Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[ifionlyknew]

17 hours ago, Raja said:

So what was the point of the show beyond trying to put out a current counterfeit  name?

That was the point. Drawing in viewers who recognized the name.  I didn't watch either Prime Suspect but I remember the American version lasted only 13 episodes. The first episode drew a little over six million viewers. By week three it had lost a million viewers. By week five it had lost another million viewers.   

Without having seen the pilot for the new Cagney & Lacey I'm assuming they could have changed the names from Cagney & Lacey to anything and it would have been the same pilot.  

Back in 2013 Murder She Wrote was going to come back but without Jessica Fletcher and even without Cabot Cove. It was going to be about a hospital administrator who is an amateur sleuth played by Octavia Spencer.  Angela Lansbury spoke out basically saying just because  you call it Murder She Wrote doesn't mean it's Murder She Wrote.  Needless to say that killed the project.

[Kel Varnsen]

1 minute ago, ifionlyknew said:

That was the point. Drawing in viewers who recognized the name.  I didn't watch either Prime Suspect but I remember the American version lasted only 13 episodes. The first episode drew a little over six million viewers. By week three it had lost a million viewers. By week five it had lost another million viewers.   

My unpopular opinion is that the US version of Prime Suspect was good. I mean it wasn't The Wire level good but for a network tv cop show it was better than what I was used to. It was a hell of a lot better than Blue Bloods (which came out a year earlier) and that stupid show is still on.

[ifionlyknew]

4 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

My unpopular opinion is that the US version of Prime Suspect was good. I mean it wasn't The Wire level good but for a network tv cop show it was better than what I was used to. It was a hell of a lot better than Blue Bloods (which came out a year earlier) and that stupid show is still on.

The American Prime Suspect got good reviews. I think it's time slot played a part in it's low ratings. It was up against Private Practice and the Mentalist.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love revivals!  And reunions!  I think that they're so generous to the audience who wants them so badly.  

Reboots with entirely different characters, that's a different matter to me.  Case by case basis.  The idea is usually interesting, but it's all about the execution.  If a younger generation can enjoy them, then good for them!

On 10/7/2021 at 9:55 PM, kathyk2 said:

I don't mind reboots of older shows. I enjoyed the newer version on Fantasy Island on Fox. There is a generation of tv viewer who are too young to remember the original show so this is new material. There have been multiple versions of Law and Order and NCIS on television so why not new Night Court or the Wonder Years.

I liked Law and Order: LA that only lasted one season.  LOL.  Skeet Ulrich was so hot in it.

[proserpina65]

14 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

My unpopular opinion is that the US version of Prime Suspect was good. I mean it wasn't The Wire level good but for a network tv cop show it was better than what I was used to. It was a hell of a lot better than Blue Bloods (which came out a year earlier) and that stupid show is still on.

It wasn't a bad show, but for those of us who'd seen Helen Mirren in the original, it was most definitely not Prime Suspect.  

[Ceindreadh]

3 hours ago, ifionlyknew said:

Back in 2013 Murder She Wrote was going to come back but without Jessica Fletcher and even without Cabot Cove. It was going to be about a hospital administrator who is an amateur sleuth played by Octavia Spencer.  Angela Lansbury spoke out basically saying just because  you call it Murder She Wrote doesn't mean it's Murder She Wrote.  Needless to say that killed the project.

They should have just called it a remake of Diagnosis Murder if that was the premise.

[Mabinogia]

5 hours ago, ifionlyknew said:

Back in 2013 Murder She Wrote was going to come back but without Jessica Fletcher and even without Cabot Cove. It was going to be about a hospital administrator who is an amateur sleuth played by Octavia Spencer.  Angela Lansbury spoke out basically saying just because  you call it Murder She Wrote doesn't mean it's Murder She Wrote.  Needless to say that killed the project.

I would have watched the hell out of a murder mystery show with Octavia Spencer as an amateur sleuth, but it would have pissed me off to no end if they'd called it Murder She Wrote. But her being a hospital employee, why not double down and call it Diagnosis Murder She Wrote? 

