Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I didn't watch either one of these shows but having read fan's comments about them I can't imagine they are that good.

I love "Community", and I'd gladly recommend it to people if they were asking for comedy series recommendations.

But I can definitely see where the fan hype around it can turn people away from being interested, for sure. And its humor is very strange and particular in a lot of ways, too, so I can see why it might not be everyone's bag on that level. 

3 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Awww, Frasier will always be my ultimate happy place. 

Same :). 

[Zella]

9 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

And its humor is very strange and particular in a lot of ways, too, so I can see why it might not be everyone's bag on that level. 

What was weird for me as the person who brought it up as not finding it funny is that the humor should have been right up my alley. Other shows that get compared to it are some of my favorites. I can't even really explain or identify what didn't click for me. I liked the characters okay, but I don't think I ever actually laughed out loud once during a whole season. 

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

What was weird for me as the person who brought it up as not finding it funny is that the humor should have been right up my alley. Other shows that get compared to it are some of my favorites. I can't even really explain or identify what didn't click for me. I liked the characters okay, but I don't think I ever actually laughed out loud once during a whole season. 

For me it tried too hard to be a quirky/weird humor rather than just being that. There were some really funny eps/moments, but it always felt like the show was a bit too aware of itself if that makes any sense. I should have really liked Community, but it was just more of a "there's nothing else to watch right now" kind of show for me. Didn't dislike it, found parts of it funny but mostly it felt, IDK, fake, forced. I did love the cast though. 

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

What was weird for me as the person who brought it up as not finding it funny is that the humor should have been right up my alley. Other shows that get compared to it are some of my favorites. I can't even really explain or identify what didn't click for me. I liked the characters okay, but I don't think I ever actually laughed out loud once during a whole season. 

2 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

For me it tried too hard to be a quirky/weird humor rather than just being that. There were some really funny eps/moments, but it always felt like the show was a bit too aware of itself if that makes any sense. I should have really liked Community, but it was just more of a "there's nothing else to watch right now" kind of show for me. Didn't dislike it, found parts of it funny but mostly it felt, IDK, fake, forced. I did love the cast though. 

Same. And in later seasons I felt like the backstage drama seemed to be taking control of the show, even though I didn't closely follow the backstage drama. It always ended up feeling like a show people considered warm and brilliant and eventually I had to admit I found it positively off-putting, even while liking plenty of people in it.

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

For me it tried too hard to be a quirky/weird humor rather than just being that. There were some really funny eps/moments, but it always felt like the show was a bit too aware of itself if that makes any sense.

You know, I think that actually sums up what my problem was too. If you're going to be weird, just be fucking weird! (I ordinarily love weird. LOL) But don't be so performative and self-congratulatory about being weird. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Zella

[kiddo82]

I think Community at its best is some of my favorite TV of all time.  (Dungeons and Dragons, Remedial Chaos Theory, The Hearts of Darkness episode, etc)  That said, I totally get the self-congratulatory critique.  I think this was especially apparently in the later seasons.  It seems like one of the problems with shows like Community, 30 Rock, The Office, etc. is that the fans themselves can be such a turn off.  There is almost an air arrogance that they are smart enough to appreciate these shows while those that don't like them "just don't get it."  No one is allowed to simply just have different taste.  It's this weird gatekeeping thing.  I've said this before and I'll say it again, there are people who genuinely like these shows and then there are people who are more concerned with being seen as the type of people who like these shows.  The two are not always one in the same.

Edited August 19, 2022 by kiddo82

[ParadoxLost]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

You know, I think that actually sums up what my problem was too. If you're going to be weird, just be fucking weird! (I ordinarily love weird. LOL) But don't be so performative and self-congratulatory about being weird. 

