Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Chaos Theory]

I think I just might be a contrary person.  When a show gets that popular I get annoyed by it.  

Examples:

This Is Us -  I don't get it.  It tries too hard to make me feel something.  All that does is make me feel angry.....so maybe it worked.

 

Game Of Thrones:  To many deaths 

Walking Dead - I hate zombies.

Orange Is The New Black - Season 1 was a fun fish out of water tale but the show has steadily devolved  into a mess.  Wentworth is better.  FYI also on Netflix.  

[ParadoxLost]

42 minutes ago, ennui said:

I watched The F  Word last night. I don't like this kinder, gentler Gordon Ramsay, so helpful. Instead of "this chicken is undercooked," I want to hear "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE!"

Ramsay has always employed a different personality in all his shows.  I think Hell's Kitchen is the one where he pulls the "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE" yelling.  I've never understood why he has to have so many shows and why they schedule them back to back.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, janie jones said:

The problem is that Best Production and Best Drama are very different things.  So if a show wins the Best Drama award because it is the best-produced drama, then there's really a disconnect with others' expectations that the actual best drama will win.  It almost seems like these should be two different categories (despite any technical awards shows might get).

Unfortunately, for the Emmys, there is no "Best Production" category, and the many, varied elements which make up a production are part and parcel of "Best Drama" (or "Best Comedy" for that matter).  I could see creating a different category in the future, but unless they do that, those various, different aspects go into the decision for "Best Drama".  Personally, I've not thought a lot of the shows which have won that Emmy deserved it, for a lot of reasons, but that's why everyone has an opinion about subjective things.

Just now, ParadoxLost said:

Ramsay has always employed a different personality in all his shows.  I think Hell's Kitchen is the one where he pulls the "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE" yelling.  I've never understood why he has to have so many shows and why they schedule them back to back.

Yeah, his UK Kitchen Nightmares was never the total screamfest that the US version was, and even that was mild compared to Hell's Kitchen.

[ennui]

18 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Yeah, his UK Kitchen Nightmares was never the total screamfest that the US version was, and even that was mild compared to Hell's Kitchen.

I like Gordon, and enjoyed his UK shows -- I liked the restaurant makeover show* -- but if you're going to title something "the F word," seems like the f-word should show up.

*Kitchen Nightmares

Edited June 15, 2017 by ennui

[ChromaKelly]

9 hours ago, Katy M said:

I couldn't care less about any of the different awards shows, or the actual awards.   You rarely if ever see nominations for movies or TV shows that aren't popular.  If there's a movie that's badly written, badly directed, and badly acted, and everybody hates it (why wouldn't they?), but they have the most amazing make up, or special effects, they ought to be considered for that.  Or, if it's badly writtern, but it's beautifully directed, then that should be taken into account. Or it's a horrid story, but one of the actors just acts the heck out of it.  You get my point.  I feel like it's a popularity contest, and I feel like the individual categories aren't taken individually. Now, that said, I can see how a superior script would be more apt to bring out superior acting and directing and so forth.

Totally agree with this. It also seems like every year, there's a pool of maybe 5-6 shows that get all the nominations, as if they are the only shows that exist. A darling show will get nominated in nearly every category possible.  Especially these days when there are so many shows out there, they really need to spread these awards around.

[Enigma X]

My award show UO are two and may stand in stark contrast to each other but here goes. (1) Award show nominees and winners are subjective at best. So, just because someone else's fave did not win or was not nominated does not really mean it did not "deserve" to win. To add to that, if one has not seen or heard everything nominated in the specific category, one cannot say something else was robbed.  (2) Award shows at their core have always been a popularity contest. This is not a new thing.

 

Do I have issues with award shows? Yes. But, since I am not a fan of them, I really don't watch them unless I am specifically looking for a celebrity who may appear on it.

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, Enigma X said:

To add to that, if one has not seen or heard everything nominated in the specific category, one cannot say something else was robbed. 

That's how I feel about Dance Moms.  Most of the dances get posted to YouTube with a comment of how it placed.  If the dance didn't win, there are always a slew of commenters saying, it should have won.  Really?  How do you know that?  9 times out of 10 (maybe not quite that high), we didn't even see the winning dance.  If we did see the winning dance, a lot of times we only see parts of the dance.  If we do see both dances in their entirety we don't know if we see the judged version or the extra one for taping.

