Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[topanga]

 

The only opinion on Emmys, which I honestly don't care about (I don't watch most of the shows that got awards this year), is that Uzo Aduba did not deserve multiple awards for Crazy Eyes. I understand being impressed back in season 1, but the more she is on screen, the more I see it as her mugging in the exact. same. way. It's like Jack Nicholson playing Jack Torrance in 3 movies and getting 3 Oscars.

I've only watched a few episodes of OITNB, but when Uzo is on screen, I'm very aware that she is acting. I don't lose myself in her character the way I do when I watch performances from actors like Don Cheadle or Tatiana Maslany--ha! I said her name again.

[andromeda331]

At least one of the "oldies" channels is also elimnating the closing credits, which is driving me crazy when I recognize an actor in an episode and want to check out their name. I've noticed that it happens on The Avengers, My Favorite Martian, The Dick Van Dyke Show and several others. I thought eliminating credits went against broadcast regulations, which is why we get sped-up credits being squeezed into a tiny portion of the screen as the next program is beginning on so many other stations/networks. But it's been going on a while and I haven't heard any other complaints about it.​

I feel like every channel I watch anymore does this. It drives me crazy too for the same reason.

[Gudzilla]

One of the channels that really gets me was The Military Channel. First they change the name to American Heroes Channel, then they start showing I Almost Got Away With It. Nice heroes on that show.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Gudzilla

[Julia]

OK, I'll throw this left-fielder out for laughs and giggles but. ..

 

 I like it more when Dr. Ruth talks about topics besides sex! I mean, she gets nice and explicit,etc. but IMO she's led a very interesting life and has had a far wider range of studies and human  interactions besides sex alone but very few programs seem interested in hearing any other aspect of her life or POVs and it's too bad. Regardless of anything else, I find it intriguing that despite having had to leave her hometown of Frankfurt when she was only 10,   living many places since  then, and learning 3 new languages, Dr. Ruth has NEVER lost that German accent and I'm entertained by her giggle even if its not always for the right reasons on her part.

 

I have always been really annoyed by chickenhawkery - extravagant martial posturing on the part of people who have chosen not to serve - which is why it particularly amuses and delights me that the grandmotherly Dr. Ruth is a veteran of the israeli army who can fieldstrip an Uzi blindfolded.

[UYI]

I feel like every channel I watch anymore does this. It drives me crazy too for the same reason.

 

That's part of the charm of watching the old shows: Seeing when they had long opening credits and special closing credits! People LOVE them!

 

Bonus points if they include the old closing credits like this:

 

 

And to keep on topic, I LOVE the V of Doom now. It scared me as a kid, but not anymore. 

[DittyDotDot]

Orphan Black is on my list of shows I want to eventually watch. So who knows, maybe after I watch it, I'll come back with my tail between my legs and be like "You guys were right. She deserved every award ever!"

 

In my apparently unpopular opinion, no one deserves every award ever. I like the show well enough and think Maslany is doing a great job, but so are so many other actors. It's nice for a show to get some recognition, but since there's only four or five people nominated in each category and thousands of actors on hundreds of shows, there's always gonna be folks left out of the mix. Doesn't mean they aren't doing fine work, as well.

[Ohwell]

Morris Chestnut doesn't do a thing for me. 

[Chaos Theory]

In my apparently unpopular opinion, no one deserves every award ever. I like the show well enough and think Maslany is doing a great job, but so are so many other actors. It's nice for a show to get some recognition, but since there's only four or five people nominated in each category and thousands of actors on hundreds of shows, there's always gonna be folks left out of the mix. Doesn't mean they aren't doing fine work, as well.

I agree with this. As much as I think she does deserve mucho recognition I think every member of the cast of The Americans does too and that show has been badly and unforgivingly snubbed. Orphan Black is a great show And deserves great praise but not every award ever.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[mansonlamps]

Morris Chestnut doesn't do a thing for me.

