Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[BlueSkies]

Fran was the first TV character to do a selfie  at 3:27!

 

Well I mean I don’t know.  Wasn’t quite what it is today.  With this character I admit to finding it cute then but yeah people have become jokes of themselves with their Instagram poses taking over their lives 

[Cinnabon]

Now we know who to blame for the “selfie” scourge! Ugh.

[BlueSkies]

I’ve read some non fans of Breaking Bad here which I think is fair

But as to Walter Whites motives imo it had nothing to do with health insurance but everything to do with his life.  Teaching disrespectful students, working other part time jobs, and not the best family life.  This pushed him just to say fuck it and embark on his lifestyle.  The money he got was more icing on the cake to pay for his treatments 

[Wiendish Fitch]

4 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

I’ve read some non fans of Breaking Bad here which I think is fair

But as to Walter Whites motives imo it had nothing to do with health insurance but everything to do with his life.  Teaching disrespectful students, working other part time jobs, and not the best family life.  This pushed him just to say fuck it and embark on his lifestyle.  The money he got was more icing on the cake to pay for his treatments 

Excellent point. Walter's whole MO stemmed from his pathetically brittle ego more than anything else. 

 What We Do in the Shadows UOs:

Nandor is one of my favorite unlikable characters (Kayvan Novak is nothing short of inspired) ever... but I do not ship him and Guillermo. It would just feel like Adora/Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power all over again (I know, I'm beating a dead horse, but I hated that storyline like you wouldn't believe).

Some on Twitter have said (and I have to agree) that writers missed an opportunity of Nadja and Guillermo bonding while in Europe, and maybe having Nadja be the one to finally make Guillermo a vampire.

And last, but not least....

Spoiler

Colin Robinson should have stayed dead... or is that a popular opinion?

[Cinnabon]

54 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

I’ve read some non fans of Breaking Bad here which I think is fair

But as to Walter Whites motives imo it had nothing to do with health insurance but everything to do with his life.  Teaching disrespectful students, working other part time jobs, and not the best family life.  This pushed him just to say fuck it and embark on his lifestyle.  The money he got was more icing on the cake to pay for his treatments 

His “lifestyle” of manufacturing a deadly drug and working for a dangerous, homicidal drug kingpin, putting his family in grave danger, ruining lives. Yeah, seems reasonable. 🤦‍♀️

[BlueSkies]

51 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

His “lifestyle” of manufacturing a deadly drug and working for a dangerous, homicidal drug kingpin, putting his family in grave danger, ruining lives. Yeah, seems reasonable. 🤦‍♀️

One of the last episodes Skyler asked him why he did it and Walter said he liked it.

[Cinnabon]

6 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

One of the last episodes Skyler asked him why he did it and Walter said he liked it.

Yes, I know. 🤦‍♀️

[Crs97]

15 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

One of the last episodes Skyler asked him why he did it and Walter said he liked it.

That might have been the only nice thing he did for his wife; with that answer he ensured she wouldn’t ever think he did it “for her/the kids/the family.”  He was 100% to blame.

[BlueSkies]

42 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Yes, I know. 🤦‍♀️

30 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

That might have been the only nice thing he did for his wife; with that answer he ensured she wouldn’t ever think he did it “for her/the kids/the family.”  He was 100% to blame.

I respect the takes but he turned down charity from his former co worker and his wife.  He was embarrassed by his son setting up a go help me page for him.  He didn’t want charity.  
 

I really do think he was genuinely that bitter and jaded by life.  

[sistermagpie]

4 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

I’ve read some non fans of Breaking Bad here which I think is fair

But as to Walter Whites motives imo it had nothing to do with health insurance but everything to do with his life.  Teaching disrespectful students, working other part time jobs, and not the best family life.  This pushed him just to say fuck it and embark on his lifestyle.  The money he got was more icing on the cake to pay for his treatments 

1 hour ago, BlueSkies said:

I respect the takes but he turned down charity from his former co worker and his wife.  He was embarrassed by his son setting up a go help me page for him.  He didn’t want charity.  
 

I really do think he was genuinely that bitter and jaded by life.  

