Are there any shows that completely change genre?

[shadow_archmagi]

So I was browsing internet today and I saw a post that described the latest episode of community as "post apocalyptic." That got me thinking- What if they actually went ahead and had an apocalypse, and the rest of the series was the same cast of characters trying to survive in a wasteland?

Now, for obvious reasons, this would be a terrible decision (alienation of fans, inability to re-use props, etc etc.) Still, I'm sure somebody did it. Shows that were successful in one aspect (or unsuccessful) and then did a massive direction change well after the fans had settled into the existing routine.

[warty goblin]

Xena arguably does this, given its perchant for cutting between slapstick, parody, straight up adventure, pretty close to horror, and the occasional musical. Sometimes within the same episode.

Not a show, but Cloud Atlas is six genres in one movie. The Fountain pulls off three, but is much more boring.

[Mewtarthio]

Buffy S1: Dark comedy with a few serious moments that pokes fun at the urban fantasy gene.

Buffy S2: Character-driven tragedy (with some funny moments) about a girl dealing with her abusive boyfriend.

Buffy S3: High school urban fantasy dramedy that's mostly heroic but does feature a tragic villain.

Buffy S4: Moderately light-hearted conspiracy thriller.

Buffy S5: Extremely dark high-stakes fantasy action.

Buffy S6: Dark sitcom, then suddenly people die horribly.

Buffy S7: Cosmic horror, except the good guys win.

[warty goblin]

The cosmic horror in S7 of Buffy is inflicted entirely on the viewer. Stop after six.

[Metahuman1]

Hmmm, I'm told Attack on Titan sorta does this in that it starts insane grim-dark horror/tragedy with minor action elements before the Titan's inevitably go "ROFLMAO *STOMP* *MUNCH* *DEAD*" to everything that tries to fight them, and eventually moves away from that and let's the pro-tag's start, you know, not suffering endlessly only to inevitably loose and die horribly.

[Asheram]

Hmmm, I'm told Attack on Titan sorta does this in that it starts insane grim-dark horror/tragedy with minor action elements before the Titan's inevitably go "ROFLMAO *STOMP* *MUNCH* *DEAD*" to everything that tries to fight them, and eventually moves away from that and let's the pro-tag's start, you know, not suffering endlessly only to inevitably loose and die horribly.

Not really, just suffering on other levels.

[Metahuman1]

Not really, just suffering on other levels.

And just like that, any curiosity my friends had been trying to muster in me to check the series out again is gone. Thanks for sparing me the pain. =)

[Dienekes]

You might want to check out Dark Shadows. I never watched it myself, but I am under the impression that the first 200 episodes or so it was a generic soap opera with a hint of mystery about it. Then suddenly; vampires, witches, zombies, and other fun shenanigans.

[Asheram]

And just like that, any curiosity my friends had been trying to muster in me to check the series out again is gone. Thanks for sparing me the pain. =)

Ah, now I feel bad. What I meant was that there's still suffering but there's also hope. It's a good series and well recommended.

[Asheram]

You might want to check out Dark Shadows. I never watched it myself, but I am under the impression that the first 200 episodes or so it was a generic soap opera with a hint of mystery about it. Then suddenly; vampires, witches, zombies, and other fun shenanigans.

Isn't that the standard "Jump the shark" procedure?

[Dienekes]

Isn't that the standard "Jump the shark" procedure?

Probably, except the show is now remembered and loved much more for the 4 seasons with vampires in it than the first 2 without.

[t209]

Sliders

Spoiler

Show

The Battle with the Kro Maggs in season 3.

It did not last long enough to have a Dr. Who Crossover .

[Metahuman1]

Ah, now I feel bad. What I meant was that there's still suffering but there's also hope. It's a good series and well recommended.

Don't, if the Titan's are still wiping the floor with everything all over the place with no meaningful opposition that matters and the protags are still in existence to suffer near endlessly and almost inevitably die horribly for a goal that is all but unachievable, then all you did was spare me watching a lot of it.

