Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[kiddo82]

45 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I'd guess a significant number of viewers aren't going to watch at all if they have to go out of their way.  That's why it makes sense for NBC to air it like they do.  People who "really" care will watch online during the day. 

Exactly.  It's not NBC's job to get me to watch the coverage because I'll find a way to see what I want to see either in real time or not.  As it would be for any network, the goal is to hook the fringe fans who won't go out of their way.  As far as work goes, I don't spend any significant time at a desk and couldn't pay a whole heck of attention to events I'm really invested in seeing anyway.  I did manage to stream the aforementioned soccer game on my phone but could only muster periodic check ins.  But like I said above, that ended up being for the best.  And while I've no doubt the streaming numbers would be greater for something like an NFL game, think of the drop off in viewership if a game was aired in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, even with the option to stream.  You would definitely weed out the portion of the population who either couldn't watch or couldn't be bothered to watch.  Again, it's not that the coverage isn't devoid of its problems, but it's the same criticisms every. single. cycle and I don't know what really there is to be done about it.

Edited August 15, 2016 by kiddo82

[DittyDotDot]

10 hours ago, gator12 said:

NBC also blame women not caring about results as the reason for them taped delaying the opening ceremony 

Funny because, I'm a woman and loathe those personal tragedy pieces. This is why I can't watch those competition reality programs either. The tragedy is just too much for me to stomach sometimes.

[Shannon L.]

51 minutes ago, orza said:

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I seriously question the amount of people who can't watch at work though. 

That would be the majority of people. Not everyone has a do-nothing desk job in a secluded cubicle.

I used to work at a job, in a cubicle, that had long stretches of time where there was nothing to do. All the filing had been done, the work station had been cleaned, paperwork finished, etc.  All I and the people on other shifts just had to do was sit and wait for the phone to ring or for some paperwork to come in and we weren't even allowed to read a book or magazine.  We even had to sign a paper to prove that I understood that. 

I get that NBC can only show so much at night and I happen enjoy the personal stories, but NBC seems to be getting worse every 2 years and I can't exactly put my finger on why.  One thing is them saying they are going to show something, then deciding to only show a very short bit of it because we didn't medal.  Thank God, they showed the men's floor exercises last night in spite of the Americans not placing because that was a great moment in sports, no matter what country placed.  The other thing (that isn't different, but I still hate it), is the 8pm-midnight airing.  A lot of us can't stay up that late for various reasons.  If they aren't going to show things in their entirety anyway, why not show it from 7pm-11pm?

[kiddo82]

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

I get that NBC can only show so much at night and I happen enjoy the personal stories, but NBC seems to be getting worse every 2 years and I can't exactly put my finger on why.  One thing is them saying they are going to show something, then deciding to only show a very short bit of it because we didn't medal.  Thank God, they showed the men's floor exercises last night in spite of the Americans not placing because that was a great moment in sports, no matter what country placed.  The other thing (that isn't different, but I still hate it), is the 8pm-midnight airing.  A lot of us can't stay up that late for various reasons.  If they aren't going to show things in their entirety anyway, why not show it from 7pm-11pm?i

Ironically they didn't show the pommel horse at night and an American did medal in the event.  They had televised it earlier in the day.  Also ironically, despite the complaints, I don't recall a gluttony of puff pieces so far this year and the ones they have shown have been fairly brief.  (I'm not a huge fan).  I think the live events have been the cause for this because the network is now so compressed for time in the evenings.   

[ganesh]

3 hours ago, janie jones said:

I'd guess a significant number of viewers aren't going to watch at all if they have to go out of their way. 

I'd buy that. For the World Cup, I think people do go out of their way, and the time difference isn't nearly a factor. 

[AimingforYoko]

On 8/7/2016 at 6:02 PM, Moose Andsquirrel said:

I liked the St. Elsewhere finale.  And I like the various parodies of it over the years, and I like that it spawned the Tommy Westphall Universe.

As I've asked elsewhere, what in the hell was going on in that kid's head that he came up with Peter White?

[Minneapple]

9 hours ago, janie jones said:

I'd guess a significant number of viewers aren't going to watch at all if they have to go out of their way.  That's why it makes sense for NBC to air it like they do.  People who "really" care will watch online during the day.  I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to air stuff live on TV duruing the day rather than online, because probably most people don't have TVs at work.  (I feel like I watched the 2000 Olympics live during the day, but I was a kid on summer vacation.)  But I agree that it would make most sense for the primetime hours to be treated more like a three-hour sports report rather than pretending like it's happening in real time.

