Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Shannon L.]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Because I just saw a reference to this in one of those "shows we're looking forward to" articles:

I did not think Season 7 of Games of Thrones was a mess.  It had some weak moments, yes, and some logic issues, but overall it was pretty damn good.  Not as good as its Seasons 3-4 high points, but still good.  Hell, even Beyond The Wall, while detailing a plotline which is the epitome of those logic issues, was entertaining as hell to watch.

With the exception of one or two characters and storylines, I didn't even get excited about GOT until season 6.  Before that, I was watching just because my husband was really into it, so I sat and watched it with him. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Shannon L.

[2727]

I prefer episodic TV series over shows that take 10+ hours to tell a damned story.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I finally got around to watching the entirety of Sharp Objects. And I guess my Unpopular Opinion is that the miniseries isn't all that and was actually terrible in places, especially their twist ending (to a mini-series). 

Despite the solid acting from the cast, particularly Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, most of the characters were very shallow and 2D, and the plot not based around Camille sucked ass. It's like the show couldn't give two shits about the murders of two girls and only cared about their cinematography and having a bazillion scenes of Amy Adams in a car.

I also thought Eliza Scanlen was just alright. She didn't really make that much of an impression on me. 

[Giselle]

On 12/31/2018 at 9:23 AM, Enigma X said:

Me too!

 

I am not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I don’t like The Good Place. I binge watched the first season and have no desire whatsoever to keep going.

The Good Place lost me after the 1st season and I cancelled the TiVo one pass.

[andromeda331]

23 hours ago, 2727 said:

I prefer episodic TV series over shows that take 10+ hours to tell a damned story.

So do I. Although its mostly because most shows that take longer to tell a story rarely ever plot it out. By the end of it the story makes no sense, they drop or forget a bunch of stuff, etc. How hard is it to plot it out? Your entire show is based on one or several long or big stories. Plot it out. Come up with twists, turns and then finish it with a ending that makes sense.  Same with episodic TV series that also have a series long murder mystery or some kind of mystery that stretches over a season or the series. It rarely makes sense, they often drop it for so many episodes that it feels like they forgot about it (they might have who knows), and drag it out forever. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 12:10 AM, Lady Calypso said:

So, I finally got around to watching the entirety of Sharp Objects. And I guess my Unpopular Opinion is that the miniseries isn't all that and was actually terrible in places, especially their twist ending (to a mini-series). 

Despite the solid acting from the cast, particularly Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, most of the characters were very shallow and 2D, and the plot not based around Camille sucked ass. It's like the show couldn't give two shits about the murders of two girls and only cared about their cinematography and having a bazillion scenes of Amy Adams in a car.

I also thought Eliza Scanlen was just alright. She didn't really make that much of an impression on me. 

I had a free HBO weekend in November and watched some of it.  I agree, parts of it were okay, but only just okay, and the rest was just not engaging at all.

 

On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 5:24 PM, 2727 said:

I prefer episodic TV series over shows that take 10+ hours to tell a damned story.

I usually do too.  There are exceptions (like GOT) but most of the shows I enjoy on a regular basis are episodic in nature.

[TaraS1]

After binge-watching Killing Eve on Hulu this weekend, my unpopular opinion would be that Sandra Oh is not a very good actress.  This was the first thing I've ever seen her in, so maybe she knocks it out of the park in other stuff, but I thought she was the weak link in KE.

[Enigma X]

1 hour ago, TaraS1 said:

After binge-watching Killing Eve on Hulu this weekend, my unpopular opinion would be that Sandra Oh is not a very good actress.  

Have not seen her in Killing  Eve but have the same thoughts about her talent.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Enigma X

[Rosiejuliemom]

7 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

After binge-watching Killing Eve on Hulu this weekend, my unpopular opinion would be that Sandra Oh is not a very good actress.  This was the first thing I've ever seen her in, so maybe she knocks it out of the park in other stuff, but I thought she was the weak link in KE.

I thought she was pretty good in Sideways. Other than that, I can't really judge.

