Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Blergh]

On 5/14/2023 at 4:20 PM, Notwisconsin said:

...who was one of the greatest comedians of all time.

Thank you! And the late Bob Elliot deserved a FAR better latter-day role than to have co-starred in his son Chris's  meanspirited so-called sitcom- as did Elinor Donahue!

I don't blame the elder Mr. Elliot one bit for quitting the show before it had finished its run as playing such a surly person (who annoyingly ALWAYS wore a robe and pajamas even far away from the family home), can't have been much fun for him. The only reason I can think of why he'd have agree to participate in the first place was because he wanted to help Chris (whom he adored) out but this likely  wound up being one of those parental  'the things I DO for [him]' !

Edited May 16, 2023 by Blergh

[Egg McMuffin]

On 5/10/2023 at 12:58 PM, proserpina65 said:

I just can't with Ted Lasso the series.  The commercials upon which it was based, with him presented as a well-meaning but clueless American pretending to be a soccer coach, were amusing.  But the series making his bumbling positivity as somehow a way to make a team successful in the Premier League just annoys the hell out of me.  Maybe it's because I've been watching the Prem for more than 2 decades, but I find the entire concept of the show laughable, and not in a good way.

Same. Do British people watch it and find it annoying that this hick American guy goes over there and teaches them all a thing or two? I would.

[JimmyJabloon]

The middle- i don't get the hatred for Frankie. Yes she's flawed, but so are the rest of them. And i always thought that was the point. People act like she abandons her kids all the time to just party and drink with friends and proceed to call her a terrible mother. Funny how Mike hardly gets the "bad parent" criticism from the same people despite being distant most of the time.

[kathyk24]

11 hours ago, JimmyJabloon said:

The middle- i don't get the hatred for Frankie. Yes she's flawed, but so are the rest of them. And i always thought that was the point. People act like she abandons her kids all the time to just party and drink with friends and proceed to call her a terrible mother. Funny how Mike hardly gets the "bad parent" criticism from the same people despite being distant most of the time.

I think Dads are treated better than Moms on television. Single dads are seen as heroic while single moms are shamed. I remember the controversy when Murphy Brown was pregnant. Mr. Mom plots are funny while viewers would be angry if a mother didn't know how to care for her children. 

[Blergh]

OTOH, it's a bit ironic how single dads/male guardians were often depicted as comically clueless- even compared to female temporary guardians.

Taking this back a few decades on My Three Sons, the protagonist  (Steve Douglas played by Fred MacMurray) wound up having to babysit his rather hyperactive triplet grandsons  one afternoon. Steve was unable to prevent them from destroying the family kitchen despite the fact that they'd known him their entire lives.  In the midst of this chaos, he got called into his office for work. He brought them and had a temporary receptionist watch them while he did the ontask stuff. Anyway, in spite of her having been a total stranger, they gave this woman not the slightest trouble (and she was even able to efficiently do her own ontask receptionist duties  WHILE watching them). She offered to take them to her place so Steve could complete his work and, believe it or not, he ACCEPTED her offer! I mean, it's bad enough to accept a stranger's offer to watch one's charges even temporarily but then to let them take them to their HOME?! What was he THINKING?! Of course, the show depicted that as acceptable behavior. . .until he absentmindedly  used the card that she'd written her home telephone number as kindling to light a pipe after she left the premises! Only at THAT point did he realize that he'd totally FAILED his grandsons, their parents,etc. by essentially having them being 'accidentally' cut off! So, he had to call the temporary agency to get them to cough up her number. ..the whole  time worrying more that he'd get flak from the adult family members than considering that he'd put them at risk with this total stranger!

 Yes, even then, one might have asked what were they THINKING having this depicted as acceptable behavior for a male guardian!

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I think Dads are treated better than Moms on television.

Art imitates life there.  The bar for fatherhood is set so low, and for motherhood set so high, we see double standards all over the place in discussing parenthood in the real world and portraying it on screen.  Where TV reflects that sexist reality, fine, but where it celebrates it or presents it unquestioned as inherent, not so much.

[Crs97]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

Art imitates life there.  The bar for fatherhood is set so low, and for motherhood set so high, we see double standards all over the place in discussing parenthood in the real world and portraying it on screen. 

