# TV shows & movies you surprised yourself by liking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249 "2009-05-21T22:47:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/21 "2009-05-22T00:55:46Z")
I remember thinking that the Simpsons would be so bad before I really gave it a chance. 😉 Possibly that’s because I thought the Bart Simpson catchphrases were all it was really about. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/22 "2009-05-22T01:08:36Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > _Everybody Loves Raymond_ – never watched it on network prime time, generally hate “family sitcoms” as I’ve gotten older. Started watching it by accident when they used to run two eps back-to-back at 6:00 on one of the local UHF channels. Some of those eps are just … hysterical. And I appreciate that, for the most part, the kids are just background noise. Yes! I saw my first ep in a hotel room with limited channels, and was hooked. For a show that “everyone” hates, I have to say it’s much better than people give it credit for. And the acting by Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle is priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/23 "2009-05-22T01:33:43Z")
I dreaded the red envelope that would bring _Juno_ to our door. When it inevitably, horribly showed up (fucking reliable USPS), it sat on the TV cart for a couple of weeks. I found reasons to suggest other means of recreation on our movie nights. “Hey sweetie, you wanna play Risk?” (I lost, an ignominious defeat). “You wanna walk down the street for dinner?” “You wanna…you know…” Finally, I could delay the inevitable no longer. It was good. Verisimilitude might not have been its strong suit, but it was funny, charming, and kind of moving. I really liked it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/24 "2009-05-22T01:43:54Z")
Years ago, **Bosom Buddies**. Not a great show, but surprisingly funny even with the tired premise. Maybe Tom Hanks had something to do with it, but the show was not the T&A fest that most critics thought it would be (though the pilot did seem to indicate it would be). ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/25 "2009-05-22T01:44:43Z")
I’ve watched the first two seasons of **How I Met Your Mother** since the semester ended a couple weeks ago. I don’t even know why I gave it a chance – I think I stumbled across an episode on Lifetime, and I enjoyed it. Anyway, watching it from the start I’ve found that (in spite of its title, which sounds sort of effeminate) it’s a pretty damn clever show. It’s sort of similar to Friends, but … ya know, actually watchable. I like how the continuity of it is pretty consistent, the parallel in the one episode to the Great Pumpkin from Peanuts was cute … I don’t know, it’s just a really solid show. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/26 "2009-05-22T01:47:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Years ago, **Bosom Buddies**. Not a great show, but surprisingly funny even with the tired premise. Maybe Tom Hanks had something to do with it, but the show was not the T&A fest that most critics thought it would be (though the pilot did seem to indicate it would be). Here’s something I’m perversely proud of: I like Tom Hanks, have liked him in everything I’ve seen him in. I watched _Bosom Buddies_ from the start. I thought that Tom person was OK, but I really really liked Peter Scolari. 😃 > [@](#): > > **How I Met Your Mother** … (in spite of its title, which sounds sort of effeminate) How is the title of that show “effeminate?” ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/27 "2009-05-22T02:16:51Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > How is the title of that show “effeminate?” Maybe that was the wrong word. It just sounds like a title that’s aimed at women. Maybe the show is; regardless, I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/28 "2009-05-22T03:45:57Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Um…what scenes would those be, exactly? Because I’m pretty sure they don’t show what’s-her-name naked, and I can’t imagine anything else that would make it worthwhile at this point. They lost me early on with the holographic skull reconstructor. Oh, you have to ignore that going into it. It’s a Magic Science show. It’s like how you try to restrain the bit of you that’s ever been in a hospital when you watch _House_. I keep watching for genuine character moments, which are few and far between these days. They keep me going, though. For now. (I’m on, like, episode 10 of the latest season. One hears it gets worse. Hard to believe, but sometimes you have to crane your head to look at the accident.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/29 "2009-05-22T03:49:04Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > CSI. I know, I know, it’s hopelessly unrealistic for a number of reasons, but if you just turn your brain half-way off and watch while having dinner it’s not so bad once in a while. I quite enjoyed the Jorja Fox Show. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/30 "2009-05-22T03:51:48Z")
Desperate Housewives is **not** the kind of show I should like. I really don’t think it’s quite accurate (well, it’s least it’s not the _whole_ truth ;)), but most of my friends consider me a film snob, and I really don’t watch much tv. Also, even though I watched the first few episodes of King of the Hill when it debuted, I didn’t expect myself to be a late-coming fan of the series. It’s really got a subtlety that most other tv shows and pretty much all other cartoons lack. ---
**Author:** ![CyclopticXander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/31 "2009-05-22T04:28:05Z")
I recently had a marathon viewing of all the live action Batman movies, and I had hear plenty enough about _Batman & Robin_ to have the most minimal expectations possible. Ok so I liked it. It’s obviously not a “good” movie, but i found it to be be at least a little fun and enjoyable…nowhere near the absolute dregs of cinema that so many people have made it out to be. This is probably the most blatant example of things I’ve liked that go against the general critical consensus (which I generally agree with). Other notable exceptions include _Repo:The Genetic Opera_ and Showtime’s _Reefer Madness_. Both of those also happen to be musicals so that could have something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/32 "2009-05-22T04:44:34Z")