[Enigma X]

2 hours ago, TaraS1 said:

After binge-watching Killing Eve on Hulu this weekend, my unpopular opinion would be that Sandra Oh is not a very good actress.  This was the first thing I've ever seen her in, so maybe she knocks it out of the park in other stuff, but I thought she was the weak link in KE.

OT: This is on my list to watch by the way and have started after your comment. 

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, TaraS1 said:

After binge-watching Killing Eve on Hulu this weekend, my unpopular opinion would be that Sandra Oh is not a very good actress.  This was the first thing I've ever seen her in, so maybe she knocks it out of the park in other stuff, but I thought she was the weak link in KE.

I thought Jody Comer's character was awful, and I've no interest in watching Season 2 because of her, despite my love for Sandra Oh.  But I don't think it's the actress' fault.  It's the writer's infatuation with the character.

[ratgirlagogo]

I think both Sandra Oh and Jody Comer are fine actresses, but my unpopular opinion is that I realized while watching episode three that if Killing Eve were about two men I would never have bothered to ever watch it in the first place, since the whole idea of the cop/detective and the criminal who have so much in common emotionally that they develop a weird obsessive bond is a really tired overused idea.  That was it for me.  Done.

[ABay]

I didn't make it to the end of episode 1.

[Ohwell]

8 hours ago, Rosiejuliemom said:

I thought she was pretty good in Sideways. Other than that, I can't really judge.

The only thing I remember her for in that movie was her banging the guy upside the head with a motorcycle helmet. 

[DrSpaceman73]

28 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

The only thing I remember her for in that movie was her banging the guy upside the head with a motorcycle helmet. 

I remember her banging a guy, but not upside the head. 

[raven]

2 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

since the whole idea of the cop/detective and the criminal who have so much in common emotionally that they develop a weird obsessive bond is a really tired overused idea.  That was it for me.  Done.

Yup, Killing Eve reminded me of Hannibal, where the evil character is so popular that they will always stick around, usually because everyone around them acts wildly out of character, is incredibly dumb, or both.   I turned it off after a couple of episodes.   

I'm not terribly fascinated by the bad guy/girl, which is an UO I think.  It takes more work to be good IMO than to give in to every impulse.

[2727]

I miss Jay Leno.

[ganesh]

I'm over people nitpicking things on Doctor Who that have been part of the show for decades. 

[ByTor]

On 12/31/2018 at 12:23 PM, Enigma X said:

I am not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I don’t like The Good Place. I binge watched the first season and have no desire whatsoever to keep going.

I loved season 1, kinda liked season 2, and with the exception of maybe 2 episodes, I see nothing remotely resembling good TV this season.  I think it's coming back soon from its hiatus, I may watch just to see how the season ends, but I'm out for season 4.

[vibeology]

31 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I'm over people nitpicking things on Doctor Who that have been part of the show for decades. 

So I've never been a Doctor Who person but Space (Canada's SyFy) aired a marathon on New Year's leading up to the special and I started watching. And then, because I'm that person, I started reading opinions of various episodes and people are so negative. I'm about halfway through the season and the show has it's flaws but some of the articles and comments are just so down on all of it. People are mad they're going into history. People are mad that there aren't enough aliens. People are mad that we're not focusing on the human companions. People are mad that there aren't enough jokes. People are mad that it isn't epically dramatic. What do these people want?

Like I get that the show is over 50 years old and there is a great deal of history there to manage, but it's also very much a soft reboot with a new Doctor, companions and showrunner all at once and there's nothing wrong with it feeling like a soft reboot. I'm obviously not the only person who matters here but the show has always felt so intimidating to start because of all the history and this, for me, was the best way to dive in because I would get introductions to all of the characters.

The history is nice and I get some of it from general pop culture knowledge but this feeling I've gotten in the reading that everything has to be exactly like it was before or it's bad but also if everything is like it was before that's repetitive and bad. I get that I don't personally have the same emotional investment in the show but some of the nitpicking is crazy.