Yes, I think being able to pay for his own family/treatment was part of being a man for him. So it's part of it, just not in an altrustic way. He wasn't worried about burdening his family with bills for them, but because it was humiliating for him to not be the provider.

I do love his reaction every time he hears the "ding" from Walt Jr.'s site saying someone has given them money. Each one's like a poke in the ego.

[kiddo82]

5 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

What We Do in the Shadows UOs:

Nandor is one of my favorite unlikable characters (Kayvan Novak is nothing short of inspired) ever... but I do not ship him and Guillermo. It would just feel like Adora/Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power all over again (I know, I'm beating a dead horse, but I hated that storyline like you wouldn't believe).

Some on Twitter have said (and I have to agree) that writers missed an opportunity of Nadja and Guillermo bonding while in Europe, and maybe having Nadja be the one to finally make Guillermo a vampire.

And last, but not least....

  Reveal spoiler

Colin Robinson should have stayed dead... or is that a popular opinion?

Not sure if the spoiler tagged is a UO or not but I wish they either did as you suggested or didn't do that story at all.  I didn't like the way they moved forward with it this season.  But I love the original version of the character.

[BlueSkies]

2 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

Yes, I think being able to pay for his own family/treatment was part of being a man for him. So it's part of it, just not in an altrustic way. He wasn't worried about burdening his family with bills for them, but because it was humiliating for him to not be the provider.

I do love his reaction every time he hears the "ding" from Walt Jr.'s site saying someone has given them money. Each one's like a poke in the ego.

I haven't watched the show in a while but I remember him being laughed at by some of his students seeing him working at the car wash.  I recall to his son and wife being laughed at by some local jerks when they went clothes shopping together.  Imo all these scenes were shown for his character to keep getting crapped on.  

Personally speaking from experience it sucks to get bullied/not be able to defend yourself.  Wanting revenge or to be heard is more important than anything with a monetary a value on it a lot of times  Sometimes life shows people no mercy.  I think the drug dealing was Walt's way of saying fuck the world.  In his own way acting out his Bill Foster from Falling Down fantasies.

Anyway it's all open to interpretation.  Even Gilligan and Cranston have different takes 

https://www.vulture.com/2013/09/whats-walter-whites-true-motivation.html

[Irlandesa]

I only see Walter White as a victim of Walter White.  All of his problems started with his pride and they began before he met his wife and before he became a teacher.  I think the show did a pretty good job of slowly revealing that fact.  He could have been in a more lucrative career except his ego and pride got in the way. 

I agree that he ultimately decided to say "eff it" but he wasn't aiming to take revenge on anyone.  It was all about stroking his ego and the better he got at what he was doing, the more he wanted to be recognized for it even when presented with exit ramps.

As for Colin, on what we do in the shadows is that I've discovered I preferred Colin at a different age. 

[BlueSkies]

The other thread is flashing back 90210 memories.  I guess I would just suggest the whole The Peach Pit hang out didn't make a lot of sense to me.  Like high school kids hanging out at the local diner on their free time?  Now keep in mind this has only to do with what my high school was like, perhaps other places in the country it's a thing?

The only time some people met together in a diner in high school was senior year once everybody starting driving.  I went too Catholic school and every now and then there'd be a Mass in the morning which nobody liking attending.  so yeah sometimes some kids would show up late and have breakfast at the local diner instead 😅

Edited October 17, 2022 by BlueSkies

[Gharlane]

16 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

The other thread is flashing back 90210 memories.  I guess I would just suggest the whole The Peach Pit hang out didn't make a lot of sense to me.  Like high school kids hanging out at the local diner on their free time?  Now keep in mind this has only to do with what my high school was like, perhaps other places in the country it's a thing?

The only time some people met together in a diner in high school was senior year once everybody starting driving.  I went too Catholic school and every now and then there'd be a Mass in the morning which nobody liking attending.  so yeah sometimes some kids would show up late and have breakfast at the local diner instead 😅

I'm not sure I ever watched Beverly Geeks 2000, but I thought the Peach Pit was adjacent or within walking distance of their school, which is why they hung out there.

