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redirish28 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:07 PM
Original message
I can't believe that TV series lasted that long.
My wife inspired this post.


She asked me which TV series I couldn't believe lasted as long as it did.


X- FILES


Never got into it never could understand how people watched it. (I'm a sci-fi fan and I could not get into that show.)
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TheMightyFavog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:17 PM
Response to Original message
1. Thirtysomething.
aka "A bunch of yuppie assholes who don't know how good they have it spend an entire hour bitching and moaning about how their life sucks."
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #1
36. yeah, although it had that ensemble cast that was so good - I was too young
at the time to really appreciate that friends and I would become those people, at least on some level. (boyups, though.) ;)
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gmoney Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 03:39 PM
Response to Reply #1
106. thirtysomething only lasted four seasons
They were really hitting a great stride towards the end with the addition of the Miles Drentell character...
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:26 PM
Response to Original message
2. Hey, I LOVED The X-Files!
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redirish28 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:27 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. I could never get into it. Sorry,
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madinmaryland Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:27 PM
Response to Original message
3. LOST. What a shitty program.
:hide:

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XemaSab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:44 PM
Response to Reply #3
9. .
:P
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RZM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:50 PM
Response to Reply #3
11. Lost only had 6 seasons
Way too long is when you're above 10
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XemaSab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 01:55 AM
Response to Reply #11
101. And in total defense of LOST
It was planned out to have 6 seasons, and so it kept a solid narrative until the end.

So many other shows did not have a planned end, and meandered to their deaths like a person lost in a blizzard.

(LOST is my favorite show in large part because it told a story that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Unlike virtually every other show of that length.)
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Archae Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:40 PM
Response to Original message
5. My list:
Friends
Seinfeld
Survivor

How the hell did these shitty programs last as long as they did?
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 09:46 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. Definitely Friends and Seinfeld.
Never understood why either of those shows were so popular.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #5
37. Seinfeld was another show that was amazingly clever intially
but it got old quickly. There are some classic comic moments, though.
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Mojambo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:02 PM
Response to Original message
7. C-S-Motherfucking-I. n/t
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #7
38. see, the funny thing to me is, the X-Files did that sort of thing so much
better!
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Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:50 PM
Response to Reply #7
59. I stopped watching that shit and haven't looked back.
CSI New York was just plain fucking awful - never liked any of the cast on CSI Miami, and I stopped watching the original CSI when they moved away from solving murders to finding the most bizarre fetishes possible.
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Yeshuah Ben Joseph Donating Member (763 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:12 PM
Response to Original message
8. Any "reality" show not canceled after one season.
Proud to say I have never watched even one episode of "Survivor".
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DebJ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 09:07 PM
Response to Reply #8
21. But I LOVE Biggest Loser.
And the fact that it (watching it and trying out for it in DC) encouraged my son to lose 69 lbs. And still losing. (About 100 more to go).
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lazarus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #8
72. If you haven't watched it
How do you know it's bad?

:shrug:

I had the same attitude until a friend convinced me to give it a try, so I watched a few episodes, and was hooked.

Tastes differ, and YMMV. I happen to like Survivor quite a bit.
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RZM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:49 PM
Response to Original message
10. Preparng for flames here but . . .
'The Simpsons' . . . and I say this as a HUGE fan when I was in my teens and the series was at its height (early 1990s) . . . but it jumped the shark a long time ago.
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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:55 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. My first thought, too. I don't know if it jumped the shark, because I haven't watched it in decades.
I'm just always surprised it's still on when I see something about it.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 12:40 PM
Response to Reply #10
30. I agree that it's fallen far from its height, but...
I'll still watch even the second-worst episode of The Simpsons before I suffer through the "best" episode of Family Guy.
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Dr. Strange Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 04:50 PM
Response to Reply #30
108. Totally agree.
This reminds me of the time when temeah responded to the poll about the pope's bathtub.
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petronius Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #10
34. I went for years thinking that all the Simpsons listings on the TV schedule
were re-runs. I only realized recently that they're still making them... :shrug:
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Skittles Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 10:37 PM
Response to Reply #10
66. I cannot stand The Simpsons
garish colors, annoying voices, lame humor
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JTG of the PRB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 10:57 PM
Response to Original message
13. I absolutely loved the X-Files. One of my favorite shows ever. But it went on 2 years too long.
The last two seasons had their moments, but seasons 1-7 were far and away the best.
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 02:14 AM
Response to Reply #13
70. Self-delete.
Edited on Mon Nov-08-10 02:15 AM by BlueIris
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Chan790 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 11:00 PM
Response to Original message
14. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I have never understood how people my own age liked the show...this defines the term "pile of crap" for me. Then it dragged on for way too many seasons.

