# Are you entertained? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617 "2024-11-03T16:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/21 "2024-11-04T20:58:59Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > Life is short, and there’s plenty of shows that have grabbed me in their opener I have to go with this as well. I used to think that maybe when I was old and near death (getting closer . . . closer . . . ) that I might enjoy watching old shows like Parks and Recreation. But I have come to the realization that I don’t want to waste my final hours on earth watching something I had no interest in when it was new. There will always be plenty of new stuff available and 99% of it is crap, but that 1% is worth the efffort to look for. I’m really getting into The Penguin now. And I do respect Parks and Recreation, it’s just not something I am wanting to invest my time in. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/22 "2024-11-04T21:08:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > But a book is produced as a unit. If a book’s first seventy pages are badly written, that’s more than enough for me to put it down Yeah and I do think of this as part of the how easily entertained are you continuum. I AM easily entertained. Too easily - I constantly get distracted by new things. Pretty common for me to partially read multiple books at once or fall off a TV show halfway through only to wander back to it months or years later. The SDMB itself is a culprit. But your comment made me think about the Dresden Files series of novels by Jim Butcher. Butcher is not a masterful writer, but he’s also not an awful one. However the first few books in the series are popcorn books - paint-by-numbers-monster-of-the-week sort of things with a very Gary Stuish protagonist. Very mildly entertaining if you like that sort of urban fantasy. Then around book four a larger metaplot kicks in and they become a fair bit better. I appreciate those later books and enjoyed them up to a point. But I only slogged through the first few because I like the genre and am easily entertained. If you’re not they probably aren’t worth the investment to get to the better stuff. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/23 "2024-11-05T19:02:49Z")
My general rule is three episodes to convince me that’s it’s not a complete waste of time, and the rest of the first season to convince me that it’s any good. (Also, a laugh track is an _instant_ dealbreaker. Like, join the 21st century already.) Some notable recent failures and near-failures: [Son of Zorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-of-zorn-the-complete-series/983656) - I’ve railed on this plenty long enough, so in brief: right wing pandering was an unbelievably horrific idea, really hard on the eyes and ears, gets decent **very** late into the run but on the whole a colossal misfire and I’m not surprised it’s almost completely forgotten today. [The Muppets](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppets-new-show-on-abc/732209) - Although I disliked the highly nasty tone it started with, I saw enough potential here to stick out the season; it mainly looked like the producers just needed to start listening to the right people. I would’ve watched a second season, but I understand why the ratings weren’t there and wasn’t upset over ABC’s decision.to ax it. Bless This Mess - Gave up after the third episode. Fish-out-of-water stories usually just don’t click for me, and I could never understand what was so funny, or compelling, or endearing, or relatable about this couple’s travails. The Last Man on Earth - Pretty much dead on arrival; just far too repulsive to keep going. Final straw was the main character committing to what he _thought_ was the only surviving women, and JUST THEN this complete bombshell…arrrggrgll. [Krapopolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-look-back-at-krapopolis-season-1/1004080/4) - A resoundingly middling reaction from nearly everyone, myself included. After watching most of the first season, my reaction was that while it’s very forced and full of unlikable characters, it at least makes an _effort_ to be funny, which is a lot more than I can say for most of its competition. This show’s existence doesn’t anger me, but neither am I compelled to keep watching. Our Kind of People - I put on every episode but could scarcely pay attention. I don’t know why. I was a big fan of Empire, so the machinations of rich minorities should’ve grabbed me, and this just didn’t. I scarcely remember any of the plotlines other than a power grab for the main company. Quantum Leap - I wouldn’t exactly say I _disliked_ this one, but this was one of those experiences where I kept asking myself when it was going to get better. My main beef was what I call the Reverse Kenny McCormick Problem, i.e. Dr. Ben Song absolutely _had_ to survive no matter how unbelievable it was, and after a while I just stopped caring. Much like Alf, if someone made a movie wrapping everything up, I’d gladly watch it. And a show that _did_ entertain me from beginning to end: [The Good Place](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545). This one got _everything_ right. The writing was crisp, the acting was stellar, the visual effects were amazing, the humor was on point, and, most impressively, I cared about _every one_ of these characters (even the fascist jerk!). Gotham, despite a few uncomfortable moments, captured the dark spirit of a crime-ridden Gotham City the way Zack Snyder never could, and Empire was a fantastic hard-hitting drama before Jussie Smollett’s arrest derailed everything. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/24 "2024-11-05T19:19:51Z")
By myself I tend to watch educational or informative videos and those get dry fast. I am not even sure I retain any of it and suspect it’s some kind of subconscious procrastination tactic. But I will watch just about anything with other people I like in the room in order to bounce ideas, theories and snark off of. Time spent with them is the goal and the tv just assists. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/25 "2024-11-05T19:22:54Z")
Yeah, I generally am hard to entertain. I used to watch 4-7 movies in theaters each year a decade ago, but I now watch only 1 movie or less per year. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/26 "2024-11-05T21:46:12Z")
And here I thought I was alone in finding it _extremely_ difficult to find something that entertains me. I watch very little TV because most of it is simply boring. I did enjoy the first few seasons of the above-mentioned _Parks and Recreation,_ but that’s because I work as a non-government employee in a government organization and the way ridiculous, petty bureaucracy is portrayed just lands really, really well. Ron Swanson is my hero. The same for _The Office_: having worked in several office settings, I can relate to that environment – most of those characters I knew in real life. I enjoyed the first few seasons of _Brooklyn 99_ but gave that up when it became a bit too formulaic. But there isn’t much else out there I’ve watched and actually liked. _Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul_, and _Schitt’s Creek_ I enjoyed but haven’t bothered to finish the last two. I’ve seen maybe three movies in the theaters since Covid hit because not much interests me. That upcoming Hugh Grant movie does look interesting, though. Might see that. I used to be a voracious reader but lost that when I was doing my MA and had to read 356,913,835 books each semester for three years. I’ve been downstream of grad school for almost half a decade and have yet to have the desire to read rekindled. I’ve read maybe 20 novels since graduating. I’ve actually discovered I enjoy playing video games. During Covid I scored a used Switch just to have something to do and have been playing classic SNES and Game Boy games on the Nintendo e-shop. Takes my right back to middle school. My eyesight isn’t good enough to play games on the TV – my kids have a PS5 and Xbox X – but I love the Switch. That and various YouTube videos have been my primary source of entertainment since Covid. We also bought a house in 2021 so I have maintenance and yard work to suck up my time. That’s not entertainment but it does give me something to do. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617/27 "2024-11-05T23:13:05Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I don’t know if I’m easily entertained or just good at recognizing when something will appeal to me but it’s pretty rare I end up watching/ reading something I dislike enough to not finish it. My knee-jerk reaction was to say that I am easily entertained, but I also tend to avoid stuff that I don’t think I will like. Even so, it is not uncommon for me to begin watching something on Netflix and give up on it fairly quickly. So maybe I am picky? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-entertained/1009617.md?page=1)