The hospital admin amateur sleuth concept is a really solid one. She could solve deaths that the doctors dismissed as "natural causes" or some such. IDK why they thought they needed the name recognition when it had nothing to do with the original concept of the show. Oh, unless Octavia was yet another one of Jessica Fletchers many, many distant family members. LOL

5 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

It wasn't a bad show, but for those of us who'd seen Helen Mirren in the original, it was most definitely not Prime Suspect.  

It probably would have done better in the US under any other name, but when you force people to compare your show to something as iconic as the UK Prime Suspect it is bound to pale in comparison. 

[Popples]

20 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

But her being a hospital employee, why not double down and call it Diagnosis Murder She Wrote?

Murder She Diagnosed

Every episode some inept doctor declares an accidental death and she says the line, "This was no accident, this was murder!"

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I would have watched the hell out of a murder mystery show with Octavia Spencer as an amateur sleuth, but it would have pissed me off to no end if they'd called it Murder She Wrote. But her being a hospital employee, why not double down and call it Diagnosis Murder She Wrote? 

The hospital admin amateur sleuth concept is a really solid one. She could solve deaths that the doctors dismissed as "natural causes" or some such. IDK why they thought they needed the name recognition when it had nothing to do with the original concept of the show. Oh, unless Octavia was yet another one of Jessica Fletchers many, many distant family members. LOL

So would I. That sounds like a great show. But I wouldn't want it to be Murder She Wrote or Diagnosis Murder either. It doesn't need to be. Let it be its own show.

[ABay]

Was the character also supposed to be a mystery writer? Because the title "Murder, She Wrote" doesn't really make sense otherwise.

[Ms Blue Jay]

16 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I would have watched the hell out of a murder mystery show with Octavia Spencer as an amateur sleuth, but it would have pissed me off to no end if they'd called it Murder She Wrote. But her being a hospital employee, why not double down and call it Diagnosis Murder She Wrote? 

She does have a show like that, it's called "Truth be Told".  

[Dancingjaneway]

Can you imagine having an hour of her just going around the hospital yelling "HAS THERE BEEN A MURDERRR?!! 

[SVNBob]

On 10/12/2021 at 6:43 PM, Mabinogia said:

But her being a hospital employee, why not double down and call it Diagnosis Murder She Wrote? 

For bonus points, have the character's name, either first or last, be Quincy.

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, SVNBob said:

For bonus points, have the character's name, either first or last, be Quincy.

Quicny Mattlock?

[Wiendish Fitch]

On the TCM thread, we were lamenting how the role of Norman Bates in Psycho ruined Anthony Perkins's career, either because he was too good, or the part was too iconic.

I definitely feel the same way about Bob Denver as Gilligan.  He was a talented comedic actor who shone as Maynard G. Krebs on Dobie Gillis, but then, dammit all, Gilligan's Island came along and ruined everything, and he was saddled with that part 'til the bitter end. I remember catching glimpses of the latter day Gilligan movies on TV as a kid, and it was so depressing, seeing middle-aged Denver in that stupid outfit and still derping around. It made him seem older, sadder, and more pathetic than anyone really deserves.

This also brings me back to why I'm 100% fine with shows ending and never being revived, rebooted, or whatever. Sometimes you really do outgrow a part, and it's time to move on. Sometimes it's better to be remembered as you were. The Punky Brewster revival failed, and it deserved to, because the appeal of Punky was that she was a kid, and the show ended when Soleil Moon Frye was still a kid. This wasn't like Anne of Green Gables, where we watch her grow into womanhood. I highly doubt anyone was wondering what Punky Brewster would be like all grown up. 

If Punky still acts the way she did as a kid, that's basically Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? territory. If she doesn't... then why am I watching?! She didn't act like an adult as a kid, so why would I want to see her be all mature and crap?! What's the point?