The thing is, NBC has been showing almost everything live online AND on TV during the day. I think it's just the gymnastics that they've held back from showing live on TV -- but they stream it anyway. And, a lot of big events have been happening live in primetime, so they don't have to pretend. NBC showed most of Phelps' swims live in primetime. Last night, with Usain Bolt -- that was all live in primetime. The big issue this year is that they tried to package gymnastics highlights around the live swimming events, and it was a miserable failure. Maybe they got luckier with the scheduling in London and there wasn't that much of a conflict with swimming, but I remember the gymnastics package being much more seamless then, plus they showed more of it. 

But people will bitch about anything. Yesterday they showed the men's pommel horse live in the afternoon and didn't show the tape-delay in primetime, and people bitched. Well, they already showed it!

The World Cup is a different animal. It's one very popular sport that people are fanatics about, and they'll go out of their way to watch certain matches, if not all of them.

[ganesh]

Yeah, I walked back from the World Cup comment earlier today.

[Raja]

16 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

As I've asked elsewhere, what in the hell was going on in that kid's head that he came up with Peter White?

I wondered how Tommy got life in a Los Angeles high school in the late 70s so right when I remembered that Warren Coolidge the basketball center from The White Shadow turned up as an injured college basketball player at his coach's alma mater, who lost is schorlarship and went to work at St Elsewhere

[galax-arena]

(Possible) Black Sails UO:

I'm not sure how much of a popular opinion this is here on p.tv because I only very sporadically check out the Black Sails forum, but this is definitely a thing I've seen in the fandom at large: A lot of people tend to interpret Max's character as bisexual, and I just don't see that at all. Yes, she has sex with men, but... I mean... she is (or was) a prostitute. That's sort of a given. All of her genuine romantic/sexual interests have been directed at women. She might have had a threesome with Jack and Anne, but that was about her and Jack essentially battling for Anne's affections.

I think this interpretation of Max's character annoys me because it conflates the idea of sexual orientation with sexual behavior. That's bad enough on its own, but with Max it's especially grating because a lot of her sexual behavior with men was something that she was essentially forced to engage in. 

Obviously to a certain extent this is irrelevant because back then they had very different concepts re: sexual orientation to begin with and didn't use words like gay and bisexual. But then Max shouldn't be called bi to begin with. And if people are going to look at these characters through our 21st century lens, then I don't see much support for the idea that Max is bi. Anne and Eleanor? Yes. Max? Not so much. 

[tribeca]

How I meet your mother UO.    I liked Ted.  Loved Ted with Tracey and the first time with Victoria.  I even liked Ted with Stella.  

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Ironically they didn't show the pommel horse at night and an American did medal in the event.  They had televised it earlier in the day.  Also ironically, despite the complaints, I don't recall a gluttony of puff pieces so far this year and the ones they have shown have been fairly brief.  (I'm not a huge fan).  I think the live events have been the cause for this because the network is now so compressed for time in the evenings.   

Have you watched the swimming?

[kiddo82]

Yes.

[Princess Sparkle]

I mentioned in a different thread that I'm doing an Oz rewatch (still hate you McManus!), but I'm reminded of how much I loved the widely-hated Hill.  I always liked his monologues, he had a pretty thankless job having to be the voice of the show, and I was gutted when he died - when the episode closes with his empty wheelchair and absolute silence, I cried.

[zxy556575]

I think it's ridiculous when shows are cancelled and the stars or hosts become teary on air and/or throw public snit fits, blaming the networks, insufficient promotion, poor lead-ins, etc. Never themselves, of course.

The entertainment industry is both fickle and ratings-driven, and nobody forced them to claw and fight their way to be a part of it. "Wah, mommy and daddy took my toys away!"

A lot of the rest of us peons are in at-will jobs and can be fired for no reason. We deal with it and celebrities need to get a grip as well. It's damned annoying and I have zero sympathy.

[kiddo82]

22 minutes ago, lordonia said:

I think it's ridiculous when shows are cancelled and the stars or hosts become teary on air and/or throw public snit fits, blaming the networks, insufficient promotion, poor lead-ins, etc. Never themselves, of course.

The entertainment industry is both fickle and ratings-driven, and nobody forced them to claw and fight their way to be a part of it. "Wah, mommy and daddy took my toys away!"

A lot of the rest of us peons are in at-will jobs and can be fired for no reason. We deal with it and celebrities need to get a grip as well. It's damned annoying and I have zero sympathy.

