Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Spartan Girl]

You know what show I really think is overrated? Bridgerton. That's right, I said it. The sexy parts are fun and the costumes are pretty, but other than that, I just found it boring.

[janie jones]

The thing about Bridgerton is that I am absolutely uninterested in love stories. I also hate will-they-or-won't-they, and the first several episodes of each season is will-they-or-won't-they, and I just can't with that, because the whole, entire, point of the show is that they will. I realize that "they met and communicated well and then got married without any sort of conflict whatsoever" would last about two episodes; I'm just saying that stuff doesn't interest me. Plus the almost-kissing and heavy breathing from the recent season gives me secondhand embarrassment. However, most of the other stories, I'm into. Someone said something once along the line of "no one watches this show for the subplots," and let me tell you, I do. And for the costumes and sets. Maybe I'll care about the romance when the siblings I like most are the ones at the center.

Edited August 22, 2022 by janie jones

[proserpina65]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:52 PM, 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 still haven't decided whether or not to watch it myself, and the first episode ran over the weekend.

On one hand, dragons!  On the other, no hot guys and the political stuff was my least favorite thing on GOT.  There are aspects of the Targaryen saga which interest me, but they're mostly either before or after the period covered by HOTD.  Oh well, HBO will re-run the premiere multiple times this week, so I still have a little time to decide.

On 8/20/2022 at 8:58 AM, Hiyo said:

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.

I agree.  It's a period with a murkier history to it, so there's more to explore there.

[proserpina65]

On 8/20/2022 at 4:22 PM, Cinnabon said:

I also question why those who seem to hate a show continue watching it. Life is too short for that!

For me, that happens with a show I started out really enjoying.  I find it hard to stop hoping that it will get better.

On 8/20/2022 at 7:26 PM, Annber03 said:

I've been in that situation more times than I can count and it's very frustrating, indeed. Especially if it feels like I'm the only one trying to keep some positive, or at the very least, neutral, conversation going. 

And even if and when I do want to talk about some aspect of the show that's worth critiquing further, it never gains traction because all anyone wants to do is bash the exact same characters/pairings/storylines over and over and over and over, to the point where they're practically beating a dead horse. At some point it just gets old and tired and exhausting. 

Yeah, there is a certain forum I gave up on entirely for this reason.  There were plenty of things to criticize about the show, but the overwhelming number of people who could only focus on how the show didn't do the one thing they wanted soured me on discussing it.

[Crashcourse]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

You know what show I really think is overrated? Bridgerton. That's right, I said it. The sexy parts are fun and the costumes are pretty, but other than that, I just found it boring.

The only thing I liked about it was making googly eyes at Rege-Jean Page.  After he left, I was done.  

[RealHousewife]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

You know what show I really think is overrated? Bridgerton. That's right, I said it. The sexy parts are fun and the costumes are pretty, but other than that, I just found it boring.

4 hours ago, janie jones said:

The thing about Bridgerton is that I am absolutely uninterested in love stories. I also hate will-they-or-won't-they, and the first several episodes of each season is will-they-or-won't-they, and I just can't with that, because the whole, entire, point of the show is that they will. I realize that "they met and communicated well and then got married without any sort of conflict whatsoever" would last about two episodes; I'm just saying that stuff doesn't interest me. Plus the almost-kissing and heavy breathing from the recent season gives me secondhand embarrassment. However, most of the other stories, I'm into. Someone said something once along the line of "no one watches this show for the subplots," and let me tell you, I do. And for the costumes and sets. Maybe I'll care about the romance when the siblings I like most are the ones at the center.

I haven't officially stopped watching Bridgerton, yet anyway. I know what you two mean. I am not super into romance and drama. I feel like I like the idea of both more than I sincerely enjoy sitting down and getting swept away in a love story. (It has to be The Notebook or Titanic good for me to get into it.) I prefer to watch reality shows, news/talk shows, and sitcoms. And even with reality shows, I lost interest in stuff like The Bachelor too. A love or "love" story unfolding isn't riveting to me. But I was really into Bridgerton at first just because it is so pretty to watch. I love gorgeous costumes/sets. It's unlike any show I've watched before. But the actual plot, I don't die to know what happens next. I would like to watch more though. A friend of mine said the second season is good. 

58 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

The only thing I liked about it was making googly eyes at Rege-Jean Page.  After he left, I was done.  

Yeah, women went crazy over him. I'm one of the few he doesn't do it for. He's beautiful, it's just that the innocent looking, doe-eyed face isn't my type. 

[janie jones]

Yeah, I think he's handsome, but nothing to write home about.

