Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[amensisterfriend]

Angel UOs:

 

The only season I loved was the first. I love the show's basic themes and ideas (which is a main reason I kept watching!), but not really the execution. 

 

I never found David Boreanz nearly as handsome as most do. 

 

Doyle may have been my very favorite character. 

 

By S3 or so, Cordelia wasn't so much 'evolved' as just a totally unrecognizable character to me. 

 

I just can't stand anything about Amy Acker...and suffice it to say that Fred didn't do anything to change my mind :) 

Edited December 26, 2014 by amensisterfriend

[merylinkid]

 

but ACD continually mentions how gentle he is with clients. Yet every show has him being obnoxious with everyone. Drives me crazy.

Heavens yes.   In one of the stories, he threatened a man with a horsewhip for being an ass to a woman.   Yet in all the tv shows, he is rude and condescending to woman.   Sherlock is ALWAYS a gentleman and treats woman with respect while not really wanting to date any of them.

[Wiendish Fitch]

While I don't loathe her, I never understood what the big deal was either.  To the point that I actually asked several of my friends that love her.  Every single one answered the same "She looks great in a short skirt".  Wha?  She is certainly attractive, but to the point they ignored or overlooked everything else about her?  And that's also quite misogynistic, is it not?

 

 

I'd say sexist rather than misogynistic, but, other than that, THANK YOU! "Looking hot in a miniskirt" is not, nor ever will be a character trait! I found Amy to be a mean-spirited, dull-witted, useless, uninteresting little brat who Rory should have dumped ages ago!

Edited December 26, 2014 by Wiendish Fitch

[Rick Kitchen]

 

What the ever-loving hell did Amy Pond ever do that was so fan-friggin'-tastic?!

 

Her best trait was Rory (whom she did not deserve).  Rory was a much better Companion.

[Chaos Theory]

What the ever-loving hell did Amy Pond ever do that was so fan-friggin'-tastic?!

 

 

As someone who LOVED Amy Pond and considers her to be the favorite of the companions.  What I enjoyed about the character was essence the entire story arc of the character.   The idea that a single moment; a childhood appearance by the Doctor could effect an entire life.  Plus I loved the romance between Amy and Rory and consider that to be one of the better scifi romances on television.  Very few scifi shows can do a romance like Amy and Rory.  It just worked for me from start to finish.  Plus I loved the friendship between Amy and Doctor.  

 

To each is own.  I never understood what people saw in Rose Tyler.  

Edited December 26, 2014 by Chaos Theory

[Enigma X]

 

 

As someone who LOVED Amy Pond and considers her to be the favorite of the companions.  What I enjoyed about the character was essence the entire story arc of the character.   The idea that a single moment; a childhood appearance by the Doctor could effect an entire life.  Plus I loved the romance between Amy and Rory and consider that to be one of the better scifi romances on television.  Very few scifi shows can do a romance like Amy and Rory.  It just worked for me from start to finish.  Plus I loved the friendship between Amy and Doctor. 

To each is own.  I never understood what people saw in Rose Tyler.

I like all the contemporary companions, especially the Ponds, but Rose. She is probably my least liked companion of all time.

 

I have watched Doctor Who since I was 10. I am officially done and it has nothing to do with the actors on my screen. Moffat has ruined this show for me, and I don't find it enjoyable on any level any more.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Enigma X

[manbearpig]

Apart from the incredible, emotional phone call between Penny and Desmond at the end of the episode, Lost's The Constant does nothing for me. I don't care for the time travel shenanigans and while it's well made, well acted, and different than your standard episode of the show, I just don't particularly enjoy it. I don't hate it. I don't dislike it, but I don't really understand all the praise, either. Maybe it just isn't for me. I do love that phone call though.

Edited December 26, 2014 by manbearpig

[Mulva]

I can't stand the Twelth Doctor either.  He's as nasty as Six at his worse.

 

I like Clara just fine.  At least she has a personality beyond 'Scottish Grouch'.

 

Yeah, but there's still a long way to go, which is why I cut hoyay people a lot of slack, as long as they don't go full-on delusional in acting like it's actually canon (e.g. minneapple's example of Johnlock fans being a prime example IMO) or extend it into RL shipping.

 

You just described a small but vocal part of the Supernatural fandom.  They keep insisting that despite 10 years of seeing Dean bang women, hit on women, dream about women, live with women, collect titty magazines, visit strip clubs and massage parlors, that he's either gay or bi and that the show will acknowledge this any year now. 

