Thursday, September 01, 2011

Thursday Top Threes: overrated

M: What are the top three movies/tv shows/books that everyone seems to love but... you just don't get it?

Jennifer:
1. NCIS. According to the Nielsen ratings, this is the most watched scripted show on TV (second is of course, NCIS: Los Angeles.) Admittedly I've never actually watched an entire episode but given I'm not at all into procedurals, I suspect it wouldn't hold my attention.
2. Grey's Anatomy. I watched the pilot, hated Meredith instantly, and that was that.
3. Atonement by Ian McEwan. I don't know what it was, but I just could not get through this book. It's been so critically acclaimed and won prizes and awards so I tried it twice: once when it first came out and again before they came out with the movie version but I couldn't get into it. I did watch and like the movie though so maybe it something about the writing style?

Mira:
1. The Hangover: I really don't understand why this movie was such a hit and considered to be SUCH a funny or how it lead to a sequel (if not more) so soon after. If you've ever seen Dude, Where's My Car?, it's pretty much exactly the same movie.
2. Seinfeld: I feel a little bad including this, but really I've never understood the "genius" of this show. Maybe cuz I'm such a major shipper and there isn't much to root for by way of relationship, maybe it's because I found all the characters annoying or unlikeable or both, but I never got it and still don't. And I wanted to, cuz I love New York.
3. The Twilight series. I read all the books before the super-craze and enjoyed most of them well enough. I only recently watched the 2nd and 3rd movie. They were entertaining enough. But not even being super critical of either the books or movies, I don't get why it's incited such fan devotion. Don't get it at all.
Honorable mention: (Sorry, this makes 4 but this is not a book/movie/tv show!) Nascar racing. The Grand Prix is in Baltimore this weekend and I've never paid any attention to Nascar or any of that car racing stuff but realize it's cars driving in circles for like 100 laps or something. Really? How does that draw interest?!

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I never much understood the appeal of The Hangover either. Actually I'm not much into these Judd Apatow type movies in general.

Your picking Seinfeld made me remember that I was never a huge fan of Friends. I've watched my fair share of episodes and thought they were ok but I never got invested in it. That was kind of the case with most of that era of Must See TV (Frasier, Will & Grace, etc).

I also don't get Nascar. At all. Or Twilight...I haven't even bothered to watch the second and third movies. Good picks, Mira!

burkie said...

nascar really is a great pick; i've never understood the appeal, either. however, i think grand prix racing is quite different (driving the streets of a city rather than a circular track).

1) The Far Side cartoon strips. i have always been Far Side-challenged. i rarely get the point and, when i do, i rarely find it amusing.

2) The Simpsons. i tried it a couple of times and just couldn't get into it all. i'm not a fan of animation in general, but i'll confess to being oddly drawn (ha!) to Beavis & Butthead in a way that the simpsons never could do.

3) reality shows. you knew that was coming, right? probably should've put this first.