# Can one cast member ruin a TV show for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079 "2016-03-25T01:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/101 "2016-03-28T13:11:00Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Mariska Hargitay is the main reason I won’t watch L&O SVU. That, and I find the storylines to be beyond depressing, but mainly she grates on me. At least, her character does. For all I know, she’s a lovely person off-camera. Funny, I used to like her (character and actress) very much back in the day. It seems like my dislike coincided and grew with the length of her hair. I wouldn’t say she’s the sole reason I stopped watching but she did diminish my enjoyment considerably. As for a cast member that \*is \*responsible for ruining a show for me, that (dis)honor goes to Alyson Hannigan on _How I Met Your Mother._ I generally say that the Marshall & Lily pregnancy story line was the fatal blow but she was already starting to get on my nerves so there was no way I could stand a double dose of “don’t care, shut the fuck up”. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/102 "2016-03-28T13:31:34Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > I could not stand the character of “Jill”, the wife of “Tim ‘The Tool-Man’ Taylor” on **Home Improvement**. She was just such a whiny, self-absorbed, nagging, emasculating bitch. > > The episode that made me stop watching was when Tim was on location filming his TV show at a big convention and Jill kept interrupting the filming because he wasn’t paying enough attention to her. My thought was, “Are you kidding? He is doing his job, putting food on the table, supporting your lazy ass! And you can’t even wait until he is off work? I bet your sorry ass gets left at home next time.” I like Everybody Loves Raymond, but the one episode I cannot abide is when Ray invites Johnny to the Superbowl, and Deb horns in on it and shows up at the hotel. Then she is all butthurt and whining because Ray doesn’t drop everything to ‘spend time with her’ and wants to send her off with the other wives on a day trip. Big huge fight with Ray, who ends up tearing up the Superbowl tickets! … I really wanted to kill her, insecure stupid whining bitch. …Also, I will vote for Michael Richards, too. Dirtball. He looks like his too short, greenish old-man pants have never been washed and stink to high heaven. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/103 "2016-03-28T18:51:06Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Wesley Crusher. To be fair to will Wheaton the problem was actually gene Roddenberry ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/104 "2016-03-28T21:54:58Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Oh man, I want to punch Shawn Spenser in the face. And probably the actor, too. If I were the type to punch strangers. Agree! I HATED Shawn Spenser, watched the show for Timothy Omundson, whose goodness even in a role where he was supposed to be the antagonist was enough to make up for the smarmy sick of the Spenser character. I kept hoping Lassiter would shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/105 "2016-03-28T21:57:38Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Because one certainly can for me. Case in point: “The Mentalist” while not great was a show I could have enjoyed. However I found the lead actress so grating I simply couldn’t watch anymore, no matter how much I liked the other actors & the show generally. > Has this sort of thing ever happened to any of you? It was her bangs, wasn’t it? I felt the same way. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/106 "2016-03-29T01:50:40Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > To be fair to will Wheaton the problem was actually gene Roddenberry No, I’m fairly certain the problem was Wil Wheaton. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/107 "2016-03-30T19:44:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I haven’t been able to watch 30Rock yet because of how much I dislike Tracy Morgan. I’ll probably give it a shot someday when it’s in syndication and I start catching them here and there without really noticing it. I’ve actually seen one or two episodes and did like them, but he puts me off too much to decide that I’m ‘going to start watching 30 Rock tonight’. THANK YOU. I so wanted to like _30 Rock,_ especially after _Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip_ was cancelled, but watching Tracy Morgan was like having a cheese grater rubbed on my private parts. Frankly, NONE of the case appealed to me. > [@digs](#): > > I guess I’m lucky that Minnie Driver and Andie McDowell are in movies, where I can check the cast before I walk into the theater. I was looking forward to _The Riches_ because I love Eddie Izzard…and then they cast HER as his wife. :smack: Dear Og, _why??_ ---
**Author:** ![Lotte89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5daacb/32.png) [@Lotte89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lotte89)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/108 "2016-07-02T15:11:36Z")
The most annoying tv characters for me: 1. Zach Goodweather (The Strain) :mad::mad::mad::mad: 2. Rusty Beck (Major Crimes) :mad::mad::mad: 3. Skyler White (Breaking Bad) :mad::mad: 4. Laurel Lance (The Arrow) :mad: ---
**Author:** ![cg16](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@cg16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cg16)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/109 "2016-07-02T15:59:48Z")
Yes and it happened with thee sitcoms Bob Newhart show-“Howard” Mary Tyler Moore-“Ted” ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/110 "2016-07-02T16:22:27Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Watch “Psych” instead. Similar set-up, but funnier, and with better chemistry between the cast. Netflix has it streaming. A former fake psychic works with authorities to solve crimes in a serious crime drama vs. a fake psychic lying to the police to get paid for solving crimes in a comedy. They share some of the same words, but the premises aren’t really the same. And thanks for mentioning Psych, because it reminded me that I really like a lot of the cast, but couldn’t stomach the lead actor more than 3 episodes. > [@cg16](#): > > Yes and it happened with thee sitcoms > Bob Newhart show-“Howard” > > Mary Tyler Moore-“Ted” And? ---
