Ask Lemmy

A big part of why many of the things in this thread haven't aged well, is because a lot of what made these shows original and unique was copied to death following the fame of the original.

If you weren't there for the original release of a piece of media, there's a good chance you're not necessarily seeing it in the context where the accolades make sense.

Seinfeld basically invented the 3 camera sitcom and a lot of the key tropes in the format. If you go back today having not watched it before, the vast majority of it just comes across as a boring sitcom, because every sitcom to follow took notes from the way they did Seinfeld.

It's the same with the UK office, it basically invented the modern mockumentary format as well as the cringe comedy era that followed (and gave us things like peep show). If you look back now without that context, it just looks like a generic combination of both those things.

My aunt Gisela promised to bring me into touch with my father. In reality, she simply darkened the room and, with a lowered voice, gave a bad imitation of my deceased dad. That’s one medium I could do without.

The James Cameron Avatar movies.

For me it's Friends. I don't get all the hype about it until today. I tried watching a few episodes but it was nothing special. It was just a sitcom, nothimg special about it.

Disturbed's cover of "Sound of Silence." I like the original Simon & Garfunkel, or at least the more upbeat version of it. And I like Disturbed (see below). But this cover absolutely blows.

Yes, I know the lead singer is a grade A shitbag. I liked the band long before I knew anything about any of it and have since stopped listening to them.

Big Bang Theory

Dave Matthews band. Also, any "jam" band in general.

The US Office is unironically a better show because it understood what path it wanted to take as it went on and stop trying to rely heavily on cringe comedy to focus more on absurdist but still relatable scenarios.

Have a few in mind:

Catcher in the Rye. Holden is insufferable and I found it baffling that adults expected me to relate to him as a teen.

Grease aged very poorly and I do not understand the hype (is it because John Travolta is wearing tight pants?)

Family guy. The ship that launched a thousand cringe as fuck "adult animation" shows. Yes, I'm salty as hell about it.

3 body problem. What a fucking terrible shit waste of paper.

Anything anime. Lots love it, I hate it.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Its not just that the humor is unfunny (and basically just bigotry porn with a side of cringe), its that none of the "friends" in the show are even friends with each other. The whole show is just a bunch of assholes being bigoted assholes and then you are supposed to think that its funny.

Kinda surprised I didn't see breaking bad already listed. I guess I'm one of the few who dislikes it. I don't like tragedies in general. Life is already a tragedy.

I'm sure it was extremely well executed and totally worth making, but it's not my flavor of ice cream.

Sports. I have little tolerance for it because every time a big event is on, people get incredibly obnoxious. They think they know better than the professional players, they keep making so much noise, it polarizes people into arbitrary bands and start talking shit like using that as an excuse to be a homophobic POS, sometimes they'll even riot because their team lost/won (da fuk), and even kill people over their favorite fucking team, and so much more. If the game is on I'd rather steer clear because it really brings out the worst in people.

Woah surprised no one mentioned South Park yet, it quite common in discussions like this.

Harry Potter, even ignoring how much of a piece of shit the author is the books just aren't particularly well thought out.

Reality TV

Star Wars. I really wanted to like it, I'm a huge nerd, but I just am not into it. I watched 4 and 5 and got maybe an hour into 6 and got up and walked away. I was so bored with the whole thing.

Blade Runner
2001: A Space Odyssey
Citizen Kane

These movies are so well regarded and spoken so highly of (ok - maybe not Blade Runner); their champions are so passionate and enthusiastic, every time I hear folks go off on how great they are I get, once again, excited to watch them. But every time I try, I just can’t get into them. 2001 is a particular slog with its ~30 minute intro of no dialogue. It almost inevitably puts me to sleep before even the first word is spoken.

I hate that they’re so well regarded and I really want to enjoy them but I just can’t get into them.

American football. Fox turned it into a video game you can’t play.

Mens soccer. Stop with the fucking cry baby drama! Women’s soccer is better in this regards.

I'm curious if you're from the UK, OP, because I think this colours your perception of the The Office very much. For the record I loathe both, but The Office UK is a typical British comedy of taking the absolute piss of the characters, who are irredeemable fools one and all. You re not supposed to find them funny, or like them. You're supposed to laugh at them. That's the usual expectation, with British comedy.

Americans seem to have great difficulty with that concept, and can't seem to handle a protagonist that is made fun of.

Again, not defending the show itself. Just saying you need to be aware of this approach when you watch British comedy in general. The common language should not make you forget the ocean of cultural differences in between.

I'm just here to see if anyone has any wrong opinions about something I love.

Succession for me. I couldn’t stand it. The acting always felt way too self-conscious, like “look at me acting my ass off” instead of anything natural. The dialogue and humor felt really try-hard too, and I hated the cinematography, especially all those weird close-up shots.

I am trying to watch "The Wire" (on ep. 10) because it is one the highest rated show on imdb, but it doesn't click in me. It is high quality product. Acting, music, camera work are all good. But is just boring for me, and I force myself to do it.

Same was with The Sopranos btw.

P. S. Ricky Gervais is funniest comedian for me. I watched his Life's Too Short, After Life and I like it a lot. For me it's very funny and bravely. Never watched British The office, may be shouldn't, thanks.

The Office (All versions) because the movie "Office Space" exeedingly outshines the humor and plot of any of the TV shows.

As with most "comedy" shows it's actually a drama disguised with a specific setting and a couple of meme characters to make it look like a comedy.

I'm convinced people only watched that stuff because they were all in on office drama at work/school but didn't want to admit to that fact.

I thought the American version of The Office wasn't much better. Just constant cringe humor, it's exhausting.

You're right and you should say it. Ricky Gervais has always been weird and off-putting and the idea that he was ever good has always baffled me. I never enjoyed The Office. When my dad tried to get me into Extras I just found all of Ricky's parts annoying. When my sister told me how great Derek was, I just found the whole thing simultaneously tasteless and bland, like it couldn't commit to being offensive but didn't put the work into being real. His standup is often clever, but always the kind of clever that is let down by a complete lack of emotional intelligence. The man just does not understand people, but thinks he really does.

I've got a good one: Andor. People can't stop raving about it and I had to force myself to finish it. Deathly boring all the way through. I didn't like anyone in it so I couldn't root for anyone, and it was just a slog til the end. Crucify me star wars fans, I know you want to. 😇

This is going to be a semi-spicy take, but World of Warcraft.

I had a lot of friends who were into it during Cataclysm but I had a hard time getting into it despite it being THE game everyone was obsessing over. It got to the point where I was struggling to get them to play anything else and it pretty much split our gaming group.

Even after all these years, some of them still play it and its still a big piece of their gaming sessions.

The Game of Thrones TV series.

I really enjoyed the George R. R. Martin novels that they were based on, but the TV series just didn't do it for me.

I did enjoy the Lord of the Rings movies, so I know that it's possible to do film adaptations of fantasy novels that do click with me.

Friends...

I would rather watch women's tennis or a fishing show. I don't fish, I don't play tennis.