History Main / SeasonalRot

* Season 5 and 6 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' have the least fans due to the show never being the same (Stephen Hillenburg notably changed his position in the production after TheMovie which was supposed to be the finale) and the show has getting much more grotesque compared to the earlier seasons. The show has seemed to recover as of either Seasons 7 and 8 (not as good as Seasons 2 and 3, but still pretty decent) and Season 4 is considered on of the better seasons.

** ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'''s main problem was the Royal Knights mini-arc (episodes 38 - 47, more or less). Almost ten episodes of the same formula ([[spoiler:knights decide to absorb a certain area, kids try to stop them, kids are defeated, all of the kids are shown to be digital except Koichi, next episode]]). Minimal plot advancement, minimal character development, just... endless [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] {{padding}}. Secondary problems include the near-complete disregarding of the basic concept of the franchise, and the strangely high amount of {{filler}} (read: complete-waste-of-20-minutes episodes), even before the Royal Knights arc, which is particularly unusual in that ''Digimon'' is historically (and has since continued being, save the below example) pretty good at avoiding filler or at least giving it tangential relevance.

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': Just about [[UnpleasableFanbase any season depending on who you ask]] (with the popular answers being that the show hasn't been good since the original cast was on it in the 1970s, or, if viewers [[JustHereForGodzilla just watch it for one sketch or cast member]], they will blame the seasonal rot on the cast member's departure. Popular cast members cited include: Creator/DanAykroyd, JohnBelushi, Creator/EddieMurphy, Dana Carvey, Creator/PhilHartman, ChrisFarley, Creator/JimmyFallon, Creator/TinaFey, AmyPoehler, and, now as of 2012, Kristen Wiig and [[Music/TheLonelyIsland Andy Samberg]]), but the sixth season (1980-1981) stands out as uniquely awful. The entire cast and writing staff left in 1980, but [[ExecutiveMeddling the network insisted]] that the show continue along anyway; new producer Jean Doumanian knew ''nothing'' about comedy (on a special about ''SNL'''s history in the 1980s, GilbertGottfried, a cast member around that time, went on record in saying that Jean Doumanian was so clueless about comedy that she would root for Margaret Dumont in a Creator/MarxBrothers film), having been previously in charge of booking musical guests. As a result, the musical guests were fantastic, but the rest of the show was barely watchable (including Weekend Update, which Lorne Michaels invented as a way for viewers to at least find one funny moment in an episode that they didn't like because of the host or if the writing was a little flat that week). More to the point, Doumanian passed up a lot of potentially talented would-be cast members (Creator/JimCarrey being one of them), misunderstood a lot of obvious punchlines, thought that VulgarHumor was what made the sketches funny (as opposed to RefugeInAudacity) -- which became the show's downfall when Charles Rocket said, "I wanna know who the fuck did it" at the end of the Charlene Tilton episode, and focused more on humorless character pieces (some of which were intentionally not funny, like the one from the Karen Black/Cheap Trick episode in which GilbertGottfried played a stroke victim laid up in the hospital while everyone around him -- except his true friend, Rachel [Denny Dillon] -- mocked him). Finally NBC stepped in and fired everyone except Joe Piscopo and some kid named Creator/EddieMurphy that was hired mid-season and was showing a lot of promise...

* Season 5 and 6 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' have the least fans due to the show never being the same (Stephen Hillenburg notably changed his position in the production after TheMovie which was supposed to be the finale) and the show has getting much more grotesque compared to the earlier seasons. The show has seemed to recover (not as good as Seasons 2 and 3, but still pretty decent) and Season 4 is considered on of the better seasons.

** The episodes were also twice as long (half-hour instead of quarter-hour), which resulted in noticeable pacing and {{Padding}} issues.

