[ SECRET POST #2781 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2781 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Game of Thrones]


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09. [broken]


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[Kevin Sorbo/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]


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[Transformers: Prime]


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[Darkchylde]






Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 022 secrets from Secret Submission Post #397.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

03. http://i.imgur.com/0F4AfLP.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think it's reputation is THAT different from other Chuck Lorre sitcoms that are massively popular. Two And A Half Men also get treated like it was the worst thing in the universe when it was in its pomp. There's probably more conflicted feelings about BBT in fandom, but on the whole, this is just the way that certain parts of culture react to certain kinds of shows.

(I do think BBT is much better than Two And A Half Men & not really that bad of a show fwiw)

[(Anonymous)]

Unpopular opinion time: I also thought 2.5 Men wasn't that bad.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's because people want a show about geek culture that's not quite so canned - and BBT stands out because there aren't a whole lot of shows about geek culture. Personally, I enjoy it, but I could understand why people think that it could be better.

[(Anonymous)]

The hardcore nerds are up in arms because quite a lot of them are the Captain Sweatpants, or chronically single due to no social skills (and completely unwilling to try to develop them too) and are upset that it dares to show nerds that can develop social skills and get girls if they try. It hits too close to the nerve, so they focus on what bits that don't and try to paint the whole thing as unrealistic. It is not unrealistic, the hardcore nerds hate that. It also dares to show nerds who have successful jobs instead of still being unemployed, or working fastfood, like the critic-nerds are. Those guys only think they ought to be high-flying college graduates, and get high on their own sense of persecution.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's because geeks feel like a show that's ostensibly about geek culture ought to be better on many levels. But Big Bang Theory is a sitcom, so its take on geek culture is about as accurate as Everyone Loves Raymond's take on marriage, so... yeah.

[(Anonymous)]

It's probably because it's basically the most popular sitcom on tv right now. the ratings it gets are insane and any tv show airing at the same time as BBT tends to suffer. The actors are paid millions of dollars.

So, obviously, there's going to be a louder crowd of people who oppose the show.

Also, in my circles, people rag on BBT because wow this show pulls a lot of uncomfortably sexist bullshit out of its ass. It's the only sitcom I watch because I don't tend to like them, and I only watch it now for something to bond with my mother. And I cringe a lot.

[(Anonymous)]

People are up in arms about the Big Bang Theory because it's a mediocre canned laughter sitcom with subpar writing that became SUPER popular. Undeservedly so. People were treating it as the nerd sitcom for nerds, when it's really the nerd sitcom for people who like to laugh at nerds. Any sort of intense criticism of its content and all that jazz is mostly in reaction to how well it was received. And before you start- this isn't an issue of disliking something because it's popular. It's that a painstakingly average comedy show was popular enough to like.. warrant its own section at Newbury Comics.

It's definitely not some insult to mankind, but I think if a show is this big of a hit it shouldn't be tired jokes wrapped in science with a generous helping of sexism. You know. I can't speak for.. apparently the unwashed hordes of loser nerds that are upset because the guys on the show date women and succeed?? I guess they exist. But I do speak for the dorkier side of the equation that doesn't forgive all sins if you throw in a math joke and a Spider-man reference.

[(Anonymous)]

the Chuck Lorre association doesn't help but I think the main reason for the hate is that BBT is more popular than the internet's favorite flop comedies.

[(Anonymous)]

Anything that is on tv all the fucking time is going to end up annoying me more then if it's only on once a week and is easily ignored.

In addition to it being dumb, it can be fairly offensive and these people are getting paid millions for... not great work.

There are just a lot of reasons it's easy to get annoyed with BBT, but I don't find it any different then how people hated Two and a Half Men or any other popular show that isn't great with quality (like GLEE.)

[(Anonymous)]

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head, OP.

Anecdata point

[elephantinegrace]

Personal experience, so feel free to regard or disregard

I know several fans IRL, and they're obnoxious. They'll repeat the same jokes over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and GAH JUST STOP!

I will say that I have a friend who is a fan, and he's polite about it, so I know it's not all BBT fans, but besides him, every single other one I've met enjoys beating dead memes into the mantle.

[bio_obscura]

Yeah, this show's crimes of unfunniness are on part with That 70s Show and HIMYM, both of which were bafflingly popular.

[akacat]

I think I may resent it a little. My parents think it's awesome, and don't understand why I don't watch it and love it.

Meanwhile, I can't get them interested in Dr Who, Red Dwarf, or MST3K. And that's despite my dad being an old-school nerd. At least he and I do have Star Trek in common.

