Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions

[Shannon L.]

 

I think David Schwimmer was always criminally underrated as a comedic actor, because Ross usually didn't get the best one-liners or the flashy things do to, but he consistently cracks me up.

I said way back in this thread (I think it was this one), that the scene where he's trying to pull up his leather pants is one of my favorite physical comedy moments ever.  I know there was dialogue as well, and he did a good job with it, but it was the action that made it funny. 

 

 

Daredevil UO: Vincent D'Onofrio was the worst part of the show. About halfway through the season, I joked to my husband that he looked like a giant angry baby, with that bald head and big face. We couldn't stop with it. Awww the Baby Man Villain is mad! Wah wah.

I didn't dislike him that much, but yeah, I felt like Vincent's portrayal was a weak point.  I thought the character himself was fine--great bad guy with a great back story, but I didn't like the way he was portrayed.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Shannon L.

[ribboninthesky1]

Daredevil UO: Vincent D'Onofrio was the worst part of the show. About halfway through the season, I joked to my husband that he looked like a giant angry baby, with that bald head and big face. We couldn't stop with it. Awww the Baby Man Villain is mad! Wah wah.

 

Ha! Now I cannot unsee it. I felt he was basically Robert Goren having a tantrum. The Wesley actor (Toby Leonard Moore) was a lot more subtle and sinisterly.  

[Princess Sparkle]

I said way back in this thread (I think it was this one), that the scene where he's trying to pull up his leather pants is one of my favorite physical comedy moments ever.  I know there was dialogue as well, and he did a good job with it, but it was the action that made it funny.

That is one of my all-time favorite Ross moments.  "The powder has formed a paste!"  I hate how they made Ross such a whiny asshat the longer the series went on.  

[spaceytraci1208]

Ha! Now I cannot unsee it. I felt he was basically Robert Goren having a tantrum. The Wesley actor (Toby Leonard Moore) was a lot more subtle and sinisterly.

Subtlety is precisely what the Kingpin character needs and is severely lacking

[ribboninthesky1]

Agreed.  Throughout the show, I kept wondering why Wesley wasn't the Kingpin (or some other villainous brains behind the operation). But I assume the Kingpin is Daredevil's main nemesis, so they had to have him in there somewhere. 

[Constantinople]

GRRM can be OTT, but the showrunners go that extra mile. Honestly, sometimes to me it feels like the "different era" is just an excuse for the writers to get away with being gross, and I think Game of Thrones suffers from this. And while women seem to be affected the most, occasionally it goes in the other direction. The whole Margaery/Tommen bit creeped me out in particular. It wasn't even in the fucking books, for crying out loud. And I feel like they recast Tommen with an older-looking actor to make it seem less icky, but that mission failed spectacularly. Natalie Dormer apparently felt uncomfortable enough with the bedroom seduction scene from season 4 that she asked for some lines to be changed, and the young actor for Tommen expressed how uncomfortable he was with some of the season 5 stuff as well. It was all just so unnecessary. They should have kept Tommen little and had Margaery ply him with kittens, like it was in the books. Except that would violate D&D's prime directive, which is apparently "the more creepy sex and rape and bouncing boobs, the better."

 

According to one reader/viewer, the books have over 4 times as many rapes as the show, http://io9.com/someone-has-done-a-statistical-analysis-of-rape-in-game-1707037159

 

And if Margeary's story remained unchanged from the books,

we'd have yet another woman on trial for her alleged sexual impurity

, and I'm damn sure if that happened, people would still be shitting all over D&D.

[galax-arena]

And if Margeary's story remained unchanged from the books,  <spoiler>, and I'm damn sure if that happened, people would still be shitting all over D&D.

Er, okay? I'm not saying that things have to stay exactly the same as the books, and I don't think anyone else is, either. I'm absolutely not a book purist because I realize that books and television are two very different mediums. My point is that D&D changed something that was essentially completely sexless to have more sex and creepy predatory behavior to illustrate how quickly they seem to like jumping into that particular pool. "It was in the books!" gives them a convenient excuse, but clearly they don't even need that reason.

