Overrated Shows?

Mr E

What shows are out there that people absolutely rave about, but you don't get the appeal?

(Lets keep it civil, as some people's selections might be borderline blasphemous and offensive to some!!)

I'll start...

Entourage. I'm as much of a fan of Jeremy Piven as the next guy (and he is the best thing about this show), but I think its very patchy...

Oz. I don't get it. I got through half of season 1 earlier this year (over the course of a few nights), and kind of got bored. Didn't really like the style - it has the production values of Prisoner Cell Block H with bad language, violence and spoons (allegedly).
Is it worth sticking with?

I know I'm going to get killed for this, but...

The Sopranos. Sorry.

hoolio

Yep, much lynching is going to happen in this thread, but here goes anyway:

Lost Peaked after a dozen episodes. Steadily downhill ever since

Heroes Meh. Just meh.

Curb Your Enthusiasm Yes i get it, no i don't like, no i'm not dumb. Thanks.

to name a few

Morgans

Lost. Just twaddle in my opinion.

Entourage. Once it became self-consciously trying to be cool, it lost whatever charm it did have. Turning Johnny Drama into a character solely for comic relief didnt help.

The Sopranos. Last couple of season werent as strong as the first four, but overall very strong program, and one of the very best ever produced. Just maybe not quite worth the hype of its final years.

Scrubs - Lost it quickly after three series.

Other less controversial shouts would be friends, will and grace. etc

Lawless_Samurai

I'm probably gonna be killed for this one but

Star Trek Any of the shows. I just don't get it and I am a Sci FI fan, big time, but for whatever reason star trek never appealed to me.

Basq

Entourage - not funny at all. Jeremy Piven is fantastic but it's gotten too much up it's own arse.

Heroes - the second season has been barely watchable. Yet people are still rushing to it's side to defend it. A great first season doesn't warrant this defence for a woeful second season.

Jericho - how this got a second season is beyond me when much better shows got axed last year.

CSI Miami / NY etc - it's not intelligent. It's corny boring formulaic crap for the mindless!

Desperate Housewives - it started off somewhat inventive and developed into a poorly acted soap opera with 4 hags for leads.

Ugly Betty - what's with the praise? It's very obvious camp humour which 'Will & Grace' excelled it, and was equally repulsed by.

24 - oh, how the mighty fall. It hasn't been really good since the second season. But the last season was atrocious.

Green Wing - i don't know how anyone finds this show funny. It's comedy to the absolute lowest degree. Oh, how wacky.. let's speed up the camera.. oh, hilarious! Formulaic and with possibly the most unlikeable cast of actors working today.

Futurama - yes, there are fanboys who adore it but i never found it near as funny as 'The Simpsons' in it's hey-day. Futurama seemed to rely on Bender, and the other characters were just used to bounce jokes off him. Probably because Fry, Leela, Zoidberg never really made me laugh. Some episodes were fantastic but was very meh in it's later years. And the recent DVD trailer didn't make me laugh once.

Some controversial ones in there i'm sure... and the backlash starts!

Mr E

Futurama... SNAP!
Amusing from time to time, but thats about it.

Let me add Babylon 5 to the list. Oooooh... Shiny!

forbairt

Lost ... I quickly lost interest .. I tried .. I tried ...
Ugly Betty ... It got ugly too quickly .. I just don't see the fascination ...

chalkitdown1

Grey's Anatomy Utter dogshít as far as I'm concerned. Overly sentimental & melodramatic and almost soap opera-bad at times, Though, it does keep the missus happy, so I guess it's not all bad.

Heroes Terrible writing, terrible acting, terrible cgi and some fúcking Godawfull Irish accents. And yet I still watch it week after week. Yesterdays episode was quite good, though, I must admit.

The West Wing I did like it, but there were some aspects of it that got right on my tits. Specifically, the whole 'walk-and-talk' technique that Sorkin...... invented, I guess. It's just so unrealistic. The constant chatter, witty & snappy combacks, without even a moment to think. NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT!

qwertplaywert

Entourage,Green Wing, The West Wing,Ugly Betty,CSI,Green Wing, Sopranos all get deserved mentions- all awful shows.

