Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

by far my favorite part of the show was when he'd use Picture Picture to show the factory tours he took - I loved seeing how things were made.  

I loved that, too. Wasn't it his show that showed how crayons were made once? 

I know I watched Mr. Rogers when I was a kid, but I don't remember a whole lot of details about it. I know I liked the train and the puppets. And everything I've heard about Rogers himself in the years since makes me admire the guy all the more. 

[scarynikki12]

9 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Wasn't it his show that showed how crayons were made once?

He showed how yellow crayons are made and Sesame Street showed how to make orange ones. My best friend and I were obsessed with those segments because the crayons always looked like candy while they were being made.

[Shannon L.]

The crayons are the only the "how things are made" segment I remember.

[Bastet]

He did "how people make things" segments about things kids were familiar with, so crayons, balls, towels, light bulbs, wagons, bicycles, erasers, etc.  The wording - how people make things, rather than how things are made - was deliberate; his dad and grandfathers had all been factory workers, and he wanted to emphasize the importance of the people who make the machines work (back in the show's day, lots of kids in America had parents who worked in factories), and did it through showing kids how various items in their daily lives were manufactured.

[AntiBeeSpray]

On 7/23/2019 at 1:34 PM, Bastet said:

Yep.  Or maybe the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

I didn't dislike it, but I really only liked Daniel Striped Tiger -- because he was a cat, and I've loved cats since birth, and, even though I couldn't have articulated this at the time, because he was shy, and so was I.  Although Lady Elaine could be fun, and I liked when she stood up to the king (another aspect of my personality).  So I guess her too.  But I barely remember the others, because the trips to the Land of Make-Believe weren't my jam; by far my favorite part of the show was when he'd use Picture Picture to show the factory tours he took - I loved seeing how things were made.  Even as a kid, I was always more drawn to the real (or at least the realistic fiction).

Yep. But the puppets didn't really creep me out. I remember an episode where King Friday lost his head and Mr. Rogers continued until they were able to put Friday's head back on. Not sure which episode it was though sadly. Loved the factory tours. I remember one in particular... where he went to a spoon making factory. For some reason, I was up early and so was my mom... so we stayed up and watched the episode.

Edited July 25, 2019 by AntiBeeSpray

[Silver Raven]

I was surfing through YouTube yesterday and just happened to land on the Mister Rogers show on the day Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, and they had to explain to little kids what dying and assassination meant.  It had me teary eyed.

[Danny Franks]

On 7/23/2019 at 3:35 PM, Ohwell said:

I'm watching a discussion about the Mr. Rogers movie starring Tom Hanks, and I was reminded that I always thought Mr. Rogers was creepy as hell. 

As a British person, I have next to no idea who he was. I gather that he's some wholesome dude who used to do children's TV, but nothing more than that. I can't really imagine a biopic about him is going to shift the dials outside the US.

[doodlebug]

2 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

As a British person, I have next to no idea who he was. I gather that he's some wholesome dude who used to do children's TV, but nothing more than that. I can't really imagine a biopic about him is going to shift the dials outside the US.

Probably not.  I am a little too old for Mr Rogers but my baby sister used to watch him as a kid and found him boring.  Mr. Rogers was Fred Rogers, an actual minister, who did a public television show based in Pittsburgh.  He was known for his kind and gentle demeanor.  The show always began with him returning home and putting on a cardigan and sneakers.  He would tell various stories about what was happening in his town, etc which was mainly populated by a bunch of hand puppets.  Any misunderstanding or argument or crisis was always settled amicably and everybody loved everyone else.

He was kind of creepy sometimes, but his basic premise, that kids are smart and should be treated with respect, was a good one.  He also believed that presenting kids with the chance to display positive values and do the right thing would make the world a better place.  He was a very honorable guy who really did love children, though his show was indeed boring, IMO.

[ABay]

May I recommend this Drunk History segment on Fred Rogers. It also contains a clip of Rogers testifying before Congress.

[Archery]

For many of us, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was calm, not boring.  We found acceptance for a half hour from a gentle man who did not care that we were brown, or disabled, or just girls.  He addressed issues and fears great (assassination) and small (disappearing down the bathtub drain) while confirming that we were not stupid or damaged for being afraid in the first place.  He was steady, reliable routine in a time of war and political chaos.  Even the best of children's television at the time could be sneakily mean (see: Sesame Street), but the Neighborhood was a place where some of us could go and know that neither we, nor anyone like us, would ever be picked on.  YMMV. 