 

And it's not just about strict numbers. It's about D&D inserting gratuitous (female) nudity* and rape in scenes where it's simply unnecessary. By now, I think we've all understood the point that hey, women had it bad back then! Saying how they keep putting in those scenes BECAUSE REALISM rings hollow. In particular, I absolutely do not buy that argument for that one scene where they had female extras/background characters all being raped in the background. I don't think that cutting that scene out would have made their purported "women had it bad back then, y'all" message less potent. 

 

On a discussion on another site, someone said the following in response to all the complaints over rape depiction: "Is rape such a special category that writers need to give it special consideration before putting it in?" And my answer was something like, "Well, we live in a rape culture, so my answer would be, absolutely." I think it's disingenuous to say that we shouldn't complain because a show is set in a different era. It might be set in a different era, but it's still being written in the present day and filtered through a modern lens, so we have no obligation to treat the show as though it's occurring in a vacuum. "But why aren't you complaining about all the murders and children being thrown out of windows??" Because we don't live in a fucking defenestration culture, that's why. Show me an epidemic of children getting tossed out of windows and being blamed for it and I'll change my tune. 

 

And no, for the record, I am not against any sort of rape depiction at all. Some people avoid any shows involving rape, but I'm not one of them. But I do think that D&D have been very careless in choosing how/when to write it in and show it on screen. I have my problems with GRRM too, but that's a different story altogether. 

 

* I think GRRM got off easy here because books aren't a visual medium, lol. 

Edited July 1, 2015 by galax-arena

[ChromaKelly]

Agreed.  Throughout the show, I kept wondering why Wesley wasn't the Kingpin (or some other villainous brains behind the operation). But I assume the Kingpin is Daredevil's main nemesis, so they had to have him in there somewhere. 

I really liked Wesley and found him sexy in a weird way.

[Chaos Theory]

Agreed. Throughout the show, I kept wondering why Wesley wasn't the Kingpin (or some other villainous brains behind the operation). But I assume the Kingpin is Daredevil's main nemesis, so they had to have him in there somewhere.

Wesley made a very good minion but he lacked the capacity see the potential for the city. What I loved about his character though was that the show avoided the "hates or wants for himself the love interest and she hates him" trope. That was refressing.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[amensisterfriend]

This reminded me of my related unpopular opinion; I hate "callbacks" and I hate the culture of always finding callbacks to previous minor things.

 

You might share my UO re thinking Arrested Development is incredibly overrated then ;) A ridiculously huge percentage of the 'comedy' stems from just calling back (i.e., repeating to the point of annoyance) the same jokes and storylines over and over in the name of continuity. A lot of the stuff wasn't remotely funny in the first place IMO, and actually kind of dumb and juvenile, but even the better stuff loses its power to amuse after several reiterations. The show seemed more intent on self-indulgently showing us that they remember what's already been said and done then coming up with fresh material. 

 

A random but deeply unpopular opinion: I didn't like Gil Grissom and actually thought CSI, or at least the episodes I've seen of it,  was much more enjoyable after he left. 

[andromeda331]

I didn't like Gil Grissom and actually thought CSI, or at least the episodes I've seen of it,  was much more enjoyable after he left.

 

Me too. I realized this when he was gone for a couple episodes and they brought in his replacement. Then again I love Liev Schreiberv so it was like a win for me. Ironically, during his episodes I realized I didn't like any of the CSI characters anymore and soon stopped watching.

Edited July 2, 2015 by andromeda331

[GHScorpiosRule]

First, let me preface my statement by saying I was cheering when we were finally talking about taking down the confederate flags in the Southern states.  I even called out Haley for her nonsense, because talking about talking when to take down the flag in South Carolina is BULLSHIT. Just take it down already.

 

That said, I think it's beyond ridiculous that TVLand removed The Dukes of Hazzard from its line up because the General Lee sported that damned thing on its hood. That show is a part of my childhood. It was a part of the Friday night line-up that I watched with my parents:

 

The Incredible Hulk, Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas. 