Depending on how I'm interpretting things, I think that the performative and self-congratulatory about being weird is what I liked about it. Ijust love a funny exploration of pop culture and tropes and meta humor.  My liking of shows like Community is probably similiar to why I found this place and TWoP.  Before all TV started absolutely sucking, I did way more picking apart of TV and movies than the normal viewer does, so I tend to love shows that do that really well in a funny way. Community was that show that did the weird episode that noramlly happend once a season or series every episode.  I don't really care that a lot of the time the only plausible explanation is that the whole show is in Abed's head.  

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

Same. And in later seasons I felt like the backstage drama seemed to be taking control of the show, even though I didn't closely follow the backstage drama. It always ended up feeling like a show people considered warm and brilliant and eventually I had to admit I found it positively off-putting, even while liking plenty of people in it.

I really only loved season 1-3. The show just never recovered from the backstage drama from season 4 onward.  I also found that this was one of those shows that didn't hit its groove until later in the first season.  It wasn't bad in the beginning, but it didn't hook me until like half way in.  I found that once I watch some of the "well thats just batshit insane farce" episodes that I like the earlier episodes much better on rewatch.  And I mean that more in I don't want to sit through a slide show of a strangers childhood way; but once I care about you, I'm more interested in where you came from and how you used to be.

Edited August 19, 2022 by ParadoxLost

[JustHereForFood]

23 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

If I'm keeping it real, Friends inspired the thread. lol It's such a beloved show, I didn't want to be the first to mention it, so thank you! I tried watching random episodes before, couldn't get into it. Then I thought maybe if I watched the shows in order I'd get its appeal, and I just find it okay. I'm several episodes into season 2, and I googled if it gets better. Many people said the best seasons were 1-3, so I don't  know if I'll ever fall in love with the show. It's not bad. It's better than a lot of stuff out there. I just don't find the characters the most compelling or the lines that hysterically funny. It's something to watch when you've already watched your favorite shows imo. 

For me personally, sitcoms are less about humor and more about characters. If I feel like I would like to hang out with those people in my free time, the series succeeded. I think that by season 2-3, the characters are pretty set in, so you should probably know whether you like them or not.

7 hours ago, roamyn said:

Whoever said MASH w/o watching one episode, really needs to watch the show and write a paper on its influence in tv and society. Yes, the later years could be too preachy and all abt Hawkeye, but it also shown a light on a tiny bit of what those professionals had to go through.  And it didn’t shy away from death or drama just for comedy’s sake. I believe the series finale is still the highest watched/rated episodic tv, even aft all these years.  (A Super Bowl game is the highest rated program of all time)

Comments like this just cement my opinion that it is extremely overrated.

[DrSpaceman73]

Yeah I've always thought mash was overrated. 

I can appreciate what they were trying to do but at the same time Hawkeyes constant attempts at bland humor and quick jokes, I'd just want to smack him if I was around him.more than a day. 

And I've seen the show.   I remember it's original run. Watched the finale as a kid.  Not that funny.  Never much desire to rewstch it.

And I've run across some reruns since.  Pass

[Zella]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

I did way more picking apart of TV and movies than the normal viewer does, so I tend to love shows that do that really well in a funny way.

Yeah I was an English major in college and also found my way to discussion boards because I miss writing papers and discussing things I read and watch with people. I actually often enjoy a lot of meta things, as well as overanalyzing things and absurd things. It's one of those shows that everyone assumes I like because it just seems so up my alley, and it was just blah to me. Doctor Who is another one people assume I like, and I most certainly don't. LOLOL

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I can appreciate what they were trying to do but at the same time Hawkeyes constant attempts at bland humor and quick jokes, I'd just want to smack him if I was around him.more than a day. 

I don't mind MASH, but it's definitely not my favorite TV from that area. For my money, Barney Miller is way more consistently funny and thought-provoking. Hawkeye (and his martyr complex) is the worst part of MASH, IMO. I've never found him entertaining or charming. I like a lot of the other characters but not him. And the more involved Alda got in the show, the worse Hawkeye became. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Zella

[Danny Franks]

4 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

Same. And in later seasons I felt like the backstage drama seemed to be taking control of the show, even though I didn't closely follow the backstage drama. It always ended up feeling like a show people considered warm and brilliant and eventually I had to admit I found it positively off-putting, even while liking plenty of people in it.