[Hiyo]

Rege-Jean Page does nothing for me.

[Crashcourse]

He could do something for me though.  😍

[Wiendish Fitch]

Am I horrible for thinking Freaks and Geeks was overrated?

[Hiyo]

Not at all. I’ll join you at that table.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Hiyo

[Cinnabon]

34 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Am I horrible for thinking Freaks and Geeks was overrated?

YES, lol.

[sistermagpie]

41 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Am I horrible for thinking Freaks and Geeks was overrated?

I think even if you love it you have to admit it benefits from only having the one season.

[Cinnabon]

3 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I think even if you love it you have to admit it benefits from only having the one season.

Nope! 🤣

[Hiyo]

Quote

 it benefits from only having the one season.

One season too many.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

I think even if you love it you have to admit it benefits from only having the one season.

I always wonder this about My So-Called Life.  Reading what the writers had planned for season two, it could have been good, and I certainly don't think it would have been bad, but I don't know that it would have been great.  But because it was canceled after only one season, I think it tends to be regarded as even more brilliant than it was; people tend to forget there was some clunkers among those nineteen episodes.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Am I horrible for thinking Freaks and Geeks was overrated?

I thought it was good at the time, but not the most genius thing ever that critics have made it out to be since.

56 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I always wonder this about My So-Called Life.  Reading what the writers had planned for season two, it could have been good, and I certainly don't think it would have been bad, but I don't know that it would have been great.  But because it was canceled after only one season, I think it tends to be regarded as even more brilliant than it was; people tend to forget there was some clunkers among those nineteen episodes.

I thought it was terribly overrated at the time and stand by that opinion.

[sistermagpie]

53 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I thought it was terribly overrated at the time and stand by that opinion.

I've never been able to stand that show either. F&G I enjoyed, but this one...no. 

[BlackberryJam]

On 8/22/2022 at 4:03 PM, proserpina65 said:

On the other, no hot guys [snip]

I will continue to watch a show just for hot actors. I'll watch a show that doesn't look good for a hot actor. If there are no hot actors in a show, and there is one hot actor in HOTD and he's barely there (hey there, Fabian Frankel), I'm less inclined to give it a chance.

[RealHousewife]

1 minute ago, BlackberryJam said:

I will continue to watch a show just for hot actors. I'll watch a show that doesn't look good for a hot actor. If there are no hot actors in a show, and there is one hot actor in HOTD and he's barely there (hey there, Fabian Frankel), I'm less inclined to give it a chance.

I just started watching Grey's Anatomy only because I'm interested in Patrick Dempsey's anatomy. 

[BlackberryJam]

12 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

I just started watching Grey's Anatomy only because I'm interested in Patrick Dempsey's anatomy. 

I applaud you! 

I also have unpopular opinions about who is hot and who is not. Dempsey? Not hot enough to make GA worth my time. Eric Stolz, Esai Morales and Sasha Ruiz? A triumvirate of enough hot to make me slog through Caprica. 

[andromeda331]

On 8/22/2022 at 11:24 AM, janie jones said:

 However, most of the other stories, I'm into. Someone said something once along the line of "no one watches this show for the subplots," and let me tell you, I do. And for the costumes and sets. Maybe I'll care about the romance when the siblings I like most are the ones at the center.

There's lots of shows were I've liked only the subplots. There also what got me through the last seasons of Gilmore Girls. 

[Annber03]

32 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I also have unpopular opinions about who is hot and who is not. 

LOL, same :p. A lot of the guys most women seem to go gaga over just have me shrugging. But they'd likely scratch their heads at some of my preferences, too, so...it all balances out, I figure :p.

I fully understand watching a show for hot actors :D. It's usually not the only/main reason I watch a show, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt!

[Mabinogia]

34 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

A triumvirate of enough hot to make me slog through Caprica. 

My UO is that I really liked Caprica but I didn't care at all for Battlestar Galactica. 

I will watch something that is tolerable but not great if the cast is hot enough but not even the hottest guy can make me watch something I find really bad. I'd just go rewatch a better show they did. 

[kiddo82]

In regards to pilots and giving shows a few episodes to get going, it's been my experience that character driven/episodic shows usually take more time to find their footing than plot driven shows.  A plot driven show should hook me from the jump.  I typically give more leeway to character driven shows as long as I like the premise, like a particular actor involved, or it has good word of mouth from people who know my taste.  I think a lot of plot driven shows are best early in their run but burn out quickly when their premise can't be sustained.  Character driven shows tend to build as the writers/actors settle in and then kind of fizzle as the characters we love become more like caricatures.  And then there are shows I would consider hybrid shows like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer or presently a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Shows that are arc heavy but also have hang out elements to them.  They could go either way.  For me, Buffy had to build but Maisel literally has one of the best pilots I've even seen, particularly for a show that doesn't have a mystery as a hook.  