 

I wouldn't care, but when they hassle Jensen Ackles (Dean) at conventions and accuse him and the writers of being homophobic, which could negatively affect his career, because he stated that the character is straight, then I have issues with them.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Mulva

[ganesh]

Amy in no way deserved Rory, but I think she knew that. When she got out of the pandorica and saw the story of the last centurion, her face kind of fell like "holy shit this guy."

I do think Amy and Rory were an actual believable couple to me. I don't buy Clara/Danny. It's not the actors. The writing wasn't good.

All the companions are second behind Donna anyway.

[briochetwist]

You just described a small but vocal part of the Supernatural fandom.  They keep insisting that despite 10 years of seeing Dean bang women, hit on women, dream about women, live with women, collect titty magazines, visit strip clubs and massage parlors, that he's either gay or bi and that the show will acknowledge this any year now. 

 

I wouldn't care, but when they hassle Jensen Ackles (Dean) at conventions and accuse him and the writers of being homophobic, which could negatively affect his career, because he stated that the character is straight, then I have issues with them.

 

I've never been able to understand the line of thinking that Dean is gay, he's ALWAYS been exactly the guy you described.  The homophobia accusations really piss me off.

[Popples]

To each is own.  I never understood what people saw in Rose Tyler.  

 

Could. not. STAND. Rose. She was so entitled to be with the Doctor and with the exception of Jack, she seemed to hate anyone that drew his attention away from her. She was annoyed when Mickey wanted to travel with them (was she the only one who was deemed worthy enough to go through all space and time?), but then she was annoyed when Mickey decided to stay in the alt-universe to be with a version of his grandmother who was still living and where he didn't have to settle for being the "tin dog". She treated Mickey like garbage anyway, she didn't even really care when he told her how long she had really been gone and he had been hauled in for questioning by the police about her sudden disappearance.  I didn't like the attitude she copped about Martha in "Stolen Earth" ("Who's she?!" I think it really grated since Martha was treated to an entire series of having to hear about St. Blessed Rose, ugh!), and the fact that she undeservedly got to have 10.5. The only companion Rose was fine with was Donna.

[Misslindsey]

I like Kitty on Elementary. I am very indifferent to Joan. I do not love nor hate her, but I prefer Kitty. I would love if she stuck around, but I doubt that she will. 

[ShadowHunter]

I didn't hate Connor on Angel. I understand though why many had a problem with him but I always understood where he was coming from. He grew up in a hell dimension.  The manipulation at the hands of Jasmine(Cordy) and Holtz.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

You and me, likethis, ShadowHunter. *points at icon* I liked Connor at several points a lot more than I liked his dad, Mr.. Passive-Aggressive.

[Chaos Theory]

I usually am a science fiction/fantasy fan but I never understood the appeal of Supernatural.

Oh and I love writing Subtext pairings (they are fun) but I never understood people insisting they are Really going to happen.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Chaos Theory

[SmithW6079]

Hoyay is supposed to be fun. Like Krycek on the X Files because you can slash him with literally anyone in the universe of television.

"X Files" slash was my intro to the world of slash fiction, and I followed it for quite a while. Krycek/Skinner was my one true slash pairing.

On unpopular opinions? I don't like Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I liked her as Elaine (until I hated all the characters on "Seinfeld"), but I have not liked her in anything else she's done. I don't find funny that neurotic, awkward schtick that is her entire ouevre no matter what character she plays.

[Anna Yolei]

I don't watch a lot of scripted shows, but generally aren't the only bi-sexual characters women? Just going by what I read on online forums, it appears that gay male characters are just that - gay, but the fans of certain shows suggest or want these same male characters to be bisexual and the writers don't comply. Maybe I'm wrong, so correct me if I am. I've only noticed the female characters to be outright bisexual and not the men; also curious to know if it's true, why is that a problem.

I think it's more a societal double standard that we don't see this. I don't remember seeing too many openly gay male characters apart from the ones on Will and Grace when I was younger, but I do remember Bianca coming our on All My Children as badly botched as that was, and Willow going bi on Buffy. Before that, Ellen came out on her sitcom.

It's taken a long time to even see gay males on TV, but you're right that there aren't any openly comfortable bisexuals male characters on TV.

