Many a good show has gone downhill come the second season, be it for either trying too hard or not enough, being repetitive and unoriginal, or for really just losing the plot.

What may have started off as a promising show and a critics' and viewers' darling can easily become hot material for vitriolic columns and, worse yet, fade off the radar.

Case in point: Prison Break. The show started off strong. It was thrilling. We couldn't wait for the next episode.

It followed an engineer as he tried to break out of a maximum security prison with his brother. By season two, the show was losing steam as the story became less gripping. Even its star, actor Wentworth Miller, stopped being hot by Prison Break's final season.

Another show that was great in the beginning but soon became a waste of television airtime is Desperate Housewives.

While its wit and trashiness were what made it a hit in the first place, soon the scandalousness became too ridiculous and soap opera-like.

I know the hardcore fans kept watching into season eight, but, like someone clinging on to a dead relationship, they were in denial over the true state of the series.

When such shows drag on, they start to become embarrassing to watch because when they do eventually come to an end, people won't remember them with fondness.

It seems getting a hit television show is just as tough as sustaining it, but a good show should also know when to stop.