Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Raja]

I think a lot of it these days stems from social media. There are a lot of attention seekers who try to out-grieve each other on days like this. Not that one can't be bummed out when a favorite celebrity dies but to carry on as if it is a personal loss always seems disingenuous to me. I think what we really feel is a lament for the memories we made while experiencing said artist's work. Having said that, I will wake up tomorrow and my life will be no different than it was this morning. The same can't be said for the actual friends and family of the deceased.

It wasn't just social media my mother was complaining that MSNBC went to full Prince memorial when she watches because they are almost guaranteed to say good things about President Obama

[ribboninthesky1]

I've been catching up on The Mindy Project, and I've actually found the unraveling of the utterly, comprehensively incompatible coupling of Danny and Mindy interesting to watch.  I get it's an OTT romantic comedy, but I rarely understand the "let's put two completely different people with widely divergent values and play it for laughs" trope. Anyway, it's a bit of unexpected realism, and I think it's been written well. Also, while I think Chris Messina is a good actor, I think Mindy Kaling holds her own just fine.

 

Finally: I kind of hate Morgan and Peter.  Never found either of them remotely funny.        

[Haleth]

But what annoys me more than anything is the amount of people who don't realize Khaleesi is a title, NOT her name.

This bugs me too.  Apparently we have a whole generation of baby girls named Khaleesi now.

[ByTor]

Thinking about how we mourn artists we've never met. We don't cry because we knew them, we cry because they helped us know ourselves.

I think that's a tad over-dramatic.  IMO it's more because now a musician/performer people love will never get to see this musician/performer do his/her craft again.

 

I don't hate Chuck on Better Call Saul. Jimmy might be charming, but he breaks the law and what he did with those documents was messed up. I don't think Chuck's an asshole for trying to prove that he did not screw up a major deal. Yes, I like Jimmy but come on.

I also don't think Chuck "stole" Mesa Verde from Kim...she got that client for HHM while she was an employee of HHM, so if anything she was the one stealing it from them.  While I also like Chuck, I do have one issue with how he is written.  At first it seemed that it was Slippin' Jimmy's ways Chuck had a problem with, but now it's like Chuck has always resented Jimmy just for existing, probably hoping this will garner some sympathy for him.

[Ceindreadh]

This bugs me too. Apparently we have a whole generation of baby girls named Khaleesi now.

How terrible that somebody might give their kid a title as a first name. *cough*Prince*cough*

[Julia]

I think that's a tad over-dramatic.  IMO it's more because now a musician/performer people love will never get to see this musician/performer do his/her craft again.

 

I think there's something to it, though. I've always liked Prince's work, but when I think about him what's in my head is 20 year old me going to see Purple Rain in theaters seven times. I suspect I'm too old and cynical to respond in that unfiltered a way to entertainment any more, and most of it isn't made for me these days anyway. So, yeah, having Prince go is like another door to that part of my life closing.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Julia

[ByTor]

I don't doubt that about memories, Julia, they can be quite powerful, but the "they helped us know ourselves" thing is what I think is a stretch. Anybody who knows what my nickname came from knows that I'm a Rush fan (a huge one at that), and I'd hate to see any of its members leave us, but I know who I am perfectly well without them.

Edited April 23, 2016 by ByTor

[Misslindsey]

My  Doctor Who UO is that Clara is one of my favorite companions. I will be at my table for one for that one.

[Haleth]

^ Ha!  Ok, you win that point!

[Wiendish Fitch]

My  Doctor Who UO is that Clara is one of my favorite companions. I will be at my table for one for that one.

 

I'd be lying if I said she was my favorite (Martha and Donna hold that title), but I'll happily join your table because I not only like Clara just fine, but I'll take her over sniveling, worthless, astonishingly overrated Amy any day of the week and twice on Sunday. To paraphrase the awesome authors of How Not to Write a Novel, nice legs and a cute accent are NOT character traits. 

[MaryPatShelby]

I watched the entire run of Breaking Bad 3 times (starting my 4th, I can't get enough!). While this isn't an opinion per se, unpopularly I don't even recognize most things carried over from BB to BCS. For example, I did not recognize Krazy-8 on BCS, I found out it was him after reading a review. I pretty much only remembered the Salamancas and the diner Mike frequents. Like MaryPatShelby, I am happy to focus on the story of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, even though I adore BB.