[Anna Yolei]

You just described a small but vocal part of the Supernatural fandom. They keep insisting that despite 10 years of seeing Dean bang women, hit on women, dream about women, live with women, collect titty magazines, visit strip clubs and massage parlors, that he's either gay or bi and that the show will acknowledge this any year now.

I wouldn't care, but when they hassle Jensen Ackles (Dean) at conventions and accuse him and the writers of being homophobic, which could negatively affect his career, because he stated that the character is straight, then I have issues with them.

Supernatural Fandom is the only thing keeping Fandom Wank (a small LJ-ESQUE community dating back to Web 1.0) in business, and that crazy shit is why. I remember one post from there when one of the leads' wives had a baby and many were still insisting it was a conspiracy keeping the two actors apart or some other mad bollocks that I had never seen in any Fandom I've been apart of, including Star Trek.

And as you said, homophobia accusation is the new Communist voter in Hollywood, and while I'm no SN fan, I hear the actors play into the HoYay for their fans...so that just seems no not even almost apply here.

[selkie]

I can't stand the Twelth Doctor either.  He's as nasty as Six at his worse.

 

 

And at least Six's nastiness had the excuse of coming through his regeneration to see.... Peri, who manages to be my least favorite companion, even more so than the black & white era screamers like Victoria. If I was stuck with her, I'd be plenty grumpy too.

[Wiendish Fitch]

And at least Six's nastiness had the excuse of coming through his regeneration to see.... Peri, who manages to be my least favorite companion, even more so than the black & white era screamers like Victoria. If I was stuck with her, I'd be plenty grumpy too.

 

Darn you, selkie, you somehow got into my brain and hijacked my exact defense of the Sixth Doctor and why he's preferable to the Twelfth! :)

 

Seriously, though, I also hated Peri (God, that voice!). What a useless load she was. For all the flack Mel got, at least she had a real personality and contributed something.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Wiendish Fitch

[DoughGirl]

I hate Gone With the Wind.  Hate Clark Gable.  Hate Vivian Lee.

I like GWTW and Vivian Leigh but HATE Clark Gable. He ruins the film for me. I don't find him handsome in the least and his hair looks greasy and dirty. It bugs me to no end that he got top billing over Vivian Leigh-yeah I know he was "the king". Still bugs me. And hearing about his selfish cry baby demands behind the scenes make me hate him more. And "He absolutely refused to do a southern accent." Ugh. IMO he was a complete ass.

[DoughGirl]

As I've aged I find that rather a lot of the actors presented as brilliant really aren't and Clark Gable falls into that group.  As does John Wayne.  Popular but very little talent.

John Wayne-never got the appeal. I like westerns but not his.

Fred Astaire is another. Great dancer but leading man? Was it Easter Parade in which Judy Garland choses him over Peter Lawford?

[Athena]

Fred Astaire is another. Great dancer but leading man? Was it Easter Parade in which Judy Garland choses him over Peter Lawford?

 

I'm not a John Wayne or Clark Gable girl (though I can see why Gable was a movie star over Wayne), but Astaire is one of my favourites, largely because of the Rogers/Astaire movies. They are just fun and he's not conventionally attractive or a great actor, but he was entertaining especially in his 1930s films. I'm not a huge fan of Easter Parade though.

 

ETA: I just realized we are in EETV. Just a heads up, Movies does have an Unpopular Opinions topic too.

[Gudzilla]

 

Amy Pond

Didn't Dean Winchester kill her ?

 

By the way she'll always be Gadget Girl to me.

[ABay]

And at least Six's nastiness had the excuse of coming through his regeneration to see.... Peri

My very favorite thing about the Sixth Doctor is that the first thing he did was try to kill Peri. If only [sigh]. If he'd tried to kill Mel, too, he'd be my favorite Doctor ever.

 

Peri is much more tolerable in the Big Finish audio plays. Granted, there was no way she could be worse.

Edited December 29, 2014 by ABay

[kassygreene]

I think it's more a societal double standard that we don't see this. I don't remember seeing too many openly gay male characters apart from the ones on Will and Grace when I was younger, but I do remember Bianca coming our on All My Children as badly botched as that was, and Willow going bi on Buffy. Before that, Ellen came out on her sitcom.

 

Not that I've spent time researching this, but casual observation tells me that straight men like the idea of two women together, especially since they apparently imagine entering in the fun and being extremely welcome...  But the same straight men will get nauseous at the idea of two men together.  Definitely a double standard.

