TV

Don't be like me and stick with shows that end their runs in the most horrible fashion.  Here is a here are some of my tips for when to stop or start watching TV series on Netflix Instant. 
 
1.  Weeds:  Stop after Season 3.  Outside of an awesome guest appearance by Albert Brooks in several episodes in the beginning of Season 4 the show goes downhill pretty fast.  Without giving away anything, a major event happens at the end of Season 3 that completely changes the dynamic of the show for the worst.  You can even tell it's going to suck because they get rid of their awesome theme song "Little Boxes"
 
2.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer:  Most fans will tell you to skip Season 1 and they are right.  I will go so far as to say don't start watching Season 2 until you get to the first episode where Spike appears. 
 
3. Nip/Tuck:  Stop after Season 5 before they leave Miami for Los Angeles.  Though some fans will say the show goes downhill after Season 3 but I think it would be impossible for any show to match how incredible Season 3 of Nip/Tuck was.  Seasons 4 and 5 are still good but they do pale in comparison to Season 3. 
  
4. Parks and Rec: Start at Season 2.  The first season feels like an unfunny clone of The Office.  Even going so far as making Leslie Knope a Michael Scott clone.  The show doesn't really develop its own personality and style until Season 2 where the characters are more well defined and separates itself from The Office and becomes its own thing.
 
If you have any suggestions of your own then please feel free to post them

If you're going to watch a show and you've been convinced to do so, just watch it from the beginning. When getting to the good bits, it will always be worth it.

@Tylea002: Someone hasn't seen the first season Buffy

@Ghost_of_GhostDad: Someone has only seen the first season of Buffy. I'd have watched more, but my dad (who loves the show) decided to tell me everything that happens in the future seasons, so I haven't seen any more. That said, the seasons I've watched in my time, I'm fine with Shaky starts, but if I'm going to watch a show (and it's not like 30 years before it gets good), I will watch from the beginning. The same way I played the first Assassin's creed a few weeks ago, in my catch up run. I'm one of those people, I guess.

Also Season 1 of Buffy isn't that bad. It's nothing special, but it still has good dialogue and characters.

@Tylea002: I'm going to have to disagree. I watched Parks and Rec's first season and it made me feel very negative about the show. Eventually I saw later episodes and wondered when the difference occurred. Sure I could have understood the characters more but why suffer through a show I don't like when I could just skip ahead to one I might?

@FinalDasa: I guess it all comes down to how long the show is, and why and how you're watching it. If it's shit, and a week to week show, I'll just stop watching it. If, however, I get word from a friend of when it gets good, I will always suffer through the shit first. Just that type of guy.

I also tend to watch all my shows on DVD after their runs are finished, so that's probably another part of it.

@Tylea002: Good point. That's probably the best way to watch anything. Then again my friends don't always watch a bunch of shows so I don't always have the source to tell me what is good and what isn't.

I tend to agree with @Tylea002 on this. If I'm going to watch a show I'll watch every episode. I recently started watching Buffy for the first time and I'm enjoying season one so if it gets better like everyone says then that's great.

Nice work man, I'm pretty much right there with you on Weeds and Parks and Rec, I haven't seen the other series so I'll take your word for it.

Stop watching The Walking Dead after the first episode, season one.

Glee - The first season was a brilliant and sometimes dark but funny satire of shows and movies set in High School that were aimed at teenagers.  The musical numbers, which scared off most dudes, they essentially served the same purpose as the surgeries in Ryan Murphy's other show, Nip/Tuck and were tolerable. 
 
When it returned for a second season many of the secondary characters were dropped and barely mentioned again.  Not an uncommon practice, just ask the Winslow's youngest daughter who was quietly phased out of Family Matters.  What made the show unbearable was that they decided to tackle social issues like bullying, self esteem, etc. in a serious manner. Also the story lines became more melodramatic to the point that the show became the very thing it mocked.  My girlfriend and I had to bail halfway through Season 2.  
 I haven't seen the third season but I hear they deal with texting while driving and the episode starring Lindsay Lohan garnered the lowest ratings in the show's history.

The whole "skipping a season" concept is interesting to me. I don't regularly watch any show I haven't seen every single episode of, but some of my favorite shows have some very clear weak points (The first half of the first season of 30 Rock, the first season of Parks and Rec, the second season of Friday Night Lights, and while the first half of Community's first season is perfectly fine, it's nowhere near the bar of quality set by the rest of the show). Having recommended these shows to other people, I warn them of these slumps in series, but I wonder if it really changes one's perspective on the show and its characters, having not seen their earlier moments.

I'm not sure i really understand this, I watch the full season if i can. unless it's a reality shows, those are the only ones. and they are making it on to netflix now, so...

Twin Peaks: Watch the fantastic first season. Watch the first 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 until Laura Palmer's murder is resolved completely. There will be a very clear sense of closure. From there skip the big chunk of sub-par episodes after Lynch left the show and they clearly had no idea to do with it. Pick back up near the end, maybe 5 or 6 episodes before the final episode? I would start where Cooper meets Annie for the first time, because she becomes kind of key later. Then watch to the end, and you will be rewarded with a truly mind bending finale.

I started the thread because I got sick of recommending Parks and Rec to friends and having them tell me it was a shit show.  I would follow up with did you watch any of the second season?  Everyone of my friends quit watching before the start of the second season.   If I can convince them to watch the second season then they fall in love with the show.  
 
I've also stated in another thread that if a show entertains me for at least three seasons I will stay with it til the bitter end (with the two exceptions being Smallville and Family Guy).  If I can save someone from a show that has obviously dipped in quality and will only taint their experience of an otherwise great series then an angel will get its wings.
  
 @ashogo:  I agree that once the Palmer murder is solved that Twin Peaks just kind of falls apart.  Though I think you can watch from the beginning.