I'm gonna make myself an enemy of nearly all boards.ie-ers and say: The Wire. Badly written, badly acted peice of crap.

cashback

basquille wrote: »

[Green Wing - i don't know how anyone finds this show funny. It's comedy to the absolute lowest degree. Oh, how wacky.. let's speed up the camera.. oh, hilarious! Formulaic and with possibly the most unlikeable cast of actors working today.

Very true.

Also:
Scrubs: Uneasy mix of quirkiness and syrup.

Ugly Betty: Main character is not remotely likeable and the whole thing is just so bloody whimsical and uninspired.

24: Never got it.

CSI: Glossy, vapid and formulaic.

Utopia Parkway

Have to chuckle at some of the truly great shows people are calling crap. You really should post up some shows that you love as well so we can have a laugh.:D

For me any show that has doctors and nurses shagging and having relationship difficulties comes directly from the 6th level of hell.

I've never seen an episode of CSI, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, etc, but something tells me I am better off.

Dwilly

Mr E wrote: »

Oz. I don't get it. I got through half of season 1 earlier this year (over the course of a few nights), and kind of got bored. Didn't really like the style - it has the production values of Prisoner Cell Block H with bad language, violence and spoons (allegedly).
Is it worth sticking with?

Used to watch Oz religiously back when it came out first (98 or so?) Some of the narrative a bit trite but overall engaging characters and refreshingly gritty for its time.

forbairt

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Have to chuckle at some of the truly great shows people are calling crap. You really should post up some shows that you love as well so we can have a laugh.:D

I won't deny I have weird taste ... and others probably think the shows I love are muck ...

Eureka ... Dexter ... Farscape ... Firefly ... Rome ... and so on ..

Utopia Parkway

forbairt wrote: »

I won't deny I have weird taste ... and others probably think the shows I love are muck ...

Eureka ... Dexter ... Farscape ... Firefly ... Rome ... and so on ..

Firefly and Rome are great. Haven't seen the others.

WindSock

basquille wrote: »

Lost-It's a load of old pants

Thats weird. I thought you would have liked lost

Basq

Hmmm, I don't remember saying that..

But if you quoted it, well... I must have..!



I'm off to resign as mod of the 'Lost' forum so!

In fact..

basquille wrote:

I hate Television entirely. I'd rather sit down with a good book

Rjd2

basquille wrote: »

CSI Miami / NY etc - it's not intelligent. It's corny boring formulaic crap for the mindless!

Desperate Housewives - it started off somewhat inventive and developed into a poorly acted soap opera with 4 hags for leads.

Ugly Betty - what's with the praise? It's very obvious camp humour which 'Will & Grace' excelled it, and was equally repulsed by.

24 - oh, how the mighty fall. It hasn't been really good since the second season. But the last season was atrocious.

Green Wing - i don't know how anyone finds this show funny. It's comedy to the absolute lowest degree. Oh, how wacky.. let's speed up the camera.. oh, hilarious! Formulaic and with possibly the most unlikeable cast of actors working today.

Some controversial ones in there i'm sure... and the backlash starts!

Oh my god I think I am in love, The Mighty Boosh deserves a nomination, an awful kids show which tries so hard to be wacky and does not bother with anything resembling a joke. Apparantly its funny if you are stoned though

is_that_so

My batch

Lost : Never got any further than two episodes, lots of people on an island as far as I could see. Just didn't get it at all.

Prison Break : How many times can people escape? That and the really dodgy acting.

Desperate Housewives: The first half of Season 1 was passable but I guess I am not the right audience.

Friends: Just stayed way way too long but even in the early days could never see what the attraction was.

Heroes: agree on this too. Enjoyed the first season. 2nd one is really not good at all.

Seinfeld : 2 minute joke over 30 minutes . Not for me I'm afraid. Apologies to fans.

Damages: Can't get into Glenn Close. All I see is "the bunny boiler" scene.

This Life: Reminded me of thirtysomething. A lot of talk and very little substance for me.

ixoy

The Sopranos - First few seasons were good but after that, I never really saw why it garnered such praise. Meandering plots doesn't equate with clever writing and characters not learning isn't growth. Bah could go on but it's done and dusted now.

Sex and the City - Why. Just why.

CSI (any version) - Formulaic and with a bunch of very dull characters. Only Horatio was good for a laugh.

Simpsons - It was good ten years ago. Stop with the praise please.

Must think on some more...

