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Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions


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The show aired so long ago that I'm not sure which opinions are popular or not, but I'm currently watching Deep Space Nine and Avery Brooks is pretty much ruining it for me. I don't think he's a bad actor per se, but for whatever reason he's made, or was directed to make, the choice to deliver all his lines in a slow, operatic manner. Even shit like saying dinner is ready. He never uses contractions and over-enunciates like his life depended on it. Anger or annoyance are indicated solely by shouting.

 

I like the series overall but it's a shame for me since he's part of the core cast.

The show aired so long ago that I'm not sure which opinions are popular or not, but I'm currently watching Deep Space Nine and Avery Brooks is pretty much ruining it for me. I don't think he's a bad actor per se, but for whatever reason he's made, or was directed to make, the choice to deliver all his lines in a slow, operatic manner. Even shit like saying dinner is ready. He never uses contractions and over-enunciates like his life depended on it. Anger or annoyance are indicated solely by shouting.

I like the series overall but it's a shame for me since he's part of the core cast.

Are you watching the early seasons? He was pretty much pushed in the direction of being as little like Hawk, his breakout character, as possible, since Hawk was a morally grey kind of guy (think Elliot from Leverage with added zen). It gets much, much better around the time they let him stop shaving - Hawk had a signature beard - and he relaxed into the role.

Edited by Julia
  • Love 2

Given what I saw in the first season, and what I've heard or read afterwards, I never understood why anyone would want Abbie with Crane.  But then, I found Crane supremely annoying, and was the primary reason I lost interest very quickly. 

 

I really like Nicole Beharie, so I keep hoping to hear of the show's cancellation and that she's quickly signed on elsewhere so I can actually watch her in a show that might appreciate her talents. 

Edited by ribboninthesky1

John Larroquette also removed his name for consideration after winning four straight times for Night Court. I think that if we can have presidential term limits, we can certainly have Emmy limits!

I also have a problem with the shiny, new thing always walking away with the awards as well. (This seems like more of a Golden Globes thing). Not that freshmen shows can't be worthy, but it seems like the HFP love to prove how progressive and cool they are by almost purposely going with the least obvious choices. Not that that can't be a good thing for deserving shows/actors that might otherwise get overlooked, but it's become almost too routine in recent years to take seriously. It's not necessary spreading the wealth either. Yes, different shows and folks are walking away with statues, but in the fight by the voters to constantly appear fresh, legitimately deserving standouts in their third/fourth/fifth years may also be unfairly snubbed. I'm not saying give JLD another award either but it's like if you fall in the middle between her and the hot new thing you almost have no shot.*

*The Globes did give awards to Maura Tierny and Taraji P Henson this year. While neither of their shows are particularly old hat, both actresses were long overdue for professional recognition so there's two examples of the HFP mindset working in a veteran's favor

Not realated UO at all (and I feel like I've mentioned something similar in the past) but I'm becoming more and more disenchanted with the Goldbergs. It's the littlest thing but it's bugs me that they have to explain every reference. Obviously, if you're doing an entire episode about Hands Across America or Double Dare you probably need to make sure your audience knows what that was all about. However, if one of you main characters is making a hilariously bad sculpture of his girlfriend for Vanlentine's Day, it would been way funnier not to mention Lionel Ritchie at all, just have Hello playing for the big reveal then maybe have him explain that was where he got his inspiration from. By explaining the reference before, (in comparisons to Adele's Hello), they kinda stepped on the joke. I feel like they do this a lot. It's typically my belief with a lot of parody/reference humor, if the audience needs it to be explained to them, they're probably not going to appreciate it as much as someone who doesn't require an explanation anyway so why bother? You don't see SNL explaining why they do their satire the way they do their satire. An audience member either gets it or doesn't. Also, if the show was just about Murray, Beverly, Barry, and Erica? I'd be more than okay with that.