 

It was such a light-weight and light hearted show. Does watching it, enjoying watching it make me a racist? I don't think so.  That show didn't promote hate. And frankly, it didn't even hit me what was on the hood of that car--I was too busy laughing at Bo and Luke getting the best of Rosco, Cleetus and Boss Hogg. And enjoying when Uncle Jesse and J.D. Hogg went up against each other.

[amensisterfriend]

It can be a lonely feeling to find yourself liking those generally despised characters who inspire hatred from the general audience (and not in a 'love to hate way'!) Sometimes it can even make you doubt your own opinion of the character and/or make discussion of the show less enjoyable. So here's the place to safely confess your fondness for widely reviled characters without shame :) 

 

In no particular order:

 

1) Christopher (Gilmore Girls) A glance at any GG forums will tell you just how loathed this guy is, often to the point where his flaws and sins are (IMUO) grossly exaggerated. And while he has major issues, I found him surprisingly enjoyable and even relatable---and a more realistic, consistent blend of strengths and flaws than many other GG characters. I also thought he had about a zillion times more chemistry and compatibility with Lorelai than the wildly popular Luke (who I hold the UO of disliking as an individual and especially as a love interest for Lorelai, but that's for another thread!) 

 

2) Piz (Veronica Mars) I don't love Piz, but I found the hatred for this kind, slightly adorkable guy so excessive and over the top---and would even say that he was a far, far better boyfriend than the very popular Logan. 

 

3) Xander (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) He had many, many flaws and could even be deeply annoying, but Xander was also incredibly real and relatable to me, and I think his many strengths as a character are too often minimized or cast aside. 

 

4) Hastings (Poirot) I'm always surprised by how many of my fellow Agatha Christie fans dislike Hastings in both the books and TV series---I absolutely adore the guy and think he brings out a subtle warmth and humanity in Poirot that would otherwise be lacking. 

 

5) Jason Gideon (Criminal Minds) Yes, he was a narcissistic, melodramatic pain in the butt who was, by nearly all accounts, depicted by an actor who fits that same description. But he was also brilliant and compelling despite/because of his flaws, and one of the relatively few CM characters who had real depth IMO. 

 

6) Jack (LOST) and Kate (LOST): I can't even really defend liking these two, and I'm the first to roll my eyes through some of their scenes, but somehow I can't help but root for them. 

 

7) Sam Winchester (Supernatural) Granted, after a certain period of time I lost most of my affection for both Winchesters, but I'll always have a soft spot for Early Seasons Sam and think the vitriol his character receives is way, way over the top. 

 

8) Phoebe Halliwell (Charmed) Okay, so I really only loved her for the first few seasons, but even that seems to be a few seasons longer than most did! Yes, she was annoyingly boy crazy---but, really, all of the characters on that show were. Early Phoebe was also warm, funny, endearingly eager, energetic, kind, and just generally a million times more likable than I had expected based on all the intense Phoebe Hate in most forums. 

[Moose135]

As a Mopar guy, I think the people behind Dukes of Hazzard should rot in Hell for all the Dodge Chargers they destroyed.

[ChromaKelly]

Mad Men - Pete Campbell - I can't help it. I loved Pete. I know he's smarmy and took advantage of that nanny and cheated on his wife. He was so earnest in a way though, unapologetic for who he was, didn't carry all that Don Draper angst and drama. He was just Pete.

[Chaos Theory]

People hated Xander on Buffy? I always thought people loved him or is that a new current rewatch thing? All the people who watched with me and gushed over the show with when it was originally on had a crush on Xander.

[amensisterfriend]

Yes, in my experience Xander is pretty disliked---especially in the online communities I visit. 

[Janet Snakehole]

I liked Piz too, he was just a normal decent guy. Not sure what he did that was so awful other than not be Logan (who would go on my list in a widely loved characters who you dislike thread).

I also like Jack. He provides tons of entertainment for me in Lost, even in the moments I don't really like him. He was so narm-y that I found him charming. I hated Kate at first, but now I am ok with her.