[proserpina65]

45 minutes ago, Archery said:

For many of us, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was calm, not boring.  We found acceptance for a half hour from a gentle man who did not care that we were brown, or disabled, or just girls.  He addressed issues and fears great (assassination) and small (disappearing down the bathtub drain) while confirming that we were not stupid or damaged for being afraid in the first place.  He was steady, reliable routine in a time of war and political chaos.  Even the best of children's television at the time could be sneakily mean (see: Sesame Street), but the Neighborhood was a place where some of us could go and know that neither we, nor anyone like us, would ever be picked on.  YMMV. 

We only got 3 channels when I was a kid: the local ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates.  So I never saw Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street back then.  I watched Captain Kangaroo, Professor Kool's Fun School, Romper Room (with Miss Sally), and the CBS Children's Film Festival hosted by Kukla, Fran & Ollie.  I'm not old enough to have watched KF&O on their original show.

Edited to note that I first learned what paraffin was from some British film on the Children's Film Festival.  I think it involved Travelers.

Edited July 26, 2019 by proserpina65

[DoctorAtomic]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

He would tell various stories about what was happening in his town, etc which was mainly populated by a bunch of hand puppets.

The town was populated by real people, like the mailman, who would come by and talk to him. There's a famous scene (for back then) where it's supposedly a hot day so he invites the African-American handyman to take his shoes off and cool off in the foot bath with Mr. Rogers. 

The puppets were in the Land of Make Believe, where the trolley would take you. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

The town was populated by real people, like the mailman, who would come by and talk to him. There's a famous scene (for back then) where it's supposedly a hot day so he invites the African-American handyman to take his shoes off and cool off in the foot bath with Mr. Rogers. 

The puppets were in the Land of Make Believe, where the trolley would take you. 

Thanks for the correction, I only half-watched the show.  I do remember the trolley though, as well as the king puppet.

[Mabinogia]

4 hours ago, doodlebug said:

The show always began with him returning home and putting on a cardigan and sneakers.

Every day when I get to work and change out of my hoodie into a work cardigan and out of my commute shoes into my work shoes I sing "beautiful day in the neighborhood". 

I don't remember very much about the show (or most of my childhood) but I remember Daniel Tiger (I had a DT hand puppet. It was one of my favorite toys as a kid), the trolley, which I loved for some reason, and him changing into his cardigan and sneakers. lol

[callie lee 29]

21 hours ago, Archery said:

For many of us, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was calm, not boring.  We found acceptance for a half hour from a gentle man who did not care that we were brown, or disabled, or just girls.  He addressed issues and fears great (assassination) and small (disappearing down the bathtub drain) while confirming that we were not stupid or damaged for being afraid in the first place.  He was steady, reliable routine in a time of war and political chaos.  Even the best of children's television at the time could be sneakily mean (see: Sesame Street), but the Neighborhood was a place where some of us could go and know that neither we, nor anyone like us, would ever be picked on.  YMMV. 

This so much. I was born in 1975, probably the perfect age for the show. Mr. Rogers was pretty much the only "real" show that showed me a calm, safe, caring home (that want a made up the show with actors), something that I and few of my friends had. When Fred Rogers died I cried harder than when my dad died. 

Edited July 27, 2019 by callie lee 29

[AntiBeeSpray]

10 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

This so much. I was born in 1975, probably the perfect she for the show. Mr. Rogers was pretty much the only "real" show that showed me a calm, safe, caring home (that want a made up the show with actors), something that I and few of my friends had. When Fred Rogers died I cried harder than when my dad died. 

That was me too. I cried hard when he passed away. It was a tough loss. He was a good person.

[proserpina65]

I thought Season 8 of Game of Thrones was pretty damned good for the most part.  Not the best season ever, but far from the worst.  And A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was not only the best episode of the season, but one of the best episodes of the show ever.

[Anela]

Ross and Rachel's break is currently being discussed on twitter. Some of the people involved weren't alive when the series started, which amused me, and then made me want to cry. 

[Fable]

7 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I thought Season 8 of Game of Thrones was pretty damned good for the most part.  Not the best season ever, but far from the worst.  And A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was not only the best episode of the season, but one of the best episodes of the show ever.

I wasn't very keen on Season 8, but I was getting a bit bored overall with the last few seasons.  However, I agree wholeheartedly with you that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was, by far, one of the best episodes ever.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I just think after 10 years on the show, everyone was exhausted. 

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I just think after 10 years on the show, everyone was exhausted. 

Well, that makes perfect sense. I mean, this non-viewer was exhausted hearing about it so I can easily imagine the participants themselves also were exhausted having been in it! 

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I just think after 10 years on the show, everyone was exhausted. 