I didn't recognize Krazy 8 either, nor Nacho, nor the diner! I'm hopeless.

I am not upset that we didn't see Gus Fring in the season finale, nor does it matter to me if we see him next season. The actor who plays him isn't even signed for next season, yet people seem to be really invested in him being on the show ASAP.

[Sweet Tee]

 

My  Doctor Who UO is that Clara is one of my favorite companions. I will be at my table for one for that one.

 

I haven't watched DW since a few episodes into Capaldi's first season.  Nothing against him, life just got in the way and I got so far behind that I never bothered to catch back up.  But, I liked Clara a great deal.  I think the actress has a natural warmth on camera that made her easy to like.  She's probably my second favorite after Martha.

[ByTor]

I didn't recognize Krazy 8 either, nor Nacho, nor the diner! I'm hopeless.

Don't feel bad! I just knew I recognized Nacho from BB, and he wasn't even ON BB :)

[Julia]

Even if I was a fan of her performance - and James Spader, who managed to convince me that William Shatner was the great love of his life, hasn't been able to sell me on her character - it would be hard for me to get worked up about the death of Lizzie Keen. Maybe before the character played by the wonderfully talented Parminder Nagra was fridged on her behalf, but not so much after.

[Cherpumple]

Apparently we have a whole generation of baby girls named Khaleesi now.

I'm not a big Daenerys fan either, and part of me hopes that she eventually commits some unforgivable atrocity in the story, just so that all those parents who thought they were being clever will have basically named their kid the equivalent of Voldemort. That would amuse me to no end.

[Marsupial]

 

And for any HGTV fans here: I loathe Chip Gaines from Fixer Upper.  This guy is absolutely beloved by all these viewers, but he turns my stomach with his "look at me!" schtick

 

My boyfriend hate-watches all the fixer upper/rehab shows and he was jeering at this the other night. The theme of the evening was "weird things that Chip likes to eat" ha ha ha oh so funny! Well, in one scene Mr. Sexy ATE A DEAD COCKROACH. The man picked a HUGE dead cockroach up off the floor and popped it in his mouth and crunched it. I felt sick for days just remembering that.

 

Imagine KISSING him? Uggggggh.

 

 

[Marsupial]

Betty Draper was one of my favorite characters on Mad Men, and I utterly detested Rachel, both the character and the actress (whom I also loathed in Sons of Anarchy).

 

Breaking Bad is an awful show, utterly boring and turgidly written (that said, the Spanish-language Colombian remake of  it is really good because it keeps the identical plot but takes out all the pretentious crap; if you can find it subtitled, which I think you can on Netflix,  it's called Metastasi.)

 

Oh and I hated Friends.

[Kate the Great]

I am conflicted about Moftiss: I love BBC Sherlock (though the third season was weaker than the first two), but Dr. Who does nothing for me at all (I miss Christopher Eccleston, and Tennant to a lesser extent, but never watched the show thoroughly after Eccleston's season).

 

I like all the cooking competition shows on Food Network (though I hate Alex Guarnaschelli and Melissa d'Arabian and many other judges!).

[vibeology]

I saw that episode. Why would a grown man do that? He doesn't need more attention, does he? I mean, he's already got his own TV show.

[Mulva]

We've all experienced it: that indifference or even outright dislike towards characters who most of your fellow TV fans adore. This is the place to safely chat about them! A few of mine to get us started:

 

1) Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls)---an alarmingly angry, scarily temperamental, bitter, relentlessly negative, jealous, immature, borderline dishonest, passive-aggressive and often just plain aggressive, joyless, charmless boor (and, for that matter, a bore.) He also happens to have the communication skills of a toddler. I get that deep down he's generous and all that, but actually spending time with him on a day-to-day basis would be painful for me. Add in the fact that I find the actor who plays him mediocre and weirdly unattractive, and you can see why I'm always kind of puzzled by how he's so worshiped by my fellow Gilmore Girls fans as some sort of swoon-worthy romantic ideal.

 

2) Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars)---I must be the only VM viewer ever not to find him the least bit sexy. Honestly, he's kind of asexual to me. Beyond that, he's also a whiny semi-sociopath, so...yeah, suffice it to say I'm not a fan and could never buy that Veronica of all people---- a woman who holds a grudge like pretty much no human being ever---would have quickly forgiven him for the vicious treatment we saw at the beginning of the series, let alone decided to date him. (I hate Dick Casablancas and Lily Kane from this show as well!) 

