Popular Shows (that really suck)

[javeryh]

Ripoff off a ripoff of a thread idea, that must be a first!

I'd like to start the blasphemy with Buffy the Vampire Slayer was god-awful!

This thread failed on the first post!  Buffy was awesome.

I'd say any show based around music (Glee, American Idol) and any reality show except Jersey Shore.

[shmokes]

Glee is hit and miss, but it's mostly hit.  When it's funny (which is more often than not) it's hilarious. 

Big Bang Theory is the least funny show I've ever seen.  Brothers and Sisters is also awful.

[knave]

Big Bang Theory is the least funny.

BBT is awesome.

[Mikezilla]

Glee is hit and miss, but it's mostly hit.  When it's funny (which is more often than not) it's hilarious. 

Big Bang Theory is the least funny show I've ever seen.  Brothers and Sisters is also awful.

Ok then you must not like comics, or video games, any other type of popular nerd culture cause that show references them all. GREAT show.

And Glee is whack. If you like Glee then you must like showtunes/musicals.

[crashwg]

To the OP:  Buffy (and Firefly) were my favorite shows.  Star Trek is second. 

I happen to think Firefly was awesome by the way.  It should have gone on for many a season and Fox is absolutely retarded for canceling it.  Star Trek on the other hand (pick your incarnation) blows!  Since we're critiquing Joss Whedon's work as a whole now I should mention Angel being as bad as Buffy.

[Bootay]

Glee is hit and miss, but it's mostly hit.  When it's funny (which is more often than not) it's hilarious. 

Big Bang Theory is the least funny show I've ever seen.  Brothers and Sisters is also awful.

Ok then you must not like comics, or video games, any other type of popular nerd culture cause that show references them all. GREAT show.

And Glee is whack. If you like Glee then you must like showtunes/musicals.

I agree..Glee is really terrible. And the singing is so fake..the autotune is apparent. But he said it was "halarious". As in he watches it because it is so bad its funny. I on the other hand do not watch terrible things for a laugh. I would rather watch something good. heh

[Mikezilla]

Glee is hit and miss, but it's mostly hit.  When it's funny (which is more often than not) it's hilarious. 

Big Bang Theory is the least funny show I've ever seen.  Brothers and Sisters is also awful.

Ok then you must not like comics, or video games, any other type of popular nerd culture cause that show references them all. GREAT show.

And Glee is whack. If you like Glee then you must like showtunes/musicals.

I agree..Glee is really terrible. And the singing is so fake..the autotune is apparent. But he said it was "halarious". As in he watches it because it is so bad its funny. I on the other hand do not watch terrible things for a laugh. I would rather watch something good. heh

+1

[ChadTower]

I watched it with my wife once.  I have trouble buying a high school with a football team that is 100% white kids.  I won't even bother pointing out the white factor in the glee club itself and the musical numbers.

[Bootay]

The racial thing doesn't bother me..I think this country is too overly worried about color and race...and besides, they have 1 token black person. LOL

[saint]

Glee is hit and miss, but it's mostly hit.  When it's funny (which is more often than not) it's hilarious. 

Big Bang Theory is the least funny show I've ever seen.  Brothers and Sisters is also awful.

Turn in your geek badge. BBT is one of the funniest shows we've seen in a long time. Wife and I howl with laughter.

[shmokes]

Gladly.  BBT is just a constant stream of utterly unfunny jokes.  At least with Family Guy, anoher awful show, the punchlines are delivered so rapidfire that it would be statistically impossible to fail to say a couple funny things in every episode.  So there miht actually be five funny jokes (out of like 1000) in any given episode.  I've seen BBT maybe five times and haven't so much as cracked a smile one time.

As for references, I don't care.  That's like listening to the Miley Cyrus because she drops arcade or Star Wars references.  If all I want is references I'll skip BBT and read Wikipedia.  At least then there's the possibility, however slight, that I might be exposed to something funny. 

[shmokes]

I watched it with my wife once.  I have trouble buying a high school with a football team that is 100% white kids.  I won't even bother pointing out the white factor in the glee club itself and the musical numbers.