Edited by kiddo82
  • Love 2

I am astounded to know that people ship Abby and Crane on Sleepy Hollow. Never even crossed my mind and would ruin the show.

 

In a world where fans 'ship characters who have never even interacted with one another, or who are explicitly not interested by virtue of neither being gay, or who have tried to kill/torture/abuse one another, surely it can't be a surprise that people 'ship the straight male and straight female leads of a show. People 'ship anything that moves (and probably things that don't).

 

I really like Nicole Beharie, so I keep hoping to hear of the show's cancellation and that she's quickly signed on elsewhere so I can actually watch her in a show that might appreciate her talents.

 

 

That's how I feel. I keep seeing roles that I think she'd be great at, and then lamenting that she's not free to pursue them. Agent 355 in the Y: The Last Man adaptation would be a dream role for her. And for me.

 

I don't even dislike Sleepy Hollow, I just can't be bothered watching it. I made it about eight episodes into the second season then just gave up on it. Most of my TV ignorance comes from apathy now, rather than active dislike. There are so many shows that sound like they could be interesting, but then I never get around to watching them.

Edited by Danny Franks
  • Love 2

I am astounded to know that people ship Abby and Crane on Sleepy Hollow. Never even crossed my mind and would ruin the show.

 

 

In a world where fans 'ship characters who have never even interacted with one another, or who are explicitly not interested by virtue of neither being gay, or who have tried to kill/torture/abuse one another, surely it can't be a surprise that people 'ship the straight male and straight female leads of a show. People 'ship anything that moves (and probably things that don't).

 

As a corollary to what Danny Franks said,my UO is that "ruin the show" is an overstatement, at least (usually) when it comes to shipping. I don't watch Sleepy Hollow, although people keep telling me I should give it a try, but most pairings, particularly non-canon pairings, happen because of the chemistry between the actors. I don't always understand the idea of "Ooh, these two characters spent five minutes together, so they must be in loooooooooooooooooove!" but I've also done it myself. Maybe I should finally watch SH and see what the fuss is all about.

  • Love 3

 

 

 

As a corollary to what Danny Franks said,my UO is that "ruin the show" is an overstatement, at least (usually) when it comes to shipping. I don't watch Sleepy Hollow, although people keep telling me I should give it a try, but most pairings, particularly non-canon pairings, happen because of the chemistry between the actors. I don't always understand the idea of "Ooh, these two characters spent five minutes together, so they must be in loooooooooooooooooove!" but I've also done it myself. Maybe I should finally watch SH and see what the fuss is all about.

 

I agree that pairing characters up won't necessarily ruin a show. It's all down to the writing and the chemistry of the actors. There are plenty of examples where unlikely pairings have been great, and likely ones have ended up being complete duds. Romance is a natural part of any entertainment, so I rarely share the view that certain relationships must stay platonic. If I like both characters and feel the chemistry is there, I'm usually fine with the writers exploring that idea. As long as they don't draw out 'will they, won't they' bullshit for years. But on the other hand, I have been hugely disappointed with Agent Carter going the love triangle route, and using Sousa as one leg of it. That, plus the lack of Angie, is the reason I have yet to bother watching any of season 2. I'm honestly not sure if I'll bother, because a love triangle dynamic so incredibly off with what Agent Carter was in season 1.

 

As for Sleepy Hollow, Mison and Beharie did have really fun chemistry, but I wouldn't quite classify it as romantic in the episodes I saw. Ichabod was too uptight for that, and Abbie too into laughing at his ways for them to feel like a romantic couple with real potential. Things might have changed since I stopped watching though.

Edited by Danny Franks
  • Love 1

I am astounded to know that people ship Abby and Crane on Sleepy Hollow. Never even crossed my mind and would ruin the show.