I wouldn't necessarily say I have "zero sympathy" (it is unfortunate when a good show just can't find an audience) but I agree it's not the fault of the evil networks or audiences who were just not smart enough enjoy the product.  Piggy backing on that UO, as frustrating as it can be, it's not the networks' job to create good, creative, and thought provoking television.  It's the job of the networks to sell ad space and make money.  I don't believe they want to cancel quality programming at will, but when a show is not profitable they don't have much choice.  And while premium channels might give more leeway for shows that are lagging, even they need to make room for other programming that might result in more subscribers.  Again, not that it can't be frustrating, but it's hard to argue with numbers.

Edited August 20, 2016 by kiddo82

[caci]

Years ago, Judd Hirsh slammed NBC for canceling Taxi after the network saved it from cancellation at ABC.  The show was on for many years and it was time to go.  I truly believe he thought the network should just keep it on, no matter what the ratings were, just on his say so.  Anyway, he came off as a whiney crybaby and I have never liked him as much since.

[ganesh]

I genuinely enjoy Mr. Robot. I'm really glad the show was renewed. But just because you shoot the scenes with the people in the corner of view or at the bottom doesn't really mean you're some auteur or are Doing Meaningful Art. We need to just let a good show be a good show. Not everything has to Be A Thing. 

[kathyk24]

On ‎8‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 11:34 PM, kiddo82 said:

I wouldn't necessarily say I have "zero sympathy" (it is unfortunate when a good show just can't find an audience) but I agree it's not the fault of the evil networks or audiences who were just not smart enough enjoy the product.  Piggy backing on that UO, as frustrating as it can be, it's not the networks' job to create good, creative, and thought provoking television.  It's the job of the networks to sell ad space and make money.  I don't believe they want to cancel quality programming at will, but when a show is not profitable they don't have much choice.  And while premium channels might give more leeway for shows that are lagging, even they need to make room for other programming that might result in more subscribers.  Again, not that it can't be frustrating, but it's hard to argue with numbers.

I think networks set up new shows to fail more often then succeed. They choose the time slot and the amount of publicity a new show receives. For example ABC scheduled the reboot of the Muppet show opposite NCIS and the Voice two shows in the top ten. They also preempted the Muppets twice to air Peanuts cartoons. A new show needs to air consistently in order to build an audience.

[Gudzilla]

I'm happy the Olympics are over.

[allyw]

17 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I think networks set up new shows to fail more often then succeed. They choose the time slot and the amount of publicity a new show receives. For example ABC scheduled the reboot of the Muppet show opposite NCIS and the Voice two shows in the top ten. They also preempted the Muppets twice to air Peanuts cartoons. A new show needs to air consistently in order to build an audience.

 

I don't think networks necessarily set up new shows to fail but rather that they have a few select ones that they believe to be most promising (The Muppets was considered that last year). Those are the ones that get the best timeslot and most publicity leaving the others to kind of fend for themselves. And as for the Muppets, while you could argue that it was a bad idea to put it against The Voice, NCIS is not a family show and I doubt that there was much crossover in the targeted audience.

The Muppets also premiered to a 2.8 rating and about 9 million viewers while The Voice was 3.4 and over 12 million viewers and NCIS was 2.4 and 17 Million.

The following week The Muppets was 2.0 and 5 million, The Voice 3.6 and 13 Million, NCIS 2.1 and 16 million. 

The ratings continued to fall almost every week and it ended with a 0.9 and a little less than 3 million viewers so I think the problem was that ABC overestimated the nostalgia. People obviously checked out the show and for whatever reason didn't like it enough to continue watching.

[ganesh]

I don't think the networks really know how people are watching tv in 2016 and aren't developing better models to get out content. 

[junemeatcleaver]

Quote

I don't think the networks really know how people are watching tv in 2016 and aren't developing better models to get out content. 

I think it's more that the networks and advertisers haven't figured out a way to make money off of the alternate ways viewers are now consuming shows.

[ganesh]

Ok, that then. Either way, thye're losing a target demo because it's not like those people don't have cable now and suddenly are going to. I do have cable, but I actually don't even have a tv. 

Edited August 22, 2016 by ganesh

[bmoore4026]

My UO is that some of you guys need to write for Marvel or DC comics.  Seriously, after reading your comments on the characters from various comic book shows, I'd love to see some of you people get in there and shake things up.