My big one is Piper Chapman on Orange is the New Black, but only for the first two seasons. I liked how she interacted with the other prisoners, it was interesting to see someone who was so out of touch but tried so hard. I even didn't mind her selfishness in the love triangle because she KNEW she was being a jerk. I am not a huge fan of her Walter White-esque attempt at badassery in season three, but that is mostly because I think that storyline is completely overdone and boring at this point.

[amensisterfriend]

I liked Piz too, he was just a normal decent guy. Not sure what he did that was so awful other than not be Logan (who would go on my list in a widely loved characters who you dislike thread).

 

Amen! And you know that now I have to start that thread, right?! :) 

[Pickles Aplenty]

Melisandre from Game of Thrones.  Can't help it, I love that red bitch.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Billina

[Misslindsey]

I will echo the Pete Campbell love. I liked on Mad Men that all the characters were flawed. No one was really much worse than the others. I wish Vincent K. got more recognition for his portrayal of Pete.

 

I like Clara from Doctor Who. I wasn't a fan of her storyline for series 8, but I like her. I also like that she has a life/career outside of the Doctor, and that she traveled with him on certain days. 

 

Another is Riley from Girl Meets World. On paper I would have thought I would prefer Maya, because I liked Shawn so much in the original, but I prefer Riley.

 

Can I throw in some reality show people? I liked Kandi, Heather Dubrow, and Bethenny from Real Housewives of Atlanta, OC, and New York. I do not love everything they say or do, but for some reason I prefer them to their castmates.

[DittyDotDot]

Wow, I had no idea Piz was so disliked! I guess I just could never get into Veronica Mars enough to care to visit any forums? Funnily enough, I never cared for Veronica or Logan, but I enjoyed Piz and a good deal of the other supporting cast. I guess there's no accounting for taste with me. ;)

 

The thing about either Winchester IMO is: I think each is loved just as much as hated, it all depends on what forums you visit. The boards here are pretty pro-Dean, but I don't think they're anti-Sam like the other place was. There seems to be plenty of corners of the internet where I've seen hate for Dean and love for Sam, though. Personally, I'm bi-bro and think both brothers have their strengths and weaknesses, but both are interesting and fascinating characters to me.

 

Love Pete Campbell and all his smarmy jackassery!

[amensisterfriend]

We've all experienced it: that indifference or even outright dislike towards characters who most of your fellow TV fans adore. This is the place to safely chat about them! A few of mine to get us started:

 

1) Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls)---an alarmingly angry, scarily temperamental, bitter, relentlessly negative, jealous, immature, borderline dishonest, passive-aggressive and often just plain aggressive, joyless, charmless boor (and, for that matter, a bore.) He also happens to have the communication skills of a toddler. I get that deep down he's generous and all that, but actually spending time with him on a day-to-day basis would be painful for me. Add in the fact that I find the actor who plays him mediocre and weirdly unattractive, and you can see why I'm always kind of puzzled by how he's so worshiped by my fellow Gilmore Girls fans as some sort of swoon-worthy romantic ideal.

 

2) Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars)---I must be the only VM viewer ever not to find him the least bit sexy. Honestly, he's kind of asexual to me. Beyond that, he's also a whiny semi-sociopath, so...yeah, suffice it to say I'm not a fan and could never buy that Veronica of all people---- a woman who holds a grudge like pretty much no human being ever---would have quickly forgiven him for the vicious treatment we saw at the beginning of the series, let alone decided to date him. (I hate Dick Casablancas and Lily Kane from this show as well!) 

 

3) Pretty much everyone on NCIS, most notably DiNozzo (punch-worthy, insufferable overgrown frat boy) and Abby (quasi-'goth', perky, self-enamored annoyance)  

 

4) Adam Rove (Joan of Arcadia) ---Ugh...just ugh. I found him such a self-pitying, quasi-cool poseur at his best moments, and a dishonest, dangerously weak jerk at his worst. And I couldn't stand the actor's perpetually stoned line delivery! Joan was far better off without him :) 

 

