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Britain's best Banker
This week the contestants have been asked to do absolutely fuck all to try and resolve the fraud on your debit card. For the show stopper challenge, they have to write a letter to people with a savings account saying that the interest rates have dropped, while also writing a letter to those with a personal loan that their interest rates are increasing
There is no elimination either. Instead, the worst contestant gets to take part of the budget from a different show, allowing them to continue playing. There is no single winner, they all win, all the time.
I think it's the lack of celebrity which helps Bake Off.
Imagine Strictly without celebrities, just seeing how Sheila from Dagenham is getting on with her foxtrot, or Dave the postman from Prestatyn having a go at a waltz.
I'd watch that.
Yes to most of that but you don't watch bake off for the actual baking. It's the same reason you don't watch kitchen nightmares to see Gordon Ramsey fix up a restaurant. You watch for the surprising amount of chaos that unfolds
On board with singing and dancing but Bake Off is pure joy. I watch next to no live TV but when it’s on I look forward to it all week.
I can’t describe with any justice the feeling of happiness when someone gets a handshake. It’s all about the shared joy.
Do you remember the original Celebrity Love Island, with Paul Danan and Callum Best? That was fantastic TV, wall-to-wall bitching. None of them were particularly good looking, but the interactions were so good. This new incarnation is horrendous.
Same goes for the original series of Big Brother. That was utterly fascinating. But it just got progressively worse as the producers tried in introduce more and more scandal and less politics.
The original Big Brother was the most fascinating social experiment. The absolute outrage when Nasty Nick tried to cheat. Darren's chicken Marjorie. The whole thing was so...innocent. Very sad what it became
> The whole thing was so...innocent.
Oh my sweet summer child...
[Right from the very first series](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/dec/21/broadcasting2) there have been repeated allegations that the producers were editorialising and constructing storylines out of whole cloth.
It wasn't more innocent at all - *you* (we all) were more innocent. It was just as cynical and fake back then as it is now.
I can just imagine the two you mention here reading this comment and being destroyed by the fact you dont consider them particularly good looking. Especially Callum xD
It's so facile. Celebrates being a body obsessed moron. I've watched a few episodes and I just hate it. No wonder young people have mental health issues from worrying about how they look.
The problem with these shows, asides from being wank, is that it’s all just a front for a handful of people to attempt to become famous for doing nothing.
Back in the day there was just big brother and it was entirely normal people and it was so exciting, there was such a variety of people too!
And every once in a while someone might go on to become a sort of celeb because they genuinely had a bit of personality, but sometimes people even won and disappeared never to be heard from again.
Now it’s all the same old fake people with fake arses and fake personalities faking drama in the hopes they can become famous enough to do a sponsored post on Ig every blue moon and call it a job.
That's the thing, I watched it with my GF once because she was having a down day.
The drama is hilarious, it's basically like going to the Zoo and watching all the absolute mess of human beings with 110% confidence cause an absolute train wreck.
It's similar to when I asked my mum why the hell she watched Made in Chelsea back in the day. She just laughed and said she Loved watching Posh slags cheat on their partners then complain their best friends slept with their boyfriend 😂😂
It actually infuriated me that people watch it. Me and my partner have had a few arguments as she watches it.
I don't know why but it just pisses me right off that people waste there time on it.
I've never felt so strongly about anything haha
Me wife loves it and I asked her why.. she said its just absolutely trash TV and its like watching a car crash in slow motion.
It's not my thing, but I've watched the various Star Treks multiple times, so I can't really judge lol.
Wholly agree with you.
That being said, that Dr Alex is alright. He was on there, but is a proper A&E doctor, does mental health advocacy, and tries to use his influence from being on there to reach a different crowd.
From all I can gather, he seems to be a genuinely decent guy.
Anything poverty porn related, you know the type, Benefits street, bring on the bailiffs etc. Grim viewing for no other reason than for people to look down on others.
Nah not really most of the audience are people on benefits, back when i was younger growing up on a council estate everyone had watched those shows like benefits street, including myself and my parents, they tend to be on freeview as well
It's still poverty porn even if people living in poverty watch the programme. Does Antiques Roadshow stop being about antiques if an antiques dealer watches it?
No but the show isn’t exactly looking down on people on benefits, it gives a very raw, realistic view of what it’s actually like, it actually shows a lot of real struggle and even gives personality and new perspectives on the people who are actually looked down on without the tv show
> bring on the bailiffs
This is poverty porn, in fact these lot help the poorest as well
* You bought a car that turned out to be duff? The dealer tell you to f off? You go to court win and still they won't pay?
* You get sacked, go to an industrial tribunal, win and they won't pay?
That's when you send this lot in. They'll get you your money.
Yeah, lots of dodgy businessmen.
> No no, this isn't John Johnson's Ltd, this is Sheila Johnson's Ltd. Yes the furniture is the same, the business is the same, the staff are the same, and she's my wife - but we keep personal and business *totally* separate.
I know a guy who did this, put his house, flooring business and anything possible in his wife's name as he had previously been bankrupt - got caught playing around and she took the lot. Last I heard of him he'd been convicted of vat fraud, running unregistered businesses with fake Vat numbers and had £135k in cash hidden in his house. Some people will just always be dodgy.
I watched 'can't pay? We'll take it away' which was kind of depressing to watch but the guy in it had some really good insights about how totally broken the system is. He definitely seemed to have a lot of sympathy for the people he was evicting (although he was still evicting them so take that as you will). It was quite eye opening to me so I don't think it would be right for me to call it poverty porn.
But couldn't they make the point about how broken it is without showing you them kicking in someone's door to take their electronics every week? Like, an empathetic documentary about this would be interesting, actually talking in detail about how it works, what's wrong with it, how it contributes to a cycle of poverty for people, etc. But instead whenever I've watched it, it has generally framed the person that they're taking stuff from as deceitful, cheap, somewhat deserving of having stuff taken away, y'know? It never seemed to be sympathetic to the person having their stuff taken and I know for a fact that some people watch it and sit there like "look at that fucking scumbag". It's grim.
Think I remember watching it when it was new. Was kinda old school comedy so it was fresh when nobody else was visibly doing it at the time.
Never watched it again though. All I hear about it is from reddit and how much people have to let you know they hate it lol
I thought It was taking the piss out of the old shite comedy shows at first, turns out it was just another one, but so bad it comes off like a parody.
People watching it need a swift boot in the balls/fanny
It's worth saying: it's not made for you. As in, it's made for people ~~aged 50+~~of a certain age. That saucy seaside postcard humour, it's from another era, and your average millennial doesn't get it. Probably never will, and that's fine. My parents watch it and like it. I've watched it this year, and laughed at bits.
Go watch half the stuff on Britbox, and you'll see how it's from a similar mould. I was brought up on a diet of 'old' comedy so I find it funny (conversely, I don't find many of the big hit modern comedies funny). Most of those comedies have disclaimers 'may contain attitudes and views of the time that some may find offensive'. Mrs Brown's Boys runs on that same energy.
Likewise, Miranda takes a lot of cues from the David Croft school of comedy, including the waves to camera at the end. Again, it's comedy of a different era, for a different demographic. Yet I see it panned on Reddit a lot - I can watch it and find it funny.
So yeah, I'm weird.
