10 TV Shows That Went From Great To Terrible SO FAST

Remember when the Stephen Moffat series Sherlock started and it was a cool, edgy reboot of the classic detective fiction novels which left Guy Ritchie's films feeling stale and tired in comparison?

If not, it's probably because the show's decline has undone any fond memories you have of the early years.

But hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when the funny, fast paced, tongue in cheek Sherlock Holmes reboot had won over a huge fandom, television critics, and mainstream audiences alike. With a career defining turn from unpronounceable name Benedict Cumberbatch, the show benefited from witty scripts, plenty of twists, and a superb cast who reinvented old favourites from Irene Adler to Moriarty.

Then along came Mary, and out the window went the show’s credibility, likability, and popularity.

When the hitherto lovely if underdeveloped love interest was revealed to be not a nurse but an assassin, the show tilted into ludicrous melodrama and never recovered.

The goofy twist cost the show the tension which made even its most over-the-top plots excusable, whilst the shoddy writing underscored the issue with poorly developed female characters which plagued the show since its inception.