For me in the category of men I'm supposed to throw myself at but do nothing for me it's George Cooney and Taye Diggs. Yeah I said it.

[selkie]

I thought Noah Wylie was the cute one in early aseasons of ER.

[spaceytraci1208]

Morris Chestnut doesn't do a thing for me.

He never looked better before or since his entrance scene in The Best Man; that was a "Daaaaaamn..." moment for me. That 30 seconds or so was pretty much it for me though.

Edited September 25, 2015 by spaceytraci1208

[DearEvette]

Morris Chestnut doesn't do a thing for me. 

 

Yeah, I am not seeing it.  He is a a very handsome man but he just doesn't work as a hearthrob for me.  see also:  Ryan Reynolds and... (very unpopular opinion here) Tom Hiddleston.

[ABay]

Loki's hot. Hiddleston, eh.

[Wings]

I am tired of the pope coverage. Enough.  Networks, get together and alternate days.  Only 25% of the US is catholic.  

[Neurochick]

Here's my UO #7777710101.

 

I don't need anybody to root for on a TV show.  The only time I root for anything is when a sports team I like is playing.  Otherwise, it's TV, it's not real.  I don't care if the characters are amoral, because it's a TV show, it's not real life, it's pretend.

 

I don't have issues with watching TV with closed captions on.  My TV is from the 1990's and it has closed captions, I take advantage of it, no problem.

[ganesh]

I only watch PBS news and they do one segment on the pope, so I think that's ok for me. 

[proserpina65]

I am tired of the pope coverage. Enough.  Networks, get together and alternate days.  Only 25% of the US is catholic.  

IDK, at least when they're covering the pope, they're not talking about an election that's still a year away.

I don't care if the characters are amoral, because it's a TV show, it's not real life, it's pretend.

 

I find it boring if ALL the characters on a show are amoral.  I like some variety.  Just one or two nice characters to mix it up some.  But the nice one doesn't have to be the center of the show.

I can't stand Taraji P. Henson.  I'm sure she's a fine actress and a good person, but something about her face bugs the crap out of me.  Maybe she has resting bitch face or something?  I don't wish her ill, and am glad her career is doing well.  I just don't want her on my tv.  Same goes for Lea Michele and Kristin Chenoweth, although with KC, it's also her voice.  But hey, that's why there's a channel changer on my remote.

[Kel Varnsen]

I don't need anybody to root for on a TV show.  The only time I root for anything is when a sports team I like is playing.  Otherwise, it's TV, it's not real.  I don't care if the characters are amoral, because it's a TV show, it's not real life, it's pretend.

 

I am the same way. Ever since my early teens I have preferred shows where the main characters were jerks. My favourite show right now is Archer and just about every character on that show is a total asshole. 

[Ohwell]

I am tired of the pope coverage. Enough.  Networks, get together and alternate days.  Only 25% of the US is catholic.  

I'm not Catholic but I don't mind because at least they're not talking about Donald Trump, and that's a blessing.

 

And, all due respect, I think the Pope's "body man" is a cutie.

[Wings]

I'm not Catholic but I don't mind because at least they're not talking about Donald Trump, and that's a blessing.

 

And, all due respect, I think the Pope's "body man" is a cutie.

 

 

Ha!  There is that silver lining!   

[Julia]

Loki's hot. Hiddleston, eh.

 

See, this is a UO in my actual household, but I think Loki has that british stick insect thing going on, and I wanted to throw him to the ground and roughly wash his hair.

[ribboninthesky1]

I'm with you, Julia.  I find Hiddleston way more attractive when he's not Loki.  Still don't find Hiddleston sexy, though. 

[hoosier80]

The one local station that plays sitcoms versus news and the evening game shows/entertainment shows has updated their lineup.  Now it includes 2 Broke Girls.  I've never seen it before, and I'm not finding it funny.  Maybe I need to see more episodes as I've only seen maybe 3 or 4 total now, but I've not had one genuine laugh.  Rest of the lineup is 2 1/2 Men (with Charlie), BBT, Mike & Molly, and Modern Family.  I've had real, genuine laughs from all of the other shows, some more than others.  Not seeing why this is a hit show.