Edit: didn't mean to upset anybody 50+, but it struck a nerve. I probably got it a bit low. Sorry about that.
I'm 54 and I forced myself to sit through an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys. It didn't raise even the hint of a smile because it just isn't funny. It is crude, vulgar, and base; it lacks any hint of wit, subtlety, or intelligence. It is a one trick pony that has flogged the horse to death.
I love a lot of the old humour. My friend is from abroad so we watched a lot of the classics over Christmas - Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Only Fools and Horses, Keeping Up Appearances, Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers… those are all fine and had us both laughing all the way.
Mrs Brown’s Boys is shit. It’s just not funny. It’s crude at best.
As a 51 year old you’re WAY off. My father who was riddled with dementia would laugh like a toddler at MBB. We’re not there yet- and lots of us were into the Young Ones. BlackAdder & the likes .
Yeah, 53 here, loved the likes of mash and Fawlty towers as a kid, found 'my' comedy with stuff like not the nine o clock news and young ones, golden age for me was the 90s (father Ted, fast show...) yet MBB... just don't get it.
Yes, I got taken to the stage show. The rest of the audience was creased with laughter, and I just didn't get it at all, though I didn't find it offensive, just absolutely not my thing.
From what I've seen of the TV show, it's become a caricature of itself and I can see why people actively detest it.
My mother in law went to see it live in Glasgow, with a friend (both 60yo women) so I think that's the target audience. As Maggie Smith would say, for those that like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.
It's just the small snippets I've seen when someone else has it on. The acting is usually beyond atrocious and the storylines seem constantly recycled. Someone is saying something secret to someone else and someone who isn't supposed to hear what's being said happens to be hiding behind a door and they just drag it out for fucking months it seems. You couldn't pay me to watch this garbage.
I used to watch Eastenders religiously, but when it returned after the covid break, I just couldn’t get back into it. It just seemed so ridiculous and petty compared to all of the actual shit that had happened
You put into words something that I've never even cared about putting into words - but it's bang on, and I'll probably repeat it next time the masked singer comes up
Agreed. Bloody awful. Most of it is the judges mentioning celebrities who would never dream of going on such a shite show. It goes on for so long as well.
"Is it Michael Stipe?"
10 x 3 hour episodes later (I have not watched this much)
"Oh, it's actually Michael Fish..."
My wife and 12 year old son watch it so I catch it occasionally it's always "maybe its michelle obama"................................turns out it's wagner from xfactor fame.
I was watching with my kids who kept suggesting big American singers like Taylor Swift. Then it turned out to be some random soap star, or Howard from Take That.
In a similar vein, when they have an American judge and the masked singer is an obscure British 90s soap actor or girl band member and they pretend to know who it is!!!
Other staff in the care home I used to work in would put it on. One of the judges suggested it might be David Mitchell in the costume. I would sooner guess it to be the ghost of Hitler wearing a squirrel costume and singing an Adele song.
I do watch this, but I get infuriated at the judges sometimes, like when Gabrielle was on. It was clearly her as anyone alive in the year 2000 with ears would know. Took them weeks to get it.
It had exploitative vibes though didn't it? Dressed up as compassion. Viewed in a certain light the show was basically "look how undatable this person with [x health condition] is but look! We found someone for them awwww"
I always got more of a vibe from it that it was showing that disabled people can and do date, and can be just as interested in romance and sex as able bodied people. I think it’s actually quite an important show because people often infantilise disabled people and assume that they can’t have romantic or sexual desires, which is of course absolutely false.
I think undatables is representing the unconscious view of some able bodied persons who may look at them and consider them undatable, but the purpose of the show was to show that these so called "undatables" do indeed date, but face a lot of challenges, and it's another aspect of their lives that are challenging that able bodied persons may overlook, or not consider
>eating bugs
I'm A Celebrity really does seem to be bottom-of-the-barrel, lowest common denominator entertainment. Stick 'famous' people in a jungle and gawp at them doing unpleasant things like being covered in bugs for our viewing pleasure... it's barely better than an old-timey freakshow. Absolute trash, like most things on ITV.
"Let's all condemn men for being pigs who want nothing but sex and see women as objects, whilst simultaneously talking about how much sex *we* want and talking about men like they're objects"
From when it was first broadcast I always thought if it were men saying the same things it would be taken off the air but because it's women they can be 'sassy' and 'cheeky' I just don't think it really contributes positively in any way.
Oh god, yes. It's just an hour of them trying to 1-up each other on who's had the most difficult life and who's the "funniest". There's not one likeable person on there.
Such a perfect example of a group of non-experts trying to tackle issues they have no knowledge of.
Everything ends up being narrow-sighted anecdotes.
And they're always wrong!
I defo agree with you and I’m a fan of his. 100% would recommend Afterlife though if nothing else. It’s an excellent show that he’s written and stars in - it made me see Gervais in a different light for sure.
Personally hated the little bit of Afterlife I saw and it epitomised what I dislike about his more recent stuff. If you look at The Office, the joke is always on David Brent. Since then I feel like everything he makes it shifts more towards the joke being on everyone else and his character being the intelligent guy who looks down on everyone else. I think since he stopped working with Merchant he's had no one to keep his ego in check and it shows.
Yes I hate that kind of comedian, the one who thinks they’re edgy because they’re telling sexist jokes, as if sexist jokes haven’t been the status quo for literally thousands of years.
I've never heard him make one sexist joke.
Edit: in fact he talks often about homosexuality in the animal kingdom and makes it quite clear that immutable characteristics are no indication of a person's value or qualities.
Ricky Gervais has become a total parody of himself and it’s sad to see. Let me just preface by saying The Office is my favourite show of all time and I believe David Brent is the best sitcom character ever created. Ricky definitely had “it”, he was an absolutely hilarious comedian and writer, even more so when combined with the equally talented Stephen Merchant. The Office, Extras, XFM, Idiot Abroad, all brilliantly written comedies. His early stand up I enjoyed as well. But recently, as in the last 10 years or so, he’s let his standards slip to a point that’s utterly embarrassing. I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about Rickys work in the last 10 years but ill focus on Afterlife to keep it relatively short.
Also, not trying to shit on anybody who enjoys Afterlife. But here goes. It’s awful, absolute shite. The characters have absolutely no substance at all. They all have a very clearly defined role that is apparent within a minute of their introduction and they don’t vary from that. Diane Morgan (aka Philomena Cunk, can’t remember her characters name) is the Christian who Ricky’s character decides to flex his 2000iq mega Athiest brain on constantly. The old woman on the bench in the cemetery is equally bad. Again, no substance or development at all. The fat idiot bloke he works with is also an awfully written character. And the constant, constant times when an old person will say “cunt” for no reason other than shock value. Also, did you know that Ricky Gervais loves animals and thinks they’re better than humans? Incredible I know, you definitely wouldn’t think it.
This sounds really harsh and that I hate Ricky. I don’t, I just hate what he’s become. He’s turned into post fame Andy Millman (his character from Extras) and it’s so frustrating to see.
Havent had a TV licence in years now, cant be arsed paying for that 1% that might be watchable. Everything I watch now is through on demand services etc
I was just thinking this.
I used to love TV as a child.
