Bad TV Shows

[Vault101]

You want some Aloe?
You would have to elaborate on the stupid stereotypes for me, since I am not quite clear on what you refer to.
The dumb blonde, the shy nerds, the creepy sexual-deviant nerds, the socially incompatible ultra-genius or the slightly awkward indian suffering from selective mutism.
Oh, or the christian fundamentalist mother.

the nerds...not just that but the this veiw that penny puts up with the "weird nerds"

[quote/]And I really don't see the problem with them mentioning Dungeons and Dragons.[/quote]
its because of the joke (or lack thereof) he only has to say dungeons and dragons and LAUGH TRACK it seems obvious the audience finds this funny the fact that "OMG DUNEGONS AND DRAGONS THATS A THING THAT NERDS LIKE AND I'M BETTER THAN THAT DUUURR HURRR" again fact he mentions it with no actual joke..just the mention...as if the very Idea of such a thing is ludacris..and "jokes" like that are a major part of stupid "dur hur nerds" shows


[quote/]First: I also enjoy community.[/quote]
spekaing of which...Ive seen very little of comunity...but what I did see was when they were in a retro RPG (animated completly) and it was fucking hilarious, because the jokes werent "durr hurr they are playing a game" the jokes were based on the nature of games AND charachters that were funny...I got them and it was funny because it required a deeper knowelege of games than "DERP! MARIO!"

[quote/]Second: I could never relate to Penny, why Lennard settled for her is beyond me as seh is annoying as all hell and stupid to go along with that.[/quote[
true...but the fact is she IS an audience surrogate of sorts..shes the "straight" person amoung the nerds

[quote/] My selective hearing might be a problem, since I really completely tune out the laughin audience, so the mentioned D&D laughs flew right past me, as I did not notice them, since I completely ignore the laugh tracks. As in until I read the article I forgot it even existed.
Shame on me for that one.
Fourth: With the laugh track back in mind, I get where you are coming from and of course I understand why you would not like the series, since apparently there are some examples of nerds being laughed at, but as I said, I completely ignore the audience laughs, which means that I probably have a very different view of the show.[/quote]

its not NOTHING to do with the physical literal laughing track..its to do with how the show is framed

if there are constand jokes about her nerds cant get girls and go to the comic books store then It seems clear to me where the so called "humour"is at

 

[Calibanbutcher]

You want some Aloe?
You would have to elaborate on the stupid stereotypes for me, since I am not quite clear on what you refer to.
The dumb blonde, the shy nerds, the creepy sexual-deviant nerds, the socially incompatible ultra-genius or the slightly awkward indian suffering from selective mutism.
Oh, or the christian fundamentalist mother.

the nerds...not just that but the this veiw that penny puts up with the "weird nerds"

[quote/]And I really don't see the problem with them mentioning Dungeons and Dragons.

its because of the joke (or lack thereof) he only has to say dungeons and dragons and LAUGH TRACK it seems obvious the audience finds this funny the fact that "OMG DUNEGONS AND DRAGONS THATS A THING THAT NERDS LIKE AND I'M BETTER THAN THAT DUUURR HURRR" again fact he mentions it with no actual joke..just the mention...as if the very Idea of such a thing is ludacris..and "jokes" like that are a major part of stupid "dur hur nerds" shows


[quote/]First: I also enjoy community.[/quote]
spekaing of which...Ive seen very little of comunity...but what I did see was when they were in a retro RPG (animated completly) and it was fucking hilarious, because the jokes werent "durr hurr they are playing a game" the jokes were based on the nature of games AND charachters that were funny...I got them and it was funny because it required a deeper knowelege of games than "DERP! MARIO!"

[quote/]Second: I could never relate to Penny, why Lennard settled for her is beyond me as seh is annoying as all hell and stupid to go along with that.[/quote[
true...but the fact is she IS an audience surrogate of sorts..shes the "straight" person amoung the nerds

[quote/] My selective hearing might be a problem, since I really completely tune out the laughin audience, so the mentioned D&D laughs flew right past me, as I did not notice them, since I completely ignore the laugh tracks. As in until I read the article I forgot it even existed.
Shame on me for that one.
Fourth: With the laugh track back in mind, I get where you are coming from and of course I understand why you would not like the series, since apparently there are some examples of nerds being laughed at, but as I said, I completely ignore the audience laughs, which means that I probably have a very different view of the show.[/quote]

its not NOTHING to do with the physical literal laughing track..its to do with how the show is framed

if there are constand jokes about her nerds cant get girls and go to the comic books store then It seems clear to me where the so called "humour"is at[/quote]

But but but, further above you said the problem with the D&D joke was the laugh track laughing at D&D, but if the laugh track is not the problem, then what is?