[kiddo82]

I like award shows.  They introduce me to things I might not otherwise have been interested in or even known about.  And while there are certain shows I still have no interest in for various reasons, I've been turned on to, or at least sampled, a number as well.  The challenge today is that there are just so many platforms it's almost impossible to expect the viewing public to keep up.  There's this one that's on Netflix, this one that's Hulu, this one on Showtime, this one on HBO, this one's on a network, this one is basic cable, and an Amizon Prime original for good measure.  Who has the time or free cash to invest in all that?  It's also getting so that the networks just can't keep up which is a shame because there's still quality network television and there's still a place for the traditional weekly model.  It would be rather ironic if the networks were forced to resort to their own awards a la the cable ACE awards from back in the day as the only way to get recognition due to their perceived second tier status.  

 

At at the same time, I agree it's silly to bemoan what is and isn't deserving.  I can't watch everything.  Despite the fact that I might have my favorites, I can't say what I think is the absolute best of any given crop.

Edited June 16, 2017 by kiddo82

[cpcathy]

I wish we would just keep the main award shows, Emmys, Tonys, Oscars and Grammys. And Golden Globes, for the drunken fun. There are too many others. I'm sure even the celebs are like, "another award show?" The country music award shows alone seem to number in the double digits. And why does Nicole Kidman have to be at all of them?

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, cpcathy said:

I wish we would just keep the main award shows, Emmys, Tonys, Oscars and Grammys. And Golden Globes, for the drunken fun. There are too many others. I'm sure even the celebs are like, "another award show?" The country music award shows alone seem to number in the double digits. And why does Nicole Kidman have to be at all of them?

I agree. The People's Choice and Kids' choice and Teens' choice are obvious by ratings and box office takes and such.  Then there are the channel awards--MTV awards, CMT awards, VH1 awards (I think I'm making that one up, but who knows), TV Land awards which, while I'm not sure they are doing them any more, should have only been once, or maybe once every 10 years.  Then, there are the Daytime Emmys (just add a couple of categories to the regular emmys) , there used to be Soap Opera Digest awards.  Then, there are the ESPY awards.  I could probably go on all day.

[Ohwell]

AMA, CMA, ACM...

[Chaos Theory]

3 hours ago, cpcathy said:

And why does Nicole Kidman have to be at all of them?

Well when you are a well thought of actress married to a well thought of country singer you get invited to a lot of parties

 

I like the People's Choice and Teen choice awards because they are voted on by people and not by the Actors Guild.  Sometimes the winners are the more popular shows instead of the strictly better made ones.  Pretty Little Liars is popular with the teens.

 

As for the Country Music Awards.  That came about because country wasn't cool until a few years ago when a few breakout stars well broke out.  There are plenty of top stars and songs that will never hit the mainstream but are still some of the best in the business.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[vibeology]

12 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

As for the Country Music Awards.  That came about because country wasn't cool until a few years ago when a few breakout stars well broke out.  There are plenty of top stars and songs that will never hit the mainstream but are still some of the best in the business.

Exactly this. Country artists were putting out great music that was very popular and getting paid dust at the mainstream awards so the community invented its own awards. It has always made sense to me because these artists sell albums and do big business touring and get very little respect outside of the country community. And in turn, by focusing more on the community, they've made more passionate and dedicated fans who show up on tours and buy albums. It's a smart business model.

[kiddo82]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

TV Land awards which, while I'm not sure they are doing them any more, should have only been once, or maybe once every 10 years.

Ha!  I never watched them and don't know really know the criteria for how they dished out their honors but I remember thinking the same thing.  Like, the shows from the 70s aren't magically going to change now so what did they say?  "No, we were wrong last year, this[i/] classic show is the best one."  I do kinda like the idea of instead of handing out awards, a decade long retrospective every ten years would be kinda nice.

[Katy M]

19 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

Ha!  I never watched them and don't know really know the criteria for how they dished out their honors but I remember thinking the same thing.  Like, the shows from the 70s aren't magically going to change now so what did they say?  "No, we were wrong last year, this[i/] classic show is the best one."  I do kinda like the idea of instead of handing out awards, a decade long retrospective every ten years would be kinda nice.

I never actually watched them either.  The first time I heard of them, I thought it was going to be a one time thing, which would have been fine.  But, the next year, I saw them advertised again, and I'm like what? 

[ratgirlagogo]

On 6/15/2017 at 4:34 PM, ParadoxLost said:

Ramsay has always employed a different personality in all his shows.  I think Hell's Kitchen is the one where he pulls the "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE" yelling.  I've never understood why he has to have so many shows and why they schedule them back to back.

