Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[festivus]

I'm reminded of an unpopular opinion that I have. I don't like one brother more than the other on Supernatural. I *gasp* like them equally the same. I also still really enjoy the show, I think it's still pretty darn good for as long as it's been on even if they do retread some of the same ground with the brothers.

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 2/7/2018 at 1:35 AM, Pippin said:

Can I just get this off my proverbial chest?  WTF is up with the alleged "comedy" on network TV?  Is there any show where actual wit is utilized?

It seems to me that television comedy today follows the same formula:  a cast of characters revolves around one or two central characters who are utter and complete assholes.  Their bad behaviour, both in terms of actions and words, is supposed to be hilarious and we're supposed to accept behaviour that in the real world, would land you in jail and/or have the turkey kicked out of you. 

They never suffer consequences for their bad behaviour, never have anyone tell them to STFU and continue with their obnoxiousness ad infinitum, ad nauseaum.

I'll admit to having an odd sense of humour (Monty Python and the Holy Grail made me laugh until I cried) but surely I'm not so out of it that I have no sense of humour whatsoever.  But none of the sitcoms I see don't make me laugh at all; hell, I don't even crack a smile.

No, it's not me.  It's them. 

What's great about most Brit-coms is that they have awful unlikable protagonists, and said protagonists either suffer the consequences (or are allowed to embarrassed once in a while), or the show addresses how awful they are, and surrounds them with people who don't just blithely accept their abuse. Fawlty Towers and Black Books are good examples. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Here's one for the books: I enjoy Robert Wagner. I've never gotten any skeevy or creepy vibes from him. Loved him from the moment I saw him on Hart to Hart. Never knew until years later, that he was married to Natalie Wood. It was also a shock to learn he was about 50 when he did Hart to Hart. I thought for sure he was 40ish. And I love the chemistry between him and Stefanie Powers. And I'm glad that the show is airing on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, though I loathe that channel. Wish it would go back and reair on Cozi.

[Danny Franks]

On 08/02/2018 at 2:10 AM, Dee said:

Unpopular Opinion: Bughead is TRASH. As both individuals, and, as a couple. Always have been & always will be.

I had to stop watching that show within a few episodes, because Jughead was so awful and embarrassing. A bad actor, playing an earnest 'intellectual' with a sensitive but dark side, who fancies himself a talented writer. It made me cringe every time he opened his mouth. And that was even without them asking me to take a character called "Jughead" seriously.

It's a shame they stuck Betty with him, because she was one of a couple of characters I actually liked in the show. But whenever I pop into the sub-forum for the show, it seems like these two are just about the only characters that exist. 

[andromeda331]

I'm not sure where to ask this question. I tried searching but found no results. Has anyone watched the Netflix show Morocco Love in Times of War? Its in Spanish but with English subtitles about nurses and the army fighting in Melillia in the Rif War? I watched all of the first season and really liked it.

Edited February 10, 2018 by andromeda331

[bmasters9]

15 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

It was also a shock to learn he was about 50 when he did Hart to Hart. 

He was almost there at the beginning-- 49 upon commencement in 1979, then turned 50 on Feb. 10, 1980; he was 54, I believe, when the series ended in 1984. 

[Pippin]

On 2/8/2018 at 3:12 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

What's great about most Brit-coms is that they have awful unlikable protagonists, and said protagonists either suffer the consequences (or are allowed to embarrassed once in a while), or the show addresses how awful they are, and surrounds them with people who don't just blithely accept their abuse. Fawlty Towers and Black Books are good examples. 

I agree.  They are hilarious.  Watching "The Germans" on Fawlty Towers reduces me to tears of laughter every time.  And let's not forget history's most inept would-be villain, Blackadder.

[NutMeg]

Blackadder!!!!! So good :) 

[Wiendish Fitch]

Dammit all, how did I not include Blackadder?!?! That show was a masterpiece!! Not to mention I prefer Rowan Atkinson when he's being smart.

[ramble]

Reading about the Sex and the City actresses in the Miscellaneous Celebrity News thread reminded me of an unpopular opinion. I’ve never watched SATC, and have absolutely no desire to ever watch SATC. The premise of the show bores me. The 10 minutes of an episode I saw when a friend insisted I’d just love it bored me. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything, and if I did I’m not missing it in any way that impacts me. 

[Popples]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Dammit all, how did I not include Blackadder?!?! That show was a masterpiece!! Not to mention I prefer Rowan Atkinson when he's being smart.

