I am not a huge sit-com person, as they often seem too predictable and cookie cutter—you can usually see the jokes coming from a mile away, the characters are cartoonish, the writing is lazy, etc. (I am not saying I feel this way about ALL sit-coms, there have been some great ones over the years) but the popular ones of recent times have generally been (IMHO) dreadful (Everyone Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory…)
But recently, a local station here (I dont have cable) began airing reruns of “The King Of Queens”. I had never watched it when it was originally on CBS, as I was sure it was just as mindless as all the other similar shows out there. Eventually, out of boredom, I started watching it on occasion (its on at 9pm) and to my great surprise I found that it actually has a few pretty funny bits sprinkled in once in a while!!! I know its really just mediocre at its core, (and I LOATHE the Jerry Stiller character) and certainly not breaking any new ground, and relies on cliche for 90% of its laughs, etc. etc., but so help me, I find myself watching it on a semi- regular basis, and usually getting a few laughs in, despite the overall “meh” writing/acting.
Now I am not a TV snob, but the K.O.Q. is certainly not my typical kind of show; I know its not actually very good, but I cant help but occasionally end up watching, and (more often than not) enjoying the show.
What about you?
Any bands, movies, restaurants, etc. that you intellectually realize are so-so at best, yet you still enjoy in spite of it? I am not looking to start a serious debate about the merits of a particular example, but I am just curious if anyone else has a weak spot for something you might typically turn your nose up at…
Any Van Damme or Steven Segal movie from the early to mid-90s. No matter how many times I’ve seen the movie, if one of their movies is on TV as I’m flipping through the channels, I have to tune in and watch it.
And a lot of crap YA books I read when I was a kid and like to reread. (No, not the classy stuff like the Giver or Harriet the Spy–I mean the stuff like the Babysitters Club or Goosebumps.)
Reality TV shows like the Real Housewives. (I know, I know.)
Del Taco. We have a number of very good, authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants within 10 miles of home, but there are times (all too often!) when the drive-thru calls to me.
Funny you would mention Del Taco—Salt Lake also has a multitude of excellent, authentic Mexican places, due to a very sizeable Mexican minority population (its about the only ethnic cusine that is well represented here, as there is only a small handfull of decent Chinese, Thai, or Italian places in all of Utah) but even so, every once in a while Del Taco’s so-so brand of fast food Mexican really fills a drive thru jones…
I love Adam Sandler movies - Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Waterboy. The more juvenile the better.
I’m a lover of great cinema, but sometimes I just like to turn off my brain for awhile. If you’re home on a Saturday night and have the blues the last thing you want to do is watch Schindler’s List. But you pop one of his movies in and they’ll immedietely cheer you up.
I used to love those when I was a kid, and if I’m flipping through the channels and happen to see that “Hard to Kill” or “Kickboxer” is on, I’ll admit I’ll stop and watch it for at least a few minutes.
One of my major interests is music from the 60s and early 70s, and I’ll listen with interest to obscure music from that period even if it’s mediocre, just for historical value if nothing else.
I’m also a lifelong consumer of Ding Dongs/Ho Hos/etc. And I’ve always liked KFC… and I worked there.
I loved Forever Amber too. I liked the way she was unrepentently evil & selfish.
I used to read a lot of Harlequin/Mills & Boons. My kids were young & I didn’t have the time to concentrate on anything else. I think I would still enjoy some of the NZ authors but I haven’t read them in years.
Music - probably too many to list. I’m listening to Madonna sing Lucky Star at the moment.
I watch reality crap that drives my family out of the room. I think this will be my last season of Survivor though. I don’t think they have anything new to offer. Buty I still like the Amazing Race & Top Chef. I watch UK show Master Chef but I would classify it as a cooking competition rather than reality show.
& I watch NZ soap Shortland St. Last nights episode was beyond bad & they missed the chance to write out one of the most annoying characters they have ever created but my husband will probably still sit in front of the TV at 7 tonight & watch.
& in movies I own DVDs of Pretty in Pink & Desperately Seeking Susan. I know they aren’t great movies. I don’t care.
True Blood. The most truly high-quality thing about it is the title credits, which are outstanding. The show itself is badly written, REALLY badly acted, and just generally not a quality product.
Alrighty, I’ll out myself. I really enjoyed the book The DaVinci Code. No apologies. It made me think about a lot of cool stuff and took me off on different learning adventures. Was it well written, no. Did I read it very quickly, yes. I read it when everyone was reading/talking about it and it was fun!
I will not watch the movie, however. I have no interest in that.
And I like good pizza. I live in an area famous for good pizza. I grew up on good pizza. Pizza Hut is not good pizza.
However, there’s something about it that I really love. I’ve dealt with this emotionally by compartmentalizing the issue … there is one kind of food called “pizza” and another, completely different type of food called “Pizza Hut.”
I’m especially fond of the buttery crust. Mmmmm, buttery crust. In a Cafe Society thread, someone who used to work at Pizza Hut shared that it’s not even actual butter, it’s some sort of chemical spray they put on. I remain undaunted. Mmmmm, chemical spray.
I loves me some ramen noodle soup. (not with the 2300000 milligrams of sodium flavor packages, I use other flavors.) but I like to eat them dry and then drink water.