Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I think that's sort of the point, though -- Theon is a bad person! And the state he's in now is a direct result of his own hubris. But your*** anticipated satisfaction at Theon getting his "just desserts" still turns to ash in your mouth when you see (in gory detail) what that *actually* means.

 

Alfie Allen (Theon) was in the Keanu Reeves movie John Wick, playing the son of a Russian gangster, and he does something to  Keanu's character  that seems fairly trivial* on paper. In the movie, his act starts a brush-fire of violence that blazes through everything in its path to get to him, and you're supposed to be rooting for John (Keanu) to wipe him off the face of the earth. Contrast that with Theon, who I think you're supposed to feel sympathy for, even though he's  a much worse person than Iosef.

 

*I'll admit that I did not find his act all that trivial, but that's my issue and other people might not feel the same way about wanting him dead.

[Chaos Theory]

Game of Thrones is great but my UO is that it is annoying because it knows it is great. There was a scene on another show The Big Bang Theory that reminds me of this show. I forget the exact lines but Sheldon's mother tells him that it is ok to be smarter then everyone else but he shouldn't go around pointing it out. Sheldon asks why and she tells him people don't like it. It is fine that GoT is better then most shows until they insist on pointing it out every chance they get. Plus fanboys get pissed when it's not on top of everyone's best list.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[amensisterfriend]

I like Elementary more than Sherlock and even prefer Johnny Lee Miller's depiction of the role. And I love Joan Watson. To say those are unpopular among people I know is kind of an understatement :) 

 

Also, I far preferred Once Upon a Time in Wonderland to any season of the original Once Upon a Time. 

[DittyDotDot]

The Tudors was basically a cartoon. The White Queen was a miniseries on Starz that was really well done. 

 

No spoilers, but S5 is going to branch out, actually. 

 

They probably could do more with 13 episodes instead of 10. 

 

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about The White Queen. Probably better to point at because of the obvious War of the Roses tie-in, but I'd put it in the same category as The Tudors...basic period drama and historically tangent.

 

Glad to know S5 is something  to look forward to, but it'll be a good long while before I get there. I don't know about more episodes, I'm fine with a shorter run, keeps things tighter. I think they have plenty of time to do what needs to be done and I have no particular outrage about it, just seems like scaling back some of the schemeing down south and focusing on some of the scheming elsewhere could also be enjoyable. 

 

Basically, I'm just saying if I were running the universe, everything would be better...you know it's true. ;)

 

So, the show is now an allegory of Americans in the 21st century who'd rather read about the white trash Kardashians than international events that might have more of an impact on their lives?

 

Yeah, pretty much...kinda, sorta. ;)

 

I couldn't care less about anything happening at the Wall or North of it. Zombies are boring.

 

Oh, I don't know, they don't seem like my daddy's zombies, could be something worth seeing?

Edited April 17, 2015 by DittyDotDot

[HalcyonDays]

OU: I have no desire to see Mad Men, not interested it the subject material at all, and don't really care about Jon Hamm (or the rest of them) or think he's attractive.

[andromeda331]

I like Madam Secretary but I hate Stevie and I hate her staff, minus Bebe.  Bebe is awesome.

[spaceytraci1208]

Like what happened with Joffrey's "comeuppance." I doubt anyone feels that he didn't deserve what he got, but in the end, watching the purple wedding was still horrible, sad, and disturbing, and I doubt maybe people actually enjoyed it regardless that he more or less had it coming.

I giggled...

[bubbls]

Stone/Robinette was always my favorite "Law" pairing. And I know the show always had Jack as the one who had slept a few of his ADAs, but I swear, I always found Michael Moriarity so attractive as Ben Stone.

My law and order SVU UO: I do not understand the love of Barba. At all. My favorite SVU DA has always been Casey Novak (which is its own UO)

 

 

Ooo, me too. I have a big 'ol crush on Moriarity.....well, Ben Stone I guess. My favorite ADA was Abbie but Casey was a close second. 

Edited April 18, 2015 by bubbls

[ramble]

I like Elementary more than Sherlock and even prefer Johnny Lee Miller's depiction of the role. And I love Joan Watson. To say those are unpopular among people I know is kind of an understatement :)

Also, I far preferred Once Upon a Time in Wonderland to any season of the original Once Upon a Time.

Both of these. A lot. To say Sherlock bored me would be a massive understatement. I tried & tried because my family adores the show. It was a chore of unending drudgery. I finally gave up & felt the better for it. Elementary, on the other hand, I find entertaining & not pretentiously full of its own importance.