See, I don't think they were exhausted.  At least the actors, for the most part, still seemed excited to be part of GOT, and I think that showed in many of their Season 8 performances.

[Hybridcookie]

So I just finished Teen Wolf and here's a couple of Teen Wolf opinions:
 

I don't like Stiles - I think he's an annoying little shit, and I hated that even though he was gone for a half a season it was still all about him.

Allison and Liam (and Derek but that's not unpopular) were my favourite characters, and I liked the 'puppy pack' from the last couple of seasons. I also liked Malia and I liked her and Scott together

I didn't like Lydia for the first couple of seasons, but she grew on me, but the writers never knew what to do with her.
 

[roamyn]

On 7/31/2019 at 3:31 PM, proserpina65 said:

I thought Season 8 of Game of Thrones was pretty damned good for the most part.  Not the best season ever, but far from the worst.  And A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was not only the best episode of the season, but one of the best episodes of the show ever.

I just watched the entire series over the course of the last month, and S5 was by far the worst.  I could see the evolution of Dany very clearly.  But, even w/its battle flaws, The Long Night, was my favorite episode of the season.  However AKFSK was the 2nd best.  And I don’t agree w/how Jon’s character was resolved.

I think the problem lay w/the long layovers between seasons.  Fans tended to forget the little character things, like Dany saying “I will destroy their cities w/fire & blood’, or someone saying that dire wolves don’t do well in the South.  Or all the Easter Eggs abt Jon.

@Danny Franks Mr. Rogers won several Emmys, and at one, he brought up a young boy in a wheelchair and knelt down to talk to him face to face.  There is a You Tube clip of it.  That young boy spoke at his funeral as a young man.  There is an amusement park in PA that is still active, based on the land of make believe.

He was a great human being, and one that we should all emulate.

Edited August 3, 2019 by roamyn

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, roamyn said:

There is an amusement park in PA that is still active, based on the land of make believe.

OMG for real? Is it sad that my 47 year old self really wants to go there? 

And yes, Fred Rogers was a wonderful human being that we should all want to be more like. He just cared for people, he loved people. He made such a positive impact on the world. That story about the boy in the wheelchair who spoke at his funeral shows just what an impact he made on people. 

[DoctorAtomic]

2 hours ago, roamyn said:

I think the problem lay w/the long layovers between seasons.

With so much content I don't rewatch shows so this is a salient point. I didn't recall much at all when the final season kicked off, and didn't have the time to go back and figure it out. Similarly, Westworld, I finished S2 in July and literally had no idea what happened. 

[Bort]

On 8/3/2019 at 5:11 AM, Hybridcookie said:

Allison and Liam (and Derek but that's not unpopular) were my favourite characters,

I couldn't watch Teen Wolf anymore

without Allison. It's like the heart of the show died with her.

[topanga]

On 8/3/2019 at 9:42 AM, roamyn said:

I think the problem lay w/the long layovers between seasons. 

On 8/3/2019 at 12:31 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

With so much content I don't rewatch shows so this is a salient point. I didn't recall much at all when the final season kicked off, and didn't have the time to go back and figure it out. Similarly, Westworld, I finished S2 in July and literally had no idea what happened. 

So much this. For 13-episode programs, unless I’m binge-watching multiple seasons, I’m always confused when I watch the first show of a new season. I like to think I remember what happened on the season finale from almost a year before, but I inevitably have to go rewatch that episode—or read fan forums—to remind me how the season ended. 

Or, like in the case of Absentia, where the second season seems completely different from the first season, I give up and drop the show altogether. 

[DoctorAtomic]

The only reason I knew who was who on GOT is because of memes. I had no idea who was who on Westworld until an hour in. 

[Danny Franks]

I'm rewatching Justified on Amazon Prime at the moment and, just like when I watched the first time, I feel like the writers' growing obsession with Boyd Crowder really hurt the show. It changed the feel of it, practically marginalised Raylan at certain times, and I simply don't think Walton Goggins' performances were anywhere near as good as Timothy Olyphant's.

Instead of constantly trying to turn Boyd into a tortured anti-hero, they'd have been better off expanding the roles of Rachel and Tim.

[Ohwell]

I agree.  I liked Boyd Crowder but I didn't need to see so much of him.  I wish we could have seen more of Rachel and Tim, and maybe even some other characters whose names I've forgotten.  

Oh well, at least we got Dewey and his four kidneys.

[Enigma X]

In the end, there was too much Boyd and Ava for my taste.

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I feel like the writers' growing obsession with Boyd Crowder really hurt the show.