I mean, most of the show consists of this:
The guys have dinner, rip on each other, discuss stuff they like, (physics, video games, comics) Howard complains about his mother, Lennard goes after Penny, etc.

As I said, the nerds get girls, all of them, except Raj.

And if they are introduced as liking comics, why would they not go to the comic book store?

I mean I really like music and films and if I have an odd bit of spare time, I enjoy going to the store and rifling through CDs, DVDs and even video games.

The RPG episode of community was friggin great, though, especially since Gustavo Fringe was there as well.

 

[47_Ronin]

Nikita started badly but picked it up a little. White Collar, I thought, started well but turned into garbage fast. And of course: "My name is Michael Weston, I used to be a spy"

/edit: Haven = cheese on a cracker

 

[Catfood220]

2 Broke Girls, the only redeeming thing about that show is Katt Dennings boobs.

Oh and Made in Chelsea, my God how does this keep getting made (in Chelsea)? Who is watching this crap, it basically a bunch of horrible entitled people doing fuck all. I have watched about 10 minutes of this show and I actually felt myself getting dumber as it went on.

Oh and Summer Daze which was made by the same production company, it was basically a bunch of horrible entitled people going to music festivals. Its strange, I've been to a hell of a lot of festivals and not one of them have involved me getting there and opening bottles of champaign. I watched a full episode of this dreck and felt the same sucking sensation of losing IQ points as I did with Made in Chelsea. The only reason I stayed with it was because I was expecting them to do something associated with music festivals. Such as going to watch bands.

And if they are introduced as liking comics, why would they not go to the comic book store?

They do go to the comic book store, in fact there is a minor character called Stuart who is the comic book store owner.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Glenn Martin, DDS.

I've watched a lot of TV in my time, but never anything even close to how bad this show was. It's a claymated family sitcom trying to be edgy in the vein of Family Guy. The only problem is, it isn't funny at all. Say what you will about Family Guy, but it has its moments, even if you aren't a fan. The kicker? Glenn Martin's first few episodes had a laugh track.

A laugh track, in an animated series?

Ewww...

OT: My contribution is a 2008 British sitcom (with one series) called 'Off the Hook'.

I watched, like, a ten minute clip of it, and chriiist it was just painfully, rigidly unfunny.

Basically the situation was that a guy spilled fondue on two french girls, and whoever wrote it literally did nothing with that; I had no idea if they were trying to plough the 'awkward' or the 'outrageous' furrow, because there was no ploughing.

Hurgh.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

I see quite a few people post sitcoms. Don't go there. Comedy, even bad comedy, is not riff fodder. If you want to riff, use a show which takes itself seriously. In fact, I'd say it's the "serious vs non-serious" scale that matters more than "good vs bad".

Heroes is my recommendation. Yes, I know it has a lot of fans. But the combination of srs bsns approach with laughably soft science makes it perfect for your purposes, methinks.

OK, maybe that's a bit too much of a personal approach from me, but seriously, "He's thinking in Japanese!" was a kick in the balls so hard that I still can't get my voice below falsetto.

 

[Frybird]

I see quite a few people post sitcoms. Don't go there. Comedy, even bad comedy, is not riff fodder. If you want to riff, use a show which takes itself seriously. In fact, I'd say it's the "serious vs non-serious" scale that matters more than "good vs bad".

I'd agree.

Look for "The Cape". It's impossibly awful.

#sixseasonsandamovie

 

[Vault101]

But but but, further above you said the problem with the D&D joke was the laugh track laughing at D&D, but if the laugh track is not the problem, then what is?

the "joke" or lack thereof, it doesnt matter if you ignore the laugh track or whatever, the fact is they think someone merely saying "Dungeons and drgaons" [i/]counts as a joke[/i] what does that imply?

they arent joking about dungeons and dragons, making jokes that are specific things about the game (things players would find funny)..they are merely joking about the fact that "OMG PEOPLE PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS"

kind of like Sheldon saying "windows 7" was considered "funny" again its DER HER NERD WORDS

thease are jokes that require minumum of effort/wit


[quote/]I mean, most of the show consists of this:
The guys have dinner, rip on each other, discuss stuff they like, (physics, video games, comics) Howard complains about his mother, Lennard goes after Penny, etc.[/quote]
there may be reedeemign factors...but the fact remains there are too many stupid/bad jokes

and its just not [b/]fun[/b] watching charachters get constantly shat on, now I admit its not like Ive been keeping up with latter seasons but I remember alot of "oh look howard doesnt have a life because his controlling mum" or "oh look they are having girl troubles" and sure oyu might say that thats not always the case...but it sure as hell doesn't redeem the show...
its lazy unfunny bullshit [b/]ITS THE SAME FUCKING NERD JOKES[/b] ok fine if you like it but I'm trying to stress why the show gets so fucking insufferable at times