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in the very beginning & still have brief moments of enjoyment, but they are increasingly few & far between. While OUAT in Wonderland was ridiculous & crazy it was entertaining & fun to watch.

My UO about original recipe OUAT is that I could care less if Charming & Snow are a meant to be, true love, forever & ever, carve your initials in a tree couple. I loathe their sticky sweetness. Their good always wins & love conquers all blathering disgusts me. It makes me actively root for their downfall. It seems I can only take that level of happily ever after in a book or movie time frame & an ongoing TV series is just too much romantic overload for my blackened heart.

Edited April 18, 2015 by ramble

[DearEvette]

I thought that was the point. Everyone is just fighting over the throne and something actually deadly is coming. Say what you want about the show, but people who do stupid things usually get got. 

 

Oh sure the characters forgetting is the point.  But the viewers (or in the case of the book, the readers) are constantly made aware.   The Brothers on the Wall are sort of AGOTs' version of Mad Eye Moody.  They are  always doing their 'Constant Vigilance' by harping on Winter coming.   So there's always this tension there that feels missing on the show because we aren't getting enough of the stuff beyond the wall.  I know that they are consciously diverging from the books but by concentrating so thoroughly on all the courtly intrigues and wallowing in the sexiness factor, I think they are losing some of the stuff that makes reminds you how high the stakes really are.

[Misslindsey]

My Elementary unpopular opinion is that after the Kitty arc, I have become bored with the show. I liked Kitty's interaction with both Sherlock and Joan. Though Joan bores me to death on her own anyway.

[joelene]

I liked the Podrick-as-sex-God scenes because I like Podrick and seeing him rewarded for saving Tyrion's life was great. It also added some nice humor to the general direness of the show. The amount of complaints it gets about the "endlessness" of this "plot" and how it detracted so much valuable screentime for other characters seems unjust. Wasn't it, like, two scenes?

Edited April 19, 2015 by joelene

[amensisterfriend]

This one has earned me a lot of hate from fellow Austen fans, but I far prefer the Kiera Knightly big screen version of Pride and Pejudice to the widely revered, seemingly zillion-hour TV miniseries. I get that the latter is more faithful to both Austen's book and the general time period and that people adore Colin Firth, and there are certainly a lot of good things about it...but I can't help it: I just enjoy the 2005 version so much more. It just has so much more warmth, spirit and charm to me. The dialogue is wittier (IMO) and the overall look of it is even more gorgeous. I even think the casting is better overall, and find Matthew Macfayden a great and sadly underrated Darcy. The TV BBC version kind of flat and plodding for me, and I don't even swoon over Colin Firth here as much as pretty much everyone else does. 

 

I love that we have a safe place to confess these! 

[Misslindsey]

 

This one has earned me a lot of hate from fellow Austen fans, but I far prefer the Kiera Knightly big screen version of Pride and Pejudice to the widely revered, seemingly zillion-hour TV miniseries. I get that the latter is more faithful to both Austen's book and the general time period and that people adore Colin Firth, and there are certainly a lot of good things about it...but I can't help it: I just enjoy the 2005 version so much more. It just has so much more warmth, spirit and charm to me. The dialogue is wittier (IMO) and the overall look of it is even more gorgeous. I even think the casting is better overall, and find Matthew Macfayden a great and sadly underrated Darcy. The TV BBC version kind of flat and plodding for me, and I don't even swoon over Colin Firth here as much as pretty much everyone else does.

I concur. I prefer the 2005 version as well. I thought Matthew Macfayden did well as Darcy. I did enjoy Colin Firth in the role too. Macfayden and Firth played emo Darcy well. For me, I could not warm up to Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth. I thought Keira Knightly had more spark and charisma, and I find Keira Knightly very hit or miss in her various film roles. I like the BBC version, but I prefer the 2005 film version more.

[Ohwell]

I love Don Draper.  I just wouldn't want to date him or be married to him.

 

I think Cookie Lyons is awful.

[kiddo82]

Last Man on Earth UO:  Phil is an ass and often crosses the line between "loveable screw up" and "plain old jerk" but I also find it difficult to have much sympathy for Carol.  If she's not self aware enough to realize that Phil literally only married her because he thought she was the only other person on Earth...that's just moronic.  If she was being honest, she'd admit that was the only reason she married him as well.  And, come on, I know it's a post pandemic society, but she has to be aware that nothing about their ceremony was official or actually binding.  She showed some awareness by serving him "divorce papers", which was actually kinda sweet, but the previews for tonight make her seem like a bitter ex.  Again, I'm not condoning Phil acting like an ass towards her, but her inability to have any awareness of the situation makes her hard to root for.

