Here’s a little reader’s poll for you. Many successful TV shows like _Buffy, the Vampire Slayer_, _Stargate SG-1_, and _Alias_ have fun for 5+ seasons. _Buffy_ ran for seven seasons, _SG-1_ ran for 10, and _Alias_ – well, I never watched the show so I don’t really know exactly. Now, _Battlestar Galactica_ is scheduled to end after its fourth season, and “a comment has been made”:http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/005171.html that maybe the show should have and could have ended successfully after three.

What do you think is the ideal lifespan for a successful TV series (any genre). Is seven seasons too long? Three seasons too short? Five seasons just right? I’m curious to see how people weigh in on this topic.