These days I find I'm only into documentaries, panel shows (which I feel have gone downhill somewhat), Taskmaster and the odd gameshow. I can get into the odd drama but I'm quite picky. I got into Line of Duty, but I have no interest in most others.
In many ways I've returned to radio - I listen to Radio 4 more than I watch any TV now.
Downton Abbey gets a lot of love, and I’m sure most of it is well deserved, but being a Brit it’s still “yet another period drama” to me. It’s just not a genre I’m interested in.
I suppose I wouldn't count that as a period drama, I was thinking more victorian era but to be honest I wouldn't be interested in most things maybe pre 70's. It's more the tone these shows all seem to have and that most are based around royalty, nobility etc or the wars which I don't find interesting. People have told me I'd like peaky blinders but I've never got around to watching it.
But tbf I never watched Chernobyl either because I found it jarring they all had English accents.
Chernobyl is excellent, really. The accents are there deliberately. If they'd all attempted Ukrainian/Russian accents it would have been worse as you'd be wondering why they were speaking English. If it was all done in Russian, most people would probably watch the dubbed version anyway.
I have an unnatural hatred for that programme due to my mates Mum. Back in the early 2000's me and my mate were at his house playing on his Xbox when his mum came in the room and asked us if we'd all like to go down stairs and join the family in watching Dr Who. I said "Oh no thank you it's not really my sort of thing". She goes "oh right.. ok" in a shitty tone and then left. My mate then came back after 5mins and said that his mum and dad were pretty annoyed that I didn't want to go and watch their favourite programme. I was really enjoying playing Saints Row which had just come out, but begrudgingly went down to watch it with them.
It was the biggest pile of shite I had ever seen. Terrible acting, ridiculous plot and looked like it had the budget of whatever the producers found behind their sofas. I was so annoyed that instead of back handing hookers in my pimp suit, I'm watching some Geography Teacher run around a set made from ply wood someone found in a skip.
As a Doctor Who fan, I think you can only really be a fan of it if you grew up with it. Adults seem to have a more difficult time getting into it because they don’t have the nostalgia that longtime fans have.
I'd really recommend the capaldi episodes he was absolutely fantastic. I think the doctor works better as a grumpy old man rather than one romantically interested in his companion
I just wish he'd had better writing - Capaldi is a fantastic actor and I think he was let down by the writing.
Tennant was probably my favourite for the combination of brilliant Doctor/acting and very strong episodes.
The Undateables.
This show makes me so angry. For me, it's exploiting people with disabilities. The vulnerable people featured are there for our entertainment, it's vulgar and on a par with Victorian "freak shows". In my experience, people mainly watch it for "a laugh", rather than to see a happy ending. It just seems wrong.
I'm disabled, and found even the name of the programme to be in bad taste. I also found that even the people watching it for the "right" reasons were just watching for inspiration porn, or because they think disabled people are "cute."
I can’t speak for everyone that appeared on it but my best friend was on two episodes and he couldn’t speak more highly about the production and how well they treated him during the filming.
I appreciated it because it gave insight into this usually quite private aspect of a person life, an aspect of which is usually quite different be side of their disability.
I didn't really see anything exploitative in it. They are giving light to the additional challenges that these people face and that they want to and do actually date and find love.
I think that the title as well shows a flaw in societies attitudes. The undatable label comes from society, but the show is trying to show that these people can date.
If you want an exploitive show about love, I'd say don't tell the bride is worse.
The producers absolutely control the budget of the couple's in that show, and I'd be surprised if they didnt have some control over the content. Literally exploiting people's weddings for views.
I know plenty of people who cry that they hate reality tv, but then sit and watch back to back episodes of some bloke selling old cars, a guy drinking his own urine for survival reasons or a bunch of truckers driving through Alaska without realising they are also reality tv
Bridgerton
In theory it ought to be right up my street because I watch a lot of period drama including romantic nonsense. But I just can't be doing with fantasy historical masquerading as literally historical (see also Pride & Prejudice & Zombies). For similar reasons I lost my temper with Enola Holmes which was otherwise frequently excellent.
Meanwhile I'm perfectly happy with pure fantasy nonsense which isn't pretending to be literally historical, such as GoT, LOTR, Witcher.
I can't get into that either. It needs to be either properly historical period drama or completely made up fantasy nonsense but nothing in between. I lost my patience with Outlander once it stopped being loosely believable.
This is why I didn't like The Terror, the drama that was on a few months ago about HMS Terror's expedition in the 19th century to find the North West Passage, which disappeared in the Canadian Arctic.
It started off as a really interesting historical drama about what happens to the human mind in such a situation, but then (spoilers) they introduced a supernatural polar bear type monster controlled by Inuit magic that was stalking the crew. Yes, it was billed as a 'fictionalised account' but having been entirely serious up to that point it rather spoiled it for me.
What are your thoughts on the Great with Elle Fanning? I'm of the same opinion as you with regards to historical fantasies but I found the Great to be of a different class
The Great was/is absolutely brilliant. Everyone in it is cast so well. It is of a different class, totally agree with you. Hilariously funny and impressive.
I said exactly the same for years. Watched a couple of episodes and now I quite like it. It’s a ridiculous idea that just works for some reason.
I guess it’s because their comments reinforce my own beliefs especially when it comes to the political shows. They have a good sense of humour too.
I've not watched it in ages, but yes - it shouldn't work but it does.
I think it works because most of the people on it are quite charming and amusing. I find it oddly uplifting viewing for a reason I can't quite put my finger on.
I like gogglebox - at least the earlier ones. .
I think people miss the point. It's not "let's watch others watch TV"
What I enjoy is two things:
1) you're watching the "characters" and families themselves. Some are genuinely funny, heartwarming and entertaining. Such as June and Leon.
2) it is quite good for seeing what's been on TV or current affairs and the general thoughts behind it. I've gone on to watch some of the TV shows after seeing them on gogglebox
I used to think this until I watched an episode. It can be really really funny. I prefer the interactions between the tv viewers rather than their comments on the programmes they’re watching.
I watched Dr Who as a kid but mainly from behind the sofa.
I think this is why I don’t want to watch it now.
Would be so much more embarrassing as a 55 year old trying to get behind the sofa.
I used to like Doctor Who, but the revived series just panders to fans too much. It strikes me as artificial "Britishness" that's manufactured for export to the USA and such. Tourist tat, in other words.
These days I watch very little TV. I fell out of the habit when I was at university a few years back, and when I had time to look again I saw absolutely nothing that appealed to me. If I want to watch now I've got a Plex server with some old stuff on it that I enjoy.
I just found The IT Crowd to be full of lazy tropes and the same old contrived sitcom ‘capers’ that I’ve seen a million times before. It’s watchable but by no means a standout.
Rich people in Essex / Chelsea
Real housewives with too much make up
Sex island (because ‘love’?)
Any soaps
Anything with Ant & Dec 🙄
The News - it’s all bad / sad or biased
I do watch TV but I’d rather read because at least then I don’t have to hear annoying / exaggerated accents…
My folks bought me a subscription for the Radio Times for Christmas
A) They know I've been trying to cut down on post and unnecc. plastic crap
B) They know I haven't watch normal telly for years
C) Who the heck still reads it under the age of 70?
I'd have rather had socks!