[Prime32]

TVTropes has a list of these. Mahou Sensei Negima is the page image for a reason, though only the manga - the anime adaptation was... rather loose, to put it lightly. Medaka Box is also particularly extreme, going from slice-of-life to superpowered battles to weird metafiction.

[Pex]

Sliders

Spoiler

Show

The Battle with the Kro Maggs in season 3.

This.

Totally ruined the show. The cast changes were annoying but survivable*. When they changed the premise of the series, all the fun was gone.

*Not Jerry O'Connell, though. He was the main protagonist. When he left, the show was kaput.

I really, really want a remake.

[Mx.Silver]

You could maybe make a case for Trigun, as it goes from fairly light action-comedy to really quite dark action-drama, and does so very well. Of course it's not really a complete genre shift so I'm not sure if it counts.

Hmmm, I'm told Attack on Titan sorta does this in that it starts insane grim-dark horror/tragedy with minor action elements before the Titan's inevitably go "ROFLMAO *STOMP* *MUNCH* *DEAD*" to everything that tries to fight them, and eventually moves away from that and let's the pro-tag's start, you know, not suffering endlessly only to inevitably loose and die horribly.

It doesn't so much change genre as the series progresses as it does shift wildly and abruptly in tone, sometimes multiple times an episode. Honestly it often felt like wasn't entirely sure what it wanted to be half the time.
After a while its action episodes settle into a rhythm of: angst over situation > devise plan of action > everyone gets hopeful and pumped-up > plan collapses horribly, recently characterised side-characters die > angst over situation > desperate second plan is formulated > plan just about works, immediate crisis is escaped > angst over situation etc.
This doesn't really help the overal tone problems though.

[huttj509]

Any anime/manga by Clamp, with the exception of Card Captor Sakura (seriously, that kinda weirded out some friends of mine who kept expecting it to turn dark suddenly).

If it starts out happy and fun, it won't end happy and fun. Running theme in my College anime club was "Spoiler: It's Clamp."

As an example,

Magic Knights Rayearth: 3 schoolgirls from Tokyo pulled into another dimension and given magic powers and a mission by a cute creature to rescue the young princess so the magic doesn't die.

...Then it turns out that she's about 10 years older than she seems, the source of magic in the world is related to her being kept young, and the conflict is actually that her teenage self fell in love and wants to actually grow up, while she can't. The way they need to save her, as they find out when they get there? They need to kill her, and her "kidnapper" who's actually the head of her guard trying to keep her from dying.

Oh, and this happens in cycles as the source-girls grow up and basically go insane due to the conflicting ages/personas/desires within them, and need to be killed to reset the cycle.

[BeerMug Paladin]

The only thing that really comes to mind is the movie "From Dusk 'Til Dawn". It's such an abrupt, senseless shift that it almost feels like two movies actually did crash into each other. Or maybe the directer/writer had a stroke halfway through filming and the editor just decided to go with it.

I still would like to see the rest of whatever the first half of that movie was.

That said, it seems to me that most shows undergo some minor shifting as they try to find their own sense of identity, but a complete genre change seems quite rare. Apart from something like Lost which starts out as character drama and slowly morphs into a series of semi-random, confusing non-events.

But that's not really a genre-shift. That's more like a story collapsing under its own narrative weight into a black hole from which no entertainment value can escape.

[Rosstin]

Sword Art Online, to the point where I wonder if the two halves feature the same creative team.

[Popertop]

The only thing that really comes to mind is the movie "From Dusk 'Til Dawn". It's such an abrupt, senseless shift that it almost feels like two movies actually did crash into each other. Or maybe the directer/writer had a stroke halfway through filming and the editor just decided to go with it.

I still would like to see the rest of whatever the first half of that movie was.

This is what I came in this thread to say.

It starts off as a really interesting crime thriller, then it's like "JK Vampires".

The guy with the whip and the crotch pistol still gets me.

