From EW, EW's own Dan Snierson likes to make fun of me for thinking I'm always right about everything, but he's wrong — again. I don't think I'm always right. I know I'm always right. So it troubles me when America comes to some sort of consensus that is obviously crazy talk. How can people be so easily duped? I ask myself. Because it couldn't simply be that I could possibly be wrong about something, could it? Could it?!?
Well, at the risk of pissing off the vast majority of you reading this, I now present my list of the most overrated films, TV shows, bands, and other assorted entertainment-related things that have been worshipped and fawned over for way too long. (And I encourage you to do the same by sending in your own nominees at the end of this column.)
Friends
Okay, I'm outing myself. My big secret here at EW is that I've never sat through an entire episode of Friends. Why? Because it was annoying as hell! I believe my hatred of the program stemmed from the fact that it took to the air around the same time I moved to Manhattan after college. I was a blue-haired miscreant living above a drug-front deli in New York's famed Heroin District, while the preppy bastards on Friends had jobs no better than mine yet resided in impossibly incredible apartments and hung out drinking coffee all day. Had I encountered these people in real life, I probably would have walked up to them and punched them in the face...and then gotten the crap beaten out of me because I'm actually pretty weak...but still, why would I want to waste half an hour watching them on television? I also have a personal rule: Whenever a TV character's name becomes the title of a haircut, I'm gone.
See rest of list here
23 comments:
Back in the day I came aboard the Friends train late. At the time I thought it was pretty funny but when I flip through TV channels now and I see that it's on, I can't turn the channel fast enough. I don't know why this is.
I'm the same way with Seinfeld now, especially if it's any episode past say, season 4.
The guy's list is pretty lame and obvious though. The Grateful Dead and Chariots of Fire, really?
The last two (Six Feet and London Calling) are the type of things deserving to be on overrated lists. I disagree on both counts, but at least they're interesting choices.
I wouldn't put Pink Floyd on that list, sheesh!
Yeah, she loses all credibility with Pink Floyd (not to mention being unable to distinguish them from the Grateful Dead). Perhaps she should smoke pot or do acid to make her writing a little less generic.
And I'm of the opinion that Six Feet Under is the geatest television show of all time. Yes, better than LOST, Twin Peaks, Seinfeld, AND The Monkees.
Better than The Monkees? Them's fightin' words!
My favorites off the top of my head:
LOST
Twin Peaks
Miami Vice (first 2 seasons)
Seinfeld
Simpsons
Family Guy
Star Trek
Also,
The Golden Girls
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Where does Full House fit into your list?
Full what now?
You know, Full House - the show that Whirleygirl says you watch religiously - with Bob Sagat, John Stamos and the guy who does unfunny impersonations!
i'm so relieved to see the author of this list is Dalton Ross, with whom I rarely agree. whew. now i don't have to waste my time and yours defending cherished bands and shows.
Wow, JSP can't back your play on this one...SFU wasn't even the best show on HBO. Deadwood and the first two season of Sopranos would be on my top list all day long.
SFU reminded me of "Thirtysomething" after a while, too much whining and taking themselves too seriously for a group of middle-class folks with no real problems.
I never saw Thirtysomething but the title alone always bothered me. It took me a while to get into SFU but once I did I found it very profound. And the final episode was unforgettable.
Big Love hasn't been mentioned yet but personally I just can't get enough of those wacky Mormons!
The first 2 Sopranos were incredible but it lost it's groove after that. I'll have to check out Deadwood.
Make me a promise JSP, commit to three episodes of Deadwood. It takes at least that to get into the speech patterns. My wife hated it, tried the first episode twice, I made her watch episodes two and three and she fell in love.....
Hmm. Where to start?
I can get behind The Grateful Dead being overrated, since IMO no amount of fun drugs can make them not suck, but lumping Pink Floyd in with them like that is grounds for instant disqualification. For a cheap dis on drug culture? Laaaame.
Also, two paragraphs earlier there's a bunch of noise about being a "blue haired miscreant" in the Heroin District of Manhattan, and then it's all look at me I'm Sandra Dee.
Re: London Calling, if the band's great and the album's great but there happens to be a better album of theirs, is that really criteria for being on this list?
SFU rules. I didn't like the episode mentioned either, but just because I don't like being made to feel uncomfortable doesn't mean it wasn't effective television. And that episode was a springboard for David's character arc for the entire rest of the show, right up to the very last episode, which this turkey would know if he'd have kept watching.
It's too late at night for me to get into my fave TV of all time, but I'll definitely slot SFU in the top 10.
Okay, some other entries would be The Simpsons, Firefly, Twin Peaks, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Avatar: The Last Airbender, a lump entry for Star Trek TOS thru Voyager (excluding Enterprise) and another lump entry for all the DC Animated Universe stuff, starting with the Batman cartoon from the early 90's up to Justice League Unlimited.
hah! octo, assuming that is your fave list, not your overrated list, i am about to start watching firefly, which i have never seen, and am almost done with the last netflix-available avatar: the last airbender. where's the rest of the 3rd season, dammit?
yes, lots of people hate the dead but i still love them, and hardly ever saw them high. i just loved the music. when they were good, they were very very good, though i've certainly seen my share of crappy shows. i'm not sure they belong strictly speaking on an "overrated" list, because it's almost always been a divide between people who passionately love them and those who don't. or maybe i just missed the period in history when the dead were highly rated.
I guess I'm in the minority in that I like the Dead but not passionately. Probably due to the fact that I'm just so different and complex that nobody gets me! My only problem with them is that sometimes they come on random and I'm not always in the mood for a 30 minute jammy jam.
Love me some Shakedown Street though. I've been meaning to make a mix of great bands that succumbed to the disco craze.
I think Pink Floyd has the most great albums of anyone. Seriously, how many masterpieces do they have under their belts? I'd argue 7.
johnny, i hear you about the random, overly-loose jammy jam. a good time to go pee, i say!
will you share your track list for "bands that went disco for at least one tune"? i grew up hating disco in the 70s but when i got older and discovered that i love to dance, i had to do a massive restructuring.
and it's impossible to overrate pink floyd: it is one of the best and most influential rock bands ever. roger waters needs to do a "the wall" tour before my hearing gives out completely.
Rolling Stones: Emotional Rescue
KISS: I Was Made For Loving You
Grateful Dead: Shakedown St.
...ok that's all I got. Kind of a crappy mix, I admit. However, I did just make a kick-ass playlist over the weekend called Dream Concert. It's a collection of live cuts from my favorite artists dead or alive. I envision a rotating stage and put them in the ultimate order. So for example, Hendrix would be followed by the Flaming Lips. Who is the headlining act? The answer just may surprise you...
don't be coy, share!
i knew "i was made for loving you" would be on the disco list, but i didn't guess the whole list would be three songs long...
Email me your address and I'll send you a copy!
AC, do you own the Nuggets box set? I had been wanting it since it came out a decade ago and I finally picked it. It's instantly one of the greatest music purchases I've ever made. In fact, I think I need to write a whole post on it.
wow, jsp, that's awfully nice of you! needless to say, i was only asking you to share the track titles, but a copy would be supersweet. i will email you my address asap (you think posting it on the blog is a bad idea? is anyone reading this besides us?).
never even heard of the nuggets box set. post away!
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