I remember being out of town one weekend so husband had the four then-littles by himself.  A group of well-meaning friends dropped off a dinner “to help him out.”  When I got back he said that while he appreciated the love behind it, he didn’t know which was more insulting:

1.  That he traveled all the time and no one ever thought to send me a meal

2.  That the friends didn’t think he could handle one measly weekend alone with his children.

[AgathaC]

14 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I think Dads are treated better than Moms on television. Single dads are seen as heroic while single moms are shamed. I remember the controversy when Murphy Brown was pregnant. Mr. Mom plots are funny while viewers would be angry if a mother didn't know how to care for her children. 

Works for step parents too. If a stepdad gives his step kids a pat on the head once in a while, he’s a wonderful man. A stepmom who doesn’t sacrifice everything for the kids and love them like her own is defective at best — or a witch.

[supposebly]

I remember this being a thing in the early 90s with a friend of mine who was working part time as a teacher and his wife worked full-time. She made a lot more money. He said he's never been so insulted in his life on playdates, at school, playgrounds, etc. Not only by other parents, but also teachers, friends, his parents and parents in law, strangers on the street.

From the condescending (I hope you know what you're doing, shouldn't your wife be there), to the emasculating (you look ridiculous with the stroller) to the over-praising. I remember him saying people treat him like he had some brains missing while at the same time praising him for the smallest thing. Like you do with a toddler when they manage not to spill their food all over the place.

Needless to say, his wife got insulted and shamed for not "helping" him and leaving the kids with him. As if he was some unpaid and unreliable babysitter.

I would have thought this stuff would have changed in 30 years. I guess not much.

I talked to a friend of mine who is a retired judge and who was a very active feminist. She says the most infuriating thing for her is that somehow women got better represented at the work place and they STILL end up doing most of the unpaid work at home. How did that happen?

[Cloud9Shopper]

I already have an unpopular opinion among ER fans for not liking Abby (well, except among the fans here), but my even further unpopular opinion is that I don’t think she’s a good role model or an inspiration. I see so many woman fans calling Abby “aspirational” and “strong” and gushing about how much she grows and comes full circle. Forgive me, as I know it’s television, but I don’t see what’s so “aspirational” about driving drunk with your kid in the car, keeping a pregnancy you didn’t want and proceeding to be a lousy mother, and not taking your addiction recovery seriously. And “strong?” Girl has no coping skills. She melts down every time she doesn’t get her way or doesn‘t like something, and the only reason she bagged Luka and got a fancy job at the end is because she’s a total Creator’s Pet who of course got everything handed to her on a silver platter. 

Just my two cents but there are way more female characters on that show who would be better role models than Abby and handled their setbacks with true strength and dignity. Like Carol overcoming a suicide attempt or Jeanie being HIV positive but still working as a PA and standing her ground when she got fired. Even some of the female side characters who had leadership roles would be better choices. Why would you choose someone who is a total hot mess, has no personal responsibility, and had a baby when she’s far from a loving parent as your role model? Come on; do better.

It’s not a normal amount of liking a character I ever have a problem with. It’s the weird parasocial relationship a lot of her fans have with her and how much they blindly worship someone who doesn‘t exist, along with what mean girls some of them are themselves if you dare feel differently, that bothers me. Perhaps they are too wrapped up in their little hero to see how ridiculous they act… 

[juno]

17 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I already have an unpopular opinion among ER fans for not liking Abby (well, except among the fans here), but my even further unpopular opinion is that I don’t think she’s a good role model or an inspiration. I see so many woman fans calling Abby “aspirational” and “strong” and gushing about how much she grows and comes full circle. Forgive me, as I know it’s television, but I don’t see what’s so “aspirational” about driving drunk with your kid in the car, keeping a pregnancy you didn’t want and proceeding to be a lousy mother, and not taking your addiction recovery seriously. And “strong?” Girl has no coping skills. She melts down every time she doesn’t get her way or doesn‘t like something, and the only reason she bagged Luka and got a fancy job at the end is because she’s a total Creator’s Pet who of course got everything handed to her on a silver platter. 

Just my two cents but there are way more female characters on that show who would be better role models than Abby and handled their setbacks with true strength and dignity. Like Carol overcoming a suicide attempt or Jeanie being HIV positive but still working as a PA and standing her ground when she got fired. Even some of the female side characters who had leadership roles would be better choices. Why would you choose someone who is a total hot mess, has no personal responsibility, and had a baby when she’s far from a loving parent as your role model? Come on; do better.