[small/]and then another nitpick of mine is the charachter of Amy whats her name...which I actually do find funny as a concept...but then the article mentioned the "lesbian" thing (which I think was just a passing comment by the charachter) which kind of annoyed me a little..because OBVIOUSLY a women who looks like that MUST be or have been a lesbian at some point..hurr hurr..thats not so much a gripe at the show as it is with modern media..but mostly the show...[/small]

[quote/]And if they are introduced as liking comics, why would they not go to the comic book store?[/quote]

DER HER HE SAID HE'S GOING TO THE COMICBOOK STORE THATS SO FUNNY <-because its treated like a fucking joke where [b/]there is no joke[/b] again, same thing..charachter goes to the comic book store DUUR HUUR FUNNY

the storeperson makes some lame "joke" about how he can't get women DUR HUR funny, or that women don;t go to the comic book store DUR HUR funny.....

its not treated as a normal thing people would like to do...

[quote/]I mean I really like music and films and if I have an odd bit of spare time, I enjoy going to the store and rifling through CDs, DVDs and even video games.[/quote]
AND THATS FUNNY BECAUSE......<-and thats big bang thoerys humour

[quote/]The RPG episode of community was friggin great, though, especially since Gustavo Fringe was there as well.[/quote]
and unlike big bang theory it was funny because I [i/]rewarded[/i] for knowing about games...not insulted...it was just the charachters going about their thing...not the show pointing at the charachters and laughing

I dont know if any of this is getting through but its what I'm trying to stress....and YES I will admit big bang thoery has its moments that made me laugh..but overall I can't overlook the things that piss me off about it

 

[Adept Mechanicus]

Basically everything Vault101 said. Big Bang Theory is basically blackface, but targeting nerds.

Its "humor" derives from referencing a nerd stereotype without bothering to make a joke about it. I won't accuse it of having a laugh track because no studio actually uses canned laugh tracks anymore, but sometimes I think that's the only way to explain why anyone laughs at anything on this show. The closest thing this show has to a punchline is the audience laughing, but what the hell are they even laughing at if there are no fucking jokes? Is there a clown in the audience who does funny stuff every time the studio needs a laugh?

 

[Sexy Devil]

Revolution. My God that show is awful. Really can't express in words how much I hate it. The first episode was the funny kind of horrible but after that the novelty wore off.

i havent met a single person who likes it and when you have your average person in the street picking holes in the logic and lore you have a major problem

I usually find gaping logic flaws forgivable if they're there to serve a meaningful purpose (basically what I'm getting at is I'm super pretentious), but there's just nothing of the sort in this show.

Glenn Martin, DDS.
If I might ask, what's so bad about it?

I actually enjoy it. It's not my favorite show of all time, not by a long shot. But I think it's good. All I can really see, as far as being bad, is that it's a bit predictable.

Basically the show is trying way too hard to be Supernatural and is failing miserably at it.

The main character, think her name is Charlie, is an unlikeable moron. They try to make her come off as compassionate and easy to relate to but instead she just comes off as an absolute tosser who has absolutely no idea how the world works. For instance in the pilot when the bandits were totally down to rape and murder her, what's her face kills them (also what kind of idiot accepts a drink from someone you're about to rape and murder?). Then the main character just responds with something to extent of "was that really necessary?" Did she spend her entire life in a bubble or something? How could she possibly not have seen this happen before in such a world? Why does she lack basic survival instincts? Why is she willing to die to take the moral high ground on some bandits?

Then there's that black soldier. This guy is very clearly an attempt to recreate that Lucifer vibe of "you're pretty sure he's evil but he actually kind of does have a point and he doesn't seem like as huge a dick as you've been told". However, instead of achieving that he just comes off as a bipolar nutjob who jumps between stoic and overly aggressive.

The entire premise of the show makes no sense and never will make any sense. Kripke tries to take this in stride and shows awareness of the ridiculousness of the situation in the show's writing. However when the show is begging to be taken seriously every second it creates issues.

Also the overabundance of muskets makes no sense. While we're at it, bullets shouldn't be scarce, they're using guns from like the 1800s. They managed to make bullets back then without the assistance of electricity, they should be able to now.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point and I don't really want to crap on your enjoyment of the show.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

I would have no objection to you tearing The Big Bang Theory a new ass-hole.
I think there's some sort of belief that it's "intelligent comedy," because it makes fun of intelligent people. Jokes about science and geek culture don't automatically qualify as "clever" jokes.
I guess a lot of people dislike it because it mis-represents nerds.
I just don't like it because I don't find it funny, but hey, I'm in a minority there, so who knows. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[Calibanbutcher]

busnip

Oh dear, this is getting quite long.
Well, let's start.

