Keeping it light -- what TV shows do you find unwatchable?

Which film? Muppets from Space. It ruined a lot of 70’s soul for me.

1 Like

I have never seen any of those performed live, but I laugh easily. Although it tends to be a reaction to surprise, rather than humor. So I sometimes laugh at things that aren’t funny, and rarely laugh at the same thing twice.

I can empathise, but that strikes me as being rather pretentious. That’s probably why I find it manipulative! I think that honest media respects people to have their own responses, rather than aiming to elicit a specific one. Which is probably why I find so much media and communication frustrating. I want to know what others feel, and I want others to know what I feel - but when people instead prefer to influence how each other feel, I tend to avoid the situation.

1 Like

Man I LOVE Muppets From Space. I’m sure the repetition of the funk soundtrack probably got old, but as a mom, I can say that the soundtrack is pretty damn good for car listening as opposed to other choices. The house that was used in that shoot came up for sale when I was in town and I really wanted it, just to say I lived in the Muppet house, but alas it was not in a good school district. But I tots would have put that fly wallpaper up on every wall.

6 Likes

Anything Jane Austen. I didn’t understand the appeal when I had to read her and I certainly don’t understand the appeal of movies/TV mini-series. (I can appreciate her contribution while not joining the fan club.) Now, Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” upcoming on Hulu? I’m beside myself with glee. Also, I do not like “Glee.”

ETA: I “can” appreciate.

8 Likes

Then you are doomed to find most fiction, and a lot of non-fiction, manipulative. The majority of authors are trying to get a specific response from the reader/audience. It’s what they do. Occasionally it backfires and you might find humor rather than pathos in a scene, but that’s a bug not a feature. Remember the hysteria that certain audiences were laughing at Schindler’s List?

2 Likes

Glee had it’s moments, the Rocky Horror episode stands out in my memory. But they never found the right tone balance for more than an episode. After a couple of seasons in I would FF through the dialog to the song and dance. And then FF again if it was recent pop. But they had me in the pilot with the cheerleaders doing “I Say a Little Prayer”.

Yup. Actors are pretentious for a living. Most of them are (spoiler alert) not actually kings, wizards, space aliens, or physicians, even if they play one on TV. You know that. You’re free to enjoy whatever emotional response their performance inspires in you, even if it’s not remotely similar to what the majority of those underevolved chimps in the cheap seats are feeling.

But if those Philistine groundlings all happen to laugh at the same pratfall, an astute observer might notice that some of them seem to enjoy the laffs even more when the laffs are shared with their neighbors. You see the pompous “king” slip on a banana peel, you elbow your buddy, point and snort “Didja get a load o’ that?” and the both of you chortle fit to bust a gut. The reason theaters have so many seats isn’t so different from why roller coasters do: people enjoy sharing those experiences, and the emotions they inspire, with others. It helps form and strengthen community when you feel “you represent your row,” as George Carlin put it. It might feel alienating if one finds that one’s reactions to artistic performances are usually contrary to one’s neighbors’. It’s why I feel kinda creeped out in a movie theater crowded with Adam Sandler fans watching The Water Boy. They all love it; I think it’s pure horseshit; who’s objectively out of their minds? Neither, of course, but just as it’s not too fun being the only Padres fan at an away game in Dodger Stadium (especially when you know the Padres ain’t gonna win), it is pretty fun to be an Adam Sandler fan in a room full of other Sandler fans watching The Water Boy.

I am forced to assume so, anyway. God, did they yuk it up.

11 Likes

Present tense?

I might suggest you should stop going to showings :wink:

6 Likes

Nah, that happened years ago, when I felt like going to the movies on a (rare for me) Friday night. I can’t remember if it was actually The Water Boy or Happy Gilmore or what, I just happened to have the poor judgment to buy a ticket to a not-incredibly-good Sandler movie on its opening weekend. It served as a pretty eye-opening insight into the infectiousness of crowd laughter. Bad jokes seemed a whole lot funnier in that environment. It made the experience fun, but really made me try hard to examine why.

5 Likes

Any News program, local or otherwise: To much fear mongering
Any Cartoon marketed to adults: grow the fudge up, they are keeping u dumb
Any show that is capitalizing on gay being ‘in’ by showing over the top guy scenes, its basically porn. Can we get a normal gay relationship as oppose to lust lust and more lust.

1 Like

Maaaybe… I find it to be overrated. I do like fudge, though. :yum:

Can I still watch the ones marketed to kids?

13 Likes

Oh yes, Glee. I understand disposable, feel good TV, but the shenanigans around the musical numbers (specific versions of songs, specific choreographies, complete ass-hattery when asked to respond)? Yeah - especially given the presented ethos of the show, just made the whole thing look like a massively cynical exercise. Art may indeed be seperate from artist (studio), but that left a bad taste.

2 Likes

Of course you can watch cartoons for kids. But nothing that premiers after 8pm on the following networks…FOX, FX, FXX, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central. The fudge there is quite small and needs to grow.

1 Like

15 Likes

Yeah yeah, I know…

10 Likes

All fair points. But I give points for trying to do musical TV at all. Same for Smash. People who loved musical theater picked that apart nastily as a bloodsport rather than enjoy the fact that it existed at all, thus guaranteeing we won’t see another attempt in our lifetime.

1 Like

I enjoyed the hell out of the first season.

The second season didn’t offer anything new, though.

Galavant, on the other hand, dramatically improved from Season 1 to Season 2 (not that that saved it, either).

Thank you :slight_smile: There was a lot to like - the inclusive vibe they were going for, supported it - and the heavy musical content was novel. And of course, even though it wasn’t really my thing, doesn’t mean I don’t like trying new things.

I can’t talk about people who loved musical theatre, but it was definitely the shenanigans that soured it for me, rather than the actual performance and delivery.

And now I get my musical numbers from Steven Universe, but that’s another discussion entirely. :wink:

3 Likes

[ Hmm, I wonder if it’s worth having a ‘Guilty Pleasure TV Show’ topic - to give some balance:
The shows you know should be awful (and probably are), but you watch anyway.
Or has that been done already, and I missed it? ]

(The first one of mine that comes to mind is NCIS, just for the record. There _are_more.)

2 Likes

Hell yeah. Most of my viewing is that! :smiley:

2 Likes