* Season 4 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' due to the show never being the same; Stephen Hillenburg notably changed his position in the production after TheMovie which was supposed to be the finale.
** It should be noted that the post-movie seasons are seen as being anywhere from watchable to actually good depending on the episode, barring season 5 and 6 and mostly anything by Casey Alexander and Zeus Cervas, which most people wouldn't disagree fits here. The show has also gotten much more grotesque compared to the earlier seasons. However, in this day and age, some people have listed season 4 as one of the good seasons, despite Hillenburg's departure.
* Fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have wildly varying opinions on which seasons were good and which ones sucked, but you won't find too many supporters of Season 11.[[note]](For reference, this is the season that killed off Maude Flanders, had Barney give up drinking, made Apu and Manjula the parents of octuplets, and presented whimsically self-referential episodes like "Saddlesore Galactica", "Missionary: Impossible", and "Behind the Laughter".)[[/note]] It was the least grounded and realistic of all Simpsons seasons with more out there plots and twist endings. Seasons 10 and 12 also suffered from this but to a lesser extent than Season 11. Seasons 13, when Al Jean returned as a showrunner, was a partial return to the days of the less wacky Simpsons however these later seasons are often criticised for being when the Simpsons became a FranchiseZombie.

** To elaborate: The first season, even when being an AffectionateParody of the Superhero genre, was more of a DeconstructiveParody where AnyoneCanDie, the villains were DangerouslyGenreSavvy and the BigBudgetBeefUp could afford VisualEffectsOfAwesome that were seen in ''Film/BatmanTheMovie''. The second season exaggerates the parody and becomes an IndecisiveParody, the villains suffered {{Flanderization}}, EverybodyLives and the budget is lower, giving place to {{Bottle Episode}}s that break the rule of ShowDontTell, there were [[SpecialEffectFailure bad special effects]] and {{Stock Footage Failure}}s. The third season was the worst: the {{Flanderization}} is at its fullest, creating a StealthParody or a NominalParody, there were almost NoBudget, an episode with [[InvisibleMonsters Invisible Villains]] and not even the inclusion of Batgirl as MsFanservice could save the ratings.

* While ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is consistently good, it has an in-universe example in the form of ''Everybody Loves [[TheHypnotoad Hypnotoad]]'', which has been going downhill since season three[[note]]according to someone who's immune, or at least, highly resistant to brainwashing thanks to having sex with the woman who turned out to be his grandmother[[/note]].
** Fans of ''[[ShowWithinAShow All My Circuits]]'' are also split about Bender's run as Calculon's son. Younger viewers loved his [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing glamorizing views on smoking and burglary]] while parents despised him as an [[MoralGuardians antisocial role model]].
** ''Futurama'' itself is considered by many to be going through this ever since it made the ChannelHop to Creator/ComedyCentral.
** Add in the Anvillicous episodes that basically turned the show into a cleaner WesternAnimation/SouthPark, with every episode of the Comedy Central seasons being a lampoon of a current issue with ham-fisted attempts to show the writer's side of the issue (to which the obvious Expy for gay rights episode Proposition Infinity comes to mind)

* The second season of LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya. Want to know a good way to introduce Seasonal Rot? [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Make eight versions of essentially the same episode with the only differences being the characters outfits and the numbers mentioned in the exposition in a fourteen episode season.]] Especially when [[AdaptationDecay the original novel didn't do this]], they simply told the story once, period. Like anyone sane and non-{{troll}}ing would do.

* Fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have wildly varying opinions on which seasons were good and which ones sucked, but you won't find too many supporters of Season 11.[[note]](For reference, this is the season that killed off Maude Flanders, had Barney give up drinking, made Apu and Manjula the parents of octuplets, and presented whimsically self-referential episodes like "Saddlesore Galactica", "Missionary: Impossible", and "Behind the Laughter".)[[/note]] It was, for lack of a better way to put it, sort of the bridge between "Old Simpsons" and "New Simpsons" -- for fans of the former, it was the season that killed the satirical, yet heartwarming humor of ''The Simpsons'' in favor of being a LighterAndSofter (yet still wacky and crude) ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''-cum-''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''[[note]]back when ''that'' show was nothing but fart jokes and surreal, RuleOfFunny-type stories[[/note]] clone. For fans of the latter, it was an uncomfortable in-between season which was trying way too hard to decide whether it should go back to being the way it was in its early days or go in a new direction. To this day, it's ''still'' trying to decide.