It’s not a normal amount of liking a character I ever have a problem with. It’s the weird parasocial relationship a lot of her fans have with her and how much they blindly worship someone who doesn‘t exist, along with what mean girls some of them are themselves if you dare feel differently, that bothers me. Perhaps they are too wrapped up in their little hero to see how ridiculous they act… 

If ER was a giant Christmas stocking, Abby was a large lump of coal.

[Cloud9Shopper]

13 hours ago, juno said:

If ER was a giant Christmas stocking, Abby was a large lump of coal.

I’m going to hell for this but sometimes I wish she had died in childbirth or that she drank herself to death during her relapse. (Although I’m also willing to bet she probably fell back off the wagon at some point anyway.) Her kid would be better off without his mother. Why Luka didn’t pack up their kid and make sure Abby never saw him again after she drove drunk with him and didn’t care for him after he got hurt is beyond me. I wouldn’t care how much she claimed to be sober and a good person; I’d file for full custody and then not tell her where to find us. 

[Crs97]

I’m so glad I had stopped watching ER by that point because I was never a big Abby fan.  When she started getting all the airtime I left.  Susan was a much more interesting character (and better actress) than sad sack Abby.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Susan was also way more adult about her family situation. Chloe drove her crazy and we knew it but it didn’t stop Susan from doing her job and being professional with her colleagues. I don’t know; maybe it was just better writing back then, but she mostly just vented about Chloe and went on with her day, whereas Abby was rude and snotty to virtually everyone as if it was her coworkers’ fault that she grew up with a crazy mother. (And let’s not forget how she treated Carter when his grandmother died.) 

I’m almost at the end of S4 in my current watch, and once Carter leaves seven seasons down the road, I‘ll be skipping the majority of episodes and just quickly going to S15 so I don’t have to sit through three seasons of Abby’s whining. (And there’s not enough else going on to redeem the show otherwise. They should have just had the curtain call when Carter left.) 

[juno]

11 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Susan was also way more adult about her family situation. Chloe drove her crazy and we knew it but it didn’t stop Susan from doing her job and being professional with her colleagues. I don’t know; maybe it was just better writing back then, but she mostly just vented about Chloe and went on with her day, whereas Abby was rude and snotty to virtually everyone as if it was her coworkers’ fault that she grew up with a crazy mother. (And let’s not forget how she treated Carter when his grandmother died.) 

I’m almost at the end of S4 in my current watch, and once Carter leaves seven seasons down the road, I‘ll be skipping the majority of episodes and just quickly going to S15 so I don’t have to sit through three seasons of Abby’s whining. (And there’s not enough else going on to redeem the show otherwise. They should have just had the curtain call when Carter left.) 

Susan was one of my favorite characters. I also thought her and Carter had a lot of chemistry. I know that sounds strange because there seemed to be some shipping for her and Greene but her Carter really got along great.

[Fool to cry]

Susan was a doctor. I've said it before but Carol only ended up a main character because of her relationship with Doug, otherwise they would never have given so much focus on a nurse. When she left they felt they had to replace her but in a show with mostly doctors nobody cares about a nurse or their problems.

Speaking generally it does happen that a woman will get attention from more than one man in real life. Why does it seem to annoy people when it happens on TV?

Edited May 26, 2023 by Fool to cry

[Fool to cry]

23 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Fool to cry

[kiddo82]

In regards to ER, this is probably not that unpopular but I feel as if it always bears repeating, it holds up remarkably well both stylistically and narratively.  As the episodes get older and older my amazement grows at how technically well produced many of them were in a way that still hasn't really been replicated.  Certainly not on network TV.  And it's not just the big moments but I feel like they got a lot of little things right as well.  You have a scene in season 6 where Kerry has to confront Gabe about his Alzheimer's.  A lesser show would have had the big dramatic score queued up and the actors chewing the eff out of the scenery trying in to hit a 5 run homerun.  By contrast, this is a quiet moment that allows the impact of the dialogue and the acting by Laura Innes and Alan Alda to stand on its own.  And the more I rewatch the more I find these scenes that are low key great without trying to be great.  The show wasn't 100% perfect then, and it's certainly not 100% perfect now, but in the era of peak, prestige TV I would still put an episode like Blizzard, Love's Labor Lost, All in the Family, or even a latter series episode like When Night Meets Day up against just about anything else even today.  

Edited May 26, 2023 by kiddo82

[juno]

Getting stuck. That is a term I use to describe loving a show so much that you get stuck in a season where you know the show has turned to crap but elect to stay on because of your loyalty, love of the show, hope that it can improve. Yes, I can quit at any time; freewill and all that but when you love your show, you love your show.

