@jsh139 Bonus points for added sound effects to make things more interesting. IE Burnout noises on wet pavement or gravel, the cymbal "suspense" noise, etc.
Superstar searches like "Idol" and "Talent" cause my eye to twitch in a hybrid of annoyance and anger.
Confession: I admit I have a soft spot in my heart for American Pickers and American Restoration. Their enjoyment for their work seems genuine (even behind the bad acting) and the worth and charm they seem to see in old and vintage pieces of Americana seems real as well. I get the sense too not only do they have a real-life passion for what they do, but that in the back of their minds they know the shows will end and it will be back to the day job they had before they were famous. Yes, I know they are re-enacting/staging the encounters they have with people, but I just chalk it up to over-dramatized re-enactment rather than out-right fakery. Unlike a show like Storage Wars where you get the sense these people are going to hit rock-bottom once the show ends and their fame tickets are cancelled.
I voted "superstar", and I see that the "housewives" option is in the lead now. I didn't vote for that option because I have no idea what that is. Does that mean I win?
I voted for the Real Housewives option. On consideration, I think any show about "real people" with more than 4 kids, kiddie beauty pageants and morning talk shows would be easy contenders.
@jqubed Let's just include all random white trash people who get a show because they do something either as a hobby or for a living that a TV exec thinks we'll find "interesting." Hair salon people, southern people, inbred people, over-procreators, arctic crazy people, weirdos with boats, family of people who are wealthy/famous, etc.
@bluedyn Well what do you expect? After all their primary scouts are all grown-up and in college now wondering why papa was so stupid to go with what they thought was cool when they were in puberty.
@bluedyn Actually, I do kinda like Pawn Stars, even with the poor acting and staged setups. It's kind of like Antique Roadshow but with haggling and money changing hands.
@bluedyn I know a lot of people like his standup routine, but the writing on the show just looks terrible. I wonder how much control he has with writing or if he is just delivering lines.
@The_Baron Since he wrote for SNL I'd like to think he writes here, too. But Martin Short is a big red flag for me. Some network exec felt they needed a "name" so that's an admission of crappy quality.
@bluedyn It's a real shame to see that pulling in an older big name like Martin Short is an admission of crappy quality, but I've seen similar too often to not suspect you're correct. One exception would be with Community and Chevy Chase (although Chase apparently didn't like it and left).
@jqubed Community probably had the same initial network lack of faith that warranted the addition of CC, but it managed to surprise the network anyway.
@bluedyn Or, I guess by the metric that matters, the move might seem justified. Community's ratings have always been low and kept it perpetually on the verge of cancellation, in spite of generally positive reviews and a small but vocal cadre of loyal fans.
@joelmw On the subject of commercials: The ones for prescription drugs. Are these aimed at Doctors, or at the patients who are supposed to bug their physicians for that particular drug, based on the ad? And how much does the cost of advertising add to the cost of the drug?
@rockblossom oh, wait a minute! They also blatantly reveal to you exactly what deadly side-effects you could contract if you take their junk for what you wanna cure.. Talk about bandits getting away with murder..
@rockblossom In theory it's to 'inform patients of alternative new treatments they may not have been aware of' but I'm pretty sure it's really just to get them to bug their doctors either for the drug, or because something that was a minor inconvenience before now has an expensive treatment that might kill you, but by golly you can maybe fix that inconvenience with a pill!
@unkabob Oh yes, those side effects listed rapidly at the end of the commercial. "This product will clear up acid reflux and make your teeth whiter! Possible side effects may include: LiverdamageHeartfailureEsophogealcancerandSuddendeath. Tell your Doctor if you experience any of these side effects." But, hey! Whiter teeth!
My doctor's office plays some kind of local channel on the waiting room TVs with the sound on. Since I'm usually there in the afternoon, this means Dr. Oz, The Talk, The Queen Latifah Show, and other "informative" programming aimed at gullible, ignorant suburban moms. I can say with authority that these shows are not only the worst thing on TV, they are among the worst things in the history of the universe.