** ''Futurama'' itself is considered by many to be going through this ever since it made the ChannelHop to Creator/ComedyCentral (though it could be overreaction to the writers finally being able to write cruder jokes than they could when the show was on FOX).

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' has two fan-noted cases of this: Season 2, which is considered weaker than the sublime first season (though fan opinion of it has gotten better over time) and the infamous Season 5, which saw the show's usually witty humor go completely out the window in favor of [[{{Gorn}} over-the-top violence]], crude ToiletHumor, and too many DudeNotFunny moments to count (including a sketch parodying the Challenger incident that aired mere ''[[TooSoon days]]'' after the 25th anniversary of said incident). Apparently either the writers were listening or replaced, because season 6 took a sharp turn in the other direction, much to the delight of the fans.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Season 3. Many fans consider it the weakest of the seasons. Some of the complaints included Discord being given a badly written HeelFaceTurn, and the season finale being rushed and lacking any real conflict.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'''s second season, ''Total Drama Action'' was received quite poorly by its viewers, half the original fan base of TDI [[FanonDiscontinuity don't watch it at all]]. Why? Well, for starters they removed almost ''half'' of the original cast, including [[EnsembleDarkhorse popular characters]] (at the time) Cody and Noah, completely {{flanderiz|ation}}ed the remaining characters, kicked off most of the fan favorites (again, at the time) such as Gwen, Trent, and Bridgette early, oversaturated [[CreatorsPet Owen]] ''again'', had Chris become such a huge {{Jerkass}} that it wasn't even funny anymore and overall, it lacked the charm that made TDI so popular.

* Creator/StephenKing's ''TheDarkTower'' runs at a strong pace until crashing in a brick wall in ''Wizard and Glass''. Shortly after introducing us to the world of TheStand (a storyline with promise), all we get is a flashback sequence that doesn't flesh out the narrating character any more than the previous books had. [[DoorStopper Six hundred pages later]], we return to the story, [[spoiler: which culminates in an AntiClimax as the BigBad was reduced to a gibbering lunatic with a handful of grenades, his MagnificentBastard [[TheDragon Dragon]] was offed by his [[BastardBastard actual bastard]] [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] and the [[FateWorseThanDeath ultimate fate of the protagonist was left uncertain]], [[HopeSpot but hopeful.]]]]

** The second half of season 7 is considered by many fans to be vastly inferior to the first half. The show completely ignored important story arcs such as the fallout from Robin choosing Kevin over Barney, and Robin's infertility in favor of introducing a new stripper girlfriend for Barney named [[CreatorsPet Quinn]], and suddenly the main focus seemed to be all about her and their ridiciously fast paced relationship. All of this misdirection led to a very disappointing season finale, that with the exception of Marshall and Lily having their baby and revealing [[spoiler: Robin]] as Barney's future bride, resolved none of the season's biggest plot threads. That in itself is far from the usual high standards of a ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' season finale. It was as if the writer's started the season out in one direction, and halfway along the way decided to go a completely different rout. Much like what ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' did in season 8 (see above), they ruined what started out as a very promising season, and turned it into a mess of dangling plot holes, lost momentum, and [[CreatorsPet milking]] of the useless and [[TheScrappy very much hated]] guest star! To make matters worse, the producers have given no confirmation whatsoever if any of season 7's derailed storylines will be revisited next season, or just [[AbortedArc dropped]] altogether.
*** It's a case of stretching the story over two seasons since Season 8 is completing the story started in the finale of Season 6.

** Plenty of fans thought the rot started as early as season 2, which saw melodrama replace the previously realistic plots, CharacterDerailment, and a popular character being [[CharacterDeath killed off]].

* Even though most of ''Literature/StationeryVoyagers'' hasn't even been written yet, it realizes that its own formula grows a little stale by halfway through its planned second season. Which is one reason why season 3 retools things so much. However, season 3 has ''so much'' retooling, that the show is forced to have a pint-sized season 4 to tie up season 3's loose ends. It was originally only planned for 3, due to the author knowing that it'd be impossible to have ideas in perpetuity for the formula.

