# TV series whose very existence drives you batshit insane **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041 "2012-04-26T17:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/21 "2012-04-26T21:17:09Z")
> [@Craz3d117](#): > > Probably half the stuff on Discovery Channel and History Channel these days. Swamp People, Swamp Loggers, American Pickers, Ax Men, etc. Pretty much any show about rednecks, fishermen or people buying then selling things. It’s not so much the shows themselves, it’s the vast quantity of shows that are all the same and the fact they have absolutely no educational value like a lot of shows _used_ to have on Discovery and History Channel. I’m most of the way with you on that, and agree with everything you listed, but I really like _Gator Boys_ (which ain’t fake) and I somewhat like _Pawn Stars_. (which somewhat is) > [@AtomicDog](#): > > American Idol. I have never watched a single minute of the show, but I am innudated by so-called “news” reports about it. This, I can totally get behind. I haven’t watched a minute of that show or all the others like it, but somehow I still have to hear about them from multiple sources as if they were somehow important or significant topics worthy of discussion. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/22 "2012-04-26T21:23:02Z")
I can answer this without ever having watched the show. > [@secretsmile36](#): > > Does anyone hear believe Long Island Medium lady can speak to the dead? No. (It’s “here” BTW) > [@](#): > > How can you explain the things she knows about people? It’s bullshit combined with cold-reading skills. > [@](#): > > Is it all staged? Yes, probably combined with the con-artist and cold-reading skills. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/23 "2012-04-26T21:27:01Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I would totally watch _The Biggest Real Housewives of Wars._ Or - The Biggest War of Real Housewives. That’d sell tickets. \*COPS \*bugs me as do all the aforementioned ‘reality’ shows. Hell, the shows on truTV are re-creations, even worse than scripted shows. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/24 "2012-04-26T21:33:10Z")
COPS “Redneck TV” Ghost Hunters ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/25 "2012-04-26T21:35:27Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > I can answer this without ever having watched the show. > > No. (It’s “here” BTW) > > It’s bullshit combined with cold-reading skills. > > Yes, probably combined with the con-artist and cold-reading skills. Yes thanks I couldn’t have figured the difference between here and hear on my own. :rolleyes: You’re right. If you haven’t watched the show you really can’t give an educated opinion on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/26 "2012-04-26T21:35:59Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Always and forever, the Kartrashians. Just the sight of them, and they are everywhere, makes my blood pressure go up. There is no end to them. There is no end to the fakeness, the contrived situations, the weddings and parties, the massive houses, not to mention the whiny voice and gigantic ass stuck out at the camera. They spend spend spend millions and make make make millions and use it for absolutely nothing worthwhile but to show jellus peons how so much money can be spent on nothing worthwhile . It’s like watching pigs in diamond tiaras rooting around in a sty scattered with solid gold coins, squealing and squabbling and jumping on planes to fun vacations. Everyone seems to loathe them, but that only makes watching them more irresistable? I just don’t get it. [Imma jus’ gonna leave this here.](http://www.jdjournal.com/2012/04/26/kardashians-renewed-on-e-for-three-more-years/) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/27 "2012-04-26T21:47:12Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > Yes thanks I couldn’t have figured the difference between here and hear on my own. :rolleyes: You’re right. If you haven’t watched the show you really can’t give an educated opinion on it. I _have_ seen the show, and she’s a piss-poor cold reader. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/28 "2012-04-26T21:47:19Z")
Oprah. Thank god she’s off network TV and has her own station I can avoid. Sooooooo sick of her holier-than-thou I-know-how-to-deal-with-life attitude. And, especially, annoying when she speaks with someone she repeats her statement/question. Yeah, I know it’s a technique for emphasis. I just find it freaking annoying as do I her best friend Gayle. Make them both go away. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/29 "2012-04-26T21:50:35Z")
There’s one I saw an ad for that blew me away. It’s for people who bid on unclaimed luggage left at the airport. I mean, seriously? _That’s_ interesting to enough people to warrant having a show about it? “Clothes, socks…a watch! Jackpot!” ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/30 "2012-04-26T21:57:46Z")
Has everybody forgotten the worst and most rotten shows on the face of the planet? All of the parents involved in both Toddlers and Tiaras and Dance Moms are on my list of people who need to thrown in a cage full of angry honey badgers. That is a very short list. Other than that the shows that bother me most are the ones like Idol or the Kardashians, which get an incredible amount of gossip and news surrounding them, to the point of virtually drowning every other subject. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/31 "2012-04-26T21:58:47Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I would totally watch _The Biggest Real Housewives of Wars._ Elenore Roosevelt by a _mile._ ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/32 "2012-04-26T22:14:07Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > You’re right. Now you’re learning! 😉 > [@](#): > > If you haven’t watched the show you really can’t give an educated opinion on it. You don’t need to watch some stupid reality show to know that speaking to the dead is bullshit and mediums are con-artists. In fact, the less of that kind of show you watch, the \*more \*educated your opinion on the matter would tend to be. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/33 "2012-04-26T22:27:34Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Now you’re learning! 😉 > > You don’t need to watch some stupid reality show to know that speaking to the dead is bullshit and mediums are con-artists. In fact, the less of that kind of show you watch, the \*more \*educated your opinion on the matter would tend to be. Hear here! ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/34 "2012-04-26T22:37:24Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Now you’re learning! 😉 > > You don’t need to watch some stupid reality show to know that speaking to the dead is bullshit and mediums are con-artists. In fact, the less of that kind of show you watch, the \*more \*educated your opinion on the matter would tend to be. You may think that not watching reality shows puts you on some kind of pedestal. It does not. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/35 "2012-04-26T22:38:42Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Hear here! :rolleyes: I thought this thread was about TV shows? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/36 "2012-04-26T22:50:57Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > Does anyone hear believe Long Island Medium lady can speak to the dead? How can you explain the things she knows about people? Is it all staged? I have a tiny, mild curiousity as to whether she is delusional or a straight-out con artist, but finding out would involve watching her show, which might prove fatal (then she could tell me directly!). ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/37 "2012-04-26T22:52:48Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Elenore Roosevelt by a _mile._ My money’s on Queen Elizabeth having the stamina to outlast Mrs. Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/38 "2012-04-26T23:02:52Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > :rolleyes: > I thought this thread was about TV shows? Entertainment is where I find it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/39 "2012-04-26T23:11:00Z")
Every single show mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/40 "2012-04-26T23:12:24Z")
:rolleyes: Jeez, you people are really driven batshit insane by the mere existence of these shows? A lot of these shows I have no interest in watching at all. So I don’t. That’s all it takes. Just don’t watch them if you don’t like them. If other people like that sort of thing, let them watch. No skin off my nose that the show exists. So far, the only sensible objection is the fake medium show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041.md?page=3)