5) Dean Winchester (Supernatural) Okay, so I don't outright dislike Dean (most of the time!), but I definitely like him a whole lot less than about 99.9% of fans seem to :) For all the talk about how "iconic" he is, he's a very typical, generic textbook 'hero' to me: the hard drinkin', allegedly tough, impossibly noble guy's guy martyr who charms all the ladies, has an 'adorable' soft spot for children, is always ready with an allegedly witty quip, etc.  His one salient flaw is that he's too self-effacing to let himself realize what a gosh darn amazing guy he is even as he's forever bailing out his more flawed, error-prone younger brother. (*eye roll*) 

 

 

[amensisterfriend]

ETA: Oh, and I forgot to mention Ron Swanson (Parks and Rec). I don't dislike him, but I find him way, way overrated---honestly  he's not even among my top characters on that show, let alone on all of TV. Nick Offerman just isn't especially funny to me, and the 12 zillion "He likes meat! And hates big government! And did we mention that he loves meat and hates big government?" jokes got so old and unfunny for me. 

[DittyDotDot]

Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars)---I must be the only VM viewer ever not to find him the least bit sexy. Honestly, he's kind of asexual to me. Beyond that, he's also a whiny semi-sociopath, so...yeah, suffice it to say I'm not a fan and could never buy that Veronica of all people---- a woman who holds a grudge like pretty much no human being ever---would have quickly forgiven him for the vicious treatment we saw at the beginning of the series, let alone decided to date him. (I hate Dick Casablancas and Lily Kane from this show as well!) 

 

Oh, you are not the only one! Never understood the appeal of Logan, like at all! But, I never got the appeal of Veronica either.

 

Oh and don't even get me started on Dick Casablancas and that Veronica thought it was fine to be friends with him after he tried to get in her pants while drugged and then encouraged his brother to rape her while passed out, but the girl who unknowingly handed her the roofied drink was somehow responsible for the rape...oh, it looks like I did get started...sorry!

ETA: Oh, and I forgot to mention Ron Swanson (Parks and Rec). I don't dislike him, but I find him way, way overrated---honestly  he's not even among my top characters on that show, let alone on all of TV. Nick Offerman just isn't especially funny to me, and the 12 zillion "He likes meat! And hates big government! And did we mention that he loves meat and hates big government?" jokes got so old and unfunny for me. 

 

GASP!!! That sound you're hearing...my itty bitty dark heart breaking. ;(

 

Hee! No, I do love me some Ron Swanson, but I can see why he wouldn't be everyone's cup, too.

[Chaos Theory]

First, let me preface my statement by saying I was cheering when we were finally talking about taking down the confederate flags in the Southern states. I even called out Haley for her nonsense, because talking about talking when to take down the flag in South Carolina is BULLSHIT. Just take it down already.

That said, I think it's beyond ridiculous that TVLand removed The Dukes of Hazzard from its line up because the General Lee sported that damned thing on its hood. That show is a part of my childhood. It was a part of the Friday night line-up that I watched with my parents:

The Incredible Hulk, Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas.

It was such a light-weight and light hearted show. Does watching it, enjoying watching it make me a racist? I don't think so. That show didn't promote hate. And frankly, it didn't even hit me what was on the hood of that car--I was too busy laughing at Bo and Luke getting the best of Rosco, Cleetus and Boss Hogg. And enjoying when Uncle Jesse and J.D. Hogg went up against each other.

I agree. I view this as censorship which I am strongly against except in the most extreme circumstances....which this is not.

[Janet Snakehole]

Agree on the Logan dislike! I was not the hugest Veronica fan at all times, but I liked her well enough that I thought she deserved better than his asshole self. And don't get me started on Dick.

I don't dislike Ron perse, but I did get tired of him always being seen wise and all knowing. I blame him for the huge not funny bacon trend.

Barney Stinson is my biggest offender on this list. He was misogynistic and selfish, and I despised how he was seen as either this hilarious smooth guy for Tucker Max wannabes to look up to or this poor misunderstood woobie who just treated women like crap because he had a terrible childhood. Actually, any character like this would go on my list.

[DittyDotDot]

I don't dislike Ron per se, but I did get tired of him always being seen wise and all knowing. I blame him for the huge not funny bacon trend.