I disagree with some other choices above but I can see where they come from. Except for qwertwert who's insane

Basq

ixoy wrote: »

Except for qwertwert who's insane

Have to agree.. from what i've seen of 'The Wire' - it's some of the most powerful writing and performances i've seen anywhere.

But hey, different strokes for different folks!

PS - i'm gonna keep a close eye on this thread as i reckon we're gonna touch a sore point with at least one person's favourite show and be subject to a barrage of insults or "reasons why it's the best show everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRrrr!".

Let's remember we all have our own opinions and we're entitled to them... but if you criticise any of my favourite shows, you're banned!

I kid, i kid.... no seriously, i mean it! :mad:

Charlie

Heroes: Bland, just very bland. No character whatsoever that reels you in, just alot of very annoying characters. Gave it 5 or 6 episodes and it still seemed meh.

Family Guy: Very annoying program, with fans that are even more annoying.

Fraiser: Probably the most over-rated program ever. Could never get a chuckle out of me.

Jericho has no such place in these threads, criminal that programs such as Lost and Heroes are perceived as being the top action/drama tv shows when Jericho goes under the radar.

tvnutz

qwertplaywert wrote: »

I'm gonna make myself an enemy of nearly all boards.ie-ers and say: The Wire. Badly written, badly acted peice of crap.

Sorry but that is just insane! I know people have opinions on shows,it probably wasn't your type of show,but to say it is badly written and badly acted is just...well it is just wrong! The writing is the most realistic a tv show has ever done and the cast is so large and doesn't need a "main character" because all of them are so great.

It is slow moving and unfolds like a novel which may put people off,it may also be a genre that you don't really like,but seriously,whether or not you like the show itself,it simply cannot be said that the writing is anything but brilliant.

As for overrated show. I am going to say the Sopranos. It is a good show,no doubt,but people saying it is the best show ever,nah. As I mentioned The Wire outstrips it. I would pick the Sorkin years of the West Wing as much better than it as well as another little known HBO show, Carnivale.

Bounty Hunter

why are all the shows in this thread also the same ones in the best tv shows threads? i bet if beside the overated shows your all mentioning you wrote your favourite shows most of you would notice that the lists double up.

Rjd2 wrote: »

The Mighty Boosh deserves a nomination, an awful kids show which tries so hard to be wacky and does not bother with anything resembling a joke. Apparantly its funny if you are stoned though

its not.

Morgans

Yeah, have to echo Family Guy as well. There is funny crude and there is just stupid infantile. I watched the stewie film and spent more time raising my eyebrows at my friends who recommended it. Awful.

I dont think the simpsons can be overrated as most sensible people know that it went to ****e after series 7/8.

The Sopranos is slightly overrated but it is still very good. The two are not incompatible.

Arrested Development tailed off badly as well. Having begun brilliantly and deserving of all plaudits.
Little Britain was overrated. Pure and simple. Not as funny as the press and general public seemed to think. IMO.

kevmy

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

The West Wing I did like it, but there were some aspects of it that got right on my tits. Specifically, the whole 'walk-and-talk' technique that Sorkin...... invented, I guess. It's just so unrealistic. The constant chatter, witty & snappy combacks, without even a moment to think. NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT!

The only one I'm going to pick up on (even though Sopranos is brilliant and going from brilliant to just great doesn't mean it's a bad show).

It's not exactly supposed to be real it's idealised and dramatised for the purposes of giving people entertainment on television. Just like how people can't have superpowers, stay awake for 24 hrs without eating or peeing or that aliens don't really exist.

missingtime

I think I bit my tongue off!

Why have people mentioned Green Wing and Frasier

Sobs

opelmanta

lost - never got it

prison break...ave watched loads of it cos am forced to and still don see whats so good about it

curb your enthusiasm- i find it incredibly stupid and not funny in any way

Firetrap

The Simpsons Never could understand why people think it's so brilliant
Seinfeld Unfunny
Lost A load of bullocks. I can see people getting fed up of it long before it ends
Prison Break From talking to a friend who's a Prison Break nut, it sounds like it might've jumped the shark anyway
Ugly Betty Never got it
Band of Brothers Shouty war shenanigans
Blackadder I-IV Is it a case of the Emperor's New Clothes with these?

Skinfull

Never heard of "the wire" but I will check it out now that I see the testimonials defending it!