[Hiyo]

Them hanging out in one place in a city like LA with so many other options doesn’t make sense, but hey, budget concerns and whatnot…it’s like how once they got to college, the only club they would visit would be the Peach Pit After Dark. Because nothing says LA Trendy like a nightclub attached to a diner…

[DrSpaceman73]

35 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

Them hanging out in one place in a city like LA with so many other options doesn’t make sense, but hey, budget concerns and whatnot…it’s like how once they got to college, the only club they would visit would be the Peach Pit After Dark. Because nothing says LA Trendy like a nightclub attached to a diner…

And didn't Christina Aguilera come to the peach pit to sing?

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

And didn't Christina Aguilera come to the peach pit to sing?

Yes

[DoctorAtomic]

They had a few singers go to the club iirc. 

[Glitches]

On 10/17/2022 at 4:00 PM, BlueSkies said:

The other thread is flashing back 90210 memories.  I guess I would just suggest the whole The Peach Pit hang out didn't make a lot of sense to me.  Like high school kids hanging out at the local diner on their free time?  Now keep in mind this has only to do with what my high school was like, perhaps other places in the country it's a thing?

Buffy and the Scoobies had The Bronze and the school library. Richie and The Fonz had Arnold’s. Maybe it’s a TV thing to have a hangout place? However, growing up my planned community had a clubhouse with a playground, a swimming pool, adult billiards and a Teen Room. The Teen Room had fluorescent wallpaper, a pool table (with all the equipment) along with a Juke Box and a vending machine. PS: Good times. Everyone got along and there were no physical fights or loud confrontations. Peace Out. 
✌️ ☮️ 

[Hiyo]

For 90210 and Happy Days, located in major cities, for them to hang out at only one establishment is just…strange. Same with shows like Grey’s Anatomy or Ally Mcbeal.

I understand people have their favorites, but some variety would be a bit more realistic. But as I said, it’s probably done more for budget reasons tham anything else, especially on the network channels.

[DrSpaceman73]

26 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

For 90210 and Happy Days, located in major cities, for them to hang out at only one establishment is just…strange. Same with shows like Grey’s Anatomy or Ally Mcbeal.

I understand people have their favorites, but some variety would be a bit more realistic. But as I said, it’s probably done more for budget reasons tham anything else, especially on the network channels.

Happy days I can see. Isn't it like Milwaukee in the 50s?   Big city but not huge. Local hang outs and from what I understand such places were common in the 50s. Or maybe that's a tv trope I just have been brainwashed to believe. 

90210...no.  Bunch of super rich high school and college kids hanging out at a crappy diner in LA?  Not at all believable. 

But yes it's all budgetary. No one else on friends ever takes those big comfy chairs in central perk?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Hiyo said:

But as I said, it’s probably done more for budget reasons tham anything else, especially on the network channels.

Yes, just like the NYC characters on Seinfeld and Friends always going to the same diner/coffee shop (and always getting the same table/seats).

With the 90210 kids, what was odd to me wasn't that they went to the same place all the time, as that's just TV (there's only room and budget for so many sets/location shoots), but how much time they spent before and after school hanging out together in a restaurant.  I guess that's fairly common to TV, too, because everyone just going to their individual homes like real-life kids do most days wouldn't be very interesting.

[DoctorAtomic]

I barely live in a city and even I don't go to the same place all the time. Though I am recognized as a frequenter in several establishments. Probably at a 15% on the Norm scale. 

I can buy Seinfeld went to the same diner. It's close by. They did go to other restaurants at least. 

[BlueSkies]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yes, just like the NYC characters on Seinfeld and Friends always going to the same diner/coffee shop (and always getting the same table/seats).

With the 90210 kids, what was odd to me wasn't that they went to the same place all the time, as that's just TV (there's only room and budget for so many sets/location shoots), but how much time they spent before and after school hanging out together in a restaurant.  I guess that's fairly common to TV, too, because everyone just going to their individual homes like real-life kids do most days wouldn't be very interesting.

I was dumb and impressionable enough as a kid to think my high school experience would be like that to some extent 😂

[sistermagpie]

4 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I can buy Seinfeld went to the same diner. It's close by. They did go to other restaurants at least. 

I went to the same diner all the time when I was in that area, so it felt real to me. Diner's are great!

