Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Wiendish Fitch]

11 hours ago, DittyDotDot said:

Yeah, while I can't say I like her fashion sense for myself, I love that she dances to her own beat in regards to fashion, too. And, I think it fits her character perfectly. 

The way a character dresses only bothers me if the clothes are egregiously ugly and unflattering (poor Peggy in the latter seasons of Mad Men comes to mind), or anachronistic. Other than that, if, say, Abby from NCIS wants to wear Goth clothes and pigtails despite being properly middle-aged, then so be it (only just found out Pauley Perrette is leaving the show, couldn't think of a better example. Sorry).

[ganesh]

I don't really even notice Cassandra's outfits until there's multiple posts bitching about it. Those should be in the dedicated character thread and not episode proper anyway. 

[Neko]

4 hours ago, ganesh said:

I don't really even notice Cassandra's outfits until there's multiple posts bitching about it. Those should be in the dedicated character thread and not episode proper anyway. 

Never seen the show, but I just googled the character out of curiosity, and I don't see anything unusual about her clothes.  If the character is nerdy and awkward, I think the quirky, Zooey Deschanel look makes sense.   They don't even look bad, they're just...Hollywood nerdy.

[vibeology]

8 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

The way a character dresses only bothers me if the clothes are egregiously ugly and unflattering (poor Peggy in the latter seasons of Mad Men comes to mind), or anachronistic. Other than that, if, say, Abby from NCIS wants to wear Goth clothes and pigtails despite being properly middle-aged, then so be it (only just found out Pauley Perrette is leaving the show, couldn't think of a better example. Sorry).

Strongly disagree. Peggy's costumes in those later seasons often were perfect for their time and suited her so much. That yellowy-green she often worewas very of its time and suggested that as Peggy was more successful at work, she was able to keep up with trends a little more. Janie Bryant put so much thought and effort into the Mad Men costumes and even the ones that were ugly were ugly for a reason.

Costumes tend to bother me when they become unrealistic. For example, I love Buffy but that girl, who lived in Southern California, owned far too many coats. And considering she was "poor" in the last two seasons, I have to wonder if the money problem was a coat addiction.

I know TV wants to glamorize things but I like when characters repeat a look. Real people can't afford to wear something once and never again. I like when TV acknowledges that.

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

Strongly disagree. Peggy's costumes in those later seasons often were perfect for their time and suited her so much. That yellowy-green she often worewas very of its time and suggested that as Peggy was more successful at work, she was able to keep up with trends a little more. Janie Bryant put so much thought and effort into the Mad Men costumes and even the ones that were ugly were ugly for a reason.

Costumes tend to bother me when they become unrealistic. For example, I love Buffy but that girl, who lived in Southern California, owned far too many coats. And considering she was "poor" in the last two seasons, I have to wonder if the money problem was a coat addiction.

I know TV wants to glamorize things but I like when characters repeat a look. Real people can't afford to wear something once and never again. I like when TV acknowledges that.

I agree. If their portraying a "normal" person then they should repeat clothes. If their playing someone who's had a lot of money then yes it makes more sense for them to wear a lot of clothes you never see again. 

[blueray]

3 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I agree. If their portraying a "normal" person then they should repeat clothes. If their playing someone who's had a lot of money then yes it makes more sense for them to wear a lot of clothes you never see again. 

On show that got that right was Lost. However, in that show somehow everyone had perfect makeup and hair, even though they've been living on a beach for a few months.

[HunterHunted]

My issue with Cassandra's clothing is that in earlier seasons, there used to be some variation. It wasn't just miniskirts and shorts in candy colors. She wore dresses, knee length skirts, sometimes even in black, navy, and other dark colors. They were able to show her to be a nerdy quirky girl without her looking like a cartoon. There's not a ton of subtlety in how they costume her now. I have similar issues with how they costume Flynn. It's weirdly fussy and foppish. I don't often talk about his costumes because I can't stand him. 

Really good costume work can do amazing storytelling. Janie Bryant did fantastic work on Mad Men. She used it to show when characters made more money. She helped to underscore that Pete was slightly more progressive than the other male characters. His clothing was trendier and slightly slimmer cut. When Joan was raped by her doctor boyfriend, she was wearing a dress with roses on it. After that every time Joan wears florals, she's about to get screwed over by a man. 

[selkie]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I agree. If their portraying a "normal" person then they should repeat clothes. If their playing someone who's had a lot of money then yes it makes more sense for them to wear a lot of clothes you never see again. 

There was a time frame on the original run of Roseanne when the really ugly sweater would appear on a different member of the Conner family each episode.  They're a show that was actually pretty realistic about working class family life. 