I think Buffy might be the reason I'm a misanthrope and don't own a TV.
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YellowRubberDuckie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:45 PM
Response to Reply #14
39. Oh, I so do not agree.
We are watching a marathon today. I could watch this all day. It's a great show, but you have to be into fantasy and sci-fi. It lasted a long time because there are people who dig that sort of stuff, and some people just don't, which is just fine.
Duckie
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:45 PM
Response to Reply #14
40. hmm, I only recently watched some of em just out of curiosity (the movie
is quite funny and sort of subversive) and there is this great tongue-in-cheek aspect to em. Whedon is a great director and writer. Plus, David ? Boreanz is incredibly sexy!
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YellowRubberDuckie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:51 PM
Response to Reply #40
44. Agreed.
Joss actually wrote the movie too, or was involved in doing so. Then Donald Sutherland got cast and gutted the script. It wasn't supposed to be nearly as tongue and cheek as it was written, and when the series came up, Joss jumped at it because he knew he could make up for what was slaughtered in the movie. At least, that is what I heard.
Duckie
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AmyDeLune Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 02:20 AM
Response to Reply #44
109. The director gutted the script...
She apparently had some "vision" that she was creating some kind of surreal, feminist, comedy. She pretty much ignored everyone's advice and/or suggestions. Ages ago on one of those "making of the movies" shows Joss Wheadon said that he remembered Donald Sutherland just sitting there on set, reading the script, and shaking his head.
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Biker13 Donating Member (609 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 01:18 PM
Response to Reply #40
113. I'll always remember...
the episode entitled, I think, "Hush"! 90% of the show was completely silent,yet it was fascinating to watch and held you spellbound! It was brilliant!

Biker's Old Lady
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ScreamingMeemie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 11:33 PM
Response to Original message
15. Sex and the City...did anyone really watch it?
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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 06:39 PM
Response to Reply #15
52. Yes, I did.
And I liked it. :hide:
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Frank Cannon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-04-10 11:43 PM
Response to Original message
16. It started out terrific, then it fell victim to "Twin Peaks Syndrome".
The same as LOST. After a while, you lose interest in the solutions to all the "big mysteries", because it's pretty obvious that there ARE none and the writers are just pulling stuff out of their asses.
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XemaSab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 02:26 AM
Response to Reply #16
102. Those are 3/4 of my favorite shows
"American Gothic" being the 4th.

Each show has its own problem.

American Gothic was cancelled after one season of constantly changing times and days. It might have sucked in the second season, but the world will never know.

Twin Peaks didn't know where to go after it "solved" the mystery.

X-Files (much as I hate to say it) was a hot mess from the beginning. It became evident after a few seasons that the creators had no grand plan and just wanted to spin the thing out, so they threw weird shit in there that never came to ANYTHING. (Bees? I rest my case.) It would have been better left as a simple "monster of the week" show.

LOST had an ending in sight, and while there were a few bumps on the road, it got to where it was going mostly in one piece. If the whole show had been written before it ever started filming, some of the less-interesting story arcs would have been shortened, and there would have been stronger foreshadowing of the end, but I think they told a great story under the circumstances.

LOST is my favorite of the group simply because (as I said upthread) it had a real beginning, a middle, and an end. I also think that part of the genius of the show was having SUCH a varied cast, so while one person may be fascinated with Jack's story and bored with Sun, another person might be really into Claire and bored with Desmond. Yes, there are a few floaty loose ends, but I think they stand out simply because the rest holds together so well.

Was it 6 seasons of A+? No.

Was it 6 seasons of mixed A's and B's? TOTALLY.

6 seasons of A's and B's (with a few A+ moments) is better than one all-too-short season of A-, one season of A+ and a season of C, or 4 seasons of A's and B's followed by 5 seasons of solid C's. :P

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rurallib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 08:33 PM
Response to Original message
17. Pretty much any reality show
I can't imagine any would last a full season let alone 5 or 10.
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HappyMe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 02:43 PM
Response to Reply #17
103. There ya go...
Survivor, that Dancing with the "Stars", American Idol, Biggest Loser, Big Brother...


:puke:
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lizerdbits Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 08:40 PM
Response to Original message
18. The last 2-3 years of X files sucked
When either Mulder or Scully disappeared and they had Dogget and Rayes, or whatever her name was, at the end. Blech!
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #18
41. yeah, Rayes was kind of interesting, but the two of em couldn't really carry
Edited on Sun Nov-07-10 01:46 PM by tigereye
the show.
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Gidney N Cloyd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 08:41 PM
Response to Original message
19. Hawaii 5-0. I remember stumbling onto it a couple times, years apart, and thinking: ...
"Holy crap, that show's STILL ON?" I mean, it was an OK cop show, nothing against it, but I seldom watched it myself and was surprised to find it still on the air ( I think it ran about 10 years)
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lukasahero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 03:12 PM
Response to Reply #19
104. You know it's back on, don't you?
Remake - started this year. My co-workers love it. We seldom agree about TV so I wouldn't know.
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NoPasaran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 08:56 PM
Response to Original message
20. SNL
Somebody PLEASE drive a stake through its heart!
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johnnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 02:50 PM
Response to Reply #20
47. Funny
I've been hearing that since the late 70's
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iris27 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 11:46 PM
Response to Original message
22. Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, According to Jim, Everybody Loves Raymond.
I once used KoQ as an example while talking to someone of how I am apparently just too weird for most people. "Here is the difference between me and the rest of the world. My favorite TV show of all time, Firefly, was canceled after only 12 episodes had been aired. King of Queens, a show I absolutely cannot stand, ran for NINE FUCKING SEASONS."

I think the average run of all those shows I listed is about eight, nine seasons, actually. :(
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Lucian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 11:54 PM
Response to Original message
23. I loved that show.
It ended too soon.
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datasuspect Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 11:55 PM
Response to Original message
24. cop rock
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blogslut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-06-10 11:59 PM
Response to Original message
25. Ha!
I've got all 9 seasons queued up on Netflix Instant. Just about to finish watching Season 1 - Episode 2.

I adore the show. The writing was just so fine.
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Starbucks Anarchist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:12 AM
Response to Original message
26. ER.
I was in eighth grade when it started and it ended seven years after I graduated college.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:48 PM
Response to Reply #26
42. I really liked ER at the time - it had a great wit and humanity, I think


However, I would probably be more inclined toward Scrubs now, as far as medical sit-coms go.
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MrMickeysMom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:21 AM
Response to Original message
27. Loved X-Files...
Too many reasons, including great scripts, direction, character development of Dana Scully, creepy episodes that are cult classics, and the sexual tension between Scully and Muldar.

How could you be a sci-fi fan and not love that show? I bet you don't love Star Trek TNG either!
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 12:38 PM
Response to Reply #27
29. When X-Files was good, it was the best show on TV; when it was bad, it was close to the worst
On balance, I really like the show, even now. However...

The 500 episodes about Scully's cancer are simply unbearable. Horrible. I remember watching them in first-run and thinking "they're going to drag out this shit for as long as they can," and I was right.

The 500 episodes about Mulder's daughter were also unbearable. Every time they'd sew up another loose end, I'd say "thank God they're done with that boring bullshit." And then they'd crank out another ten episodes about it.

The "conspiracy" was doomed to suck, and it did. After all of the build-up, there's no way that they could have delivered anything satisfying. They should have had the sense to realize this in the first place and stick with their strong suit--one shot stories and brief story arcs. Chris Carter simply wasn't up to the demands of a series-long narrative.

The Lone Gunmen. Excellent as supporting cast, but terrible as first-stringers. The (mercifully) few episodes in which they're given top billing are horrible, as was their spin-off series while I'm at it.



Having said all of that, some of the episodes are real gems in the history of television.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:50 PM
Response to Reply #29
43. we LOVED the Lone Gunmen as characters! Hilarious.
X-Files was some of the best TV ever - as was Twin Peaks.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 06:08 PM
Response to Reply #43
49. As *supporting* characters they were great
As leads, they were horribly unsatisfying IMO.

Twin Peaks was another one that was great when it was great.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 10:58 PM
Response to Reply #49
67. yeah, I think we saw a few of those Lone Gunmen series- hard for them to
carry it.
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RFKHumphreyObama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 04:07 AM
Response to Original message
28. "Friends"
Never got the appeal of this show and I doubt I ever will. I was of the generation that this show was supposed to appeal to and all my friends liked it but I found it painful to watch. Still do
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IcyPeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
31. posts 22 and 28 - ditto
Edited on Sun Nov-07-10 12:44 PM by IcyPeas
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bookworm65t Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 12:44 PM
Response to Original message
32. Hee-Haw
n/t
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HughBeaumont Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 12:57 PM
Response to Original message
33. The Three F Club: Family Matters, Full House and Friends.
Edited on Sun Nov-07-10 12:58 PM by HughBeaumont
Family Matters - Filled to the brim with mediocre characters, "who wrote this" scripts, bizarre Meatballs II/Richie Rich quality sci-fi . . . and this asshole:



Full House - Really, the only interesting thing about this show are the future addicts that were belched out of it. Mouse and Mullets out the ass, idiotic catchphrases, cringe inducing romances, scripts that look like they were written as the show was taped . . . and this asshole:



Friends - Right. All of you paupers can afford your high-rent apartments. Monica bangs Chandler, or some other guy? Racheal Aniston and that guy who played Ross - will they or won't they?

http://oseb79.free.fr/images/Serie,%20cartoon/Friends%2005.JPG

Yeah, you're ALL assholes with the same hair.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:54 PM
Response to Reply #33
45. I did like Phoebe and her off-beat banter, though.


wow, as I read through this thread, it was clear that I watched way too much tv in the 90s. :rofl:

:hide:


My friends and I would religiously watch the X-Files and Twin Peaks, every Friday, or whenever they were on.
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 01:41 PM
Response to Original message
35. We were huge fans, although it got a bit old at the end
We recently re-watched all of it, from beginning to end, and our teenager watched too. The first seasons were simply amazing - so clever, with so many great ideas and film techniques. Nothing that came after this series has come close to it's wit and innovation, IMHO.
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nadine_mn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 02:44 PM
Response to Original message
46. 2 and a half men
just painful

I agree with many - I LOVED the X-Files in the beginning - but then the last 2 yrs kinda sucked
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 03:34 PM
Response to Original message
48. MASH. Did the Korean War really last 11 years?
I mean, they had more Christmas episodes than the Korean War had Christmases.

Colonel Blake dying was when everything changed. Trapper left and Potter and Hunnicut joined the show.

Then Frank Burns leaves and is replaced by Winchester.

Then Radar left for a season or something.

By the end, Alan Alda had obviously aged beyond 3 years, and the show was not as much funny as it was preachy and maudlin.
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Bucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:46 PM
Response to Reply #48
58. Maybe that's why they say the show was really about Vietnam.
Hawkeye brought us into this quagmire.

One thing I have to give Mash props on, however, is their approach to characters. When a regular left, they never replaced them with a clone. Each replacement character was a fresh take, a fresh personality and an attempt at different on screen chemistry. Most shows won't take that risk.

(That said, not long after he showed up, BJ's character turned into a Hawkeye clone)
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 11:45 PM
Response to Reply #58
88. Oh I agree completely, just as the movie and book were really about Vietnam.
However, the Vietnam war ended in 1975, after which time the show began to lose its relevance.

I did like the earlier episodes with BJ and Colonel Potter, as they managed to keep it fresh for a bit (I even remember Harry Morgan from Dragnet), but that came to a halt around the time that BJ grew his mustache.

"One thing I have to give Mash props on, however, is their approach to characters. When a regular left, they never replaced them with a clone. Each replacement character was a fresh take, a fresh personality and an attempt at different on screen chemistry. Most shows won't take that risk."

That's true. I appreciate how MASH did that even as other shows didn't. I don't think Winchester was as interesting a foil as Frank Burns, but at least they took a chance. And I do like David Ogden Stiers as an actor, even if I wasn't extremely impressed by Winchester.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 10:24 PM
Response to Reply #48
64. Do you criticize films that portray more than a two-hour time span?
I mean, the plot of Casablanca spans several days, but the film is a paltry 102 minutes! Preposterous!
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 06:37 PM
Response to Reply #64
82. How do you have at least 4 Christmas episodes for a war that only lasted 3 Christmases?
Your analogy is ridiculous.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 11:12 PM
Response to Reply #82
85. Because M*A*S*H wasn't a documentary
It was a comedy series with a subtext of commentary, and it used the Korean War as the setting and format.


Your failure to comprehend this is ridiculous.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 11:30 PM
Response to Reply #85
86. Never argued that it was. I said it was a show that went on way too long.
And I stand by that. Having more Christmases than the actual Korean War is just an example of how the show kept going and going well past its expiration date.

"It was a comedy series with a subtext of commentary, and it used the Korean War as the setting and format."

Except after about 1978 or so, it stopped being a comedy and started being a drama series about a war that didn't last nearly that long to make a point about a war that was already over.

Ever notice how the laugh track just kind of disappears right around that time, and how the episodes stop being funny and start being really over-the-top preachy?

"Your failure to comprehend this is ridiculous."

Your failure to read anything I typed is ridiculous.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 11:38 PM
Response to Reply #86
87. Nor have I argued that it *didn't* go on too long
I'm simply pointing out that kvetching about the series lasting longer than the war is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, criticism-wise.

Ever notice how the laugh track just kind of disappears right around that time, and how the episodes stop being funny and start being really over-the-top preachy?

The laugh track persisted up through the penultimate episode. Not sure which series you're thinking of.

Your failure to read anything I typed is ridiculous.

Well, type something worth reading, and maybe I'll give it a try.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:03 AM
Response to Reply #87
89. You provided a nonsensical analogy about movies...
portraying a time span longer than the movie itself.

Which, first of all, is the exact opposite of what MASH did. MASH portrayed a time span shorter than the series itself. The analogy you made is the exact opposite of why I criticized the show.

Secondly, the book, movie, and originally the TV show MASH were created to make an analogy about the Vietnam War, which ended a good 8 years before the show ended. And yes, there were some good episodes after that point, but as time went on the series began to lose its relevance as social commentary.

Third, my point about there being more Christmases on the show than there were actual Christmases in the Korean War demonstrates how towards the end, they really ran out of ideas on what to do with the show.

"The laugh track persisted up through the penultimate episode. Not sure which series you're thinking of."

I'm thinking of the same series, where the times they used the laugh track were fewer and further between, and the laugh track turned into a lighter chuckle more than it had been in previous years. And there were entire episodes without a laugh track at all.

You can't deny the series got really preachy towards the end, no matter how you try and spin it.

"Well, type something worth reading, and maybe I'll give it a try."

Wow, that was almost funny!

If my posts aren't worth reading, why bother responding? And why continue to respond as if you've been reading them?

Since apparently nothing I posted was worth reading, to the point where you create total strawmen out of your responses, I guess this will be the end of our conversation! It's been fun!

