Top 10 WORST Final Seasons of Animated TV Shows
No one likes a disappointing send-off! For this list, we’ll be looking at the most disappointing, poorest quality, or inconsistent final seasons of animated series that started with such promise. Since we’re talking about endings, there will be a few spoilers.
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00:00 I am the great Gazoo and I thank you for rescuing me.
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:05 For this list, we'll be looking at the most disappointing,
00:08 poorest quality, or inconsistent final seasons
00:11 of animated series that started with such promise.
00:14 Since we're talking about endings,
00:16 there will be a few spoilers.
00:18 Nothing could be worse than this.
00:21 Number 10, Voltron, Legendary Defender, season 8.
00:26 To say that the final season of this once universally
00:29 praised series was divisive would be an understatement.
00:33 I'm afraid this is where we part ways.
00:35 While season 8 got some positive reviews from critics,
00:38 its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes
00:40 doesn't even crack double digits.
00:42 Viewers were especially upset regarding the fate
00:45 of Princess Allura, one of the show's only women of color.
00:48 Shiro and Curtis's wedding might have
00:51 marked a significant moment for the LGBTQIA+ representation
00:55 if the show had taken more time to flesh out
00:57 their relationship.
00:59 (dramatic music)
01:01 The pairing felt like an empty gesture
01:03 after what happened to Adam the previous season,
01:06 which showrunner Joaquin Dos Santos apologized for.
01:09 - Adam, I'm sorry.
01:13 - The drop in quality doesn't excuse the toxic backlash
01:16 from various fans.
01:18 That said, Voltron just didn't come together at the end.
01:22 Number nine, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, season 4.
01:27 Star is one of the most energetic shows
01:29 that Disney has ever produced.
01:31 While the series never lost that energy,
01:33 it did lose focus going into its last season.
01:36 Throughout its run, the show seemed to be building
01:39 toward one thing, only to abandon certain storylines
01:42 and characters in the end.
01:43 - If you're too weak for this,
01:44 you'll never survive against a Mewman.
01:46 - Toffee's presence in particular
01:48 was missed for much of the season.
01:50 While it's satisfying to see Star and Marco
01:53 finally declare their true feelings,
01:54 we should've gotten here much sooner.
01:57 - Okay, can we kiss?
01:59 - Uh, please.
02:00 - The showrunner could've learned a thing or two
02:04 from Kim Possible, which used its final season
02:07 to explore Kim and Ron as a couple.
02:09 Where the Starco romance dragged on,
02:11 the finale has the opposite problem
02:13 with too many rushed elements packed into 23 minutes.
02:17 - Hey.
02:18 - Number eight, Drawn Together, season 3.
02:23 From the beginning, this animated reality show mashup
02:26 prided itself on bad taste.
02:28 In the earlier seasons, though,
02:30 the shot value was complimented by clever in-jokes
02:33 and well-defined characters.
02:35 - See, look behind you, it's Denzel Washington.
02:38 - Denzel!
02:39 - By the time we got to the final season,
02:41 virtually any wit went out the window
02:44 in favor of forced dark humor and gross-out gags.
02:47 This might be acceptable if the laughs delivered.
02:50 - Yoko Ono, Mitsubishi.
02:53 - I have a small penis.
02:55 - But the creators seem to get wrapped up in the mentality
02:58 that if a joke is tasteless, it's automatically funny.
03:01 And if you disagree,
03:02 then you're just an easily offended snowflake.
03:05 - Which of these eight assbags
03:07 will be banished from the Drawn Together house?
03:10 - A show can be funny and offensive,
03:12 but we won't tolerate laziness.
03:14 Season three is so lazy that it leaves us on a clip show
03:18 with many moments that aren't worth reminiscing over.
03:21 Number seven, "The Flintstones," season six.
03:25 Some say "The Flintstones" went downhill
03:28 with Pebble's birth in season three.
03:30 Others point to Bam Bam's arrival in season four.
03:33 Even well into season five, though,
03:35 the show was still producing strong episodes
03:37 like "Doctor Sinister."
03:39 - Okay, what now?
03:40 (screaming)
03:41 - Yet, most agree that the series
03:43 officially jumped the prontosaurus
03:45 in season six with "The Great Gazoo."
03:48 - Humanities are in order.
03:49 I am the Great Gazoo, and I thank you for rescuing me.
