Average episode rating for this season: 6.4583333…
Average episode rating for this season: 5.8
How continuing on from Will's decision to stay in Philly at the end of season 4 was handled (namely, by not handling it at all) should've been a clue to how the rest of the season would go.
Season 5's best joke was "If we're so rich, why we can't afford no ceiling?"
Average episode rating for this season: 6.538461…
Vivian replacement isn't working for me. I get that there were tensions off camera and Janet Hubert couldn't (or wouldn't) stay on, but the solution almost seems to have been "replace AND write out" the character of Vivian Banks. She's physically there, but doesn't do much.
Also notable: Will is a surprisingly unlikable character. That's not how I remembered him, but on this re-watch I find myself almost always wanting to yell at him for being inconsiderate, idiotic, and/or misogynistic. (Often, all three in the same episode.)
Average episode rating for this season: 6.541666…
I admit, not even the nostalgia is helping. Will's characterization seems kinda all over the place, or maybe it's just me.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.6667
Average episode rating for this season: 6.0869565
Average episode rating for this season: 6.45833333
Average episode rating for this season: 6.272727…
Average episode rating for this season: 6.727272…
Average episode rating for this season: 6.818181…
Average episode rating for this season: 7.04545
Average episode rating for this season: 7.153846
Surprised it's that low, actually. The series is clearly in its prime years, and it's so comfortable to watch.
Average episode rating for this season: 7.09090909
Average episode rating for this season: 5.846154
Average episode rating for this season: 5.95
Not entirely sure why. I enjoyed watching the show, but usually found the plots a little too simple, and Alex often too careless.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.923077
Most of this season seemed pretty stagnant to me. I think I get why the show was canceled, though it's still too bad. We needed more of Cal + Emily and their quirky father-daughter relationship, and less of Cal being a belligerent ass to strangers-of-the-week.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.642857
Did not feel that good, actually. I think several of my episode ratings partially ignored the uninspired attempts at comedy that didn't work in favor of the—usually—one or two scenes that carried all the heart.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.35714
I honestly don't know why it's so low. I guess a lot of the season was just filled with jokes that didn't land for me, and situations too cringy or unrealistic to be funny? That's my best theory, because the character development was stellar.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.48
Maybe it's just the nature of this genre, but there are an astonishing number of episodes wherein Alex's powers are totally inconsequential and her part in the story could be filled by just any random 14-year-old girl.
Sure, it's cool to see Alex and her friends enter high school and start dealing with (slightly) more serious topics, but it seems odd to fill episodes of a show built on the premise of gaining superpowers with normal-teenager stuff and not even have Alex solve the problem in some interesting way with her abilities.
Average episode rating for this season: 7.2272727
Individually the episodes are entertaining enough, I guess. Sometimes things fall flat, though, and it seems really early in the run of a series to be struggling for fresh story ideas.
I continue to wonder why Lightman has a personal connection to so many of the people directly or indirectly involved with his cases. Given the FBI contract, especially, he should be getting cases from all over.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.68181818
If I had to point out just one thing Airwolf lacks, it would be depth.
Especially in the latter half of this season, which I've just watched in fairly quick succession, Airwolf itself is almost inconsequential to the story. It's brought in to conveniently resolve a conflict, usually appearing "just in the nick of time" for an action sequence (often consisting of heavily reused footage) set to the Airwolf theme song. Often, Airwolf (and its highly skilled pilot, Hawke) is used for tasks that it seems just about any other helicopter could handle.
The formula does get old after a while. I'm probably also spoiled and/or just accustomed to the ongoing world & character development of more modern shows. Airwolf almost never shows the same guest characters more than once, so they all come off as flat, too.
Average rating for this season: 5.75
Surely I would have been more enthralled with the plots as a 12-year-old. Now, I'm old enough to spot all the plot holes and inconsistent characterization.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.95833333
Contains the best handling of an actor's death that I've ever seen. Subsequent changes to the tone and cast didn't exactly do the show any favors, though.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.54166667
Rounding down to 6/10, as I definitely was overly generous; if an episode was fine, without any glaring "that's stupid" moments, I tended toward giving it at least a 7.
Obviously there would be a shift in tone with the cast shake-up following Ritter's death in season 2, but I never really clicked with David Spade's character and thought James Garner was underutilized. At the same time it seemed like the adults tended to get too much focus, when the show's original premise was about the kids.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.35714286
The characters are mostly great—at least, the ones who get a reasonable amount of time devoted to them (sorry, Rory, you got the short stick). Story-wise, things are kind of uneven. It's rough at first and gets better as the writers and cast figure out what they're doing, but never really gels the way a show like Frasier does.
Average episode rating for this season: 7.18181818
Looking at the individual episode scores, this season was a really mixed bag… I think the show shouldn't have dropped Francis to such an irregular guest character (despite Christopher Masterson still being listed in the main credits). Truly, I can point to when Francis suddenly left his job at the ranch as the exact point when I started enjoying the series markedly less.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.28571429
Went off the rails a bit, technically, in the end—plus the whole final arc had to be squeezed into just 7 episodes for some reason?
Average episode rating for this season: 7.125
Losing Erlich really changed the tone of the show. I still love having Gilfoyle around, and Monica asking Richard if he's "a fucking moron" was a high point of this season—but the tone still has shifted.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.6
Perhaps more than it deserves, overall. Some great episodes in here, but the background feeling of déjà vu has really intensified. The guys make a plan, Richard throws a giant monkey wrench into it, everyone despairs, a miracle happens. The loop is getting old.
Average episode rating for this season: 6.77272727
Started out really strong, then slowly lost my buy-in. Can't put a finger on exactly why, but maybe it's something to do with how disconnected the different episodes started to feel? Self-contained stories that can be aired in any order is a common feature of TV from this era, sure… but it's possible to have that and an ongoing feeling of progress.