[(Anonymous)]

Personally, I don't get the love and I don't get the hate. It's just another ensemble comedy about young professionals obsessing over their love lives and occasionally doing stupid shit. It's just Friends & HIMYM with Star Trek references. Meh.

[(Anonymous)]

I hate it because it pretends to be a show ~about geeks for geeks~ when it really just rehashes the same old boring geek stereotypes. It pretends to be a lot smarter and cooler than it is, because like you said, it's just some crappy sitcom.

Mostly confusion over the target audience.

[nyxelestia]

In theory, it was supposed to be a sitcom about hardcore nerds and for hardcore nerds. Instead, a lot of it has turned into being aimed at a general audience that likes to laugh at nerds the same way people have been laughing at nerds for decades in sitcoms.

On top of that are, well, the actual fans/watchers. As some anons have pointed out, some of the critics are just hardcore geeks who don't like having it slapped in their face that being more intelligent than someone doesn't make them the better or even smarter person. (In this context, I use 'intelligent' to mean aptitude in academia, research, etc. and 'smart' to indicate quick thinking, problem solving, seeing the big and small pictures and how they connect, etc.)

Now add these problems on to of the conventional criticism that can be attached to a sitcom (unrealistic, canned laughter, bad writing, etc.) and you've got a clusterfuck of resentment that this show became so popular.

(There are also criticisms about the presentation of race and gender in this show in particular, but I've seen both good and bad on the episodes I have seen and it's been a while since I've really watched it, myself, so I'm not sure how valid these are.)

[rbhudson]

mte Granted I'm a fan so I'm biased

[(Anonymous)]

My only deal is the fact that they refuse to let the gay jokes go. They've moved past cutesy what if with Raj/ Raj and Howard and right into homophobic territory half the time. Other than that, I've seen every episode and some of them are really quite brilliant.

[(Anonymous)]

I can only speak for myself but what makes me want to spit nails about this show being popular is how many sci-fi hating normals in my life keep telling me how much I would love it because "the jokes are about Star Trek" or whatever, but the jokes aren't really "about Star Trek" nor are the really jokes. The characters liking Star Trek (or whatever) IS the joke. Haha, nerds like nerd stuff, hilarious.

[(Anonymous)]

Some people are frustrated because this show used to be good, in the first two or three seasons, then major changes were made and it nosedived. I liked the first two or three seasons of this show, but it jumped the shark faster and sooner than any other long-running sitcom I'm aware of.

I think some people feel sad because the show had a lot of potential, which was then wasted.

[(Anonymous)]

I haven't watched Lorre's other shows, but TBBT *does* present some VERY twisted, bizarre, and unhealthy messages about friendship and relationships, IMO.

Its message is now "it's not okay to be single, you must find a partner ASAP, anyone who is not married/coupled by 27 is an emotionally-stunted failure. Find the first person who will even reluctantly tolerate you and hold on like you're drowning."

For a show that was supposedly about celebrating people who are different/eccentric/quirky, it is now very conservative and conformist. I could write pages and pages about the negative messages on this show. You're not a real adult unless you sacrifice your own identity for the sake of being partnered/married and gaining other people's approval. That's the gist.

Also, the female characters are some of the worst I've ever seen.

[(Anonymous)]

The issue is that it started out seeming like it was being at least kind to the nerds, and not making really horrible fun of them. But it then turned into that, not to mention the gross treatment of women and gender and race. It started out with promise, and then turned out to be like EVERY OTHER FUCKING SITCOM. It had potential and then just copped out.

[(Anonymous)]

TBBT's message is that nothing matters except the ability to attract and keep a sex-partner. Nothing. Not friendship, family, career, education, adventure, discovery, independence, self-respect, self-actualization, leisure, hobbies, interests, travel, the life of the mind, personal goals, achievements, nothing. All of those things are worthless, compared to being part of a couple.

Being married/coupled is the ONLY marker of true adulthood and if you're single then you're immature, childish, selfish, or even mentally ill. There are no other acceptable lifestyles. It's weddings, babies, and a white picket fence, or else you're an emotionally-crippled pathetic loser.

Oh, and those relationships better be straight ones, too...

This show is downright Victorian in its message that men are wild beasts or children and the role of women is to tame them and civilize them. That is super-duper-Victorian.

TBBT is the most socially conservative show this side of the Duggars.

[arcadiaego]

I would imagine it's a combination of a) fandom being full of the kind of people TBBT either pretends doesn't exist or mocks, b) the actors get paid an obscene amount and c) it's more successful than other shows that are a lot better.