[DrSpaceman73]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I barely live in a city and even I don't go to the same place all the time. Though I am recognized as a frequenter in several establishments. Probably at a 15% on the Norm scale. 

I can buy Seinfeld went to the same diner. It's close by. They did go to other restaurants at least. 

Reggie the bizzaro diner. 

With no big salad. and Sanka

Also I do like Seinfeld did a scene where they had to sit at the counter and how awkward it was. 

Plus they did change seats/ tables. 

One of the best gags on cheers is they all walk into another bar once for some reason and everybody still yells 'norm!!'.  Then he says 'you are closed twice a year sammy'

Edited October 20, 2022 by DrSpaceman73

[Kel Varnsen]

16 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

But yes it's all budgetary. No one else on friends ever takes those big comfy chairs in central perk?

I did a movie location tour of NYC once and we went by the building that is used for the establishing shots of the Friends apartment. The tour guide said that the little cafe on the ground floor is supposed to be Central Perk, so if it is on the bottom floor of their building I can see them going there a lot.

12 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Also I do like Seinfeld did a scene where they had to sit at the counter and how awkward it was. 

Plus they did change seats/ tables. 

Yeah I can think of at least a few episodes where they sat at the booth behind the cash register. So at least there was some effort made not to always have them sit at the exact same table.

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

One of the best gags on cheers is they all walk into another bar once for some reason and everybody still yells 'norm!!'.  Then he says 'you are closed twice a year sammy'

When they were at a bowling alley (I think) and you see Norm opening the door to the bar and you hear "Norm!" and Sam looks at Cliff and Cliff says "He has a life".

[Leeds]

On 10/17/2022 at 4:00 PM, BlueSkies said:

The other thread is flashing back 90210 memories.  I guess I would just suggest the whole The Peach Pit hang out didn't make a lot of sense to me.  Like high school kids hanging out at the local diner on their free time?  Now keep in mind this has only to do with what my high school was like, perhaps other places in the country it's a thing?

My kids, now in their late twenties, used to hang out with their friends at the same diner all the time, to the extent they wouldn't even make plans in advance but would just turn up.

Edited October 23, 2022 by Leeds
typo

[andromeda331]

On 10/19/2022 at 2:05 PM, Bastet said:

Yes, just like the NYC characters on Seinfeld and Friends always going to the same diner/coffee shop (and always getting the same table/seats).

With the 90210 kids, what was odd to me wasn't that they went to the same place all the time, as that's just TV (there's only room and budget for so many sets/location shoots), but how much time they spent before and after school hanging out together in a restaurant.  I guess that's fairly common to TV, too, because everyone just going to their individual homes like real-life kids do most days wouldn't be very interesting.

TV and books. It was always funny to me. I live in a large city but nowhere the size of LA but none of the high school groups went to the same place all the time. I always wondered where that was a thing. 

[FormerMod-a1]

I grew up in the midwest and we didn't always hang out at the same place either.  We even had places walking distance to the high school - strip malls with restaurants, fast food places, parks, etc.  We mostly hung out at each others houses, or one of the malls (we had a few to choose from), or if before classes at school, in the choir room for some reason.

[Cloud9Shopper]

On 9/11/2022 at 12:21 PM, Cinnabon said:

Yes! I feel the same when a show ends and some people post “what will I do now with my Wednesday nights?” Um, read a book, listen to music, talk to your friends and family, go outside? 

I just thought of this post again because I just saw a post on one of my fandom subreddits where the person said if the show had ended earlier (like many of us think it should have), that “all the happiness they got from watching (their favorite couple) would have never existed” (true) and that thinking about it “seriously devastates them.” 

If a TV show and fictional relationship means that much to you, you really need to turn off the TV for a while and exist in the real world. Devastated? Really? 

I actually wanted to start a post on fandom culture but we already have “Stan culture” and I wasn’t sure if that’s too much of the same. But I just might because some of the insanity I’ve seen coming out of fandom needs its own thread. 

[Mabinogia]

41 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

“all the happiness they got from watching (their favorite couple) would have never existed” (true) and that thinking about it “seriously devastates them.” 

That is so sad, that so much of their happiness only comes from watching a fictional couple on tv. I grew up on TV. I love TV. I always thought myself like the main character on the very, very, very old HBO show Dream On, who pretty much related everything that happened to him or every thought in his head to some old TV show. 