[Enigma X]

21 minutes ago, ByTor said:

I loved season 1, kinda liked season 2, and with the exception of maybe 2 episodes, I see nothing remotely resembling good TV this season.  I think it's coming back soon from its hiatus, I may watch just to see how the season ends, but I'm out for season 4.

I think what threw me out was I sort of guessed what was going on early on. There was more but will not spoil for those who want to watch.

[GaT]

3 hours ago, ByTor said:

I loved season 1, kinda liked season 2, and with the exception of maybe 2 episodes, I see nothing remotely resembling good TV this season.  I think it's coming back soon from its hiatus, I may watch just to see how the season ends, but I'm out for season 4.

I agree, this season is not good, not good at all.

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, vibeology said:

I get that the show is over 50 years old and there is a great deal of history there to manage, but it's also very much a soft reboot with a new Doctor, companions and showrunner all at once and there's nothing wrong with it feeling like a soft reboot.

Also the showrunner literally said it's going to be a soft reboot, no over arching plot, or classic villains before a single episode aired. 

This is also a symptom of how a show needs to be the best thing ever or else it totally sucks. Shows aren't allowed to be just good. 

Edited January 4, 2019 by ganesh

[ribboninthesky1]

On 1/1/2019 at 5:23 PM, andromeda331 said:

So do I. Although its mostly because most shows that take longer to tell a story rarely ever plot it out. By the end of it the story makes no sense, they drop or forget a bunch of stuff, etc. How hard is it to plot it out? Your entire show is based on one or several long or big stories. Plot it out. Come up with twists, turns and then finish it with a ending that makes sense.  Same with episodic TV series that also have a series long murder mystery or some kind of mystery that stretches over a season or the series. It rarely makes sense, they often drop it for so many episodes that it feels like they forgot about it (they might have who knows), and drag it out forever. 

I suspect this is why most genre shows are rarely popular outside of niche audiences.  I've been out of work for a few weeks, and binge watching a lot of Hulu, Netflix, and some cable.  I like getting into a show, but the inexplicable dropping of what should be important plot points can kill a show for me.  It's also reminded me that non-American shows can be just as dumb or poorly acted as American ones.   

[ganesh]

And the last comment, this season of Doctor Who wasn't "overly political" nor were TPTBs shoving their politics on the viewers. The Doctor's character was consistent with the history of the show. 

[Annber03]

I can't speak to "Doctor Who", 'cause I haven't seen that show, but I find the complaints about shows in general being "overly political" or "shoving their politics" onto viewers nowadays so strange. Especially since lot of the people who make that complaint are old enough to remember and watch shows like "All in the Family", "Maude" (hell, just insert any Norman Lear show here, for that matter), "Laugh-In", "The Smothers Brothers", "The Twilight Zone", "M*A*S*H*", "Family Ties", etc. It's like people have forgotten that much of TV has been political for a very, very long time. 

And even if people's issue isn't so much the politics, but the fact that shows tend to hit viewers over the head with their political stances and biases...well, again, all of the above shows are guilty of doing that, too. Subtle and unbiased, a lot of them were not. So even that isn't some kind of recent development, either. I'm sure there were viewers of all the aforementioned shows back in the day who complained about them getting "too political", yet that didn't stop those shows from doing so, did it? And a lot of them still hold up to this day, in part because the fact they addressed such serious, major topics kept them relevant and culturally important. 

I can understand the argument of wanting an escape from politics, and there are shows out there that are apolitical if somebody wants that (they may not be as common, but they do exist). But if one's watching a show that is known for having political moments here and there, if not being full on political from the get-go, well...I don't really know what else they're expecting. 

[Anela]

10 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I can't speak to "Doctor Who", 'cause I haven't seen that show, but I find the complaints about shows in general being "overly political" or "shoving their politics" onto viewers nowadays so strange. Especially since lot of the people who make that complaint are old enough to remember and watch shows like "All in the Family", "Maude" (hell, just insert any Norman Lear show here, for that matter), "Laugh-In", "The Smothers Brothers", "The Twilight Zone", "M*A*S*H*", "Family Ties", etc. It's like people have forgotten that much of TV has been political for a very, very long time. 

