What really annoys me is when people say that Madoka saved the genre or brought new life to it, or that the genre needed a show like Madoka.

For what? To pave the way for dozens of crappy imitations pulling the same shock value stunt?

How has Madoka Magica been a positive influence on the genre so far? 

Heck, I might not have even minded a darker magical girl show, if it had been at least been a shoujo series instead of a grimdark wangst-fest made by a guy with suffering and eroge on the brain.

I wouldn't mind these dark themed shows so much if they could actually stay within the shoujo demographic, instead of appealing to otaku with their blatantly moe character designs and throwing fanservice in our faces.