[andromeda331]

The one local station that plays sitcoms versus news and the evening game shows/entertainment shows has updated their lineup.  Now it includes 2 Broke Girls.  I've never seen it before, and I'm not finding it funny.  Maybe I need to see more episodes as I've only seen maybe 3 or 4 total now, but I've not had one genuine laugh.  Rest of the lineup is 2 1/2 Men (with Charlie), BBT, Mike & Molly, and Modern Family.  I've had real, genuine laughs from all of the other shows, some more than others.  Not seeing why this is a hit show.

Your not the only one. I watched it because everyone around me said it was funny. I didn't find it funny at all.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I can beat you all.

As a young girl, I thought Carlton, not Will, was the cute one on Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

First saw Loki in Avengers and thought he looked terminally ill and haggard--not attractive at all. Saw Hiddleston as himself--da-yum!

[Ambrosefolly]

New Girl: I don't think it was wrong to pair Jess and Nick together. The chemistry was between Jake Johnson and Zooey Deschanel was too strong to ignore and I really enjoyed the initial build up. I think it would be equally bad to wait too long to pair them, because will they won't they can get real annoying if it goes on for too long. I actually liked the break up as well. They wanted different things out of life and realized they were at an impasse and decided to break up. If anything the fact they were once together and are now friends makes things less weird for me. 

[Shannon L.]

I don't need anybody to root for on a TV show.  The only time I root for anything is when a sports team I like is playing.  Otherwise, it's TV, it's not real.  I don't care if the characters are amoral, because it's a TV show, it's not real life, it's pretend.

I can handle shows like that, too, but I do like it when there's someone to care about, just to mix it up a bit.  Adding on to this a in a sense:  I'm perfectly fine with charming murderers and hookers with a heart of gold, etc. I have lines I won't cross, though, like rapists and child molesters, but someone like Red on The Blacklist, for example?  I'm quite entertained by them.

[Ohwell]

While the Chinese first lady's dress was nice, I thought Mrs. Obama looked absolutely stunning in that black Vera Wang dress.  I think the fact that she's tall made it even more stunning.  In fact, that might be one of my favorites.

 

I can't stand Taraji P. Henson.  I'm sure she's a fine actress and a good person, but something about her face bugs the crap out of me.  Maybe she has resting bitch face or something?  I don't wish her ill, and am glad her career is doing well.  I just don't want her on my tv.  Same goes for Lea Michele and Kristin Chenoweth, although with KC, it's also her voice.  But hey, that's why there's a channel changer on my remote.

 

I think the problem with Taraji is the makeup she wears on "Empire."  I never watched Person of Interest so I don't know if she had RBF (resting bitch face) or not.  However, I saw her in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Hustle and Flow" where she wore little or no makeup, and her face looked much less bitchy and angry.  I stopped watching "Empire" last season so at least I don't have to see her RBF any more.

 

I know nothing about Lea Michele because I never watched "Glee" but I do know that I have the urge to punch her in the face every time I see her on tv, and I honestly don't know why I feel that way.   I just do.     

 

Kristen Chenoweth is just too annoyingly "precious" for words and her cartoon voice is so grating and breathless, but I'd be scared to punch her in the face because she might break into little pieces. 

[ByTor]

Now it includes 2 Broke Girls.  I've never seen it before, and I'm not finding it funny.

A lot of people say they watch it because of the chemistry between the girls, and my UO is that I emphatically do not. To me, they both scream "Hey everybody, we're acting!!!!" when they say their lines. It sounds like "your turn to talk"..."now your turn to talk"..."now I'm going to smirk and giggle at my own unfunny joke."  I can't believe the show has lasted as long a it has.