The show started off as very warm and positive about friendship. You see rapid growth of all the characters as they embrace being a group of friends and start to share more and more of their lives together. In fact, it happened too quickly - Dan Harmon said that the Christmas episode in season one had scenes in it where he realised, 'this is it. This is the gang of friends I wanted to create.' But he'd planned to only really have them get to that stage very late in season one.

He spent much of the rest of the show exploring his own (countless) neuroses and delving into how toxic groups of close friends who unconsciously exclude others can be. Friends did that occasionally too, and it's a fun avenue for comedy to see the group you love through the eyes of someone else, once in a while. But when the show keeps rubbing your face in how dysfunctional the characters are, it can get tiring.

I still love Community, but I definitely see how Dan Harmon's issues coloured it, from season three onwards. Until the last season had a whole episode about Jeff's inability to accept he was turning forty that happened to coincide with Dan Harmon turning forty. But nearly all of Dan Harmon's writing ends up being about his own issues, in the end.

[Hiyo]

I still love Friends and Community. Seinfeld I still enjoy. Frasier...it was ok.

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I still love Friends and Community. Seinfeld I still enjoy. Frasier...it was ok.

That's good to know but I'm curious if there are any shows that others were crazy about that you believe are overrated and/or terrible.

[Hiyo]

And I'm the only one being singled out for this because...?

Other people are pointing out the shows they liked but I don't see them being questioned for it.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hiyo

[Blergh]

20 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

And I'm the only one being singled out for this because...?

Other people are pointing out the shows they liked but I don't see them being questioned for it.

I'm not singling you out. I just wanted to hear your POV because you have an entertaining writing style and it's often fun reading those posts of yours when you feel like pulling no punches re different topics so I thought you might want to take the opportunity to do the same re TV shows others have liked that you yourself may have not. But, if you don't feel like sharing at this time, I'll respect that. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Blergh

[bluegirl147]

11 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

For me personally, sitcoms are less about humor and more about characters.

I agree with this.  I enjoy character driven sitcoms so much more.  You feel like you know them.  Entire biographies could be written about the Friends.  But with Seinfeld the show was more about the jokes than the characters.

12 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I've said this before and I'll say it again, there are people who genuinely like these shows and then there are people who are more concerned with being seen as the type of people who like these shows.  The two are not always one in the same.

This is true.  I have watched shows because I thought this is the type of show I should like.  Mad Men is an example.  The opposite is true also.  How many people are watching shows they think they shouldn't be and not telling anyone?  I'm sure there are people watching the Kardashians and Real Housewives that keep it a secret.

Edited August 19, 2022 by bluegirl147

[DrSpaceman73]

6 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I still love Friends and Community. Seinfeld I still enjoy. Frasier...it was ok.

I tried to watch all of Frasier maybe last year and I couldn't finish.  I still enjoy it but I had to stop because Frasier himself becomes insufferable over time and hard to take. 

[janie jones]

I liked Frasier when I was a kid, and I love it now that I'm an adult. I laugh out loud at least once every time I watch it.

[Shannon L.]

The first few seasons of Frasier had some great Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes.  I started really not liking it after Niles and Daphne got together and stopped watching it not long after. 

[Zella]

I've enjoyed what I've seen of both Seinfeld and Frasier, but I've only ever watched them as reruns where you see 2 episodes at a time, max, or sought out one specific episode at a time. (The Derek Jacobi episode of Frasier I've watched several times, and a friend of mine and I sometimes just text each other our best approximation of the noise Jacobi makes when he is emoting without any further context.) 

But I could see both shows being pretty hard to take if binging. In fact, I don't think many sitcoms lend themselves well to watching a few episodes a night and watching the whole series from beginning to end in a matter of weeks. I'm currently binging Keeping Up Appearances, which is awesome, but a little Hyacinth goes a long way. 