Edited April 19, 2015 by kiddo82

[butterbody]

I've never watched Scandal but I hate that chicks mouth so much that I can't even make it through a commercial.

I also hate Adam Levine's face. He looks like a cocky, unhatched chicken.

Ahhhh. I feel better.

[ganesh]

I don't think the waitress on Mad Men is horrific and awful and should be killed. I concede that introducing a new character in the final half of the last season is problematic, but Mad Men has always been about Don first, and it's his story. If she was taking time from Don, then ok, but he's in all the scenes with her. 

[Misslindsey]

 

I don't think the waitress on Mad Men is horrific and awful and should be killed. I concede that introducing a new character in the final half of the last season is problematic, but Mad Men has always been about Don first, and it's his story. If she was taking time from Don, then ok, but he's in all the scenes with her.

I do not think I would have minded her so much if I thought she was interesting, but she bored me. I was trying to figure out why Don was so enamored with her. Also, they did no favors by having an episode that heavily featured her and Megan and her family. That is a snooze worthy episode for me.

 

My Mad Men unpopular opinion is that I do not care one way or another if we see or hear from Sal again. I liked the character, but was fine with the way his story ended.

[topanga]

 

I mean, they stuck with the show despite the seemingly endless "Bran is carried by Hodor" scenes

Hodor!

 

I used to be intrigued by Jon Snow's character, but now I find myself more interested in Sam's story and his development into manhood.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I'm sick to death of Jon Snow. He bores me. I'll take Bran and Hodor any day of the week.

[M.F. Luder]

 

I'm sick to death of Jon Snow. He bores me. I'll take Bran and Hodor any day of the week.

 

I completely agree! He's always been the weak link in the show in my opinion, but at least now that Ygritte is gone, his storyline is a little more bearable. And I'll add Daenerys to the list of people I'm bored with.

 

In fact, my unpopular opinion is that Game of Thrones is now just boring, period. I'm hoping it'll pick up again soon.

[Gudzilla]

I don't find the nudity on GoT to be over the top. 

[ikmccall]

Last Man on Earth UO:  Phil is an ass and often crosses the line between "loveable screw up" and "plain old jerk" but I also find it difficult to have much sympathy for Carol.  If she's not self aware enough to realize that Phil literally only married her because he thought she was the only other person on Earth...that's just moronic.  If she was being honest, she'd admit that was the only reason she married him as well.  And, come on, I know it's a post pandemic society, but she has to be aware that nothing about their ceremony was official or actually binding.  She showed some awareness by serving him "divorce papers", which was actually kinda sweet, but the previews for tonight make her seem like a bitter ex.  Again, I'm not condoning Phil acting like an ass towards her, but her inability to have any awareness of the situation makes her hard to root for.

I think she's in denial about a lot of things. It's probably what's keeping her sane. Not just the wedding, but what stuck out to me was her bra. When Phil first found her campsite, the first thing he saw was her bra on the clothesline. I'm sorry but if it's the end of life as we know it, there's no way I'm continuing to wear a bra.

[ribboninthesky1]

The appeal of Vikings eludes me.  I watched the first season, and some of the second.  I can appreciate the eye candy, but never found the main characters interesting.  Ragnar and Lagertha in particular got on my last nerve.  Best thing about the show was the backdrop.  I believe it's shot in Ireland rather than Scandinavia, but it's gorgeous nonetheless. 

[ganesh]

I'm surprised there isn't more nudity in GOT. 

[Chaos Theory]

Am I the only one who actually liked Tasha Yar on TNG? If that is true that....surprises me. Strong, intelligent female. Fine she didn't do too much but it was the first season....no one did. Still surprises me to find so much hate directed towards her.

[DittyDotDot]

Am I the only one who actually liked Tasha Yar on TNG? If that is true that....surprises me. Strong, intelligent female. Fine she didn't do too much but it was the first season....no one did. Still surprises me to find so much hate directed towards her.

 

Hate, really? Wow, I don't know why. I'm not partial to the actress, but hate seems rather extreme. Weird, I was under the impression she was beloved for some reason.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I think that Tasha had potential, but was criminally underused, and the way she was killed off robbed her of her dignity and didn't even come close to doing her justice. (It's a shame that Denise Crosby opted out of her contract after the first season. I would've loved to see what the writing staff from season 3 and beyond would've done with her.)