They go up against a poor school in regionals.  That Glee club was almost, or maybe even entirely, non-white.  The show is pretty upfront about pretty much everything.  The racial makeup of that school is a deliberate joke and it is representative of typical public schools in the U.S.  It's not like it's the inner city.  It's a suburb in Ohio or something.  Also, there are black kids on the football team. 

Also there is autotune in songs in which the genre they are singing uses autotune.  When they sing classic rock (their teacher is obsessed with Journey and pretty much wants them to sing Journey all the time) or show tunes or any number of pop acts that don't or wouldn't use autotune, they don't.

[saint]

Gladly.  BBT is just a constant stream of utterly unfunny jokes.  At least with Family Guy, anoher awful show, the punchlines are delivered so rapidfire that it would be statistically impossible to fail to say a couple funny things in every episode.  So there miht actually be five funny jokes (out of like 1000) in any given episode.  I've seen BBT maybe five times and haven't so much as cracked a smile one time.

As for references, I don't care.  That's like listening to the Miley Cyrus because she drops arcade or Star Wars references.  If all I want is references I'll skip BBT and read Wikipedia.  At least then there's the possibility, however slight, that I might be exposed to something funny. 

It's official - law school kills your funny bone

[Bootay]

I watched it with my wife once.  I have trouble buying a high school with a football team that is 100% white kids.  I won't even bother pointing out the white factor in the glee club itself and the musical numbers.

They go up against a poor school in regionals.  That Glee club was almost, or maybe even entirely, non-white.  The show is pretty upfront about pretty much everything.  The racial makeup of that school is a deliberate joke and it is representative of typical public schools in the U.S.  It's not like it's the inner city.  It's a suburb in Ohio or something.  Also, there are black kids on the football team. 

Also there is autotune in songs in which the genre they are singing uses autotune.  When they sing classic rock (their teacher is obsessed with Journey and pretty much wants them to sing Journey all the time) or show tunes or any number of pop acts that don't or wouldn't use autotune, they don't.

WOW! You take this show VERY seriously. 

[ChadTower]

They go up against a poor school in regionals.  That Glee club was almost, or maybe even entirely, non-white.  The show is pretty upfront about pretty much everything. 

Half of my point was that I don't want to watch a bunch of white kids sing.  I'd rather watch the other school.  If I want to watch an all white glee club I'll go to the Disney Channel.  I suppose it would be more worth watching if they were actually singing instead of showing rapid fire bad music videos.  After a while it felt like a slap in the face to thousands of kids that could pull off those songs live.

When I saw the football coach throw his starting QB off the team for making an insensitive comment I knew the writers have never even sniffed a football field.  Given its importance to the plotlines I lost interest at that moment and watched an episode of Blue Mountain State.  

[Necroticart]

Honestly most TV shows are horrible. I've even tried to get my wife to drop our cable TV seeing as you can go online and stream them the day after they air. I already have to do that to get DR. Who from the BBC, besides that Smallville and Stargate are all I watch and they are both on the way out.

[Bootay]

They go up against a poor school in regionals.  That Glee club was almost, or maybe even entirely, non-white.  The show is pretty upfront about pretty much everything. 

Half of my point was that I don't want to watch a bunch of white kids sing.  I'd rather watch the other school.  If I want to watch an all white glee club I'll go to the Disney Channel.  I suppose it would be more worth watching if they were actually singing instead of showing rapid fire bad music videos.  After a while it felt like a slap in the face to thousands of kids that could pull off those songs live.

When I saw the football coach throw his starting QB off the team for making an insensitive comment I knew the writers have never even sniffed a football field.  Given its importance to the plotlines I lost interest at that moment and watched an episode of Blue Mountain State.  

Why does the color of their skin matter? What makes watching people of other color sing terrible Lady GaGa cover songs any better? If it were an all black cast would the show be better? I think not.

[ChadTower]

If it were an all black cast would the show be better? I think not.

It would at least have a chance at going somewhere near my musical preferences.  Journey and Britney Spears' music aren't my thing.

[Donkbaca]

As for references, I don't care.  That's like listening to the Miley Cyrus because she drops arcade or Star Wars references.  If all I want is references I'll skip BBT and read Wikipedia.  At least then there's the possibility, however slight, that I might be exposed to something funny. 
[/quote]

I agree, wikipedia is hilarious!

[CCM]

If it were an all black cast would the show be better? I think not.

