Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Tommy_Carcetti

(43,085 posts)
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 10:46 AM Apr 2013

Based on a GD thread: Stupidiest show currently on TV (besides anything on Fox News)

Someone on GD posted that "Splash", which is Dancing with the Stars crossed with Olympic Diving, is currently the stupidest show on TV.

Now, that does sound rather ridiculous. But I think there are even stupider shows on television. We're talking countless reality shows based on fake "celebrities" that you really couldn't care less about, "Duck Dynasty" (apparently watching a show about people who make duck calls and decoys is highly entertaining to some people), "Two Broke Girls" (torture to the poor laugh track that is forced to aid and abet in so-called "jokes&quot , and much, much more.

Just wanted to get everyone's personal opinions here.

But to make it harder, I'm excluding anything that airs on the Fox News Channel. That's just like shooting fish in a barrel. (And, by the way, I believe there is a reality show where they actually shoot fish in a barrel for a living, called Barrelin', currently airing on A&E)

45 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Based on a GD thread: Stupidiest show currently on TV (besides anything on Fox News) (Original Post) Tommy_Carcetti Apr 2013 OP
Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half men get my vote. CBGLuthier Apr 2013 #1
Not a regular viewer of either. Tommy_Carcetti Apr 2013 #3
I was "forced" to watch 2 & a half men by a friend, says I would love it. Populist_Prole Apr 2013 #35
Whatever that "Honey BooBoo" show is-- lastlib Apr 2013 #2
I like Duck Dynasty. Chan790 Apr 2013 #4
I guess it's all subjective. nt Tommy_Carcetti Apr 2013 #5
I recently saw that libodem Apr 2013 #14
Duck Dynasty is a hit at our house OriginalGeek Apr 2013 #29
I've got three. Chan790 Apr 2013 #6
I can't stand all these reality shows. bigwillq Apr 2013 #7
So nobody has to pay a writer libodem Apr 2013 #8
Correction...they don't have to pay union scale to writers.... Wounded Bear Apr 2013 #9
Uh huh libodem Apr 2013 #13
Me neither, except for all cooking RebelOne Apr 2013 #22
I like splash ConcernedCanuk Apr 2013 #10
If it is a stupid show, I doubt I would watch it, so I really can not answer dr.strangelove Apr 2013 #11
Nadia's Bithin Kitchen cooking or food network olddots Apr 2013 #12
For me the list would be endless. Archae Apr 2013 #15
"Too Cute" is always an excellent choice! mikeytherat Apr 2013 #40
Too cute is awesome tabbycat31 Apr 2013 #45
Maury. The Official Program of the Decline and Fall of the American Republic. UrbScotty Apr 2013 #16
+1 Jamaal510 Apr 2013 #23
The audience acts like they're back in Roman times and are at the Coliseum. Boomerproud Apr 2013 #36
That Honey boo boo mess, HappyMe Apr 2013 #17
Amish Mafia, Lizard Lick Towing, Duck Dynasty and all of the other "reality" shows that involve... Tom Ripley Apr 2013 #18
All of these, EvilAL Apr 2013 #19
24 shows with "Wars" in their name. UrbScotty Apr 2013 #27
Yeah, everyone loves a war I guess.. EvilAL Apr 2013 #44
I think I can speak for an entire state when I say this tabbycat31 Apr 2013 #20
Do you think alot of them are owned and produced by just a few companies ? olddots Apr 2013 #21
Sorry In Wrong Spot, reposting below. sharp_stick Apr 2013 #24
Mainstream TV Worst - The Following sharp_stick Apr 2013 #25
It makes the Hannibal Lecter saga look like freaking Madame Bovary Tom Ripley Apr 2013 #32
The latest matchmaking show (Eva Longoria's) Spike89 Apr 2013 #26
The Real Housewives of blah blah blah Taverner Apr 2013 #28
Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah?? WTF??? madinmaryland Apr 2013 #30
Anyone ever see the new taxidermy competition reality show? aint_no_life_nowhere Apr 2013 #31
There was a show with Tim Allen something like "One Guy Left" or something rurallib Apr 2013 #33
Finding Bigfoot Still Blue in PDX Apr 2013 #34
"I think there's a 'squatch' out here." mikeytherat Apr 2013 #41
Hillbilly Handfishin' Loryn Apr 2013 #37
Years ago I threw out my TV set...I saved myself.. AsahinaKimi Apr 2013 #38
I love Jennifer Coolidge who is currently on Two Broke Girls in a supporting role graham4anything Apr 2013 #39
I've never actually watched Big Bang Theory, but I appreciate their nods to Firefly and Doctor Who. Still Blue in PDX Apr 2013 #42
I too enjoyed her in the Christopher Guest movies. Tommy_Carcetti Apr 2013 #43

CBGLuthier

(12,723 posts)
1. Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half men get my vote.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 10:54 AM
Apr 2013

In fact, if Chuck Lorre would cease production the average intelligence of television would rise by 15 points overnight.