And even if people's issue isn't so much the politics, but the fact that shows tend to hit viewers over the head with their political stances and biases...well, again, all of the above shows are guilty of doing that, too. Subtle and unbiased, a lot of them were not. So even that isn't some kind of recent development, either. I'm sure there were viewers of all the aforementioned shows back in the day who complained about them getting "too political", yet that didn't stop those shows from doing so, did it? And a lot of them still hold up to this day, in part because the fact they addressed such serious, major topics kept them relevant and culturally important. 

I can understand the argument of wanting an escape from politics, and there are shows out there that are apolitical if somebody wants that (they may not be as common, but they do exist). But if one's watching a show that is known for having political moments here and there, if not being full on political from the get-go, well...I don't really know what else they're expecting. 

Right. The English TV show that All in the Family was based on, dealt with things like racism, although I don't remember much about that and the sequel to it (after he lost his wife). Religion, politics (I remember the opener has the main character coming across a "Jesus saves!" sign, and grumbling, "Not on my pension, he doesn't!" lmao. Golden Girls had stories about things like homelessness, teen pregnancy, etc. Gilmore Girls threw things in here and there, but were more lighthearted with it. 

[Annber03]

Just now, Anela said:

Right. The English TV show that All in the Family was based on, dealt with things like racism, although I don't remember much about that and the sequel to it (after he lost his wife). Religion, politics (I remember the opener has the main character coming across a "Jesus saves!" sign, and grumbling, "Not on my pension, he doesn't!" lmao. 

LOL, I like that :D. 

I watch "Criminal Minds", and I've seen complaints from people talking about that show getting too political sometimes, too, with some of the cases they investigate. And I'm sitting here thinking, "...you guys get that the BAU is part of the FBI, which is part of the federal government, right?" Kinda hard to avoid politics in that setting, I would think. 

[ganesh]

Doctor Who wasn't even remotely political compared to those shows. 

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I can't speak to "Doctor Who", 'cause I haven't seen that show, but I find the complaints about shows in general being "overly political" or "shoving their politics" onto viewers nowadays so strange. Especially since lot of the people who make that complaint are old enough to remember and watch shows like "All in the Family", "Maude" (hell, just insert any Norman Lear show here, for that matter), "Laugh-In", "The Smothers Brothers", "The Twilight Zone", "M*A*S*H*", "Family Ties", etc. It's like people have forgotten that much of TV has been political for a very, very long time. 

And, they also seem to forget that they don't have to watch anything they don't like.

[Enigma X]

19 minutes ago, Katy M said:

And, they also seem to forget that they don't have to watch anything they don't like.

This! On almost every show I watch, THIS!

[Chaos Theory]

I think people just like to complain about tv shows.   I get critiquing a show but with all the shows and internet sites  it feels more like people enjoy watching shows they hate more then they enjoy watching shows they genuinely like.    

Edited January 4, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[ganesh]

I just wish if you wanted to nit then make a new thread for it and let us talk about the actual show. 

[ABay]

Of those who think a show is "too political," I'd like to ask what would make it "just political enough"? Where's the perfect Goldilocks point between "too" and "not political enough"? Is it possible for a show to be "not political enough"? Or does "too" political really mean "political at all"? My impression is that "too political" means either "making me think about things I don't want to think about" or "does not agree with my own politics".

[Katy M]

6 minutes ago, ABay said:

Of those who think a show is "too political," I'd like to ask what would make it "just political enough"? Where's the perfect Goldilocks point between "too" and "not political enough"? Is it possible for a show to be "not political enough"? Or does "too" political really mean "political at all"? My impression is that "too political" means either "making me think about things I don't want to think about" or "does not agree with my own politics".