I have watched 6 seasons more of one of my favorites; Letterkenny, thinking it will improve, it has not. Season 7-11 have been garbage. I hang on knowing that at least 2 of the 6 episodes won't be crap. Sadly I am correct.

Knowing that this season is the last of Ted Lasso has me completely stuck. Knowing it has turned to garbage has forced me to wait it out till the end. My decision I know, but it has been a miserable experience.

At least when I am rewatching I know when to leave. No more getting stuck.

[DearEvette]

54 minutes ago, juno said:

Getting stuck. That is a term I use to describe loving a show so much that you get stuck in a season where you know the show has turned to crap but elect to stay on because of your loyalty, love of the show, hope that it can improve. Yes, I can quit at any time; freewill and all that but when you love your show, you love your show.

I have watched 6 seasons more of one of my favorites; Letterkenny, thinking it will improve, it has not. Season 7-11 have been garbage. I hang on knowing that at least 2 of the 6 episodes won't be crap. Sadly I am correct.

Knowing that this season is the last of Ted Lasso has me completely stuck. Knowing it has turned to garbage has forced me to wait it out till the end. My decision I know, but it has been a miserable experience.

At least when I am rewatching I know when to leave. No more getting stuck.

I did the same thing except I call it 'hope watching.'  More optimistic and less of a 'why would you subject yourself to this?' psychological time waste than 'hate watching.'

That was me with Season 3 of Sleepy Hollow. Which served as an object lesson to stop myself doing this and listen to my instincts.

[DrSpaceman73]

2 hours ago, juno said:

Getting stuck. That is a term I use to describe loving a show so much that you get stuck in a season where you know the show has turned to crap but elect to stay on because of your loyalty, love of the show, hope that it can improve. Yes, I can quit at any time; freewill and all that but when you love your show, you love your show.

I have watched 6 seasons more of one of my favorites; Letterkenny, thinking it will improve, it has not. Season 7-11 have been garbage. I hang on knowing that at least 2 of the 6 episodes won't be crap. Sadly I am correct.

Knowing that this season is the last of Ted Lasso has me completely stuck. Knowing it has turned to garbage has forced me to wait it out till the end. My decision I know, but it has been a miserable experience.

At least when I am rewatching I know when to leave. No more getting stuck.

Yeah I skipped out on lettetkenney awhile ago. 

The last season of lucifer when his daughter joined the show was a struggle. But I finished it. 

How I met your mother was the hardest. Could have cut out like 90% of the last season. 

[juno]

17 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Yeah I skipped out on lettetkenney awhile ago. 

The last season of lucifer when his daughter joined the show was a struggle. But I finished it. 

How I met your mother was the hardest. Could have cut out like 90% of the last season. 

I agree with Lucifer but I couldn't make it. I bailed a bit earlier. Sometimes getting stuck is so excruciating I have to jump out of the plane.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:44 PM, tribeca said:

I think Seth Rogan could be a decent actor. He just automatically goes for the cheap easy laugh instead of anything meaningful.  

 

I thought he was very good in Take This Waltz, which for some reason is not on his IMDB credit list, and in 50/50.  In the latter,  Rogen was a little goofy but it wasn't a case of cheap laugh after cheap laugh; the former was straightforward (and pretty sad), and I thought he did well in a serious role. 

Take This Waltz

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Miss Anne Thrope

[Shannon L.]

@DrSpaceman73 the difficult season for me in Lucifer was when Charlotte was introduced.  The last season wasn't great, but Charlotte set my teeth on edge.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Shannon L.

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I did the same thing except I call it 'hope watching.'  More optimistic and less of a 'why would you subject yourself to this?' psychological time waste than 'hate watching.'

That was me with Season 3 of Sleepy Hollow. Which served as an object lesson to stop myself doing this and listen to my instincts.

It took me a long time to stop doing that. So many shows I kept watching after they went bad because I used to love them so much and hope it will get better. I've gotten a lot better at finally letting shows go. It really stinks when good shows go bad.

[EtheltoTillie]

UO:  what’s so great about Succession?  I don’t get the extreme adulation. It’s very good but not in my top five or even ten.
I watched the first season and liked it but when when it came for the second I found myself bored by the circular arguments and in particular the discussions of alleged deals. However, I decided to watch the final season as it was very buzzed about. I thought the sibling psychology was well done, and the acting was excellent. But I still found it impossible to understand the business discussions. I had to just sleepwalk through that. 