03:54 - Like Scrappy Doo, we're sure that Gazoo
03:56 has his unapologetic fans.
03:58 However, there's no denying that his very presence
04:02 undermines the show's prehistoric premise
04:04 and his grating voice doesn't help.
04:06 Gazoo aside, the final season included
04:09 some of the show's most boneheaded storylines,
04:11 like Fred turning into an ape.
04:13 Despite Gazoo's exit in the penultimate episode,
04:16 we're not confident that the show could've recovered
04:19 had it gotten a seventh season.
04:21 - Yahoo!
04:22 Yabba dabba doo!
04:24 (laughing)
04:25 At last, I did something worthwhile.
04:27 Bye, Fred.
04:28 - Number six, "The Powerpuff Girls," season six.
04:32 Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a dash of Chemical X,
04:36 these were the ingredients for an awesome cartoon.
04:38 - Get outta there!
04:39 You're nothing but a big party pooper!
04:42 - But "The Powerpuff Girls" lost an essential ingredient
04:45 during its last seasons, creator Craig McCracken,
04:48 who shifted attention to Foster's home
04:51 for imaginary friends.
04:52 - Imaginative ones.
04:53 Some kids aren't that creative,
04:54 so they just copy what they see on TV.
04:56 - "Powerpuff Girls" was entrusted
04:58 to the controversial Chris Savino,
05:00 who couldn't maintain the sharp timing
05:02 that McCracken brought to the table.
05:03 - It hurts so bad.
05:06 - The sunburn or the humiliation?
05:09 - Both!
05:10 - Following an underwhelming fifth season,
05:12 the show officially lost its mojo,
05:14 and its JoJo, in a sluggish final season.
05:17 - It's wicked awesome, bruh.
05:19 - With cringe-worthy episodes like "Sunscreen"
05:22 and underwhelming villains like Pirate Crack McCragen,
05:26 get it?
05:27 - I be not Captain Crack McCragen!
05:30 - "The Powerpuff Girls" were long past their prime.
05:33 However, we will take the final season
05:35 over any episode of the reboot,
05:37 or that live-action show that never went anywhere.
05:40 We don't talk about that.
05:41 - There comes a time in every dog-sitter's life
05:43 where she must put her foot down and say no.
05:45 - Number five, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" season seven.
05:50 When the OG "Ninja Turtles" series ended,
05:52 audience felt it had become too dark and brooding
05:55 after starting on a light-hearted note.
05:57 - After I crush your friends into oblivion, you're next!
06:02 - With the 2003 series, it was the other way around.
06:06 Fans praised the first five seasons
06:07 for capturing the gritty edge of the comics.
06:10 With season six's fast-forward storyline, though,
06:13 you could sense the censors urging the showrunners
06:15 to tone it down.
06:17 This is even more apparent in the final season.
06:19 Back to the sewer.
06:20 - Ice, get back!
06:22 (grunting)
06:25 - Kid-friendly tone came with some jarring redesigns.
06:30 The turtles have pupils now?
06:32 The stories felt flat as well,
06:33 with the turtles having to fight another Shredder
06:36 with April and Casey planning a wedding.
06:38 At least the movie "Turtles Forever"
06:40 ended this incarnation on a higher note.
06:43 - Today, we're more than allies.
06:45 We're brothers.
06:46 - Go Green Machine!
06:49 - Number four, "Dexter's Laboratory," season four.
06:54 "Dexter's Lab" had two opportunities to go out in style.
06:57 The season two finale, "Last but Not Beast."
07:00 - I wish that I could have saved the world
07:02 from the giant monster.
07:05 (dramatic music)
07:08 - And the TV movie "Eagle Trip."
07:10 While both brought a sense of finality,
07:12 Cartoon Network decided to resurrect Dexter
07:14 for two more seasons.
07:16 - He was the one who saved the future!
07:19 - What? No way!
07:21 That didn't just happen!
07:23 - I wanted to be the one who saved the future!
07:28 - Unfortunately, creator Gendy Tarkovsky
07:31 was moving on to other projects,
07:33 and voice actress Christine Cavanaugh
07:35 was on the verge of retirement.
07:37 Chris Savino took over as the main creative force,
07:40 which went over about as well as his "Powerpuff Girls" tenure.
07:44 Not only did the show undergo
07:45 an underwhelming visual overhaul,
07:48 but the comedy became slower, weirder,
07:50 and at times, trollish.
