Yesterday, 09:13 AM
Over the years, some long-running shows evolve, gradually changing their format in order to adapt to a new audience. Or other times, a failing show might suddenly do a complete re-tooling of the format, in a desperate attempt to turn things around. But either way, this is a thread about all the shows that have made massive changes to their format over the years - whether it was done gradually or all at once. The name of the show will still be the same, and the basic premise might be as well, but most of the other stuff will have changed .
One of the first examples that comes to mind for me is Top Gear. This first started out in 1977 - and it was a staid, serious show about cars. It featured reviews of the typical cars of the day (such as the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall Cavalier), as well as practical advice on things like getting a good deal on a second-hand car, and how to stop your car from getting stolen. It was boring (unless you were a car enthusiast), but useful (if you had a car). The arrival of Jeremy Clarkson in the late 1980s did inject some humour - but ultimately, he was still presenting a serious programme about everyday cars.
That all changed in 2002, when Top Gear adopted the format that's better-known to current audiences . The show abandoned all pretence of being a serious show about cars: instead of offering practical advice to the everyday motorist, Clarkson and his co-hosts would do crazy challenges, which would often take place halfway around the world. There were still car reviews - but they were invariably for supercars that only a tiny fraction of the audience could afford to buy. To be honest, it wasn't really a "show about cars" any more: it was a show about three friends with different personalities annoying each other, and the cars were just there to give them something to talk about .
So, can you think of any other shows that completely changed their format over the course of their run?
One of the first examples that comes to mind for me is Top Gear. This first started out in 1977 - and it was a staid, serious show about cars. It featured reviews of the typical cars of the day (such as the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall Cavalier), as well as practical advice on things like getting a good deal on a second-hand car, and how to stop your car from getting stolen. It was boring (unless you were a car enthusiast), but useful (if you had a car). The arrival of Jeremy Clarkson in the late 1980s did inject some humour - but ultimately, he was still presenting a serious programme about everyday cars.
That all changed in 2002, when Top Gear adopted the format that's better-known to current audiences . The show abandoned all pretence of being a serious show about cars: instead of offering practical advice to the everyday motorist, Clarkson and his co-hosts would do crazy challenges, which would often take place halfway around the world. There were still car reviews - but they were invariably for supercars that only a tiny fraction of the audience could afford to buy. To be honest, it wasn't really a "show about cars" any more: it was a show about three friends with different personalities annoying each other, and the cars were just there to give them something to talk about .
So, can you think of any other shows that completely changed their format over the course of their run?
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