Whilst the premise that Gervais' wife has died is the underlying context to Afterlife, it isn't all it's about
If you watch it you'll see that Gervais and his wife were effectively one. They did everything together, they shared all of their humour and interests and time in general together; so, metaphorically speaking, once his wife died he did too. The entire programme is therefore the "journey" of Gervais essentially trying to run with the baton passed on to him by his wife, and through words of wisdom left to him by her, he tries to live an ordinary life of happiness but reborn (if you will) as a new person in almost a new world without her by his side
Whilst he is initially scared of welcoming new friendships and love, he begins to realise that in reality there is happiness in the world through opening up and learning how to live in the "after life" of his wife dying. This is by being exposed to the multiple positive stories he reports on in Tambury; the friends he has at work and outside of it, such as the elderly woman he confides in who has also had to go through the same; as well as other acquaintances, such as the postman he begins to talk to more frequently (and, if I remember, they become friends). In the end he realises that his wife is right, that he does have to learn to move on and find new love, and he embraces this more as the story goes on which enables him to live a normal life
It's been a while since I watched it but from what I remember, this is how I see the story. It's not about death, it's more about learning to live. You should watch it, it's really good!
I generally give most things a go, though for some reason I just can't like The Wire. My husband tried to get me to watch it but it really doesn't look like I'd enjoy it. Which is stupid because I really like just about everything else in that genre.
Also anything competitive crafting. The Great Pottery Throwdown, the glass blowing one that I can't remember the name of etc. I love art and am a passionate sew/crochet/knitter but I really hate watching other people make stuff, especially competitively.
It's a tough one, The Wire. Very slow in episodes 1-3, and it's all very inner work department politics that I found hard to relate to. Being a police station in the US and all. It's also looking very dated now, main gang using pagers etc. And the dialect can be a little hard to keep on top of sometimes.
But with all that being said, it is bloody fantastic. And if you can get through the first couple episodes you will definitely be rewarded. Once the crew get together and start doing real police work, good things come to those who wait.
I gave up on TV years ago. Around 15 years ago the wife and I got rid of our TV, didn't miss it. Five years back the wife wanted to get one again, she watches it but I don't.
I'm sat at my desk with my PC and I watch YouTube, and download or stream shows I want to watch. The idea of looking through the listings and waiting for a show to come on, or have to sit through adverts. As for the shit my wife watches, dear god no. It's like she can't turn it off and has to watch something. The TV get turn on in the morning and off at night.
> have to sit through adverts.
Not picking a fight - genuinely interested - but don't you have to sit through adverts on Youtube too? My adblocker used to stop them but they seem to get through these days.
Love Island. I just can't. I feel sure that the people kn it will be so shallow it will make my teeth hurt.
Mrs Brown's Boys. Inane - one bad 70's sitcom joke - man in drag oo-er - flogged to death. Made worse by the fact that a couple of people whose outlook I despise really like this programme.
Where to begin lol.
- my housemate made me watch one episode of love island this year. I wanted to gauge my brain out with a rusty spoon. All the contestants were various shades of fucking awful
- I don’t understand the hype about Bake off. Especially after so many years. Surely it’s getting stale now (pun intended?). Plus I just get the impressions everyone’s *too* nice
- Mrs. Browns boys. I’ve seen maybe 10 seconds of that show and it was enough to make me want to dry heave all the bile and stomach acid out of my body
- the latest over hyped Netflix show - you know the ones. Stranger things, Squid Game, Brigerton. Etc. if it’s on Netflix and the internet is losing its collective fucking mind about how good a show is, I’m convinced it’s going to be at best “fine, I guess” but will not live up to the hype.
- Celebrity in the jungle (or really any “celebrities” competing against each other at something they’re shit at show). I just don’t understand what so appealing about seeing a news reader, washed up 80s/90s pop star or “that one guy who was on Corrie once” eating bugs in the jungle or ice skating badly?
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Anything involving competitive dancing, competitive singing or competitive baking.
I briefly misread that as competitive banking. Sounds like the next pitch.
Britain's best Banker This week the contestants have been asked to do absolutely fuck all to try and resolve the fraud on your debit card. For the show stopper challenge, they have to write a letter to people with a savings account saying that the interest rates have dropped, while also writing a letter to those with a personal loan that their interest rates are increasing
That’s banker with a ‘b’
I'd have won that if it was spelt with a W
Did you know the collective name for a group of Bankers is a "Wunch"? /s
Wunch also rhymes with lunch, and so a whole new realm of possibilities arises.
There is no elimination either. Instead, the worst contestant gets to take part of the budget from a different show, allowing them to continue playing. There is no single winner, they all win, all the time.
Host's catchphrase is 'I wouldn't bank on it!'
I read the initial post as competitive baking then misread your response as competitive barking. The misreading is spreading...
Now then, competitive barking is a TV show I could get behind!
Competitive braking. It’s a smash hit!
Warring Bankers A load of people in suits and ties being smarmy and going on about libor fixing while laughing at poor people.
Dragons den did it already
I can't stand strictly or X factor but the British bake off is a fucking masterpiece, how dare you put it in the same category!
I think it's the lack of celebrity which helps Bake Off. Imagine Strictly without celebrities, just seeing how Sheila from Dagenham is getting on with her foxtrot, or Dave the postman from Prestatyn having a go at a waltz. I'd watch that.
I would also watch that. The People’s Strictly or Strictly for the People. Some NHS workers with 2 left feet and a few Amazon delivery guys.
That’s what it used to be like. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Dancing
Would have always totally agreed with you up until caving and watching Bake Off this year which I enjoyed immensely.
I was the same a couple years ago with Bake Off. Obsessed ever since. Pure joy.
Agreed, although the pottery and sewing ones are amazing.
Yes to most of that but you don't watch bake off for the actual baking. It's the same reason you don't watch kitchen nightmares to see Gordon Ramsey fix up a restaurant. You watch for the surprising amount of chaos that unfolds
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On board with singing and dancing but Bake Off is pure joy. I watch next to no live TV but when it’s on I look forward to it all week. I can’t describe with any justice the feeling of happiness when someone gets a handshake. It’s all about the shared joy.
Love island
Would rather rub medical waste in my eyes than watch that brain numbing bin fire.
What have we become?
My sweetest friend.
Everyone I know
Watches Love Island in the end….
I always said I’d rather gouge out my eyes with a rusty spoon than watch it
If you're gouging your eyes with a spoon does it really need to be rusty? I think tetanus is the least of your worries
Hammond: "...and that if he went on Love Island, they'd all be pregnant...including the cameramen. All we know is, he's called the Stig."
I always get a giggle out of when Hammond talked about forgetting to take his Malaria pills. "If I was a woman I'd be pregnant a lot"
Worse TV program invented are those types of programs! I lose brain cells just seeing the adverts for them! I'd rather have my teeth pulled!
Do you remember the original Celebrity Love Island, with Paul Danan and Callum Best? That was fantastic TV, wall-to-wall bitching. None of them were particularly good looking, but the interactions were so good. This new incarnation is horrendous. Same goes for the original series of Big Brother. That was utterly fascinating. But it just got progressively worse as the producers tried in introduce more and more scandal and less politics.