[andromeda331]

44 minutes ago, selkie said:

There was a time frame on the original run of Roseanne when the really ugly sweater would appear on a different member of the Conner family each episode.  They're a show that was actually pretty realistic about working class family life. 

That's very realistic.

[TattleTeeny]

On 1/12/2018 at 7:30 PM, selkie said:

There was a time frame on the original run of Roseanne when the really ugly sweater would appear on a different member of the Conner family each episode.  They're a show that was actually pretty realistic about working class family life. 

A sweater? Are you thinking of the chicken shirt? I really do not recall a sweater, and now I am curious!

[UYI]

In honor of Betty White's 96th birthday today, here's a big UO:

I prefer Sue Ann Nivens to Rose Nylund.

There, I said it. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

I'm probably going to get heaps of criticism for this, but here it is:

I don't have one shred of sympathy for Serena Joy on The Handmaid's Tale. 

Not. One.

That sanctimonious, short-sighted, morally warped harpy is unhappy with her role as a Wife in Gilead? GOOD. Serena is 100% complicit in rape, attempted kidnapping, and basically in making Gilead the Hell on Earth it is. She's part of the reason the Handmaids are treated as sex slaves and prize livestock for the purpose of their children being taken from them, and she treated poor Offred the way you wouldn't dream of treating a rabid cat. Yeah, I'm not exactly going to drown myself in tears over Serena's so-called "plight". I get that people find her compelling, or watchable, or even get some sick thrill rooting for her, but I steadfastly refuse to find her "sympathetic", no matter what anyone says or how well Yvonne Strahovski (I still wish they cast an older actress) plays her. Serena Joy deserves every bit misery thrown her way, and I'm pissed as all get out she might be returning for Season 2.

Edited January 17, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[bilgistic]

I don't care about the Roseanne reunion/remake, just as I didn't care about the Will & Grace reunion/remake.

[Silverglitter]

30 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I don't care about the Roseanne reunion/remake, just as I didn't care about the Will & Grace reunion/remake.

I'm with ya. Things have a time and place. They fit within a certain zeigeist. Like American Gladiators. The original was delightful and cheesy. That remake they tried bombed for a damn reason.

I'd rather just watch the original again than to watch a 'continuance' or a remake/reboot that honestly might ruin the whole thing.

I know sequels are a different animal, but I'm a little terrified about the Top Gun sequel. Top Gun is my all time fave movie and I can't help but feel like part 2 is just gonna be horrifying...

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

I don't care about the Roseanne reunion/remake...

I never watched the original, so I have no interest in watching the remake, especially since they are pulling a Bobby Ewing with John Goodman.

 

32 minutes ago, Silverglitter said:

I know sequels are a different animal, but I'm a little terrified about the Top Gun sequel. Top Gun is my all time fave movie and I can't help but feel like part 2 is just gonna be horrifying...

The worst part about a Top Gun sequel is the star of the original movie has retired.  Well, unless they want to borrow some F-14s from Iran...

[bilgistic]

Tom Cruise has retired? Can we be so lucky??

[Wiendish Fitch]

33 minutes ago, Silverglitter said:

I know sequels are a different animal, but I'm a little terrified about the Top Gun sequel. Top Gun is my all time fave movie and I can't help but feel like part 2 is just gonna be horrifying...

Especially since the chances are good Tom Cruise will not be playing Maverick as the nearly 60-year-old retiree he should be, but as an ageless, Dorian Grey-like badass who's still flying the young bucks, Kelly McGillis's character will probably be killed offscreen and replaced by an actress born after Top Gun's initial release and OH, DEAR GOD MAKE THESE NEEDLESS SEQUELS STOP!!!!

Quote

 

I'm with ya. Things have a time and place. They fit within a certain zeigeist. Like American Gladiators. The original was delightful and cheesy. That remake they tried bombed for a damn reason.

I'd rather just watch the original again than to watch a 'continuance' or a remake/reboot that honestly might ruin the whole thing.

 

The only thing more asinine than the fact that Roseanne is being rebooted at all is that Sarah Chalke- yep, Becky #2-will be on the show as an entirely different character. Just... *long, defeated sigh*.

[Silverglitter]

4 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

OH, DEAR GOD MAKE THESE NEEDLESS SEQUELS STOP!!!!

That would be too much like work. Hollywood would actually have to stop being lazy and you know, try.

[Moose135]

22 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Tom Cruise has retired? Can we be so lucky??

No, the F-14 was retired by the US Navy.  It was the real star of the movie, the plane that made Tom Cruise famous.

[ganesh]

There's is no way a Top Gun sequel could ever capture the overwhelming homosexual subtext of the original.