I've been bummed, I've been disappointed, I've been mildly angered and even sad in a couple cases, when a show I loved went away but I've never been devastated. Of course, I'm very imaginative so I always found solace in the fact that now that a show is off the air I can continue to tell it in my head exactly the way I want it to be and the writers can't do a damned thing about it. HA!

Thinking about it, there was only one show that I was devastated about, and it's not that it ended (though I would love to have seen more, I am fine with it ending before it went bad) but that for over 30 years I couldn't rewatch it because AMC clearly hates me and refused to make it available or re-air it, and I had to watch horrible, grainy, intermittent episodes when they were available online for a brief moment like 20 years ago. 

No, I'm not still bitter! (okay, maybe a little bitter. But it's become available recently so that has soothed the savage beast within.) 

I guess I can kind of relate to that person after all. Though for me it was more about not being able to rewatch the show for nearly 30 years. The "couple" thing, well, since about 95% of the couples I ship are never cannon anyway, I have just accepted all the happiness from watching them has just never existed for me in the first place. :(

[DrSpaceman73]

I'll go off on my own old man rant and say  being devastated by a tv show ending is part of the exaggerated language we use in our culture now. Everything had to be extreme.  It's not enough to say you're sad it's ending. You're devastated!  It's not enough to say a show is good or is enjoyable.   It had to be 'iconic!' Which is now one of the most overused words.  Just stop saying it.  It's not enough to say something surprises you.  It's has to be shocking to the point you just 'can't deal with it!'  Exclamation points mandatory in all this. This is how writers and 'bloggers' describe things now. For clickbait And whatever gets attention. It goes on and on. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by DrSpaceman73

[Mabinogia]

I wish we could do multiple "reaction" icons because I wasn't sure whether to heart your post DrSpaceman73 or cry. We are a society of extremes these days and I think it has had a bad effect on the masses.

Now, as evidenced by my earlier post, I can be a tad histrionic, I never mean what I say and rarely say what I mean, so I'm not immune to the phenomenon. 

I think/hope some of the problem is that it is hard to read tone via typing/text. When I say something like "Ghosts is the funniest show on television right now and I will fight anyone who says otherwise!" I won't actually fight someone over a tv show and I hope that people can tell I'm being silly. I often try to overexaggerate to make it clear that I'm exaggerating. I'm trying to avoid people finding out thinking I'm insane. 

But some stuff I see in the Wild Wild Web makes me think that some people actually would fight about a fictional show because it is a Brave New World out there and Aldous Huxley pretty much nailed how blind society as a collective would be by shiny pretty people on screen. 

[Cinnabon]

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I just thought of this post again because I just saw a post on one of my fandom subreddits where the person said if the show had ended earlier (like many of us think it should have), that “all the happiness they got from watching (their favorite couple) would have never existed” (true) and that thinking about it “seriously devastates them.” 

If a TV show and fictional relationship means that much to you, you really need to turn off the TV for a while and exist in the real world. Devastated? Really? 

I actually wanted to start a post on fandom culture but we already have “Stan culture” and I wasn’t sure if that’s too much of the same. But I just might because some of the insanity I’ve seen coming out of fandom needs its own thread. 

Just the words “fandom,” “Stan,” and “ship” make me want to tear my hair out. Goddamn millennials. 🤣🤣🤣

36 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I'll go off on my own old man rant and say  being devastated by a tv show ending is part of the exaggerated language we use in our culture now. Everything had to be extreme.  It's not enough to say you're sad it's ending. You're devastated!  It's not enough to say a show is good or is enjoyable.   It had to be 'iconic!' Which is now one of the most overused words.  Just stop saying it.  It's not enough to say something surprises you.  It's has to be shocking to the point you just 'can't deal with it!'  Exclamation points mandatory in all this. This is how writers and 'bloggers' describe things now. For clickbait And whatever gets attention. It goes on and on. 

Only certain types engage in that kind of hyberbolic nonsense. Words matter.