Now, if they played shows about affable cretins buying junk, I would have no complaints. They serve perfectly as unobtrusive background noise, which is what you want in a waiting room.
@bluedyn Shark kitty is such a crackup! No, my kitty is not that talented. He just likes to sleep a lot on a warm TV. I'd like to buy one of the new flat screen TV's, but my cat would disown me.
Man there's so much crap on TV that it makes my head swim then they put something on that's interesting just to cancel it two episodes later and this includes commercials (remember the Slim Jim Guy, a man in a giant Slim Jim costume, proclaiming at the end to: "Eat me!").. I thought it hilarious but only saw it about three times before it went off the air (for being too entertaining I guess).
Sharks! Anything to do with sharks! Every year it's the same crap and it's bled over to multiple channels. And all the stupid shit reality shows. We record "The Soup" every week so we can get a glimpse of all the idiocy we manage to miss, in little humorous sound bites.
I personally have several animated "adult" oriented cartoons that I just find repulsive. What?... you couldn't get a real life and blood person to say that.....its for a reason. It's not funny and is probably repulsive. Unfortunately my teenagers and husband find humor in this stuff. They will not watch it if I am in the house because they do not want to hear how stupid and infantile the programs are....I have an opinion about that. OMG you got me started and now I am stuck on this soap box......
@bluedyn I'm going to guess what @csschuett is talking about by naming shows I love. Simpsons? Family Guy? American Dad? SOUTH PARK?! Let's get a little more obscure. What's the show where Daniel Tosh is the little bear... Dingleberry? Whatever that is. Am I close?
@marklog Brickleberry is disgusting and fabulous. The others are often funny, too. You can't kill Kenny hundreds of times without animation, or have George RR Martin himself sing about wieners.
@csschuett Now, don't get me wrong. I know that there is entertainment value in these cartoons or the ratings would not be so high, and I do know many people who watch them and enjoy them. This is my pet peeve, should you find humor in it that is fine, enjoy the laugh as we all need a way to relieve stress and laughter is a good avenue. I have tried watching these shows and just can't.....I think it is because I was raised not to get involved in other's personal issues or take sides. These "skits" definately take sides and obviously look at the bias and sometimes even the humor.
@csschuett They actually did get a real life and blood person to say that. They just weren't going to be filmed saying that. I agree, I have no use for infantile material aimed at adults, whatever genre (animated, reality, information, competition) it may fall under.
@moondrake@csschuett it depends on how you define infantile. Shows like South Park and The Simpsons can use fart jokes right alongside witty and biting social commentary. Sometimes I feel like the people that decry those kinds of shows for being infantile and stupid just don't get them and what they're trying to say and do.
@JonT I don't find fart jokes or potty humor funny. They don't offend me, they are just a waste of my time. I can get witty and biting social commentary from sources that don't waste my time with jokes I outgrew in third grade. And the "you just don't get it" argument is used by fans of Honey Boo Boo and Real Housewives of I-Don't-Give-a-Damn. It is possible to get the joke and still not think it's funny.
OK, the Daily Show and reruns of WKRP, even with the crappy generic music dubbed over the good stuff. Once Shout Factory's box set with the original songs comes out in November, I guess that means the Daily Show is it.
@editorkid I watch a gazillion shows I really like. Some of the better ones: Game of Thrones, Newsroom, Parenthood, The Good Wife, True Detective. The fun ones: Defiance, Agents of Shield, Penny Dreadful, Haven, Falling Skies, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, American Horror Story. Add in few late night pundits and I have plenty of good things to watch without ever watching someone's terrifying version of "reality" as seen through the imagination of Hieronymous Bosch.
@moondrake Don't get me wrong... there's a night or two a week you can't pry me off the glass teat. But s couple of nights a week I'm in a hot glass shop making cool shit, a couple more nights a week I'm either taking pictures or editing them, and that only leaves a night or two a week for hanging out with friends. I've heard some of those are good, but I just can't imagine trying to keep up with all that, even aside from not making anything if I did.