[ByTor]

On 1/12/2018 at 2:55 PM, vibeology said:

I know TV wants to glamorize things but I like when characters repeat a look. Real people can't afford to wear something once and never again.

This is one of the things that cracks me up about soap operas.  The characters never repeat an outfit, yet when somebody moves out of his/her house, they're only carrying a suitcase smaller than one I'd take for a weekend away!

[Enigma X]

In a similar vein of liking when characters repeat a look on TV (which I do), I also like when animated characters change clothes.

[Katy M]

29 minutes ago, ByTor said:

This is one of the things that cracks me up about soap operas.  The characters never repeat an outfit, yet when somebody moves out of his/her house, they're only carrying a suitcase smaller than one I'd take for a weekend away!

Actually, I don't think that's true.  Soaps have the smallest budget of anything, so they probably have smaller wardrobes.  Smaller wardrobes plus more episodes means more outfit repeats.  I actually remember a specific character's green sweater back in the '80s, just because I absolutely hate green, plus it was huge and ugly, and he wore it a bunch of times.  Now, yes, they're not going to repeat an evening gown or something they wear to a wedding, because they amp up the wardrobes for those kinds of things, but for the day-to-day clothing, they repeat.

[ByTor]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Actually, I don't think that's true.

I've been watching soaps forever, and actually I do think it's true.

Edited January 20, 2018 by ByTor

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, ByTor said:

I've been watching soaps since their heyday...they do not repeat outfits.

Except for St. Jaysus on General Hospital. He’s been wearing jeans, black T-Shirt and black leather jacket for over 20 years now.

Edited January 20, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[ByTor]

5 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Except for St. Jaysus on General Hospital. He’s been wearing jeans, black T-Shirt and black leather jacket for over 20 years now.

Yeah, and Victor Newman on Y&R does the same.  Women do not repeat outfits on the soaps I watch.  Even if they DID, my point stands, they could not fit ALL of their clothes in one suitcase.

Edited January 20, 2018 by ByTor

[Silverglitter]

18 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Except for St. Jaysus on General Hospital. He’s been wearing jeans, black T-Shirt and black leather jacket for over 20 years now.

It's nice to know some things never change. Although, maybe not cause it means the mob and unholy trio are still dominating the show?

I dropped the show (and all daytime soaps) somewhere around 2012 or so, but I still remember the St. Jasus moniker. I heard The Holy Hitman is being played by someone else now, though.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Silverglitter said:

It's nice to know some things never change. Although, maybe not cause it means the mob and unholy trio are still dominating the show?

I dropped the show (and all daytime soaps) somewhere around 2012 or so, but I still remember the St. Jasus moniker. I heard The Holy Hitman is being played by someone else now, though.

Nope. Well yes, Jason was recast when Burton left, but then when he came back a couple months ago, they changed it so the recast wasn’t Jason after all. It’s still a clusterfuck of a show and I only go back to watch when Robin comes for visits.

[Silverglitter]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Nope. Well yes, Jason was recast when Burton left, but then when he came back a couple months ago, they changed it so the recast wasn’t Jason after all. It’s still a clusterfuck of a show and I only go back to watch when Robin comes for visits.

Sounds just as ridiculous as ever.

Only thing that could ever get me back is Billy Warlock's A.J. Man I loved him. Even with the way the character was written during his tenure.

[callie lee 29]

2 hours ago, Silverglitter said:

Sounds just as ridiculous as ever.

Only thing that could ever get me back is Billy Warlock's A.J. Man I loved him. Even with the way the character was written during his tenure.

The only thing that would get me back to GH is if Sonny, Jason/Jaysus, and Carly take a plane ride together, crash in to Sam and all 4 are incinerated. 

The only Betty White character I ever liked was Sue Ann. I hated Golden Girls and Betty White annoys me. 

Roseanne was only good for the first couple of seasons then it was just a Roseanne Barr vanity project. Of course the final season was horrific and I can understand them not wanting to base the new series on that. Wish we could all forget it like that. Also I liked Sarah Chalke's Becky much more that Lecy's.

[bmasters9]

3 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

The only Betty White character I ever liked was Sue Ann. 

I feel the same way about Bob Newhart, in that the only one of his characters I've ever really liked was Dr. Bob Hartley, Chicago psychologist.

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, ByTor said:

Yeah, and Victor Newman on Y&R does the same.  Women do not repeat outfits on the soaps I watch.  Even if they DID, my point stands, they could not fit ALL of their clothes in one suitcase.

Actualy, I remember when Elizabeth and Lucky got divorced and Elizabeth moved out, she had boxes and Emily was talking about more than one trip with her car.

