# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/101 "2012-04-28T13:33:38Z")
**Voltaire, secretsmile36** , both of you knock it off. If you have a problem with each other, take it to the Pit. This thread, and this forum, are not the appropriate places for this squabbling. No warning issued – but the next time you address each other directly in this or any other thread outside of the Pit, I will. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/102 "2012-04-28T14:34:33Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > In fact, I actually mentioned two reality shows that I do watch. Read for comprehension. voltaire, if you have some sort of problem with secretsmile, you need to get it out of your system in the Pit. Stop the continued harrassing statements. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/103 "2012-04-28T16:37:04Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’m getting a bit bored with the genealogy/ancestry shows where the descendants of slaves and slaveowners act like they knew nothing about the practice. “Human beings were packed on ships, chained together? And sold? Do people **know** about this?” I had to stop watching _Your Ancestors Owned Henry Louis Gates’ Ancestors, And He Hates You For It._ ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/104 "2012-04-28T16:40:39Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I had to stop watching _Your Ancestors Owned Henry Louis Gates’ Ancestors, And He Hates You For It._ Beautiful! Accurate! ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/105 "2012-04-28T17:20:11Z")
The news. Dear god, _the news_. To the extent that any news broadcast I’ve ever seen provides actual information, it’s invariably much more shallow and basic than what you would get in a print source, or even certain radio broadcasts. But more often “news” just code for “telling lies about important current events” or “assuring idiots that their moronic views of the world are valid.” And that’s just the national, CNN-style news; local news is even more useless. And it’s _genuinely destructive_. People make harmful decisions based on this nonsense. I will also second the “Long Island Medium” type shows. If nobody believe that hokum, I wouldn’t really care, but the fact that some people genuinely believe this asshole is communicating with the dead genuinely drives me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/106 "2012-04-28T19:26:37Z")
The problem with this thread is that anyone capable of responding directly to the OP is, _ipso facto_, batshit insane. ---
**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 28, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/107 "2012-04-28T19:32:12Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The problem with this thread is that anyone capable of responding directly to the OP is, _ipso facto_, batshit insane. That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/108 "2012-04-28T19:57:02Z")
**twickster** , has anybody told you lately that you are particularly fetching when your mod hat is on? rawr! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/109 "2012-04-28T20:13:11Z")
Thought of another - _Storm Chasers_, _When Weather Changed History_, or any other such show on the Weather Channel. Knock it off. If I’m watching the Weather Channel, it’s not because I want to see a show about some guy chasing some tornado in Oklahoma 5 years ago, I want to know about the tornadoes that are popping up in my area _right now_. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/110 "2012-04-28T21:14:15Z")
Any reality program that isn’t based on _competition_ within an explicit skillset. Even The Amazing Race shows, by how teams are weeded out in the early weeks, that it’s a show about teamwork, logical problem solving, memory and paying attention to detail, and it almost always comes down to the team that has those mastered and has the best physical fitness. Cooking? Skill. Singing? Skill. Designing clothing or interior spaces? Skill. Top Chef, American Idol (though I don’t watch), Project Runway? They’re game shows. Fine. But people put in a house? People famous for being famous? People doing bizarre jobs or weird hobbies or getting tattooed? Oh hell no. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/111 "2012-04-30T21:32:03Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > My problem with this show is that they are getting a little too desparate for video and try too hard to see paranormal things in ones that are obviously not. Like the video of the Alien walking behind the Argentine (I think) reporter that was OBVIOUSLY a bad CGI added later. It took them an expensive trip to \ and THREE failed experiment to notice that the video looked totally wrong and had the shadows going the wrong way. Something I noticed the first time they showed the clip. Yeah, I had to give up on the show, sometimes they’re just a little too credulous. **Jenaroph** , I give them half credit for trying, but sometimes they take the long way to get to an answer, and sometimes they don’t get an answer. I can’t think of any examples offhand, but I do recall a few where I was scratching my head as why they took approach A to solve the problem, rather than jumping to approach B, which was much more likely and easier to test. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/112 "2012-05-01T13:34:52Z")
With regard to “reality,” the only show like that that I ever truly enjoyed was _TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes_ w/Dick Clark and Ed McMahon (that, and the specials with just Clark). Every other reality show since has been utterly abhorrent to me. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/113 "2012-05-01T13:47:11Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > With regard to “reality,” the only show like that that I ever truly enjoyed was _TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes_ w/Dick Clark and Ed McMahon (that, and the specials with just Clark). Every other reality show since has been utterly abhorrent to me. Oh man, I miss that show. I used to love when I was a kid and it would come on! ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/114 "2012-05-01T14:12:58Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Oh man, I miss that show. I used to love when I was a kid and it would come on! I saw it quite a few times on TNN (before it became The National Network, and now Spike). I’d kill for a DVD release of it, now that both Clark and McMahon are gone. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/115 "2012-05-22T20:11:41Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > **Long Island Medium**. I have never watched it, of course, but the promos send me diving for my remote: some over-tanned, bleached-blonde Lawn Guyland chippie who “can’t help it, I’m _gifted!_” and they always show brief clips of “skeptics” being won over by her amazing powers. “I didn’t think it’d be fer _real!_” > > I want to reach into the set, rip her eyes out and shove them up her nose. I think the [Furniture Psychic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=129400&highlight=Furniture+Psychic) is just a little green with professional envy. StG ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/116 "2012-05-22T21:08:49Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I have seen an episode or two of this, I think. I wanted to give it a chance, but when they went to debunk a case of [“ghost children push a car off the train tracks, saving the occupants”](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/handprint.asp) it took them till the end of the segment to “realize” that the section of road wasn’t flat, and if you put your car in neutral, it tends to roll by itself off the tracks. They had to investigate all the woo-woo shit first, including researching if a busload of kids ever really died there, and dusting the back of the car with powder to see if any ghostly children’s handprints showed up. The whole time they’re doing that stuff I’m sitting there yelling at the TV, “For pete’s sake, drop a handful of marbles and see what they do! That’s the EASY PART!” I know you know this, but if they do the easy thing first, they don’t have a show (or they have a 5 minute show). On the other hand, by “investigating” the woo first, they drag the woo-believing viewers in. That leaves the (extremely small) possibility that one of them will begin to question their belief in woo. yeah, I’m an optimist ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/117 "2012-05-22T22:39:23Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Any reality program that isn’t based on _competition_ within an explicit skillset. Even The Amazing Race shows, by how teams are weeded out in the early weeks, that it’s a show about teamwork, logical problem solving, memory and paying attention to detail, and it almost always comes down to the team that has those mastered and has the best physical fitness. Except that TAR is getting to the point where none of that matters. The season Kiesa and Jen won, they were given answers to almost all of the problems and followed the others. The won by completing one task (the mobile home layout). Last year the favorites were knocked out because a cab driver (not even the contestants) decided to follow another cab. The bunching points take away any advantage, especially now that the rest times are whatever the producers want so they all effectively start out together. And to your point, everytime TAR moves further away from skill, I find it harder to watch. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/118 "2012-05-23T05:05:39Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Every single show mentioned in this thread. Even Mister Ed?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Jilaad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jilaad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jilaad)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041/119 "2012-05-23T06:48:32Z")
Secret Life of the American Teenager [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-whose-very-existence-drives-you-batshit-insane/620041.md?page=5)