[Chaos Theory]

Hate, really? Wow, I don't know why. I'm not partial to the actress, but hate seems rather extreme. Weird, I was under the impression she was beloved for some reason.

There are a few characters that appear on almost everyone's worst Star Trek character list (Neelix, Wesley Crusher) Tasha Yar appears on quite a few of them. A few lists I find suspect because they are determined to include every female character on Trek. Mind you Trek, despite its best intentions, does not write very well for women but occasionally it writes a Katherine Janeway and a Kira Neyrs and to include them on your list invalidates your entire list in my mind.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 Wesley Crusher *spits*

 

There. Fixed.

[galax-arena]

Weird, I was under the impression she was beloved for some reason.

It was Trekkies that gave me that impression. She hosted it, so of course she must have been a beloved character!

 

My exceptional logic, let me show you it. 

[Chaos Theory]

When Wil Wheaton shows up the place EXPLODES. Time changes all things. One of the most hated characters has become a fan favorite actor.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[DittyDotDot]

I've never got into Trekdom--I watched all the shows and enjoyed them all immensely, though--but I seem to remember some outcry about Tasha Yar being killed off too soon and how great she was. I just figured she was beloved based on that, but that was so many years ago it may not be a valid impression anymore.

 

Personally, I liked Wesley Crusher for the most part...don't always care for Wil Wheaton, though.

[galax-arena]

I liked Wesley Crusher for the most part

So did I, but I also liked Michelle Tanner when I watched Full House during its initial run, so my taste was obviously suspect. 

When Wil Wheaton shows up the place EXPLODES. Time changes all things. One of the most hated characters has become a fan favorite actor.

IIRC part of the reason why Wil Wheaton became so beloved is because he was later fully on board the "I hate Wesley" train. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

When Wil Wheaton shows up the place EXPLODES. Time changes all things. One of the most hated characters has become a fan favorite actor.

 

Trivia: Wil Wheaton appeared n a season four episode of Criminal Minds called Paradise, where he played the killer. I was perhaps unreasonably delighted by Wesley Crusher-as-UnSub.

[ganesh]

Wheaton also had a great recurring role on Eureka.

[Rick Kitchen]

Wil Wheaton has embraced all of the tackiness, his appearances on Big Bang Theory show you just how much he's willing to play along.

[ganesh]

I'm not devastated that Jon Stewart is leaving the Daily Show. I like the show, and I watch nearly every day. I'll still watch most likely. Life brings change. Get over it. 

[Anna Yolei]

Am I the only one who actually liked Tasha Yar on TNG? If that is true that....surprises me. Strong, intelligent female. Fine she didn't do too much but it was the first season....no one did. Still surprises me to find so much hate directed towards her.

It's Trekdom. We'll find a reason to hate everything ;)

In all seriousness, I forget Tasha Yar even existed sometimes, so the idea that she'd make a list of hated characters on a show that brought us Wesley Crusher, Dr. Pulaski trying to be Dr. McCoy, and the Troi women is baffling to me.

[ganesh]

Are there a lot of people that have problems with actually watching a tv show and interpreting what's going on just by, you know, actually watching? Rather than having to look up what the actor said or the director to make sure? 

 

I'm talking mostly obvious things, like whether the character is being sarcastic, putting someone on, etc., not if a scene is played to be deliberately ambiguous. 

[Guest]

Are there a lot of people that have problems with actually watching a tv show and interpreting what's going on just by, you know, actually watching? Rather than having to look up what the actor said or the director to make sure? 

 

I'm talking mostly obvious things, like whether the character is being sarcastic, putting someone on, etc., not if a scene is played to be deliberately ambiguous. 

 

Most of the time this is just people not paying attention while watching; but I think you discount how truly badly executed a lot of shows are.  There are shows I watch where everything comes off as completely unambiguous.  Its clear what you saw; but the showrunners claim that up is down in the post show interviews the next day.  By virtue of posting at places like this, you find that out even if you don't go looking for it.  Then the you are in a cycle of trying to figure out if what they clearly showed on the screen was what they intended.

 

I have a recent example but to avoid spoilers I'll go in the wayback machine.  At one point the show Roswell found a new way to do previouslies.  One of the characters became an omniscient narrator who would explain at a chalkboard (like she was the teacher and viewers were the idiot students) what happened in prior episodes and seasons.  This resulted in a thread on a board I used to post at that was named something along the lines of 'What I thought I saw, what they say I saw, and what actually happened.'