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Wiendish Fitch

[roseha]

I have to agree that I don't really have much interest in seeing any reboots - though I might take a peek at the Night Court one I guess - and very little in seeing even reunions with the original casts, or most of them.  I did make an exception for the one time Odd Couple reunion, which seemed to be made in an effort to help out Jack Klugman who had suffered from throat cancer.  He and Tony Randall were still expert of course and Penny Marshall returned amusingly as well.

There was also the Green Acres reunion, with Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, which had its amusing moments.  However, so many successful shows in that era would run so long that I'm not sure what the motivation really was for any reunions.

In a related topic, I think series finales are way over-rated.  I don't like sitcom finales, and I don't think all dramas need them either.  I think the trend must have been set, famously, in 1967 by The Fugitive, which needed a finale so Dr. Kimble wouldn't go on running forever.  However, I don't think this means that every drama, let alone every comedy needs a final "conclusion" to its story.  Most shows are episodic enough that it feels artificial to me.

[ABay]

My favorite finales are ones where no one dies for shock value, one story line comes to a natural end, and you know everyone is going to go on as they were with no huge drama. Basically we're just stepping away.  In Plain Sight did this really well. One relationship reached a resolution, one character left for a new job, and everything else continued.

[sistermagpie]

11 hours ago, roseha said:

In a related topic, I think series finales are way over-rated.  I don't like sitcom finales, and I don't think all dramas need them either.  I think the trend must have been set, famously, in 1967 by The Fugitive, which needed a finale so Dr. Kimble wouldn't go on running forever.  However, I don't think this means that every drama, let alone every comedy needs a final "conclusion" to its story.  Most shows are episodic enough that it feels artificial to me.

I agree with this so hard. It's a real pet peeve of mine the way sitcoms now seem to think they owe everyone some bittersweet finale instead of just stepping away. Especially since they're always so fake. You have people who for 10 years have been joined at the hip and any time one of them might go away it's treated as some tragedy we should celebrate when it's avoided. Then suddenly all at once they all decide they just have to fling themselves in different directions, often in ways that don't fit anything about the character. 

[festivus]

Night Court?! But almost everybody original is dead. I won't check that one out. My UO is that I liked the Murphy Brown reboot. It had almost all of the original people and yeah it was having some trouble finding its feet but I think it would have worked itself out. 

[Annber03]

9 minutes ago, festivus said:

Night Court?! But almost everybody original is dead. I won't check that one out. My UO is that I liked the Murphy Brown reboot. It had almost all of the original people and yeah it was having some trouble finding its feet but I think it would have worked itself out. 

I liked that reboot, too. I thought it was fun. 

Plus, I thought Avery was adorable, which didn't hurt :D. 

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, ABay said:

My favorite finales are ones where no one dies for shock value, one story line comes to a natural end, and you know everyone is going to go on as they were with no huge drama. Basically we're just stepping away. 

I generally agree.  I think some shows lend themselves to a climactic or even shocking ending, but I think a lot would be best served by leaving the audience with the sense these characters will keep doing the same things we've long loved them for, we just won't be peeking in on them anymore.  In those cases, pairing multiple characters up with a romantic partner out of the blue, shipping one or more characters off to a new job in a new city, and/or killing a main character is usually just a tired over-reach that fails to satisfy.

[DoctorAtomic]

The finale of Monk was good like that. 

 

[MargeGunderson]

So was Homicide. 

[JustHereForFood]

I generally like finales, but I hate when they pair random characters just for the sake of it, or when characters suddenly behave OOC like someone who was never spontaneous suddenly making some rash decision, just to force some artificial conclusion. Some storylines make sense to be kept open. 

[SusanM]

I guess my UO is that I liked Voyager best of all the Star Trek shows and with the exception of a handful of episodes didn't like the original Star Trek at all.  At all - repeated for emphasis.

1 hour ago, JustHereForFood said:

I generally like finales, but I hate when they pair random characters just for the sake of it,

The last few episodes of Voyager they decided to pair off two of the characters who had barely been aware of each other prior to that, and were a most unlikely pairing.  Made no sense.  One of the things I'd liked about Voyager was that except for one couple they managed to avoid turning the 7 year voyage into some outer space version of The Love Boat.