Anything on "The Learning Channel". I can't stress those quotation marks enough. What are we suppose to learn? How to be trashy? It also contains the most horrific title for a TV show I've seen: "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant".
Every "reality" show.
@jsh139 Bonus points for added sound effects to make things more interesting. IE Burnout noises on wet pavement or gravel, the cymbal "suspense" noise, etc.
@travo how about combustion engine noises from an electric car? http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/03/31/60-minutes-admits-adding-sounds-to-tesla-report-will-fix/
@caffeine_dude Some B-Roll footage right here.
@travo ooh! I want the helicopter car!
@caffeine_dude And Conan's take on the matter:
@jsh139 Yes. Thank you. And, glaring omission, @mediocrebot.
all of the above.
@bradwardlaw yes and add honey boo butt to the list
Laugh tracks make me want to punch a kitten.
@bakeyoural Meo-uch
AKA All of the above!
Superstar searches like "Idol" and "Talent" cause my eye to twitch in a hybrid of annoyance and anger.
Confession: I admit I have a soft spot in my heart for American Pickers and American Restoration. Their enjoyment for their work seems genuine (even behind the bad acting) and the worth and charm they seem to see in old and vintage pieces of Americana seems real as well. I get the sense too not only do they have a real-life passion for what they do, but that in the back of their minds they know the shows will end and it will be back to the day job they had before they were famous. Yes, I know they are re-enacting/staging the encounters they have with people, but I just chalk it up to over-dramatized re-enactment rather than out-right fakery. Unlike a show like Storage Wars where you get the sense these people are going to hit rock-bottom once the show ends and their fame tickets are cancelled.
@bluejester Except the guy who trademarked "Yuuup!" He's gonna get a quarter any time anybody on the planet says it.
@bluejester But these two shows are like 'Cops' which can't be scripted (just improvised) so in essence they are authentic reality shows.
Only everything. Except "Supervolcano" whenever it's on. And Archer.
@DaveInSoCal LAAAAANNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
@Thumperchick Dangerzone
@Thumperchick Do you want ants? Cause that's how you get ants PAM!
Just to be clear, "Any "Real Housewives"-type thing" does not include The Real Husbands of Hollywood. That show is hilarious.
@jqubed No,
The Hotwives of Orlando
Dance Moms or anything similar. Makes me want to cancel cable.
FOX NEWS
Everything! The whole thing is a waste.
I voted "superstar", and I see that the "housewives" option is in the lead now. I didn't vote for that option because I have no idea what that is. Does that mean I win?
I voted for the Real Housewives option. On consideration, I think any show about "real people" with more than 4 kids, kiddie beauty pageants and morning talk shows would be easy contenders.
@rockblossom Also, anyone who gets their own "reality" show because they're suddenly a "celebrity" after they make a sex tape.
@jqubed Let's just include all random white trash people who get a show because they do something either as a hobby or for a living that a TV exec thinks we'll find "interesting." Hair salon people, southern people, inbred people, over-procreators, arctic crazy people, weirdos with boats, family of people who are wealthy/famous, etc.
@bluedyn Well what do you expect? After all their primary scouts are all grown-up and in college now wondering why papa was so stupid to go with what they thought was cool when they were in puberty.
@bluedyn Actually, I do kinda like Pawn Stars, even with the poor acting and staged setups. It's kind of like Antique Roadshow but with haggling and money changing hands.
I am glad Hulu stopped playing ads for the show 'Mulaney'. Looks almost as bad as 'Whitney'.
@The_Baron I'm so fond of John Mulaney, but I do fear his show will suck. It's a damn shame.
@bluedyn I know a lot of people like his standup routine, but the writing on the show just looks terrible. I wonder how much control he has with writing or if he is just delivering lines.
@The_Baron Since he wrote for SNL I'd like to think he writes here, too. But Martin Short is a big red flag for me. Some network exec felt they needed a "name" so that's an admission of crappy quality.