[Haleth]

4 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

I feel the same way about Bob Newhart, in that the only one of his characters I've ever really liked was Dr. Bob Hartley, Chicago psychologist.

Well, the other Bob was only someone he dreamed up.

Is that a spoiler?  lol

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Well, the other Bob was only someone he dreamed up.

Is that a spoiler?  lol

And this makes me laugh because for all the dragging Dallas gets for the season without Bobby/Bobby dead being a dream, other shows used the same premise!???

I didn’t care because I was BEYOND THRILLED MY Bobby was back.

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, Silverglitter said:

It's nice to know some things never change. Although, maybe not cause it means the mob and unholy trio are still dominating the show?

I dropped the show (and all daytime soaps) somewhere around 2012 or so, but I still remember the St. Jasus moniker. I heard The Holy Hitman is being played by someone else now, though.

 

17 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Nope. Well yes, Jason was recast when Burton left, but then when he came back a couple months ago, they changed it so the recast wasn’t Jason after all. It’s still a clusterfuck of a show and I only go back to watch when Robin comes for visits.

 

17 hours ago, Silverglitter said:

Sounds just as ridiculous as ever.

Only thing that could ever get me back is Billy Warlock's A.J. Man I loved him. Even with the way the character was written during his tenure.

 

14 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

The only thing that would get me back to GH is if Sonny, Jason/Jaysus, and Carly take a plane ride together, crash in to Sam and all 4 are incinerated. 

The only Betty White character I ever liked was Sue Ann. I hated Golden Girls and Betty White annoys me. 

Roseanne was only good for the first couple of seasons then it was just a Roseanne Barr vanity project. Of course the final season was horrific and I can understand them not wanting to base the new series on that. Wish we could all forget it like that. Also I liked Sarah Chalke's Becky much more that Lecy's.

I bolted around 2006. The only thing that'll get me back to GH is watching those three finally get what they deserve. I'll watch months long revenge where each one finally gets what they deserve. Then die this time for good. I want to watch them suffer, tortured, I want to see all of their victims pay them back and then die a horrible death.   

[Chaos Theory]

On 1/12/2018 at 2:55 PM, vibeology said:

 

I know TV wants to glamorize things but I like when characters repeat a look. Real people can't afford to wear something once and never again. I like when TV acknowledges that.

I get your point but then you might as well just not have a clothing person or whatever they are called. There are people behind the scenes that need to keep employed and yes “normal” people repeat clothing but high budget shows usually hire high budget people behind the scenes.  

 

17 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

 

Roseanne was only good for the first couple of seasons then it was just a Roseanne Barr vanity project. Of course the final season was horrific and I can understand them not wanting to base the new series on that. Wish we could all forget it like that. Also I liked Sarah Chalke's Becky much more that Lecy's.

Roseanne was good on and off throughout the series.  I think it fell into the trap a lot of shows do that start with young kids but then have to write for teens and young adults.   As the kids but their wonder years they turn into brats which often makes for good stories but not particularly fun tv.  

[Katy M]

27 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I get your point but then you might as well just not have a clothing person or whatever they are called. There are people behind the scenes that need to keep employed and yes “normal” people repeat clothing but high budget shows usually hire high budget people behind the scenes.  

You still need a wardrobe person even if wardrobe gets repeated.  I remember reading in Soap Opera Digest when I was a kid that the wardrobe person would have to read the script and take into account what sets the character was going to be on to make sure that their wardrobe didn't clash (or maybe match) with the wall colors or whatever.    I'm not actually one to remember clothes because I'm not a fashion person, but like I said earlier I remember an ugly green sweater that was worn several times.  And on All My Children, Brooke war this weird dress a few times.  It was white and it had a huge picture of a queen of hearts card.  It was bizarre.

[MaryPatShelby]

On 1/17/2018 at 0:30 PM, UYI said:

In honor of Betty White's 96th birthday today, here's a big UO:

I prefer Sue Ann Nivens to Rose Nylund.

There, I said it. 

My UO is that I don't like Betty White at all, at least since she became the greatest thing evah and we were supposed to love her because she was so OLD, but kept on going, and joked about sex when she was 85 and blah.  She just wasn't for me.

[UYI]

2 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

My UO is that I don't like Betty White at all, at least since she became the greatest thing evah and we were supposed to love her because she was so OLD, but kept on going, and joked about sex when she was 85 and blah.  She just wasn't for me.

I'll add to this:

I've always been a bigger Bea Arthur fan (RIP, Bea! I still miss you!).