Overrated...
Prison Break...I mean c'mon! Could that guy not remember one thing? Probably has the rhyme for tying shoe laces tattooed on his shin!

I cant say for Sopranos or West wing as I haven't watched more than maybe 3 episodes and I didn't enjoy them...

Scrubs is getting way more attention and repeat time than it should!

And if hear one more person talk about how amazing Grey's Anatomy is I am likely to do something both of us will regret. I watched the show and no I didn't like it! Apart from the weird looking main protagonist it was all done before and there is nothing new or original about that show!

Also have to give mention to Lost. This show had so much potential and if it had run as a mini series or even a 1 or 2 season thing it would have lived up to it but this sh1t is dragging on so much now that I've lost all interest in the characters and their crappy predicament! (Except maybe Hurley, he's still cool!...Or he was when I saw it last...before the end of season 2):cool:

Edited to add...

Band of Brothers Shouty war shenanigans

Ah I have to disagree with that! BoB was a really good show! Loved it when it was on and love it on the many repeat performances I watch via DVD.

Gingervitis

Gonna have to disagree about Green Wing. Scrubs without the PC sentimental sh1t. Formulaic is not the word I'd ever use to describe it.

Lawless_Samurai

ixoy wrote: »

Simpsons - It was good ten years ago. Stop with the praise please.

Here here

User45701

i have band of brothers box set and i have never made it past episode 2 (Seen episode 1 over 10 times and parts of episode 2 2 or 3 times). The alcahol gets too much for me and black books goes on to balence everything out...

johnny_ultimate

The Simpsons really doesn't deserve to be as applauded as it continues to be in some quarters. Don't get me wrong, seasons three to ten or so remain amongst the best cultural produce of all time, just after that it descended into mind numbing averageness - everytime I watch a new episode, it astonishes me that the garbage they are throwing out these days even gets past script stage. It's amazing just how deluded some of the writers are, thinking they are still writing the best TV ever (although I did enjoy the film quite a bit)

Family Guy - it's funny occasionally, but alot of people seem a bit obsessed with what is really just a throwaway comedy.

Friends - enough with the reruns already, you damn dirty apes!

Desperate Housewives / Grey's Anantomy / Ugly Betty - OK, in alot of sensible quarters these two shows get the vocal criticism they deserve, but the fact that they still have MASSIVE fanbases is quite odd. DH in particular is the most overblown piece of nonsense Ive ever seen, while UB seems to be going that way too from the little I see of it. Dreadful shows the three of them.

All British drama - y'know, just to be controversial

Anyone who calls Futurama overrated though deserves a virtual scolding

Gingervitis

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Anyone who calls Futurama overrated though deserves a virtual scolding

qft

Dancor

The mighty Boosh, It can be smart, but it just aint as funny as some people make it out to be.

Pigman II

Defo Heroes. So much good word of mouth that I had to check it out. Hated the first ep but watched the 2nd just in case it had had a bad start. Hated that one even more.

Firefly. A mild distraction of a show that starts strong and peters out quickly. The cult following it has is mind boggling.

The Prisoner. David McCallum is excellent to watch but the show itself just pointless dirge from start to "finish".

Family guy. It's just lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy.

Star Trek DS9. Anyone I've ever met who lauds this show usually has a screw lose and either mild levels of a) psychosis or b) anti-social behavior. Either way it's a rubbish show.

Driver 8

Family Guy, the South Park "Cartoon Wars" episode summed up nicely all that's wrong with it.

pickarooney

Pigman II wrote: »

The Prisoner. David McCallum is excellent to watch but the show itself just pointless dirge from start to "finish".

Must have seemed a bit pointless if you waited seventeen episodes for The Man from UNCLE to show up

Heroes, Avatar Airbender, The Venture Brothers and anything in space (don't) do it for me. Likewise Little Britain and, to be completely honest, the original Office.

Utopia Parkway

I'll go with Heroes. Tried to get into it and just couldn't.

Watched an episode of South Park once and said to myself I'll never watch that again.

Pigman II

pickarooney wrote: »

Must have seemed a bit pointless if you waited seventeen episodes for The Man from UNCLE to show up

It's been a long day Patrick McGoohan.

phasers

Family Guy without a shadow of a doubt

badly written, badly animated and just stupid

Firetrap

+1

I don't like Family Guy either. I don't know why people rate King of the Hill or South Park either.

vallo

Heroes - on at the moment, which is why I'm here. Really corny + predictable.