 

3) Pretty much everyone on NCIS, most notably DiNozzo (punch-worthy, insufferable overgrown frat boy) and Abby (quasi-'goth', perky, self-enamored annoyance)  

 

4) Adam Rove (Joan of Arcadia) ---Ugh...just ugh. I found him such a self-pitying, quasi-cool poseur at his best moments, and a dishonest, dangerously weak jerk at his worst. And I couldn't stand the actor's perpetually stoned line delivery! Joan was far better off without him :) 

 

5) Dean Winchester (Supernatural) Okay, so I don't outright dislike Dean (most of the time!), but I definitely like him a whole lot less than about 99.9% of fans seem to :) For all the talk about how "iconic" he is, he's a very typical, generic textbook 'hero' to me: the hard drinkin', allegedly tough, impossibly noble guy's guy martyr who charms all the ladies, has an 'adorable' soft spot for children, is always ready with an allegedly witty quip, etc.  His one salient flaw is that he's too self-effacing to let himself realize what a gosh darn amazing guy he is even as he's forever bailing out his more flawed, error-prone younger brother. (*eye roll*) 

 

Did I post this in my sleep?  Except for the Veronica Mars guy, I agree with every one, especially Luke and Dean Winchester.

[TattleTeeny]

No, not at all. While I liked Prince and am sorry about his death, I am not overcome. In fact, I will never understand people who weep over total strangers, which in essence, a celebrity is. I think it actually is demeaning to the actual friends and family of the deceased. I guess I am a heartless monster, too.

Not sure how a private reaction could demean anyone in this way. Sometimes it's just a gut reaction--it's not like people pop out tears deliberately. Sometimes the story of the death is sad. Prince, for example, while not a friend of relative of everyone who shed a few tears, is still a loss, and losses can make people cry. No harm done. I mean, I don't know the dying animals that I see in horrible news stories either, and I cry at those (a lot).

 

Betty Draper was one of my favorite characters on Mad Men

 

Oh my goodness, me too. I loved her, no matter how awful she was! Loved her! And say what you will about JJ's acting outside of MM, she was perfect for Betty!

Edited April 25, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[caci]

Just to be clear, I am not talking about feeling genuinely sad about Prince's death and maybe shed a few tears. I am talking about those that sob and weep as though they lost a personal friend or relative. That I don't understand. I get that a death like this may bring up memories and feelings in your own life which is understandable. When it comes down to it though, I did not know Prince. I can be sad he is gone (and truly am), but that is different from those that knew him personally. Their lives will be affected I'm a way that the average fan will not go through. The fact that some fans, who never met the man, act like their grief is the same as his loved ones is what I find troubling.

[ganesh]

I usually roll my eyes when a forum gets kind of a herd mentality and gangs up on a show for seemingly trivial reasons. Shows aren't as great as people make them out to me or as bad. Usually. I have to say though, The Walking Dead spin off isn't really that good. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Just to be clear, I am not talking about feeling genuinely sad about Prince's death and maybe shed a few tears. I am talking about those that sob and weep as though they lost a personal friend or relative. That I don't understand. I get that a death like this may bring up memories and feelings in your own life which is understandable. When it comes down to it though, I did not know Prince. I can be sad he is gone (and truly am), but that is different from those that knew him personally. Their lives will be affected I'm a way that the average fan will not go through. The fact that some fans, who never met the man, act like their grief is the same as his loved ones is what I find troubling.

 

Why does it bother you?

[janie jones]

When people grieve "too much" (whatever that means) over a celebrity's death, it always makes me wonder how they react when an actual loved one passes.

[caci]

Why does it bother you?

[caci]

Sorry, computer issues here. Do I lose sleep over someone grieving over a stranger as they would a loved one - no. I just find it odd. Anyway, I guess my unpopular opinion is that celebrity deaths just don't affect me too much, sad or maddening (as in someone dying too early) as they are. I can bawl over an animal dying though so don't think too little of me.

Oh, and onto a totally different UO, I really like Guy Fieri and most of the competitive cooking shows on Food Network.

