For years I've used TV as a crutch, an escape from the drudgery of my daily routine. Unfortunately, this came at a price, and often I let important things like studying, finding a new job, or looking for an apartment slide by. Oh don't get me wrong, there were a lot of shows out there that I wouldn't trade the world for (Homicide, The Wire, Sleeper Cell, and The Office to name a few). However, there are a slew of others, from the mediocre to the truly awful, that I wish to God I hadn't started watching. Oh the hours I wasted, I could reinvent the wheel in that time. Here are a list of shows I should have never gotten into.
Dexter
It took me until season three to figure out Dexter's formula, and I'm surprised it took me that long. Seems old Dex always ends up killing the one person who truly "understands" him. We saw it in season one with his brother, the Ice-Truck Killer, than in season two with Lila the psycho lady, and now poor old Jimmy Smits in season three. Great work guys. Way to keep us off our toes. That and the voice-over narration, you guys are really raising the bar there.
Six Feet Under
What started off as an OK show about a family running a funeral home business turned into a pretentious and down-right silly melodrama that should have ended around season four. Almost every one of these characters turned into narcissistic, whiny little bitches towards the end, Claire and David especially. Get over your white, middle-class angst already.
Prison Break
What a disappointment this turned out to be. When it started in 2005, Prison Break looked like it would be one of those shows you could count on for balls-out action and excitement. And for two seasons it delivered. It wasn't particularly well-acted or well-written, but that wasn't the point. Season four, however, has shown the series true colours. Rather than wrap up the loose ends like they should have done a long time ago, it keeps going even though the central premise - a prison break! - is no longer the point. Now Michael and Link are trying to bring down some evil corporation (known only as The Company), even teaming up with child-killer T-Bag and psycho bitch Gretchen to do it. Enough is enough guys.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
This show was only worth watching for one reason: Summer Glau. Fucking ridiculously hot cyborg chick from the future comes back to rescue John Connor from killer cyborgs. She has a versatility about her that I like. Other than that, this show's not worthy of anyone's time.
Weeds
I wouldn't say this was a waste of time, but I kind of wish Weeds had wrapped up after season three. It's gone rather overboard with Nancy becoming this quasi-drug kingpin in league with Mexican mobsters.
And finally, the truly awful...
Nip/Tuck
This was such a rotten series. Set in Miami, this show about two morally bankrupt plastic surgeons had some promise. It was always well-acted and the girls on it were pretty hot, but it was so over-the-top and ridiculous, and not in a good way either. That whole Carver plotline really pushed it beyond the realm of plausibility.
Smallville
This show successfully answered the question: what would happen if Dawson's Creek had superpowers? They rammed through every teen-drama cliché imagined on this piece-of-shit "sci-fi" series, and still I watched. Why?
Not enough of a reason? I suppose you're right. Still, I gave Smallville four years of my life and I want those years back!
while i don't watch much tv now, i shudder at how much i watched from ages 6 - 16. and I'm not talking about stuff like the Simpsons, or other misc. cartoons. i'm pretty sure that i've seen every single episode of sitcoms I don't even like (IE: Family Matters, Full House, Who's the Boss)
I swear, if I was not allowed to watch TV from 5 pm - 8 pm, during those years i could have been a doctor.
Poor Lana. She was just a pretty face. No real substance to her.
I love Californication. It gives me hope that there are good shows out there. The diary show i've never heard of.
I did watch a few minutes of Life on mars, mostly because it had Michael imperiolli rocking that crazy hairstyle. Wasn't impressed.
You aren't dead inside. That much I can tell you.
everybody needs to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and in particular these two episodes: "Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person" and "The Nightman Cometh"
by the way, dont mess with lana. after all she made superman stumble...
Wow. Only 4 years on Smallville? Kenny and I are on year 8. It was better for a while, then Lana had superpowers and was irradiated by kryptonite so that she couldn't touch Clark. Kenny hasn't been the same since.
I totally agree regarding Nip/Tuck, but I will give it some credit - the continuation of season 5, which is airing now, is pretty good. It hasn't lived up to its potential, but I don't feel like it's a waste of time any more like the Carver days.
You're bang on about Weeds. It always had the feel of a good show, but when you step back from it you realize it's only a few steps up from a network sitcom.
Do you watch Californication or Secret Diary of a Call Girl? I'm currently giving the US-version of Life on Mars a chance, but ABC has no clue what they want from the show so it's coming off very superficial and uneven - it's either a horrible commentary on gender discrimination in the 70's or a horrible police drama/comedy or a horrible sci-fi thought experiment. And yet, I keep watching. Hanging head.
I've felt the need to pick up more shows because it's been a lean decade for movies. This is my justification for sticking with bad shows - at least they semi-entertain me for weeks rather than 2 hours. Yeah, I know - that's not really a justification. Nonetheless, poor character development over 2 hours can sometimes be cured over 24 hours.
The problem is I can't decide whether it's actually been a bad decade for movies or if I've grown too cynical over time. I watched "Slumdog" last night and I thought it was a bad homage to "City of God" with a strong helping of Disney "magic". Similarly, I found "Benjamin Button" soulless. Am I dead inside?
Sigh.