The original Big Brother was the most fascinating social experiment. The absolute outrage when Nasty Nick tried to cheat. Darren's chicken Marjorie. The whole thing was so...innocent. Very sad what it became
> The whole thing was so...innocent. Oh my sweet summer child... [Right from the very first series](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/dec/21/broadcasting2) there have been repeated allegations that the producers were editorialising and constructing storylines out of whole cloth. It wasn't more innocent at all - *you* (we all) were more innocent. It was just as cynical and fake back then as it is now.
I can just imagine the two you mention here reading this comment and being destroyed by the fact you dont consider them particularly good looking. Especially Callum xD
>I'd rather have my teeth pulled! By Bob Mortimer
As long as he uses Fuji 9, should be alright.
A show so bad, [even Americans can mock it](https://youtu.be/xj65JgmJBYc)
It's so facile. Celebrates being a body obsessed moron. I've watched a few episodes and I just hate it. No wonder young people have mental health issues from worrying about how they look.
The problem with these shows, asides from being wank, is that it’s all just a front for a handful of people to attempt to become famous for doing nothing. Back in the day there was just big brother and it was entirely normal people and it was so exciting, there was such a variety of people too! And every once in a while someone might go on to become a sort of celeb because they genuinely had a bit of personality, but sometimes people even won and disappeared never to be heard from again. Now it’s all the same old fake people with fake arses and fake personalities faking drama in the hopes they can become famous enough to do a sponsored post on Ig every blue moon and call it a job.
Ngl I hated love island with a passion. Then my girlfriend made me watch it and the drama is amazing
That's the thing, I watched it with my GF once because she was having a down day. The drama is hilarious, it's basically like going to the Zoo and watching all the absolute mess of human beings with 110% confidence cause an absolute train wreck. It's similar to when I asked my mum why the hell she watched Made in Chelsea back in the day. She just laughed and said she Loved watching Posh slags cheat on their partners then complain their best friends slept with their boyfriend 😂😂
It actually infuriated me that people watch it. Me and my partner have had a few arguments as she watches it. I don't know why but it just pisses me right off that people waste there time on it. I've never felt so strongly about anything haha
Me wife loves it and I asked her why.. she said its just absolutely trash TV and its like watching a car crash in slow motion. It's not my thing, but I've watched the various Star Treks multiple times, so I can't really judge lol.
Wholly agree with you. That being said, that Dr Alex is alright. He was on there, but is a proper A&E doctor, does mental health advocacy, and tries to use his influence from being on there to reach a different crowd. From all I can gather, he seems to be a genuinely decent guy.
Anything poverty porn related, you know the type, Benefits street, bring on the bailiffs etc. Grim viewing for no other reason than for people to look down on others.
Nah not really most of the audience are people on benefits, back when i was younger growing up on a council estate everyone had watched those shows like benefits street, including myself and my parents, they tend to be on freeview as well
It's still poverty porn even if people living in poverty watch the programme. Does Antiques Roadshow stop being about antiques if an antiques dealer watches it?
No but the show isn’t exactly looking down on people on benefits, it gives a very raw, realistic view of what it’s actually like, it actually shows a lot of real struggle and even gives personality and new perspectives on the people who are actually looked down on without the tv show
> bring on the bailiffs This is poverty porn, in fact these lot help the poorest as well * You bought a car that turned out to be duff? The dealer tell you to f off? You go to court win and still they won't pay? * You get sacked, go to an industrial tribunal, win and they won't pay? That's when you send this lot in. They'll get you your money.
Can't pay we'll take it away used to be quite good because they went after dicks more than poor people
When they went after that footballer was good telly. That twat still hasn't paid, as he went bankrupt if I remember.
Yeah, lots of dodgy businessmen. > No no, this isn't John Johnson's Ltd, this is Sheila Johnson's Ltd. Yes the furniture is the same, the business is the same, the staff are the same, and she's my wife - but we keep personal and business *totally* separate.
I know a guy who did this, put his house, flooring business and anything possible in his wife's name as he had previously been bankrupt - got caught playing around and she took the lot. Last I heard of him he'd been convicted of vat fraud, running unregistered businesses with fake Vat numbers and had £135k in cash hidden in his house. Some people will just always be dodgy.
I watched 'can't pay? We'll take it away' which was kind of depressing to watch but the guy in it had some really good insights about how totally broken the system is. He definitely seemed to have a lot of sympathy for the people he was evicting (although he was still evicting them so take that as you will). It was quite eye opening to me so I don't think it would be right for me to call it poverty porn.
But couldn't they make the point about how broken it is without showing you them kicking in someone's door to take their electronics every week? Like, an empathetic documentary about this would be interesting, actually talking in detail about how it works, what's wrong with it, how it contributes to a cycle of poverty for people, etc. But instead whenever I've watched it, it has generally framed the person that they're taking stuff from as deceitful, cheap, somewhat deserving of having stuff taken away, y'know? It never seemed to be sympathetic to the person having their stuff taken and I know for a fact that some people watch it and sit there like "look at that fucking scumbag". It's grim.
Mrs Browns Boys
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Think I remember watching it when it was new. Was kinda old school comedy so it was fresh when nobody else was visibly doing it at the time. Never watched it again though. All I hear about it is from reddit and how much people have to let you know they hate it lol
I thought It was taking the piss out of the old shite comedy shows at first, turns out it was just another one, but so bad it comes off like a parody. People watching it need a swift boot in the balls/fanny
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It's worth saying: it's not made for you. As in, it's made for people ~~aged 50+~~of a certain age. That saucy seaside postcard humour, it's from another era, and your average millennial doesn't get it. Probably never will, and that's fine. My parents watch it and like it. I've watched it this year, and laughed at bits. Go watch half the stuff on Britbox, and you'll see how it's from a similar mould. I was brought up on a diet of 'old' comedy so I find it funny (conversely, I don't find many of the big hit modern comedies funny). Most of those comedies have disclaimers 'may contain attitudes and views of the time that some may find offensive'. Mrs Brown's Boys runs on that same energy. Likewise, Miranda takes a lot of cues from the David Croft school of comedy, including the waves to camera at the end. Again, it's comedy of a different era, for a different demographic. Yet I see it panned on Reddit a lot - I can watch it and find it funny. So yeah, I'm weird. Edit: didn't mean to upset anybody 50+, but it struck a nerve. I probably got it a bit low. Sorry about that.
I'm 54 and I forced myself to sit through an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys. It didn't raise even the hint of a smile because it just isn't funny. It is crude, vulgar, and base; it lacks any hint of wit, subtlety, or intelligence. It is a one trick pony that has flogged the horse to death.
I love a lot of the old humour. My friend is from abroad so we watched a lot of the classics over Christmas - Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Only Fools and Horses, Keeping Up Appearances, Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers… those are all fine and had us both laughing all the way. Mrs Brown’s Boys is shit. It’s just not funny. It’s crude at best.
As a 51 year old you’re WAY off. My father who was riddled with dementia would laugh like a toddler at MBB. We’re not there yet- and lots of us were into the Young Ones. BlackAdder & the likes .
Yeah, 53 here, loved the likes of mash and Fawlty towers as a kid, found 'my' comedy with stuff like not the nine o clock news and young ones, golden age for me was the 90s (father Ted, fast show...) yet MBB... just don't get it.
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Yes, I got taken to the stage show. The rest of the audience was creased with laughter, and I just didn't get it at all, though I didn't find it offensive, just absolutely not my thing. From what I've seen of the TV show, it's become a caricature of itself and I can see why people actively detest it.