[Julia]

Maybe it's just that when a loved one passes you have to be strong for the other people in your life who loved them, and when a public figure who touched you dies you don't? Zipless catharsis is what drama and storytelling have been about since we crawled out of caves.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Julia

[caci]

Actually, you may be on to something there. That would make sense in some of the cases, at least.

[zxy556575]

Boy do I not get the attraction to or supposed sexiness of Tom Hiddleston. I originally saw him as Loki, but he made no particular impression. Face and body are pretty average to me, especially grading on the movie star scale. Mazel Tov to his fans, though.

[callie lee 29]

Yeah, I don't get that either.  I actually didn't even know it was a thing until after I saw the movie (finally. it  was a few years after it came out) and I started noticing all these "Tom Hiddleston is everything" posts.

But hey everybody's got a type. I've always had a weird thing for Steven Tyler.

[ganesh]

I left my car radio on, and these forums were literally defunct all week.

[tribeca]

I have zero sympathy for Kelly Ripa. 

[DeLurker]

On 4/28/2016 at 1:30 PM, lordonia said:

Boy do I not get the attraction to or supposed sexiness of Tom Hiddleston. I originally saw him as Loki, but he made no particular impression. Face and body are pretty average to me, especially grading on the movie star scale. Mazel Tov to his fans, though.

Never heard of him before the Thor movie, but I'll give him credit for having something cause I think being able to garner some attention when you're in a movie with Chris Hemsworth is noteworthy.

[SmithW6079]

On 4/30/2016 at 9:28 PM, tribeca said:

I have zero sympathy for Kelly Ripa. 

More than that, I have disliked her ever since she played Hayley Vaughn, Adam Chandler's daughter, on "All My Children."

I don't weep and gnash my teeth or rend my garments because there are more and more commercials on the shows I watch (like "Big Bang Theory").

And because I was just reading the Miscellaneous Celebrity News thread,  I don't think Beyonce is "all that," and all the fawning on those celebrity TV "news" shows make me want to vomit. I think she's a mediocre singer without the technological enhancements -- the extra stuff on the "Dreamgirls" DVD showed her singing acappella, and she was bad. Anika Noni Rose, who played Lorrell, does sing "Ain't No Party" acappella, and she was amazing -- too bad the song was not in the movie so we could get more Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson solos. 

Edited May 1, 2016 by SmithW6079

[zxy556575]

I not only didn't mind Wesley Crusher on Next Generation, he was one of my favorite characters. Sheldon Cooper agrees with me, but he's fictional.

[SmithW6079]

I didn't mind Wesley when I watched TNG in the day, and I was really surprised to find out there was all this Wesley hate, but now when I catch him on reruns, he is kind of annoying. 

Now, my annoyance with Worf, the worst security officer in the Federation, ("Again with the Klingons!") knows no bounds. 

[UYI]

I don't hate Kathie Lee Gifford. I know she can do some annoying things, but for some reason I just don't hate her at all. And I think it's pretty amazing that she found the strength to forgive/remain married to Frank after all the public embarrassment he bestowed upon her by having an affair.

She's also a fellow Maryland girl. That helps, too. ;)

[Ohwell]

I don't "hate" KLG because I don't think about her.  I stopped watching the show last year.  However, when I did watch it seemed to me that she never missed an opportunity to snipe about Frank's age, like she never got over him having the affair.  I just thought she was too mean about it and if it hurt her so bad, then she should have divorced him.  

[lyric]

I like Kristen Stewart's acting.

[zxy556575]

4 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Now, my annoyance with Worf, the worst security officer in the Federation, ("Again with the Klingons!") knows no bounds. 

Aye, aye! I was living overseas in kind of a TV bubble when TNG was airing and had no idea that Worf was actually a popular character. I grimaced hard when he was added to the cast of Deep Space Nine, but he was a smidge less objectionable to me there.

42 minutes ago, lyric said:

I like Kristen Stewart's acting.

I've never seen any of her movies, but even I know that's a brave stance. :)

[galax-arena]

15 hours ago, lordonia said:

I not only didn't mind Wesley Crusher on Next Generation, he was one of my favorite characters. Sheldon Cooper agrees with me, but he's fictional.

When I first watched Next Generation, I too liked Wesley Crusher. Then again, I also liked Full House's Michelle Tanner, so I think my taste was suspect back then. 