 

Oh no, "everything's better with bacon" has been around long before Ron Swanson; probably even been around longer than when I first heard it in the mid-90s. ;)

 

TBH, I haven't watched the last couple seasons of Parks and Rec, so maybe my Ron Swanson adoration T-shirt would wear thin if I had. Some shows tend to not really get the concept of less is more.

[Janet Snakehole]

Oh no, "everything's better with bacon" has been around long before Ron Swanson; probably even been around longer than when I first heard it in the mid-90s. ;)

 

TBH, I haven't watched the last couple seasons of Parks and Rec, so maybe my Ron Swanson adoration T-shirt would wear thin if I had. Some shows tend to not really get the concept of less is more.

Fair enough, I take my blame back! I don't mind Ron, I just mind the pedestal he was put on.

[amensisterfriend]

Fair enough, I take my blame back! I don't mind Ron, I just mind the pedestal he was put on.

 

Totally. I think that's probably my issue with many of the characters I named, and certainly Ron Swanson and Dean Winchester---it's that the hype and adoration they receive triggers this childish 'oh, come on, they're not THAT great, and here's why...' reaction in me :) 

 

 

 

Oh and don't even get me started on Dick Casablancas and that Veronica thought it was fine to be friends with him after he tried to get in her pants while drugged and then encouraged his brother to rape her while passed out, but the girl who unknowingly handed her the roofied drink was somehow responsible for the rape...oh, it looks like I did get started...sorry!

 

 

 

And don't get me started on Dick.

 

Ha! But, you guys, he was SNARKY! I mean, who cares if he's a soulless, remorseless would-be rapist and general tormentor of everyone he encounters? What matters is that he reels off a few mildly amusing one-liners, so all is forgiven, and we can get back to blaming female characters for all the stuff that's really his and/or Logan's fault ;) [/sarcasm]

Edited July 2, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Princess Sparkle]

Ross freaking Geller.  He always, always, comes up on lists as the least favorite friend, but he was probably my favorite character. 

[Ohwell]

Carol from The Walking Dead.  I can't stand that tight-mouthed, creepy bitch.

[Shannon L.]

I agree, GHScorpiosRule.  I'm overly sensitive to other people's feelings.  I take great care to try not to offend or anger anyone (not that I'm easily offended myself, but I worry about doing it to others) and feel horrible if I find out that I do, but even I thought that going so far as taking The Dukes of Hazard off the air was ridiculous.  I loved it when I was a kid, too. 

[Gudzilla]

King Joffrey. 

 

+1 on Melisandre and Xander

[roamyn]

Ross freaking Geller. He always, always, comes up on lists as the least favorite friend, but he was probably my favorite character.

Love Ross, too!

Though I don't watch too much tv, I'd have to say Jill (Duggar) Dillard is the only one I can stand of that family.

And I loved Howard Wolowitz, when he wasn't easy to like. That could be, because I adore Simon as an actor.

[Sara2009]

Will Schuester on " Glee." He annoyed me sometimes, but the vitriol he got from fans always seemed over the top to me.

[BatmanBeatles]

Ross freaking Geller.  He always, always, comes up on lists as the least favorite friend, but he was probably my favorite character. 

It's David schwimmer's performance that makes Ross entertaining for me.

[Chaos Theory]

Maybe I just don't understand how and why people hate characters.  There are certain characters you are supposed to hate; like King Joffrey..  If you didn't hate him the actor who played him wouldn't be doing his job.  So when people say "I hate him"  my reaction is "ok....and?"   

 

Others I am not sure why people hated or didn't like.   From what I remember at the time Martha Jones was very.....unliked.  I never understood why.  I actually preferred her to the dull as dirt Rose Tyler.  

 

There are probably others but those are the two that come to mind at the moment.  

Edited July 2, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[SmithW6079]

Will Schuester on " Glee." He annoyed me sometimes, but the vitriol he got from fans always seemed over the top to me.

I loved Will. I also loved Terri, his wife in the first two seasons. (Did he marry Emma? I had stopped watching by that point.)

[Snow Apple]

The Dukes of Hazard? What's next? Banning Gone With the Wind? Oh, wait......

