# Shows you like where you don't care about the characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498 "2010-09-21T02:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/1 "2010-09-21T02:33:10Z")
It’s an axiom in TV that people watch shows because they like or otherwise care about the characters. Plot and story and are, in theory, secondary. Today’s House which had very little of the medical mysteries and Doctor banter I watch the show for, got me thinking that as much as I enjoy the show, I couldn’t care less about the characters. I find House entertaining but I can’t be bothered with all the interpersonal stuff (which today’s episode had in spades unfortunately). Anyone else have shows like that? Like watching but couldn’t care less about the characters on them. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/2 "2010-09-21T02:39:34Z")
Does “reality” count? Because if so I’ll say _Pawn Stars_. I couldn’t give less of a damn about anything to do with Big Hoss and Chum and Grandpa and the Skipper or whatever, but I like the appraisals and the telling about the items. For regular TV shows I like _Weeds_ but I’ve never figured out why. There’s not a single likable character on the show- not even the kids- and if they were all were blown up by the Colombian cartel in the series finale it wouldn’t phase me in the least save for the show being over, but again- the show itself I for some reason like. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/3 "2010-09-21T02:43:16Z")
Seinfeld. The Office. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/4 "2010-09-21T02:57:08Z")
Survivor. At least, since I stopped watching it halfway through season 2. Less alliance bickering, more rat eating! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/5 "2010-09-21T03:01:47Z")
The various iterations of _Star Trek_ and _Law & Order_ are this for me; when I like them (not always), it’s pretty much because of concepts not characters. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/6 "2010-09-21T03:13:42Z")
Mad Men. I’m only as far as season two, so maybe they characters will grow on me, but so far I watch it for the sets and the nostalgia. There isn’t a character in it I’d cross the street to have a three martini lunch with. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/7 "2010-09-21T13:22:29Z")
2 1/2 Men. Not ONE redeeming character. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/8 "2010-09-21T13:43:59Z")
_Lost_, of course. Screw the characters. I didn’t care if they lived or died. Answer the damn questions you raised! See also the final season of _BSG_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/9 "2010-09-21T15:17:55Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Mad Men. I’m only as far as season two, so maybe they characters will grow on me, but so far I watch it for the sets and the nostalgia. There isn’t a character in it I’d cross the street to have a three martini lunch with. Nitpick: Three martinis would be an appetizer. I’ll admit there are several shows I’ve watched because of the eye candy: later episodes of _Saved By the Bell_ and _Dawson’s Creek_ come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/10 "2010-09-21T15:27:57Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > The various iterations of _Star Trek_ and _ **Law & Order** _ are this for me; when I like them (not always), it’s pretty much because of concepts not characters. _ **bolding mine** _ I would agree with you about _Law and Order_ for almost all the characters. Jerry Orbach’s character of _Lenny Brisco_ is a HUGE exception to this. I still watched, and even enjoyed the show after he passed away but it was never the same. Moving back a few years, how many people remember _L.A. Law_? I liked the show. I thought it had a good blend of absurdist comedy and drama. The characters though were basically cookie cutter interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/11 "2010-09-21T15:57:26Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Moving back a few years, how many people remember _L.A. Law_? I liked the show. I thought it had a good blend of absurdist comedy and drama. The characters though were basically cookie cutter interchangeable. As a matter of fact, every time I watch _Law & Order_ and I see Dann Florek, I think of him of the guy who had the hots for whats-her-name (Arnie’s secretary) on _L.A. Law._ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/12 "2010-09-21T16:08:56Z")
I was entertained by the first two or three seasons of _Weeds_, but had no liking at all for any of the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/13 "2010-09-21T16:15:47Z")
My first thought, upon seeing the OP, was House. I was just telling my sister the other day, that while I don’t TiVo house, I do watch it when it’s on. I probably catch 2-3 episodes a week (reruns) and make a half-assed attempt to watch the new shows on Monday’s. I’ve been doing this for the last 2 or 3 seasons. In all that time, I still don’t know the difference between Chase and Wilson, I have no idea where Thirteen came from or how she got that name…or who she dates or did date or wait, I think she’s a lesbian. I played in a House themed Mafia last year and my character was “Cut-Throat Bitch”, someone I’ve never heard of. Yup, I’m really just in it for the Patient of the Week. In fact, I think they really do a great job of catering to both the fan and the casual watcher. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/14 "2010-09-21T17:47:46Z")
_It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia_ ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/15 "2010-09-21T18:06:12Z")
There is a difference between shows where you don’t like the characters, and shows where you don’t care about the characters. For me, Seinfeld is the best example of the first. I don’t like any of the characters, but I watch the show to see what they do. If you replaced all the characters, it would ruin the show. Law & Order is what I think about for the second. I like some of the characters, but I really don’t care if they are replaced. In fact, I stopped watching SVU because it became too much about the characters instead of the cases. The whole reason I like the L&O shows was you could watch any episode at any time without having to figure out what was going on in the characters lives that you missed. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/16 "2010-09-21T18:20:38Z")
I feel this way about most of the iterations of Law & Order, but I will admit that I particularly enjoy the version of Criminal Intent with Vincent D’Onofrio and Katherine Erbe. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/17 "2010-09-21T20:46:43Z")
Not that I’ve watched it in a couple of seasons but Grey’s Anatomy had a hold on me for a while, yet I didn’t give a crap about any of the characters and had an active dislike for the lead character. Wasn’t “Thirty Something” the original “hit show in spite of the cast all being a bunch of whiny a-holes”? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/18 "2010-09-21T20:48:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > _It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia_ I came into the thread to say this. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/19 "2010-09-21T22:42:33Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > Moving back a few years, how many people remember _L.A. Law_? I liked the show. I thought it had a good blend of absurdist comedy and drama. The characters though were basically cookie cutter interchangeable. I don’t know about that. But I will say that _Boston Legal_ has some of the same appeal as _L. A. Law_, but _Boston Legal_ very much depends on its characters. > [@Strassia](#): > > There is a difference between shows where you don’t like the characters, and shows where you don’t care about the characters. > > For me, Seinfeld is the best example of the first. I don’t like any of the characters, but I watch the show to see what they do. If you replaced all the characters, it would ruin the show. > > Law & Order is what I think about for the second. I like some of the characters, but I really don’t care if they are replaced. In fact, I stopped watching SVU because it became too much about the characters instead of the cases. The whole reason I like the L&O shows was you could watch any episode at any time without having to figure out what was going on in the characters lives that you missed. This is an excellent point. Here’s my answer: CSI. (If it matters, I’ve only seen the first season.) Enjoyed the mysteries and crime-solving, wasn’t that interested in the characters and their personal issues. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498/20 "2010-09-21T23:43:12Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > There is a difference between shows where you don’t like the characters, and shows where you don’t care about the characters. Yes, and when I wrote the OP I had the latter in mind but all responses are welcome. I don’t dislike the characters on House, I just don’t care about their personal problems but yet still enjoy the show (for the most part). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-you-like-where-you-dont-care-about-the-characters/554498.md?page=2)