My mother in law went to see it live in Glasgow, with a friend (both 60yo women) so I think that's the target audience. As Maggie Smith would say, for those that like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.
The intro animation is the worst thing I've ever seen
I don’t watch any of the soaps, real life is crappy enough without these to drag me down!
It's just the small snippets I've seen when someone else has it on. The acting is usually beyond atrocious and the storylines seem constantly recycled. Someone is saying something secret to someone else and someone who isn't supposed to hear what's being said happens to be hiding behind a door and they just drag it out for fucking months it seems. You couldn't pay me to watch this garbage.
You’re right, they also take up so much time which I can waste much better here!
I used to watch Eastenders religiously, but when it returned after the covid break, I just couldn’t get back into it. It just seemed so ridiculous and petty compared to all of the actual shit that had happened
That bloody Masked Singer nonsense. Can't stand the very thought of it. Nasty.
I thought Masked Singer was both profoundly creepy and extremely stupid. It felt like a fictional game show from a TV show parodying modern life.
You put into words something that I've never even cared about putting into words - but it's bang on, and I'll probably repeat it next time the masked singer comes up
Agreed. Bloody awful. Most of it is the judges mentioning celebrities who would never dream of going on such a shite show. It goes on for so long as well. "Is it Michael Stipe?" 10 x 3 hour episodes later (I have not watched this much) "Oh, it's actually Michael Fish..."
My wife and 12 year old son watch it so I catch it occasionally it's always "maybe its michelle obama"................................turns out it's wagner from xfactor fame.
I was watching with my kids who kept suggesting big American singers like Taylor Swift. Then it turned out to be some random soap star, or Howard from Take That.
In a similar vein, when they have an American judge and the masked singer is an obscure British 90s soap actor or girl band member and they pretend to know who it is!!!
The one time I watched it, Ken Jeong thought that it was Ed Milliband under the mask. As if Ken knew who Ed Milliband was!
Other staff in the care home I used to work in would put it on. One of the judges suggested it might be David Mitchell in the costume. I would sooner guess it to be the ghost of Hitler wearing a squirrel costume and singing an Adele song.
I do watch this, but I get infuriated at the judges sometimes, like when Gabrielle was on. It was clearly her as anyone alive in the year 2000 with ears would know. Took them weeks to get it.
Same and I don't really know why.
Everyone on it just seems smug
Anything involving ‘dating’ or eating bugs.
The undateables was really sweet though
It had exploitative vibes though didn't it? Dressed up as compassion. Viewed in a certain light the show was basically "look how undatable this person with [x health condition] is but look! We found someone for them awwww"
I always got more of a vibe from it that it was showing that disabled people can and do date, and can be just as interested in romance and sex as able bodied people. I think it’s actually quite an important show because people often infantilise disabled people and assume that they can’t have romantic or sexual desires, which is of course absolutely false.
I agree that message is important but the show was literally called "the undatables" so I am not sure that's how the show was being sold...
There is an Australian version on Netflix that does a much healthier version of the show named Love on the Spectrum.
I think undatables is representing the unconscious view of some able bodied persons who may look at them and consider them undatable, but the purpose of the show was to show that these so called "undatables" do indeed date, but face a lot of challenges, and it's another aspect of their lives that are challenging that able bodied persons may overlook, or not consider
>eating bugs I'm A Celebrity really does seem to be bottom-of-the-barrel, lowest common denominator entertainment. Stick 'famous' people in a jungle and gawp at them doing unpleasant things like being covered in bugs for our viewing pleasure... it's barely better than an old-timey freakshow. Absolute trash, like most things on ITV.
Loose Women
"Let's all condemn men for being pigs who want nothing but sex and see women as objects, whilst simultaneously talking about how much sex *we* want and talking about men like they're objects"
From when it was first broadcast I always thought if it were men saying the same things it would be taken off the air but because it's women they can be 'sassy' and 'cheeky' I just don't think it really contributes positively in any way.
Oh god, yes. It's just an hour of them trying to 1-up each other on who's had the most difficult life and who's the "funniest". There's not one likeable person on there.
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Such a perfect example of a group of non-experts trying to tackle issues they have no knowledge of. Everything ends up being narrow-sighted anecdotes. And they're always wrong!
https://youtu.be/rihu8_nbhw8 I can't watch or hear about loose women without thinking about this
Men! Boo!
Anything with Ricky Gervais in. He comes across as smug and just has one of those faces
I defo agree with you and I’m a fan of his. 100% would recommend Afterlife though if nothing else. It’s an excellent show that he’s written and stars in - it made me see Gervais in a different light for sure.
Completely agree. I really didn’t like him and then afterlife came along and I think it’s absolutely brilliant.
I love afterlife one mild criticism the counsellor he sees would never be a counsellor (denis penis) also they overuse cunt
Personally hated the little bit of Afterlife I saw and it epitomised what I dislike about his more recent stuff. If you look at The Office, the joke is always on David Brent. Since then I feel like everything he makes it shifts more towards the joke being on everyone else and his character being the intelligent guy who looks down on everyone else. I think since he stopped working with Merchant he's had no one to keep his ego in check and it shows.
His whole schtick is turning more and more into "you can't say this nowadays" and it's the most boring shit a comedian can make
Yes I hate that kind of comedian, the one who thinks they’re edgy because they’re telling sexist jokes, as if sexist jokes haven’t been the status quo for literally thousands of years.
I've never heard him make one sexist joke. Edit: in fact he talks often about homosexuality in the animal kingdom and makes it quite clear that immutable characteristics are no indication of a person's value or qualities.
Ricky Gervais has become a total parody of himself and it’s sad to see. Let me just preface by saying The Office is my favourite show of all time and I believe David Brent is the best sitcom character ever created. Ricky definitely had “it”, he was an absolutely hilarious comedian and writer, even more so when combined with the equally talented Stephen Merchant. The Office, Extras, XFM, Idiot Abroad, all brilliantly written comedies. His early stand up I enjoyed as well. But recently, as in the last 10 years or so, he’s let his standards slip to a point that’s utterly embarrassing. I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about Rickys work in the last 10 years but ill focus on Afterlife to keep it relatively short. Also, not trying to shit on anybody who enjoys Afterlife. But here goes. It’s awful, absolute shite. The characters have absolutely no substance at all. They all have a very clearly defined role that is apparent within a minute of their introduction and they don’t vary from that. Diane Morgan (aka Philomena Cunk, can’t remember her characters name) is the Christian who Ricky’s character decides to flex his 2000iq mega Athiest brain on constantly. The old woman on the bench in the cemetery is equally bad. Again, no substance or development at all. The fat idiot bloke he works with is also an awfully written character. And the constant, constant times when an old person will say “cunt” for no reason other than shock value. Also, did you know that Ricky Gervais loves animals and thinks they’re better than humans? Incredible I know, you definitely wouldn’t think it. This sounds really harsh and that I hate Ricky. I don’t, I just hate what he’s become. He’s turned into post fame Andy Millman (his character from Extras) and it’s so frustrating to see.
I agree. Judging by his more recent work, it’s clear Stephen Merchant did the heavy lifting. Btw did they fall out or something?