 

I like GWTW and Vivian Leigh but HATE Clark Gable. He ruins the film for me. I don't find him handsome in the least and his hair looks greasy and dirty. It bugs me to no end that he got top billing over Vivian Leigh-yeah I know he was "the king". Still bugs me. And hearing about his selfish cry baby demands behind the scenes make me hate him more. And "He absolutely refused to do a southern accent." Ugh. IMO he was a complete ass.

 

In the late sixties / early seventies GWTW became available again, or at least was re-released (30th anniversary?).  I never went to see the movie (not easily available and four hours of the Civil War?!?!?! - not happening), but I did read all Eight-Hundred-Sixty-Four pages of the damn book (yes, I remember the page count).  What a piece of crap.  Even discovering many years later that Tara was based almost entirely on Theodore Roosevelt's mother's family home didn't reconcile me, and I like things Roosevelt.  To this day I have never seen more than very short clips of That Movie.  I am inordinately proud of this.

 

And forgot to hit the quote icon, but I never really got John Wayne either.  The only movie of his that has lasted for me was Big Jake, and it's kind of cheesy but had a reasonably high and nasty body count, which made it seem more realistic to me then most of his Westerns.  It's probably the only western role he had where playing the part as John Wayne was correct ("Jacob McCandles?!  I thought you wuz dead!"  "Not Hardly."  Later on, "I'm going to shoot the next man who says that." - and he did).  But otherwise the one-note acting and the self-entitlement of his not terribly private personal life just annoys.

[Bruinsfan]

Darn you, selkie, you somehow got into my brain and hijacked my exact defense of the Sixth Doctor and why he's preferable to the Twelfth! :)

 

Seriously, though, I also hated Peri (God, that voice!). What a useless load she was. For all the flack Mel got, at least she had a real personality and contributed something.

At least Peri got pawned off on Brian Blessed, and I'm sure no one ever had to hear her voice again while she was around him.

[ABay]

It's true: When Brian Blessed is around, no one can hear anything but Brian Blessed. (Who is totally awesome, btw.)

Edited December 30, 2014 by ABay

[Wiendish Fitch]

Don't you guys mean BRIAN BLESSED?!!!?

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

At least Peri got pawned off on Brian Blessed, and I'm sure no one ever had to hear her voice again while she was around him.

 

I don't know this Peri person, but what ya'll got against Brian Blessed?

 

Don't you guys mean BRIAN BLESSED?!!!?

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

*swings a battle axe around wildly*

 

There, now we're both liars. ;-)

[AimingforYoko]

Not that I've spent time researching this, but casual observation tells me that straight men like the idea of two women together, especially since they apparently imagine entering in the fun and being extremely welcome...  But the same straight men will get nauseous at the idea of two men together.  Definitely a double standard.

Dave Chappelle put it best, and most succinctly on behalf of straight men: "I have a one-dick rule. The only dick in my fantasies....is mine."

[Bruinsfan]

Nothing against BRIAN BLESSED, I consider drowning Peri out to be one of his many virtues!

[galax-arena]

Re: bisexual female characters v. bisexual male characters, we all know that women who call themselves bi are really just straight girls looking for attention, and men who call themselves bi are really just gay guys who are tiptoeing out of the closet. Notice how it all comes back to really wanting dudes. The dick reigns supreme, everybody wants the d.

 

To be serious though, it's kinda noticeable how Hollywood likes to shy away from the word "bisexual" in general, including when it comes to female characters. Someone mentioned Willow coming out on Buffy. Joss Whedon got some flak for having Willow say, "Hello, gay now!" in that one episode. Kalinda on The Good Wife is also brought up as an example of a bisexual female character, yet IIRC she's never actually said that she was bi and only ever said about the subject that she was "flexible." (I don't know if that's changed... I tuned out of TGW a few eps into the fifth season.) It's why ABC Family's Chasing Life was pretty notable for having Brenna explicitly define herself as bi in the latest ep; it's not something we see all that often. 

 

And yeah, I do feel like the majority of non-hetero male characters are often envisioned as non-hetero from the outset, whereas for non-hetero female characters, a lot of the time it's something that the writers come up with later, although that seems to be changing now. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Re: bisexual female characters v. bisexual male characters, we all know that women who call themselves bi are really just straight girls looking for attention, and men who call themselves bi are really just gay guys who are tiptoeing out of the closet. Notice how it all comes back to really wanting dudes. The dick reigns supreme, everybody wants the d

 

Even British television has made note of it.