It would at least have a chance at going somewhere near my musical preferences.  Journey and Britney Spears' music aren't my thing.

They seem to do a wide variety of artists... 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Glee

[ChadTower]

That's true.  Could someone explain why they make all of them sound like Journey?

[Bootay]

If it were an all black cast would the show be better? I think not.

It would at least have a chance at going somewhere near my musical preferences.  Journey and Britney Spears' music aren't my thing.

Ahh...I guess I see where you are going with it. My point was just that the plots of the show and the show itself is lame (in my opinion) and if the cast were all black the plots and basic structure of the show would still be the same (lame).

[shmokes]

It's official - law school kills your funny bone

Watch Archer or Arrested Development or 30 Rock or Futurama or Modern Family or It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia or How I Met Your Mother or Frasier or The Office (take your pick) or Extras or Daria or The Simpsons or Flight of the Concords or I Love Lucy or Seinfeld or M*A*S*H or Soap or Weeds or Glee.  Especially watch Arrested Development and Archer.

Granted, some of those (like Extras or Flight of the Concords) I've only seen one or two times, but there are plenty of hilarious shows out there.  But not only is BBT not among them, but the above is a list of really funny shows.  In order to give you a list of shows that are merely funnier than BBT I could include Martin, That 70's Show, Scrubs, Family Guy, Everybody Loves Raymond, Small Wonder, Roc, Friends, Just Shoot Me, Spin City, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince, Saved By the Bell, or pretty much anything.  Some of this list is actually terrible, but even so it's better than BBT.

I literally think that BBT is worst show I have ever seen.  I would rather watch Sweet Life on Deck or Hannah Montana.  The laugh track is essential to BBT because otherwise you would have no idea what you are supposed to laugh at.  Clearly to each his own, but I can't even wrap my head around that one.  As much as I think Home Improvement or That 70's Show are horrible, I can at least see how some people think they're funny.  But BBT is a mystery to me.  I watch it with a giant WTF? hanging over my head throughout the entire episode.  

[shmokes]

After a while it felt like a slap in the face to thousands of kids that could pull off those songs live.

They sing all their own songs before filming and lipsync during filming both because of a very short production schedule and because they are doing things on camera that nobody could do while maintaining the song properly.  Nobody can be singing at the top of their longs and get thrown into a dumpster without having it affect the song.  But they also tour and do concerts and I think most of them come from Broadway.  They can all sing extremely well.  I mean, of course.  It's not like the producers just cast their kids in it.  They presumably did a casting call and tryouts and scouted for talent, etc.  It's not like the stars of Glee are models or something. 

Also, that kid didn't get thrown off the football team for saying something insensitive.  He got thrown off the football team because the Coach was being tormented relentlessly by other members of the staff and she snapped.  Anyway, the team had only ever won a single game.  Ever.  And she had just come in to replace the old coach.  So, honestly, I think even in real life the new coach wouldn't be that concerned about canning her starting quarterback.  It's not like he did anything.

[Bootay]

The lip syncing bothers me, too.  I understand you can't sing very well like that and dance and be thrown in dumpsters, but you can at least attempt it - it's not so much that they're redubbing the audio, it looks like they're just kinda mouthing the words so it's really unconvincing.

Being as I have experience working with studio equipment and recording,  it is very easy for me to spot autocorrecting and that show definitely reeks of it. The autocorrecting is so obvious. Now when I say autocorrect (or autotune) I am not referring to the way that rappers use it to sound robotic. But most studios use autocorrect these days so that they only need one take..it makes the voices sound unnaturally perfect. If you overdo the effect, that is when you get the robotic sound.

Anyhow point is...it is painfully obvious in Glee. But then again it is also painfully obvious in most pop songs that are prerecorded. I don't think most pop "artists" know how to sing these days. The record companies just need a pretty face and autocorrect and its a hit. Now don't get me wrong, there are a few here and there that I think genuinely can sing..but there are a whole lot of them riding on the coat of autocorrect. Ke$ha is one of them.

[RayB]

Shmokes, sounds the humour in BBT is just over your head. Its jokes appeal to the "Slashdot" crowd.  Meanwhile, why the show has done so well among mainstream audiences, I have NO idea.  The average TV viewer must just be mean spirited and enjoy laughing at nerds.