[Minneapple]

I think it's best when networks stick with a show and allow the audience to grow, let a show to find its footing and voice. Unfortunately in this day and age of nobody having an attention span and eight billion entertainment options, that simply doesn't work. A show has to get some buzz or some kind of audience pretty quickly out of the gate or it's probably kaput. So, I find it sad when a show gets canceled, but them's the breaks. 

[Neurochick]

On 8/16/2016 at 11:20 AM, galax-arena said:

(Possible) Black Sails UO:

I'm not sure how much of a popular opinion this is here on p.tv because I only very sporadically check out the Black Sails forum, but this is definitely a thing I've seen in the fandom at large: A lot of people tend to interpret Max's character as bisexual, and I just don't see that at all. Yes, she has sex with men, but... I mean... she is (or was) a prostitute. That's sort of a given. All of her genuine romantic/sexual interests have been directed at women. She might have had a threesome with Jack and Anne, but that was about her and Jack essentially battling for Anne's affections.

I think this interpretation of Max's character annoys me because it conflates the idea of sexual orientation with sexual behavior. That's bad enough on its own, but with Max it's especially grating because a lot of her sexual behavior with men was something that she was essentially forced to engage in. 

Obviously to a certain extent this is irrelevant because back then they had very different concepts re: sexual orientation to begin with and didn't use words like gay and bisexual. But then Max shouldn't be called bi to begin with. And if people are going to look at these characters through our 21st century lens, then I don't see much support for the idea that Max is bi. Anne and Eleanor? Yes. Max? Not so much. 

You are very correct.  By season 3, it's obvious (at least to me) that Max prefers women.  She was in love with Eleanor, she cared for Anne and later you see her with another woman that the brothel's madam set up for her.  Max prefers women.

[Ohwell]

MY UO is that I am sick of hearing about Ryan Lochte.  Gah!  I mean, it's bad enough to be constantly bombarded with the story on the tv news, but even here on PTV there are at least four threads (including a new damn thread--why did we need a separate one?--in the Today show forum),  where it's mostly about Lochtegate now.  It's not like he and the other guys killed somebody, for chrissakes.   I'll have avoid those threads for another two weeks or so, and maybe, just maybe, it will be over. 

[ribboninthesky1]

Hang in there, Ohwell. This too will pass. 

17 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

My UO is that some of you guys need to write for Marvel or DC comics.  Seriously, after reading your comments on the characters from various comic book shows, I'd love to see some of you people get in there and shake things up.

This comment reminds me of something that I've always wondered, but was afraid to express because I don't read comics.  My limited understanding is that there have been several writers over the years with their own take on popular characters.  So I've never understood who gets to determine which "version" is the most authentic.  Is it the original? Is it the version that sold the most comics? Those that are popular on the Internet forums? Is it the writer who wrote a comic for the longest? I often read about "staying true to the character" and it's just amusing to me.     

[Chaos Theory]

If anything The Olympics kept people from talking about politics for a couple weeks.  

[Janet Snakehole]

I will take politics talk any day over the Olympics. At least it might actually impact my life somehow.

[Neurochick]

My Mr. Robot UO, I really, really, really hate Darlene and hope she gets hers by the end of this season.  I can't stand her or her faux waif like 1000 yard stare; and someone needs to tell her to stop dressing like a sixteen year old, when she's supposed to be a grown woman. 

[Constantinople]

I don't hate The Night Of, but I find it kind of a slog.

I feel as if I've seen this before, though I can't point to anything specific except, perhaps, the first season of American Crime.

[ganesh]

It is a slog. It should have been better than it was.

[bilgistic]

I liked Mr. Robot's first season, but I keep falling asleep trying to watch the second.

I love The Night Of. Nas is making some stupid-ass decisions, though.

[bmoore4026]

Don't know if this is unpopular here, but I hate Adam Ruins Everything.  The smugness of the overall premise makes me want to hurt the host and the people who created the show.

[DeLurker]

I like Adam Ruins Everything - smugness and all!  

I'd guess liking it is an UO more so than disliking it.

[selkie]

I do not really like The Walking Dead but I'm glad it's making lots and lots of money for AMC because it let my beloved but probably slightly money-losing Halt and Catch Fire  get a third season.

I don't think I've ever seen a full episode of Friends

[Lady Calypso]

It took me a long time to watch the first season of Mr Robot. It felt like it took forever for the show to get me to care.

The second season seems to be taking that same strategy because I haven't been able to get past the third episode and it's been two weeks since I started S2. I know it's good and all, and Rami Malek does an excellent job, but I just find the show so boring.

