There have been a few animated series over the years that could be considered a tentpole of Nickelodeon, and The Fairly OddParents was a big one. It told the story of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy whose parents barely seemed aware of their son and whose babysitter was out to destroy him. His life turned around when he was given a pair of screwup fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda.
While the series maintained its overall popularity to an extent, it probably should have come to an end years before it did. After that long, the premise had long since worn out.
Constantly Shifting Focus
There comes a point that something just needs to end, especially when it keeps going away and coming back. Regardless of the medium, the greats know when to walk away from the game and not water down their brand.
The Fairly OddParents took a couple of breaks during its run. Focus also shifted to live-action movies for a time. Those breaks kept impacting the flow of the series, increasing the disconnect from what made it work.
Cosmo And Wanda Had A Baby
Sitcoms in any format pull out some similar moves to keep the story "fresh." Weddings are a big one, as are sudden character deaths. But, the classic move is adding a new character, often in the form of a small child or even someone having a baby.
Animated series are not immune to this. As such, Cosmo and Wanda had a baby fairy named Poof. It's not that Poof was a bad character, but the little guy screamed status quo sitcom nonsense. Also, the name "Poof" was a little on-the-nose.
Timmy Gets A Dog With Fairy Powers
The term "jumping the shark" found its roots in the classic series Happy Days. Fonzie literally jumped a shark on water skis, which is generally regarded as the moment the show lost the plot and got too absurd for its own good.
On The Fairly OddParents, the jumping the shark moment was when Timmy got a fairy dog named Sparky. On a show about a kid with fairy godparents who granted him wishes, Sparky was the character who took things too far.
Too Much Fairy Politics
The longer a show is on the air, the deeper it mines its own mythology for story content. It's not necessarily a bad idea as fans often want to learn more about that mythology. At the same time, that tactic can wander into some unnecessary territory.
Delving into the nuances of Fairy World was actually quite interesting, and funny, at first. But, as the series wore on, too much time was spent on fairy politics, which kind of bogged down the plot.
Vicky Somehow Seemed To Get Meaner
The bane of Timmy's existence was his babysitter Vicky. Her utter hatred of Timmy was a big part of the reason that Timmy was assigned fairy godparents in the first place. He needed help dealing with her.
Over time, one would think that Vicky might soften up a bit, but that was not the case at all. In fact, she seemed to get increasingly cruel. This became more and more tiresome, as some growth in the character should have been inevitable.
Timmy's Dad And His Insane Rivalry With Sheldon Dinkleberg
While Vicky was the main reason Timmy was assigned fairy godparents, his parents sure didn't help the situation. They honestly barely seemed aware that they even had a child, and they even came across as being somewhat resentful of him.
This really became apparent in Timmy's Dad's ongoing feud with their neighbor. Sheldon Dinkleberg was actually a really nice guy, but Timmy's Dad hated him because he could do what he wanted as he didn't have kids. Timmy's Dad needed to get over that nonsense at some point, but he apparently couldn't.
Anti-Wanda And Anti-Cosmo
Superman wasn't the first to use the evil twin concept, but making that twin opposite and stupid was something the comics popularized. Bizarro flew backwards, said the opposite of what he meant, and had the opposite powers to the Man of Steel.
On The Fairly OddParents, they had Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda. The characters appeared early in the series and were actually quite funny. Like Fairy World, the show got way too in-depth into anti-Fairy World, and things got even more tedious.
Too Many Live-Action Movies
Adapting property from one media form to another is the hallmark of entertainment. If something starts off as a remotely popular TV show, it will inevitably become a movie, stage play, book, comic, and possibly even a flavor of Doritos.
Nickelodeon gave The Fairly OddParents the live-action feature film treatment. The first of the films was actually pretty good, though the ones that followed weren't really necessary.
Timmy's Continuing Obsession With Trixie Tang
Even though he was a 10-year-old kid, Timmy was still quite infatuated with a girl from his school by the name of Trixie Tang. Naturally, she was the most popular and prettiest girl in school, so at least Timmy wasn't setting his sights too high.
What was great about Trixie's character was that she actually evolved over the course of the series. But, Timmy's feelings for her really didn't change that much, which did get increasingly boring as the series went on.
Denzel Crocker's Fixation On Fairies
While the series had a lot of villains and bad guys, one of the most consistent was Denzel Q. Crocker. He was Timmy's teacher, and he was absolutely obsessed with fairies. Crocker was particularly fixated on his absolutely correct belief that Timmy had fairy godparents.
Crocker's ongoing, constant failures in his mission were humorous for the first few seasons. They got more tiresome over time, and Crocker's character didn't really change. His entire arc was based on failure, which has to change at some point.