 

I think the problem with Taraji is the makeup she wears on "Empire."  I never watched Person of Interest so I don't know if she had RBF (resting bitch face) or not.

I have big time RBF, so I tend to like people who also have it :)

   

Kristen Chenoweth is just too annoyingly "precious" for words and her cartoon voice is so grating and breathless, but I'd be scared to punch her in the face because she might break into little pieces.

I can't stand that voice either. And I also think she's a terrible singer. Edited September 26, 2015 by ByTor

[Kel Varnsen]

One of the channels that really gets me was The Military Channel. First they change the name to American Heroes Channel, then they start showing I Almost Got Away With It. Nice heroes on that show.

Never seen that show, but if they almost got away with it wouldn't it be the guys who caught them that were the heroes?

[The Crazed Spruce]

Just a reminder that this thread (and this forum, for that matter) is for discussion of television and celebrities, not politics. This includes any and all discussion of First Ladies (or First Gentlemen) past, present, and future.

Any political comments, even something as simple as commenting on a former First Lady's appearance, will be removed immediately.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

The Pope is a dear sweet man and I do not say this as an insult to him, but I live in Philadelphia and I am sick to death of papal coverage. It's dominated the local news for close to a year, and has talked of nothing else but the World Meeting of Families this whole weekend. I am DONE!

[LeeLeePanda]

Here's my UO #7777710101.

I don't need anybody to root for on a TV show. The only time I root for anything is when a sports team I like is playing. Otherwise, it's TV, it's not real. I don't care if the characters are amoral, because it's a TV show, it's not real life, it's pretend.

I don't have issues with watching TV with closed captions on. My TV is from the 1990's and it has closed captions, I take advantage of it, no problem.

I agree with both points! Look at Scandal: the majority of the characters on that show are horrible people. And yet I i like almost every character despite the fact that I'd run screaming from them in real life. The only character I don't care for is Fitz. He's the worst, but I don't think that's an unpopular opinion ;)

I have trouble hearing things from speakers, so I prefer to use closed caption. It used to drive my parents crazy when I lived at home, which is funny as they also can't hear the tv.

[htomsirveaux]

Here's an unpopular topic...

I was watching an infomercial for the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and I realized something...I like the Comedy Central Roasts better! Maybe unlike the DMCRs, they don't have to come up with a different victim (?) every week. That and when I watch the old roasts (which I used to watch when I was a kid), one thought keeps running through my mind: Everyone on the panel (with the exception of Don Rickles) is dead!

[Shannon L.]

Not being afraid to kill off favorite characters isn't going to keep me excited about a show.  Instead, it frustrates me and makes me wonder why I should even bother becoming invested in it.  I understand killing one on occasion throughout the series--shocking exits aren't without their merits and I understand that sometimes it's because an actor is leaving a show, but to do it regularly?  I don't like it.

[proserpina65]

I think the problem with Taraji is the makeup she wears on "Empire."  I never watched Person of Interest so I don't know if she had RBF (resting bitch face) or not.  However, I saw her in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Hustle and Flow" where she wore little or no makeup, and her face looked much less bitchy and angry.  I stopped watching "Empire" last season so at least I don't have to see her RBF any more.

 

You may just be onto something.  I've only ever seen her in the ads for Empire.

The Pope is a dear sweet man and I do not say this as an insult to him, but I live in Philadelphia and I am sick to death of papal coverage. It's dominated the local news for close to a year, and has talked of nothing else but the World Meeting of Families this whole weekend. I am DONE!

I've been thankful this past week that I get the Baltimore feed on Directv, not the Philadelphia one.  I don't mind some Pope coverage, but I think the non-stop coverage on the Philly channels would've driven me insane.

[Princess Sparkle]

I have to say, I have never ever understood the great love for ADA Barba on Law and Order:SVU.  I mean, he's alright, but he wouldn't even make it in my top 5 ADAs in the Law & Order universe.  

