And on the Eighth Day, God Moved Onto His Next Project

Creators create shows. They write the pilot, executive produce, and if the viewer is lucky, they stay heavily involved in the story direction and development of the series. Some, like Aaron Sorkin, even write the majority of the episodes or at least do a heck of a lot of rewriting. Unfortunately however, a creator may decide to shepherd a show for only so long before she decides to move onto a new project. That's a perfectly acceptable decision, except for the fact that it often means the show is going to be left in less capable hands, or at least in the hands of people who might not have the same storytelling ability or vision as the creator.

Yet another disappointing episode of Smallville got me thinking about all this the other day. I began to wonder how much of a role the creators are still playing in that show. They are both still listed as executive producers, but how actively are they involved in the week to week running of the series? I ask because Smallville has turned from a show for which I would eagerly await each new episode to one I find myself watching purely out of obligation. They continue to recycle tired story lines and ridiculous plot gimmicks. Clark becomes less mature with each passing episode. At this point he will have finally developed the traits that make him Superman around the time he is starting to collect Social Security. The show's first three seasons were spectacular. Even if the show was written towards a younger demographic, there was reverence for the characters and the mythology, there was an appropriate amount of knowing references to future of the characters, and the show incorporated a slight darker tone at times.

Starting with season four though the show has been on a long, very long, downward spiral. Clark is less mature as a college sophomore than he was as a high school freshman. His decisions are rash, stupefying, and often end up causing more harm than good. Lex isn't nearly as cool or as three dimensional as he used to be. In fact, character development has essentially stopped and caricature development has started in its place. (For another example of this phenomenon see seasons 5+ of Friends).

How much of this has to do with the creators moving onto other projects and focusing less time on the show is debatable, but when you look at other series where a similar situation has taken place it seems the creator plays a vital role in maintaining the quality and tone of a series, especially in regard to serialized dramas.

Alias went sharply downhill when J.J. Abrams moved on to other projects. Again, he was still an EP of the show, but he was also working on Lost, plus other shows and directing Mission Impossible 3. This was another show where it felt like deja vu sometimes, with recycled story ideas or plots and characters finding themselves in exactly the same situation as in earlier episodes. The show also started to veer from its mythology, to its detriment.

After Aaron Sorkin was canned, The West Wing should have been. Season five of that show was a complete disaster. Sure it got good again in seasons six and seven, but it never equalled what it once was.

When Larry David left Seinfeld after season six it remained a ridiculously inventive, funny, and great show, but it wasn't the same one that it had been for the previous six seasons.

And though I would disagree with them, some might say the same about Lost. If you look closely it has become a slightly different show than when it started, but not that different and not really in a bad way. I think that's because most of the people originally involved in it are still on board.

These are just of few of some recent instances that came to mind, I'm sure there are dozens of others. Obviously if someone wants to move on they're going to. And it really only seems to be a problem for serialized shows, and that's why maybe TV execs need to rethink the whole series development process. Rather than try to keep a money-making show on the air for as long as possible (all the while draining it entirely of its soul and originality) why not purchase shows that have a distinct beginning and end, and a defined season length? For example in Smallville's case I would have made it a four year show, just focusing on Clark's high school years. It would have allowed for greater freedom in storytelling and a greater consistency of quality since the writers wouldn't have been saddled with creating what are essentially filler episodes.

Such a scenario would still allow a creator to move on to another project, but it would also leave a defined blueprint for his successors to follow, which would be a big benefit for the audience who has invested so much time in someone's work.