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I also have unpopular opinions about who is hot and who is not. Dempsey? Not hot enough to make GA worth my time.

I've never seen Gray's Anatomy.  I'm aware that this is absolutely ridiculous, but, even though Patrick Dempsey is a handsome man, I hated that McDreamy stuff so much that I can barely stand to look at him because that's all that goes through my mind.  Every time I see him, I think "McDreamy---ugh." (Although, if I see Can't Buy Me Love on tv, I don't have a problem watching a little bit because he was still a bit geeky then.)

[Annber03]

40 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

I typically give more leeway to character driven shows as long as I like the premise, like a particular actor involved, or it has good word of mouth from people who know my taste.  I think a lot of plot driven shows are best early in their run but burn out quickly when their premise can't be sustained.  

And that is precisely why I have to be invested in the characters to stick with a show. A series can have a really cool premise, but if I can't care about and get invested in the characters, then it's going to be hard for me to stick around. 

Your list of reasons to give a show a while to click are mine, too. Especially if I like the actors involved or have heard good things from people. Generally, though, if I'm interested enough to check out the pilot of a series, that usually means I'm interested enough to watch the whole first season, and if I do that, then I'm likely going to be on board with the show going forward :). 

[Kel Varnsen]

5 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I think even if you love it you have to admit it benefits from only having the one season.

I would agree with that. I rewatched it early in the pandemic and still really enjoyed it. But a lot of those "what we would have done in season 2" interviews sound like stuff that is kind of stupid. Plus high school shows aren't really sustainable for more than a couple of seasons anyway. That said I do wish it had gotten a full 22 episode season just to finish off some of the stories a bit better. 

[Mabinogia]

20 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Plus high school shows aren't really sustainable for more than a couple of seasons anyway.

Degrassi is the only high school (though started as middle school) show I can think of that very successfully went for seasons and decades really. They did a very good job of adding new characters while the old characters were still around, often integrating the new with the established, ie a younger sibling, a teammate, etc, so that you had time to get invested in the "new class" while you were still tuning in to see what happens to your favorites. It's more like a soap though, in that it had a pretty big cast of revolving characters whereas something like My So Called Life revolved around basically 1 character, Angela, and to some extent her two friends and sort of Jordan Catalano the love interest but it was really so very Angela centric that the only option if it went more than a couple years would be to follow her to college or have each grade of high school take years to get through until Jordan would have to start begging Luke Perry's Dylan McKay for some of his Rogaine. lol

IDK if it's unpopular or not, probably not as much now as in the past when there were fewer things to watch, but I'm okay with shows being one and done/limited run. There is nothing wrong with telling the story you want to tell then moving on when that story has run its course. I'm looking at you Squid Game. Honestly, while I devoured the first season of Squid Game, the story has been told. I don't have any interest in seeing it stretched out to more seasons for the cash grab (ironic, since the Game in the show is all about grabbing the cash lol).

I think Degrassi works because while it is telling basically the same set of teen stories over and over, it's tweaking them ever so slightly for the next generation of audience. Of course I'll always have a soft spot for the show as I grew up with it and was oddly giddy when I saw the newer version was about Spike's kid. The first time I saw Emma I was all "OMG I remember when you were born!" and then I felt REALLY old. lol

[Zella]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I've never seen Gray's Anatomy.  I'm aware that this is absolutely ridiculous, but, even though Patrick Dempsey is a handsome man, I hated that McDreamy stuff so much that I can barely stand to look at him because that's all that goes through my mind.  Every time I see him, I think "McDreamy---ugh." (Although, if I see Can't Buy Me Love on tv, I don't have a problem watching a little bit because he was still a bit geeky then.)

I honestly find him pretty bland and generic. Objectively, he's a nice-looking man, but he's not attractive to me at all. So, all the McDreamy hype has baffled me for years. 

[RealHousewife]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

LOL, same :p. A lot of the guys most women seem to go gaga over just have me shrugging. But they'd likely scratch their heads at some of my preferences, too, so...it all balances out, I figure :p.

I fully understand watching a show for hot actors :D. It's usually not the only/main reason I watch a show, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt!

For sure. Sexy is in the eye of the beholder.