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

The finale of Monk was good like that. 

 

 

2 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

So was Homicide. 

As was the series finale of original Law & Order. Van Buren got the call her cancer was in remission and episode ended with the audience knowing the detectives would return to work the next day. Even if the show hadn’t been cancelled, S. Epatha Merkerson had announced earlier that she would be leaving, so this was a nice conclusion for her character.

[Crs97]

Friends made sense with Chandler and Monica wanting to raise their children in the suburbs.  You knew everyone would still see each other and remain friends, but they were moving on organically.

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

Friends made sense with Chandler and Monica wanting to raise their children in the suburbs.  You knew everyone would still see each other and remain friends, but they were moving on organically.

YMMV but to me it often seems like the whole "we have kids now so we need to be in the suburbs!" something TV says is true but never seems so to me. Your children being surrounded by a large, extended support system of family-like adults is more valuable than them living in a big (expensive?) house so your kids can do things that you did as a kid in the 70s but doesn't even seem to be a thing kids do now.

[andromeda331]

One of my favorite finales was the Road to Avonlea. We got the wedding of Felicity and Gus, Jasper and Olivia are moving to England. Hetty won't go to the wedding because she's mad about the move so Felicity goes to get her dressed in her wedding dress. Felicity and Hetty are so much alike its great that Felicity won't continuing the wedding until Hetty comes. Then ends with So I'll ask you now to raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the bride and the groom... To friends and loved ones, near and far; But wherever you wander, whatever glorious adventures lie ahead of you, you can rest easy knowing you have a place to come home to... the fairest spot on earth. Our Avonlea... To Avonlea.

Its what I like. Some get married, some move away and the rest are still there and the idea that they can always come back. 

[BlackberryJam]

10 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

YMMV but to me it often seems like the whole "we have kids now so we need to be in the suburbs!" something TV says is true but never seems so to me. Your children being surrounded by a large, extended support system of family-like adults is more valuable than them living in a big (expensive?) house so your kids can do things that you did as a kid in the 70s but doesn't even seem to be a thing kids do now.

For New York shows, I thought the moves were more about the school system rather than the actual suburbs. But also, I get married adults with children wanting to move to a bigger place and also wanting to leave the old places behind. It's how we grow and change as adults. At my current age, I certainly wouldn't want to live in the same place I lived at in my 20s. 

So I've always been fine with people moving when shows end. It makes sense. 

My possibly unpopular opinion, I loved the S3 Veronica Mars ending and think it would have been better without the movie or S4. 

[SusanM]

13 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Its what I like. Some get married, some move away and the rest are still there and the idea that they can always come back. 

What I liked about the ending of Road to Avonlea was that it really reflected the two books it was (at least partially anyway) based on.  In The Story Girl and The Golden Road major plots points in the books were that most of the family (of various generations) move away - some very far away - from the PEI farm where the books are set.  This was the reality of a small town farming community and it was just accepted that this was likely to happen.  Anyway for me it ended on the right note.

Edited October 18, 2021 by SusannahM

[sistermagpie]

2 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

For New York shows, I thought the moves were more about the school system rather than the actual suburbs. But also, I get married adults with children wanting to move to a bigger place and also wanting to leave the old places behind. It's how we grow and change as adults. At my current age, I certainly wouldn't want to live in the same place I lived at in my 20s. 

So I've always been fine with people moving when shows end. It makes sense. 

My possibly unpopular opinion, I loved the S3 Veronica Mars ending and think it would have been better without the movie or S4. 

Oh, I don't want to make it sound like it's not ever a natural, logical decision. A couple having kids does seem like a perfectly good reason to move, especially to a bigger place. It's just that it so often seems like it's presented in such a way that makes me argue with it. Like in the Friends case in particular, it seemed like they were losing more than they were gaining--though tbf, I don't even remember the details. I feel like I didn't watch much at the end. Compared to other shows about groups of single people in their 20s/30s, that group seemed pretty kid-friendly. I don't always think it seems wrong.