 

The Sleepy Hollow fandom generally doesn't ship Abby and Crane that much romantically.  But they do friend-ship the hell out of them.  I spent a decent part of season 2 trying to figure out why Crane's wife was hated that much because she wasn't terrible (number 1 UO of all time).  It was the subtle anti-shipping that was throwing me off because almost no one wanted Abby and Crane to get involved.  I finally came to the conclusion that they just don't want anyone spoiling the dynamic between them.  So Abby and Crane are doomed to celibacy until the series ends.

Are you watching the early seasons? [sisko] was pretty much pushed in the direction of being as little like Hawk, his breakout character, as possible, since Hawk was a morally grey kind of guy (think Elliot from Leverage with added zen). It gets much, much better around the time they let him stop shaving - Hawk had a signature beard - and he relaxed into the role.

 

I'm halfway through season 6 and it hasn't gotten any better for me, unpopularily. I really enjoy Quark, though, which surprised me because I typically find the Ferengis to be irritating. Whereas I think Brooks' acting choices detract, Shimerman's bring much-needed humor to the series.

 

I want to say my UO is that I ship Sherlock and Watson on Elementary, but I'd be teasing just to get a rise out people. I definitely can't see them as anything other than partners and defend-to-the-death-friends.

That's what I meant. They're so obviously platonic that there's nary a shred of romance even in sub sub sub sub text.

 

See, the one problem for me (and I doubt this is an unpopular opinion, somehow) is that Nicole Beharie is so freakin' gorgeous and charming and fun as Abbie, that I struggle to believe that anyone couldn't be in love with her. So while I didn't see much romantic interest, I can't really accept that Ichabod isn't secretly crazy about her. That's not shipping, really, because I don't watch the show or want them together. Just my feelings about Nicole Beharie.

 

But for me, a lot of shipping is fans vicariously wanting to see characters hook up, because they strongly identify with one or strongly like the other. So if I identified with Ichabod, and didn't think he was a bit of a wanker, I'd probably ship the hell out of them.

Edited by Danny Franks
  • Love 4

 

If I like both characters and feel the chemistry is there, I'm usually fine with the writers exploring that idea. As long as they don't draw out 'will they, won't they' bullshit for years. But on the other hand, I have been hugely disappointed with Agent Carter going the love triangle route, and using Sousa as one leg of it. That, plus the lack of Angie, is the reason I have yet to bother watching any of season 2. I'm honestly not sure if I'll bother, because a love triangle dynamic so incredibly off with what Agent Carter was in season 1.

 

While the love triangle isn't doing much for me, I will say that it's nowhere near the worst triangle I've ever seen, and season 2 has been otherwise pretty awesome. I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

  • Love 2

See, the one problem for me (and I doubt this is an unpopular opinion, somehow) is that Nicole Beharie is so freakin' gorgeous and charming and fun as Abbie, that I struggle to believe that anyone couldn't be in love with her. So while I didn't see much romantic interest, I can't really accept that Ichabod isn't secretly crazy about her. That's not shipping, really, because I don't watch the show or want them together. Just my feelings about Nicole Beharie.

 

But for me, a lot of shipping is fans vicariously wanting to see characters hook up, because they strongly identify with one or strongly like the other. So if I identified with Ichabod, and didn't think he was a bit of a wanker, I'd probably ship the hell out of them.

I can see chemistry with Abbie and Ichabod and agree a lot with Danny Franks post.

 

I think seeing chemistry and not seeing chemistry is subjective. I have three opinions (unpopular? I don't know) with shipping. 

 

1. Once it takes over a forum, a thread dedicated to it alone should be made. (I guess they call that most of Tumblr)

2. I am just as annoyed by overly dramatic diatribe against any said shipped couple because it really is the same thing shippers do in reverse

3. Uniting a shipped couple doesn't break a show, writers do. (Even if it means that a writer should not have wrote a story just to please fans that it knew it couldn't write well.)

Edited by Enigma X
  • Love 8

My DS9 UOs are that I not only liked Ezri Dax (feel free to mock me), but I never understood what was so wonderful about Curzon Dax. He sounded like a perverted asshole to me. 