[Mabinogia]

14 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Just the words “fandom,” “Stan,” and “ship” make me want to tear my hair out. Goddamn millennials. 🤣🤣🤣

I can kind of understand where "fandom" comes from. It's like a kingdom of fans. And "ship" is just relationship shortened. But is "stan" a compound of stupid fan? Cause that's what I think of every time I see it. lol

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Mabinogia said:

I can kind of understand where "fandom" comes from. It's like a kingdom of fans. And "ship" is just relationship shortened. But is "stan" a compound of stupid fan? Cause that's what I think of every time I see it. lol

"Stan" comes from the Eminem song, "Stan", which is about a super obsessive, disturbingly devoted fan. It's become a term for somebody who is REALLY into an actor/musician/show/whatever, to the point where they will refuse to hear or acknowledge any criticism of that thing or person, or dismiss any sort of criticism of the thing or person. 

[DrSpaceman73]

35 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Just the words “fandom,” “Stan,” and “ship” make me want to tear my hair out. Goddamn millennials. 🤣🤣🤣

Only certain types engage in that kind of hyberbolic nonsense. Words matter.

True.....but most online forums like reddit, Instagram, Twitter etc are where you see it used. And even many, though not all, online news sights as you see them parse out their demographics to more narrow readership do this as well. 

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Only certain types engage in that kind of hyberbolic nonsense. Words matter.

So do context, nuance, and figurative language.  Hyperbole, allegory, similes. metaphors and synecdoche all play their part to elevate straight forward communication, which can be boring, to language that encapsulates an idea or feeling.

There's a different vibe behind me saying "she's got a new set of wheels" vs. "she bought a new car."  They mean the same thing but there's something casual, flippant and maybe admiring surrounding the use of "set of wheels." In other words, most people understand what is meant by both but the word choice carries a different nuance.

And  millennials didn't invent hyperbole or displays of emotion that may not be in line with what one would expect to experience. I've seen TV shows in the 50s and 60s have characters use the phrase "If I can't go to the dance, I'll just die!"  I guess one could argue that's pure fiction and not reflective of how people talked at the time but I'd find that hard to believe.

TV can bring people joy and I don't think it means they don't have a life outside of it.  Or maybe they do and this is a respite from it. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Irlandesa

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

So do context, nuance, and figurative language.  Hyperbole, allegory, similes. metaphors and synecdoche all play their part to elevate straight forward communication, which can be boring, to language that encapsulates an idea or feeling.

There's a different vibe behind me saying "she's got a new set of wheels" vs. "she bought a new car."  They mean the same thing but there's something casual, flippant and maybe admiring surrounding the use of "set of wheels." In other words, most people understand what is meant by both but the word choice carries a different nuance.

And  millennials didn't invent hyperbole or displays of emotion that may not be in line with what one would expect to experience. I've seen TV shows in the 50s and 60s have characters use the phrase "If I can't go to the dance, I'll just die!"  I guess one could argue that's pure fiction and not reflective of how people talked at the time but I'd find that hard to believe.

TV can bring people joy and I don't think it means they don't have a life outside of it.  Or maybe they do and this is a respite from it. 

This. 

And also, it may not be the show people miss so much as it is the fandom and community that came with it, or the memories attached to watching with, say, family members, or whatever. Something about a group of people gathering to enjoy something together each week, it's fun and it can be sad when that ends. 

[JustHereForFood]

20 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

If a TV show and fictional relationship means that much to you, you really need to turn off the TV for a while and exist in the real world. Devastated? Really? 

I don't know, I've had a few shows that I feel very attached to, either because I identify with a character or because I feel like the characters are people I would love to hang out with and feel almost as if there were my friends (as pathetic as that may sound). Those shows are what I consider comfort TV. And if I feel so strongly about them, I can be devastated by something I don't like. I can't think of an example when I've been devastated just because it ended*, but sometimes I felt that way because of creative decisions that felt wrong to me.

That doesn't mean that I have a sad life, maybe boring and uneventful, but I like it that way. And there are tons of other shows that I care about only to some extent and that can't hurt me.