The original BBC F-Word is my favorite of all his shows - it's the reason I still have  respect for him.  Very different from all his other shows and much, much more focused on food and cooking.  Plus two interesting knowledgeable regular segment hosts - Janet Street-Porter and Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall.  One of the best features  each season was that he had his kids raising animals in the backyard that they later would be eating - turkeys, lambs, pigs.  The animals the family had the hardest time sending to slaughter by the way were the pigs - GR was close to tears himself.

I would love to see him do this kind of show again - but this F-Word reboot unfortunately just isn't it.  Every segment feels rushed - not surprising since apparently he is filming what feels like ten different Fox shows at the same time.

[Jac]

My favourite Friends character is Monica, my least favourite is Rachel.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

2 minutes ago, Jac said:

My favourite Friends character is Monica, my least favourite is Rachel.

Monica is my favorite too, but my least favorite is Phoebe! 

[Chaos Theory]

I never understood the appeal of Friends or for that matter Seinfeld.   That being said I did like How I Met Your Mother.  However I hated Ted.  

[DearEvette]

8 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I never understood the appeal of Friends or for that matter Seinfeld.  

Yeah, I was never a Friends person.

I liked Seinfeld when it was on.  And I always remember fondly or even reference some of the stuff that came out of it:  Festivus, Art Vandelay, Elaine's horrible dancing, Jackie Chiles, and the J. Peterman guy.  But I have absolutely no desire to re-watch it at all.  Like, none.

[callie lee 29]

I never got Seinfeld, the few times I saw it (my best friend was obsessed with it. She still has a framed poster of Kramer), I thought it was beyond stupid.  I felt the same about her second obsession, Sex in the City.

The only Friends character who got on my nerves was Rachel. I was Team Ross on the breakup.

[janie jones]

7 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

The only Friends character who got on my nerves was Rachel. I was Team Ross on the breakup.

I don't even like Ross, and I took his side.

[Chas411]

11 hours ago, janie jones said:

I don't even like Ross, and I took his side.

What annoyed me the most about it was that he was right about Mark. He was into Rachel and as soon as they broke up she went out with him. He shouldn't have slept with the copy girl but his suspicions about Mark were spot on.

To be honest Rachel's selfishness over his engagement/marriage to Emily pretty much put me on Team Ross forever. She was so selfish. I loved the scene on the plane enroute to ruin the wedding where Hugh Laurie tells her what's what. 

She behaved just as badly when it came to Julie, Charlie and any other woman who stood in the way of her being the centre of attention.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chas411

[DearEvette]

When a tv show has been adapted from a book then I don't think the tv show needs to be completely faithful to the book.  I think it is ok for the tv show adaptation to become its own animal. And sometimes I wish some tv shows did deviate more *cough* The Walking Dead *cough*

For one thing, written text is different from visual media.  There are things in a book that sometimes just can't translate well onto screen.  Filming logistics and cost becomes an element for film that don't exist in a book.

Second, your imagination while reading a book helps shape how you receive what you are reading, mainly how a character looks or how chemistry works between characters in a page.  On tv actors have to bring that those to life.  It is possibly for page chemistry between characters don't make onto the screen between the two actors.  If the tv show has to course correct for that to make the tv show stronger I am all for it.   For instance, the Lafayette character in True Blood.  Very different character trajectory from the books and I glad the show did what they did.

And finally, if a series is adapted from a single novel, then a tv show may need to add narrative content that wasn't in the book in order to sustain itself over 13 - 22 episodes. 

It just gets old hearing "but that didn't happen in the book..... how dare they!!!'

I do admit I am guilty of being disappointed in changes sometimes, for instance I read the third book of Game of Thrones ('A Storm of Swords') almost 20 years ago and it still remains one of the most vivid, exciting  books in my memory. Season 3 of the tv show mostly follows the events of that book.  It kept enough of the key events to make the story recognizable (and of course it did a good job with the Red Wedding)  but the rest of the stuff that happened on screen simply didn't pack the emotional punch, imo, & sheer excitement of the book and they completely excised some interesting plot elements.  But still I totally get it and can understand on the whole how the divergence works for the tv show.

[2727]

40 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

When a tv show has been adapted from a book then I don't think the tv show needs to be completely faithful to the book.

I do admit I am guilty of being disappointed in changes sometimes ...

The repetitive plaintive wails can for sure be exasperating. Like you, I try to be sympathetic because I've also been one of the complainers about a book that's particularly special/meaningful to me -- I just couldn't bear to watch the (butchered, I say!) TV version. It's different when it's your bull being gored.