[Kato]

There are many shows which change their tone between episodes a lot... (Actually, a lot of my favorite shows)
I guess examples where the entire genre shifts (more) massively are a bit rarer...

Medaka Box is an anime/manga which takes quite a dramatic shift at the end of the first season when the "crazy high school comedy" turns into a at time quite bloody and violent battle story..

BeerMugPaladin's From Dusk Till Dawn is a very popular movie example... and I guess Life is Beautiful could also qualify. Also, Hot Fuzz' take on action movie takes quite a turn towards the end.

I guess the Discworld series could qualify but it's more Pratchett not having quite figured out what he was aiming for in the first few books... It's prtty much the difference between a parody and a deconstruction of a classic fantasy world.

[BeerMug Paladin]

I thought of a couple more examples, though they're probably not quite what is wanted.

There's a british sitcom I believe where the characters all work in a department store called "Are You Being Served?" At least I think that was the name. At the end of one season they're either all fired or the department store went out of business or something so the cast moved to a farm and started living there. It's still a sitcom, though if I recall correctly the episode explaining the shift was a downer episode. (I didn't really watch the show, I just saw it sometimes because it aired after/before Keeping Up Appearances.)

Genre shifting is the premise of "Excel Saga". It's pretty much a comedy all the way through, but at the beginning of most episodes there's a guy 'the writer' who says, "Ehhh.. This is a sci-fi show now." Or "I'm making it horror this time!", or so on. These changes really only signify what genre the show is going to start parodying and they happen in most every episode, so it makes the show feel hyperactive (like almost all the characters), not like an actual shift has taken place.

[Asheram]

Genre shifting is the premise of "Excel Saga". It's pretty much a comedy all the way through, but at the beginning of most episodes there's a guy 'the writer' who says, "Ehhh.. This is a sci-fi show now." Or "I'm making it horror this time!", or so on. These changes really only signify what genre the show is going to start parodying and they happen in most every episode, so it makes the show feel hyperactive (like almost all the characters), not like an actual shift has taken place.

xD It's the running gag of the show and the show is tagged "Quack Experimental Animation". ... Now I've got to watch it again.
Though there is a shift in the later episodes when the show actually takes a serious turn (still with a few gags though)

[t209]

This.

Totally ruined the show. The cast changes were annoying but survivable*. When they changed the premise of the series, all the fun was gone.

*Not Jerry O'Connell, though. He was the main protagonist. When he left, the show was kaput.

I really, really want a remake.

Exactly, If they didn't mess it up, we could be seeing Dr. Who and Sliders crossover.

[Daer]

One that comes to my mind is 20th century boys.
and i would say berserk anime also even though the change happens only for last couple episodes or so.

excel saga was mentioned i think there was one moment that really made sudden change when in apocalyptic world Excel returns to Ilpalazzo. What happened there and how it was shown was just so unexpected.

[Tengu_temp]

Samurai Flamenco. Multiple times.

[Prime32]

Samurai Flamenco. Multiple times.

By this point I just register Samurai Flamenco's genre as "Samurai Flamenco".

[Closet_Skeleton]

Samurai Flamenco. Multiple times.

Blassreiter did the same thing sort of. Only it was darker and kept killing off protagonists when the set up changed.

[Eldan]

Blassreiter

I'm trying to parse that title in my head and the more I do, the more it begins to hurt. I think someone just typed "Pale Rider" into a bad online German translator, because that would be at least an explanation. But really. Someone who rides on something that is pale? Someone who rides in a pale fashion? How does that even work?

Gaaaaaaaaaah.

[huttj509]

I'm trying to parse that title in my head and the more I do, the more it begins to hurt. I think someone just typed "Pale Rider" into a bad online German translator, because that would be at least an explanation. But really. Someone who rides on something that is pale? Someone who rides in a pale fashion? How does that even work?

Gaaaaaaaaaah.

A term for one who rides on a pale horse?

Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Rider