On the flip side, I've watched Friends in the same way--catching periodic reruns--and it never did anything for me. I'd sometimes think, "Oh that's funny," but it never made me laugh, and the characters never intrigued me. 

[bluegirl147]

11 minutes ago, Zella said:

But I could see both shows being pretty hard to take if binging. In fact, I don't think many sitcoms lend themselves well to watching a few episodes a night and watching the whole series from beginning to end in a matter of weeks

When I'm rewatching a show I have to take breaks between seasons.  I can't watch multiple seasons of anything one after another.  I started a rewatch of the Golden Girls 2.5 years ago and I'm still in the middle of season two. I think dramas, especially ones with continuing stories, are better to binge because you don't have to wait to see the outcome of a cliffhanger.  I grew up watching nighttime soaps and it was torture having to wait from the end of the season to the fall premieres to see who shot JR or who survived the Moldavian massacre.  

[Zella]

Just now, bluegirl147 said:

When I'm rewatching a show I have to take breaks between seasons.  I can't watch multiple seasons of anything one after another.  I started a rewatch of the Golden Girls 2.5 years ago and I'm still in the middle of season two.

I wish I could pace myself that well--it would probably improve my viewing experiences! But once I start something, I can't bring myself to pause and watch something else. I've gotten better at capping myself to 2-3 episodes an evening when I am watching something rather than zooming through an entire season in a night or two, though, and I do think that is much better. 

[Rose Quartz]

10 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

The show started off as very warm and positive about friendship. You see rapid growth of all the characters as they embrace being a group of friends and start to share more and more of their lives together. In fact, it happened too quickly - Dan Harmon said that the Christmas episode in season one had scenes in it where he realised, 'this is it. This is the gang of friends I wanted to create.' But he'd planned to only really have them get to that stage very late in season one.

This actually explains a lot for me.  The Christmas episode is the one that got me interested in Community, so over the holiday break I went back and watched the previous episodes and pretty much enjoyed them all.  But when the show started up again in the spring I found that I didn't like it as much.  There were still some good episodes like the sailing one and the one where Annie and Shirley became campus cops, but there were also a bunch that I just didn't find funny or entertaining.  I stuck with the show through the first part of season 2 but it didn't get better for me so I largely gave up on it except for a few episodes here and there.  And now it all makes sense - I'm another person who's more drawn to the characters rather than the actual jokes and it sounds like Dan Harmon hit his peak characterization of everyone in the Christmas episode.

My UO for Community is that I really don't care for the paintball episode.  Yeah, the way it set up all the standard action movie tropes was fun, but I was never in awe of this episode the way so many others seemed to be.  And I think the reaction to this episode led to the over-emphasis on quirkiness in subsequent seasons that really turned me off.

[bluegirl147]

12 minutes ago, Zella said:

I've gotten better at capping myself to 2-3 episodes an evening when I am watching something rather than zooming through an entire season in a night or two, though, and I do think that is much better. 

I remember watching the first season of Damages on DVDs I had gotten from the library. I watched all 13 episodes in one day. I couldn't stop. It was like reading a book I couldn't put down. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

26 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I grew up watching nighttime soaps and it was torture having to wait from the end of the season to the fall premieres to see who shot JR

So did I! I especially wanted to know who shot that Magnificent Bastard! And I was still wee! AAAAAND, I was in India when everyone found out and had to wait until January, when my dad came to join us for the last 2 months before we returned to the States! The first question I asked him at the airport(!)(😂😂😄😄) was who shot JR? 
I, of course LOVED DALLAS until Pam left. It absolutely was MUST SEE TEEEVEE on Friday nights with my parents.

We would laugh and snicker when it looked like JR would finally get caught at his illegal shenanigans, and then laugh and clap when he would figure out the traps and escape by the skin of his teeth!

It took quite awhile for my young self to stop thinking of JR as Major Tony Nelson from I Dream of Jeannie, which was also airing in syndication at the time.

