Things You Really Shouldn't Like But Do.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:11 am

So after enjoying his super camp evilry in my Battlestar Galactica blu ray watch I'm on a bit of a Dean Stockwell kick and so have decided to start watching Quantum Leap again on the old DVD (remember DVD?).

And it struck me that this is a series full of the sort of stuff I really don't like. The lead character is a goody-goody, it's often overly sentimental, can be quite moralising, the rules of the time travel don't make any sense (is he in their body or his own? Who actually remembers the changed future? Can he leap beyond his own lifetime or not? ect) and is based around a nostalgia for American history that I'll really not old enough to remember. I should, in theory, despise it as much as that Touched By An Angel crap that used to clog up Saturday afternoons on ITV. Or Timecop: The Series.

But I really, really, really love this series. You've got two exceptional main actors, with Backula especially making far more of the potentially bland Sam than's on the page (watch him play a monkey convincingly and wonder what went wrong with Captain Archer), generally smart, funny scripts that can go into serious places without it getting too Moral of the Day. And the fact it often addresses the problems of the past stops it being too Peter Kay.

So this isn't about So Bad It's Good style stuff, more things that because of the format or setting or casting that wouldn't normally be your bag but somehow manage to overcome it and you wind up enjoying the film/TV series/book/comic/computer game/towel more than you thought you would.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:21 am

I really like The Gilmore Girls! I stumbled upon it on e4 one afternoon. Its a slightly smaltzy tale of a mother and daughter and the town they live in. Its perhaps designed more with a female audience in mind, but i like the super fast, razor sharp dialogue and the characters all feel pretty grounded. Sebastian Bach off of Skid Row also shows up in later episodes (largely playing himself,even though he's not). Its quite cheesy in places, but is great fun and easy watching. Great hangover telly. Also features Peter Petrelli before he did heroes and that one that later went on to do Supernatural.

Post by **Sades** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:36 am

I probably shouldn't enjoy the fact that I'm as completely awesome as I am, but I gotta admit... I'm kinda a big fan of myself.

... Like that?

Oh, I also probably shouldn't like Nutella to the point of it being the second thing I greet (with a big ol' Tablespoon, **** bread) after my mother when I visit my parent's house.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:36 am

My mother loves that show to a worrying level. To the point she pretty much watches it on a loop whenever it gets repeated.

I did like the one where Michael York has it off with the snotty student though. Mainly for Michael York doing his "I never met a paycheck I could say no to" thing.

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:00 am

A couple of Hugh Grant Romantic comedies. About a Boy, Love Actually, Bridget Jones Diary (despite not even slightly rooting for the titular character).

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:01 am

Also, your mum.

(Well worth the double post)

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:12 am

angloconvoy wrote:A couple of Hugh Grant Romantic comedies. About a Boy, Love Actually, Bridget Jones Diary (despite not even slightly rooting for the titular character).

I don't really like any Grant films, but I do often quite like his performances in the ones I have been forced to see. You always get that sense he's just taking the piss and knows exactly what sort of movies he's making.

And my mother is a saint.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:08 am

For me it's The Witcher 2. I hate RPGs with a passion unless it stars with Fall and ends with Out, and i'm a hardcore shooter fan. But man has this game grabbed me by the horns and won't let go!

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 12:54 pm

I generally get that vibe from him too.
I also love awful awful B movies (kind of fits the so bad it's good category, except I enjoy them without a shred of irony).
One more but it's more of a question. Is it ok to like Supernatural? 'Cos I feel like it shouldn't be, but I like it anyway.

Heinrad · Post by **Heinrad** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:18 pm

There's nothing wrong with liking Supernatural. It's a great show.

For me, it's probably Veronica Mars. I love neo noir, and I surprised myself by enjoying the more soap-operaish elements.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:19 am

I really like Taylor Swift. I tried to tell myself that I didn't for so long, that she was just catchy or on the radio a lot. Anyway now one of my favourite things is playing We are Never Ever Getting Back Together on my banjolele.

Sailor Moon also, I'm not really an anime fan in general but I'm finding myself watching the show, reading the manga, making fan art and doing cosplay (I'm one hairy legged sailor scout).

Skyquake87, I also adore the Gilmore Girls.

Oh and Cheesestrings. Lots and lots of Cheesestrings, like by the packet load. At uni my housemates would watch in horror as consumed them in a variety of ways.

Addl · Post by **Addl** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:41 am

Tfarchive

Waste of time, but posting for 15 years just for the fun of it....

Lord Zarak · Post by **Lord Zarak** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:52 am

Er, Coronation Street.

I know, being from Manchester I should have it innately, but I've never really gone in for it. But with the Mrs liking it, it's become a staple. Also, Hollyoaks *hangs head in shame* has got a couple of half decent storylines in it. The acting is godawful, but it does kinda grip me in a weird way!.