[Bastet]

I agree the detailed coverage of the Pope's visit has been ridiculous.  Virtually all the news programs I watch are on PBS and Al Jazeera America, and their coverage of the Pope's visit has been reasonable.  But last night I was with a small group of people who'd been subjected to the seemingly non-stop coverage by major news outlets and I felt their pain -- When we turned on the local (Los Angeles) news after the game and the lead story was the Pope's departure, much yelling along the lines of "Good, now we don't have to hear about him anymore" (and other, far less polite versions) ensued. 

[ByTor]

Look at Scandal: the majority of the characters on that show are horrible people. And yet I i like almost every character despite the fact that I'd run screaming from them in real life.

I hear ya! I feel the same way about Breaking Bad/Walter White

[kiddo82]

Not being afraid to kill off favorite characters isn't going to keep me excited about a show.  Instead, it frustrates me and makes me wonder why I should even bother becoming invested in it.  I understand killing one on occasion throughout the series--shocking exits aren't without their merits and I understand that sometimes it's because an actor is leaving a show, but to do it regularly?  I don't like it.

This is one of my biggest gripes with 24. You go to that well one too many times and it ceases to be shocking and instead feels cheap. I hold the UO that the best death they ever did was Janet York's murder waaaay back in season 1. It was scary and out of left field but at the same time totally earned. But you have to have balance. The lowest lows come after the highest highs and vice versa. If it's never shocking because no one dies, the same can be said if everyone dies.

Or maybe I just never forgave 24 after they killed off Michelle, my once and always TV girl crush.

On that note, I have no problemo with gratuitous sex, language, violence or whatever. But just because you can show it, doesn't mean you should show it all the time. Like anything else it begins to feel too gimmicky and cheapens the effect when it's truly called for. I've seen the first episode and a half of the Bastard Executioner and it's like watching a B-list slasher movie. Not that I do not like B-list horror movies, but there's a reason they have to resort to gimmicks to entertain people. A show with the ambitions of the Bastard Executioner should focus on telling an intriguing story and not attempting to distract the audience with over the top gore at every turn.

[Shannon L.]

For some reason, most of the deaths on 24 didn't bother me much.  Maybe because there was very little in the way of an series story arc and I was able to see each show as a completely new one.  I don't know.  Some of them bothered me, but not as much as GOT (I'm talking about this a lot these days because it's the one that I'm watching with my husband and I'm just not all that into it.  Just watched the Red Wedding episode and that's what prompted my last post).

 

But just because you can show it, doesn't mean you should show it all the time. Like anything else it begins to feel too gimmicky and cheapens the effect when it's truly called for.

I agree.  See GOT.  In the same vein, I felt the same way about the writers' attempts to shock us in the first two hours of Scream Queens with crass/rude/sexist/etc..dialogue.  Seriously....."slits", "bikini burger", "box munch", "promise not to touch my wiener" (said more than once), "he's got a huge boner", "white mammy", "I need a white eyeliner [to write on the black girl's skin] so it will show up", "We're headed out to the local bar to pick up some sluts", just to name a few.  Eye roll worthy, cringe inducing and not all that appropriate for a show that started at 8pm, imo.  Too bad, too, because I think the show has potential.  I'll be interested to see if they settle down a bit and threw in so much just because it was the pilot.  Also?  Back to GOT:  George RR Martin is a friend of a friend.  She told me that he was talking to the execs at HBO about why they are putting sex in scenes where it wasn't in the book.  They said it's called "sexposition" and it's put in there to get people to pay attention  because no one wants to see people simply talking.  Personally, I would think that the sex would distract viewers, but what do I know?

Edited September 28, 2015 by Shannon L.

[selkie]

I have this thing about trying to stay away from much Presidential election coverage until it's actually the election year, so it was kind of nice to have the Pope bump The Trump off my tv screen for a couple days. My preferred news channel these days is BBC News (thank you, Directv for picking it up a while back!) but even they start to repeat feature stories a couple times most days so it's nice to have some news channel variety.