[Chaos Theory]

I don't mind predictable and obviously resolutions of season long mysteries because they often make a lot more sense then those thought up for shock value.    I could give some examples but it bites too close to Spoiler territory.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Joe]

16 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don't mind predictable and obviously resolutions of season long mysteries because they often make a lot more sense then those thought up for shock value.    I could give some examples but it bites too close to Spoiler territory.

While I'm not a big thinker or speculator about TV, I'm happy to just watch, there can be a pleasure in the 'I knew it!' factor. Seeing that your predictions were right.

[ribboninthesky1]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

It took me a long time to watch the first season of Mr Robot. It felt like it took forever for the show to get me to care.

The second season seems to be taking that same strategy because I haven't been able to get past the third episode and it's been two weeks since I started S2. I know it's good and all, and Rami Malek does an excellent job, but I just find the show so boring.

 

4 minutes ago, nosleepforme said:

I still have not gotten past episode four of season one. I really like Rami's performance, the themes of the show and several scenes, but it just never quite captures my attention the way it should.

Rami is the best thing about the show, yet I could never get into it because the main character isn't a reliable narrator.  I know lots of people enjoy the Rashomon Effect in TV storytelling, but I'm not one of them.  If I can't trust what I'm seeing on screen, then it's pointless. I feel like some writers use it as a cover for lackluster writing. Same reason I couldn't get into The Affair. 

[supposebly]

I just finished season 1 of Mr Robot after I caught the first two episodes on a flight some time early this year. February, I believe. I think it's worth it. I like its sense of disorientation, it keeps me in the narrator's head and I liked that. Not easy watching and certainly not entirely fun but it was fascinating. I don't expect to watch season 2 any faster but that's fine.

I think sometimes, it's fine to take some time to watch a show. I still haven't finished Sense8, partly because I like it a lot, but it's not exactly binge material. 2 episodes at a time and once in a while seems just fine.

It all depends on what I am in the mood for on a particular day. Sometimes, it's a fun little episode of Eureka I have seen many times before, sometimes I'm in the mood for a mind game like Mr Robot. If everything else works for me, plot, acting, characterization, interesting layered characters, and the actions based on the characters and their motivations instead of simply plot reasons, I don't think it matters how fast I watch. That's why I like Netflix's way of showing whole seasons. It give me the choice to watch at my pace. I used to watch a lot of shows only after they ended simply so I could watch on my own schedule. Maybe also because I'm old and stay away from social media, most of the time, I don't have a problem avoiding  spoilers. Well, with the exception of Game of Thrones season 6 but I wasn't too surprised by that one anyway.

[galax-arena]

I think Matthew Gray Gubler is a creep. I won't go into details why, because I really don't want to get into an argument with all of his fans here, but yeah. Can't stand the dude. 

[Dee]

Unpopular Opinion: I don't mind long running sitcom characters becoming 'dumber' in later seasons, as long as the actor is able to maintain the essential essence of the character.

[peachmangosteen]

On 8/30/2016 at 11:06 AM, galax-arena said:

I think Matthew Gray Gubler is a creep. I won't go into details why, because I really don't want to get into an argument with all of his fans here, but yeah. Can't stand the dude. 

Don't say this and then not go into details damn!

[galax-arena]

I mean it's not like he's killed anyone or has deep dark secrets (that I know of). I think he's a creep because of [A, B, and C]; most people who are familiar with MGG* are already aware of [A, B, and C], it's just that one's mileage varies considerably on whether [A, B, and C] are creepy or not, and considering how intense his fanbase can be and how polarizing [A, B, and C] in general are, I don't feel like getting into a potential back-and-forth about it and having to defend my opinion lmao. 

* And if you're not familiar with him... well, it's not like you're missing out on much. Even aside from my admittedly frustratingly vague remarks about MGG's creepiness, I think the guy's a twerp. 

Edited September 2, 2016 by galax-arena

[peachmangosteen]

That's even worse! Now I really gotta know what it is!

[festivus]

I gave up Criminal Minds years ago but I want to know too. My feeling is that you should not have to defend your unpopular opinion in this thread. That's what this thread is for, if you were posting it in the CM thread it would be different.

[janie jones]

On 8/31/2016 at 3:44 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Don't say this and then not go into details damn!

I googled (but not hard), and either I'm one of the people who doesn't find A, B, and C creepy, or my searching wasn't fruitful.  The only thing I thought might be on the controversial side is that he's an ordained minister.