Flanderization/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

*** ''[[Charles in Charge]]'s'' Buddy Limbeck was an earlier example of this by the same producer (Michael Jacobs). Buddy and Eric both started out as girl-crazy guys who had no interest in academics but weren't stupid at all. As their respective series progressed, they both became progressively more stupid and eventually insane.

** There might be an in-show explanation for this: when Eric began studying for the SATs in an early episode called "Home," there were... consequences. And the rest is history:

'''Jason''': You just spilled soup on your lap. }}

** Eric, though by far the worst example of this in the show, was not the only one. Remember when Shawn was just a normal kid. Then he blew up a mailbox, and next thing you know, he lived in a trailer park and had a life so bad, that joining a cult seemed reasonable.

** Charlie became more and more of a [[Jerkass]] every season, and now Alan has turned into a spineless whiny mooch who has no moral high ground and his [[Jerkass]] traits are starting to rival Charlie's.

* There was some backstage drama on ''[[Good Times]]'' towards the Flanderization of [[Too Dumb to Live|J. J. Evans]]. As the series progressed through its second and third year, Rolle and Amos, who played the Evans parents, grew increasingly disillusioned with the direction the show was taking as J.J.'s antics and stereotypically buffoonish behavior took precedence in the storylines. Rolle was rather vocal about disliking the character of J.J. in a 1975 interview with Ebony magazine:

* ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' started out with four elderly women who had some reasonable character development, but over time, Rose got more and more stupid, Sophie got more and more bitchy, and Blanche turned into nothing more than a man-crazed slut. Dorothy became the straight man who insulted everyone, but despite her insults, no one ever called her out on them.

** Possibly because most of the time, they were deserved. (For example, in one episode, Dorothy is trying to study for an important test, but is constantly interrupted by the other three with petty requests - would ''you'' sit there and take that?)

* Temperance Brennen from ''[[Bones]]'' went from being socially aware, sassy, intelligent and sarcastic in the pilot to the caricature of smart people she has now become: the socially inept genius who replaces ordinary words with their little-known scientific equivalents and can't spot obvious sarcasm.

* Did you know that ''[[Big Brother USA]]'' used to differ from ''[[Survivor]]'' in that it was more of a social game than a competition game, and that just sociopathically pushing your way through and trying to win every competition without regards for your other houseguests would get you evicted? Or that throwing competitions was what got you further since people wouldn't perceive you as a threat? After the recent couple seasons wherein everyoen was hissing "Floater! [[The Load]]! Piggyback!" at anyone who dared throw competitions they didn't need to win or trying to play a social game moreso than a physical game...you'd be surprised. As a disgruntled fan put it,

* [[Rules of Engagement]]: After the first couple seasons Adam became incredibly stupid. The actor doesn't mind.

* The titular ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' used to be quite good at hiding his magical abilities and explaining (or completely avoiding) the odd situations he would often find himself in because of them. Nowadays not an episode will go by that doesn't have Merlin getting caught in an incredibly compromising position (usually with a dose of [[Pandering to the Base|slash-bait]]), and having to explain himself with increasingly bizarre excuses.