[bluegirl147]

14 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

UO:  what’s so great about Succession?  I don’t get the extreme adulation. It’s very good but not in my top five or even ten.

I watched Succession.  But I doubt it's a show I will ever rewatch.  It was never a show I thought oh I can't wait for the next episode/season.  

14 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

But I still found it impossible to understand the business discussions.

I usually respect a show that doesn't walk viewers through everything explaining what they are talking about but even though I understood most of what was happening I found a lot of it just too much.  

The thing I liked least about this show was there wasn't anyone I liked.  Not even a little.  

Edited May 30, 2023 by bluegirl147

[Bethany]

4 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

The thing I liked least about this show was there wasn't anyone I liked.  Not even a little.  

This is where I fall with a lot of TV shows.  I have to like at least one of the characters in order to make it a show I am going to go out of my way to watch.  I enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond so tried King of Queens and Brad Garrett's Til Death.  I found neither show had even one character that I liked or cared about one little bit.  Time to move on!

[Zella]

11 minutes ago, Bethany said:

Brad Garrett's Til Death.

I really enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond, and when this first aired, my family was excited to watch it because of Brad Garrett. But that show was like watching paint dry. It just never was funny to any of us, and we all tapped out pretty soon. I was shocked that it lasted for 4 years. 

[bluegirl147]

8 minutes ago, Bethany said:

I enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond so tried King of Queens and Brad Garrett's Til Death. 

I watched all three.  Once.  Didn't like any characters and won't watch them again.  I don't mind watching a show that has a character that we are supposed to hate. They are usually entertaining.  Dallas had JR and Dynasty had Alexis.  But I don't like characters that are just unlikable.  

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, Zella said:

I really enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond, and when this first aired, my family was excited to watch it because of Brad Garrett. But that show was like watching paint dry. It just never was funny to any of us, and we all tapped out pretty soon. I was shocked that it lasted for 4 years. 

And had decent ratings.  But I do notice I never see it listed on any list of best sitcoms of all time.

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

And had decent ratings.  But I do notice I never see it listed on any list of best sitcoms of all time.

For once, the list-makers are wise and all-knowing. 😂

[Mabinogia]

5 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I don't mind watching a show that has a character that we are supposed to hate. They are usually entertaining.  Dallas had JR and Dynasty had Alexis.  But I don't like characters that are just unlikable.  

I can deal with an unlikable character if I like other characters enough. I watched and enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond (though I kind of hated Raymond and Debra). I loved his brother Ray and though I don't think they're likable people, I found their parents hilarious. Doris Roberts is a treasure! 

But a show like Succession, while I haven't watched it, I know I never will because from what little I have seen I can't imagine liking any single character in it and I've got better things to do with my time then spending it watching people I don't like do things I don't care about. (the premise also doesn't appeal to me at all). I'm just not into these "prestige" shows about horrible people doing bad things. I can turn on any news program to see that shit. 

[DoctorAtomic]

It is interesting that 'prestige' seems to equal terrible people as the protagonists of the show for the most part. 

[DXD526]

Obnoxious characters was the reason I couldn't get into Parks and Recreation. The only character I liked was Leslie. Everyone else I actively disliked, though I never got past the second season. 

[DrSpaceman73]

My theory on ELO is it existed in kind of a sitcom lull where there was not a lot of competition in that genre.  So it seemed better than it was.  

I enjoy it to a degree but it's probably not even in my top 25 favorite sitcoms. Even of just this century. 

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It is interesting that 'prestige' seems to equal terrible people as the protagonists of the show for the most part. 

I watched Succession until about midway through season 2 back in 2021 when my cable company gave me a good deal on the streaming service it was on for 6 months. The main characters all being assholes is a big part of the show but that's not all it is. The acting from pretty much the whole cast is really well done. And all the location choices and production design are great; the show looks super expensive. Which I appreciate in general, and especially in a show about billionaires.

[DoctorAtomic]

I haven't watched the show. I probably should have said 'antiheroes'; that's typically bad people you root for. 

[Sarahsmile416]

57 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

Obnoxious characters was the reason I couldn't get into Parks and Recreation. The only character I liked was Leslie. Everyone else I actively disliked, though I never got past the second season. 

I can understand that but I would urge you to try and continue.  Seasons 3 and 4 are two of the best seasons of the show (though arguably there are no really bad seasons, except the first).  