 

Me too! The fact that Sisko was such bosom friends with Curzon only made me think less of Sisko.

 

I could take or leave Jadzia. She never had much personality aside from being pretty, even after they tried to up her ante via the romance with Worf. She and he had zero chemistry. I wasn't sad or anything when she died.

I want to say my UO is that I ship Sherlock and Watson on Elementary, but I'd be teasing just to get a rise out people. I definitely can't see them as anything other than partners and defend-to-the-death-friends.

Ha. Good one. I've just started watching Elementary--I'm almost at the end of Season 1, and I love the dynamic between the two of them. I agree that it isn't a romantic thing, but the two of them share things that only the closet BFFs share. .And mostly it's because of Sherlock. Sherlock telling Joan that he can tell she hasn't had sex because of the way she walks, or him picking out her clothes in the morning then asking, "Would you like me to pick out your underthings?"--those are comedy gold. Sherlock simply has no filter and says things to Joan that only a close friend or lover would say. 

 

 

As for Sleepy Hollow, Mison and Beharie did have really fun chemistry, but I wouldn't quite classify it as romantic in the episodes I saw. Ichabod was too uptight for that, and Abbie too into laughing at his ways for them to feel like a romantic couple with real potential. Things might have changed since I stopped watching though.

Crane and Abbie aren't a romantic couple, but the writers keep throwing in little scenes that make shippers (like me, I must admit) absolutely swoon. A couple of episodes ago, the two of them were holding hands in relief after averting a tragedy, and the scene was so friggin intimate that someone called their affection "hand porn," which was the perfect name.  

  • Love 2

I'm fine with characters getting together as an organic part of the show. I don't see how Crane isn't in therapy every day. His former side-piece was like, "blah blah blah send me a text." Taking aside that you could have actually sent him a text because it's 2016, Crane, being ripped 200+ years into the future should have massive ptsd.

 

Farscape took the trope, stood it on its head, and the ripped your heart out like the Temple of Doom. 

 

I just think it's kind of juvenile when people are just automatically shipping characters. I don't think they understand the complexity of relationships. It seems like there's a ship or not, and I just don't agree with that binary system.

 

But I'm down with the slash. And I'm down with the queer. The lack of complexity in human interaction on tv is just ridiculous to me. 

 

Word. I'm glad Mulder & Scully existed before this became a thing.  If they do have some sort of shipper name , I don't want to know it!

 

Even now with the show back, no one is smooshing their names. They're like the Adam and Eve of ship. 

 

I was anti Mulder and Scully ship for a while. But then I realized I didn't care. I was more ticked that the show was like no-ship next episode ship. Lots of people over at the old place were like, "well, they've been in so much intensely for so long, it's kind of natural." Ok, fair point. I would have liked to see that progress actually on the screen though. 

 

Even though it's a tenuous theory, I like that M&S have been doing it off and on from the start. There's no way otherwise Scully would put up with all that BS. And I tend to think that the second movie supports that. 

Edited by ganesh
  • Love 3

Even now with the show back, no one is smooshing their names. They're like the Adam and Eve of ship. 

 

I read somewhere that Mulder and Scully are actually the origination of the term shipping because fandom who wanted them to get together used to call themselves relationshippers.

 

First time I ever saw name smooshing was long before Bennifer in Guiding Light forums, so I think you can probably blame portmanteau's entering popular culture on soap operas.

I'm fine with characters getting together as an organic part of the show. I don't see how Crane isn't in therapy every day. His former side-piece was like, "blah blah blah send me a text." Taking aside that you could have actually sent him a text because it's 2016, Crane, being ripped 200+ years into the future should have massive ptsd.

 

Farscape took the trope, stood it on its head, and the ripped your heart out like the Temple of Doom. 

 

I just think it's kind of juvenile when people are just automatically shipping characters. I don't think they understand the complexity of relationships. It seems like there's a ship or not, and I just don't agree with that binary system.