@bluedyn It's a real shame to see that pulling in an older big name like Martin Short is an admission of crappy quality, but I've seen similar too often to not suspect you're correct. One exception would be with Community and Chevy Chase (although Chase apparently didn't like it and left).
@jqubed Community probably had the same initial network lack of faith that warranted the addition of CC, but it managed to surprise the network anyway.
@bluedyn Or, I guess by the metric that matters, the move might seem justified. Community's ratings have always been low and kept it perpetually on the verge of cancellation, in spite of generally positive reviews and a small but vocal cadre of loyal fans.
Any car commercial (though my first vote is still with "Reality" shows).
@joelmw On the subject of commercials: The ones for prescription drugs. Are these aimed at Doctors, or at the patients who are supposed to bug their physicians for that particular drug, based on the ad? And how much does the cost of advertising add to the cost of the drug?
@rockblossom oh, wait a minute! They also blatantly reveal to you exactly what deadly side-effects you could contract if you take their junk for what you wanna cure.. Talk about bandits getting away with murder..
@rockblossom In theory it's to 'inform patients of alternative new treatments they may not have been aware of' but I'm pretty sure it's really just to get them to bug their doctors either for the drug, or because something that was a minor inconvenience before now has an expensive treatment that might kill you, but by golly you can maybe fix that inconvenience with a pill!
@rockblossom Yeah, I'm with ya on that. It's hard not to be cynical about big pharma.
@rockblossom I'm always amused by the "new wonder drug" ads that are followed by local ads for the class action suit against the last wonder drug
@unkabob Oh yes, those side effects listed rapidly at the end of the commercial. "This product will clear up acid reflux and make your teeth whiter! Possible side effects may include: LiverdamageHeartfailureEsophogealcancerandSuddendeath. Tell your Doctor if you experience any of these side effects." But, hey! Whiter teeth!
@rockblossom Radio...
My doctor's office plays some kind of local channel on the waiting room TVs with the sound on. Since I'm usually there in the afternoon, this means Dr. Oz, The Talk, The Queen Latifah Show, and other "informative" programming aimed at gullible, ignorant suburban moms. I can say with authority that these shows are not only the worst thing on TV, they are among the worst things in the history of the universe.
Now, if they played shows about affable cretins buying junk, I would have no complaints. They serve perfectly as unobtrusive background noise, which is what you want in a waiting room.
My cat.
@katblue What channel? I'd watch that. If it's riding a roomba and dressed like a shark.
@bluedyn Shark kitty is such a crackup! No, my kitty is not that talented. He just likes to sleep a lot on a warm TV. I'd like to buy one of the new flat screen TV's, but my cat would disown me.
@katblue Aw, I own a beat up recliner for my cat. They have it too good.
Man there's so much crap on TV that it makes my head swim then they put something on that's interesting just to cancel it two episodes later and this includes commercials (remember the Slim Jim Guy, a man in a giant Slim Jim costume, proclaiming at the end to: "Eat me!").. I thought it hilarious but only saw it about three times before it went off the air (for being too entertaining I guess).
Why the hating on Sanford and Son? I kind of liked those two cretins and their salvage business.
Hi
A penguin. Scroll ahead to 30 seconds if you don't want to wait
The indoor TV antenna. It's suckitude is awesome.
Sharks! Anything to do with sharks! Every year it's the same crap and it's bled over to multiple channels.
And all the stupid shit reality shows. We record "The Soup" every week so we can get a glimpse of all the idiocy we manage to miss, in little humorous sound bites.
@Teripie The Soup kept me sane when I was working at a Station that showed several crummy "infotainment" shows that The Soup regularly made fun of.
I personally have several animated "adult" oriented cartoons that I just find repulsive. What?... you couldn't get a real life and blood person to say that.....its for a reason. It's not funny and is probably repulsive. Unfortunately my teenagers and husband find humor in this stuff. They will not watch it if I am in the house because they do not want to hear how stupid and infantile the programs are....I have an opinion about that. OMG you got me started and now I am stuck on this soap box......