_Star Trek: 90210_. I mean, I’m not really attached to the TOS crew (other than Checkov, via Alfred Bester), and I hadn’t exactly heard great things about Abrams. So, going in, kind of low expectations, which may have helped. Anyways, the main thing was that for all the retarded villains, the asshattery of nu-Kirk, the plot holes big enough to drive a Borg cube through, the constant lens flare (god, the LENS FLARE)… well, damned if it wasn’t a pretty entertaining movie. Scotty was funny, I could empathize with Spock, and Checkov was freakin’ adorable. I normally think story trumps all, but this may make me rethink that. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/33 "2009-05-22T06:11:50Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > New Zealands Next Top Model. :o I’ve met one of the contestants, but I certainly didn’t expect to be watching after she was eliminated. In fact, I’m pretty embarrassed about **all** the reality TV I watch. > > NZ soapy Shortland St. Just about every NZ actor you have ever heard of has worked on it at some point (Temuera Morrison & Martin Henderson would probably be the best known) but its awful at the moment - but do I switch the TV off? No. > > In movies Midnight Run & Ice Age. Both because I had never heard of them, so I thought they wouldn’t be any good. Wrong. As I said in another thread, Midnight Run is my favourite Di Nero (sp) movie! You absolutely MUST MUST MUST check out Good Bye Pork Pie and Came a Hot Friday. You can most likely find them in the library, but don’t think they will be anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/34 "2009-05-22T06:26:30Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > Way back in the early 90s my brother and his girlfriend rented a movie called “So I Married an Axe Murderer” starring some guy who did skits on SNL about dumb metal head teenagers (I wasn’t paying attention to those either). > > I just remember thinking scornfully of my brother and how typical of the stupid stuff he liked that sounded. > > I can’t even remember how me and my boyfriend (now husband) ended up watching it a few weeks later only to find it one of the funniest things we’d ever seen that we still quote to each other to this day. (“We have a piper down, we have a piper down”) Thought it was funny, But the movie gave little to no clues as to why: the sister was the killer. Good mysteries can be solved by audience members that can piece the clues together. The only reason anyone would think the killer would be her sister was that her part was otherwise useless I liked, but didn’t think I would: Eraserhead The Truman Show The Office (after a few veiwings) 30 Rock For some reason I almost had to be dragged to see the The Aviator. I know there’s more!! OH, Batman Begins ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/35 "2009-05-22T06:39:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > That’s so clear not even I can manage an insanely long OP. > > I was quite surprised to find myself becoming an NCIS fan. Yes, I skipped the first season, then watched a couple…then a few more…then I became a regular veiwer. Later seasons are better, the cast grew better, the humor came naturally, and you really think those dudes really like each other. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/36 "2009-05-22T07:56:24Z")
For some reason, I have become addicted to the TV show _Legend of the Seeker_ that runs on the CW. (Looking at its wiki entry, I guess it may run on different channels, depending on what market you live in.) I am not a fan of Xena, Hercules, most fantasy novels, or anything remotely like this. The show is a little cheesy, but I like it anyway. I like the fact that they play it straight, that all the episodes are available on [Hulu.com](http://Hulu.com) (I mean, who watches the CW?), and that Bridget Regan is featured prominently. :falls into silent reverie thinking about Bridget Regan: Where was I? Oh, and I like the New Zealand location shots and the fact that they use New Zealander (New Zealandish?) actors without explanation of why some characters are Caucasian and some are Maori. It’s just a given that the Seeker universe is a multi-racial, post-racial society. Did I mention Bridget Regan? ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/37 "2009-05-22T08:28:41Z")
_The X Files_ I never watched it in it’s first run on Fox because I thought it would be a stupid alien chaser type thing. Well, around 2003 or so TNT started airing the show late at night. There would be two or three episodes a night and my husband decided to start watching them. I watched some of them with him and bada bing I was intrigued and wanted to see more. I think caught nearly all the seasons in the following years on TNT and some episodes I watched more than once. I loved the chemistry between the Sculder. Loved it. Of course the show did get stupid when Duchovny left, followed by Anderson and Dogget and Moronica arrived. Those episodes should be burned. And I’m still pissed that we never got any resolution to the baby William story. Is he still with Mr. and Mrs. Kent in Kansas? ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/38 "2009-05-22T08:49:26Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > You absolutely MUST MUST MUST check out Good Bye Pork Pie and Came a Hot Friday. You can most likely find them in the library, but don’t think they will be anywhere else. I’ve seen Came a Hot Friday & excerpts from Good Bye Pork Pie. Came a Hot Friday wouldn’t come under the premise of the thread as I expected to like it - I was (& am) a huge Billy T fan. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/39 "2009-05-22T09:12:05Z")
Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was avoiding it, as I expected it to be an interesting concept ruined by kiddifying it, like some other cartoons are. Fortunately I was wrong, as I discovered when I bit the bullet and actually tried watching it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249/40 "2009-05-22T10:54:09Z")
New Zealand kid’s SF series _The Tribe_. I am not the target demographic, but I could not stop watching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-movies-you-surprised-yourself-by-liking/497249.md?page=3)