 

 

 

Susan: "And at the other end of the female insanity spectrum, Jane pretends to be bisexual with much the same result."

 

;-)

[Shannon L.]

We just watched third episode of Freaks and Geeks on Netflix and I can't watch anymore.  While it's fun to see so many actors and actresses back before they were popular, the acting, imo, is horrendous.  The kids playing the 14 year olds are the best of the bunch. 

[Bastet]

New Year's UO: I would rather stare at my wall for three hours than watch the Rose Parade, no matter the network/commentators.

 

(As a Los Angeleno, I have several unpopular opinions about the parade itself, but I'll confine myself to the TV coverage.)

[Wiendish Fitch]

We just watched third episode of Freaks and Geeks on Netflix and I can't watch anymore.  While it's fun to see so many actors and actresses back before they were popular, the acting, imo, is horrendous.  The kids playing the 14 year olds are the best of the bunch. 

 

Freaks and Geeks was okay at best, but I wouldn't call it a classic. Maybe I'm just a terrible person, but I grew to hate Lindsay Weir. Oh, I was invested in her at the beginning: saddened and haunted by her grandmother's death, her quest for self-discovery, trying a new identity on for size, it felt real and made sense to me. Plus, she stood up to bullies, and normally I can't hate a character like that.

 

However, as the series progressed, I really, really grew annoyed with her. I found her to be a whiny, karma-dodging, irresponsible little twerp who really was the phony Kim called her out for being, someone who tried to be both the goody-goody and the bad girl (and she failed at both, for God's sake), and a lousy friend to Millie (I know Millie was practically a walking joke, but I thought she was way too good for Lindsay). Mind you, I want characters to make mistakes and have flaws, but I want them to suffer the consequences, at least once in a while! Lindsay almost never did! She even got away with babysitting while high!

 

But the nail in the coffin was the final episode, in which her parents want her to go this college summit, but Lindsay has recently gotten into the Grateful Dead. Does she calmly tell her parents she doesn't want to go to the college summit? Does she tap into her "inner Freak", say "screw you!" to her parents? No, she instead allows them to pay for her trip, ditches it halfway, and meets Kim and some fellow Deadheads so they can go on the road and follow the Dead around, her parents none the wiser.

 

Um, the hell? You call that character development? To deceive your parents, blow their money, and follow a band around because you were too wussy to stand up for yourself and admit what you really wanted? That's not rebellion, that's a textbook example of a cowardly shit move! What a sneaky, bratty, awful thing to do! If you're going to rebel against your parents, at least do it right!

 

Yeah, that's what killed any positive feelings I had for Lindsay and the show. 

Edited January 2, 2015 by Wiendish Fitch

[truthaboutluv]

I was fairly young when Freaks & Geeks was on the air so I only sort of barely remember it, although funny enough I did years later, immediately recognize that James Franco, Busy Philips, Seth Rogen and Lindsay Cardellini had all been on it. That being said, I think a big part of its "cult classic" status right now is because it's largely seen as "ended before its time." It had decent reviews back then and really never had a chance to truly be great or truly fail so there's a mystique around it and probably a need to make that one season greater than it was when it may have just been good. The success of people like Seth and James have probably only added to cult classic status. 

[Mulva]

Firefly didn't fail because FOX aired the eps out of order, it failed because the premise was stupid. We don't dress or talk like 1870's pioneers now, why the hell would people 600 years in the future dress like Little House On The Prairie and talk like some dime western intermixed with ramdom Chinese curse words? They can traverse the interstellar void and terraform planets but can't come up with electric lights? Cattle rustling in space? Really? You'd think that vat-grown meat would be a hell of a lot more practical than animals that need feed, living quarters, veterinary care, and that produce waste.

If Whedon had NOT gone for a literal 'space western', it might have had a chance.

[Shannon L.]

 

New Year's UO: I would rather stare at my wall for three hours than watch the Rose Parade, no matter the network/commentators.

 

(As a Los Angeleno, I have several unpopular opinions about the parade itself, but I'll confine myself to the TV coverage.)