[DeLurker]

Not sure if it is an UP, but I don't get all the fuss about Kaley Cuoco nor understand why she is always on my tv (BBT is run in syndication to death and she seems to be on commercials a lot too).  As an actress, she's nothing special to me.  I don't find her to have the "it" factor nor does she come across as engaging, charming, interesting...she's attractive, but not exceptionally so. 

Edited September 29, 2015 by DeLurker

[proserpina65]

Not sure if it is an UP, but I don't get all the fuss about Kaley Cuoco nor understand why she is always on my tv (BBT is run in syndication to death and she seems to be on commercials a lot too).  As an actress, she's nothing special to me.  I don't find her to have the "it" factor nor does she come across as engaging, charming, interesting...she's attractive, but not exceptionally so. 

I don't care one way or the other about Kaley Cuoco, but better her on my tv than the Kardashians.  At least Kaley has some talent.

[Princess Sparkle]

Not sure if it is an UP, but I don't get all the fuss about Kaley Cuoco nor understand why she is always on my tv (BBT is run in syndication to death and she seems to be on commercials a lot too).  As an actress, she's nothing special to me.  I don't find her to have the "it" factor nor does she come across as engaging, charming, interesting...she's attractive, but not exceptionally so. 

As opposed to having resting bitch face, she has resting smug face, and thus, drives me absolutely bonkers.  And from the little I watched of The Big Bang Theory, she appears to be pulling all of her character's habits from Rachel Green, and I couldn't unsee it.  

[cpcathy]

I think Penny is a poorly written character (she's pretty, she's dumb, no--she's smart now!) and Kaley is sub par at best. I am irked at how much the entire cast of BBT make per episode now, and that only Jim Parsons seems capable of bringing actual comedy and pathos to his role. Everyone else is just resting on being lazy.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I said it before, I'll say it again: I think Melissa Rausch is not only a thousand times prettier than Kaley Cuoco, but I think she and Mayim Bialyk both wipe the floor with her in terms of acting and comedic timing. Not that Cuoco is awful (I've definitely seen worse), but she's just mediocre.

 

 

I don't expect all fictional characters to be likable... but I refuse to apologize for preferring likable characters. With that said, isn't it nice that it takes all kinds and we can all have varied opinions on these things? 

[meep.meep]

I don't care one way or the other about Kaley Cuoco, but better her on my tv than the Kardashians.  At least Kaley has some talent.

 

To quote a gay DJ (male) I listen to, when he asked his straight friends about her, the answer was "She hot!"

I think she's fine - it's difficult to play straight when everyone else is supposed to be strange.  But then, I think Jim Parsons is wildly overrated on that show.

[Rockstar99435]

Not being afraid to kill off favorite characters isn't going to keep me excited about a show.  Instead, it frustrates me and makes me wonder why I should even bother becoming invested in it.  I understand killing one on occasion throughout the series--shocking exits aren't without their merits and I understand that sometimes it's because an actor is leaving a show, but to do it regularly?  I don't like it.

 

There's got to be a balance. On most shows, I know they're not going to kill off the main character so there's no real tension when that character is "in danger". On the other hand, once the writers start killing everyone, there's no impact when a character dies. On Lost, back in Season 1,

when it looked like Charlie had been killed

, I cried like a baby. But by Season 4, whenever a character died, my reaction was more, "Aw. I liked that guy. At least he had a cool death." At some point it stopped being shocking and was boring.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Rockstar99435

[ganesh]

It depends on the setting. GOT is a brutal world and has been consistent in that stupid or arrogant people do such things that get them killed. But then when *everyone* acts stupid or arrogant and dies, it's like come one. There's going to be like 5 people left when winter comes. 

 

When I think about it, killing characters off is kind of easy. Having the character suffer trauma and work through that over several episodes is hard. Farscape did that well.