I call your Boyd and raise you an Ava.  I feel like the show wanted to make Ava all things:  a tough girl, a damsel in distress (I mean I think she got kidnapped at least 3 times in the first season alone), she was an object of love or lust by almost every male.  She was basically written as is she was the only woman in Harlan.  And in the end  she managed to get away scot free even after all the shit she pulled.  Man, by the time the show ended, I hated that character.

I would have loved way more time with Tim and Rachel.

[Ohwell]

Don't even get me started on Ava.  At least she didn't wind up with Raylan.

[Enigma X]

My big UO of Justified is that Tim and Rachel were my favorite characters. Even more so than Raylan.

[WritinMan]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Instead of constantly trying to turn Boyd into a tortured anti-hero, they'd have been better off expanding the roles of Rachel and Tim.

Never saw anything resembling a "tortured anti-hero." He was a dirt bag loser at the start, and he was a dirt bag loser at the end. That being said, I thought he was a great character for the show.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 7/23/2019 at 11:39 PM, AntiBeeSpray said:

Loved the factory tours. I remember one in particular... where he went to a spoon making factory. For some reason, I was up early and so was my mom... so we stayed up and watched the episode.

I watched Mr Rogers as a kid but don't remember a lot about it. A few years ago I found out that our local PBS station was showing old episodes early on Sunday morning so I recorded a few to show my kids. One thing that really impressed me was how real those factory tour and other remote segments were. He would go to a factory and the tour would be given by a real kind of rough looking factory worker, not some polished looking PR rep. I also saw one where he went to see a jazz band perform at a local park, and one of the musicians clearly had a pack of smokes in his chest pocket. The best thing I saw though is that he did a bit about jobs people had started talking about his job. He said his job was making a tv show and he had them pull the camera back and show that his living room was just a two wall set.

[kieyra]

These last couple of posts have been interesting. I made a couple of false starts on Justified and never could make it stick. I love Tim Olyphant, but was absolutely not buying what they were selling with Boyd and Ava, and I had a suspicion the showrunners probably loved their villain too much.

Edited August 11, 2019 by kieyra

[Danny Franks]

13 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I call your Boyd and raise you an Ava.  I feel like the show wanted to make Ava all things:  a tough girl, a damsel in distress (I mean I think she got kidnapped at least 3 times in the first season alone), she was an object of love or lust by almost every male.  She was basically written as is she was the only woman in Harlan.  And in the end  she managed to get away scot free even after all the shit she pulled.  Man, by the time the show ended, I hated that character.

I would have loved way more time with Tim and Rachel.

I didn't mind the way Ava was written in the first season, even if the sheer number of people pointing out that she was "the most beautiful girl in Harlan" was a bit much. But she was hot, in a trashy, down-home kind of way. The way she immediately set her sights on Raylan was a bit weird, given she had just killed her abusive husband, but I also get that Raylan is hot so... okay.

It was from season 2 onwards that I quickly started to wish Bo Crowder had done away with her like he threatened to do. The writers seemed to want to foreshadow that she could be a new Helen Givens, or even a new Mags Bennett, and I just don't think Ava was smart enough for that.

9 hours ago, kieyra said:

These last couple of posts have been interesting. I made a couple of false starts on Justified and never could make it stick. I love Tim Olyphant, but was absolutely not buying what they were selling with Boyd and Ava, and I had a suspicion the showrunners probably loved their villain too much.

I never made it into season 4 on my original watch, and I don't know if I'll do it this time either. I may start skipping over the Boyd and Ava heavy bits, because I always saw Timothy Olyphant's charisma and gravitas as the main draw.

Again, unpopular opinion but I really liked his relationship with Winona. The often weary, deep knowledge they had of one another, the growing realisation that their marriage failed because they simply didn't communicate effectively. Both actors did a really good job conveying the weight of their shared past. Obviously, it was doomed because Raylan was incapable of being happy, but it was good to watch. But Natalie Zea and Winona came in for a lot of hate from people on TWoP, back when the show was airing.

[Enigma X]

I, for one, loved Winona.

[Ohwell]

Wasn't Winona involved in some kind of scam that Raylan had to help her get out of?  I never liked her.

[supposebly]

I always found it rather odd that people were so mad at Winona for getting Raylan into trouble about some money in the evidence cage. Once.

Meanwhile our 'hero' shoots people left right and center, breaks people's noses, and I don't even remember everything.

Must be the hat. Maybe she should have worn a hat.

So, yes I loved their relationship. It had history, it felt real to who they were. There was good writing and good acting there.

Boyd and Ava made a lot less sense. Although I liked them both. Just not together.

[Ohwell]

Nah, wearing a hat wouldn't have helped Winona. 