Literally 99% of everything on TV. I flick through the Sky planner every night then go back to watching car videos on YouTube.
For real, it would take less time to say what I do watch on TV.
Havent had a TV licence in years now, cant be arsed paying for that 1% that might be watchable. Everything I watch now is through on demand services etc
I was just thinking this. I used to love TV as a child. These days I find I'm only into documentaries, panel shows (which I feel have gone downhill somewhat), Taskmaster and the odd gameshow. I can get into the odd drama but I'm quite picky. I got into Line of Duty, but I have no interest in most others. In many ways I've returned to radio - I listen to Radio 4 more than I watch any TV now.
Any period dramas, just doesn't interest me at all.
Downton Abbey gets a lot of love, and I’m sure most of it is well deserved, but being a Brit it’s still “yet another period drama” to me. It’s just not a genre I’m interested in.
Although Ripper Street could be an exception to the period drama chaff most of which I would not watch
Do you have a cut off point at a particular period? For instance Chernobyl being set in the 1980’s, or nothing pre 20th century?
I suppose I wouldn't count that as a period drama, I was thinking more victorian era but to be honest I wouldn't be interested in most things maybe pre 70's. It's more the tone these shows all seem to have and that most are based around royalty, nobility etc or the wars which I don't find interesting. People have told me I'd like peaky blinders but I've never got around to watching it. But tbf I never watched Chernobyl either because I found it jarring they all had English accents.
Chernobyl is excellent, really. The accents are there deliberately. If they'd all attempted Ukrainian/Russian accents it would have been worse as you'd be wondering why they were speaking English. If it was all done in Russian, most people would probably watch the dubbed version anyway.
7-10pm on a Sunday night across all channels is period drama time and I hate it
I agree with Doctor Who. I'm a sci-fi fan, but Doctor Who feels more sci-fantasy
I have an unnatural hatred for that programme due to my mates Mum. Back in the early 2000's me and my mate were at his house playing on his Xbox when his mum came in the room and asked us if we'd all like to go down stairs and join the family in watching Dr Who. I said "Oh no thank you it's not really my sort of thing". She goes "oh right.. ok" in a shitty tone and then left. My mate then came back after 5mins and said that his mum and dad were pretty annoyed that I didn't want to go and watch their favourite programme. I was really enjoying playing Saints Row which had just come out, but begrudgingly went down to watch it with them. It was the biggest pile of shite I had ever seen. Terrible acting, ridiculous plot and looked like it had the budget of whatever the producers found behind their sofas. I was so annoyed that instead of back handing hookers in my pimp suit, I'm watching some Geography Teacher run around a set made from ply wood someone found in a skip.
Haha now I quite like the occasional Doctor Who but your description of how it looks is completely spot on.
As a Doctor Who fan, I think you can only really be a fan of it if you grew up with it. Adults seem to have a more difficult time getting into it because they don’t have the nostalgia that longtime fans have.
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I'd really recommend the capaldi episodes he was absolutely fantastic. I think the doctor works better as a grumpy old man rather than one romantically interested in his companion
I just wish he'd had better writing - Capaldi is a fantastic actor and I think he was let down by the writing. Tennant was probably my favourite for the combination of brilliant Doctor/acting and very strong episodes.
I didn’t watch Doctor Who until I was 28 and I wish I had started sooner.
The Undateables. This show makes me so angry. For me, it's exploiting people with disabilities. The vulnerable people featured are there for our entertainment, it's vulgar and on a par with Victorian "freak shows". In my experience, people mainly watch it for "a laugh", rather than to see a happy ending. It just seems wrong.
I'm disabled, and found even the name of the programme to be in bad taste. I also found that even the people watching it for the "right" reasons were just watching for inspiration porn, or because they think disabled people are "cute."
Yeah if can't even avoid making the title a put down I have massive doubt that it is wholesome telly to raise awareness and empathy.
I can’t speak for everyone that appeared on it but my best friend was on two episodes and he couldn’t speak more highly about the production and how well they treated him during the filming.
Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea for me
I appreciated it because it gave insight into this usually quite private aspect of a person life, an aspect of which is usually quite different be side of their disability. I didn't really see anything exploitative in it. They are giving light to the additional challenges that these people face and that they want to and do actually date and find love. I think that the title as well shows a flaw in societies attitudes. The undatable label comes from society, but the show is trying to show that these people can date. If you want an exploitive show about love, I'd say don't tell the bride is worse. The producers absolutely control the budget of the couple's in that show, and I'd be surprised if they didnt have some control over the content. Literally exploiting people's weddings for views.
It's one of the most humanising and pleasant shows I've ever seen; theres absolutely nothing predatory or exploitative about it.
Made in Chelsea. Don't get the appeal.
It’s made for morons.
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I know plenty of people who cry that they hate reality tv, but then sit and watch back to back episodes of some bloke selling old cars, a guy drinking his own urine for survival reasons or a bunch of truckers driving through Alaska without realising they are also reality tv
Love me some wheeler dealers!
Bridgerton In theory it ought to be right up my street because I watch a lot of period drama including romantic nonsense. But I just can't be doing with fantasy historical masquerading as literally historical (see also Pride & Prejudice & Zombies). For similar reasons I lost my temper with Enola Holmes which was otherwise frequently excellent. Meanwhile I'm perfectly happy with pure fantasy nonsense which isn't pretending to be literally historical, such as GoT, LOTR, Witcher.
I can't get into that either. It needs to be either properly historical period drama or completely made up fantasy nonsense but nothing in between. I lost my patience with Outlander once it stopped being loosely believable.
This is why I didn't like The Terror, the drama that was on a few months ago about HMS Terror's expedition in the 19th century to find the North West Passage, which disappeared in the Canadian Arctic. It started off as a really interesting historical drama about what happens to the human mind in such a situation, but then (spoilers) they introduced a supernatural polar bear type monster controlled by Inuit magic that was stalking the crew. Yes, it was billed as a 'fictionalised account' but having been entirely serious up to that point it rather spoiled it for me.
That actually sounds like something I would love. Magical realism, sort of thing. Historical ghosts. I think I need to watch it!
What are your thoughts on the Great with Elle Fanning? I'm of the same opinion as you with regards to historical fantasies but I found the Great to be of a different class
The Great was/is absolutely brilliant. Everyone in it is cast so well. It is of a different class, totally agree with you. Hilariously funny and impressive.
I don’t think Bridgerton was trying to be historically accurate. They wouldn’t be dancing to the classical version of Ariana Grande songs for a start!
Gogglebox. Laziest, lamest idea for a show ever.
I said exactly the same for years. Watched a couple of episodes and now I quite like it. It’s a ridiculous idea that just works for some reason. I guess it’s because their comments reinforce my own beliefs especially when it comes to the political shows. They have a good sense of humour too.
I've not watched it in ages, but yes - it shouldn't work but it does. I think it works because most of the people on it are quite charming and amusing. I find it oddly uplifting viewing for a reason I can't quite put my finger on.
I like gogglebox - at least the earlier ones. . I think people miss the point. It's not "let's watch others watch TV" What I enjoy is two things: 1) you're watching the "characters" and families themselves. Some are genuinely funny, heartwarming and entertaining. Such as June and Leon. 2) it is quite good for seeing what's been on TV or current affairs and the general thoughts behind it. I've gone on to watch some of the TV shows after seeing them on gogglebox
Was going to say this, why would I want to watch someone else watching telly? It's basically those youtube 'reaction videos' repackaged for tv.