I don't understand all the fuss over the Supernatural boys' looks. IMO Jared Padelecki looks like a Neanderthal and Jensen Ackles might be technically handsome, but only in the sense that he resembles a bland Disney prince. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by galax-arena

[ganesh]

Complaining about rape on Outlander (of women or men) seems futile to me. The main character goes back in time and is nearly raped within 5 minutes in the first episode. I think the show established what kind of show we were going to be watching. It's hard to watch, but I think they've played fair with the viewers. I certainly don't like it, but that's the show.

Edited May 2, 2016 by ganesh

[zxy556575]

9 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I don't "hate" KLG because I don't think about her.

Do a lot of people still hate her these days? Asking seriously. I figured most are like you and don't give her a moment's thought.

I recorded her and Hoda regularly for a few years, but Kathie Lee's verbal tics -- word-finding difficulties, stammering, lip-smacking, and inability to recall names -- were getting on my nerves. I'm older than her and it happens to me, too, so I don't hold it against her but it still made me feel jangly to watch. I wish her the best and all.

[selkie]

We've been binge-watching the Mary Tyler Moore Show the past few months- dates in some ways but still often quite funny. My unpopular opinion is that the episode where Ted gets married is not only hilarious but a lot better than the iconic 'Death of Chuckles' episode. Chuckles had its moments, but the wedding- finally getting Ted to make it official with Georgette, letting Sue Ann really shine in her element, and early John Ritter as the tennis-playing minister... there are no lulls in the entire so very strong episode.

[Raja]

18 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I didn't mind Wesley when I watched TNG in the day, and I was really surprised to find out there was all this Wesley hate, but now when I catch him on reruns, he is kind of annoying. 

Now, my annoyance with Worf, the worst security officer in the Federation, ("Again with the Klingons!") knows no bounds. 

Remember Star Trek was not just a matter of a producer rebooting an old show it had that fandom which spent more than a decade convincing themselves that the Enterprise crew were more than just a bunch a sailors but rather the absolute best of the best a thing said by TNG characters about others joining their ship. Putting a child in a position of authority may have worked for the Hornblower stories which acted as a template for Kirk but the initial showings of Wesley were not as a young man destined for greatness but as a boy who we were told was a genius, only he was supposed to be among a ship full of genius as the fans saw it. It really hurt that an early appearances had him go to a anything goes planet where they tease the sex everyone else would be having and as a 15 year old boy he goes to play tag you're it

[UYI]

8 hours ago, lordonia said:

Do a lot of people still hate her these days? Asking seriously. I figured most are like you and don't give her a moment's thought.

I recorded her and Hoda regularly for a few years, but Kathie Lee's verbal tics -- word-finding difficulties, stammering, lip-smacking, and inability to recall names -- were getting on my nerves. I'm older than her and it happens to me, too, so I don't hold it against her but it still made me feel jangly to watch. I wish her the best and all.

Maybe not, but I was thinking back to the Regis days when people thought she talked about her kids too much, lol.

 

Peter was better looking than Greg, both as a kid (in a cute way) and as he got older, too (in a hot way). There, I said it.

[SmithW6079]

3 hours ago, UYI said:

Peter was better looking than Greg, both as a kid (in a cute way) and as he got older, too (in a hot way). There, I said it.

Oh, agreed. Peter was definitely better looking, and he grew up into a hottie.

[fishcakes]

I agree about Peter and will say that I was filled with sadness when I saw him in a Bosley Hair System commercial ("This is my hair! MY HAIR!") mainly because it made me feel elderly.

My UO is that Dick Wolf of Law & Order fame is a hack and always has been. He had a few okay years with original recipe L&O, but he clearly ran out of ideas about 15 years before that series was cancelled. And the other L&O shows should never have existed, especially the totally scripted and staged "reality" version, "Crime and Punishment." I'm mostly reminded of how limited in talent the guy is because I've been binge-watching Miami Vice. The first two seasons are really good and original, but the third season did an immediate dive into mediocrity coinciding with Wolf becoming a co-producer and getting story and writing credits and then got even worse in season 4 when he became co-executive producer. He left after season 4, and season 5 was a little better, but by that time the damage was done.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I find Vincent D'Onofrio incredibly overrated as an actor, and find his line readings on Daredevil flat and a little bit goofy.