So do I, he was absolutely brilliant in Blackadder, which leads to my UO: I hate Mr. Bean.

[Neko]

I guess my unpopular opinion is that I'm not bothered by the asshole actions of characters in situational comedies.  Yes, a lot of the things those characters do would be mean and completely unacceptable in real life, but that just doesn't bother me.  I don't watch a lot of sitcoms, but when I do, I just divorce my mind from what would happen in real life and go along for the ride.  Hijinks must ensue. *shrug*

[Joe]

5 hours ago, Popples said:

So do I, he was absolutely brilliant in Blackadder, which leads to my UO: I hate Mr. Bean.

I agree. Blackadder is great, Mr Bean is unwatchable.

[2727]

22 hours ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I guess my unpopular opinion is that I'm not bothered by the asshole actions of characters in situational comedies.

Agreed. I'm also not bothered by assholic dramas. Those performances in particular can be mesmerizing.

On a different topic: I like Jay Leno and his version of The Tonight Show was my favorite. Never enjoyed Letterman's humor and can't abide Conan.

Edited February 12, 2018 by 2727

[ABay]

I don't like Fawlty Towers.

[selkie]

11 hours ago, ramble said:

Reading about the Sex and the City actresses in the Miscellaneous Celebrity News thread reminded me of an unpopular opinion. I’ve never watched SATC, and have absolutely no desire to ever watch SATC. The premise of the show bores me. The 10 minutes of an episode I saw when a friend insisted I’d just love it bored me. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything, and if I did I’m not missing it in any way that impacts me. 

 

I really didn't like any of the characters on SATC, and rolled my eyes at the idea I somehow was supposed to connect to them.  But the show cast people who could do comedy, including slapstick, well, and there were a number of bits in the first two seasons that were laugh out loud funny for me. I started to get bored with it when they seemed to give up on comedy in favor of cancer, dead parents, etc. 

[2727]

On 2/11/2018 at 5:35 PM, ABay said:

I don't like Fawlty Towers.

Oy. That broad type of British sitcom humour is Not For Me, either. I have tried.

Edited February 13, 2018 by 2727

[Danny Franks]

23 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Dammit all, how did I not include Blackadder?!?! That show was a masterpiece!! Not to mention I prefer Rowan Atkinson when he's being smart.

The second to fourth series of Blackadder are pretty much the epitome of television comedy, in my opinion. Rowan Atkinson playing smart is just so, so much better than when he plays dumb. The word "devilish" is used more than once in the show to describe him, and it's absolutely spot on.

The utter deadpan reactions, and especially the non-reactions, to the idiocy of Baldrick, George or Queenie will forever be amongst the funniest things I've ever seen. And thought he's an awful person, I always wanted Edmund to succeed, for his get rich scheme to work, for him to get the girl (usually played by Miranda Richardson, always crazy), but it never did. A combination of circumstance, the fools around him and his own mistakes were always his undoing.

However, I've long since decided I'm never going to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, because it seems more mean-spirited, with all the characters being awful human beings. I don't find that funny.

[ganesh]

I'd say the characters on Sunny do get their comeuppance a lot though. 

[ABay]

Blackadder was the first DVD collection I ever bought.  

[Anela]

I love Blackadder. I used to try to get mum to sit down and watch TV, when I was a kid. When I was maybe thirteen, fourteen, she finally started to watch some of the stuff I'd told her about, and she got into Blackadder, too. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

13 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

 

The utter deadpan reactions, and especially the non-reactions, to the idiocy of Baldrick, George or Queenie will forever be amongst the funniest things I've ever seen. And thought he's an awful person, I always wanted Edmund to succeed, for his get rich scheme to work, for him to get the girl (usually played by Miranda Richardson, always crazy), but it never did. A combination of circumstance, the fools around him and his own mistakes were always his undoing.

See, that's what makes Blackadder so brilliant: Edmund is surrounded by people who are little better than he is. The supporting characters are often too selfish and stupid to warrant our sympathy, so it never feels like we're just watching a sadistic asshole bully weak victims. Even buffoons like Baldrick and Nursie occasionally give as good as good as they get, so in many ways everyone's on an even playing field. 

[roamyn]

On 2/11/2018 at 4:05 PM, 2727 said:

On a different topic: I like Jay Leno and his version of The Tonight Show was my favorite. Never enjoyed Letterman's humor and can't abide Conan.