Most of the shows I've been into over the years, I've usually fancied at least one guy. Zack on Saved by the Bell. Dylan on 90210. Will on Fresh Prince. Seth on The OC. The list goes on. 

2 hours ago, Zella said:

I honestly find him pretty bland and generic. Objectively, he's a nice-looking man, but he's not attractive to me at all. So, all the McDreamy hype has baffled me for years. 

My personal taste really varies as far as men. I can appreciate that hot guy next door look, and I can appreciate someone exceptionally gorgeous. I'm attracted to men of different ethnicities and also body types (just has to be taller than me.) I can be attracted to adorkable or a man with an edge. But I know people who consistently like that more everyday good-looking person. Not tatted, not exotic, not necessarily even classically beautiful. I call it having a taste that's "very Friends."

A show has to have more than eye candy though. I think Jensen Ackles is one of the most gorgeous humans I've ever seen, but I'm not into supernatural type of stuff. 

[Zella]

40 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

My personal taste really varies as far as men. I can appreciate that hot guy next door look, and I can appreciate someone exceptionally gorgeous. I'm attracted to men of different ethnicities and also body types (just has to be taller than me.) I can be attracted to adorkable or a man with an edge. But I know people who consistently like that more everyday good-looking person. Not tatted, not exotic, not necessarily even classically beautiful. I call it having a taste that's "very Friends."

A show has to have more than eye candy though. I think Jensen Ackles is one of the most gorgeous humans I've ever seen, but I'm not into supernatural type of stuff. 

I have pretty varied taste too. My problem with him and a lot of other contemporary leading men is I feel like they were produced by a factory of leading man bots. They just seem interchangeable. It's not an everyday appearance nor is it exceptionally gorgeous. It's just there in a blandly attractive way with no distinctive or, in my opinion, interesting features. Like oatmeal. LOLOL 

Edited August 24, 2022 by Zella

[RealHousewife]

5 minutes ago, Zella said:

I have pretty varied taste too. My problem with him and a lot of other contemporary leading men is I feel like they were produced by a factory of leading man bots. They just seem interchangeable. It's not an everyday appearance nor is it exceptionally gorgeous. It's just there in a blandly attractive way. Like oatmeal. LOLOL 

I don't consider him bland because of his eyes and smile, but I understand. There are some women I find really beautiful I can get confused just because it's almost like they all came from the same factory or something. 

[Annber03]

19 minutes ago, Zella said:

My problem with him and a lot of other contemporary leading men is I feel like they were produced by a factory of leading man bots. They just seem interchangeable. It's not an everyday appearance nor is it exceptionally gorgeous. It's just there in a blandly attractive way with no distinctive or, in my opinion, interesting features. Like oatmeal. LOLOL 

I don't have an opinion on Dempsey one way or another, but your general point...YES. This. Any hint of any quirky or unusual or interesting features seems to be nonexistent or smoothed out. I like guys with a bit of quirk and uniqueness to them, who don't really fit the typical "Hollywood heartthrob" mold. 

[Zella]

5 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I don't have an opinion on Dempsey one way or another, but your general point...YES. This. Any hint of any quirky or unusual or interesting features seems to be nonexistent or smoothed out. I like guys with a bit of quirk and uniqueness to them, who don't really fit the typical "Hollywood heartthrob" mold. 

Yes!!!!! I feel like some of the older Hollywood stars, despite being the product of the studio system, still had more individuality about them and their appearances, even when they were also very classically handsome, than the interchangeable Chrises and Ryans of today. I was a 90s kid, and I never really thought 90s leading men were so generic as they are now either. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by Zella

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Degrassi is the only high school (though started as middle school) show I can think of that very successfully went for seasons and decades really.

I loved Degrassi Junior High and its successor Degrassi High, but I wasn't even interested in Degrassi: The Next Generation, so by the time they got to the rest, I didn't even know the franchise was still happening.  But, damn, it was good while I watched.

[RealHousewife]

I feel like I missed out on Degrassi now. It was a friend of mine's favorite too. 

[Hiyo]

The Degrassi franchise started in 1979, with The Kids of Degrassi Street. If that doesn't make you feel old...

[Ohiopirate02]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I don't consider him bland because of his eyes and smile, but I understand. There are some women I find really beautiful I can get confused just because it's almost like they all came from the same factory or something. 

They kinda do come out of the same factory if by factory you mean the same 2 or 3 plastic surgeons in the greater LA area.  Then they use the same 3 makeup artists and the same 3 stylists.  The homogenization of Hollywood.