@csschuett Feel free to name names; I'm curious now. You will undoubtedly find supporters of whatever show you name who will take offense, though.
@csschuett Yeah, tell us what you don't like so we can tell you you're wrong. It'll be fun.
@bluedyn I'm going to guess what @csschuett is talking about by naming shows I love. Simpsons? Family Guy? American Dad? SOUTH PARK?! Let's get a little more obscure. What's the show where Daniel Tosh is the little bear... Dingleberry? Whatever that is. Am I close?
@marklog Brickleberry is disgusting and fabulous. The others are often funny, too. You can't kill Kenny hundreds of times without animation, or have George RR Martin himself sing about wieners.
@csschuett Now, don't get me wrong. I know that there is entertainment value in these cartoons or the ratings would not be so high, and I do know many people who watch them and enjoy them. This is my pet peeve, should you find humor in it that is fine, enjoy the laugh as we all need a way to relieve stress and laughter is a good avenue. I have tried watching these shows and just can't.....I think it is because I was raised not to get involved in other's personal issues or take sides. These "skits" definately take sides and obviously look at the bias and sometimes even the humor.
@bluedyn I have to show my husband this one.....he enjoys a good twerk! LOL
@marklog Archer
@csschuett They actually did get a real life and blood person to say that. They just weren't going to be filmed saying that. I agree, I have no use for infantile material aimed at adults, whatever genre (animated, reality, information, competition) it may fall under.
@moondrake True....very true.
@moondrake @csschuett it depends on how you define infantile. Shows like South Park and The Simpsons can use fart jokes right alongside witty and biting social commentary. Sometimes I feel like the people that decry those kinds of shows for being infantile and stupid just don't get them and what they're trying to say and do.
@JonT I don't find fart jokes or potty humor funny. They don't offend me, they are just a waste of my time. I can get witty and biting social commentary from sources that don't waste my time with jokes I outgrew in third grade. And the "you just don't get it" argument is used by fans of Honey Boo Boo and Real Housewives of I-Don't-Give-a-Damn. It is possible to get the joke and still not think it's funny.
@csschuett Not sure that's a twerk, since he's doing a wiener swing at the same time. But I'm glad you enjoyed it, just the same. :)
Let's reframe the question so it makes sense. What on TV makes it worth watching?
Well, that was quick.
OK, the Daily Show and reruns of WKRP, even with the crappy generic music dubbed over the good stuff. Once Shout Factory's box set with the original songs comes out in November, I guess that means the Daily Show is it.
@editorkid If you count Netflix, HBO and Showtime, there are at least a few things. And maybe ComedyCentral and FX.
@joelmw Well, I, um... I covered those. Now excuse me while I flip over this LP.
@editorkid The original music is coming back? I know some people who will be excited by this.
@jqubed Yeah, most of it -- see column D here (pink means included, white is excluded): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jWiewI2fp1l9gxrIXXhbWWT1a_L4kvASk4UFYLFl4Hw/edit?pli=1#gid=1213980441 along with the product note at https://shoutfactory.com/tv/comedy/wkrp-in-cincinnati-the-complete-series.
@editorkid I watch a gazillion shows I really like. Some of the better ones: Game of Thrones, Newsroom, Parenthood, The Good Wife, True Detective. The fun ones: Defiance, Agents of Shield, Penny Dreadful, Haven, Falling Skies, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, American Horror Story. Add in few late night pundits and I have plenty of good things to watch without ever watching someone's terrifying version of "reality" as seen through the imagination of Hieronymous Bosch.
@moondrake Don't get me wrong... there's a night or two a week you can't pry me off the glass teat. But s couple of nights a week I'm in a hot glass shop making cool shit, a couple more nights a week I'm either taking pictures or editing them, and that only leaves a night or two a week for hanging out with friends. I've heard some of those are good, but I just can't imagine trying to keep up with all that, even aside from not making anything if I did.
Anything on "The Learning Channel". I can't stress those quotation marks enough. What are we suppose to learn? How to be trashy? It also contains the most horrific title for a TV show I've seen: "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant".