User blog comment:Gogogadget831/Total Drama Theory - How Would I Improve Mike's Character?/@comment-25483925-20141205220250/@comment-1037137-20141206022133

Thank you Stryzzar, it's things like that, elements of the first three seasons that lent a unique edge, but it was also a show with some level of maturity to it. Hard to explain what it is and all, but the show definitely seemed more aware and in tune with it's adult audience and had a balance between the over-the-top elements and the semi-realistic grounding of the series, something that has been lost over time.

Well that would partly explain why TDAS tanked, some studios are far too eager to pander to or talk down to younger audiences in order to get them coming in, but gravely underestimating their standards all too often, and not conducting themselves like they deserve better, they do deserve better. This is lowbrow stuff they churned out with TDAS, I wouldn't recommend it to anybody, it's too lacking in structure or intelligence for any targeted demographic. But the issue of worsening "childishness" definitely began earlier with Revenge, which in spite of my enjoyment of that season probably is also guilty of the same thing, to a lesser extent. People were accusing it of sinking in that direction before TDAS came along.