24 minutes ago, Zella said:

I wish I could pace myself that well--it would probably improve my viewing experiences! But once I start something, I can't bring myself to pause and watch something else. I've gotten better at capping myself to 2-3 episodes an evening when I am watching something rather than zooming through an entire season in a night or two, though, and I do think that is much better. 

This is me!😆😆😆

Edited August 19, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[Danny Franks]

29 minutes ago, Rose Quartz said:

My UO for Community is that I really don't care for the paintball episode.  Yeah, the way it set up all the standard action movie tropes was fun, but I was never in awe of this episode the way so many others seemed to be.  And I think the reaction to this episode led to the over-emphasis on quirkiness in subsequent seasons that really turned me off.

I like the first paintball episode. It was a great idea and I think they executed it really well. But the second and third episodes just didn't work for me. Simultaneously too ambitious and too derivative of the material they were lampooning. They were too muddled and didn't really achieve anything.

Harmon even seemed to realise that by calling back to a fourth paintball episode we didn't see (in the season three episode where they show clips of the Dean always caring about the study group), where Abed described it as a tired concept.

[Ohiopirate02]

My Community UO is that I much preferred "Digital Exploration and Interior Design" and "Pillows and Blankets" than the paintball episodes.  The paintball episodes were lampooning the action movies and westerns that have already been lampooned to death.  I found that a bit boring.  The Ken Burns satire in "Pillows and Blankets" feels fresher.  

[DearEvette]

3 hours ago, Rose Quartz said:

My UO for Community is that I really don't care for the paintball episode.  Yeah, the way it set up all the standard action movie tropes was fun, but I was never in awe of this episode the way so many others seemed to be.  And I think the reaction to this episode led to the over-emphasis on quirkiness in subsequent seasons that really turned me off.

I loved the first paintball episode because the prize was priority registration.  And as someone who has worked in a college setting all my professional life, let me say with absolute truth -- that first day registration is no joke,  I could 100% see students IRL going scorched earth to get priority registration.  I felt that with this episode. LOL

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Dan Harmon said that the Christmas episode in season one had scenes in it where he realised, 'this is it. This is the gang of friends I wanted to create.'

I hated the Christmas episode in season one.  I hated Abed.  I liked the rest of that season and seasons 2-3, though.

[partofme]

5 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I tried to watch all of Frasier maybe last year and I couldn't finish.  I still enjoy it but I had to stop because Frasier himself becomes insufferable over time and hard to take. 

I could never get into Frasier, it always bugged me the way Frasier and Niles treated their dad.

[Bastet]

I don't really have an answer to what I think is the most overrated show, because if I never watched a highly popular show because it did not sound at all appealing to me - which is very common - I can't say it's overrated, as I never actually tried it.  So I'm trying to think of wildly popular and/or critically acclaimed shows that I did watch and thought eh, it's fine, but I don't get all the hype and nothing is coming to me.

I have seen a few episodes each of The Simpsons, Frasier, and The Big Bang Theory, and did not care for any of those shows.  I don't think two or three episodes constitutes a fair assessment, but if that limited sampling is representative, those go on my overrated list.

A-ha! I just looked up a list of the most-watched TV shows, and saw Stranger Things on there.  Now that one I did give a fair shot to, watching the entire first season.  I found it all hat and no horse - it had the nostalgia aspect, but I could find nothing to explain the hype, and I never watched any more of it.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Bastet

[partofme]

If we're talking overrated Netflix shows, I just remembered Bridgerton.  I watched the first season, thought it was just tolerable, hated all the sex scenes,  and thought the main couple had no chemistry.  I've heard season 2 is supposedly better but I have no interest.

[kiddo82]

8 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

This is true.  I have watched shows because I thought this is the type of show I should like.  Mad Men is an example.  The opposite is true also.  How many people are watching shows they think they shouldn't be and not telling anyone?  I'm sure there are people watching the Kardashians and Real Housewives that keep it a secret.