**Author:** ![cg16](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@cg16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cg16)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/111 "2016-07-02T16:33:41Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > A former fake psychic works with authorities to solve crimes in a serious crime drama vs. a fake psychic lying to the police to get paid for solving crimes in a comedy. They share some of the same words, but the premises aren’t really the same. And thanks for mentioning Psych, because it reminded me that I really like a lot of the cast, but couldn’t stomach the lead actor more than 3 episodes. > > And? Typo, that was supposed to say these sitcoms. But if I had to pick a 3rd I would say “Happy Days-Potsie” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/112 "2016-07-02T16:38:43Z")
One of my big ones, which makes it kind of difficult given he’s the star of the show, is “Gilligan’s Island” and Gilligan. I used to like the show a lot when I was a kid, but even then I always liked it _despite_ Gilligan. I hated how he always bumbled around and interfered with everyone’s plans. I guess I’ve never liked that type of character. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/113 "2016-07-02T17:24:48Z")
Helen Crump. ---
**Author:** ![Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/114 "2016-07-02T17:58:06Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I lost interest in “The Avengers” almost immediately after they replaced Emma Peel with Tara Whatsherface. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/115 "2016-07-02T18:17:21Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Trust me I felt the same for the first few episodes but after a while she undergoes some serious character changes in her behavior and speech and is even likeable at some point. > > That said, you shouldn’t watch Dexter for other reasons, cause the last 4 seasons sucked hard. Yes, same experience here- the actress really turned it around. She was still grating at times but I bought it as the character’s natural awkwardness. I liked her because she had a sailor mouth and I find that redeeming in most people… And yes- the series sucked donkey balls after the 3rd season or so and the finale was horrendous… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/116 "2016-07-02T18:56:06Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > For the record, Linda Thorsen, the actress who played Tara King, was a good, sexy actress. She just wasn’t as good or as sexy as Diana Rigg, the actress who played Emma Peel. You know who was as good and sexy as Diana Rigg at that time? > > I’m thinking … nobody. So it’s not fair to bang on Thorsen. Hard act to follow! It wasn’t so much that she wasn’t Emma Peel, it was that the whole dynamic of the show changed. Nothing against Linda, who was indeed good and sexy, but she was just unsuited to be Steed’s partner. The show’s descent into unapologetic camp merely reflected this. With someone better suited, the series might have gone on, even if she wasn’t Emma Peel (I’m sure a lot of fans were disappointed when Honor Blackman left the series, but it more than survived). Emma wasn’t exactly “replaced,” either. She left to do a major motion picture, which must have been a hell of a thing for everyone connected with the series. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/117 "2016-07-03T14:18:35Z")
I’ll spot you two cast members: I couldn’t make it through the first episode of Fringe because of Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson. Anna Torv was skinny-as-an-Ethiopian-famine-victim, with BoTox fish lips. Joshua Jackson was so smugly condescending, I wanted to punch him in the nose right through my TV. In Jackson’s case, you can say, in fairness, that it was just the actor portraying a character, as the writers and director wanted him to do. Still couldn’t stand it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/118 "2016-07-03T16:27:35Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > \They share some of the same words, but the premises aren’t really the same. And thanks for mentioning Psych, because it reminded me that I really like a lot of the cast, but couldn’t stomach the lead actor more than 3 episodes. > > And? Psych actually made several [references](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/09/06/psych_makes_fun_of_the_mentalist_a_supercut_of_all_the_times_the_usa_show.html) as to how close to each other the premises actually are. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/119 "2016-07-06T15:10:04Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Upon watching the X-Files re-boot, I hated the Scully character (and Jillian Anderson) and I stopped watching. Too much whining. > > I stopped watching Cheers in the later years because of the Kirstie Alley. Same Reason. Hah. I almost stopped watching Cheers because I hated Diane (Shelley Long) character so much. Kirstie Alley was like a breath of fresh air. Yes, I know I’m in the minority on this one; but there you go. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079/120 "2016-07-06T16:43:29Z")
I enjoyed “Six Feet Under” until Brenda came along. I couldn’t stand her and don’t know why. I stopped watching because of that character and actress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-cast-member-ruin-a-tv-show-for-you/750079.md?page=7)