# What in an otherwise decent TV series made it impossible for you to watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023 "2019-08-21T20:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/41 "2019-08-22T17:25:30Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > What? Nobody bitchin’ about Wesley Crusher? As soon as I see him in a TNG episode, it’s time to switch the channel. It really pissed me off when Ensign Haskell was killed by the inquisitive alien just after relieving Wesley at the Navigation station. Why couldn’t he have sat there just a few minutes longer? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/42 "2019-08-22T17:35:10Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It really pissed me off when Ensign Haskell was killed by the inquisitive alien just after relieving Wesley at the Navigation station. Why couldn’t he have sat there just a few minutes longer? :mad: If you’re talking about the episode “Where Silence has Lease”, that dude’s death was shocking enough. If it had been a known character instead of some anonymous Redshirt (whatever color he was actually wearing), people would have just been “Whoa”. That same thing happened in the “Legion of Superheroes” comic. There was a character called “Monstress” who was kind of a female Hulk knock-off and was pretty unpopular. Well, she was killed off in a pretty random Tasha Yar style and readers couldn’t believe it. Oh, and Mean Mr. Mustard, I _liked_ Debra Fucking Morgan. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/43 "2019-08-22T17:43:57Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > If you’re talking about the episode “Where Silence has Lease”, that dude’s death was shocking enough. If it had been a known character instead of some anonymous Redshirt (whatever color he was actually wearing), people would have just been “Whoa”. Yeah, I get that. I still wish it had been Wesley. :mad: :mad: :mad: (And yeah, Haskell was wearing a red jumpsuit. Dead giveaway as to what would happen next!) ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/44 "2019-08-22T17:47:07Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > What? Nobody bitchin’ about Wesley Crusher? As soon as I see him in a TNG episode, it’s time to switch the channel. When he left the show and became a recurring character I actually started to like him. Most, if not all, of the episodes that featured him from that point on are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/45 "2019-08-22T17:58:56Z")
In the first episode of _The Hour_, which was supposed to be the BBC’s answer to _Mad Men_, one of the characters (who is English) refers to “Prime Minister Eden”. British people don’t say that - you’d say “Eden” or “the Prime Minister”, or “the PM”. The line was clearly written that way for the foreign market, or people who don’t know who Anthony Eden was. To me, that level of inaccuracy showed it wasn’t going to be on the level of Mad Men and I didn’t watch any more. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/46 "2019-08-22T18:04:54Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > It may not fit your premise, but I don’t like [i}That Seventies Show\* because I can’t stand the character Kelso. When he’s off the screen, it’s pretty funny. When he’s on, I want to throw something through the TV. Wait until you get to the episodes with Randy Pearson as a sort of replacement Eric character. They all suh-huck. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/47 "2019-08-22T18:10:36Z")
I couldn’t make it through the first episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” When they took that girl’s eye, it was too upsetting. Haven’t gone back to the series since. I read the book in college, so I’m familiar with the story. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Some animated series lose me just due to their character designs. Bob’s Burgers for example. Definitely this for me. I can’t watch “Rick and Morty” because I hate the art. I quit “Bob’s Burgers” for that (and other reasons). I just barely tolerate the drawing style of “Bojack Horseman” and I hit the wall with “Tuca and Bertie.” I just can’t sand to look at it. I won’t watch “Rugrats” or “Rocko’s Modern Life” because of the art. Strangely enough, though, I loved the art style in “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.” That remains one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/48 "2019-08-22T18:31:20Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Some animated series lose me just due to their character designs. Bob’s Burgers for example. I can live with the animation on Bob’s Burgers. In fact I think it’s a pretty damn funny show, except for the character of Bob’s son Gene. Everybody else has clever or at least funny lines, but Eugene just brays out stupid non sequiturs. It’s very tiresome ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/49 "2019-08-22T19:03:25Z")
Roseanne made it almost impossible for me to watch “Roseanne”. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/50 "2019-08-22T20:01:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The actors are decent, the stories are good…but some concept built into the series makes it impossible to watch. > For me, it was the show “Unforgettable” about a police detective with a perfect memory. > I like Poppy Montgomery, I had no problem with the gimmick of her being able to remember everything…but it was the “everything” she was able to remember that bugged the shit out of me. She could walk through a room and remember months or years later who was in the room and describe everything that was in the room, from the color of the coats on the coat rack to the the notes strewn about someone’s desk _and what each and every note said_. I don’t know how your eyes work, but even if I had perfect memory I wouldn’t be able to tell you what a note _that my eyes never focused on in the first place_ contained. When her character “remembered” she did a mental tour and examined everything close up. This made me abandon the show after the first episode. > What about y’all? I turned on Mindhunter, this Netflix show about the development of serial killer hunting methodologies at the FBI in the 1970s. About 10, 15 minutes into the first episode the following line (paraphrased) occurred: “6 months ago, a man took a family hostage in an Austin, Texas subdivision… to make matters worse, the San Antonio Chief of Police {did something stupid which pertains to the show, not this thread}.” I completely understand that one can film a car chase which somehow involves invisible wormholes because cars will make turns and in up in a completely different part of the city (Bullett was famous for this). I understand that a TV show about a bureaucracy like the FBI will take shortcuts for dramatic purposes. What I don’t understand the process that started with “Austin? San Antonio? Two cities in Texas - surely Austin is a suburb of San Antonio, right? We’ll just write it like that!” made it to my TV set without (a) anybody from Texas involved saying, “naw, that’s not right”, or (b) [looking at a damned map.](https://www.thecorridor.org/about) So, like the OP, I turned this show off. I’m sure it’s a great show, but holy hell guys, these two cities are 80 miles apart! This shouldn’t have been that hard! ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/51 "2019-08-22T20:07:14Z")
King of the Hill…because of Bobby. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/52 "2019-08-22T20:08:58Z")
Thet boy jes’ ain’t quite rahhhht… ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/53 "2019-08-22T21:21:21Z")
Can we do reality shows? I can’t stand any part of **American Pickers** that features Mike’s brother Robbie. And I can take Danielle only in small doses. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/54 "2019-08-22T23:33:20Z")
My wife and I watched about two seasons of “The Americans” before finally giving up. It was an interesting story but really stretched the limits of credibility. They have two kids, yet both parents are often out at all hours of the night. The kids have no clue what their parents are up to, and neither does the FBI agent who lives across the street. But what finally killed it for me was when the dad married the neighbor’s boss’s secretary. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/55 "2019-08-22T23:47:11Z")
Speaking of _The Big Bang Theory_: I absolutely could not stand Raj’s girlfriend Anu, played by Rati Gupta. I don’t know whether it was the actress or the character, but everything about her simply rubbed me the wrong way. Thank god Howard talked Raj out of moving to London with her. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/56 "2019-08-22T23:53:33Z")
I stopped watching _Scandal_ when they had Olivia get an abortion while a Christmas carol played in the background. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/57 "2019-08-23T00:01:38Z")
Knowing that one of the actors is a Scientologist. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/58 "2019-08-23T00:20:26Z")
I could hardly believe Hugh Laurie got his own show on American tv but House reveled in too much medical grossness for me to watch. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/59 "2019-08-23T01:44:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The ending has made it impossible for me to watch _How I Met Your Mother_ in reruns. I’m so pissed about the ending that they can just fuck off. Yes, the original ending was absolutely terrible. Thankfully they also made the proper one! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023/60 "2019-08-23T02:00:21Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Knowing that one of the actors is a Scientologist. I would be interested in hearing how this interferes with your enjoyment of a television show. mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-an-otherwise-decent-tv-series-made-it-impossible-for-you-to-watch/839023.md?page=4)