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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:18 AM
Response to Reply #89
90. I'll reply one last time because it pains me to see an analogy so grossly misunderstood
Edited on Tue Nov-09-10 12:23 AM by Orrex
The complaint was that the series M*A*S*H lasted longer than the Korean War--a simplistic critique at best.

To demonstrate the folly of this critique, I noted that films (for example) routinely portray events that take longer than the two hours of screen-time afforded to them. That is, the alteration of actual timespans is well established in popular fiction.

One can criticize M*A*S*H for going on too long, but complaining that the series ran longer than the war is petty. For one thing, it assumes that a half-hour of airtime necessarily and consistently represents 168 hours of actual time, when this has not been established. Quite the opposite in many cases, when two-part episodes portray a span of perhaps three days but take 14 days to air (or several months, in the case of season finales).

In short, you'd be better off criticizing the actual weaknesses of the later seasons than griping about the inaccurate number of Christmases. That's a continuity error; in itself, it's no bigger deal than pointing out that Hawkeye sometimes has a sister and other times does not.




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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:34 AM
Response to Reply #90
91. My point was, in my very first post, that the show wore out its welcome.
Edited on Tue Nov-09-10 12:37 AM by Alexander
I'm sorry if your reading comprehension fails you to the point where you didn't understand that.

"One can criticize M*A*S*H for going on too long, but complaining that the series ran longer than the war is petty. For one thing, it assumes that a half-hour of airtime necessarily and consistently represents 168 hours of actual time, when this has not been established. Quite the opposite in many cases, when two-part episodes portray a span of perhaps three days but take 14 days to air (or several months, in the case of season finales)."

This is what happens when you decide to selectively read my posts. You end up failing on all possible levels.

I specifically said the following:

1) The show took 11 years to portray a 3-year time span, which, as I pointed out in various ways, was not at all believable

2) That the show lost its relevance as really being about the Vietnam War, which was still going on then the movie was released and the show began

3) That the writers ran out of ideas on how to keep the show fresh towards the end.

I could go on about how the very first episodes were dated as taking place in 1952, and so technically, the 11-year show portrayed a 1-year timespan (even less believably), but I decided that would distract from the point. Which is that the show should not have lasted 11 years. That's pretty much the theme of this entire thread, in case you didn't notice.

"In short, you'd be better off criticizing the actual weaknesses of the later seasons than griping about the inaccurate number of Christmases."

I did criticize the weaknesses of the later seasons, in the very same post you first started attacking. I said it got preachy and maudlin and stopped being funny.

EDIT: Here's a quote from my first post on the subject:

"By the end, Alan Alda had obviously aged beyond 3 years, and the show was not as much funny as it was preachy and maudlin."

But I guess that wasn't worth reading, right? Never mind that it fits the exact criteria that you are looking for. :eyes:

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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:39 AM
Response to Reply #91
92. Well, we agree on one point
But I guess that wasn't worth reading, right?



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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:42 AM
Response to Reply #92
93. We agree on the fact that you're incapable of reading.
Edited on Tue Nov-09-10 12:43 AM by Alexander
Oh wait! I thought you were done!

"I'll reply one last time"

Whoops!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:50 AM
Response to Reply #93
94. Well, I don't fault you for your illiteracy.
I'll reply one last time because it pains me to see an analogy so grossly misunderstood

I didn't assert that that would be my last reply; I asserted that it would be my last reply posted for the reason that I am pained by a grossly misunderstood analogy.

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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:56 AM
Response to Reply #94
95. Hey, at least I read what we both typed.
You can't seem to read what either of us typed.

"I didn't assert that that would be my last reply"

Is not consistent with

"I'll reply one last time"

Regardless of the reason you chose, you said you'd reply one last time.

You obviously changed your mind on that once you realized your attacks on me were a huge failure in every possible way and you wanted to try and save face.

Maybe you didn't mean to use the words you chose. That's fine, I can accept that.