Right there with you on that one (mostly). I lived for years just two blocks from the parade route and now live a  mile and a half from the parade route (but, just down the road from where they park the floats) and I could not care less if I ever see it again.  I sat through it twice:  once just because it was my first year in Pasadena and I wanted to see it live and once because my parents were in town and wanted to see it live, but that's it for me. It bored the hell out of me both times (but, the floats are amazing--I'll give it that much. The thought and work that goes into them is incredible). I have it on the tv in the background so I can see the occasional float, but this year, I think I saw all of maybe 4.  The best part is the bomber that flies over.  I always run out to look at it fly by.  It's gorgeous and gives me chills. What I do like, and I have a feeling that this is where we differ, is the electricity in the air surrounding it.  The excitement in the air.  Watching the people gather, [in the old house] hearing the excited cheers at midnight, all the college visitors with their college gear on, that sort of thing.  It's kind of cool to live in a city where there is a century long tradition that's viewed across the country every year.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Shannon L.

[Kel Varnsen]

Firefly didn't fail because FOX aired the eps out of order, it failed because the premise was stupid. We don't dress or talk like 1870's pioneers now, why the hell would people 600 years in the future dress like Little House On The Prairie and talk like some dime western intermixed with ramdom Chinese curse words? They can traverse the interstellar void and terraform planets but can't come up with electric lights? Cattle rustling in space? Really? You'd think that vat-grown meat would be a hell of a lot more practical than animals that need feed, living quarters, veterinary care, and that produce waste.

If Whedon had NOT gone for a literal 'space western', it might have had a chance.

Not only that but it always bugs me how people single out Fox for the failure of this show. How many episodes did Fox pay to have produced? If not for the Fox network this show would have probably never even had a pilot made. I mean I doubt ABC or CBS would have even taken a meeting with Whedon so he could pitch his idea of a western in space in the future. That seems like a show that would be destined to failure on any of the 4 major networks no matter how good it was. 

[DittyDotDot]

Firefly didn't fail because FOX aired the eps out of order, it failed because the premise was stupid. We don't dress or talk like 1870's pioneers now, why the hell would people 600 years in the future dress like Little House On The Prairie and talk like some dime western intermixed with ramdom Chinese curse words? They can traverse the interstellar void and terraform planets but can't come up with electric lights? Cattle rustling in space? Really? You'd think that vat-grown meat would be a hell of a lot more practical than animals that need feed, living quarters, veterinary care, and that produce waste.

If Whedon had NOT gone for a literal 'space western', it might have had a chance.

 

And yet, that's exactly what drew me to the show in the first place. I'm forever grateful they didn't take the typical spacey show route and found their own angle on it. I generally don't feel like a show's universe needs to be 100% realistic as long as the show stays consistent with its own universe.

 

I don't think the shows demise is all on FOX, but FOX's handling of the show certainly didn't help, IMO. Seems to me, FOX wanted a Joss Wheadon show so bad they didn't realize the reality of what the show actually was till it was too late. The show was always gonna only appeal to a small niche audience--it's another one of those shows that never would be a ratings juggernaut--and never be what they actually wanted.

[Kel Varnsen]

The show was always gonna only appeal to a small niche audience--it's another one of those shows that never would be a ratings juggernaut--and never be what they actually wanted.

The problem there I think is that for a show like that you need pretty solid ratings to make up for the cost of all the special effects and crap like that. I mean I am sure there are cheaper ways to get around things (film in Vancouver or something, cheaper looking effects, smaller casts, fewer extras, less time on location), and that is how shows on cable channels manage to make good shows, but for a show on network tv, everything is generally more expensive and people expect to get paid more, so you need higher ratings to make up for it. 

[callie lee 29]

My NY UO: I don't give a crap about all the New Year's hoopla. I don't go out, I don't care about watching the parades or the parties on tv, and watching a giant ball fall slowly down a pole?? How did that get on tv as entertainment???

[DittyDotDot]

Kel Varnsen, on 02 Jan 2015 - 10:54 AM, said:

The problem there I think is that for a show like that you need pretty solid ratings to make up for the cost of all the special effects and crap like that. I mean I am sure there are cheaper ways to get around things (film in Vancouver or something, cheaper looking effects, smaller casts, fewer extras, less time on location), and that is how shows on cable channels manage to make good shows, but for a show on network tv, everything is generally more expensive and people expect to get paid more, so you need higher ratings to make up for it. 

 

Oh, I agree--Firefly was expensive to make and I don't blame FOX for making a business decision. I was mostly speaking to the fact that FOX maybe should've seen that the show was never gonna be a huge ratings grabber and maybe never spent the money in the first place--although, I'm grateful we got to see what little we did.

