite how much it would be adapted, keep it from straying into the realms of the ridiculous.