I agree.  Conan is not funny to me, and I never liked Letterman in the first place.  I really miss ‘Headlines’.

Of the new generation, I like Kimmel the best, but I also prefer Colbert’s slaying of Drumpf over everyone else.

But no one was funnier than Craig Ferguson.

[Pippin]

On 2/11/2018 at 4:05 PM, 2727 said:

Agreed. I'm also not bothered by assholic dramas. Those performances in particular can be mesmerizing.

Neither am I.  I guess it's because when you have an anti-hero like House or Robbie Coltrane on Cracker, we're not supposed to find them funny.  Also, in a well-written drama, the asshole suffers as much as those he (or she) inflicts her assholery on.

Another unpopular opinion (or perhaps a *gasp* confession).  I have never watched Game of Thrones, never wanted to watch it and have no plans to ever watch.

Edited February 13, 2018 by Pippin

[bijoux]

9 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

See, that's what makes Blackadder so brilliant: Edmund is surrounded by people who are little better than he is. The supporting characters are often too selfish and stupid to warrant our sympathy, so it never feels like we're just watching a sadistic asshole bully weak victims. Even buffoons like Baldrick and Nursie occasionally give as good as good as they get, so in many ways everyone's on an even playing field. 

Plus, there's the fact that he falls further and further down the social ladder with each generation. He gets smarter, yet his overall efforts result in bringing him ever lower.

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, Pippin said:

 

Another unpopular opinion (or perhaps a *gasp* confession).  I have never watched Game of Thrones, never wanted to watch it and have no plans to ever watch.

  I'm with you- and with the proliferation of travel websites and search engines showing the REAL spots where everything's shot on, there's absolutely NO need for me to endure what sounds like IMO a jaded, depressing,sadistic and nasty enterprise JUST to see interesting locales!  I guess on a positive note, at least the show HAS highlighted spots many folks would have had NO idea existed beforehand but that's not enough to get me to go for it!

[ramble]

14 hours ago, Pippin said:

Another unpopular opinion (or perhaps a *gasp* confession).  I have never watched Game of Thrones, never wanted to watch it and have no plans to ever watch.

I’m with you one hundred percent, My eyes glaze over when people start to talk about it. I am truly and totally uninterested. 

I can add Breaking Bad as a show I feel that way about too. My aunt has tried to tell me about the show, individual episodes, how incredible it is, blahblahblah. I hear the first few words and then it all becomes a dull buzzing sound. The idea that I’m so completely uninterested seems to boggle her mind. 

[Blergh]

36 minutes ago, ramble said:

I’m with you one hundred percent, My eyes glaze over when people start to talk about it. I am truly and totally uninterested. 

I can add Breaking Bad as a show I feel that way about too. My aunt has tried to tell me about the show, individual episodes, how incredible it is, blahblahblah. I hear the first few words and then it all becomes a dull buzzing sound. The idea that I’m so completely uninterested seems to boggle her mind. 

I seem to hear that buzzing sound a lot not just with the shows mentioned here but also when folks try to hype Facebook,etc. . And the weird thing is that when I've tried to tell folks it's perfectly okay to opt to NOT go for any of the above mentioned entities, they often look at me as though I'd just suggested they climb Mt. Everest.

[Tanichka]

20 hours ago, roamyn said:

I agree.  Conan is not funny to me, and I never liked Letterman in the first place.  I really miss ‘Headlines’.

Of the new generation, I like Kimmel the best, but I also prefer Colbert’s slaying of Drumpf over everyone else.

But no one was funnier than Craig Ferguson.

I was with you until Craig Ferguson.  Can’t stand him, don’t find him funny.

On 2018-02-11 at 5:35 PM, ABay said:

I don't like Fawlty Towers.

OMG!  In the top 5 best sitcoms ever.  I would take Father Ted ahead, but barely.

[ABay]

Hence my post in this thread.

[andromeda331]

On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 7:38 PM, roamyn said:

I agree.  Conan is not funny to me, and I never liked Letterman in the first place.  I really miss ‘Headlines’.

Of the new generation, I like Kimmel the best, but I also prefer Colbert’s slaying of Drumpf over everyone else.

But no one was funnier than Craig Ferguson.

I agree about Craig Ferguson. I will watch him in anything. The Drew Carey Show, Celebrity Name Game, Join or Die, the Late Late Show,

[Lazlo]

I'm a huge Red Dwarf fan and like many (most?) fans I find series seven and eight pretty weak. That probably isn't unpopular.

