I think most television shows are bland shit anyway but I was SHOCKED when 30 Rock made it past the first episode. It was so jaw-droppingly bad that I thought the cast and crew resigned themselves to the awfulness of it and just went throught the motions for the one epsiode that would ever get aired. It’s one of those things that makes me want a word that means “the opposite of funny”, because that show is way beyond just “not funny.”
Echoing CSI - liked it at first, until they started the “weekly never in a million years cases” (dominatrix, furrie, and never ending stream of serial killers)
I hated Lucy.
American Idol.
Survivor
The Sopranos
My husband would agree w/ Sex and the City (I watched it 'cause of Chris Noth)
If I may just briefly defend this show - you’ve got to take it as a comedy. It fails on almost, but not quite, every level as a drama. It also helps if you started watching at the start, or else you’re not going to give a damn about the characters, almost all of whom are completely moronic. Also, I’m not completely sure about this, but I don’t think it’s as critically acclaimed or popular as it was earlier on.
I’ll second Family Guy - in fact, it’s probably the only TV show where, when I hear somebody finds this shit funny, my estimation of them as a human being actually drops.
Speaking of which, South Park is painfully sophomoric and obvious - it’s the television equivalent of a stand-up comic doing a Jack Nicholson impression. It was a nice change of pace when it started, but it wore thin pretty quick, and then it just got lazy.
Never thought MASH was funny in the least.
Not critically acclaimed, but definitely popular: Two and a Half Men. Every retarded shitcom cliche from the past 30 years, and it somehow manages not only to not get cancelled, but to become a hit. Shouldn’t surprise me, I guess, since Home Improvement and Coach were on the air for like 40 years each.
Grey’s Anatomy. Everyone I know loves this show, but I just can’t stand it. It would be better if they got rid of Grey herself… she’s such a horrible character!
What? I’m wondering if you’ve watched it since it started, because the first season was much like you describe, but it’s grown by leaps and bounds since then. I don’t think anyone who “gets” both shows would ever mention it in the same discussion as Family Guy, unless to say how many magnitudes better it is.
Sure, I’ve watched it plenty. I’d read threads here about how great a particular episode was (the Scientology one, for example), so I’d check it out and be immediately impressed by how lame the jokes were. They always seemed to go for the most obvious punchline, the kind of stuff you’d get from any number of random bloggers. It’s just some weak-ass shit, IMO. But you are right: it’s still miles ahead of Family Guy.
I didn’t hate it or love it. I generally laugh a few times during an episode, but it was never on my “must see” list. I don’t really understand the level of hatred for it. Sure, the characters have annoying traits that if they just got over, there’d be no show. But it’s fiction, fercrisakes, and a sitcom to boot; who tunes into a sitcom expecting anything resembling reality?
For me, the list for the OP is long, but off the top of my head, acclaimed shows I can’t stand include:
Lost (the short-lived teen version, Flight 29 Down, was infinitely more interesting)
Heroes (dumb, dumber, and dumber-er)
The Sapranos (the regular lives of ruthless criminals, I just don’t get the attraction)
The Simpsons (ok, I can actually stand this one, it’s just not all that funny)
The Shield (just no comment here)
Friends (boring people doing unfunny things)
House (a lead character who is thoroughly unlikable? no thanks)
Deadwood (how many swear words can you work into an hour? How about some plot?)
Cattlecar over Attica, er sorry: Battlestar Galactica (take something originally meant to be rather silly and try to make it serious; why? And it didn’t work anyway).