Like Ava, I'm glad she didn't wind up with Raylan at the end.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Boyd was fun for a while but then he became a writer's pet. Time and again some supposedly far more powerful criminal organisation tried to kill him to no avail even though his "gang" consisted literally of just a handful of people, some of whom of very dubious intelligence. Instead of making Boyd smarter, the writers made every criminal who was opposed to Boyd dumber. And Ava... if I had a dollar for every time somebody claimed she was the most beautiful woman in Harlan (or the universe), I would be rich. We get it, she is hot. No need to beat us over the head with it. This kind of thing just doesn't work in Hollywood where just about everyone who gets a main role is hot. Personally, I thought Winona was a prettier and more interesting character.

[Danny Franks]

55 minutes ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Boyd was fun for a while but then he became a writer's pet. Time and again some supposedly far more powerful criminal organisation tried to kill him to no avail even though his "gang" consisted literally of just a handful of people, some of whom of very dubious intelligence. Instead of making Boyd smarter, the writers made every criminal who was opposed to Boyd dumber. And Ava... if I had a dollar for every time somebody claimed she was the most beautiful woman in Harlan (or the universe), I would be rich. We get it, she is hot. No need to beat us over the head with it. This kind of thing just doesn't work in Hollywood where just about everyone who gets a main role is hot. Personally, I thought Winona was a prettier and more interesting character.

I just finished re-watching season 2, which was absolutely great in every respect apart from Boyd's half-arsed redemption storyline, which had him acting like he was sedated for a few episodes before he just went back to being a criminal again.

But I noticed that he and Ava start getting the last word against Raylan more and more often, as the season progressed. When your protagonist has intelligence and the ability to outwit people as key attributes, yet continually ends up tongue-tied and looking foolish whenever he interacts with two particular characters, then it feels like the writers deliberately propping those two characters up.

And all of Boyd's tortured conflict and woobification is at odds with the cold, heartless and manipulative Boyd we see in the series pilot. The guy who uses white supremacy as a cover for "robbing people and blowing shit up", who spouts badly interpreted Bible passages and who coldly shoots another man in the head simply because he isn't keen on him, and who has a gang of utter morons around him, because they make him feel superior.

They should have killed him off at the end of season 1.

[TattleTeeny]

Unpopular: I don't think Shannen Doherty and/or Brenda Walsh is awesome (except when Brenda snapped, "Why don't you just shut up?!" in the sleepover episode). Further, I like Tori best and always have! 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

Unpopular: I don't think Shannen Doherty and/or Brenda Walsh is awesome (except when Brenda snapped, "Why don't you just shut up?!" in the sleepover episode). Further, I like Tori best and always have! 

Sometimes I liked Brenda.  Sometimes I didn't.  Sometimes she was too self-righteous without much reason to be.  And sometimes she was too whiny. Sorry Brenda, but if you get caught sneaking off to Mexico with your boyfriend, you're going to get in trouble. Most parents don't punish their teens with trips to Paris, though, so you should actually be pretty grateful.

But, on the other hand, I did like her Laverne schtick, and even though I think she fit in too easily, I liked that they did show her as unsure for at least the first couple of epis. 

But, I also liked Donna. I think Aaron made sure she was written the way he wanted his daughter to be, so she came off the most likeable by far.

[hoosier80]

Watching reruns of Alice.  I never did see Linda Lavin as such a wonderful singer or the gorgeous woman who has men going wild over her.  She's not hideous looking, but not drop dead gorgeous.  I realize that attitude, personality also plays a part in attraction, but I never saw her as anything interesting.

Then add in her love interest Travis (who I believe was her real life husband at that point - and from whom she had a nasty divorce). He'd been on first as a love interest for Vera (Steve Marsh and Travis was a country singer who was his cousin - a tired old trope).  The two - Alice and Travis sang country duets, and it was awful.  Not that they were out of tune, but her voice is not suited for country one bit.  

Then, they had a series of episodes where LL was an older woman, complete with a New York/Jewish accent.  I guess she wanted to 'stretch' as an actor.  It was cringe worthy.

Too bad LL ran Flo off of the show (many stories about how LL was not happy that Flo 'stole the show' initially).  The Flo replacements were just not of the same caliber.   I still laugh when I hear the line by Flo - 'ding dong daddy' (as Mel goes off and is banging on his pickup bell).

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hate that an ensemble show like Alice turns into a bad show because someone can't share the spotlight.    I guess stars of shows don't realize that people tune in for the interaction, and if they aren't fond of the star, they might watch to see other characters instead, but it all results in ratings.  

[Bort]

I thought Polly Holiday left Alice because they spun her off onto her own show.