Agree.  I know it won't make me one of the cool kids to admit I like Big Bang Theory.  I won't deny it, but it's also not something I offer up out of the blue.

4 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I remember watching the first season of Damages on DVDs I had gotten from the library. I watched all 13 episodes in one day. I couldn't stop. It was like reading a book I couldn't put down. 

Season 1 of Damages has to be one of my top 5 seasons of any show ever.  And it's largely forgotten about by most people.  Hell, I had even forgotten about it until your post.

[Cinnabon]

34 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I don't really have an answer to what I think is the most overrated show, because if I never watched a highly popular show because it did not sound at all appealing to me - which is very common - I can't say it's overrated, as I never actually tried it.  So I'm trying to think of wildly popular and/or critically acclaimed shows that I did watch and thought eh, it's fine, but I don't get all the hype and nothing is coming to me.

I have seen a few episodes each of The Simpsons, Frasier, and The Big Bang Theory, and did not care for any of those shows.  I don't think two or three episodes constitutes a fair assessment, but if that limited sampling is representative, those go on my overrated list.

A-ha! I just looked up a list of the most-watched TV shows, and saw Stranger Things on there.  Now that one I did give a fair shot to, watching the entire first season.  I found it all hat and no horse - it had the nostalgia aspect, but I could find nothing to explain the hype, and I never watched any more of it.

I broke down and watched season 1 of Stranger Things, too. No thanks!

[Anduin]

A couple of months back, I said I was looking forward to both House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings. However, I've since tried to watch HOTD trailers and somehow, I just can't bring myself to finish them. Not even the trailers. I can't even tell you what I find so offputting. But it's a clear sign I should give the show a miss.

I'm all in favour of other people watching and enjoying HOTD. By all means, go for it! But it's just not for me, thanks.

[JustHereForFood]

10 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

The opposite is true also.  How many people are watching shows they think they shouldn't be and not telling anyone?  I'm sure there are people watching the Kardashians and Real Housewives that keep it a secret.

Or they call it their guilty pleasure. I dislike that term. Why should anyone feel guilty about watching something? Maybe if it's some reality show where real people get hurt or something serious like that. But just because I like something even though I know it's not an Oscar contender, or that people in general think it's crap, doesn't mean I have to justify myself for watching it.

5 minutes ago, Anduin said:

A couple of months back, I said I was looking forward to both House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings. However, I've since tried to watch HOTD trailers and somehow, I just can't bring myself to finish them. Not even the trailers. I can't even tell you what I find so offputting. But it's a clear sign I should give the show a miss.

I'm all in favour of other people watching and enjoying HOTD. By all means, go for it! But it's just not for me, thanks.

I have similar attitude. I know that both shows are technically similar premises, prequels to popular fantasy, both about different characters than the main series was, using stories from a rich backstory. And I like both LOTR and ASOIAF. But while I'm looking forward to Rings of Power, I am not at all interested in House of the Dragon. Maybe it's that GOT ended relatively recently and I haven't had a chance to miss it yet, or that I never cared much about Targaryen backstory, or that I'm a bit salty about George writing additional material about them when he hasn't finished the main book series yet.

Maybe I will watch it sometime later, when more seasons are out. 

[Anduin]

4 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

I have similar attitude. I know that both shows are technically similar premises, prequels to popular fantasy, both about different characters than the main series was, using stories from a rich backstory. And I like both LOTR and ASOIAF. But while I'm looking forward to Rings of Power, I am not at all interested in House of the Dragon. Maybe it's that GOT ended relatively recently and I haven't had a chance to miss it yet, or that I never cared much about Targaryen backstory, or that I'm a bit salty about George writing additional material about them when he hasn't finished the main book series yet.

Maybe I will watch it sometime later, when more seasons are out. 