I guess it's also sometimes complicated by the fact that the cast isn't that young anymore!

[Wiendish Fitch]

39 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

My possibly unpopular opinion, I loved the S3 Veronica Mars ending and think it would have been better without the movie or S4. 

Agreed. I hated the Veronica Mars movie, and I refuse to watch S4. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I loved the initial idea of Veronica joining the FBI and having adventures elsewhere, but the movie was all nope! Status quo is the way to go, suckers! So Veronica went back to shitty Neptune, got back with shitty Logan, was shitty to Madison* but not to Dick the rapist douche-monster, and it was all just... shitty.

Sorry, but I hate stories about people going back to their small hometowns. Something about it just depresses me to no end. This is why I find all Hallmark TV movies utterly repellant. 

*I realize this going to get me "actually-ed", so let me state that while Madison is utterly horrible, she's got nothing on rape-y Karma Houdini Dick. A decade and a half later, I'm still grossed out by the image of him lugging Veronica's drugged, unconscious body around at the party. Dick Casablancas was the show's worst case of villain apologia.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Wiendish Fitch

[DoctorAtomic]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

It's how we grow and change as adults. At my current age, I certainly wouldn't want to live in the same place I lived at in my 20s. 

Oh no no no. There's also the 'I can afford a house in a smaller city/suburb' with a mortgage 40% of my rent in the Big City too. 

 

[BlackberryJam]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Oh no no no. There's also the 'I can afford a house in a smaller city/suburb' with a mortgage 40% of my rent in the Big City too. 

 

I dunno...I always felt like living in the city was for times I wanted to go barhopping and banging randos. Eventually, I wanted a nice quiet place with a garden where I didn't have to have multiple locks on the door. 

I watched some of the show Friends at some point, but have zero recollection of the ending. What I know about Friends is what I know for the sole purpose of winning trivia nights. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

You can still do that at the 40% level because you can afford to get a hotel for a night if you want to paint the city red. There's only so long I could flush all that money away in rent that it was seriously affecting my quality of life. 

[sistermagpie]

5 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You can still do that at the 40% level because you can afford to get a hotel for a night if you want to paint the city red. There's only so long I could flush all that money away in rent that it was seriously affecting my quality of life. 

To be fair, on TV it often doesn't matter either way because whatever job someone has it's somehow able to cover whatever they need, wherever they're living.

[DoctorAtomic]

Banging Randos is totally my new disco punk band. 

[Kel Varnsen]

6 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Agreed. I hated the Veronica Mars movie, and I refuse to watch S4. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I loved the initial idea of Veronica joining the FBI and having adventures elsewhere, but the movie was all nope! Status quo is the way to go, suckers!

I remember liking the movie but I wasn't too impressed with season 4. The mystery seemed way too much like a Scooby Doo episode (with a bomber instead of a ghost) and Veronica's actual investigating skills were kind of crappy. It seemed like every episode she had a new suspect.

Although probably my biggest TV season unpopular opinion is that season 1 of the Mandalorian was way more enjoyable than season 2. Season 1 was interesting new characters in new situations. Season 2 felt like a bunch of back door pilots for the dream shows/characters that the show runners always wanted to do. 

[BlackberryJam]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Banging Randos is totally my new disco punk band. 

I was hoping you’d play Irish Reggae!

[Gharlane]

On 10/6/2021 at 4:48 AM, Jaded said:

That's like Hurricane Katrina anniversaries. When it's talked about or mentioned on TV New Orleans is usually the only place mentioned. It did a lot of damage to South Mississippi too.

At least it's discussed, unlike Hurricane Michael. 

[JimmyJabloon]

Golden girls- I do not like Sophia. She’s just a horrible little meanie.

[Shannon L.]