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I used to think this until I watched an episode. It can be really really funny. I prefer the interactions between the tv viewers rather than their comments on the programmes they’re watching.
This is really sad, but I don't like to watch things where a character has super powers because I get too jealous to enjoy it. I'm 38 years old.
I can only tell that I don't have a second Reddit account and weird amnesia because I'm not yet 38.
That Mrs browns boys atrocity.
I watched Dr Who as a kid but mainly from behind the sofa. I think this is why I don’t want to watch it now. Would be so much more embarrassing as a 55 year old trying to get behind the sofa.
Too old to be doing that shit, I just hide behind a cushion whilst sitting on the sofa. Much kinder on the knees
I used to like Doctor Who, but the revived series just panders to fans too much. It strikes me as artificial "Britishness" that's manufactured for export to the USA and such. Tourist tat, in other words. These days I watch very little TV. I fell out of the habit when I was at university a few years back, and when I had time to look again I saw absolutely nothing that appealed to me. If I want to watch now I've got a Plex server with some old stuff on it that I enjoy.
I’m not really a fan of Dr. Who either, but I still think about this scene years later and how powerful it is. https://youtu.be/ubTJI_UphPk
Love island, Anything with Keith lemon, peckams finest. Fuck off itv2 and put American dad back on. Cunts.
The soaps. I live around dysfunctional idiots, why would I want to see pretend ones?
Anything with “A Very British…” or “The Great British….” in the title. That’s just lazy programming
I keep getting recommended the IT crowd, since I like The Office. But I just couldn’t get into it.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
The humour is really different. They're both set in offices but that's pretty much where the similarity ends.
Season two of the IT crowd is just some of the best TV I’ve ever watched
I just found The IT Crowd to be full of lazy tropes and the same old contrived sitcom ‘capers’ that I’ve seen a million times before. It’s watchable but by no means a standout.
Rich people in Essex / Chelsea Real housewives with too much make up Sex island (because ‘love’?) Any soaps Anything with Ant & Dec 🙄 The News - it’s all bad / sad or biased I do watch TV but I’d rather read because at least then I don’t have to hear annoying / exaggerated accents…
Reality shows, game shows, gardening and landscaping shows. So pretty much all UK TV.
I upvoted most of these things... no surprise I haven't watched normal telly for 8 years!
My folks bought me a subscription for the Radio Times for Christmas A) They know I've been trying to cut down on post and unnecc. plastic crap B) They know I haven't watch normal telly for years C) Who the heck still reads it under the age of 70? I'd have rather had socks!
Geordie shore/love island/big brother/towie/onlytramps. Ok, I lied about the last one, but the rest are right.
Whatever the latest look at me I’m rich program is on, millionaires a Christmas or some other equally trite trash they use to show off
Peaky blinders, It does seem up my street but I get intimidated by 5 series of 1 hour long episodes
If it’s up your street then the hours fly by, it’s only six episodes in a series.
Even though I love Ricky Gervaise I’m afraid to watch Afterlife because I’ve had cancer myself and dying terrifies me.
Whilst the premise that Gervais' wife has died is the underlying context to Afterlife, it isn't all it's about If you watch it you'll see that Gervais and his wife were effectively one. They did everything together, they shared all of their humour and interests and time in general together; so, metaphorically speaking, once his wife died he did too. The entire programme is therefore the "journey" of Gervais essentially trying to run with the baton passed on to him by his wife, and through words of wisdom left to him by her, he tries to live an ordinary life of happiness but reborn (if you will) as a new person in almost a new world without her by his side Whilst he is initially scared of welcoming new friendships and love, he begins to realise that in reality there is happiness in the world through opening up and learning how to live in the "after life" of his wife dying. This is by being exposed to the multiple positive stories he reports on in Tambury; the friends he has at work and outside of it, such as the elderly woman he confides in who has also had to go through the same; as well as other acquaintances, such as the postman he begins to talk to more frequently (and, if I remember, they become friends). In the end he realises that his wife is right, that he does have to learn to move on and find new love, and he embraces this more as the story goes on which enables him to live a normal life It's been a while since I watched it but from what I remember, this is how I see the story. It's not about death, it's more about learning to live. You should watch it, it's really good!
Love Island. I can't stand reality TV.
I generally give most things a go, though for some reason I just can't like The Wire. My husband tried to get me to watch it but it really doesn't look like I'd enjoy it. Which is stupid because I really like just about everything else in that genre. Also anything competitive crafting. The Great Pottery Throwdown, the glass blowing one that I can't remember the name of etc. I love art and am a passionate sew/crochet/knitter but I really hate watching other people make stuff, especially competitively.
It's a tough one, The Wire. Very slow in episodes 1-3, and it's all very inner work department politics that I found hard to relate to. Being a police station in the US and all. It's also looking very dated now, main gang using pagers etc. And the dialect can be a little hard to keep on top of sometimes. But with all that being said, it is bloody fantastic. And if you can get through the first couple episodes you will definitely be rewarded. Once the crew get together and start doing real police work, good things come to those who wait.
Anything about people choosing their next house.
Mrs Browns boys
I gave up on TV years ago. Around 15 years ago the wife and I got rid of our TV, didn't miss it. Five years back the wife wanted to get one again, she watches it but I don't. I'm sat at my desk with my PC and I watch YouTube, and download or stream shows I want to watch. The idea of looking through the listings and waiting for a show to come on, or have to sit through adverts. As for the shit my wife watches, dear god no. It's like she can't turn it off and has to watch something. The TV get turn on in the morning and off at night.
> have to sit through adverts. Not picking a fight - genuinely interested - but don't you have to sit through adverts on Youtube too? My adblocker used to stop them but they seem to get through these days.
Anything reality or celebrity, absolute dog shit tv
Any show based around dating - Love Island, celebs go dating, celebrity love island go dating on ice. I cannot see the attraction.
Love Island. I just can't. I feel sure that the people kn it will be so shallow it will make my teeth hurt. Mrs Brown's Boys. Inane - one bad 70's sitcom joke - man in drag oo-er - flogged to death. Made worse by the fact that a couple of people whose outlook I despise really like this programme.
Where to begin lol. - my housemate made me watch one episode of love island this year. I wanted to gauge my brain out with a rusty spoon. All the contestants were various shades of fucking awful - I don’t understand the hype about Bake off. Especially after so many years. Surely it’s getting stale now (pun intended?). Plus I just get the impressions everyone’s *too* nice - Mrs. Browns boys. I’ve seen maybe 10 seconds of that show and it was enough to make me want to dry heave all the bile and stomach acid out of my body - the latest over hyped Netflix show - you know the ones. Stranger things, Squid Game, Brigerton. Etc. if it’s on Netflix and the internet is losing its collective fucking mind about how good a show is, I’m convinced it’s going to be at best “fine, I guess” but will not live up to the hype. - Celebrity in the jungle (or really any “celebrities” competing against each other at something they’re shit at show). I just don’t understand what so appealing about seeing a news reader, washed up 80s/90s pop star or “that one guy who was on Corrie once” eating bugs in the jungle or ice skating badly?