The dungeons and dragons part. I really still don't know which episode you are referring to, it might just have passed me by.

The jokes you do not like: It could just be that we either have a different taste in humour, or that the jokes you dislike so much do not irk me in the slightest. Either way, we clearly have very different takes on the series as a whole.

The characters are something I really like, and I did not get the impression that they were constantly shat on. They have grown during the course of the series and changed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways which was very enjoyable to watch for me.

The nerd jokes don't bother me, because whilst I sometimes identify myself as a nerd, I can still laugh about myself, the culture I chose to be a part of, etc.

The comic book store:
I did not think it was played for laughs, it may be but I did not think so.

You certainly are getting through, but I still enjoy the show very much.

Should we just agree that we have different stances on the series and leave it at that? Because I don't think we are going to convince one another to start liking / disliking the series.

OT:
Captcha: "I like humans"
I am sure you do captcha, glad to hear it.

 

[The_Echo]

snip

I haven't actually seen Supernatural, so I guess I'll take your word for it. I've always thought it bore a resemblance to FlashForward. Both featuring mysterious, worldwide 'blackouts' with plots based on how people are dealing with the aftermath, and others trying to figure out what happened. For the record, FlashForward was more awesome than Revolution can ever hope to be.

To me, Charlie is meant to represent the pre-blackout attitudes and mentality. Though in a rather ham-fisted way if I'm honest.

By 'the black soldier,' I think you mean Giancarlo Esposito (previously Gus Fring in Breaking Bad). He's a pretty fantastic actor. In my opinion. I'm not sure how far you've followed the show, but his character is given more exposition in the past couple of episodes, so he doesn't seem so... erratic. In clichéd terms, there's a method to his madness. Though I'm sure there's more still unsaid.

What about the premise doesn't make sense, exactly? I mean, it's fairly straightforward. Electricity goes kaputt, humanity shits itself. Probably some thinly-veiled, overarching commentary on our dependence on electricity in the modern world.

I'll hand you the firearms point. I think the bullet scarcity referred to in the series is meant towards more modern weapons, like a sniper rifle or the handgun Esposito occasionally uses. But, the meat of the series takes place 15 years after the blackout happens. So, I mean, that's a lot of space for people to waste bullets. Maybe all the muskets is just an aesthetic choice though.

 

[Ryank1908]

There's two at the moment that are actual insults to the word 'comedy.'

New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel of all people, who I once upon a time had respect for, which is one of the most cringe-inducingly - no offence, Americans - 'American' comedies I have ever seen. Cutaway jokes, a 'quirky' main character, and awful, awful jokes and moments that are supposed to be endearing that fall so short they'd need an elevator to get back up to just plain average.

I know you didn't want anything brand new, but this needs to be said. Andy Samberg is in a new comedy show over here in England called Cuckoo. It has a seriously well-respected English actor/comedian called Greg Davies, who was in Inbetweeners, as a father of two teenage kids. His daughter has just come back from a gap year and it turns out she got married over there to Samberg's character, the titular Cuckoo. He's one of these teenage hippy spiritualistic backpackers who knows nothing but thinks he knows it all, and he's come to stay with Davies' family with his new wife. Hilarity ensues.

Oh wait, no it doesn't. Actually, the longest half an hour of your life ensues. Samberg could have given a decent performance if every single line wasn't actively written to ensure that he has absolutely no way to be funny. Each line is painfully over-the-top, way too far over the top to be funny. Greg Davies gives a decent performance as always but the shite acting and paper-thin characterisation of the people that play his wife, daughter and son means that for any smirk you get out of Davies is counterbalanced by five minutes of bullshit from absolutely everyone else. Watch it so you know what never to do in a TV show.

That said, dishonourable mentions go to the American versions of successful British shows; namely, The IT Crowd (casting an incredibly in-shape and handsome man as a dirty, lazy IT technician? lol k,) Spaced, which is probably the best comedy Britain has ever made and suddenly became the worst thing in the world when America took it over, and countless others, I'm sure.

 

[hazabaza1]

Big Bang Theory is fucking awful. Objective truth.
Sorry guys who like it. You're wrong.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

You need to be careful with Riffing on comedies though. If you just want to do it with your buddies for fun then it's ok, but if you want to post it and get other people to listen to it you have to be careful. Because there is always the pitfall of making fun of bad comedy, and yourself not being funny. If you make a bad joke about a bad joke then the whole thing will fail.

How about classic Doctor Who? There are so many episodes to do, and there's always something rife for making fun. Mainly the effects as even for the time they were cheesy (mainly because the show never enjoyed a large budget). Compare Star Trek:TNG's effects to Doctor Who's.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I win.
...
Yes there was really a sitcom about Hitler.