I think it's probably "too" political, if it leans right and you lean left, or vice versa.  Nobody is probably going to complain about show agreeing with them.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 6:07 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

I think both Sandra Oh and Jody Comer are fine actresses, but my unpopular opinion is that I realized while watching episode three that if Killing Eve were about two men I would never have bothered to ever watch it in the first place, since the whole idea of the cop/detective and the criminal who have so much in common emotionally that they develop a weird obsessive bond is a really tired overused idea.  That was it for me.  Done.

I watched it all, for completion's sake, but you're absolutely right about this.

22 hours ago, ganesh said:

I'm over people nitpicking things on Doctor Who that have been part of the show for decades. 

Yeah, there's plenty of new stuff to nitpick.  Why harp on stuff they've been doing for half a century?

[ganesh]

Yeah but the Doctor saying "I don't like guns" isn't really political because that's been like that for 60 years. It's not like this series had Thirteen preaching about socialism or whatever Ayn Rand is. 

Or that she believes in an eye for and eye because the only way to defeat her most ancient enemy was to kill it. 

[proserpina65]

I don't watch Young Sheldon all that often, and I don't know if this is really an unpopular opinion, but here goes anyway:

While I enjoy Sheldon's mother in small doses on The Big Bang Theory, I find her extremely annoying on Young Sheldon.  It's not the actress, because I think the casting was terrific.  It's the character.  I probably have a low tolerance for all the Jesus stuff, but I definitely side with Sheldon's dad in that marriage.  Hell, most of the time I'm thinking you could remove her and Sheldon himself, and I'd watch the show more often.

[SmithW6079]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

My impression is that "too political" means either "making me think about things I don't want to think about" or "does not agree with my own politics".

Ding! Ding! Ding!  We have a winner! 😁

[Chaos Theory]

4 hours ago, ganesh said:

Yeah but the Doctor saying "I don't like guns" isn't really political because that's been like that for 60 years. It's not like this series had Thirteen preaching about socialism or whatever Ayn Rand is. 

Or that she believes in an eye for and eye because the only way to defeat her most ancient enemy was to kill it. 

What REALLY would be new would be her trampling around the universe getting revenge on those who offended her.

 

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

I think it's probably "too" political, if it leans right and you lean left, or vice versa.  Nobody is probably going to complain about show agreeing with them.

I think it also the downside of the internet age.  So much bombarding of news  you get some people (not me) just want to sit in front of the tv and shut their brain off.  They get outright offended OFFENDED I TELL YOU when they actually have to pay attention for a minute.

Edited January 4, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[ByTor]

13 hours ago, Anela said:

Golden Girls had stories about things like homelessness, teen pregnancy, etc.

I would consider those more social than political issues.  I doubt this is unpopular, but I hate when sit-coms do their serious "very special" episodes.  

[HazelEyes4325]

53 minutes ago, ByTor said:

I would consider those more social than political issues.  I doubt this is unpopular, but I hate when sit-coms do their serious "very special" episodes.  

I'm generally with you.  There are a few sitcoms that, thanks to their own nature and premise, can pull it off.  But most can't...

[Anela]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

I would consider those more social than political issues.  I doubt this is unpopular, but I hate when sit-coms do their serious "very special" episodes.  

They are political when it comes to abortion, but I can't say more, because we aren't supposed to talk about politics. Homelessness and other things can be political, due to people's beliefs on the government re: social issues, and whether or not it's a personal or societal responsibility. 

[ByTor]

5 minutes ago, Anela said:

They are political when it comes to abortion, but I can't say more, because we aren't supposed to talk about politics. Homelessness and other things can be political, due to people's beliefs on the government re: social issues, and whether or not it's a personal or societal responsibility. 

True, they could be, I just mean from what I remember specifically with the Golden Girls, they didn't make these issues political.