Prison Break - too much smoldering coolness from main guy. Tedious.

24 - lost the plot after season 1.

All 3 of the above would be listed as favourites the co-owner of our TV. Sigh.

Earthhorse

Morgans wrote: »

Scrubs - Lost it quickly after one series.

Fixed that for you.

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

The West Wing I did like it, but there were some aspects of it that got right on my tits. Specifically, the whole 'walk-and-talk' technique that Sorkin...... invented, I guess. It's just so unrealistic. The constant chatter, witty & snappy combacks, without even a moment to think. NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT!

The annoying thing about Sorkin's writing is when he seizes on some interesting but trivial fact and has the characters repeat it ad nauseum.

INT. JOSH'S OFFICE, DAY

CJ and Josh relax after a hard day's work.

CJ: Did you know the president can't eat pancakes on a Tuesday?
Josh: He can't eat pancakes on a Tuesday?
CJ: No pancakes on a Tuesday for he.
Josh: Not one?
CJ: Not even half of one.
Josh: You're telling me the President of the United States can't...eat pancakes on a Tuesday?
CJ: Can't do it.
Josh: What are we gonna do with all this syrup?

Toby knocks and enters.

Toby: You see Sam's first draft?
Josh: It's good.
Toby: It needs work.
Josh: I'll talk to him. [pause] Did you know the president can't eat pancakes on a Tuesday?
Toby: He can't eat pancakes on a Tuesday...

Alright Sorkin, we get it! I think he can write great dialogue, some of the best, but I've a funny feeling he only writes 10 minutes per episode and then copy and pastes select pieces for the remaining 35.

Other over-rated shows include Lost; I like it and even think the end of series 3 was the best run of episodes so far but the I don't get the whole, "OMG, did you see Locke tonight? He was wearing a blue shirt! Blue!/i] Do you understand what this means? BLUE!".

Prison Break: I'm still watching it off the back of the first series which was amazing, great, tightly scripted (at least the first three quarters anyway), but it's really gone to the dogs.

Basq

Earthhorse wrote: »

The annoying thing about Sorkin's writing is when he seizes on some interesting but trivial fact and has the characters repeat it ad nauseum.

Reminds me of Seinfeld dialogue..

Jerry Seinfeld: So you couldn't date her because she was a tickler.
George Costanza: A tickler.
Jerry Seinfeld: And you're not a stickler for a tickler.
George Costanza: Not a stickler for a tickler.
Jerry Seinfeld: You're not a tickler stickler.
George Costanza: Not a tickler stickler.

I absolutely love Seinfeld but this jab at the show from 'Family Guy' is too true!

eggplantman

lost,it just keeps goin and goin.it has the right name 2 i cant follow any of it,not since after season 1

Earthhorse

basquille wrote: »

I absolutely love Seinfeld but this jab at the show from 'Family Guy' is too true!

I meant to include Family Guy in my list of overrated shows! It's not far off though. My friends and I often launch into skits of Seinfeld but I still love the show.

cooker3

Only 1 main show and it's heroes. I just don't get it, everyone went on about it and it just wasn't very interesting. There was not 1 episode which I would call really good, best episode was 5 years on and even that was way over rated.
It was just boring

ixoy

I want to add a few more:

'Lost' - It's enjoyable but people finding significance in every detail, believing the whole thing has been planned out meticiuously as a work of genius make me laugh. They're making large chunks up of it as they go along, it's clearly not been fully laid out and yet they'll find so many "clues" to kid themselves whilst ignoring the glaring oversights.

'Battlestar Galactica' - Again, I enjoy it but by the rotting corpses of the Lords of Kobol the romantic storylines, and indeed many character storylines, can really suck. They're not clever or deep - they're teenage angst and unenjoyable. Stick with the Cylon angle please.

Degsy

Lost
Prison break
South Park
Ugly Betty
Invasion
Battlestar galactica
My name is earl
Little Britain
Vicar of Dibbley

cashback

Meant to add Prison Break. Just seemed another glossy US show, not sure why it hooks people so much. Hard to take seriously after watching Oz. Not that its meant to be serious.

Also I'd have to add Lost, even though I like it. I just wish the upcoming season was the last.

Family Guy... Yeah i'd agreewith those who think its overrated.