An installment in any {{long runn|er}}ing series that is widely held to be of notably poorer quality than the other installments. Often tied to the dislike of a specific arc, but can also befall [[SeasonFluidity episodic shows.]] In some cases, a new director takes over and pulls the series in a [[ArcWelding different direction;]] this can give the impression of Seasonal Rot to those who liked the old way, but may also bring in new viewers who prefer it like this.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' started off as a darkly humorous award-winning game with a few awkward mechanics, which was refined into mindless fun in the highly-acclaimed Second Edition. Rot started when publisher West End Games started releasing game modules in interconnected {{Story Arc}}s, especially the Great Crash and subsequent Reboot of [[TheComputerIsYourFriend Friend Computer]]. [[FromBadToWorse Things got worse]] with the release of the "5th" Edition; ExecutiveMeddling replaced the dark humor with cheap satires of pop culture, while poor artwork, poor production values, and the near-total departure of the original writers doomed the series. After West End Games went bankrupt, the series was resurrected as ''Paranoia XP'', whereupon [[CanonDiscontinuity the (original) writers promptly declared everything from the story arcs onward as CanonDiscontinuity.]]

* Around Season 6 of ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'', the blue collar humor on which the series was built began to be derailed by self-referential jokes, gimmick episodes, StuntCasting, and the {{Flanderization}} of several characters (particularly Bev). [[BrokenBase And then there's Season 9 ...]]

** Seems to be that the recent fifth installment in 2013 is actually getting it far worse than 3 and 4. Mostly due to the absence of Anna Faris, and Ashley Tisdale has taken her place for this one (mostly by people who have only seen Ashley in ''{{High School Musical}}'' or ''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody''). The comedy is also being attacked, and the fact that it is also a PG-13 rating does not help this installment either. All of this, and it hasn't EVEN BEEN released yet.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', many manga fans are critical of developments past the start of the last Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra fight, citing a one-sided battle that turns a complete 180 after [[spoiler:Ichigo dies and is returned in an upgraded version of his hollow form]] and the revelation that Yammy [[spoiler:is Espada 0]] and [[spoiler:the deaths of the top two Espada]]. The Arrancar Arc had lead to some BrokenBase from the beginning, since it came right on the heels of another RescuePlot.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', many fans are critical of developments past the start of the last Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra fight, citing a one-sided battle that turns a complete 180 after [[spoiler:Ichigo dies and is returned in an upgraded version of his hollow form]] and the revelation that Yammy [[spoiler:is Espada 0]] and [[spoiler:the deaths of the top two Espada]].
** Most fans cited the Bount Arc as the weakest part of the anime, and the worst of three major filler arcs, due to factors like length, poor characterization and borrowing from the Chapter Black saga of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Then a fourth major filler arc came along called the Invasion Arc, and that now seems to be the most reviled part of the anime, particularly because the arc rewrites canon history setting that has a major impact on the backgrounds of a couple of canon characters, the complete character degradation of canon main characters (for example, ''both'' Rukia and Orihime spend several episodes as background characters that get either no lines at all or one or two out-of-character comments), and the creation of three main filler characters that have become central to ThirtySuePileUp accusations with power levels that ''even outstrip'' the canon superweights [[InvincibleVillain Aizen]], [[GameBreaker Yamamoto]] and [[InvincibleHero Ichigo]] himself.
** Many people also dropped it at the beginning of the Espada arc because it signaled the start of yet another RescueArc.
** For many fans, the X-Cution Arc that follows the Espada Arc managed to counteract a lot of the seasonal rot from the lengthy and poorly written Espada Arc. A TimeSkip and a complete restart with a whole new set of characters with new powers and a new agenda for the old characters to cope with breathes new life into the series. Some feel it's the saving of a series that was expected to end with Aizen's defeat; for others, it's damn annoying that the characters who were just built up over several years were completely wasted in the denouement.
*** By the time the anime reached the Fullbringer arc, it became more and more obvious that both the animators and the voice actors were putting less and less effort into it, ultimately culminating in the anime being unceremoniously swept aside to make room for [[Manga/RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth a Naruto spinoff]].