[Chaos Theory]

When it comes to book adaptations I tend to only need it to be faithful to the spirit of the book.  If it changes certain things and maybe makes the show/movie a little more graphic/romantic/actiony then the book was I tend to forgive it.  If it changes the core message or the core story then not so much.

[Miss Dee]

I liken these creative decisions to The Lego Movie. On the one hand you can be like Will Ferrell and insist on keeping everything exactly like it appears on the box (i.e. the original work). On the other hand, you can be like Emmet and co. and view the original work as providing the building blocks only, with your own vision overriding any intent from the original creators. Most choose a path somewhere in between these extremes.

Personally, I lean more towards Emmet and co. I'm so sick of the "But it's CANON!" defense. If I want to experience the Lego set as it was originally intended, I'll go interact with the original work. Once it becomes adapted, the adapters can do whatever the bloody fuck they want; it's in my power to engage or disengage as I choose, but they need the creative freedom to be master builders and play with the Legos as they like and see their own vision through without being tied down to specific expectations. 

That said, I think it's incumbent upon the adapters to be honest with the audience about their philosophy on how they plan to treat the source material; if they aren't, they deserve what they reap. But as long as they're up front about it, they're free to do what they want.

[festivus]

15 hours ago, Miss Dee said:

Personally, I lean more towards Emmet and co. I'm so sick of the "But it's CANON!" defense. If I want to experience the Lego set as it was originally intended, I'll go interact with the original work. Once it becomes adapted, the adapters can do whatever the bloody fuck they want; it's in my power to engage or disengage as I choose, but they need the creative freedom to be master builders and play with the Legos as they like and see their own vision through without being tied down to specific expectations. 

Totally agree. This goes to my opinion about comic book shows, I don't care if the show does something different than the comic. In fact I wish they would more often. Why does the show have to be just like the comic? The comics are always there for you to read if you don't like it. I think the worse thing they do is insist that certain characters should be together just because it's that way in the comics. Sometimes on certain shows (Smallville) it is just not working but that will usually make no difference. I have to give the Arrow guys credit for one thing, at least they realized that Laurel and Oliver did not work together and quit trying to pursue that. Also, the killing of Glenn on TWD just because that's what happened in the comic. Worst mistake that show has ever made. 

[SmithW6079]

On 6/18/2017 at 9:36 PM, Jac said:

My favourite Friends character is Monica, my least favourite is Rachel.

 

On 6/18/2017 at 9:38 PM, JocelynCavanaugh said:

Monica is my favorite too, but my least favorite is Phoebe! 

I liked Fat Monica the best. Phoebe became my least favorite by the end of the series, when she went from loopy and fun to mean and stupid.

[scarynikki12]

My view on the canon argument with adaptations is that I'm fine with a show taking the characters and creating something new but I do expect more if the adaptation is for a specific story.  Keeping it with comic books, one of my favorite Batman stories is Hush (the first one).  I don't think that's getting adapted any time soon but if it did and the producers decided to not include Catwoman, then I would be vocally furious.  And that's because Catwoman is an essential character to the story.  If it was just Bats vs Hush, without any emotional context, then why bother with the adaptation?  But, if I was watching a Bat movie, not adapting any one story, and Hush is there but Catwoman isn't, then I'll miss her but it doesn't hurt the story or my viewing experience.  If that makes any sense.

[Blergh]

FWIW,

 Before "Friends" became totally unwatchable the last four years, Phoebe was my fave girl because she  was sweet and genuinely vulnerable living her life on her own terms and wasn't pretentious like the others while Ross was my fave guy because he was a likable nerd while Chandler was too blah and Joey was too stupid & obnoxious to tolerate even at the start.  Yes, while Phoebe was in her prime the show was worth enduring but   when even she became unlikable, I could no longer watch- and if I never see another second of the show rerun the rest of my life, that'll suit me just fine.

[Dee]

Unpopular Opinion: Living Single > Friends. In every way.

[ganesh]

I don't see that as much as an opinion as a demonstrable fact. 

[ennui]

On 6/16/2017 at 4:42 AM, kiddo82 said:

 The challenge today is that there are just so many platforms it's almost impossible to expect the viewing public to keep up.  There's this one that's on Netflix, this one that's Hulu, this one on Showtime, this one on HBO, this one's on a network, this one is basic cable, and an Amizon Prime original for good measure.

For myself, I was terribly disappointed when Longmire was picked up by Netflix, which I don't get. I had to find a recap to learn the resolution to the cliffhanger. Now, I hear or read about shows I'd like to see, but they are platforms I refuse to buy. It's sad. 