[andromeda331]

15 hours ago, Bethany said:

This is where I fall with a lot of TV shows.  I have to like at least one of the characters in order to make it a show I am going to go out of my way to watch.  I enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond so tried King of Queens and Brad Garrett's Til Death.  I found neither show had even one character that I liked or cared about one little bit.  Time to move on!

The one thing I do like about King of Queens is Doug and Carrie knew they were terrible people. It's very rare for characters to be at least that self-aware. They did nothing to change it of course. But it's nice they knew it.

[Haleth]

19 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

The thing I liked least about this show was there wasn't anyone I liked.  Not even a little.  

I thought Succession was brilliant.  Yeah, every character was a terrible person but the quality of the writing and acting kept me interested.  On the other hand, I gave up watching Yellowstone because every character was a terrible person and the writing sucked.

Awful characters + good writing = fun. 

Awful characters + crappy writing = change the channel.

[bluegirl147]

28 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Awful characters + good writing = fun. 

For me this is the Sopranos.  

29 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Awful characters + crappy writing = change the channel.

For me this is so much of what is on TV right now.

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

But a show like Succession, while I haven't watched it, I know I never will because from what little I have seen I can't imagine liking any single character in it and I've got better things to do with my time then spending it watching people I don't like do things I don't care about. (the premise also doesn't appeal to me at all).

The premise not appealing at all is the reason I never watched Succession and never will.  I'm sure it's all well-written and terrifically acted but it just doesn't interest me.

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

Awful characters + good writing = fun. 

That for me is not fun.  There doesn't have to be a lot of characters who aren't awful on a show, but I need at least one.

[partofme]

On 5/29/2023 at 9:01 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

UO:  what’s so great about Succession?  I don’t get the extreme adulation. 

I don't either.  I watched the whole thing but I found it a sludge to get through.  I watched it with my mom and my sister, if I had watched it myself I probably would have quit in season one, it was so boring.  Season 2 was the only season that held my interest at all.  Nothing ever happens, Season 3 was the same discussions week after week.  The only reason anything happened in Season 4 was because

Spoiler

the dad died

otherwise it was boring shit with unlikeable characters.  The second to last episode sort of interested me because 

Spoiler

the church the funeral is at is where my parents were married and I was baptized.  

I think the show is hyped because its current and will be forgotten in a few years.

[meep.meep]

I made it through about 3 episodes of Succession before bailing.  The family didn't seem like a real family and there was no one intriguing.  I've seen and enjoyed plenty of anti-hero shows, but someone has to create a character with some facets that make you want to watch them.  

[Enigma X]

I really liked Succession while understanding they were all horrible people. Though I felt like the show produced a lot of good zingers in dialogue (here is where my unpopular opinion among Succession fans comes in), overall, the writing was repetitive and lacking. It almost seemed as if they got direction to act a certain way and filled the scene with choppy dialogue,  such as "yeah well," "whatever," and "fuckity fuck."

I never saw the movie Juno, but it seems the writer of that movie was criticized for her choppy character dialogue, while Succession is praised for it.

[supposebly]

I haven't seen Succession but I don't mind terrible characters. It's when that's all I can say is: they're bad people, that's when I get bored.

Good writing for me has characters with layers. Good or bad isn't generally my hang-up. Flat and boring is my problem.

[Zella]

1 hour ago, supposebly said:

I haven't seen Succession but I don't mind terrible characters. It's when that's all I can say is: they're bad people, that's when I get bored.

Good writing for me has characters with layers. Good or bad isn't generally my hang-up. Flat and boring is my problem.

Same. I really enjoy some incredibly awful characters who do things I'd never condone or tolerate in real life. But they entertain me. It's when they don't entertain me that I'm out. 

I've never gotten into Succession because quite frankly all I know about is how annoyingly method one of the actors is on set, and that does nothing to reel me in. The general concept of the show seems like it would be right up my alley, but nothing specific about the show has ever intrigued me enough to try it. 

[Irlandesa]

I think my thing with Succession is that it was good. I enjoyed it. But I do not connect with the "is this in consideration for greatest show ever?" discussion. 

It was good. But no. 

 

[DrSpaceman73]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think my thing with Succession is that it was good. I enjoyed it. But I do not connect with the "is this in consideration for greatest show ever?" discussion. 

It was good. But no. 

 

I agree it's not at all on that level. 

For one the same story played put over and over in different forms.  Kids try to take over company. Fail.

Also its just absurd and unbelievable in some of the plot contrivances. Very soap opera feel to it