What hit shows didn't you "get"?

A discussion I've been having in another thread inspired me to pose
this question -- what ate some of the popular shows you've watched
whose popularity you just didn't *get*?

ranck...

For me it's "Roseanne." I watched the first ep. and thought it
was awful. After it was a big hit some friends told me it was
better than the first few eps, so I tried again but never really
found it amusing or endearing or appealing in any way.

There are others which have already been mentioned, but that
is the big one for me.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

LindaY...

As I read more posts, my list keeps growing...I keep nodding my head
and saying, "Yeah, that one, too." Just some:

THE SOPRANOS (I'm Italian and hate mafia stories)
SEINFELD
FRIENDS
the 70s primetime soaps (DALLAS, DYNASTY, and all that)
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
LARRY SANDERS SHOW
SURVIVOR and all the other prime-time reality series (especially
AMERICAN IDOL, which is just the Major Bowes radio show redressed yet
again)
ALLY MCBEAL

Marlene Blanshay...

one of the best comedies ever, but i can see how it's not for everyone,
like CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM.

CHEERS

-L....

Almost all of them. But Everybody Loves Raymond must be at the top of
the list. I thought it just inane.

cloud dreamer...

Oh...just thought of another....Trailer Park Boys...

Donna B...

Like SEINFELD I got it, but never found it either funny or interesting.

-L....

Responding to two posts here...

Seinfeld is a show that people born in the early 60's "got" - for the
most part. They were *exactly* like me and my friends, so we thought
it was hilarious.

record hunter...

I only watched one ep of ELR, and it was one too many. Talk about
annoying people. I can't believe he made as much money as he did. And
Doris Roberts' character made my tartar curdle.

record hunter...

You know, for someone I probably would like IRL, you have remarkably
different taste from my own.

Donna B...

I find this to be true, for me, about both of you. LOL

record hunter...

I couldn't have said it better. We're fine on the big issues, but
(certain) matters of taste...oy!!!

Although I can't abide Patricia Heaton.

-L....

Annoying doesn't begin to cover it...

record hunter...

I think I've seen every ep of SEINFELD, but I don't think I get it,
either. A friend who does tells me I remind him of Elaine and George,
though.

deering24...

WILL AND GRACE, thirtysomething (God, I hated those smug characters),
ALLY MCBEAL, OZ.

C.
**

Anim8rFSK...

Wow. We don't get the same shows. That's hot.

deering24...

Yeah, but I think David Caruso can actually act.

Anim8rFSK...

Me too. He fooled Rachel Ticotin into thinking he was attractive.

deering24...

Eheheh. Intensity in a guy is very attractive to women--especially if
you envision him focusing all that on you...g!

C.
**

C.
**
(Brrrr....:))

pjmott...

The one I will never *get* is *My Name is Earl*. Dumbest show I've ever
seen. Only managed to make it through maybe 20 minutes of one episode.
Seems to be a big hit though. Beats me why.
PJ

Steven L....

Hee Haw
That's Incredible
Doctor Who
CSI (all flavors)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Deal or No Deal

and last but not least, all the long-running daytime soap operas:
As the World Turns
Days of Our Lives
How did these shows last 40 years on the air?

Donna B...

Well, I got the show, but I never found it either funny or interesting, so,
no, I was definitely perplexed at the popularity of SEINFELD.

McBEAL, which was clearly a dramedy, was a fave, and completely consistent
with being a David Kelley creation.

Love UGLY BETTY, loved EVENING SHADE.

muzicmakr...

Oh, thought of another one. This one I'm a little embarrassed about. I
don't get Black Adder. I know it's "the best British series ever," but I
thought the humor (humour?) was silly.

David B...

Survivor. I've tried watching it but I can barely watch it for 5 minutes
without wanting to curl up and die.

David Johnston...

Cosby, Seinfeld, Friends. I couldn't stand those people.

hilda.alvarez...

"My Name is Earl", "The Office", the multiple "CSI"s and "Law and
Order"s, "Survivor", "Fear Factor", "The Greatest Race", "The Shield",
there are so many...

muzicmakr...

Well, I don't get the continued appeal of Law & Order. The show has been on
since 1990, and thanks to syndication and spinoffs, it's probably on
somewhere every hour of the day. I used to watch it, back when Michael
Moriarty was on, and then the early Sam Waterston days, but eventually I
just got tired of it. I haven't *hated* the episodes I've seen since then,
but I don't understand why it's the main course of the American tv diet.

Aside from this year's Ugly Betty, I also have to admit I never got the
popularity of Ally McBeal. To me, even though it was penned by David
Kelley and I *loved* his work on Picket Fences, McBeal always seemed
too silly to me. Every time I saw it Ally was either stammering like
Bob Newhart on Speed or taking a pratfall... and the show was supposed
to be a DRAMA series.

Rob Jensen...

Well, there's your problem right there. Ally McBeal was a Comedy, not
a Drama. Kelley even set a precedent one year where The Practice won
the Emmy for Best Drama Series and Ally McBeal won for Best Comedy.

karl...

I thnk they should have a new category: Best Intended Drama that is
Unintentional Comedy.

-- Rob

David Johnston...

That's news to me. Nobody ever called it a drama that I heard.

I also never understood why Evening Shade was a hit. Sure, I like Burt
Reynolds, but the humor of the show always seemed like it was a notch
below Hee Haw when it came to creativity and wit.

Seerialmom...

After reading through all the answers in the thread here it kind of
reminded me of when I was in the 5th grade and everyone LOVED "The
Beatles". Because I was so contrary at the time I made a point of not
liking them (without really listening to them that is). FF about 7
years and having access to the first 6 albums..and a stereo...I finally
saw what all the hoopla was about. But this is TV we're talking about
here. Many on the thread are shows I do love; very few were "yeah...I
hate that one, too". There are shows I don't watch, never will watch
nor have any desire to watch as follows:

Family Guy
Lost
CSI any flavor
Law and Order any order
Dancing with the Stars
DOND (amusing the first 2 or 3 times...but not worth it 3 times a week)

Beowulfie...

I never saw why everyone seemed to feel Frazier was the best thing on tv.

record hunter...

Sometimes the funniest writing I ever saw on TV.

Donna B...

The first 2 years were incredibly brilliant. It just stayed on the air too
long.

I didn't much care for The Practice until James Spader joined the cast.

Anthony D. Langford...

I never liked Evening Shade either. I also never got long running
sitcoms like Newsradio, Night Court, Taxi or Everybody Loves Raymond.
It just never seemed funny to me. I love crime shows, but I've never
really found CSI watchable. And the appeal of Grey's Anatomy eludes me
(Patrick Dempsey is hot, but not that hot). Oh and Gilmore Girls made
me want to put my foot through my television.