07:52 - Of course, Dexter.
07:54 It would be my pleasure
07:55 retrieving that information for you.
07:58 - Tarkovsky might have returned
07:59 for season four's "Chicken Scratch,"
08:01 which originally debuted theatrically,
08:04 but even then, the show had become a chore to watch.
08:07 (laughing)
08:09 (screaming)
08:11 Number three, "Gargoyles," season three.
08:15 Season three of "Gargoyles," aka "The Goliath Chronicles,"
08:19 opened on a promising note.
08:21 That's because the premiere
08:23 was scribed by creator Greg Weissman.
08:25 - Brave words for a man who hides his face behind a hood.
08:30 - After that, Weissman had little creative input.
08:33 A shift from syndication to ABC
08:35 came with stricter censorship,
08:37 leading to Weissman's falling out.
08:38 - Thanks, Fox.
08:40 These shades are way cool.
08:42 - The once dark, emotionally complex series
08:44 was dumbed down with stories about Broadway going Hollywood,
08:48 while villains like Demona took a backseat.
08:50 The animation was downgraded as well,
08:53 with the outsourced "Nelvana"
08:54 taking over for Disney television animation.
08:57 - An equitable trade.
08:58 - If you want a "Gargoyles" continuation
09:01 with Weissman's personal touch,
09:03 we'd suggest checking out the comic series
09:04 that started in 2006.
09:06 That is, if you can find a four to collect them all.
09:10 Seriously, Disney, we need a reprint.
09:14 Number two, "The Boondocks," season four.
09:17 You might've noticed a trend with several of these shows.
09:20 Once the creator left,
09:21 the series should've called it quits as well.
09:24 "The Boondocks" may be the most obvious example.
09:27 So much of this hilarious, provocative, and insightful show
09:30 was grounded in Aaron McGruder's biting commentary.
09:33 (grunting)
09:36 (grunting)
09:38 With McGruder not returning
09:39 for the fourth and ultimately final season,
09:42 the show became a cheap imitation of itself,
09:44 with the commentary being sacrificed
09:46 in favor of senseless shock humor.
09:48 - I'ma get a spin-off show called
09:50 "Black Assistant Bitches Who Killed Their Bosses."
09:52 - How bad was the final season?
09:54 Based on the Emmy submission ballots,
09:56 the crew apparently didn't even enter it
09:58 for Outstanding Animated Program consideration.
10:01 There were talks of McGruder returning for a reboot,
10:04 but with that project scrapped,
10:05 we'll have to settle for re-watching
10:07 those first three seasons.
10:08 - I don't know if this is breaking news,
10:10 but we've been wanting to do the show,
10:13 and Sony, they decided that they're gonna pull the plug, so.
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10:35 (upbeat music)
10:36 Number one, "The Fairly OddParents" season 10.
10:40 After the conception of Poof in season six
10:42 and the introduction of Sparky the dog in season nine,
10:45 could this Nicktoon fall any further from grace?
10:48 - Nothing could be worse than this!
10:50 - Okay, I wish we could find Cosmo and Wanda
10:53 and escape from the lizard vending machine!
10:55 (glass shattering)
10:57 - The worst was saved for last
10:59 with season 10 bringing in Chloe Carmichael,
11:02 Timmy's new neighbor who he must now share his fairies with.
11:05 - And if I don't get you, it's gonna get ugly!
11:09 - Just like the theme song's updated lyrics,
11:11 Chloe's presence simply felt forced
11:13 with Nickelodeon desperately attempting to milk
11:15 what was left of the series.
11:17 Almost a year after the season 10 finale,
11:20 Butch Hartman announced that he was leaving Nickelodeon.
11:23 While the "Fairly Odd" franchise continued,
11:26 Hartman's exit essentially marked
11:28 the end of the original series.
11:30 We wish the show could have received
11:31 a more ceremonious send-off,
11:33 but at this point, its cancellation was a relief.
11:37 - We need to work out our differences!
11:39 - Sorry, sweetie!
11:40 - But that's a garbage idea!
11:42 - Which animated show do you think
11:44 had the worst final season?
11:45 Let us know in the comments down below.
11:47 - We tried, Chloe.
11:48 Actually, you tried.
11:49 I'm not much of a try-out.
11:51 - Did you enjoy this video?
11:53 Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
11:55 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
11:57 to be notified about our latest videos.
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