Unpopular Opinions You Hold About TV Shows

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, there you go.

[Avaitor]

Huh. That's the most detailed answer we have in this thread.

I think that's worth a prize.

[Kiddington]

Speaking of, have the Netflix episodes started yet?

Should be interesting to see how the quality fares compared to a network budget.

[Avaitor]

I think they're still working on adding in Ron Howard's narration. He recently tweeted a production jacket with a Netflix patch.

[Lord Dalek]

So, what's the big deal behind Arrested Development? I honestly don't get it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Mr. Toto's old avatar.

Huh.

[Avaitor]

I still don't see the appeal to 30 Rock.

My turn to become analytical!

30 Rock is about the disillusionment of the ever-changing world of television, and uses NBC and GE as whole for a surrogate for how out of date relying on the main 3 networks and the standard tropes of obtaining ratings have become in this day in age, which was especially pertinent at the time, since the show started during the age of Zucker. In an age where cable shows like The Walking Dead are cracking the top rated programs of the season and trending topics on Twitter are becoming legitimate methods to weigh ratings, it's easy to see where they're coming from in the show.

The battles between Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy have been considered the core of the show, and very much are so. Liz represents the long-suffering creative mind behind television programming, typically left-minded and supposedly thought-provoking, but more often than not, derivative and hypocritical of their own beliefs. Jack meanwhile, is your average right-winged executive who doesn't care about quality but rather money, which is why he pays for low-quality material like MILF Island. They're both portrayed as smart but unsensible people to indicate the idea that both methods of creative running have their advantages, but at the end of the day, balance is needed or you'll go too far in either the side of self-righteous drivel or commercialized pandering, which even the best creative minds have been guilty of reaching both sides in their careers (Pixar, HBO, Kurosawa, etc).

I think Kenneth's character is the most important to this debate, though, as he reflects both sides fairly well. Here we have a country-fried simpleton, not exactly an idiot but certainly naive, whose believes strongly in television and its merits, and seems to want a combination between crowd-pleasing and unmoronic programming, which NBC had been able to great success such as Cheers, Seinfeld, ER and, lest we forget, SNL. Said programs are becoming harder and harder to find, especially as hits, but 30 Rock at least attempted to combine high and low brow humor together, and kept most of it in tune to character. Kenneth's well-meaning agenda rewards him by the end of the show, as he is given the head position of NBC, and takes this job to his advantage.

One of the biggest questions of the show revolves around Kenneth's mortality, as he has hinted in numerous occasions that he is much older than he seems, and we even see him about 90 years in the future still holding onto his position, not aging a day. This article suggests that Kenneth is immortal and has revitalized himself for numerous generations to remain a page for NBC, being unrecognized by staff members. This supports the theory that Kenneth is meant to be the eternal television fan, one who believes in comedy you can laugh with and drama you can take to heart, and that there will always be supporters of this media.

Not every attempt is especially successful, and 30 Rock has had plenty of lows over its run, but the show has a heart and at least attempts to keep it in its right place.

In other words, here comes the Funcooker!

[Kiddington]

Fair enough. Good read, by the way.

I suppose one of these days I should give it another once-over, just to see if my opinion changes in any way. It'll be tough, though. I just... I just don't like Tina Fey (as an actress, I should specify; as a writer she's fine). There's that, and the fact that I just wasn't impressed with what I'd seen the first time around.

We'll see.

[Avaitor]

It's possible that the show isn't for you. That's not a big deal. Nothing is going to please every single person alive, otherwise life would be boring.

I also had more in mind in my post, with Liz representing the modern-age woman (not exactly hidden subtext in the show, though), Kabletown's buying of GE = cable stealing broadcast's thunder, and the dark but uplifting messages the show tries to sell, but oh well.

[Dr. Insomniac]

After thinking about it and seeing the praise throughout these forums, none of these 90s Nickelodeon live-action shows seem as good as I remember them to be at all. The only difference writing-wise between iCarly and Clarissa is that one show uses the word "chillax". I mean, All That's writing was probably the same throughout. It's just that the New Era cast were unfamiliar and just rather unappealing to an audience that was used to seeing Josh Server's face for years on end.

[Avaitor]

Do you think that you're dimply too old for shows like these? It's no big deal if you are.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Do you think that you're dimply too old for shows like these? It's no big deal if you are.

To be fair, aren't we all a bit too old?

[Avaitor]

Do you think that you're dimply too old for shows like these? It's no big deal if you are.

To be fair, aren't we all a bit too old?

I guess, but I like what I like.

I dunno, I can still enjoy Clarissa and Salute Your Shorts. Can't say the same about Power Rangers.

[Kiddington]

To be honest, I don't think I've ever liked Power Rangers. Even as a kid.

There, I said it.

[Foggle]

To be honest, I don't think I've ever liked Power Rangers. Even as a kid.

There, I said it.

Same. I could always tell how stupid and badly made it was.