On 6/16/2017 at 11:33 AM, Chaos Theory said:

 That came about because country wasn't cool until a few years ago

I disagree. Barbara Mandrell had a successful show featuring country back in the 1980s. "I was country when country wasn't cool" was a hit song. 

Modern country is more like rock and pop, so maybe country wasn't cool then and it's not cool now.

Edited June 22, 2017 by ennui

[Jaded]

12 hours ago, Dee said:

Unpopular Opinion: Living Single > Friends. In every way.

I loved that show. The last season I'm kinda in the middle on.

[ByTor]

On 6/19/2017 at 10:14 AM, DearEvette said:

Festivus,

I love Seinfeld, but find nothing funny about Festivus...I equally dislike The Soup Nazi.

[Ohwell]

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!

[cpcathy]

I hate Soup Nazi.

[ennui]

1 hour ago, cpcathy said:

I hate Soup Nazi.

I guess everyone else did, too, because Soup Nazi filed for bankruptcy. http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/15/soupman-of-seinfeld-soup-nazi-fame-files-for-bankruptcy-protection.html

[Jaded]

3 minutes ago, ennui said:

I guess everyone else did, too, because Soup Nazi filed for bankruptcy. http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/15/soupman-of-seinfeld-soup-nazi-fame-files-for-bankruptcy-protection.html

 Looks the company said "No" to too many years of unpaid taxes and etc.....
 

[GHScorpiosRule]

The only episode of Seinfeld I really found hilarious was the one where his girlfriend cop(?) strapped him to a lie detector after Jerry denied/lied about never having watched Melrose Place, and after all the beeps? buzz? That he was lying, how he lost it and ranted about how Sydney got back with Michael, and Kimberly and then the show ends with him, Elaine and the gang watching it and the viewers hearing the opening credits.??????

[ganesh]

On 6/21/2017 at 6:44 PM, ennui said:

I disagree. Barbara Mandrell had a successful show featuring country back in the 1980s. "I was country when country wasn't cool" was a hit song. 

Country was huge in the late 70s and early 80s.

I never got into Seinfeld. I watched it if my friends were. Sometimes they watched before we went out for the night. However, the backwards episode was one of the finest pieces of television I've ever seen. 

[Katy M]

Seinfeld was always hit or miss for me. Some episodes I liked, Some I thought were beyond stupid. 

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

Seinfeld was always hit or miss for me. Some episodes I liked, Some I thought were beyond stupid. 

The only episode of Seinfeld I ever liked was the one where they get lost in the parking garage.  Because I could relate to that, having done something similar after a concert once.

[ABay]

Seinfeld never appealed to me because if I want to hear whiny New Yorkers, I'll just open the window.

[2727]

Gosh, the gnashing of teeth because a dog was killed on The Mist. It's a horror movie for crying out loud; adults have already died or been murdered and I reckon kids are next. The dog was introduced in the opening scene and chewed up by a mist monster three minutes in.

Unless I'm invested in a character -- person or animal -- I'm not bothered by them dying. It's not real.

[Katy M]

40 minutes ago, 2727 said:

Gosh, the gnashing of teeth because a dog was killed on The Mist. It's a horror movie for crying out loud; adults have already died or been murdered and I reckon kids are next. The dog was introduced in the opening scene and chewed up by a mist monster three minutes in.

Unless I'm invested in a character -- person or animal -- I'm not bothered by them dying. It's not real.

Whenever you see a dog in a horror show, or a thriller, DO NOT GET ATTACHED.  I almost guarantee you, it's toast.

[Haleth]

Or they'll tease his death, only to have him turn up later safe and unharmed.

[Shannon L.]

11 hours ago, 2727 said:

Gosh, the gnashing of teeth because a dog was killed on The Mist. It's a horror movie for crying out loud; adults have already died or been murdered and I reckon kids are next. The dog was introduced in the opening scene and chewed up by a mist monster three minutes in.

Unless I'm invested in a character -- person or animal -- I'm not bothered by them dying. It's not real.

It's like the scene in the pink frog episode of WKRP:  Johnny thinks he's dying (it's just a cold--he's a hypochondriac), yet everyone is rallying around Herb, who is trying to save his daughter's frog that he accidentally spray painted pink (it had escaped it's enclosure and jumped into the spray).  Johnny is disgusted and says "It's just like in the movies.  You can kill the entire confederate army and no one cares.  Thousands of young men dead as door nails and no one sheds a tear, but kill one collie and everyone collapses in grief!"

[ABay]

I don't see the problem there.