What probably is unpopular is that even with finding those series really flawed I'm a Kochanski fan.

[proserpina65]

8 hours ago, Lazlo said:

I'm a huge Red Dwarf fan and like many (most?) fans I find series seven and eight pretty weak. That probably isn't unpopular.

What probably is unpopular is that even with finding those series really flawed I'm a Kochanski fan.

I think anything after season 4 is substandard.

[Lazlo]

30 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I think anything after season 4 is substandard.

Huh... that's probably even more unpopular than mine given Back to Reality, Gunmen of the Apocalypse and Quarantine are so beloved (and The Inquisitor and Holoship not much less so.)

I guess part of my surprise is that series 3 and 4 feel a lot more like series 5 and 6 than they do like the first two series. Its an interesting cut off point.

[Lili]

Not all reality shows are bad. It seems whenever people hear the name of the genre said, they shudder, so I can say this is unpopular to a certain degree. The ones you see on MTV and stuff, yes, but outside of that, there's some very interesting ones.

[Pippin]

23 minutes ago, Lili said:

Not all reality shows are bad.

Don't know if it's an UO or not, but I agree.  Some reality shows are, IMO, little better than the freak shows at the carnival, but ones like Face Off, which celebrate creativity, or animal or vet shows like My Cat From Hell or Rocky Mountain Vet or The Zoo can be educational.

[bmasters9]

1 hour ago, Pippin said:

Some reality shows are, IMO, little better than the freak shows at the carnival, but ones like Face Off, which celebrate creativity, or animal or vet shows like My Cat From Hell or Rocky Mountain Vet or The Zoo can be educational.

My Cat From Hell has very lately been one of my favorites, me being the cat person I am!

[Blergh]

Inasmuch as the main characters reminded me of folks in high school who I did my best to avoid, I never liked That 70's Show. I tried it once or twice but it just seemed to be a jaded, cynical and unpleasant version of Happy Days- set two decades later.  Oh, and I dislike that we've had Ashton Kutcher inflicted upon us ever since thanks to that show.

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, Lazlo said:

Huh... that's probably even more unpopular than mine given Back to Reality, Gunmen of the Apocalypse and Quarantine are so beloved (and The Inquisitor and Holoship not much less so.)

I guess part of my surprise is that series 3 and 4 feel a lot more like series 5 and 6 than they do like the first two series. Its an interesting cut off point.

Yeah, I like some of the episodes but not all of them.  I get that it makes me kinda weird amongst RD fans.

[Chaos Theory]

I think it’s silly not liking shows because they are popular or trendy or critically acclaimed.  

Of course there are plenty of those shows I don’t like but I don’t like them because I think they are silly and stupid not because other people like them.

[2727]

10 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think it’s silly not liking shows because they are popular or trendy or critically acclaimed. 

It is silly, but I excuse myself by thinking of it as, "I hate those shows ... being shoved down my throat all the time." Dear friends, critics, and online commenters: Stop trying to make me watch!

[paulvdb]

2 hours ago, 2727 said:

It is silly, but I excuse myself by thinking of it as, "I hate those shows ... being shoved down my throat all the time." Dear friends, critics, and online commenters: Stop trying to make me watch!

When a new show starts I'll check the premise to see if it's something I might like. That already eliminates a lot of shows. For the remaining shows I'll check cast, promos and/or an episode or two. I don't let critics' or other viewers' opinions decide if I should like a show. So I don't like being constantly told that I should watch and like a show when I already decided not to watch it.

For me it doesn't feel like shoving down my throat when I already watch and like the show, so for me at least this is not so much about not liking a show because it's popular or acclaimed or shoved down my throat. But it's an additional reason to dislike a show that I already didn't like for other reasons.

[Chaos Theory]

4 hours ago, paulvdb said:

When a new show starts I'll check the premise to see if it's something I might like. That already eliminates a lot of shows. For the remaining shows I'll check cast, promos and/or an episode or two. I don't let critics' or other viewers' opinions decide if I should like a show. So I don't like being constantly told that I should watch and like a show when I already decided not to watch it.

For me it doesn't feel like shoving down my throat when I already watch and like the show, so for me at least this is not so much about not liking a show because it's popular or acclaimed or shoved down my throat. But it's an additional reason to dislike a show that I already didn't like for other reasons.

I get your point on this.  Every time I see a “This Is Us” commercial I groan a little.  I think the show is way overhyped.  I did make it through a few episodes before i decided it just wasn’t for me.  I liked a lot of the actors on the show but I loath shows that try to make me cry every single episode.

