Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[vibeology]

7 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

My biggest worry is with that much original content the chances of crap getting developed become a lot bigger. It is easy for nextflix to put out great shows when they only put out one or new shows a year. What happens when they have their first bomb?

It's already happened. Did anyone lose their mind over The Ranch? Marco Polo? Shadow Hunters? They put out a new show a week. They're not all big hits or creative content. In fact very few are. (Did anything think Fuller House was quality? How about XOXO?) They don't care. It's already been made and if someone does or doesn't watch really doesn't matter since they're also already gotten paid.

[Hybridcookie]

12 minutes ago, vibeology said:

It's already happened. Did anyone lose their mind over The Ranch? Marco Polo? Shadow Hunters? They put out a new show a week. They're not all big hits or creative content. In fact very few are. (Did anything think Fuller House was quality? How about XOXO?) They don't care. It's already been made and if someone does or doesn't watch really doesn't matter since they're also already gotten paid.

Shadowhunters isn't a Netflix original. It airs on Freeform in the US

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

It's already happened. Did anyone lose their mind over The Ranch? Marco Polo? Shadow Hunters? They put out a new show a week. They're not all big hits or creative content. In fact very few are. (Did anything think Fuller House was quality? How about XOXO?) They don't care. It's already been made and if someone does or doesn't watch really doesn't matter since they're also already gotten paid.

The sad fact is networks are becoming less and less likely to put their shows on Netflix.   They would rather set up their own online content and charge you for that.   Netflix has to make themselves stand out from the other networks who are starting to enter the Internet age themselves.  Taking chances with shows like Sense8 which would never have made it past the sensors on anything less then HBO and shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones both of which would have been severely watered down on network tv.  Yes of course they have misses.  What Network doesn't?  But then Netflix has also revived a few network favorites for "one more season" which is kinda cool of them:

Edited September 23, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[zxy556575]

36 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

The sad fact is networks are becoming less and less likely to put their shows on Netflix. They would rather set up their own online content and charge you for that.

That really is a pain in the ass and inexorably the way things are headed. On the plus side for me as a consumer, it's hella expensive for a network to set up, maintain and provide direct customer support and billing for their own service, so CBS All Access aside, there probably won't be a real onrush for a while.

[callie lee 29]

I still have cable and I still like cable. I really enjoy being able to watch things "live"  our at least a little later that night. I have a Dr but I mainly use it to record multiple episodes of shows that are on syndication do I can watch them on the weekend. That and for on demand, but I much prefer watching a new episode on the day it premiered. Until streaming or roku, etc. can do that I'll keep my cable box (and pay an obscene amount to have 1600+ channels and watch maybe 20 or so).

[ParadoxLost]

9 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

I still have cable and I still like cable. I really enjoy being able to watch things "live"  our at least a little later that night. I have a Dr but I mainly use it to record multiple episodes of shows that are on syndication do I can watch them on the weekend. That and for on demand, but I much prefer watching a new episode on the day it premiered. Until streaming or roku, etc. can do that I'll keep my cable box (and pay an obscene amount to have 1600+ channels and watch maybe 20 or so).

I still have cable and I still like cable and I still hate cable companies. 

The people I know who give up cable make me want to scream and put me off the very idea. Because must I really listen to you strategize how you will get rid of your cable, and still get all of your programs and save tons of money, through the most convoluted approach possible for six months.  Then must I really inspect your handy work and how all your various programs and devices that you must flip through get you the programs you want for the six months after that.

You know what I do?  I turn on the TV or I go to any website and type in my cable provider or click on demand.  Then once a year I call the cable company and bitch at them about the price for 15 minutes and they lower it.

The only time I think about ditching cable is when I'm forced to interact with the cable company.  But you know all these people ditching cable still need internet.  They ditched cable but not the providers.

Can you guess that I'm currently in the phase where the cable ditchers are explaining to me that when Google Fiber is available in their area the world will be a utopia where unicorns shoot high speed internet for free out of their butts.

[atomationage]

I rarely ever watch television, and manage to get more "tv" programming than I can possibly watch with my computers.  I do miss some things, but there are  more programs than I will probably ever catch up on.

Back up  to Portlandia, I only ever saw part of one episode.  It's something that I can't even believe that anyone would ever watch. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by atomationage

[Chaos Theory]

I like watching tv live as well.  There is just something about watching tv with everyone else.  Then again I also have Netflix because I like choices.  My issue with cord cutters is that they are the ones to complain the hardest when Netfllix wants to raise prices by $1 even after they double their content.  I would understand if they tried to double the price or charge $50 to stream Netflix but charging a couple dollars more isn't going to break the bank especially for those people who already stopped paying for cable.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Chaos Theory
My Phone hates me

[ribboninthesky1]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

I still have cable and I still like cable and I still hate cable companies. 

The people I know who give up cable make me want to scream and put me off the very idea. Because must I really listen to you strategize how you will get rid of your cable, and still get all of your programs and save tons of money, through the most convoluted approach possible for six months.  Then must I really inspect your handy work and how all your various programs and devices that you must flip through get you the programs you want for the six months after that.

You know what I do?  I turn on the TV or I go to any website and type in my cable provider or click on demand.  Then once a year I call the cable company and bitch at them about the price for 15 minutes and they lower it.

The only time I think about ditching cable is when I'm forced to interact with the cable company.  But you know all these people ditching cable still need internet.  They ditched cable but not the providers.

Can you guess that I'm currently in the phase where the cable ditchers are explaining to me that when Google Fiber is available in their area the world will be a utopia where unicorns shoot high speed internet for free out of their butts.

This is the funniest thing I've read today.  Thank you. I understand how annoying that must be. 

[Chaos Theory]

After watching a couple of the recent remakes on this season I realized I don't neccaery hate remakes.  Lethal Weapon had its charms but not so much with Macgyver .  i got to thinking what shows I would like to see being remade and I came up with two. Sliders and Quantum Leap.  Time travel shows are big this season and so are special genius type shows and both fit in with that.  Sliders was an alternate universe show so that had the added benefit of being a little different.  Plus both had their share of late series production problems so if someone updated the show with decent actors and current fx it might be fun,

Edited September 24, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[NutMeg]

A remake of Sex and the city, 20 years later, could be interesting. By that I mean either reboot with different actors who would be the age the original characters would be now, or bring back available actors if possible, so as to cater to the initial audience. I know, middle age audience might sound crazy at first to TPTB, but in terms of purchasing power, I think it's a pretty strong segment.

[ParadoxLost]

1 hour ago, NutMeg said:

A remake of Sex and the city, 20 years later, could be interesting. By that I mean either reboot with different actors who would be the age the original characters would be now, or bring back available actors if possible, so as to cater to the initial audience. I know, middle age audience might sound crazy at first to TPTB, but in terms of purchasing power, I think it's a pretty strong segment.

I'm a monster.  But weren't they middle aged the first time?

I personally think they've done all the major times in these ladies lives.  They just went in reverse.   The Golden Girls to Sex in the City to whatever that Sex in the City CW prequel was.

[NutMeg]

6 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

I'm a monster.  But weren't they middle aged the first time?

I personally think they've done all the major times in these ladies lives.  They just went in reverse.   The Golden Girls to Sex in the City to whatever that Sex in the City CW prequel was.

Yes, you are a indeed monster :) - weren't they in their late 20s or early 30s at the beginning of the first season? If we forget the movies that followed the series, I still think some kind of reboot with a different cast is possible. 

[ParadoxLost]

5 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

Yes, you are a indeed monster :) - weren't they in their late 20s or early 30s at the beginning of the first season? If we forget the movies that followed the series, I still think some kind of reboot with a different cast is possible. 

OK, so they were all early 30s at the beginning except Cattrall who was early 40s.  You'll have to forgive me, I was raised in TV where thirty year olds played high school students so people who play 30 year olds in TV must be played by sexagenarians.

The fact that SJP had been in stuff as long as I can remember, made me assume she was older.  What the hell was a teenager doing playing a teenager in Square Pegs and Footloose?

[bilgistic]

The first SATC movie (let's pretend the second didn't happen) ended with Samantha's 50th birthday dinner. She was the oldest of the women. That was released in 2008. I think it was supposed to be four years post-show.

"The Carrie Diaries" was a prequel on the CW; it was on for two seasons.

I loved SATC, but stick a fork in that; it's done.

[ABay]

I'm catching up on The Musketeers and don't know if this is an UO among viewers, but Tom Burke has never worked as Athos for me. He's a wee wisp of a man, has no definition in his arms, which is odd for a guy who's supposed to be good with a sword, and he's not even the first among equals, let alone charismatic enough to be the leader. The production departed from the books very early on (first 10 minutes) and I've rolled with it, but Athos is my favorite Musketeer, damn it, and casting matters a lot to my enjoyment of any adaptation. This has the best Aramis, imo, a good Treville, and the least annoying D'Artagnan I've ever endured, even Porthos has grown on me, but Athos is a total fail. The actor was good in The Hour but this is not a good fit.

[Anela]

On 9/22/2016 at 2:44 PM, atomationage said:

I'm already saturated.  All Netflix is interested in is trying to  compete with Amazon Prime and other services.  They're like cable tv channels.  There's a million of them, and most of them only have 1 program that I would want to watch.   I kid you not, I have way over 3000 hours of tv shows and movies saved on hard drives that I haven't even watched yet, or that I've already watched but won't delete yet until I re-watch one more time, or that I've watched a little bit, and will watch more later.  I haven't had time to watch anything on Hulu for 6 months. 

We ended up keeping Amazon prime in July, because they bought "Medium" (my mother's favourite show). then we lost her, and I'm considering cancelling it again, so that we can get our money back. I thought I'd be watching quite a bit of it, but I've hardly watched anything on there - although I like that I can download things to my iPad, to watch when I'm not around wifi or a TV/roku. I wish Netflix would do that. 

[truthaboutluv]

I liked the second season of Mr. Robot. Yes, there were parts that were slow, not unlike the first season and it took time for everything to come together but I thought it was just as well written, well acted and engaging as the first season. The thing is, shows like Mr. Robot, while they are awesome can also be frustrating. Not because of the show itself but because of what it brings out in some viewers. That is, they're so busy trying to be so "smart" or prove how "clever" they are and that they can figure out all the big twists and gotcha moments before it happens, that EVERY SINGLE THING gets over-analyzed and read into and reanalyzed and it ends up sucking their own enjoyment of the show. And then that gets blamed on the writers and they're criticized for the season not being as good. Not to mention that then it's a thousand rounds of "I'm so confused..."  Seriously, no offense to the folks who post there but that's why for as much as I love the show and adore Rami beyond...I avoid the Mr. Robot board on here like the plague. I can't do it. 

Edited September 25, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[ribboninthesky1]

4 hours ago, ABay said:

I'm catching up on The Musketeers and don't know if this is an UO among viewers, but Tom Burke has never worked as Athos for me. He's a wee wisp of a man, has no definition in his arms, which is odd for a guy who's supposed to be good with a sword, and he's not even the first among equals, let alone charismatic enough to be the leader. The production departed from the books very early on (first 10 minutes) and I've rolled with it, but Athos is my favorite Musketeer, damn it, and casting matters a lot to my enjoyment of any adaptation. This has the best Aramis, imo, a good Treville, and the least annoying D'Artagnan I've ever endured, even Porthos has grown on me, but Athos is a total fail. The actor was good in The Hour but this is not a good fit.

You are not alone. I've never read the book, so can't speak to that, but Burke was always the weakest link on the show for me.  And to be extra shallow, among a cast with very attractive men, he was lacking in the looks department. I know, I know, beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that.  

[ganesh]

Quote

Sliders and Quantum Leap.

Marry me. 

These are the only remakes I could get behind. I've been talking about this for years. 

I'd even moosh the continuity and have Sammi be the new Sam and learn about leaping from an older Al in a cameo. 

Sliders is easy because you don't even need the same characters, it's just the concept. JRD had said that Sliders should be an American Doctor Who. There's no reason it can't just keep going. 

[selkie]

Sex and the City UO: I never really cared if Carrie ended up with Big or Aidan or Aleksandr or whoever. I didn't stick with the show for the relationships, be they platonic or romantic. I watched because the early seasons made me laugh and often laugh hard. I mean the tantric sex workshop episode was pure comedy genius in my book. Got bored with the later part of the series run because IMO, it stopped being funny. 

Edited September 25, 2016 by selkie

[ribboninthesky1]

It feels like this comes up every fall due to the introduction of new shows: for me, a pilot's job is to pique interest in the show.  I am not obligated to give it a few more episodes because "pilotitis" or whatever explanation there is for sucky pilots.  Doesn't mean I expect perfection.  It does mean that I expect to be interested. If I'm not, I'm out.  As already mentioned upthread, we're in a time where there's more content than ever available. That's not necessarily a good thing, but the reality is, I don't watch TV today like I did years ago since 1) I was younger, and 2) there wasn't the variety in programming there is today.      

Also related to pilots - I get that they're used to pitch the show to execs, and commonly shot months/years in advance of other episodes.  Still, a great way to turn me off of a show is establish character beats or plot points that are presumably important, only to drop them because writers decided to go in a different direction in future episodes.  It makes me wish that pilots pitched to execs weren't the same as what is aired to the public.  If you want to tweak the show, do it before anything airs, damn it.  

If it's obvious that you're working out your show as you go along because you don't really know what story you want to tell, I'm out.  Not interested in Build-A-Bear parallels in my TV-watching. This is a huge pet peeve of mine because when I'm invested in a show, I pay attention.  TV is not something I have on while doing something else (I listen to music for that).  I do think that's one advantage a show on Netflix or Prime may have over traditional programming.  Since all of the episodes tend to be released at once, I assume there's less wiggle room for tweaks and changes as the season progresses. Presumably, if there are changes, they're done before the episodes are released, so the average viewer is none the wiser.  

Finally, if it airs in the episode, it's canon.  I don't care if it's the pilot or the 23rd episode.  The following are NOT canon: deleted scenes, extra scenes not in the episode but available on the website/social media, or unaired, leaked episodes. If it's not in the episode as aired, I don't give a damn.  Not interested in scavenger hunts with my TV-watching.  

Edited September 25, 2016 by ribboninthesky1

[ganesh]

Also not canon : what TPTBs say about the show on social media. 

[Neurochick]

15 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I liked the second season of Mr. Robot. Yes, there were parts that were slow, not unlike the first season and it took time for everything to come together but I thought it was just as well written, well acted and engaging as the first season. The thing is, shows like Mr. Robot, while they are awesome can also be frustrating. Not because of the show itself but because of what it brings out in some viewers. That is, they're so busy trying to be so "smart" or prove how "clever" they are and that they can figure out all the big twists and gotcha moments before it happens, that EVERY SINGLE THING gets over-analyzed and read into and reanalyzed and it ends up sucking their own enjoyment of the show. And then that gets blamed on the writers and they're criticized for the season not being as good. Not to mention that then it's a thousand rounds of "I'm so confused..."  Seriously, no offense to the folks who post there but that's why for as much as I love the show and adore Rami beyond...I avoid the Mr. Robot board on here like the plague. I can't do it. 

I love this.  I can't stand the thousand rounds of "I'm so confused" either.  Ugh, watch the show people.

[ganesh]

I don't post much on that board either. I've said before: I really wonder how many people actually watch shows anymore. TPTBs aren't going to make shows overly complex, but I think it's fair to expect viewers to pay attention to the show. And the corollary to that : People who "fast forward through that scene." OK, but don't waste my time telling me about it because I actually did watch the the show and want to talk about it with the others. 

[Miss Dee]

UO: I completely understand why show runners and networks "dumb down" shows. When I look at some of the asinine conclusions and assumptions I see on some forums, I'm amazed they don't "dumb down" things even further. 

[ribboninthesky1]

6 hours ago, ganesh said:

Also not canon : what TPTBs say about the show on social media. 

Forgot about that - thanks for the reminder. 

I understand people watch TV differently - for some, it is background noise; others, something to entertain after a long day of work/school/whatever.  Different strokes and all.  That said, I am confused about discussing a show one has not paid much attention to. If I'm not that invested in a show, I don't have much to contribute to the forum. 

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

That said, I am confused about discussing a show one has not paid much attention to. If I'm not that invested in a show, I don't have much to contribute to the forum. 

We've been down this road before.  ; )

[NutMeg]

On 9/25/2016 at 4:59 AM, ParadoxLost said:

I personally think they've done all the major times in these ladies lives.

 

On 9/25/2016 at 5:22 AM, bilgistic said:

stick a fork in that; it's done.

of course you disagree, this is the Unpopular TV Opinions, isn't it? :)

I still stick with my opinion that I would love a series about what happens after happily-ever-after, done in the tone of Sex and the City, warts and all.  

[topanga]

My UO: when someone doesn't recognize a celebrity on a commercial or in a guest spot on a TV show, and they're all, "Who the hell is THAT?" It happens a lot in the forums (though not necessarily in this thread). And maybe I'm sensitive because a lot of the people who get reactions like that are people of color. So on the commercials thread, instead of saying, "I didn't recognize Nikki Minhaj on that commercial" or "I don't really know who John Legend is," we get "Who the hell is THAT?" "He's supposed to be some big-time singer." I totally understand that you might not recognize an actor, musician, etc. But if the person is a bona-fide celebrity who has sold millions of records or has been in movies or TV shows, just because you don't know who they are doesn't mean they aren't stars. 

For example, I always confuse Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood, though I know they are both huge celebrities. But I don't minimize their celebrity status. I recognize the confusion as my own limitation. And I just accept that I will constantly have to Google or bug my children about which one sings the theme song to Sunday Night Football since I can't get my pea brain to remember which is which. 

[Neurochick]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

My UO: when someone doesn't recognize a celebrity on a commercial or in a guest spot on a TV show, and they're all, "Who the hell is THAT?" It happens a lot in the forums (though not necessarily in this thread). And maybe I'm sensitive because a lot of the people who get reactions like that are people of color. So on the commercials thread, instead of saying, "I didn't recognize Nikki Minhaj on that commercial" or "I don't really know who John Legend is," we get "Who the hell is THAT?" "He's supposed to be some big-time singer." I totally understand that you might not recognize an actor, musician, etc. But if the person is a bona-fide celebrity who has sold millions of records or has been in movies or TV shows, just because you don't know who they are doesn't mean they aren't stars. 

Yes, this DOES happen a lot with POC.  Sometimes I feel there are white people who believe that if they don't know who a person is, they're not famous. 

I don't know who a lot of celebrities are, but that's not because they're not famous, that's because I'm middle aged and don't watch a lot of the shows young people watch. 

[cpcathy]

I tend to know who celebrities are in commercials, or guest spots, because I'm a huge entertainment-phile (I mean, do NOT play Trivial Pursuit against me!) but my husband does not. He will ask "Who is THAT?" like it's an accusatory exclamation.

[GHScorpiosRule]

DISCLAIMER: Former fan of Mel Gibson.

So, I watched the premiere of Lethal Weapon and was so not impressed. Not that I expected it to be just like the movie it is based on/inspired by, etc., etc. Then I decided to watch the movies. Yes, I still have the dvds of all four Lethal Weapons because they are good movies. Well, the last one, not so much. The gravitas of what we saw in the first, pretty much gone.

BUT, here's my unpopular opinion: Clayne Crawford, who is playing the tv version of Martin Riggs, just doesn't have the charisma, sexiness, humor,  that Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs did.  Even the suicidal "crazy" he portrayed where I, as a viewer, wasn't entirely sure if he was crazy or not. He definitely convinced me he was suicidal.

So, for me, not going to watch. Even though I enjoyed Damon Wayans.

Edited September 26, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[vibeology]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

My UO: when someone doesn't recognize a celebrity on a commercial or in a guest spot on a TV show, and they're all, "Who the hell is THAT?" It happens a lot in the forums (though not necessarily in this thread). And maybe I'm sensitive because a lot of the people who get reactions like that are people of color. So on the commercials thread, instead of saying, "I didn't recognize Nikki Minhaj on that commercial" or "I don't really know who John Legend is," we get "Who the hell is THAT?" "He's supposed to be some big-time singer." I totally understand that you might not recognize an actor, musician, etc. But if the person is a bona-fide celebrity who has sold millions of records or has been in movies or TV shows, just because you don't know who they are doesn't mean they aren't stars. 

For example, I always confuse Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood, though I know they are both huge celebrities. But I don't minimize their celebrity status. I recognize the confusion as my own limitation. And I just accept that I will constantly have to Google or bug my children about which one sings the theme song to Sunday Night Football since I can't get my pea brain to remember which is which. 

My Dad does this all the time and it gets so frustrating. I just want to scream at him because I don't think someone isn't actually famous or worthy of a TV commercial because a 60 year old white guy who only listens to country music, watches sports and maybe sees one movie a year in a theatre doesn't know who they are. It comes up more with POC but anyone targeted at a younger audience gets it too. Selena Gomez's shampoo commercials are the perfect storm. He will not believe me that she is famous, sells records, has all the instagram records etc. Because he has no experience with her, it's like she doesn't actually exist.

Oh, but because I grew up with that guy, I do know the difference between Yearwood and Underwood. Carrie is much younger, married to a hockey player (I love Mike Fisher!) and sings the theme song for Sunday Night Football. Trisha is older, married to Garth Brooks and sometimes cooks on TV. I don't have a trick to help you remember it; I'm just agreeing that different life experiences mean people will know different things but that doesn't diminish the person or the celebrity. I still don't know who is who in One Direction besides Zayn and Harry. They other three are a total mystery. I can guarantee my little cousin would burst my eardrums with angry screaming if I admitted to that.

[topanga]

39 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Oh, but because I grew up with that guy, I do know the difference between Yearwood and Underwood. Carrie is much younger, married to a hockey player (I love Mike Fisher!) and sings the theme song for Sunday Night Football. Trisha is older, married to Garth Brooks and sometimes cooks on TV. I don't have a trick to help you remember it; I'm just agreeing that different life experiences mean people will know different things but that doesn't diminish the person or the celebrity. I still don't know who is who in One Direction besides Zayn and Harry. They other three are a total mystery. I can guarantee my little cousin would burst my eardrums with angry screaming if I admitted to that.

Thanks! I think it must be a mental block. I've been to college. I have a job that requires me to remember things. Why I can't remember how these two ladies look baffles the mind. Oh, and I watch Sunday Night Football, so I see one of them every week during football season. *reading your post again* It's Carrie. I see Carrie every Sunday. 

[proserpina65]

Quote

 I still don't know who is who in One Direction besides Zayn and Harry. They other three are a total mystery. I can guarantee my little cousin would burst my eardrums with angry screaming if I admitted to that.

There's a Liam, isn't there?  And maybe a Niall?  Or possibly I'm just randomly picking names which sound like they should be the names of One Direction members.

Edited to note: apparently there is also a Louis, but I had to google to find that out.  I'm just surprised I knew any of those - dear god, what have I been reading?!?!?!

Edited September 26, 2016 by proserpina65

[Chaos Theory]

I actually thought the second season of Mr. Robot was better then the first.  Yes the first had a lot of "Oh my God!"  Moments and the second season was slower and simmered instead of boiled over but I loved how all the main characters developed.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Chaos Theory
iPhone hates me and likes making me look stupid

[topanga]

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

There's a Liam, isn't there?  And maybe a Niall?  Or possibly I'm just randomly picking names which sound like they should be the names of One Direction members.

Edited to note: apparently there is also a Louis, but I had to google to find that out.  I'm just surprised I knew any of those - dear god, what have I been reading?!?!?!

Wow. I'm impressed. 

2 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I actually thought the second season of Mr. to it was better then the first.  Yes the first had a lot of "Oh my God!"  Moments and the second season was slower and simmered instead of boiled over but I loved how all the main characters developed.

Mr. Robot? (When I Googled 'Mr.,' I only saw. Mr. Robot and Mr. Selfridge).  So it's a good show? After the Emmy win, my interest has definitely been piqued. 

[kili]

Quote

My Dad does this all the time and it gets so frustrating. I just want to scream at him because I don't think someone isn't actually famous or worthy of a TV commercial because a 60 year old white guy who only listens to country music, watches sports and maybe sees one movie a year in a theatre doesn't know who they are.

To be fair, it goes both ways.  When Beck won the Album of the Year Grammy back in 2015, not only did Kanye try to storm the stage, it started an internet meme "Who is Beck"? Some people tend to know their generation of artists and anybody older/younger is "who?". Same goes for in and out of fandom. When people were talking about golfers who weren't going to the Olympics, they could have been making up names for all I knew. I may be able to name all the members of One Direction, spell The Weeknd properly (and his real name) and know Beck, The Beatles, Oscar Peterson and Carrie Underwood, but don't ask me to name three football players (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and....?).

UO: On Friends, I think Ross should have stuck with Julie (S2). They had so much in common, got along well and respected each other. Rachel was his dream girl and his dream did not match reality. In her mind, she was always settling for him.

Edited September 26, 2016 by kili

[Chaos Theory]

56 minutes ago, topanga said:

Wow. I'm impressed. 

Mr. Robot? (When I Googled 'Mr.,' I only saw. Mr. Robot and Mr. Selfridge).  So it's a good show? After the Emmy win, my interest has definitely been piqued. 

iPhone hates me and likes making me look like an idiot.  Yes Mr.  Robot.  The show is confusing but from all the posts of mine you have "liked" we seem to have similar tastes so I feel ok reccomending  Mr. Robot to you.   If you dislike unrealiable narrators then maybe not though plus unlikeable characters galore.

Ok iPhone be nice...... 

[Raja]

6 hours ago, topanga said:

My UO: when someone doesn't recognize a celebrity on a commercial or in a guest spot on a TV show, and they're all, "Who the hell is THAT?" It happens a lot in the forums (though not necessarily in this thread). And maybe I'm sensitive because a lot of the people who get reactions like that are people of color. So on the commercials thread, instead of saying, "I didn't recognize Nikki Minhaj on that commercial" or "I don't really know who John Legend is," we get "Who the hell is THAT?" "He's supposed to be some big-time singer." I totally understand that you might not recognize an actor, musician, etc. But if the person is a bona-fide celebrity who has sold millions of records or has been in movies or TV shows, just because you don't know who they are doesn't mean they aren't stars. 

For example, I always confuse Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood, though I know they are both huge celebrities. But I don't minimize their celebrity status. I recognize the confusion as my own limitation. And I just accept that I will constantly have to Google or bug my children about which one sings the theme song to Sunday Night Football since I can't get my pea brain to remember which is which. 

Quick field  guide Carrie is the big crossover star due to American Idol, Trisha was a genre star who had a reoccurring role on JAG  and along with her more famous husband Garth Brooks semi retired for a decade.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Raja

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

There's a Liam, isn't there?  And maybe a Niall?  Or possibly I'm just randomly picking names which sound like they should be the names of One Direction members.

Ha!  I had this exact conversation with a niece.  Except she was talking about... Five something something and I was all, Hey I know isn't there a Zayn and a Niall in that group?