[Wiendish Fitch]

My big gripe about the current season of Doctor Who is how joyless it's become. The cinematography is muted and drab, and no one, not even the Doctor*, seems to be having any fun.  I mean, it's Doctor Who, for crying out loud, not friggin CSI! What I loved about the Christopher Eccleston era was that there was tension and the stakes were high, but it managed to maintain some semblance of humor and levity. Nine is one of my favorite Doctors, because there were dark elements to his personality (his near-murderous animosity toward the Daleks, for one), but he was still jovial and giddy about having adventures. He's actually the most rounded incarnation, IMO.

 

*Full disclosure: I feel like utter crap admitting this, because I love Jodie Whitaker, and was thrilled she was cast, but I feel the material is dragging her down. I hope the next season lightens the hell up, and there's more development to Thirteen's character.

[SmithW6079]

I liked Eccleston's Doctor too (but hated HATED Rose). I was willing to give Tenant a try (even though I think -- UO -- Doctor Who on the whole is silly), but he lost me when he ruined the prime minister of England by saying she looked "tired." Not only was it a dick thing to do, I found it incredibly chauvinistic. He wouldn't have said a male prime minister looked "tired."

[Wiendish Fitch]

4 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

I liked Eccleston's Doctor too (but hated HATED Rose). I was willing to give Tenant a try (even though I think -- UO -- Doctor Who on the whole is silly), but he lost me when he ruined the prime minister of England by saying she looked "tired." Not only was it a dick thing to do, I found it incredibly chauvinistic. He wouldn't have said a male prime minister looked "tired."

IIRC, I think he planted the seed of "tired" meaning "sick" and therefore no longer fit for the job (someone please correct me if I am wrong). 

But, yeah, I hated what Ten did to Harriet Jones. Hated, hated, hated it. Even worse was that Ten dug in his heels and refused to consider that he went too far. Maybe Harriet Jones was wrong, but she didn't deserve to be hurled under the bus like that. At least she got a heroic final hurrah. 

The Tennant years were fun (I loved all his companions), but I think I'd look back more fondly if he'd been called out more for his actions. One thing I loved about Nine was that great episode where he's spewing vitriol at a Dalek, culminating in "WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" and the Dalek calmly gives him the old "We're not so different" retort, and it stops Nine cold. And, yeah, I usually loathe this trope, but in this case it was utilized correctly.

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think people just like to complain about tv shows.   I get critiquing a show but with all the shows and internet sites  it feels more like people enjoy watching shows they hate more then they enjoy watching shows they genuinely like.    

Yes. I have criticisms of the shows I watch, too-no show will ever be completely perfect, after all-and I'll share them when need be. I have no problem with discussing when a storyline or an episode or whatever didn't click for whatever reason.

But I can also still find plenty to enjoy about those shows as well, stuff that keeps me watching. If I'm at the point where I can't find a single good thing to say about a show, I'm thinking that's a sign I should probably go find something else to watch. 

4 hours ago, ABay said:

Of those who think a show is "too political," I'd like to ask what would make it "just political enough"? Where's the perfect Goldilocks point between "too" and "not political enough"? Is it possible for a show to be "not political enough"? Or does "too" political really mean "political at all"? My impression is that "too political" means either "making me think about things I don't want to think about" or "does not agree with my own politics".

Bingo. 

[SmithW6079]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

IIRC, I think he planted the seed of "tired" meaning "sick" and therefore no longer fit for the job (someone please correct me if I am wrong). 

But, yeah, I hated what Ten did to Harriet Jones. Hated, hated, hated it. Even worse was that Ten dug in his heels and refused to consider that he went too far. Maybe Harriet Jones was wrong, but she didn't deserve to be hurled under the bus like that. At least she got a heroic final hurrah. 

Yes, that was my interpretation too, but I still maintain he wouldn't have said "tired" for a man; it would have been "Does he look all right?" or even "Is he ill?"

[Wiendish Fitch]

17 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

Yes, that was my interpretation too, but I still maintain he wouldn't have said "tired" for a man; it would have been "Does he look all right?" or even "Is he ill?"

Good point. Yeah, it was and always will be a dick move. Not cool, Ten.