The first show is nothing more or less than Amos and Andy with caricatures of "smart" people.

Two and a half men seems to be an endless parade of sex jokes punctuated by the occasional bit of scatological humor. Even getting rid of the incredibly lame-ass Charlie Sheen can not help.

Tommy_Carcetti

(43,085 posts)
3. Not a regular viewer of either.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 11:04 AM
Apr 2013

Both my parents and my in-laws love The Big Bang Theory. I will say whenever I have watched it, it will sometimes have jokes that make me laugh. More clever than funny though, IMHO.

I only watched Two and a Half Men a couple of times. Never recall it ever making me laugh that much, which explains why it never caught on with me.

Both of those shows are laugh riots when compared to Two Broke Girls, though. For whatever reason, my wife watches it, and it's just the most stupid, unfunny sitcom on TV right now.

Populist_Prole

(5,364 posts)
35. I was "forced" to watch 2 & a half men by a friend, says I would love it.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 07:46 PM
Apr 2013

I know he's an inveterate philistine, and so I wasn't optimistic. It was brutal, and for all the reasons you say and more. The worst part was that the very lines I groaned, sighed, and rolled my eyes at....and there was that aplenty...was the exact stuff he went bonkers over. Talk about a disconnect!

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
4. I like Duck Dynasty.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 11:08 AM
Apr 2013

It's not funny or entertaining because they make duck calls and decoys...it's entertaining because of the people on the show: Jace who has to be the laziest person alive but typically expends more energy avoiding doing his job than he'd use to simply do his job; Si who is so mentally altered by his experiences in Vietnam that more than half the time, he's saying or doing something inexplicable. Willie who nobody trusts or listens to because he went off and got book-learning...and when they do listen to him, it's the rare occasions when he's as wrong as the rest of them which reinforces their dismissive impression of his education; he compounds the problem by being a font of useless business-administration philosophy and having a "I'm right because I'm the CEO" attitude. Phil who founded the company and despite having extremely odd views on life (such as marry an ugly woman that knows how to fish & cook or his discomfort with civilization or killing things makes him happy happy happy) seems to often be the smartest one in the room...typically on the basis of experience.

If you grew up in America and particularly the rural parts of America...there's a good chance you see your own family in this family. Everybody has a ne'er-do-well cousin that constantly schemes to avoid work and who would be successful if they just did the work. Everybody has the over-educated relative that borders on incompetent because they only know what books have taught them. Everybody has that one weird uncle who isn't crazy but isn't on the same mental plateau as the rest of society anymore. Everybody has that older relative who insists on doing things the old way because it's the only way they've ever trusted to work. It's America's television family.

OriginalGeek

(12,132 posts)
29. Duck Dynasty is a hit at our house
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 06:00 PM
Apr 2013

My wife paid 8 bucks for an ice tea cup like Si's this weekend.


I grew up in Texas and I know someone like every single one of those guys - and many of them are people I love.


"He's running around like a chicken with its legs cut off!" Man, I love Uncle Si.

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
6. I've got three.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 11:37 AM
Apr 2013

The Carrie Diaries: If there was one character I didn't need to know more about...it's Carrie Bradshaw, the least-interesting character on SatC. The show fails to disappoint on my expectation of being unbearable. Exceptional writing and ensemble cast saved the original from a terrible protagonist...this show has neither and even casting a better lead (SJP may be a better actress, but Anna-Sophia Robb is a much better Carrie Bradshaw) can't save Carrie from Carrie. What they needed to make was "The Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte Diaries." (ie. No Carrie!)

The Vampire Diaries: Remember a few years back when it seemed all the daytime soaps were ending; I worried about all those writers too melodramatic and histrionic to ever get paying work again and starving. Rest easy. Based on the melodramatic and histrionic plotlines of TVD, I think they may have found a new home. This may be the worst-written and plotted successful drama in TV history.