[DittyDotDot]

Are there a lot of people that have problems with actually watching a tv show and interpreting what's going on just by, you know, actually watching? Rather than having to look up what the actor said or the director to make sure? 

 

I'm talking mostly obvious things, like whether the character is being sarcastic, putting someone on, etc., not if a scene is played to be deliberately ambiguous. 

 

Other than the fact that most people don't pay attention much anymore, some people just need to be told what it means and how to feel about it. Some are just incapable of formulating their own opinion. Art is subjective and will mean something different to everybody depending on their own emotional state and life experiences, despite artistic intent. This is why I generally don't take what TPTB say too seriously, it only matters how it affected me. What they intended matters little to me if it didn't work.

 

Why yes, my pants have crept up to an unusually high level, what about it? ;)

[ganesh]

I'm not talking about subjective scenes in shows. In Mad Men, Joan was being obviously sarcastic to this guy she recently met, who had been really mean to her for no reason. Anyone who has watched the show would realize how the actor plays when Joan is really angry. There's no ambiguity there. I don't think one needs to consult the director to make sure Joan was being sarcastic. I mean, come on. 

 

One could argue at the end of the episode whether Don was feeling lost or relieved that he sold his apartment, for example. It should be played that way.

 

I'm always on TPTBs to just make the show and get out of the way. TPTBs basically ruined the Mentalist because they wouldn't shut up. But, viewers, first, really need to just actually watch what's on the screen. 

[ChromaKelly]

Are there a lot of people that have problems with actually watching a tv show and interpreting what's going on just by, you know, actually watching? Rather than having to look up what the actor said or the director to make sure? 

 

I'm talking mostly obvious things, like whether the character is being sarcastic, putting someone on, etc., not if a scene is played to be deliberately ambiguous. 

I think some people really do have a problem with this. My first Internet exposure to it was with Lost, when Sun had sex with that guy back in her pre-island life. People were all like "How do we know she slept with him?" "Maybe they just made out?" "They could just be friends!" It was like, this is network TV, we're not going to see penetration. We saw them in bed together in what was clearly the after-sex stage. They weren't napping.

[ribboninthesky1]

Some people see what they want to see, and that extends to television.  It took me the longest time to adjust to posters claiming something did or didn't happen when the exact, unambiguous opposite occurred on screen. Now, I just assume they're trolling or lazy, and ignore them.   

[rue721]

Are there a lot of people that have problems with actually watching a tv show and interpreting what's going on just by, you know, actually watching? Rather than having to look up what the actor said or the director to make sure? 

 

I'm talking mostly obvious things, like whether the character is being sarcastic, putting someone on, etc., not if a scene is played to be deliberately ambiguous. 

 

I pretty much never *just* watch a show while I'm watching a show. While the TV's on, I'm usually doing chores, texting, working out, eating, futzing on the internet, talking to someone, messing with some hobby, etc. It's just too boring to sit there and stare at the television.

 

So yeah, I miss stuff. Even stuff that's likely obvious to someone who's glued to the screen.

[ByTor]

 I think Mark Pellegrino is a mediocre actor, and a first-class bore.

He acts? I never noticed, I'm too busy drooling when he's on my screen :)

[Sandman]

So at least you're not bored, then?

[jhlipton]

I like Elementary more than Sherlock and even prefer Johnny Lee Miller's depiction of the role. And I love Joan Watson. To say those are unpopular among people I know is kind of an understatement :) 

 

Also, I far preferred Once Upon a Time in Wonderland to any season of the original Once Upon a Time. 

 

I didn't like how powerful Jafar became-- able to tame the most feared creature in Wonderland, just because.  But it was certainly better than the past few seasons of the Mothership.

 

And yay, verily, yay to Elementary.

 

This one has earned me a lot of hate from fellow Austen fans, but I far prefer the Kiera Knightly big screen version of Pride and Pejudice to the widely revered, seemingly zillion-hour TV miniseries. 

 

My Austin confession is that I prefer any version of Sense and Sensibility over Pride and Prejudice.  Better characters and much more fun.

 

I don't find the nudity on GoT to be over the top. 

 

Shouldn't the nudity be off the top?

 

I think that Tasha had potential, but was criminally underused, and the way she was killed off robbed her of her dignity and didn't even come close to doing her justice. (It's a shame that Denise Crosby opted out of her contract after the first season. I would've loved to see what the writing staff from season 3 and beyond would've done with her.)

 

It was my impression at the time that she was axed after her appearance in Playboy.