[bluegirl147]

I was a teenager in the 80s so the Brat Pack was front and center.  Rob Lowe was dreamy but I thought Judd Nelson and Matt Dillon who was Brat Pack adjacent were hotter.  I also thought Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson were hot.  Until they both became so ugly to me with their behavior.  

Now that I'm older there has to be something that sparks for me. It can't just be that a guy is nice to look at.  Sex appeal and handsomeness don't always go hand in hand.  

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I will watch something that is tolerable but not great if the cast is hot enough but not even the hottest guy can make me watch something I find really bad. I'd just go rewatch a better show they did. 

For me, it depends a lot on how bad the show is and how hot the actor is.  There is an Australian actor whom I find very, very hot and have watched a lot of things for him, a few of them very, very not good.  But after watching the first 2 episodes of a show on Amazon which was a follow-up/sort of reboot to something he'd done in the late 2000s (and which I'd mostly loved), I found my limit.  Not because he wasn't still hot - he actually looked great, the best he had in years - but because the producers & writers chose to completely ruin everything which had been charming about the original show.  I might eventually change my mind, but right now I just can't stomach what they'd done to something I'd greatly enjoyed.

46 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Now that I'm older there has to be something that sparks for me. It can't just be that a guy is nice to look at.  Sex appeal and handsomeness don't always go hand in hand.  

That is so true.

Edited August 24, 2022 by proserpina65
because 2007 is not early 2000s

[Cinnabon]

50 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I was a teenager in the 80s so the Brat Pack was front and center.  Rob Lowe was dreamy but I thought Judd Nelson and Matt Dillon who was Brat Pack adjacent were hotter.  I also thought Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson were hot.  Until they both became so ugly to me with their behavior.  

Now that I'm older there has to be something that sparks for me. It can't just be that a guy is nice to look at.  Sex appeal and handsomeness don't always go hand in hand.  

Same! And I think we’re close to the same age, as I was also a teen during the brat pack era. As I’ve grown older, I care less and less about appearance. Sex appeal is not solely about a man’s looks. Not at all!

[DoctorAtomic]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

I was a teenager in the 80s so the Brat Pack was front and center.

I was a little younger so I kind of missed out on "The 80s" though aware of trends, actors, etc.  I did watch the wedding and Live Aid on *uhf*. I surprisingly remember a lot of cultural touchstones. 

I *just* watched St Elmo's Fire on HBO Max Saturday. It was the first Brat Pack movie. It was very 80s. They have a big collection of the 80s movies. I've watched The Big Chill, Broadcast News, MASH (not 80s but close). 

[bluegirl147]

4 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I've watched The Big Chill

The Big Chill is one of my favorite movies.  Great soundtrack. And it made me wish I had been born 20 years earlier. 

I wonder if movies today will be fondly remembered 40 years from now.

[Hiyo]

I'm sure many of them will be.

[RealHousewife]

3 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

They kinda do come out of the same factory if by factory you mean the same 2 or 3 plastic surgeons in the greater LA area.  Then they use the same 3 makeup artists and the same 3 stylists.  The homogenization of Hollywood.

Yup. It's one reason I really admire the beauty of Old Hollywood. I don't think actors are any less naturally beautiful today. It's just instead of making the most of their natural beauty with hair and makeup, many of them still go under the knife. It's a shame. 

Back to an unpopular TV opinion, soap opera actors are very talented imo. Trust me, it's not easy to make some of those wacky storylines work. 

[bluegirl147]

10 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Back to an unpopular TV opinion, soap opera actors are very talented imo. Trust me, it's not easy to make some of those wacky storylines work. 

So many great actors started on soaps. Judith Light.  Ray Liotta.  Julianne Moore.  Marisa Tomei.  Morgan Freeman. 

I stopped watching soaps almost 15  years ago but I would love to watch old episodes.  There are some on you tube that can be found.

[Hiyo]

Lots of people in Old Hollywood had work done. And lots of the men wore wigs.

[festivus]

I partly watched The Originals because that cast was stupid hot. My UO is that I loved Cami and she was the only reason that I didn't want to end Klaus with the white oak stake. What a whiny baby. He was only tolerable around Cami. 

Speaking of stupid hot casts: The Magicians. My favorite show ever. That got left out of that Primetimer Guide to Streaming. How dare they.

[Cinnabon]

I generally prefer international tv and movies because they cast more realistic looking actors. 50+ actresses still get lots of work, without having had lots of work done. And male characters still pursue them! Imagine that! Grey hair, wrinkles, teeth that aren’t perfectly straight and white, and some extra weight are not always flaws that need to be fixed.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Cinnabon