Rack 'n Ruin · Post by **Rack 'n Ruin** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:04 pm

Killing people. I know I shouldn't, but ooooh, it is nice.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:35 pm

The Transformers: The Movie (1986) and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:44 pm

Z; I've been contending for ages that the opening to Hollyoaks is a masterwork in efficiency and explanation. Each character shoots up on screen for .2 of a second whilst the theme tune plays. In each little vignette you instantly get an impression of their unique personality, it's genius.

This one's a slut, that one's a schemer, this one's carefree, that one gets all the girls, this one's happy-go-lucky etc. By the time the programme starts you know what you're gonna get. Masterful.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:59 pm

Marvel/DC comics. Some of them aren't shit. Not found anything decent in new DC yet, though... Gail Simone made a decent try, but it feels forced and pointless.

Sex and the City (earlier series, anyway -- I've not sat down and watched it, or any TV really, in rather a long time.)

The most recent series of Red Dwarf surprised in a positive way.

Boys Own Adventure stuff such as Doc Savage pulps.

Occasional bits of fanfic for series such as Harry Potter and Sherlock, neither of which are thing I'd think could be added to meaningfully (and in the case of the former, I have no intention of reading all of the books for -- I've read the first and last, and that was only due to being stuck somewhere with limited reading material.)

Lord Zarak · Post by **Lord Zarak** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:15 pm

Auntie Slag wrote:Z; I've been contending for ages that the opening to Hollyoaks is a masterwork in efficiency and explanation. Each character shoots up on screen for .2 of a second whilst the theme tune plays. In each little vignette you instantly get an impression of their unique personality, it's genius.

This one's a slut, that one's a schemer, this one's carefree, that one gets all the girls, this one's happy-go-lucky etc. By the time the programme starts you know what you're gonna get. Masterful.

Oooh, I like your thinking Auntie. I'll give that a go next time I see it. After all, you can miss a months worth of episodes and be right up to speed after five minutes!

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 6:56 am

The opening titles of Hollyoaks are awesome. shame the show is rubbish. And always has been. It's a show full of haircuts.

Other things I've thought of that I shouldn't like but do...

FRONT magazine. Not a religious reader, but like its mix of purile nonsense, no-faff coverage of metal bands and semi naked ladies. I also really like the design work. It's a lads mag, which as we all know, are inherrently bad and wrong and shouldn't be sold in supermarkets as they are corrupting children, treat women as slabs of meat and are responsible for the downfall of western civilisation etc etc

Aside: how mental is the DVD section in most supermarkets? Its a sea of grim looking horror films! No one seems to mind about this though, because boobs are bad.

Monster High Dolls! Seriously, how are awesome are these?

Ghost Rider - despite Marvel making an almighty **** up with the character on repeated occasions since its relaunch in 2001, I still stick by the character due to my weird man-love for the 1990s Danny Ketch version which is the bestest version of Ghost Rider. Johnny Blaze can do one. Alejandra never really got much of a chance, poor girl and Rob Williams did his best to ensure that no one else gave her a chance either. Yes, I also own both films too (the shame).

Marvel UK's Genesis '92 stable of characters -Death's Head II, Hell's Angel, Motormouth, Warheads, Knights Of Pendragon II...at the time, one of the most exciting things to happen to Marvel UK. After a strong start, it all became generic superheroics. They shot themselves in the foot by making too much of 'guest appearances' by US Marvel characters in the US versions of the books and rapidly expanded with little thought as to quality control and came out with some horribly derivative drivel by the end - Super Soldiers, Gun Runner (really?), Death Metal (even now, still the worst thing written by Simon Furman), Gene Dogs, GeneTix...ugh. A sliver of quality shone through with the mature readers Frontier imprint, but by then it was too late...

Toxic! - Short lived ultra violent weekly UK comic launched by Pat Mills to compete with 2000AD. Lasted 31 glorious issues before the wheels fell off.

Marshal Law - As with Ghost Rider, this character has also suffered decay, although at the hands of his own creators rather than through corporate mandate. Initially a savage satire on Superheroes, over time it was little more than ultra violence and bad puns and grotesque sexual imagery. Shame.

Luther - silly 'cop on the edge' show from the BBC enlivened by Edris Elba.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 2:53 pm

When did Neighbours start doing that type of credits though? Could Hollyoaks have ripped off Ramsey Street?

To go back to my opening post, and also do a bit of inter-thread crossover with the ringtones one, having brought the Quantum Leap soundtrack album (which doesn't use the proper opening narration but the early season 2 longer one. It's as disconcerting as when you catch one of those early Fresh Prince episodes where the song has the extra verse in it "Theorising one could time travel within ones own lifetime Dr. Sam Beckett assembled a team of scientist..." Oi! No! that's not how it goes!) I think Dean Stockwell rapping the alphabet may qualify as something I really shouldn't like... but do.

What's really fun about it is the lyrics are slightly different from the version in the episode, mainly to remove any direct references to the series ("...and I'm a hologram from the future"), as if someone thought it had the potential to be a massive breakaway hit and thus needed to be more standalone. Bless.