There's a very strange relationship between character/plot development and maintaining the status quo. Changing said status, if done poorly, may result in a Dork Age. A Dork Age is a period in a franchise, especially Long Runners, where there was a dramatic change of concept or execution, usually to stay current, and it simply did not work. This trope's name evolved from the Wiz Kid Time Skip of BattleTech, which they called Mechwarrior: Dark Age. You can see what the fans did there.