10 TV Shows That SUCKED After The First Season

7. Once Upon A Time

Emma Swan Once Upon A Time
ABC

To this day, Once Upon a Time presents a really unique concept for a show that deserved better treatment than what it got.

Emma Swan meets her estranged son Henry who takes her to the town of Storyville, a strange residence where everyone who lives there has been locked in an ageless, amnesiac existence for 28 years. Furthemore, whether they realise it or not, their true identities are all that of classic fairy tale characters. Swan discovers she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and part of a prophecy which will conclude with “The Final Battle”.

The first season introduced us to the likes of Belle, the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, Rumpelstilzchen and so on and the show’s audiences thoroughly enjoyed identifying these classic characters. This actually became a problem for the show over its seven season run. Forever chasing that feeling, Once Upon a Time’s story was put on the backburner so that it could introduce us to as many different recognisable names as possible such as The Wicked Witch of the West and Captain Hook.

With new characters coming in like some kind of fairy tale conveyor belt system, it meant pre-existing characters were rushed out of the show suddenly or quickly and thus the story of Once Upon a Time fell apart in short order. After all, why have a coherent story when you can have just a tonne of recognisable character names?

Contributor

Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many gaming quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite