Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[islandgal140]

I do agree that you can't always bring the foreign versions over and would do well,

The greatest crime against humanity was when the US tried to do a version of Fawlty Towers, with John Larroquette entitled Payne.  First of all everyone knows that the American version of John Cleese is John Lithgow so giant fail going with Larroquette even though I do like him as an actor. Secondly, American producers and creators seemed unable to grasp that none of the characters in Fawlty Towers were meant to be likable. A lot of trouble with some (not all) of the American adaptions is that Americans are unable to fully commit to the fact that a lot of the British versions of the characters are irredeemable and unrepentant assholes who will always be assholes and will never have that teachable moment where the violins play and they discover their humanity. 

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it sounds like your saying that Americans will only watch other Americans and only in American settings. I just don't think that's the case anymore. Plenty of Americans did watch the British version of The Office and not only liked it, but preferred it to the US version, they just had to work harder to find it. I can easily imagine it being shown on NBC and doing rather well also.

I have to admit that I stumbled on the UK Office by accident and was about to switch the channel but got caught up because I couldn't figure out whether it was a sitcom or a true documentary. I had never seen any of the actors before, never heard of Gervais, and kept wondering to myself, "Is he for real? Is this shit for real? There can't be a real live person in the world this ridiculous."  It really had a more pure documentary feel throughout that I continue to love. 

 

Count me in on the Joan Rivers dislike. I watched Fashion Police only during Awards season and Joan was always the worst part of it. I hated the long set ups for her jokes and how the rest of the panel seemed contractually obligated to laugh at all her unfunny. George was the worst because his laugh sounded so fake to me. I hated the way she consistently fat shamed Adele. It is interesting to me that this past year or 2 Joan was at her meaniest and nastiest and now the whole world is mourning her loss. 

 

My unpopular opinion is that I never hated Melissa, in fact I kind of liked her and never understood the vitriol directed at her.

 

I fucking loved Michael Landon. I loved all his diabetic coma inducing sweet, sentimental, sappy, schmaltzy and cheesy shows. 

 

Outside of their stint in the movie Bridesmaids I don't find either Kristen Wiig or Melissa Mccarthy remotely funny or interesting. 

 

My hate for Patricia Heaton is everlasting and boundless.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

What needs to be done is awareness of these original great UK shows needs to be generated. PBS has aired a lot of the UK shows, and it would be great if they were able to do more. We're not seeing a Downton Abbey being remade because it's airing over here too. 

But even having knowledge of the originals doesn't always succeed. The American version of Prime Suspect was actually pretty damned good IMO. For obvious reasons, Helen Mirren is the only real Jane Tennison, but because NBC eats a bowl of dicks they cancelled it before giving Maria Bello a chance to make her iteration of the character her own. I don't know if I can say they "hated" the show, but I feel like I can say with a fair amount of confidence that they weren't willing to give it room to breathe and find an audience.

[Constantinople]

The greatest crime against humanity was when the US tried to do a version of Fawlty Towers, with John Larroquette entitled Payne.  First of all everyone knows that the American version of John Cleese is John Lithgow so giant fail going with Larroquette even though I do like him as an actor. Secondly, American producers and creators seemed unable to grasp that none of the characters in Fawlty Towers were meant to be likable. A lot of trouble with some (not all) of the American adaptions is that Americans are unable to fully commit to the fact that a lot of the British versions of the characters are irredeemable and unrepentant assholes who will always be assholes and will never have that teachable moment where the violins play and they discover their humanity.

There may be a difference in taste between British and American viewers. But part of it may also be the difference in season length. It's one thing to watch an irredeemable, unrepentant asshole 6 times a year, it's quite another to watch an irredeemable, unrepentant asshole 22 times a year. I enjoyed The Office (original recipe), but I don't know if I could watch much more of David Brent.

[galax-arena]

Major UO: I didn't mind the Oliver arc on The O.C. Those eps were so bad that they were actually really awesome. 

[FormerMod-a1]

Some of my UPOs :

 

• Faith, Darla and Druscilla are by far my least favorite characters in the Buffyverse.  Having them on once or twice was enough, but they just kept bringing them back.
• I like procedurals.  I also like arcy shows.  I don't think one is superior to the other.  I have seen many a procedural that are quite thought provoking, deep and/or elicits deep emotions.
• I could never get into the Amazing Race.  I've tried more than a few times.  It just doesn't hold my attention.
• Not sure if this is UPO, but I don't like Deeks on NCIS:LA . He's the reason I stopped watching after the first season.  I heard he was coming on full time and I stopped watching.  I recently tried to watch some later season episodes and nope - still don't like him.  I won't watch the show again until he's gone.

[ToxicUnicorn]

My unpopular opinion is that I never hated Melissa, in fact I kind of liked her and never understood the vitriol directed at her.

 

I fucking loved Michael Landon. I loved all his diabetic coma inducing sweet, sentimental, sappy, schmaltzy and cheesy shows.

 

Outside of their stint in the movie Bridesmaids I don't find either Kristen Wiig or Melissa Mccarthy remotely funny or interesting.

I've always felt sorry for Melissa.  She seemed to turn out reasonably well, considering. 

 

I have a soft spot for Michael Landon in Little House on the Prairie.  He didn't need to be all macho man jerkface, he could be tender way before it was ok.

 

Even in Bridesmaids, I don't find them remotely funny.  I hated that movie.

 

The American version of Prime Suspect was actually pretty damned good IMO.

 

Sigh.  Mention of the premature death of Maria Bello's Prime Suspect always makes me sad.  That had the potential to be my new favorite show.

 

I guess my unpopular opinion is that I don't hate Patricia Heaton.  She doesn't do much for me one way or another. 

[briochetwist]

With the same actor! I have no idea what Tennant is thinking. And Broadchurch isn't "untouchable". One could argue that True Detective is the real Broadchurch remake. 

 

 

I think what Tennant was thinking was, hey same show, lots more money!  I just don't understand why all of these great British shows need to be remade.  What irks me in particular about Gracepoint is that they wanted David Tennant to reprise his role, but didn't bother with the amazing Olivia Colman, who is absolutely awesome, but not considered to be the typical gorgeous actress, so out she goes and in comes Anna Gunn.  I much prefer the originals.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

Outside of their stint in the movie Bridesmaids I don't find either Kristen Wiig or Melissa Mccarthy remotely funny or interesting. 

Kristen Wiig wasn't remotely funny or interesting in Bridesmaids either. McCarthy was the only good thing about it but I agree she's been coasting since then.

[Wiendish Fitch]

 

Some of my UPOs :

 

• Faith, Darla and Druscilla are by far my least favorite characters in the Buffyverse.  Having them on once or twice was enough, but they just kept bringing them back.
• I like procedurals.  I also like arcy shows.  I don't think one is superior to the other.  I have seen many a procedural that are quite thought provoking, deep and/or elicits deep emotions.
• I could never get into the Amazing Race.  I've tried more than a few times.  It just doesn't hold my attention.

 

 

Word on Faith, Darla and Druscilla. Faith was a barely literate, backstabbing ingrate, Darla was a mealy-mouthed, unthreatening little twerp, and Druscilla might have been okay were it not for Juliet Landau's ridiculous acting and terrible accent.

[truthaboutluv]

Kristen Wiig wasn't remotely funny or interesting in Bridesmaids either. McCarthy was the only good thing about it but I agree she's been coasting since then.

 

 

I also thought Rose Byrne was awesome but yeah it amazed me the whole time watching, how a movie Wiig wrote and was the lead, she turned out to be the least interesting and funny character in it. In fact, she was the reason I didn't love the movie as much as so many did and definitely didn't think it deserved all those critical accolades.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I could write more about Bridesmaids, but this isn't the Movies section and also I don't really want to.

 

Also while I disliked Kristen Wiig on SNL, she was nowhere near as bad as Fred Armisen. Kristen could be pretty funny in certain roles but I can't remember anything Fred did that was particularly good. IMO the standouts of the 2006-2012 era were Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and to a lesser extent Andy Samberg.

[merylinkid]

On the subject of female comics:

 

I don't find Amy Poehler or Tina Fey the least bit funny.   They do exactly what I hate in male comics -- take a situation and say "What is the absolutely dumbest reaction I could have to this situation" then do that.   I don't find behaving in stupid ways funny in any way shape or form.   It's just stupid.   

 

But then (very UP) I loved Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football.   Why?   He made intelligent jokes.    My favorite memory (after him catching a ride with the Grateful Dead tour bus after 9-11 grounded the planes) was him referred to the relationship between the Jets and the Patriots at the time as more tangled than the Plantangenet family tree.   Now THAT is funny to me.

[Snowprince]

Who else would have had the balls to invoke the name of Sylvia Plath during a football game?!

[ABay]

Actually, it didn't make sense set in NYC. Manchester in the 70s = a place like Cleveland or Detroit. They fell into the trap of LA or NYC on tv and that's it. The other thing about whether Sam UK was in a 'real' place or not was that he was every scene. You just can't do that for 22 episodes. The poor actor would keel over.

I was hoping for Buffalo or Pittsburgh for the Manchester equivalent, that rust belt feel. The NYC setting was definitely all wrong. In addition to that and the having to be in every scene thing, I thought the other major failing was how they screwed up the Sam & Gene relationship. It was essence of the original and what they did was just not going to work.

[Gudzilla]

 

Not only that but the remakes work both ways. Law and Order UK basically just remade plots from the original Law and Order but changed the setting to London (ok they did modernize things and change some endings I think).

Don't forget the wigs. ;)

[The Crazed Spruce]

I've set up a thread for the adaptation debate.  Go ahead and move the discussion over there.  :)

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

 

 

 

Outside of their stint in the movie Bridesmaids I don't find either Kristen Wiig or Melissa Mccarthy remotely funny or interesting. 

I was indifferent to Kristen in Bridesmaids because I thought Annie was a whiny drip, but Melissa McCarthy's Megan was the best thing about that movie.

 

Word on Faith, Darla and Druscilla. Faith was a barely literate, backstabbing ingrate,

Faith may have started out that way, but unlike Buffy she actually grew up and matured past the "Me, me, me!" stuff. Conversely, Buffy turned into a humorless, joyless murderer-propping asshole who spent most of the final season slobbering after the sack of turds who tried to rape her. Yeah, Buffster's the real role model. *eyeroll*

[ABay]

But he has a soooooouullll now!

[Chas411]

I don't like Felicity Smoak in Arrow. The character is alright but I don't think the character nor the actress Emily Bett Rickards are the single best thing about the show. She's snarky, gets good lines and is ultimately written better then poor Laurel. I definetly put part of my distaste down to the unhealthy hatred many fans of Arrow/Felicity have towards Katie Cassidy though. Laurel may suck but Cassidy is just an actress in a shitty role. Blaming her personally or implying she's this big asshole that she's not is just plain crazy. Especially since all of that cast seem pretty close. I hate when shipper preferences start to leak into how fans perceptions of the actors playing the characters involved.

[DXD526]

The greatest crime against humanity was when the US tried to do a version of Fawlty Towers, with John Larroquette entitled Payne.

 

Actually, that crime occurred even earlier. In 1983, Bea Arthur starred in Amanda's By the Sea, which only lasted for 10 episodes. It was basically a remake of FT, with some jokes lifted directly from that show, and Tony Rosato as a Manuel clone named Aldo. 

[Minneapple]

I don't like Felicity Smoak in Arrow. The character is alright but I don't think the character nor the actress Emily Bett Rickards are the single best thing about the show. She's snarky, gets good lines and is ultimately written better then poor Laurel. I definetly put part of my distaste down to the unhealthy hatred many fans of Arrow/Felicity have towards Katie Cassidy though. Laurel may suck but Cassidy is just an actress in a shitty role. Blaming her personally or implying she's this big asshole that she's not is just plain crazy. Especially since all of that cast seem pretty close. I hate when shipper preferences start to leak into how fans perceptions of the actors playing the characters involved.

I loved Felicity in season one, when she wore funky clothes and crazy jewelry and didn't gaze longingly at Oliver. I loved her attitude toward him -- she could appreciate him as a Hot Guy (and hey, who wouldn't?), but that was it. And THEN IT WAS ALL DOOMED.

 

I also liked Katie (from way back when she was on Supernatural). Laurel annoys me sometimes, but I don't think she sucks as much as some people claim she does. And whoa, does it ever annoy me when people project their feelings about characters onto actors. Laurel sucks...that means Katie's a bitch and the entire cast hates her.

 

(If you think she gets hate now from Arrow fandom, I would like to introduce you to Supernatural fandom.)

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Not only that but the remakes work both ways. Law and Order UK basically just remade plots from the original Law and Order but changed the setting to London (ok they did modernize things and change some endings I think).

 

They also managed to work in the ever-present cameras on every London street corner.

[Hava]

Let me preface this UO by saying that I was obsessed with Jimmy Fallon as a teenager. I adored him on SNL (yes, even when he broke character) and I even bought his comedy album. His hosting of the VMAs is still one of my favorite things. So, even though my crush diminished over the years, I was still excited to hear about him moving to late night. But, I have to say, I think he is not fit for it at all. While his skits and pre-taped bits are often hilarious, I find his interviews to be awful. I know people say that he is genuinely that earnest and kind, it still comes across as over-the-top and fake. I think his interviews are too safe and, therefore, lack depth. You could argue that I should I not be looking for depth on late night TV, but look at David Letterman, who I find to be the best interviewer on late night (that may be an UO itself). Sure, he still interviews celebrities, but there is an intelligence and ease to David's interviewing that makes them better than they probably should be. And when he has important people on, he really goes there. I can't say that same for Jimmy Fallon.

[lucindabelle]

UO: i too like Cersei. Or at least, I like watching her, and her fabulous clothes.

[manbearpig]

I love Cersei Lannister. I honestly would watch a show where she just floated about King's Landing drinking and insulting people. So pleased that Headey got an Emmy nomination.

[MaryPatShelby]

A thousand times YES!!! I stopped watching OLTL a few years before it was canceled, and Natalie and her shenanigans was the main reason why. I was shipping John and Evangeline before I even knew there was a term for it and COULD. NOT. STAND. Natalie.

Ha ha...apparently the fact that I liked Melissa Archer and watched OLTL near the end only for Natalie is really, really an Unpopular Opinion!

[janie jones]

First of all everyone knows that the American version of John Cleese is John Lithgow

This had never occurred to me, but it's true.

[DoughGirl]

Going way back, but I just hate the Leave it to Beaver episode where he falls into the billboard bowl of soup. It might have been better if it had been done when the character was younger but Beaver is too old by this episode to make it believable that he'd actually think it was really a bowl of soup. It's just stupid and not funny.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I think David Tennant is a brilliant actor and has made me genuinely emotional over a character I hate, which leads to my UO--I hate the much-beloved Tenth Doctor. I hated him for replacing Nine, he cemented that hate by screwing over Harriet Jones, and then I went on to hate him for his own lack of merit. I thought he was the most self-important, self-satisfied, arrogant, jerk-ass version of the Doctor in NuWho. I felt all the growth he'd had as Nine was undone. And in terms of his companions, Rose Tyler was great, but she couldn't hold a candle to either Martha Jones or Donna Noble.

 

In keeping with Doctor Who UO's, Steven Moffet can't write a plot worth a damn.

[ganesh]

I don' think that's UO. Moffat isn't a good showrunner. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Ha ha...apparently the fact that I liked Melissa Archer and watched OLTL near the end only for Natalie is really, really an Unpopular Opinion!

 

Melissa Archer will be joining the cast of Days of Our Lives sometime in the fall.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I think David Tennant is a brilliant actor and has made me genuinely emotional over a character I hate, which leads to my UO--I hate the much-beloved Tenth Doctor. I hated him for replacing Nine, he cemented that hate by screwing over Harriet Jones, and then I went on to hate him for his own lack of merit. I thought he was the most self-important, self-satisfied, arrogant, jerk-ass version of the Doctor in NuWho. I felt all the growth he'd had as Nine was undone. And in terms of his companions, Rose Tyler was great, but she couldn't hold a candle to either Martha Jones or Donna Noble.

 

In keeping with Doctor Who UO's, Steven Moffet can't write a plot worth a damn.

 

I hated Tenth for a while, but Twelfth is proving to be such an asshat, it's made me reevaluate my opinion slightly. Still, I totally agree that what Tenth did to Harriet Jones was unforgivable, a complete and utter shit move, and it burns me up that he was never properly called on it. Someone on TWoP told me that the Master was supposed to gloat to Tenth about how, if he hadn't screwed over Harriet Jones, he (the Master) never would have risen to power. The writers decided it was too unpleasant (or some such thing) and scratched it. I think they should have left it in, because if anyone deserved a smackdown at that point, it was Tenth.

 

I definitely prefer Martha and Donna, but I liked Rose fine (and Billie Piper is a good actress). It's really a "hate the sin, not the sinner" situation for me, because I don't hate Rose… but I hated how damned special they made her. Rose is the Doctor's One True Love? Seriously? I mean, Rose has her charms, but come on! The Doctor has traveled with the likes of Romana, Nyssa, and Leela, but Rose, an unworldly, barely educated kid from Earth is the one who makes his hearts go all-aflutter? 

 

Still, I'd easily pick Rose over Amy. At least Rose accomplished things and had some genuine strengths.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Wiendish Fitch

[ganesh]

They should have left that line in. TPTBs seem to want to make the Doctor into some kind of god and I think that's the wrong idea. He should make mistakes and they should be big. Then he should fix them big. 

[GreekGeek]

Going way back, but I just hate the Leave it to Beaver episode where he falls into the billboard bowl of soup. It might have been better if it had been done when the character was younger but Beaver is too old by this episode to make it believable that he'd actually think it was really a bowl of soup. It's just stupid and not funny.

I know what you mean. The later years of the show were often painful to watch in this way. The writers just couldn't write for a slightly older but still naive Beaver. You may notice that there are more Wally-centric episodes in the later years, since the writers did successfully write for an older teenager (including one ahead-of-its-time episode on the pitfalls of marrying too young, with Ryan O'Neal as the harried teen husband).

[Wiendish Fitch]

They should have left that line in. TPTBs seem to want to make the Doctor into some kind of god and I think that's the wrong idea. He should make mistakes and they should be big. Then he should fix them big. 

Amen to that, ganesh. 

[DoughGirl]

I know what you mean. The later years of the show were often painful to watch in this way. The writers just couldn't write for a slightly older but still naive Beaver. You may notice that there are more Wally-centric episodes in the later years, since the writers did successfully write for an older teenager (including one ahead-of-its-time episode on the pitfalls of marrying too young, with Ryan O'Neal as the harried teen husband).

Yep, and I always preferred the Wally-centric episodes. Beaver was cute the first couple of years but after that Wally really was the star.

[Jeebus Cripes]

(If you think she gets hate now from Arrow fandom, I would like to introduce you to Supernatural fandom.)

 

I liked Katie Cassidy in Supernatural. I much preferred her over the actress that replaced her.

[Enigma X]

My UO is that NuWho is not a kid's show, even if Moffat says it is. The bulk of NuWho has had more adult themes with the occasional kiddie episode thrown in. I think Moffat pushes it as a kid show to get away with all the nonsense that doesn't make sense.

 

Moffat, I may not think it is an actual kids show but do know that many kids don't like things to be explained away as "timey wimey" all the time.

 

Another UO is that I like Keith Morrison on Dateline. Yes, he comes across as macabre most times, but so is the real-life source material that he has to work with.

[ParadoxLost]

My UO is that NuWho is not a kid's show, even if Moffat says it is. The bulk of NuWho has had more adult themes with the occasional kiddie episode thrown in. I think Moffat pushes it as a kid show to get away with all the nonsense that doesn't make sense.

 

NuWho is supposed to be a kid's show?  I had no idea so I guess I cosign this opinion.

Edited September 22, 2014 by ParadoxLost

[islandgal140]

The UK Sherlock  show doesn't make much sense to me at all. Seriously, I feel like the extreme fast talking Cumberbatch is doing is to obscure the fact that the crimes his character is solving using his super hero magic logic skillz don't make any logic sense. Like the fast pace, dialogue and editing are just smoke and mirrors meant to trick and deceive the audience. I don't read Sherlock message boards but are a lot of people afraid to say it doesn't make sense for fear of being branded a moron? I didn't even bother with S2 or 3. 

 

Days of Our Lives : I may eat my words later but the announcement of Allison Sweeney and James Scott leaving the show was some of the best casting news I have heard in a long ass time.  I have come to utterly and completely hate the sight of this pairing.

 

I like Lucy Lawless but I hated her on Parks and Recreation. Ron Swanson with a wife, 2 stepdaughters and a baby is the worst development ever. He needs to stay a single, brunette hair loving, breakfast food loving and meat eating, artery clogged machine. Plus, ugh no more Tammy II shenanigans? Tammy II and Ron compose some of the best scenes and materials on the show. I can't even tell you how many times I see the gif of Tammy II pointing to her blurred out crotch during Ron's acceptance speech I have seen on various message boards. 

 

This maybe sacrilegious, but I find the praise for Jessica Lange in the American Horror Story series a bit overdone. Don't get me wrong, she is good, very good at times but I find her to be a bit overly campy, which is probably fitting for the show but I don't know if I would say she is deserving of 3 Emmy  award for it. 

[ganesh]

The crimes on Sherlock are basically convoluted and related in tenuous ways. Sherlock just figures them out because he's able to see connections that no one else does. And he's a fount of useless knowledge that comes into play. It's like Doctor Who. The plots barely hold up. It's about Sherlock/Watson and Doctor/Companion. I would call the crimes anything clever. But really, in the books, it's mostly the same way. Since you have the benefit of time, you can read any one given story and figure it out. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Moffat, I may not think it is an actual kids show but do know that many kids don't like things to be explained away as "timey wimey" all the time.

What does timey wimey even mean?

[Sweet Tee]

 

Another UO is that I like Keith Morrison on Dateline. Yes, he comes across as macabre most times, but so is the real-life source material that he has to work with.

My mom and I LOVE Keith Morrison.  I get why he would bug people, but his delivery just cracks me up some times.  He's so over the top that it's extremely entertaining to me.  We also love Josh Mankiewicz because he always, always looks like he's not buying a word coming out of anyone's mouth.  Just look at his expressions.  They're priceless.

 

 

What does timey wimey even mean?

 

It means that time is a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.  Okay, it means just go with it if you want to enjoy the show.  At least that's what I've had to do.

[ganesh]

I can't stand when people try to do the "Kennedy accent" on tv. 

[Brandi Maxxxx]

Does that include Mayor Quimby?

[Enigma X]

 

Okay, it means just go with it if you want to enjoy the show.  At least that's what I've had to do.

 

Pretty much.

[AltLivia]

 

Another UO is that I like Keith Morrison on Dateline. Yes, he comes across as macabre most times, but so is the real-life source material that he has to work with.

Oh gosh, I love Keith Morrison. His voice is so soothing, but sometimes the poetic license is totally cringe-worthy. Especially (and there's been more than one case like this) where they try to paint the detective on the case as an old-time sleuth, trying to keep up with that new-fangled technology, never giving up, etc.  

 

Keith is pretty cool, though. A few times he's interviewed victims that have survived attacks and he seems genuinely respectful and caring.

 

 

Ron Swanson with a wife, 2 stepdaughters and a baby is the worst development ever. He needs to stay a single, brunette hair loving, breakfast food loving and meat eating, artery clogged machine.

I know, right? His behavior now is so drastically watered down and domestic. Plus, Diane is such a non-presence, to have had this effect. And her daughters were terrible. She was so ambivalent about what total demons they were, I don't know how the writers expected us to take her after that.

 

I remember when she hunted him down for breaking the girls' tiara in the Halloween episode. I didn't think his breaking of the tiara was that terrible a solution. If Diane didn't know that Ron wasn't Father of the Year material, she wasn't paying attention.

Edited September 23, 2014 by ScullyInApt42

[Snowprince]

Keith Morrison had the same mannerisms, speech pattern and delivery as an anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.

 

I loved Bill Hader's impression of him on SNL's Dateline parodies....hilarious! 

[ToxicUnicorn]

This maybe sacrilegious, but I find the praise for Jessica Lange in the American Horror Story series a bit overdone. Don't get me wrong, she is good, very good at times but I find her to be a bit overly campy, which is probably fitting for the show but I don't know if I would say she is deserving of 3 Emmy  award for it.

I agree with this and will go one more: the first season of American Horror Story was not that big a deal.  I agree that the concept is interesting, and rebooting the show every season is a good way to keep the audience interested, but the execution was merely ok.  Jessica Lange is, for me, an acquired taste.  I can see that she is doing something, I just don't happen to enjoy it.  And I thought Connie Britton was downright awful that first season - not fitting the tone of the show at all.  I am bemused by all of the praise.

[Bastet]

And I thought Connie Britton was downright awful that first season - not fitting the tone of the show at all.  I am bemused by all of the praise.

 

I'm always bemused by the effusive praise for Connie Britton.  I've only seen her in Spin City and The West Wing, so maybe she up and turned spectacular in the years since, but in both those shows I found her unremarkable.