- As part of the discussion, several of the panelists noted that despite their loathing of what Entourage has become, they have nonetheless watched every or almost every episode of the series. Are there other pop-cultural touchstones that you just can't seem to quit, no matter your efforts?
- As you might have heard, ABC has announced that Desperate Housewives will end its run at the end of this season (though depending on how their new Sunday programming fares, I can see this being a Seventh Heaven situation, where a new season is greenlit after the "final" one, possibly with one or two fewer Housewives). That's one of those shows that I just can't seem to quit, even though it hasn't been terribly good since Season 2 or 3, despite bright spots here and there (the Dana Delany arc in particular, and giving Nathan Fillion a job). It's early still, but we need to play a game of "How Should Desperate Housewives End?,"a game which I fully expect will generate a lot of fiery deaths for Susan Mayer.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
POP CULTURE CO-DEPENDENCY: On this week's Pop Culture Happy Hour, the assembled panel played a game of "How Should Entourage End?" Unsurprisingly, most members of the panel proposed an ending involving the fiery death of Vinnie Chase, which, given the threat/promise that we're going to get an Entourage movie, seems unlikely. Two points for discussion spinning out of that:
At this point, I'd like to quit HIMYM given how much it has sucked.
ReplyDeleteYes, most of last season was a complete mess (the Zoey arc being the lead problem), but even within that mess, there was some really tender stuff (pretty much everything in the "death of Marshall's Dad" arc) and some really funny one-off stuff ("Robin Sparkles III," though the non-Sparkles parts of that are messy).
ReplyDeleteHIMYM is definitely On Notice this season. Depending on casting, I could see myself putting Survivor On Notice.
ReplyDeleteI put Glee On Notice early last year, and as it spiraled into abject suck, I was amazed at how easily I slipped away from watching it. It can be done!
Desperate Housewives has to end with Mary Alice's body climbing out of the grave and wreaking zombified havoc on Wisteria Lane.
ReplyDeleteI never watched Desperate Housewives (pop culture blind spot, tm PCHH!), but whoever Eric J is talking about, I would watch that show.
ReplyDeleteI've watched quite a few shows after their prime, out of habit or loyalty. The first one that comes to mind is Alias, which had two brilliant seasons and really lost its way after that. And for some reason, I seem to keep watching Weeds (the fact that it basically reinvents itself every season perhaps gives me hope?).
ReplyDeleteI guess "American Idol" would fall into that category for me -- although I was so unenthused by this year's Final Two that I did skip the final show.
ReplyDeleteI would quit "24" after about four or five episodes in its last few seasons, but I always went back at the start of the next season, in the futile hope that somehow it would be better. And then, five episodes later, I'd quit again.
With you on Glee - before the Christmas hiatus I was explaining to someone why I was so angry at the show and I actually couldn't breathe for the RAGE. I quit Glee for health reasons.
ReplyDeleteTwo separate years, when 24 was coming back, I would talk myself into watching the last few episodes of the previous season to get an idea of where things left off. Both times, I was surprised to find that I had finished the season and blocked it out over the summer.
ReplyDeleteThe West Wing -- Seasons 1&2 were awesome, 3&4 were pretty good, 5& half of 6 were awful, and the other half of 6 and 7 were okay.I stayed until the bitter end.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, one of the great writers from the end of the West Wing run went over to Grey's Anatomy right afterwards and I gave that show it's walking papers about a year later. Every character I liked had pretty much turned into someone I didn't like and then Kate Walsh left to do the unwatchable Private Practice...blech.
I was definitely a bitter ender when it came to 24.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I still have "Let's Go To The Mall" as my ringtone, I quit HIMYM last season. The ill-fated Barney/ Robin relationship was what did me in. It seems I didn't miss much.
ReplyDeleteI hate Entourage and have hated it for a long time, but if somebody who is in my bed and watching my television is watching it (even the first 10 minutes until she falls asleep), I guess I'm in. I don't hate-watch it like I hate-watched the Comeback, that miserable piece of torture porn. Anyway, stuff actually happened this week. The c-plot (Ari's dating life) was predictable wish-fulfillment, but Vinnie actually got involved in something with greater stakes than an unfilmable haircut, and it's funny to watch Dice Clay out-act 2/3 of the cast of the show on the b-plot.
ReplyDeleteI watched LA Law through to the bitter, bitter end, for no good reason. I also watched the latter seasons of Mad About You and Murphy Brown, which were pretty unwatchable. I was very proud of myself for quitting Desperate Housewives during season 3 and Dexter after a few episodes of the Lumen season, as it's so rare that I do that.
ReplyDeleteHIMYM and Glee aren't as good as they were, but I'm not feeling the need to quit them yet. They're just no longer appointment viewing for me.
House, however, I'm ready to quit. Haven't decided yet.
Dice is "acting"?
ReplyDeleteIt took me much longer to quit Heroes than, in hindsight, I can really justify.
ReplyDeleteI've quit most of the stuff that annoys me. If it weren't for the invention of the DVR, however, I'd have quit American Idol some time ago. Oh, look! Randy's talking! Bleep-bloop. Also, the web commentary. I just can't quit the Idol web commentary.
House is the one show that I burnt out on quickest: I started watching late, ran through the first few seasons on DVD, watched it for one on TV and then dropped it like a hot rock. I've also quit Glee and Entourage, with Entourage being a show that had the potential to be a much better show than it ever had the ambition (or understanding of itself) to become.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably sticking with HIMYM all the way down to the bottom. I identify with the characters so much that I'm willing to give it much more leeway than some other shows. But they may be On Notice after last season.
I get what you're doing there, but just to unfairly ignore your joke: whether he's acting or he's just perfect for the role, I can't imagine Entourage (that is, a show that is not better written than Entourage) finding anybody who can better convey to the audience the character of a sleazy guy who used to be on top of the world but now is trying to crawl his way up from the bottom and now has both an undeserved sense of entitlement and a possibly rational/possibly paranoid chip on his shoulder about protecting his interests.
ReplyDeleteHouse I quit after Laurie did his turn in the insane asylum. It was a nice coda to see him riding in the back of the bus home but I don't miss him or the series at all.
ReplyDeleteMy husband quit when House gave the gun back to the guy holding him hostage. He couldn't take it any more.
ReplyDeleteWith the new timeslot, I'm actually contemplating picking House back up. It seems like they're actually making changes that have needed to be made--ceasing the obessive focus on House/Cuddy, realizing that Thirteen is not as interesting as they think she is. That said, many of those changes are due to things beyond producer control (Wilde's movie career, Edelstein refusing to re-up), so it may not work.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I hardly watch TV. For my parents I would suspect 2 1/2 Men w/ Kutcher is on notice. I don't have any show on notice because I only watch Castle, Dancing With the Stars, Blue Bloods and sports with any regularity. Most TV programs for me are putrid wastes of my time!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to say DWTS will be gone if I have to watch any more Bristol Palin/Kate Gosselin type contestants though. I pretty much skipped over those 2 seasons and watched everyone else on YouTube.
Is a show on notice if I dvr'd the entire last season and at least the final 4 or 5 episodes of the previous season and have yet to watch any of them because it feels like a chore? If so, then I suppose I've put The Office on notice.
ReplyDeleteRather than quitting shows, I find myself picking up new ones: Switched at Birth, Mike & Molly, Blue Bloods (maybe). But with some potentially intriguing new shows coming along this fall, I may have to make some cuts somewhere.