Revolution: I'm befuddled this is still on TV, better shows get the axe constantly and plot-progression premises this shoddy typically don't even make it past pilot. It may be the dumbest show in history...they could do so much more and better with it but they don't. They telegraph every plot-twist, they have the kinds of plot-holes you could drive Acela through, the bad guys seem more likable and interesting than the protagonists. What they should have done was kept the premise and sent the entire concept back for retcon, firing the producers and show-runners, paying the concept creator to sell them the concept and walk away. Post-apoc/death-of-technology and mankind's struggle to overcome: awesome concept. Revolution: terrible execution.

libodem

(19,288 posts)
8. So nobody has to pay a writer
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 12:19 PM
Apr 2013

I've been watching gypsy stuff at a friends house. A look into a secret world.

Wounded Bear

(58,440 posts)
9. Correction...they don't have to pay union scale to writers....
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 12:25 PM
Apr 2013

The shows have writers, just not the best ones.

 

ConcernedCanuk

(13,509 posts)
10. I like splash
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 12:42 PM
Apr 2013

.
.
.

don't have a specific, but them "reality", "survivor" shows irritate me.

and "talk" shows - although I do like Leno

liked David Letterman too.

CC

dr.strangelove

(4,851 posts)
11. If it is a stupid show, I doubt I would watch it, so I really can not answer
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 12:45 PM
Apr 2013

While I have never watched the diving show, that does seem like a silly premise for a show, but having never watched it I could not say if it is terrible. I watched one episode of Duck Dynasty and found that it was "forced" like people were trying too hard to make an unscripted show which was clearly scripted. That said, the people seemed fun to me and if I had time, it might be a show I would watch. Right now I am limited to Mad Men, Survivor, How I met your Mother, Big Bang, Defiance and Game of Thrones. I dvr them and watch them throughout the week at night. Otherwise I watch MASH, LOST, All in the Family, Cheers and West Wing on the dvds.

 

olddots

(10,237 posts)
12. Nadia's Bithin Kitchen cooking or food network
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 12:47 PM
Apr 2013

This woman could be wonderful in real life but try to take her for 1/2 minute with the fake Italian accent and Fonzi isms .

Archae

(46,262 posts)
15. For me the list would be endless.
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 01:50 PM
Apr 2013

There's hardly anything I do watch.

On a daily basis I DVR the news and then Rachel.

When it's on, I DVR Animal Planet's "Too Cute." Can never have enough kittens!

PBS has good shows once in a while too.
They just broadcast Ken Burns' look at the Central Park rape case, and the NYPD did their damndest to keep it off the air.

From National Geographic I DVR'ed "The 80's."
Am laughing my head off at that one.

Jamaal510

(10,893 posts)
23. +1
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 03:25 PM
Apr 2013

I used to watch Maury, but I couldn't tolerate anymore of his biased audience. The pattern I noticed is that if someone is simply accused of cheating or denies that they are the father of someone's baby, they get booed even before giving their side of the story first. He should at least have the decency to tell his audience to hold off the booing until after the results are in.
You're basically guilty until proven innocent on the Maury show. These people seem so deficient in regards to critical thinking skills, they give Jerry Springer's audience a run for their money in terms of obnoxiousness.

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)
17. That Honey boo boo mess,
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 02:15 PM
Apr 2013

Dancing with the Stars, Cupcake Wars, that stupid crap where people climb through the obstacle course..... I'm sure I could think of more.

 

Tom Ripley

(4,945 posts)
18. Amish Mafia, Lizard Lick Towing, Duck Dynasty and all of the other "reality" shows that involve...
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 02:27 PM
Apr 2013

people rednecking up.
I try to avoid those people in real life; why would I want to watch them on television?

EvilAL

(1,437 posts)
19. All of these,
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 02:36 PM
Apr 2013

plus the child beauty pageants and other garbage..



doesnt wanna work, search for 'I can't believe these are all TV shows' on youtube.. or don't, whatever.
 

olddots

(10,237 posts)
21. Do you think alot of them are owned and produced by just a few companies ?
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 02:44 PM
Apr 2013

I've tried to find out but it looks like shell production companies and since they are done with tiny crews its hard to get some inside knowledge about the workings so maybe something could be done about raising the level of dumbth to a minus 13 .

Did it start with THE REAL WORLD ? how long ago ?