But you are totally backpedaling, which I find an amusing admission of failure on your part because you started a knee-jerk attack against me without actually reading my posts.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 12:58 AM
Response to Reply #95
96. Okay, I have to confess that this is kind of becoming fun for its own sake
Edited on Tue Nov-09-10 12:58 AM by Orrex
I'm sure as hell not going to admit that I was wrong, but I'm sort of enjoying the increasingly labyrinthine process of justifying my earlier posts on the subject.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 01:04 AM
Response to Reply #96
97. Yeah, I've seen it before. You failed miserably, yet you still want the last word.
You attacked me without bothering to read the substance of my posts, and you don't have the guts to admit you were wrong to do so.

Now, if you just admit you made a mistake in attacking me in the first place, we can all move on from your embarrassing faux pas and put it behind us.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 01:08 AM
Response to Reply #97
98. All right, I'm cool with that.
I maintain my objection that the length of the show's run--in itself--is not a substantive criticism, but the rest of my screed was rather over the top.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 01:11 AM
Response to Reply #98
99. Thank you. I appreciate that.
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deutsey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 04:08 PM
Response to Reply #48
80. Yeah, I've always thought MASH should've gone off the air in '78
Those next few seasons were awful (and I was a big MASH fan...even played Hawkeye in our senior class play version).

I was terribly disappointed in the two-hour season finale, too.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #80
84. Me too, I liked it funny and sometimes dramatic...
Rather than always dramatic and rarely funny as it later became.

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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 06:16 PM
Response to Original message
50. Two and a Half Men
HATE, hate, that show. :puke:
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Terra Alta Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 06:23 PM
Response to Original message
51. King of the Hill
I'm usually a big fan of adult animated shows, but that one was a real turn off for me. I can't believe it lasted as long as it did.
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LostInAnomie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 06:52 PM
Response to Reply #51
53. Exactly.
"King of the Hill" is my answer whenever someone asks why I watch mediocre shows like American Dad and The Cleveland Show. If we don't support shows like those we get stuck with bland shit like King of the Hill because networks will be afraid to put on edgier shows, and they will be on forever because they will put them in one of the safest time slots on TV (between The Simpsons and Family Guy).
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 10:25 PM
Response to Reply #51
65. I was repeatedly surprised when it was still on the air
I used to think "didn't they cancel this terrible show years ago?"
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Taverner Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:35 PM
Response to Original message
54. Loved it - but the last 3 seasons were crap
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Bucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:41 PM
Response to Reply #54
56. I guess I'm alone in this. I actually liked the Doggett character & wanted to see more
They definitely had overworked the mythology of the show, but I think the story about his murdered son could have been played out longer with a new mythology. The Annabeth character was a little lame, but at least easy on the eyes.
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Taverner Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:42 PM
Response to Reply #56
57. They should have had a separate show
I liked the characters, but X-Files already had way too many roads, offshoots, that meant NOTHING
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Taverner Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 07:38 PM
Response to Original message
55. Doctor Who deserves all of its seasons, iterations, and extensions
Edited on Sun Nov-07-10 07:38 PM by Taverner
As a TV show, a movie, a television special, a radio play, a comic book (oh wait, graphic novel) and a musical - if it gets off the ground.

But its a timeless idea. Timelord, traveling space and time, trying to do the right thing, but every once in a while - making a mistake.
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realisticphish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #55
76. doctor who is an interesting beast
of course I'm a fan, but it's interesting how it has a duality in terms of seasons. It's the same show, yes, but there are subsections with each doctor. a doctor may wear out his welcome, but not the show in general...
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Sandrine for you Donating Member (635 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 09:21 PM
Response to Original message
60. The Bold and The Beautiful....
I see that for a year, the french translation, pfff...

Ridge, Brooke and Taylor.

In just a year, Ridge go to Taylor to come back to Brooke already 6 times, can't believe it's like that for how many years ? Since 1987 ? Just can't believe it...
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lunamagica Donating Member (430 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 09:31 PM
Response to Original message
61. Facts of Life. When it started one of the characters was 12 yrs old
so this show was about young girls who were roomates in a boarding school. They go through Jr high (the younget ones) High school, college, and by the end they seemed to be in their mid, late twenties and the show had to make all kinds of ridiculous excuses for why these four women were still living together.