 

But that's what TV has taught us: If a man and a woman spend significant amounts of time together, they eventually will wind up in bed together. Even if they hate each other (Moonlighting), or one of them is an alien (Mork & Mindy), or one of them is married and is running for President (Scandal). Viewers come to expect it, and we therefore 'ship, because it almost always happens. There are exceptions, fortunately. X-files resisted this trope until the very end of the series. And Elementary hasn't fallen into this trope at all so far. 

 

Going back to Sleepy Hollow, I think Crane definitely would've had severe PTSD if it weren't for Abbie. She was one of the first people he encountered after being arrested, and though she teased him, she quickly believed his story and has done nothing but help him adjust to life in the 21st century. And then they learned about this so-called bond where they've been linked for centuries as Witnesses to the Apocalypse. 

I just think it's kind of juvenile when people are just automatically shipping characters. I don't think they understand the complexity of relationships. It seems like there's a ship or not, and I just don't agree with that binary system.

 

But I'm down with the slash. And I'm down with the queer. The lack of complexity in human interaction on tv is just ridiculous to me.

 

 

Well, there's a lot of shippiness on this site. I can't even participate in the discussion because the constant smooshing of their names together gives me dry heaves.

 

Aren't you sort of speaking at cross-purposes here? Or is that 'except' an indicator that some shipping is maybe not that bad, just as long as they don't mash up the names? I agree that there is a fair amount of shipping around these parts, but I don't know if I would call the mash-up name thing common. I guess my UO is that that doesn't bother me so much, although it can get a bit twee.

  • Love 2

I am astounded to know that people ship Abby and Crane on Sleepy Hollow. Never even crossed my mind and would ruin the show.

When there is a man and a woman acting together someone is swooning over them. I was surprised at the number of people shipping The Blacklist Red/Liz pairing. I guess it's chemistry and you can even make a case for the same sex pairings these days....and yes i admit to being prone to it.

  • Love 1

Not sure if it's an "unpopular" opinion or not, but... no ship can compare to the insanity that is Wincest.  11 seasons and that ship is still running strong.  *shudder*

 

I don't get the Wincest either. When Firefly was still on the air, a few people shipped River and Simon, and I could just about go for that because Simon was sort of a weirdo and River was, well, River. But Dean and Sam are ostensibly functional adults who have had more or less healthy relationships, even if getting involved with them is usually the kiss of death.

A lot of the hate Lena gets nowadays has to do with her allegedly molesting her sister when she was younger/later writing/joking about it in her book (and some are also annoyed by her friendship/lavish praise of Taylor Swift--she has actually called her her feminist hero before, which, girl no), but yes, I like Girls and do think she's a talented writer (of course, I've been watching on DVD since I don't have HBO, so I'll have to see what I think of season 4 soon). 

Edited by UYI

Lena may be as tone-deaf as Hannah half the time, and the way she described the encounter with her sister in her book is a reflection of that (unless of course her goal was the resultant controversy, which is wholly possible), but she was seven at the time, reacting to a new baby sister with rampant curiosity, and she absolutely did not molest her sister.

  • Love 2

Taylor Swift's performance 'feminism' (Audience, meet my rich and famous girlfriends! Some of them haven't even made it the business of their lives to attract the male gaze! And I only slut shame when I'm singing now, and sometimes I sing about how mean people suck instead!) annoys me kind of a really lot.

I've come to the conclusion, though, that even if her fans have no-one in their lives to explain what's disturbing about her commodified, retrograde version of empowerment, at least someone's telling them that something called feminism is a good thing. Compared to some of the handmaid's tale crap out there, I'll settle for questionable enlightenment until something better comes along.

Edited by Julia
  • Love 5

I think it's ridiculous that Sense8 hasn't been nominated for a single Golden Globe or Emmy.  Even worse, of its 4 nominations, it has won nothing.

