When is it time to call it a day? One season too many...

Note: There may be some "spoilers" for those who have not yet watched the most recent seasons and episodes of the TV shows mentioned below (GIRLS and Pretty Little Liars.)
If this is you, please refrain from reading on! 

Have you ever gotten to the 5th or 6th season of a TV show and thought to yourself "I think it's time they call it a day"? Recently I've had these thoughts about 2 of my "girlie" shows. There are probably more like this, but I'll stick to 2 for the time being.

GIRLS (HBO)

c/o - www.thebitterlemon.com

When Hannah (Dunham) first graced the screen in GIRLS season 1 with her awkward tom boy vintage frump, I thought "wow....she's unusually cool. Finally a character many can relate to". Hannah: fresh out of college, living in a small but modest Manhattan apartment, had a close knit group of quirky friends who were all whacky in their own way and she had hooked up with the weird and wonderfully odd Adam after the short remit of us seeing her past relationship with Elijah. The first 3 seasons of GIRLS were my utmost favourite and I recall saying to my husband at the end of every episode, that I was always wishing the episodes went for half and hour longer. I'm unsure where my love of this show unravelled. The odd love hate relationship between Adam and Hannah couldn't go on forever and I like how Dunham initiates their demise (by putting Hannah on a bus to Iowa while Adam is busy with his Broadway debut).

When I think back now, it was around mid season 4 when Hannah realises her struggles to keep herself occupied during her writing studies and the awkwardness with her fellow classmates made for cringe worthy TV (something I am sure Apatow had a hand in initiating as he seems to be the master of crafting the awkward character). There were some really awkward relationships forming around the mid season 4 mark too, the Marnie / Desi relationship drama which unfolded was a little predictable. And then there was Shoshona and her employment struggle while meeting Scott, with Jessa in the background just being all plain and crazy Jessa. Adam's new relationship with Mimi-Rose threw a bit of drama in there until Hannah's return from Iowa where she decides to start her teaching career, meets Fran (fellow teacher) then crashes Adams new girlfriends art show. Again, the uncomfortable tone creeps in with confrontations from both Adam and Hannah and them addressing their past. And so it goes on. With season 4 ending with Hannah and Fran holding hands. So why do I say "time to call it a day?"

GIRLS would have been awesomely finished with Hannah and Fran happily smooching. Talk about a high note. Jessa...well she seemed out of the picture mid S4, Shoshona and her Japan adventure or non adventure (didn't weigh much during the last few eps of season 4 anyhow), you just assume that Marnie is happily engaged to Desi (fin! end?) and Adam...well, he's an uncle now and kind of forgotten now Hannah has her new beau. Oh...what was with the Jessa / Adam thing? Maybe that is part of the reason for the continuation into Season 5. So WHY season 5? I feel that we didn't need to see Marnie and her prep for her wedding, and in episode 2, the struggle of Hannah's dads homosexuality and naiveness, the weird friendship "we're not going to cross the line" vibe going on with Adam and Jessa even though their friends have moved on. Yes people, thats right. They've moved ON. And thus I feel the show now has moved on from what it was initially intended from it's greatness. The kids from Manhattan have now grown up. They no longer seem "hip". They're no longer "GIRLS" but now women on their solo paths.

Pretty Little Liars (ABC family / Freeform)

PLL - 2016

The 6th season of Pretty Little Liars begins with "5 years later..." and it seems as though the producers are really trying to milk this show for what they can. I first started watching PLL the year my baby girl was due (that was around 2013). I happened to stumble across the first seasons on Netflix whilst on maternity leave and got hooked in this teen crime thriller / drama.

After a quick historical review of the show, I had no idea that the first episodes aired in 2010!
The inseparable clique of Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Emily and their quest to find out who the haunting "A" was and where their leader Alison had disappeared to, all came to a head in season 5 when it was revealed Alison had a brother (Charles) turned sister (Cee Cee) who was in fact the stalker of the gang and jealous of their bond. Once this is revealed, you would have thought the producers would have finished it there. Instead, they fast forward into the future to deliver more sultry and mysterious versions of Rosewoods female gang. When Season 5 concluded, felt the series had a nice rounded ending and you could go away feeling that the ladies were going to be alright and they could now find closure with the torture they endured over the 2yr period and go away to college. Cee Cee was put into a mental facility, locked away so as to not cause any more havoc. 

Finding out they were hashing a sixth season just seemed now, beyond ridiculous to me. After everything these poor teens had been through we now sit through one final (?) season cringing at all the thrilling things A put to these girls during the first 5 seasons. Sure, they are now adults, finished college, are more mature, but I really feel that the producers on this one have let the series down by forcing on it's continuation. I'm unsure what they are wanting to achieve with making the PLL gang go through the rounds of torture and stalker-dom again, even though Cee Cee is killed off in the first episode of the season, it now turns to "who killed Cee Cee". I guess only time will tell but for now, I save this show for my "watch when bored" pile. PLL airs on the Free Form network (previously Family) on Xfinity and Comcast networks USA.