Fortunately for us viewers, such a packed array of excellent content creates a virtuous cycle: the shows are great, every studio wants to make great shows to compete, they pour gobs of money into production, so even more great shows come out.

But now that the playing field hums along facing such high expectations, the slightest slip-up is enough to send people running to another show that's more worth their time.

Sometimes, it only takes one bad episode for viewer to call it quits.

A recent Reddit thread asked people to share the particular episodes that drove them to nearly throw in the towel on a show they once loved.

AutumnHopFrog asked, "What episode of a television show was so bad that it nearly ruined the entire series for you?"

Well You Knew This One Was Coming

"Throughout Season 8 of [Game of Thrones] I was preaching patience. Let's see how it plays out. I didn't mind the white walkers not being the ultimate bad guy. I thought Dany's turn was odd but could potentially pay off. I was holding on to a thread of hope that there was a vision."

"So you can imagine my frustration with the finale. Lifeless. Soulless. An utter disdain for the show and its fanbase."

-- doubledYou

Suddenly, a Psychopath

"I stopped watching Bones after one of the sweet side characters was revealed to be the apprentice of a serial killer. Completely out of left field and totally stupid." -- glory87

"Bones. It's been so long that I don't even remember the details, but one of the main cast suddenly murdered people and went to jail for some bizarre reason. I stopped watching after that, so it did ruin the series for me." -- tjeepdrv2

High Standards for Continuity

"The King of the Hill episode where Hank doesn't realize what sticker price is when buying a new truck, and then attempts to vandalize the dealership."

"It was super out of character for Hank to not know how to purchase a vehicle and retaliate so childishly. It's a later season episode that I simply skip now."

-- lod001

A Few Gripes

"Two last episodes of How I Met Your Mother."

"Deleted tons of character development and made the entire last seasons story obsolete." -- Magnus-Krogsoe

"How i met your mother. She died the way she lived. Off screen." -- CambaceresDM

Always Eric and Donna 

"That 70's Show had two."

"The first is when Eric and Donna broke up. I knew the entire next season was going to suck and focus on them both dating around before they got back together."

"The second was when Eric decides to propose to Donna. I knew that meant they weren't going to college and the were just going to be bums and I was right."

"The last 3 seasons of that show were unwatchable."

-- Nightshade_Salad

Cool Hair, Though 

"Stanger Things when Eleven runs away and chills with some street rats for some reason in an episode - hated it" -- DeschainesBrain

"Hahaha i totally forgot about that. What a weird waste of an episode" -- MrProfessorPhD

"I heard somewhere that was a test for a new direction for the show. But test audiences hated it so that idea was scrapped but the episodes and tie in were kept. Dunno if its true or not but seems plausible given how unrelated that is to everything else." -- Chriogenosis

Budgetary Concerns?

"Murder She Wrote; They had an episode set in 'Australia' with American actors dong Australian Accents even though there were Australian Actors living in LA at the time."

"The accents were that bad that I was too embarrassed to tell anyone that I ever watched the show. Drive time comedy on the radio had an absolute field day with it."

-- Captain_Coco_Koala

Cash Grab

"The entirety of The Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life put me off the original series, which used to be my favourite comfort watch."

"I really wish Amy Sherman-Palladino did not mess with something that originally ended on a good, satisfying note."

-- boop_attack

4th Time's the Nosedive 

"So no one is going to say 'Sherlock season 4'? Do I have to be the one to bring that monstrosity up?" -- More-Consequences

"Sherlock seasons 1-3 I had seen multiple times. I would just put it on in the background when I was doing other stuff because it was nice to follow along."

"When season 4 came out I was excited and watched it all in one day. I have not watched the show at all since then. Totally ruined it for me." -- MazerRakam

Sounds Riveting

"That once episode in Voyager where that one guy and the captain become giant lizard things after a failed tinkering with warp 10. Like what" -- Labrat_The_Man

Doctor WTF?

"there was an episode of doctor who, where they go to robin hood times? and turns out the castle is a space ship? and the knights are alien robots that shoot lasers? and they get all the prisoners in the dungeon to revolt against the robots by reflecting the laser beams with dinner plates?"

"and then the castle/space ship takes off, and doctor who, robin hood, and his companion all help to pull back a bow really far to shoot the golden arrow that doctor who won in an archery tournament at the castle ship because apparently it's allergic to gold and it just explodes out of the sky."

"now that i type it out, i take it back, that episode is great."

-- raulduke05

Unsound Business Decisions

"The Charles Minor episodes of The Office."

"Michael and the branch are the top performers at your failing company so instead of sending someone to the ailing branches you send a babysitter to your one profiting branch to piss off your BEST manager????"

-- InfinitumGamers

Binge Break 

"I know most people hate grey's anatomy, but my (adopted) sister and I bonded over it so we're huge fans. It took me a while but it was the episode where Amelia and Hunt's marriage fails and not because of the tumor but because of teddy."

"The back and forth was just so annoying and they were living together and didn't think it would happen? It was so annoying I took a break from the binge"

-- [deleted]

Wit vs. Shenanigans 

"Furious D was the beginning of the end of the Simpsons for me. It was just dumb shenanigans for the sake of it."

"None of the wit, parody, or satire that had gone before. The decline might have started before then, but that one sticks in my head for some reason."

-- AlterEdward

Trailer Park Tunes

"Trailerpark Boys, Season 10, I don't know the episode number because that season was spectacularly bad."

"But the one where Bubbles won't shut up about performing at an open mic at the Moose Lodge and Snoop takes the stage with him and it's just a boring song for WAAAAYYY TOO LLOOOONG."

"That season is so bad, but that episode is by far the worst of the whole series."

-- linearburrito

Growing Pains

"Much of season 1 of Star Trek TNG."

"One of my favorite shows, and it consistently gets better as it goes on, but many of those first season episodes, notably 'Code of Honor' and 'Shades of Grey,' are poorly written, painful to watch, and as awkward as a 13-year-old boy at a girls pool party. Uhg."

-- DrEnter

One-Off Nonsense

"I loved the Battlestar Galactica reboot and while a lot of people hated the finale I was okay with it."

"But there was one episode that featured Lee Adama getting mixed up with a random girl who was a sort-of-sex worker and a black market ring ... It was an ugly mess of an episode and none of the issues raised - about the black market, or Lee's lost love from Caprica - ever came up again."

-- madcats323