The first time I watched the show I didn't really like it. It follows a typical sitcom formula, and the guys in it I thought were all acting more gay than geek, but after a few episodes I grew to appreciate it more.

I'm about to ditch cable. It's 98% crap.

[shmokes]

I was a network admin for 8 years, and Packard Bell tech support before that.  I spend inordinate amounts of time on a message board about building arcade cabinets and using emulators.  I've hardware modded a half dozen or more Xboxes, jailbroken my iPad and soft-modded my Wii.  I read Engadget and Joystiq daily (and to a lesser extent, Gizmodo, ArsTechnica and Slashdot).  I'm 32 years old.  I think I'm part of the Slash-dot crowd.

The thing is, I'm not a secret agent, parent of a teenager in a dysfunctional family, crystal meth manufacturer, serial killer, or wild west cowboy.  But I think Archer, Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, Dexter and Deadwood are all really good shows.  My dislike of BBT has nothing to do with not getting it.  It would be impossible not to get the jokes.  They are uniformly obvious and unsophisticated and are accompanied by an extraordinarily aggressive laugh track.  The problem isn't that I'm not part of the culture (I am); the problem is that the show isn't any good.   

[ChadTower]

The lip syncing bothers me, too.  I understand you can't sing very well like that and dance and be thrown in dumpsters, but you can at least attempt it - it's not so much that they're redubbing the audio, it looks like they're just kinda mouthing the words so it's really unconvincing.

That's pretty much exactly it.  If you can't sing while getting thrown in a dumpster, and can't accept that your voice will thump when you get thrown in a dumpster, maybe you shouldn't write a dumpster toss into the scene.  It all comes across so fake that I can't be bothered to watch it.  I'm still waiting for the "breaking controversy" that reveals half of those songs are really being sung by ugly people not in the credits.

[Bootay]

The lip syncing bothers me, too.  I understand you can't sing very well like that and dance and be thrown in dumpsters, but you can at least attempt it - it's not so much that they're redubbing the audio, it looks like they're just kinda mouthing the words so it's really unconvincing.

That's pretty much exactly it.  If you can't sing while getting thrown in a dumpster, and can't accept that your voice will thump when you get thrown in a dumpster, maybe you shouldn't write a dumpster toss into the scene.  It all comes across so fake that I can't be bothered to watch it.  I'm still waiting for the "breaking controversy" that reveals half of those songs are really being sung by ugly people not in the credits.

You mean like the chick from C&C Music Factory? heh

[shmokes]

I just wanted to see if I was alone in my assessment here.  Here's a list of shows you could be watching right now on Metacritic.  For what it's worth, BBT scores a 57 and if you sort by score you have to scroll quite a ways to get to it.  

That at least leaves a little room to hope that our entire society hasn't gone mad.  

[knave]

LOL, Big Love season 5 scored 85...

[ChadTower]

You mean like the chick from C&C Music Factory? heh

Or the chicks from Milli Vanilli... isn't one of them dead now?

Story is that he was so ashamed he fled the country and is in Puerto Rico subsisting on old baby formula and Fickle Pickle Chuckle Chips.

[Mikezilla]

It's official - law school kills your funny bone

Watch Archer or Arrested Development or 30 Rock or Futurama or Modern Family or It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia or How I Met Your Mother or Frasier or The Office (take your pick) or Extras or Daria or The Simpsons or Flight of the Concords or I Love Lucy or Seinfeld or M*A*S*H or Soap or Weeds or Glee.  Especially watch Arrested Development and Archer.

Granted, some of those (like Extras or Flight of the Concords) I've only seen one or two times, but there are plenty of hilarious shows out there.  But not only is BBT not among them, but the above is a list of really funny shows.  In order to give you a list of shows that are merely funnier than BBT I could include Martin, That 70's Show, Scrubs, Family Guy, Everybody Loves Raymond, Small Wonder, Roc, Friends, Just Shoot Me, Spin City, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince, Saved By the Bell, or pretty much anything.  Some of this list is actually terrible, but even so it's better than BBT.