I prefer more adventure in my fantasy. There's some of that in ASOIAF, Jon and Arya have decent adventure arcs. But I don't remember any in Fire & Blood. It's all about the scheming and fighting. Though I could accept that if the trailers grabbed me. I don't know why I find them so off-putting, only that I do.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Anduin said:

I prefer more adventure in my fantasy. There's some of that in ASOIAF, Jon and Arya have decent adventure arcs. But I don't remember any in Fire & Blood. It's all about the scheming and fighting. Though I could accept that if the trailers grabbed me. I don't know why I find them so off-putting, only that I do.

I am a big fan of scheming in my fiction of any genre and I enjoyed Fire and Blood well enough, but I still just can't be interested in HOTD either. I think one of my biggest issues, beyond feeling like the show is several years behind pop culture's focus now, is that I just never found the Targaryens particularly interesting. They were always my least favorite part about Game of Thrones and the books. So, an entire show that has the premise of "Game of Thrones but with more Targaryens" is just kind of meh to me. I'm not going to say I won't end up watching it, but it would have to get some pretty serious buzz for me to cave and watch as of right now. 

[JustHereForFood]

6 minutes ago, Anduin said:

I don't know why I find them so off-putting, only that I do.

One other thing for me, besides not caring for the story - the hair. I never minded Dany in the original series, I liked her hair, maybe because she was the only character with it. (Cersei on the other hand looked more unnatural to me in that wig.)

But having multiple characters with those white wigs, I don't know, it looks a bit laughable to me. Yes, it's fantasy and I had no problem with it in the books, but some things just work better on page. Here it just makes me not take them so seriously as a pseudo-historical story about politics, but reminds to me that someone just thought: Oh yes, we must have unnatural hair colors in fantasy, because it's so cool.

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

One other thing for me, besides not caring for the story - the hair. I never minded Dany in the original series, I liked her hair, maybe because she was the only character with it. (Cersei on the other hand looked more unnatural to me in that wig.)

But having multiple characters with those white wigs, I don't know, it looks a bit laughable to me. Yes, it's fantasy and I had no problem with it in the books, but some things just work better on page. Here it just makes me not take them so seriously as a pseudo-historical story about politics, but reminds to me that someone just thought: Oh yes, we must have unnatural hair colors in fantasy, because it's so cool.

I'm not gonna lie, the first time I saw Matt Smith in that wig a few months ago in production stills, I laughed my ass off. It looked so cheap. 

[Anduin]

12 minutes ago, Zella said:

I'm not gonna lie, the first time I saw Matt Smith in that wig a few months ago in production stills, I laughed my ass off. It looked so cheap. 

Just today, one of the LOTR writers called him Viggo the Carpathian. In a loving way, but still bang on the money.

[Hiyo]

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Or they call it their guilty pleasure. I dislike that term. Why should anyone feel guilty about watching something?

It's the equivalent of junk food. You know it's not good for you, but you have it anyway.

[andromeda331]

16 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So did I! I especially wanted to know who shot that Magnificent Bastard! And I was still wee! AAAAAND, I was in India when everyone found out and had to wait until January, when my dad came to join us for the last 2 months before we returned to the States! The first question I asked him at the airport(!)(😂😂😄😄) was who shot JR? 
I, of course LOVED DALLAS until Pam left. It absolutely was MUST SEE TEEEVEE on Friday nights with my parents.

We would laugh and snicker when it looked like JR would finally get caught at his illegal shenanigans, and then laugh and clap when he would figure out the traps and escape by the skin of his teeth!

It took quite awhile for my young self to stop thinking of JR as Major Tony Nelson from I Dream of Jeannie, which was also airing in syndication at the time.

This is me!😆😆😆

I watched Dallas first and then I Dream of Jeanine I never got used to him as Tony. I kept waiting for him to do something scheming.

I remember hearing Larry Hagman (JR) visited England over the summer and even the Queen Mother asked him who shot JR.

I do love Dallas. One of my favorite things about the show is Sue Ellen became my favorite character. I didn't think I'd like her when I first started watching the show. Bobby and Pam were easy to like but Sue Ellen ended up being such a wonderful character. I felt for her as JR constantly treated her like crap. 