 

i just also get annoyed when people (including my own friends) who don’t like or won’t watch shows because they think it’s to trendy or a network is trying to get them to watch.  That is kinda a network’s job.   I think that is just being stubborn and contrary.  Do you know how many shows I went into expecting not to like that I ended up loving?

Edited February 16, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[HunterHunted]

On 2/15/2018 at 2:45 AM, Pippin said:

Don't know if it's an UO or not, but I agree.  Some reality shows are, IMO, little better than the freak shows at the carnival, but ones like Face Off, which celebrate creativity, or animal or vet shows like My Cat From Hell or Rocky Mountain Vet or The Zoo can be educational.

I don't watch any of those animal shows, but I am a fan of Face Off. It's a great show, which always features competitors helping each other out. This is something I appreciate because the competitors work in an industry where it's always better to be seen as a team player. I still love Top Chef. It features a lot of artistry, creativity, and innovation. This season has already given me a couple of recipes (Chris' brown sugar biscuits and Carrie's beet raisins).

My truly unpopular opinion is that there is no such thing as bad tv. Even with so called "bad tv" there is a moving baseline. Some of these shows would have been considered perfectly adequate and maybe even revolutionary 20, 30, and 40 years ago. That multi-camera sitcoms have been largely relegated to kids tv is just one point in support. As we advance and society advances, we develop more sophisticated entertainment desires.

[Chaos Theory]

31 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

My truly unpopular opinion is that there is no such thing as bad tv. Even with so called "bad tv" there is a moving baseline. Some of these shows would have been considered perfectly adequate and maybe even revolutionary 20, 30, and 40 years ago. That multi-camera sitcoms have been largely relegated to kids tv is just one point in support. As we advance and society advances, we develop more sophisticated entertainment desires.

What we like and don't like is a moving target.   One of the most popular comedies on tv, Seinfeld had a canned laugh tracks.  Now that kind of comedy has gone out of fashion.  People (who like comedies) complain about shows with laugh tracks.   TV ebbs and flows.  And so does our taste for it.  

[selkie]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

My truly unpopular opinion is that there is no such thing as bad tv. Even with so called "bad tv" there is a moving baseline. Some of these shows would have been considered perfectly adequate and maybe even revolutionary 20, 30, and 40 years ago. That multi-camera sitcoms have been largely relegated to kids tv is just one point in support. As we advance and society advances, we develop more sophisticated entertainment desires.

Gotta say I'm not sure there was ever a time when 'Bridalplasty' would be considered to be good or even average television.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridalplasty

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

One of the most popular comedies on tv, Seinfeld had a canned laugh tracks.

To be fair to Seinfeld, and I didn't watch much, but read about the creation of the show by him and Larry David, was that the network insisted on a laugh track because the jokes were 'off' in compared to typical sitcoms at the time and the network didn't think viewers would know what they jokes were. Which was kind of their point. You look at something like Arrested Development which I think is in the same ballpark as Seinfeld and there wasn't one. 

[bmasters9]

21 hours ago, paulvdb said:

I don't let critics' or other viewers' opinions decide if I should like a show. So I don't like being constantly told that I should watch and like a show when I already decided not to watch it.

Or the flip side of it (which probably would apply more to films than television, but still equally valid): I don't like to let critics' opinions dissuade me from seeing a film that I already have desired to see. If I think a film might be pretty good, yet there are more than 100 negative reviews preaching its avoidance, it can be a mighty tough row to hoe. 

[paulvdb]

59 minutes ago, bmasters9 said:

Or the flip side of it (which probably would apply more to films than television, but still equally valid): I don't like to let critics' opinions dissuade me from seeing a film that I already have desired to see. If I think a film might be pretty good, yet there are more than 100 negative reviews preaching its avoidance, it can be a mighty tough row to hoe. 

Yes, that flip side also applies for me. I'll watch a tv series or movie that I decided I'd probably like even if reviews say that it's bad. Although that does depend on the reasons the reviewers give for their negative opinions.

[Danny Franks]

I'd really like to watch Master of None, but am hamstrung by the fact I find Aziz Ansari really creepy. Nothing to do with the recent allegation against him, but there's just something about him that I find really off-putting.

And in an attempt to try to figure out why I have this distaste, I looked up some of his stand up, and found that it veers into Nice Guy territory, which seems very fitting for him. This, for example.