I get a Who Is THAT moment every single time I see Naomi Watts.  I know that she is an actress with a fairly high profile, not A-list but as a person who follows pop culture I know who she is, but I have a major case of face blindness with her.  I can see picture after picture of her and every time I will not recognize her.

Edited September 26, 2016 by DearEvette

[DittyDotDot]

4 hours ago, topanga said:

Mr. Robot? (When I Googled 'Mr.,' I only saw. Mr. Robot and Mr. Selfridge).  So it's a good show? After the Emmy win, my interest has definitely been piqued. 

I'm not sure what your preferences are, but Mr. Robot is a quality show, IMO. I haven't yet seen the second season, but the first one was well-directed, well-acted and well-written.

I wasn't over the moon about the show, however, because I felt like it took itself a bit too seriously at times, but that's pretty much 90 percent of the shows on TV these days, so... . There seems to be a lot of people who found it confusing, but I wasn't one of those people; it does have some decent twists and turns though. I'd recommend it if you're someone who doesn't mind a slow-burn and likes a twisty story. 

[selkie]

I know of One Direction because their songwriter seems to be a cut above what boy bands usually get, but could not pick the members out of a crowd unless they were out busking while singing 'Story of My Life'. 

I'm actually pretty good at actors being actors within similar context and am a quite good player of 'Hey! It's That Guy!' but totally miss it when those same media personalities stop singing or playing serial killers and want to sell me wireless service, breakfast sausage, soda, or rental car use. 

[zxy556575]

My UO is that I watched four episodes of Mr. Robot and thought it was silly. If that means I'm uncool, slow, and lowbrow, so be it. It sometimes seems like the more fervently a show is hyped by TV critics, the less I'm liable to enjoy it.

[Minneapple]

From One Direction, I know who Zayn is because he's the non-white kid in the group. I think. But didn't he leave the group and cause Twitter to explode a couple months back?

Edited September 27, 2016 by Minneapple

[festivus]

15 hours ago, kili said:

I may be able to name all the members of One Direction, spell The Weeknd properly (and his real name) and know Beck, The Beatles, Oscar Peterson and Carrie Underwood, but don't ask me to name three football players (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and....?).

Finish that with Eli Manning and you're gold. ;) Those are the only three I know.

[Neurochick]

My UO:  I can't deal with the Poldark discussion because it's filled with people who say, "I like the version from the 70's better."  Well if you liked to so much, then don't watch this version.  See how simple that was?

BTW, I didn't like the 70's version which is why I'm watching the current one.

[ribboninthesky1]

3 hours ago, Neurochick said:

My UO:  I can't deal with the Poldark discussion because it's filled with people who say, "I like the version from the 70's better."  Well if you liked to so much, then don't watch this version.  See how simple that was?

BTW, I didn't like the 70's version which is why I'm watching the current one.

Hee! I don't have a problem with remakes/modern adaptations at all. If I want to watch the original, it's usually accessible. Plus, to me, most TV isn't timeless - it's almost always a product of the time in which it aired.  Nothing wrong with that, but nothing wrong with updates, either. 

14 hours ago, lordonia said:

My UO is that I watched four episodes of Mr. Robot and thought it was silly. If that means I'm uncool, slow, and lowbrow, so be it. It sometimes seems like the more fervently a show is hyped by TV critics, the less I'm liable to enjoy it.

I can relate to the bolded, which is why I try to avoid critical darlings, at least until the hype dies down. I'd rather enjoy the show, or not, based on what I see on the screen.   

[Chaos Theory]

32 minutes ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

 

I can relate to the bolded, which is why I try to avoid critical darlings, at least until the hype dies down. I'd rather enjoy the show, or not, based on what I see on the screen.   

I tend to not read reviews until after I watch the pilotso that saves me a lot of hassle.  Of I like a show I like it critics be damned.   I will get the gist of what a show is about but I won't read every review of the show out because it does seem to ruin a lot of people's experiences.  If I really liked the pilot I might read a few reviews after or come to PTV to discuss.