 

Seriously though, banning it just drew attention to it. I didn't even know it was on again, but now I'm remembering how I loved that show as a kid.

[Sara2009]

I loved Will. I also loved Terri, his wife in the first two seasons. (Did he marry Emma? I had stopped watching by that point.)

He married Emma, and they had 5 children. I loved them together. Terri was a HILARIOUS character, though.

[Featherhat]

Maybe I just don't understand how and why people hate characters.  There are certain characters you are supposed to hate; like King Joffrey..  If you didn't hate him the actor who played him wouldn't be doing his job.  So when people say "I hate him"  my reaction is "ok....and?"   

 

Others I am not sure why people hated or didn't like.   From what I remember at the time Martha Jones was very.....unliked.  I never understood why.  I actually preferred her to the dull as dirt Rose Tyler.  

 

There are probably others but those are the two that come to mind at the moment.  

 

Well I like Martha, I also like Rose and Donna. I love all of Ten's really, so much more than Eleven's. I find that Rose is very unpopular across certain sections of the internet (esp TWOP). I thought it was perfectly clear the Billie Piper would be leaving the series from Rose's comments in New Earth and subsequent assuming she'll always be with The Doctor storylines. Doomsday was what the entire "smug tour" of the 2nd half of S2 was about.

 

I wasn't a fan of Martha on her initial run I admit, but on my second go around I really appreciated her. I think I was too hung up on the Obvious Crush which I hated, I think in hindsight I wanted them to go straight to a (full season) Donna type instead of reciprocated/now un-reciprocated crush and I thought she was a bit bland as well. It didn't help that no sooner had I started thinking she was hela brave if nothing else (saw LOTTL late) that it was announced that Catherine Tate would be reprising Donna.  But she deserves credit for spending so much of her time with the Doctor alone and unappreciated. I was taken aback when she and Mickey suddenly appeared married having missed out on their teased development on Torchwood or Sarah Jane. I think that they ended up regarding their adventures positively, despite everything.

 

I think there was always doing to be an issue with the initial switch in Companions. DT managed to skate over a lot of objections but being presumed to be the next Doctor before CE had even debuted (thanks to a leak) and being an acknowledged fanboy and so incredibly enthusiastic. It was probably a lot more tricky to navigate Freema Agyeman into the slot knowing she'd only be a regular for a year as well.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Featherhat

[Kromm]

Will Schuester on " Glee." He annoyed me sometimes, but the vitriol he got from fans always seemed over the top to me.

I'll go big here and say "Rachel Berry".

Rachel's job on Glee was to keep getting knocked down, then get back up again. It was done ridiculously, and written to make Rachel look stupid, and again I think there was a fan confusion between hating the showrunners and hating their flawed toy, Rachel. And maybe hating Lea Michele too, who in the real world started coming off more like an egotistical flake. But I never totally went off Rachel.

Near the end of the show I sensed a ton of Sue hate too. But I actually liked the extra-cartoonish version of Sue we saw more often in the last season. Sue having almost mystical abilities to cause trouble, quite apart from any real physics, financial realities, or morality was the only real entertaining thing about that final period for me.

Can't say I stayed as keen on Will. Him being something of a drip was in his original design as a character as much as Rachel being a self-destructive sad sack was in hers, but at some point with him it just started to bore me.

[Sara2009]

I'll go big here and say "Rachel Berry".

Rachel's job on Glee was to keep getting

knocked down, then get back up again. It was

done ridiculously, and written to make Rachel

look stupid, and again I think there was a fan

confusion between hating the showrunners and

hating their flawed toy, Rachel. And maybe

hating Lea Michele too, who in the real world

started coming off more like an egotistical flake.

But I never totally went off Rachel.

Near the end of the show I sensed a ton of Sue hate too. But I actually liked the extra-cartoonish version of Sue we saw more often in the last season. Sue having almost mystical abilities to

cause trouble, quite apart from any real physics,

financial realities, or morality was the only real

entertaining thing about that final period for me.

Can't say I stayed as keen on Will. Him being something of a drip was in his original design as a character as much as Rachel being a self-destructive sad sack was in hers, but at some

point with him it just started to bore me.

