Inspired by this thread, I was wondering if there are any shows that you watch, even though you know they are bad. I’m not quite sure if it is the same thing as a guilty pleasure.
Mine would have to be Gotham. I stopped caring many episodes ago, but I still find myself tuning in, because the whole thing is just so ridiculous and chock-full of plot holes and bad writing. For example, at the end of one episode, a character is shot in the side and seemingly in mortal peril, only to show up two episodes later completely fine, and able to assemble a sizable street gang, despite coming to town with a handful of associates.
My roommate and friends gave up on the show a long time back, but I still came back week after week, if only to see what asinine developments would happen next. The majority (if not all) of my enjoyment comes not from the show itself, but from the reviews, summaries and comments on io9, the AVClub, etc. Also, the Twitter hashtag “NextWeekOnGotham” has some real comedic gems.
So, what are the shows that you watch, not because you enjoy or think they are good, but just so you can make fun of them later?
The initial premise was interesting, but the show failed immediately to live up to it.
My favorite is the message at the beginning of the show. It started as “Based on a true story”, then became “Based on the life of Walter O’Brien”, and now I think it’s “Based on Walter O’Brien’s fantasies”.
Ancient Aliens. I like to give snarky answers whenever they ask questions. “Did ancient aliens build the pyramids?” Uh… Nnnnope!
My personal all time fave is: Aliens on The Moon:The Truth Exposed!
That one had me in stitches from laughing so hard. I mean, They weren’t even trying on that one. (This show is on Netflix BTW)
Also, Workaholics. I hate gross out humor so I have no idea why I watch.
I sometimes watch bits of ‘Undercover Boss’ for the bad wigs, and the way this programme underlines so badly the unreality of Reality TV. Will the single Mom lecture the new guy on her need for a new shed? Have two new sheds! I’m really the boss!
The current dumbed-down edition of*** Who Wants to be a Millionaire?*** I find the present host to be incredibly obnoxious, and the contestants are thick as planks. They’re obviously chosen because they’re “good on TV,” and not because they have a chance in Hell of ever winning $1 million.* (I’m astounded whenever someone makes it to Round Two.)
I watch it only because I enjoy trivia, and I keep it muted almost all of the time.
Oooh, can’t believe I’m the first to mention “Under the Dome” after 6 posts. the sheer cluelessness and incompetence of the writing became almost surreal toward the end of last season. It’s clear the writers have no idea where to go with the plot, so seeing what they throw at the wall next has been great fun.
Hey, the dome’s magnetic! Now it’s not! The dome’s angry and causing storms! Now it’s raining blood that burns! Now it’s shrinking! Big Jim’s a bad guy! No, he’s good guy! No, bad! The dome is trying to kill everbody! No, it’s trying to save everybody! Dead people keep coming back as ghosts for some reason! The show is coming back for a third season for some reason!
Falling Skies was the first thing that came to mind. I hated pretty much every actor and plot point in it, but well, there just isn’t that much post-alien apocalypse sci-fi on TV.
I could have said The Walking Dead as well, but I’ll kindly leave that for someone else to wax wroth over.
Law and Order: SVU started off as a hate watch. I have to admit, however, that I’ve become fond of those buggers, despite all the victim stalking and police brutality, not to mention the over the top plots and just plain ridiculous ripping from the headlines.
I used to watch* The Brady Bunch * reruns for this reason when I was a teenager. One time I pretended to laugh hysterically at every little joke. Eventually the jokes became kind of funny!
That’s also the one for me. Initially, it was supposed to be just one season during the summer with the entire series to be wrapped up at the end of the first season. It quickly became absurd but I figured I would stick with it since it was only one season. Then it gets renewed for another season because the ratings are good and it just keeps getting more ridiculous and unbelievably bad with every episode. Now I can’t stop watching just because I want to see how much worse it can possibly get. It’s fun making fun of it on here and at Previously TV, though.
Truly hate watch? That would be 19 Kids and Counting (or any show about the Duggars) and Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s. I only watch so that I can keep up with the bitching on the TV snark sites. I really abhor both families.
My watching of The Good Wife has turned into hate-watching. I didn’t watch it when it first came out, but my friends at work loved it and talked about it all the time. So a few months ago, I binge-watched it on Amazon-- blew through the whole series in about a month. There was a period where it was really good, suspenseful, entertaining, clever.
Now I’m caught up episode-wise, but…blech. I don’t like any of the characters anymore, the plot points get more and more absurd, and they keep dragging in nit-picky details from earlier episodes to force a crisis (like were those votes fraudulent? What did Alicia say in those emails to Will? Who gives a crap.). But I will keep watching it…not sure why, as I truly do not care what happens to any of them.
I can’t stomach the Kardashians, but the Duggars are definitely a weakness for me. I’m watching them mostly because I’m rooting for at least one of the kids to break free. Hasn’t happened yet.
In college I hate-watched Dawson’s Creek and it was great fun.
I can only think of one show that I hate-watched and that was the daily panel discussion show hosted by Jimmy Swaggart through the mid-1980s until his 1988 scandal. It was basically “What Do We Hate This Week?”- Christian Rock Music, Christian Psychology, Dominion Theology, Roman Catholicism. But as much as I disagreed with Swaggart & his panel of yes-men, I was astonished both that he fell and at the sheer tawdriness of his fall.