[Haleth]

20 hours ago, janie jones said:

I liked Frasier when I was a kid, and I love it now that I'm an adult. I laugh out loud at least once every time I watch it.

The radio murder mystery episode will never not be hilarious.

19 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I can't watch multiple seasons of anything one after another.  I started a rewatch of the Golden Girls 2.5 years ago and I'm still in the middle of season two.

As many episodes as shows used to have in Ye Good Olde Days it takes for.ever to get through multiple seasons.  My husband has been watching NYPD Blue for months.

I'm looking forward to HotD but I'm absolutely positive I'll hate it as much as I hated the last 3 seasons of GoT.  The political intrigue is what drew me to it to begin with, but yeah, I agree the new show seems to have missed the hype curve and yeah, the Targaryans are not that interesting.

As far as overrated?  It's hard to call something that when it's so subjective.  I only got through one episode of Mad Men and called it too boring to continue, but I know I shouldn't judge based on one try.  I don't care for comedies produced since...well, the turn of the century.  They all seem to be about meanness and degrading people with insults and I just do not find that funny.  But I wouldn't call them overrated just because they aren't enjoyable to me.

[Crs97]

I can’t get into a show when I’m told that once I get past the first 3-4-6 episodes (1st season is what I was told for Schitt’s Creek!), then I will probably love it.  I just don’t want to invest that kind of time on a maybe. 

[kiddo82]

I think it was easier to give shows a few episode trial with weekly watching.  The thought of giving 30-60 minutes of my time a week--I mean, what else was I doing at 9:00 p.m. on a Tuesday--is less daunting than having 13 hours of something dumped in my lap. Especially of it doesn't grab me right away.  It just became part of the routine until it did grab me or something better came along.

[Hiyo]

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I'm looking forward to HotD but I'm absolutely positive I'll hate it as much as I hated the last 3 seasons of GoT.  The political intrigue is what drew me to it to begin with, but yeah, I agree the new show seems to have missed the hype curve and yeah, the Targaryans are not that interesting.

I think it would have been more interesting to have the prequel set during the time before the Doom of Valyria, when the Targaryans were an underdog family.

Hell, I think I would have preferred a series taking place anywhere in Essos, since it seemed like a much more interesting a place than Westeros, and while we saw a decent amount of various places in Essos, I feel there was much more we could have seen, with regards to places like Qarth, Asshai, the various Free Cities (like Volantis, Braavos, Pentos, Lys, etc).

[Bort]

21 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I remember watching the first season of Damages on DVDs I had gotten from the library. I watched all 13 episodes in one day. I couldn't stop. It was like reading a book I couldn't put down. 

16 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Season 1 of Damages has to be one of my top 5 seasons of any show ever.  And it's largely forgotten about by most people.  Hell, I had even forgotten about it until your post.

Season 1 of Damages is probably the most excellently written drama I’ve ever watched. Keeps you guessing all the way to the end. They really should’ve stopped there, the subsequent seasons never recaptured that magic. I did a rewatch last year but only watched season 1.

[kiddo82]

11 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Season 1 of Damages is probably the most excellently written drama I’ve ever watched. Keeps you guessing all the way to the end. They really should’ve stopped there, the subsequent seasons never recaptured that magic. I did a rewatch last year but only watched season 1.

A season 1 rewatch has been on my list for years.  I might just have to move its priority up now.   

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, Hiyo said:

I think it would have been more interesting to have the prequel set during the time before the Doom of Valyria, when the Targaryans were an underdog family.

Hell, I think I would have preferred a series taking place anywhere in Essos, since it seemed like a much more interesting a place than Westeros, and while we saw a decent amount of various places in Essos, I feel there was much more we could have seen, with regards to places like Qarth, Asshai, the various Free Cities (like Volantis, Braavos, Pentos, Lys, etc).

Yes! It felt like they picked the most boring spinoff, the one that was most like GOT itself, instead of trying something a little new and different. I was interested in the Long Night, myself. Oh well.