I get why a lot of people disliked Will. What boggled my mind were the people who acted like he was the spawn of Satan.

[Kromm]

Well I like Martha, I also like Rose and Donna.

In my observation, EVERY single "modern" companion has gathered strong hater groups. Which if you think about it is sad and potentially misogynistic, because the same hasn't happened with the Doctor actors.

Personally I always loved Rose and still rate her at the top. People disliked the sense that the show became more about her than the Doctor, but Billie had the charisma, and that was really the only reason that happened.

Martha kind of bored the hell out of me, but I've promised myself to give her a more fair shot when I inevitably rewatch those episodes at some point.

Donna is a conundrum for me. Catherine Tate kind of annoys me, but I think Donna got written some brilliant stories.

Clara is mostly in my good books. I kind of rolled my eyes at how she was given almost a god-like role early on and then they totally backed off of it. Can't say I understand it. With Rose, when they did the equivalent with her, at least it was kind of explained how it went away (and did it ever totally?). With Martha, while she never gained any kind of power, even temporarily, we saw her go through extended hell and come out the other end a fairly different person--and they stuck with that by having her leave. With Donna, her venture into sharing the Doctor's brain was pretty much totally undone. But Clara is the one, even more than Rose, where what she went through shouldn't have just been casually tossed aside. They never really explained HOW Clara went all those places in the Doctor's life and how it came back to the central version of her, but she was SO ignorant of the Doctor after that it just didn't ring true.

But... I like Clara's cheeky personality. Rose had one too, but Clara's is more barbed.

BTW: I'd love to see someone intelligently defend Colin Baker. To this day I can't really watch those episodes. Peter Davidson was never really my cup of tea either, although again (like with Catherine Tate) he was also the benefit of some really good stories. LOVE LOVE LOVE Sylvester McCoy, but I doubt that position on McCoy is very different from most (although I seem to recall a lot of hate for his companion, Ace).

Edited July 2, 2015 by Kromm

[Snow Apple]

I get why a lot of people disliked Will. What boggled my mind were the people who acted like he was the spawn of Satan.

I don't get it either. Yeah, his character had problems but so did all of them. There are characters on the show that thought was worse and even outright dislike, but not Will. And I love when he dances which he doesn't often get the chance.

[Bastet]

Oh, it’ll be back.  Networks pull stuff to make themselves look good while something is in the news, then quietly put it back on the air when the media has moved on to other things.  7th Heaven is back on some religious cable network, The Cosby Show is back on Centric, TLC only yanked reruns of, but did not cancel, the Duggars’ show … y'all will get your General Lee back.

 

The only thing I liked about that show was Waylon Jennings singing the theme song, and the way they got in the car without opening the door.  (I don’t know if that’s unpopular.)  So I have no recollection of the extent to which it celebrated that awful flag and all it stands for beyond having it emblazoned on the car.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Bastet

[millennium]

Ross freaking Geller.  He always, always, comes up on lists as the least favorite friend, but he was probably my favorite character. 

 

I'm on board with Mental Geller too.   Funniest guy on the show and beneficiary of the writers' most absurd storylines.

 

I want to add Miles Drentell from thirtysomething.   He was supposed to be Michael and Elliott's nemesis, but he was just so cool.   I think it was because even though you wanted to wring his neck every time he pontificated, you couldn't really disagree with what he was saying.

Edited July 3, 2015 by millennium

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Ha! But, you guys, he was SNARKY! I mean, who cares if he's a soulless, remorseless would-be rapist and general tormentor of everyone he encounters? What matters is that he reels off a few mildly amusing one-liners, so all is forgiven, and we can get back to blaming female characters for all the stuff that's really his and/or Logan's fault ;) [/sarcasm]

 

Replace Dick Casablancas' name with Spike's and you'd still be right. :-D

[Shannon L.]

 

The only thing I liked about that show was Waylon Jennings singing the theme song, and the way they got in the car without opening the door.

In retrospect, those were the best parts of the show. Although, I do remember wishing I could shoot a gun like Daisy Duke  :)