Downward Cycle

Downward Spiral but it gets worse than getting worse.

A series of events that progressively becomes more painful every time it repeats. The victims of the Downward Cycle may start off having fun, but the repetition inevitably smothers whatever level of enjoyment they can derive from it. Fail And Repeat can be a Downward Cycle for those with weaker resolves who give up easily. A second UnTrash with this potential is Good Thing Turns Bad, which can rob a person of their happiness in indulging in the same one activity, no matter how sure they are that it won't happen. It's That Time Of Year Again is a slower loop in which the usually unwilling participants dread what's to come next: boredom, monotony, and Unfiltered Agony.

Not all Downward Cycles consist of steps that repeat sequentially. A franchise can transform into a giant Downward Cycle if it becomes repetitive, predictable, uninteresting, or self-limiting. This can be done in a number of ways, all of which turn the audience off and drives them away. If creators focus on the same Kiddie Pool of topics or storylines, they give the impression they can't do anything more than they are, even if they can. A franchise swirling into a Downward Cycle might be the product of the creators' fear of alienating their core fans with unexpected newness. However, the reverse case is often true: introducing a new and experimental way of running things can rekindle interest in a franchise, especially if it's been around for a long time.