 

I will concede, however, that the Emmy nominations were announced a month after Sense8 was released, so it might be eligible for the 2016 awards.  I hope so.

Edited by Demented Daisy
  • Love 4

Oh, Destiel shippers are bad, but I was referring only to the idea of Wincest.  I stay out of the shipping wars, so I have no idea which shippers are "worse".  That obviously depends on which ship you subscribe to (if any) and which characters you favor (if any).

 

I'm bi-bro, but Wincest is just wrong.

  • Love 1

Oh, Destiel shippers are bad, but I was referring only to the idea of Wincest.  I stay out of the shipping wars, so I have no idea which shippers are "worse".  That obviously depends on which ship you subscribe to (if any) and which characters you favor (if any).

 

I'm bi-bro, but Wincest is just wrong.

I've never watched that show, but I know the two characters being shipped are siblings. So yeah, wrong. But is it as wrong as people who ship Batman and Robin together? And I don't mean the funny jokes about a grown man and his 'ward', but the ones who actually seem to want to believe it's a real, romantic relationship.

 

I find the idea of shipping any characters who would never be together because of their sexuality to be weird. Especially when the relationship is explicitly built on platonic/sibling affection. It's like saying that relationship isn't good enough, and isn't worthy of being respected unless sex is involved.

I've never watched that show, but I know the two characters being shipped are siblings. So yeah, wrong. But is it as wrong as people who ship Batman and Robin together? And I don't mean the funny jokes about a grown man and his 'ward', but the ones who actually seem to want to believe it's a real, romantic relationship.

 

I'd say if Robin is a minor, that's worse than Wincest.  If Robin is an adult, then I'd say Wincest is worse.  But I'm no moral authority. 

 

The creepy thing about Wincest is when it bleeds over to the actors.  It happened a couple of weeks ago when one of the actors started an internet campaign with another actor from the show (an actor that is part of Destiel, the other major ship) and some fans reacted badly.  It was one of the most ludicrous things I've ever read and I felt embarrassed for everyone involved.  That storm seems to have passed, thankfully.

 

 

Simon & Simon also inspired slash fan fic, although it lacked a catchy name like Wincest. I keep in mind the Cartman revelation: Simon & Simon are not brothers in real life, only on television.

 

 

I initially read that as Simon and Garfunkel and was like, "Whoa, really?"

  • Love 2

That's basically the fundamental flaw of all ship. It negates the complexity of any human interaction, and, frankly, it's largely juvenile with rare exceptions. 

 

Well, that's going a little far with it, IMO. Although I did regress to being fourteen years old when

Rick and Michonne finally did the deed on The Walking Dead Sunday night,

so maybe I'm in no position to say anything. Judge me if you will, but I'm still a little over the moon about it.

  • Love 3

With Gilmore Girls getting a reboot, I'll take the opportunity to say that I loved Jess and disliked Luke. I wasn't the only one, but definitely in the minority.

 

Is 'shipping restricted solely to slash and unlikely pairings? I've watched a couple of series* where I really wanted the two M/F leads to just do it already, but it was clear the show had every intention of going there anyway. An example would be Castle, where viewers pretty much knew from the get-go that Castle/Beckett were the end game, so why bother 'shipping them?

 

 

 

* Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (and they STILL haven't after 3 years)

* Reckless (and they NEVER did because the show was cancelled)

Edited by lordonia

Is 'shipping restricted solely to slash and unlikely pairings? I've watched a couple of series* where I really wanted the two M/F leads to just do it already, but it was clear the show had every intention of going there anyway. An example would be Castle, where viewers pretty much knew from the get-go that Castle/Beckett were the end game, so why bother 'shipping them?

Shipping is short for relationshipping, so it can be het, slash, or friendshipping. And Castle (like the show it's a fuzzy carbon of, Bones) is a good example of a show that dragged the ship out to the point where it kind of lost its impact by the time it happened. JMO, of course.

Edited by Julia
  • Love 3

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