Nope. if Chase had worse material to work with, it's probably because whenever any of the writers in seasons 1-3 tried to give him other, non-broad material he either refused to do it (occasionally), or made snide remarks then performed it under protest (surprisingly frequently).

Honestly, what ended it was not anything that happened in seasons 1-3, though the seeds were planted. Chase was always second-guessing the scripts and complaining about the amount of work he had to do, but in season 4, he got extra-petulant, probably because he realized nobody was in a position to stand up to him and…

Hell… I haven't put a lot of effort into anything. They send me one line, give or take. I show up. I say that line. Sometimes I adjust the phrasing a little. You can't fault me.

A faster, less convoluted show — maybe not quite as ambitious, but possibly funnier (at least on a surface level)? I don't know, really, and that's why it's interesting.

"Showrunner" is a made-up term, you know that?

I think 3 was better than 1 too. Honestly, I'd say the show's quality from midway through Season 1 to the end of Season 3 was pretty consistent. But those first few episodes… well, they're the first few episodes of a show. No shame in them not being QUITE there.

Nope. Even the most involved head writer is responsible for maybe 25% of what ends up on screen, give or take. Sorry.

I believe that in a lot of cases, that IS the case, though. People came with their fine-toothed combs, looking for something not to like, and when they found something that wasn't in accordance with their own personal assumptions about who the show was and what it was about, they said, "Dan Harmon never would have…

Writers never remain constant. Not on any season of this show, not really on any season of any show.

I don't know how anyone else feels. I'm… mostly happy but also a little annoyed, for reasons I can't exactly put into words.

Oh, that sounds like a WONDERFUL way to spend an afternoon.

Oh, hooray. You didn't like one episode. Clearly a relevant addition to a discussion!

I'm not complaining. Not sure it was necessary, and I'm a little perturbed that history is probably going to remember Season 4 as a failure, rather than as the transitional season it clearly was.

Congratulations on your position of ignorance! You must be so proud…

The Russos left less than halfway through Season 3, though. And Tristram Shapeero is a very talented director (who directed multiple Season 1-2 episodes) — we're talking option A and option A1, really. (Or options, A, A1 and A2.)

By which you mean "a season identical to season 4, if Dan Harmon's name had been attached to some of the season 4 scripts."

A friend of mine is on The Killing this season, so as much as I'm not interested in the show, I wish them luck.

Yes. Joking! Sorry for the confusion!

Perhaps all this, but… Venture Brothers season premiere? How about that?

Or that nerd guy from the first episode, right?