*Not only can I always look forward to watching it again, but fanfiction can really help if I feel like I have withdrawal symptoms because it ended or I have to wait a long time for new episodes. I just need to accept that these stories will never be canon, even if they sometimes are better than some of the canon episodes.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Annber03 said:

"Stan" comes from the Eminem song, "Stan", which is about a super obsessive, disturbingly devoted fan. It's become a term for somebody who is REALLY into an actor/musician/show/whatever, to the point where they will refuse to hear or acknowledge any criticism of that thing or person, or dismiss any sort of criticism of the thing or person. 

So basically "stalker fan"?

[Cinnabon]

3 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I don't know, I've had a few shows that I feel very attached to, either because I identify with a character or because I feel like the characters are people I would love to hang out with and feel almost as if there were my friends (as pathetic as that may sound). Those shows are what I consider comfort TV. And if I feel so strongly about them, I can be devastated by something I don't like. I can't think of an example when I've been devastated just because it ended*, but sometimes I felt that way because of creative decisions that felt wrong to me.

That doesn't mean that I have a sad life, maybe boring and uneventful, but I like it that way. And there are tons of other shows that I care about only to some extent and that can't hurt me.

*Not only can I always look forward to watching it again, but fanfiction can really help if I feel like I have withdrawal symptoms because it ended or I have to wait a long time for new episodes. I just need to accept that these stories will never be canon, even if they sometimes are better than some of the canon episodes.

Your definition of “devastated” is different than mine. To me, “devastated” is the emotion one feels when their child dies, not when a beloved TV show ends. 

[Bethany]

3 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I don't know, I've had a few shows that I feel very attached to, either because I identify with a character or because I feel like the characters are people I would love to hang out with and feel almost as if there were my friends (as pathetic as that may sound). Those shows are what I consider comfort TV. And if I feel so strongly about them, I can be devastated by something I don't like. I can't think of an example when I've been devastated just because it ended*,

I know exactly what you mean.  I think perhaps "devastated" isn't the word I would use but certainly I've been angry, beyond angry really, at some of the turns a show can take that I felt wasn't reflective of the characters.  Sometimes I feel like we, the viewers, know these people way better than the writers do!  

[Mabinogia]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And  millennials didn't invent hyperbole or displays of emotion that may not be in line with what one would expect to experience. I've seen TV shows in the 50s and 60s have characters use the phrase "If I can't go to the dance, I'll just die!"  I guess one could argue that's pure fiction and not reflective of how people talked at the time but I'd find that hard to believe.

I don't think it's generational so much as something that most teenagers of any generation went through. I remember thinking everything was the end of the world when I was young. Some of us just enjoy the drama of being hyperbolic. I think so long as it is just words and not actions It's fine. It's a way of expressing oneself. 

3 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

That doesn't mean that I have a sad life, maybe boring and uneventful, but I like it that way.

That is a wonderful distinction. I, too, have what some might find a boring and uneventful life, but I am happy, I am entertained, I have my needs met. I am overly attached to television and its characters because I grew up with a young single mother who didn't really have time to spend with me as she was too busy trying to make sure we weren't homeless and I'm an only child so who was, let's just say, not popular in school, so tv became a million different worlds I could visit and friends I could spend time with. I know that it has the stigma of being the "boob tube" and making us passive, but not for me. For me it was a visual book, only better in some ways because there was so much of the story I could fill in with my own imagination. 

So while I am not literally devastated (destroyed, left in ruins) I am figuratively devastated when my favorite character dies, or a great show goes off the air. For those of us who aren't overly keen on the live action horror show going on outside our walls, it is like losing a clever, witty friend who (if they are of the more villainous type) get to do what we only imagine being able to because we are good people who manage to control those impulses.  

And that is my love letter to television, which made me what I am today. I love you to the moon and back (not literally, I have never been to the moon nor do I have any way to get to the moon, I am not some tech billionaire with too much money to know what to do with). ;)

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Your definition of “devastated” is different than mine. To me, “devastated” is the emotion one feels when their child dies, not when a beloved TV show ends. 

People use words in different ways, including figurative or colloquial ways.

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

People use words in different ways, including figurative or colloquial ways.

I was an English major, so I’m well aware of that. 🤦‍♀️

[JimmyJabloon]

I hate Targaryens and their nonsense so I’m not watching HOTD but dear god Aemond looks so cool. I’m waiting for the inevitable meltdown by the fandom in upcoming seasons though.😆