[Katy M]

15 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

My UO is that I don't like Betty White at all, at least since she became the greatest thing evah and we were supposed to love her because she was so OLD, but kept on going, and joked about sex when she was 85 and blah.  She just wasn't for me.

My UO is that I don't really like crude humor at all.  And I don't think it's cute just because it's uttered by children or old people.  Sorry, but the F word does not magically become hilarious because it is uttered by a 5 year old.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I love Betty White, but I was really, really irritated by social media's pleas last year that she not die. Yes, I know it was meant in jest, but good God, people, she's in her mid-90s and I doubt there's a single thing about her life she'd change, get a grip. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 10:58 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And this makes me laugh because for all the dragging Dallas gets for the season without Bobby/Bobby dead being a dream, other shows used the same premise!???

I didn’t care because I was BEYOND THRILLED MY Bobby was back.

I kinda think, since the Bobby Ewing scene preceded the Newhart finale by a few years, that Newhart was parodying that scene to a certain extent.

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I kinda think, since the Bobby Ewing scene preceded the Newhart finale by a few years, that Newhart was parodying that scene to a certain extent.

I know. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant that other shows went on to do the same, after Dallas did it. Honestly, it was the only way to get Patrick/Bobby back.

And I LOVED how Newhart did it, bringing back Pleshette!

[giovannif7]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I kinda think, since the Bobby Ewing scene preceded the Newhart finale by a few years, that Newhart was parodying that scene to a certain extent.

I always thought that it was more of a parody as well, due to the major difference between the two events. Pam finding Bobby in the shower was designed to reset the show and allow it to continue. The Bob Newhart/Suzanne Pleshette scene was specifically done as a one-off series ender. There was never the intention to continue past that point into a new season of either of his shows.

[ribboninthesky1]

6 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I love Betty White, but I was really, really irritated by social media's pleas last year that she not die. Yes, I know it was meant in jest, but good God, people, she's in her mid-90s and I doubt there's a single thing about her life she'd change, get a grip. 

I already give a wide berth to all of the online sackcloth, ashes, and thinkpieces when someone famous dies, but when it's someone who has lived a long life, it is particularly exasperating. I may have to take an Internet hiatus once Betty White passes on.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, giovannif7 said:

I always thought that it was more of a parody as well, due to the major difference between the two events. Pam finding Bobby in the shower was designed to reset the show and allow it to continue. The Bob Newhart/Suzanne Pleshette scene was specifically done as a one-off series ender. There was never the intention to continue past that point into a new season of either of his shows.

Bob Newhart's wife came up with that ending in the sixth year of the show.  Newhart was annoyed about them moving the show around and thought it might be the last (it went a couple more years).  She was joking around at a party, that Suzanne Pleshette was also at, that they should make the whole show a dream sequence because Dallas had done it and then St Elsewhere had also just done it.  Its also a bit closer to the St Elsewhere ending (although that too came after Dallas).

[slf]

I'm one of those people who complains about dialogue not sounding like how people actually speak. I don't mind Aaron Sorkin monologues or Amy Sherman Palladino stream-of-consciousness style dialogue generously peppered with pop culture references. I know many people, from various backgrounds and educations, who are excellent speakers who would have fit in on either show. Now, is that true of everyone? No. But it is true of many people so I don't consider those shows to have unrealistic dialogue. But The Walking Dead is terrible about this. I never knew a sentence could have no beginning, end, or subject matter until I watched that show. I think they believe that the sparseness* makes it more profound? It's the hokiest take on the way southerners speak. I've lived in Texas most of my life, I have family from Oklahoma and Louisiana, I've met people from almost every southern state and I've never met anyone who talks like that.

Some shows have dialogue so awful it's hard to believe it was written by humans.

*Worse yet, the do entire monologues full of sentences that don't mean anything. It's weird.

Edited January 24, 2018 by slf

[Joe]

I have never watched TWD, but now I'm kind of curious.

[festivus]

2 hours ago, slf said:

But The Walking Dead is terrible about this. I never knew a sentence could have no beginning, end, or subject matter until I watched that show. I think they believe that the sparseness* makes it more profound? It's the hokiest take on the way southerners speak. I've lived in Texas most of my life, I have family from Oklahoma and Louisiana, I've met people from almost every southern state and I've never met anyone who talks like that.

That show drives me CRAZY with that. I live in the south and if anything, at least with the people I know, we talk too much. Like what might take someone else 10 words, it would take me 50.  I know I've left various rants in that forum about how no one I know has ever talked like those characters do.

Edited January 24, 2018 by festivus

[auntlada]

I don't watch it either and don't plan to (the ick factor), but I am curious, too. Can you guys give us some sample dialogue?