I literally think that BBT is worst show I have ever seen.  I would rather watch Sweet Life on Deck or Hannah Montana.  The laugh track is essential to BBT because otherwise you would have no idea what you are supposed to laugh at.  Clearly to each his own, but I can't even wrap my head around that one.  As much as I think Home Improvement or That 70's Show are horrible, I can at least see how some people think they're funny.  But BBT is a mystery to me.  I watch it with a giant WTF? hanging over my head throughout the entire episode.  

I think youre a little too cynical, or expect too much out of a TV show I guess. If youre 32, which isnt too far from my age (28) how could you not like That 70's show?! that show is great. If you didnt like Family Guy when it first came out, granted now its pretty over the top and not as funny, but you ALWAYS hated it!? It seems like you just hate things to hate things. At least when it comes to TV. I think Saint hit it on the head when he said law school makes your funny bone die. I think youre lying about it being the worst show you have EVER seen. Cmon. There is so much ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out there, and you think BBT is the worst? Then you go and say that you like Daria. Jesus. 

[Bootay]

Then you go and say that you like Daria. Jesus. 

And Glee...don't forget Glee. heh

But whatever...I never watched BBT so I cannot comment on it. Family Guy I think is funny at times and trying too hard at others. But I also never found The 70s Show funny.  And I was born in 73. I have also only seen 1 full episodes and bits and pieces of others, so I technically didn't give it a chance. But from what I could see I didn't find it very funny.

As for Milli Vannilli one is still alive and the other was found dead of a drug overdose.

[shmokes]

I think Saint hit it on the head when he said law school makes your funny bone die. I think youre lying about it being the worst show you have EVER seen. Cmon. There is so much ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out there, and you think BBT is the worst? Then you go and say that you like Daria. Jesus. 

My post you quoted listed nineteen excellent comedies and it was far from exhaustive.  That 70's Show is retarded.  Their idea of hilarious is Red saying, "Ass."  Seriously, that's a joke they play multiple times in every single episode.  And the gimmick of sitting around the table with camera focusing on each person in turn is almost never ever remotely funny.  And it always seems like it was written by church kids based on the way the imagine smoking marijuana would be.

I will admit, though, That 70's Show is a masterpiece compared to BBT.

Also, Daria is excellent.

[ChadTower]

It was pretty obvious in the first couple of episodes but they scaled that way back quickly.  Then they'd show Hyde lighting an incense stick so they could claim it wasn't advocating teen drug use.   

[knave]

My post you quoted listed nineteen excellent comedies and it was far from exhaustive.  That 70's Show is retarded.  Their idea of hilarious is Red saying, "Ass."  Seriously, that's a joke they play multiple times in every single episode.  And the gimmick of sitting around the table with camera focusing on each person in turn is almost never ever remotely funny.  And it always seems like it was written by church kids based on the way the imagine smoking marijuana would be.

I will admit, though, That 70's Show is a masterpiece compared to BBT.

Also, Daria is excellent.

While I respect that you don't like Big Bang Theory, I think it's by far funnier than any of the shows you listed. That 70's show was funny for a few seasons but it has lost it's luster.
Arrested Development has to be the worst though...I thought it was dumb when I first saw it, I wanted to give it a chance so I rented the whole first season and it's still dumb...yeah there were a few laughs but the jokes were usually just lame. I'm probably in the minority with this as are you with Big bang theory.

I do want to check out Archer though...so we'll see.

[shmokes]

Arrested Development has to be the worst though... I'm probably in the minority with this as are you with Big bang theory.

I do want to check out Archer though...so we'll see.

We're talking about two different types of minorities.  Arrested Development's Metacritic score is 88 (user score is 97, though that's pretty meaningless) versus Big Bang Theory's 57.  Arrested Development is also at the top of virtually every best show of the decade list in existence regardless of the source.

I get that a lot of people watch Big Bang Theory.  But a lot of people eat Hamburger Helper and listen to Justin Beiber.  BBT is crap.   

[ChadTower]

Metacritic is crap too.  It's full of people who overthink everything and go out of their way to dislike stuff on principle rather than content.

[shmokes]

Said the pot to the kettle   . . . Have you read your Glee comments in this thread?  

If critics are over-thinking things, how do you explain the shows with unanimously high ratings?  Why aren't those ones overthunk?


Lol . . . Pinballl posted while I was writing.