 

I guess that's my unpopular opinion: I think networks want their shows to succeed--obviously, or why would they green-light them to begin with--but I don't think they realize what means success for one show is not the same for another. Not every show is going to be the biggest rating puller and they need to realize that early on. Many shows that "fail" are due to a lack of networks really understanding what they actually are from the get-go, IMO. Instead of green-lighting Joss Wheadon's next great project, they should be looking at the show itself and see if it fits with what they need or want. Firefly, was doomed from the onset because FOX didn't want a cowboys-in-space show, they wanted to say they had a Joss Wheadon show on their network.

Edited January 2, 2015 by DittyDotDot

[Cobalt Stargazer]

And yet, that's exactly what drew me to the show in the first place. I'm forever grateful they didn't take the typical spacey show route and found their own angle on it. I generally don't feel like a show's universe needs to be 100% realistic as long as the show stays consistent with its own universe.

 

I don't think the shows demise is all on FOX, but FOX's handling of the show certainly didn't help, IMO. Seems to me, FOX wanted a Joss Wheadon show so bad they didn't realize the reality of what the show actually was till it was too late. The show was always gonna only appeal to a small niche audience--it's another one of those shows that never would be a ratings juggernaut--and never be what they actually wanted.

 

 

Seconded, both that the premise was what made me want to watch and that FOX mishandled the whole thing. You can say what you like about the idea of people years into the future living with cows in space, but that doesn't alter the fact that studio execs supposedly have people in charge of knowing whether or not a show will appeal to a wide audience,which would bring the huge ratings such an expensive show theoretically needs to stay on the air. The same thing kind of happened to Deadwood, which was also a niche show that cost a lot to produce, but it was also an interesting premise. It got more room to breathe than Firefly, and HBO didn't run anything out of order, but it IMO died before its time because the ratings didn't match up with the amount of money it cost to make the show, and the bean counters decided to pull the plug.

[FormerMod-a1]

My UPO about Firefly is I don't get the love for it.  I tried to watch it, after it's cancellation, in the correct order and after trying the pilot 3 times and either falling asleep, changing the channel and forgetting to change back, or doing laundry during commercials and totally forgetting about it I realized it just couldn't hold my interest.  I tried yet again a few years later based on more people telling me I'd love it and feedback on other actors in it and they were still wrong.  I skipped the pilot and tried some other eps and same thing.  And I don't get what's so great about Nathan Fillion or Jewel Staite(?) or others that seem to garner so much love (I don't hate them either, I just don't get what the big deal is over them).  I love SciFi, in general, just not this.   I'm glad it has it's fans, but I'd hardly say it was cancelled before it's time.  For every show I, or others love, there are plenty of people that do not.  And it's not because we are stupid or don't get it or don't understand or follow things being aired out of order, etc.  They just don't appeal to us/them.  

[DittyDotDot]

My UPO about Firefly is I don't get the love for it.  I tried to watch it, after it's cancellation, in the correct order and after trying the pilot 3 times and either falling asleep, changing the channel and forgetting to change back, or doing laundry during commercials and totally forgetting about it I realized it just couldn't hold my interest.  I tried yet again a few years later based on more people telling me I'd love it and feedback on other actors in it and they were still wrong.  I skipped the pilot and tried some other eps and same thing.  And I don't get what's so great about Nathan Fillion or Jewel Staite(?) or others that seem to garner so much love (I don't hate them either, I just don't get what the big deal is over them).  I love SciFi, in general, just not this.   I'm glad it has it's fans, but I'd hardly say it was cancelled before it's time.  For every show I, or others love, there are plenty of people that do not.  And it's not because we are stupid or don't get it or don't understand or follow things being aired out of order, etc.  They just don't appeal to us/them.  

 

I'm weird and have very weird tastes. I can't even probably articulate what it is that I loved about the show, but I would never consider anyone who didn't care for it to be stupid or not get it. There are so many shows out there that I just don't get the love for either--The Walking Dead for one--so I totally support your unpopular opinion, even if I don't share it.

[Princess Sparkle]

Now that I can do a Friends rewatch on Netflix, I can finally confirm my Friends UO I've held throughout the years: Ross is my favorite of the Friends. I think David Schwimmer was always criminally underrated as a comedic actor, because Ross usually didn't get the best one-liners or the flashy things do to, but he consistently cracks me up.

[ganesh]

Farscape over Firefly for me any day. FF was a good show, but I think airing the episodes out of order and dropping it on Friday nights generated more love for the show itself than actually the show. It only got 13 episodes.