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
25. Mainstream TV Worst - The Following
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 03:28 PM
Apr 2013

because there is just so little of the fake reality crap that I bother with I'll stick with programmed TV.

The Following is one of the most contrived and poorly thought out programs I've ever seen and I was really hoping it would work. I like Kevin Bacon, I like James Purefoy and I really like the creative team.

But damn it starts off with the lamest prison escape in the history of prison escapes and just gets worse from there. I've never seen such a bunch of truly idiotic cops in my life and I watched every season of The Sopranos. The evil is just so evil and so brilliant it's amazing they haven't figured out how to fully escape the dumb cops.

I really really wanted to like this show, I even gave it a few weeks before ditching it.

 

Tom Ripley

(4,945 posts)
32. It makes the Hannibal Lecter saga look like freaking Madame Bovary
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 06:48 PM
Apr 2013

I am still watching it every week and it hasn't improved.

Spike89

(1,569 posts)
26. The latest matchmaking show (Eva Longoria's)
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 04:14 PM
Apr 2013

I can't comprehend the appeal behind the Bachelor, never watched it, but this new one seemed too awful to not check out. It was worse than I could imagine. The premise seems to have dredged out of a simple child's confused romantic nightmare. Simply put, they bring on a "hunk" that is "Ready for Love" and teams of matchmakers vie to get him to fall for one of their clients. Pretty horrid right there, but the format only cruddifies the awfulness. The prospective love interests make a "blind" 30 second plea to be chosen, the dude picks 3 of the 4 and does this 3 or 4 times until he has a harem chosen. He then goes on a "date" with all the girls before having to choose one that must leave.
Obviously this is maybe the sickest, most humiliating way of finding a date ever devised. There is no way these people can be genuine, they are making a mockery of courtship and love. It literally made me angry that the producers thought anyone would be fooled by the cynical and manipulative game-showification of romance.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
31. Anyone ever see the new taxidermy competition reality show?
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 06:23 PM
Apr 2013

I never watch reality shows but it struck me as one of the most bizarre ideas for a show I’ve ever heard. I think reality shows have not only jumped the shark but now they’re stuffing it.

rurallib

(62,346 posts)
33. There was a show with Tim Allen something like "One Guy Left" or something
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 07:01 PM
Apr 2013

tried to watch it a couple times after my brother said it was really funny (note:quit talking to brother)

Anything on the History Channel - god their stuff is horrible. (and their related channels)

mikeytherat

(6,829 posts)
41. "I think there's a 'squatch' out here."
Wed Apr 24, 2013, 06:11 AM
Apr 2013

When anyone says something really, really stupid, Mrs. Rat will whisper to me, "I think there's a 'squatch' out here." It's become our catch phrase for the monumentally stupid. And I've never seen the show - I only know that damn phrase from a commercial.

"squatch"

mikey_the_rat

AsahinaKimi

(20,776 posts)
38. Years ago I threw out my TV set...I saved myself..
Tue Apr 23, 2013, 10:21 PM
Apr 2013

Had I not done so currently, I would have bought a sledge hammer, and made a mess that would take hours to clean up.

 

graham4anything

(11,464 posts)
39. I love Jennifer Coolidge who is currently on Two Broke Girls in a supporting role
Wed Apr 24, 2013, 05:53 AM
Apr 2013

Her 5 minutes a week are some of the funniest on tv.

She is continuing her persona from the Christopher Guest movies and American Pie movies

The rest of the show I can take or leave.

The thing I like about Big Bang is it makes losers popular.(though it actually is exploiting them).
And that they bring back people from the past on their show.

BTW-the worst tv year in year out, since 1969 are NY Jet games.
How much do Jet fans have to endure since the greatest SuperBowl of all time (#3).


you know what-time for a favorite thread. Someone should start one, if nobody else does I will.

Still Blue in PDX

(1,999 posts)
42. I've never actually watched Big Bang Theory, but I appreciate their nods to Firefly and Doctor Who.
Wed Apr 24, 2013, 11:00 AM
Apr 2013

Yes, it's true. I'm a bit of a nerd and an embarrassment to my children.

Tommy_Carcetti

(43,085 posts)
43. I too enjoyed her in the Christopher Guest movies.
Wed Apr 24, 2013, 01:01 PM
Apr 2013

But 2 Broke Girls is still utter crap and she can't even come close to saving it.

Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»Based on a GD thread: Stu...