I know he's known more for his movies now, but he had a big tv role so, I'll put this here:  I don't hate Chris Pratt.  I don't (yet) believe that he's an asshole or malicious or chauvinistic.  I think he's clueless, doesn't think before he speaks, and is probably not that bright.  Please, please, don't start posting a bunch of things to prove me wrong.  I've read just about everything here on this board in regards to his comments and behavior and this is my conclusion.  I enjoy his roles and, as a Marvel fan, I want to enjoy the next GotG movie and any other Marvel movie he may make a cameo in.  I don't want to be uncomfortable watching them.  If I see something in the future while I'm looking around the internet, then so be it, but for now, he hasn't said or done anything that makes me think other than what I've stated. 

[JustHereForFood]

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I know he's known more for his movies now, but he had a big tv role so, I'll put this here:  I don't hate Chris Pratt.  I don't (yet) believe that he's an asshole or malicious or chauvinistic.  I think he's clueless, doesn't think before he speaks, and is probably not that bright.  Please, please, don't start posting a bunch of things to prove me wrong.  I've read just about everything here on this board in regards to his comments and behavior and this is my conclusion.  I enjoy his roles and, as a Marvel fan, I want to enjoy the next GotG movie and any other Marvel movie he may make a cameo in.  I don't want to be uncomfortable watching them.  If I see something in the future while I'm looking around the internet, then so be it, but for now, he hasn't said or done anything that makes me think other than what I've stated. 

I don't like him, but I sympathize with the bolded, regarding quite a few people, because sadly nowadays it seems there are fewer and fewer movies/series that don't have any jerk either behind or in front of the camera.

[Mabinogia]

7 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I don't hate Chris Pratt.  I don't (yet) believe that he's an asshole or malicious or chauvinistic.  I think he's clueless, doesn't think before he speaks, and is probably not that bright. 

He strikes me as an over excited puppy. A bit of a misguided, a bit juvenile, but I think he means well and has a good heart. I do agree with the not so bright bit. He should be the poster boy for "good thing he's pretty". 

He used to be my favorite Chris, then I discovered Hemsworth and that face, and that body, and that voice... so Pratt was #2 but then I saw Knives Out and while I still don't like Captain America very much I do enjoy me some Chris Evans, so now he's #3 because I know nothing about that forth one... Chris Pine I think it is. IDK

[Spartan Girl]

4 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I don't like him, but I sympathize with the bolded, regarding quite a few people, because sadly nowadays it seems there are fewer and fewer movies/series that don't have any jerk either behind or in front of the camera.

I too can sympathize. I want to enjoy the things I love, and for me that means emotionally divorcing myself from certain people in order to enjoy their work. I have had to do that a lot lately…

So while I may not like Chris Pratt, I’m still at the point where I can enjoy watching him in movies while being glad I’m not married to him.

[Danny Franks]

I will always look askance at anyone who gets into god-bothering and trying to push their religion onto other people, even if they think it's well-meaning. I find it off-putting and the very definition of holier-than-thou behaviour.

Pratt seems self-absorbed and smug, and definitely not particularly bright. I don't feel bad watching him, but I'll never be happy to see him suddenly appear in a movie, like I was to see Chris Evans' cameo in Free Guy. And I'll never go out of my way to see a movie that he stars in (it helps that the only good things he's made are the Guardians and Lego movies).

I think there was a bit of manufactured outrage over him being the voices of Mario and Garfield in upcoming films and... eh, who cares? Both of those movies will be shit regardless of the voice talent.

 

[paulvdb]

17 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

is probably not that bright.

I didn't watch most of his later roles, so Bright is the one thing Chris Pratt will always be for me.

[Shannon L.]

13 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

He used to be my favorite Chris, then I discovered Hemsworth and that face, and that body, and that voice... so Pratt was #2 but then I saw Knives Out and while I still don't like Captain America very much I do enjoy me some Chris Evans, so now he's #3 because I know nothing about that forth one... Chris Pine I think it is.

That's almost exactly how my "Chris" list was shuffled around.  😄

[BlackberryJam]

I put Pine first because he’s always just living his best life and not caring about his Chris ranking.

I recognize this as a vastly unpopular opinion.