I didn't hate the show. In fact, I watched most of it, except for the last couple of years. But I would watch and think "this isn't very good, of funny, or that well acted. Why is it still on?

Another one was Moonlightning. I loved, loved the show, but then when Depesto and the guy took over the show due to Willis and Sheperd's tantrums the show went downhill fast.
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jdp349 Donating Member (372 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 09:45 PM
Response to Original message
62. Everybody loves Raymond
I nor anybody I know did.
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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 09:53 PM
Response to Reply #62
63. I loved that show.
It reminded me of my family. I thought it was funny, anyway.
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grace0418 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 11:03 PM
Response to Reply #62
68. Ugh, I hated that show. The brother was okay but everyone else was just awful and
I could never figure out why any of them put up with each other.
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realisticphish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 02:15 PM
Response to Reply #68
77. "the brother" exactly
he was the ONLY funny part of that show.
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JonLP24 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-07-10 11:09 PM
Response to Original message
69. 7th Heaven
While I agree with choices such as Friends, I could at least see the appeal and some things they did got me to laugh. 7th Heaven was on a very long time and just didn't like the show.
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 02:16 AM
Response to Original message
71. Dawson's Creek.
When I first heard about it, I thought it was bad in a funny way. When I finally watched it, I found it to be bad in a bad way. I was shocked at its badness, really.

Runner up: 24. I still can't believe they ever tried to take it past Day Three.
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driver8 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 12:38 PM
Response to Original message
73. Sarah Palin's new train wreck...
It has been on WAY too long!
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TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 12:42 PM
Response to Original message
74. Dons flamesuit: Seinfeld
Honestly, a bunch of whiny stupid spoiled rotten people...I found the characters to be irritating at best, finger nails on chalkboard screechy more often....
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 01:49 PM
Response to Original message
75. 75 posts and no one said "The Nanny"???? WTF is
wrong with you people??? LOL

Also:
Family Matters
Happy Days (there is a reason it is called "Jumping the Shark" you know
Rosanne
According to Jim
2 1/2 men


and the coup de grâce:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

WALKER TEXAS RANGER!!!

I guess everyone just blocked that one out. It made it over 200 episodes. :o
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nadine_mn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #75
81. I love the Nanny
I lived vicariously through Fran's wardrobe and hairstyles
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rcrush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 02:39 PM
Response to Original message
78. GAG Posts like these are just designed to piss people off.
F U
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 03:34 PM
Response to Reply #78
79. Go sip some darjeeling.
You'll feel better.
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Drunken Irishman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-08-10 06:40 PM
Response to Original message
83. According to Jim...
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Corey_Baker08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 01:19 AM
Response to Original message
100. My Name Is Earl
For some reason I jus can't stand the show or the characters in it.
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Agent William Donating Member (628 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 03:14 PM
Response to Original message
105. CORONATION STREET!
That show's been on since the 1950s, they even have the same theme music. I can't believe that a show would span so many decades like that.
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soleft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-09-10 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #105
107. What abut East Enders?
Been on since the 80's, 3 x a week I think.
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Spock_is_Skeptical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 03:19 AM
Response to Reply #107
110. been watching Eastenders off & on since 1990 or so
...just can't stop, it's like part of the family at this point. Airs usually M, Tue, Thu, Fri. Last couple years have been pretty decent in terms of crazy & entertaining storylines.
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soleft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 10:38 AM
Response to Reply #110
111. Are you watching current episodes on the BBC?
I watch on PBS here in the states, we're like 5 years behind.
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Spock_is_Skeptical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 01:33 PM
Response to Reply #111
114. yep, online/downloading each week.
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soleft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 02:18 PM
Response to Reply #114
115. Really? From the BBC website?
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Spock_is_Skeptical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #115
116. nope, although you can if outside the UK
(gotta use proxies etc, they block you otherwise) I prefer just downloading the episodes (from a diff. site.)
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JustABozoOnThisBus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-10-10 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
112. Life on Mars
It didn't last long, but it was still too long.

:hi:
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