End of post, pretty much.
So I'm freelancing and changing the subject to something else. I'm also fighting a weather-triggered migraine right now, so this will have to be a quickie. Sorry in advance if this post is not as coherent and well-written as my usual offerings.
Onward.
It's wonderful that Some People at gatherings can lift their pinkies and their eyebrows and say things like, "Oh, television. We don't even have one in the house. We got rid of it back in 1979. It was kind of our protest against the mediocrity and crassness of the media." Or, "We got a television for the children so that they could watch PBS. That's the only channel we watch."
Well, la di dah.
I am not Those People. I watch television, and I even watch garbage on TV once in a while. On purpose. Here are a few of my
Guilty Pleasure TV Shows
1. Judge Judy
2. Hot Bench
3. People's Court
As you can tell, I like the TV court stuff. It's hilarious. I put it on and knit during the testimony. The kind of scenarios I hear on these shows is so alien to my way of life that I'm often completely astonished and often gasping. And laughing. I highly recommend it if you're looking for some mindless entertainment that makes you feel much better about yourself.
What are your Guilty Pleasure TV Shows?
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The Simpsons is always clever, but I'm a slave to Family Guy and will happily watch episodes multiple times. Yes, Peter is a total a-hole, and yes, there is too much bathroom humor, but I love the freedom that animation gives the writers to use cutaways to jump through time and drag in characters and events from any point in history. I love old westerns, too. Even when the plots are stale and the characters one-dimensional, the scenery is usually breathtaking. And finally, I hated to see the Preacher series end. I never got into the whole Walking Dead thing (if you've seen one vampire story...) but it never bothered me that Dominic Cooper's preacher character's best friend was a charming Irish vampire. Gotta love a show where God and Satan and Jesus have recurring roles Come to think of it, they all show up now and then on Family Guy, too. Hope that migraine lifts soon.
ReplyDeleteYahoonski--My mother loves the old, old westerns. If they have Indians in them (and no, not Native Americans; white people in bad makeup saying very non-Native American dialog), so much the better. The only cartoons I can watch are the old Looney Toons. I used to watch The Simpsons when it first came out, but its shift to Homer as the main character lost me.
DeleteSimpsons and Family Guy have incredible TV longevity. You are obviously not alone. My migraine is mostly gone this morning; thank you. NEO weather and slow-moving fronts can be deadly.
I rarely miss Judge Judy and Hot Bench. My guilty pleasure is The Daily Show and when I can find it, Friends.
ReplyDeleteJean--Oh, I wouldn't feel guilty at all about The Daily Show. Glad to know I have some company with my TV Court shows. They crack me up.
DeleteP.S. I never saw your link to the blogs you read. Glad you pointed that out!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I need to update a few on my blog list, but there are some other good sites up there as well as blogs.
DeleteI watch Judge Judy, too, when I have time for TV. She's a hoot, and I love how she cuts through the crap and tells people off when they are being petty or dumb-shits.
ReplyDeleteMy other TV faves are certain shows I have become addicted to over the years, such as Gray's Anatomy, Chopped, and... "telenovelas"!!! Mr. O. and I usually have one that we are following. Right now, it's "Imperio de mentiras" = Empire of Lies. This one is really juicy because it is a crime/detective soap. It's taking longer to pan out than expected because several main characters got COVID during the filming! I look forward to these episodes Monday-Friday... a welcome relief from the crushing political atmosphere and other depressing news.
Ortizzle--Judge Judy is often not quite fair when she refuses testimony, but she's just funny. She absolutely does not put up with much in the way of poor or stupid behaviour.
DeleteThe best thing about Chopped is how ridiculously serious the panel is. "I feel like you could have incorporated the root beer cereal more prominently in the venison." WHAT?! It's just so insane.
I have seen snippets of telenovelas as I flip around looking for something to watch, and sometimes I stop and watch for a moment, mostly in sheer amazement. It looks like there is always something major happening! The title is impressive, too. I'd much rather watch Empire of Lies than Days of our Lives. American soap operas can take a lesson.
I love British mysteries - clever plots, no gun violence, and those good BBC actors (but I feel rather good about myself when I watch those). I also enjoy "Family Feud" just for entertainment and Steve Harvey's facial expressions.
ReplyDeleteEileen--See, that's not a Guilty Pleasure. You can go to a party and feel snobby talking about watching Father Brown or whatever on Masterpiece. But standing there with a cocktail and saying, "Oh, I love watching Steve Harvey on Family Feud" is probably not your opener.
DeleteNow you get it. LOL
My daughter doesn't have a television . I don't think we could do well without!
ReplyDeletekathy b--Neither could we.
DeleteDee--Jeopardy and the news and sports don't seem like very guilty pleasures when it comes to TV viewing. My son Jared can make the same claim. I feel like there's something you're not telling us. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI tend to binge watch the ID channel, the weather channel during hurricane season, football on Sundays, and Grey's Anatomy. Of course since March it's mostly on news. Sure hope your migraine has passed by now Nance.
ReplyDeleteMartha--Are these your Guilty Pleasure shows? Do you know I've never even seen a portion of an episode of Grey's Anatomy? I'm probably the only person in the world! Of course, it's talked about so much, I feel like I get the gist of what it's all about.
DeleteI'm much better this morning, thank you. Just feeling worn out and a bit fragile.
OMG the perfect people who either don't have a TV or ONLY watch PBS. Puh-leeze!
ReplyDeleteI like some sports, but not all. I like old movies, especially the ones that are just too ridiculously dramatic. And I LOVE holiday shows, though I am a bit picky about those.
Bridget--There are a few old movies I love, but so many are terrible. Such overacting.
DeleteI like the classic holiday shows. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is still the best one, all wrapped up in my childhood memories.
Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteAnni--Thank you. You, too.
DeleteWe hardly EVER watch TV (except for baseball). Partly it's because by the time I get home I can't handle another person talking (it's all I can do to not tell Dr. M to stuff it - ha!). But also, I can be a bit maniacal when it comes to shows I like and then my whole life revolves around having to be in front of the TV at a particular time & day & then I get all resentful. I used to be that way about Friends, and Charmed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I don't even remember now because it's been so long.
ReplyDeleteWe do watch the occasional movie & we have some that are SO DUMB but we love them anyway. Just the other night we watched Battleship for the millionth time. So dumb. So good. Ha!
Bug--I get that mood. I'm like that in the morning and most of the day. I hate the noise. When Rick is home, he turns the TV on automatically, and it drives me nuts. He's hard of hearing, too, so you can imagine the irritation.
DeleteWe all have our dumb movies that we love! It's such a comfort to NOT think and just laugh. That's why I love my Guilty Pleasure TV Shows. Off to look at your link.
Ugh, I hate having a head like a barometer. It rained here last week (YAY! RAIN!) and it gave me a grumpy sinus headache for 2 days. I hope you’re feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteMy guilty TV pleasure is Beverly Hills, 90210. I’ve seen the whole thing SO MANY TIMES, all 10 seasons, and I don’t know why, it always sucks me in. We used to get the Soap Opera channel (it was replaced on our cable network, so no more) and BH 90210 was on from 11 -1 every day. So I could watch an episode during my lunch hour, as I work from home. I watched almost every day. It was a win win, because Ted and Maya weren’t here to get annoyed by it.
I told Ted of your love for court TV, and he agreed that it can be pretty hilarious and shocking. Pre-Covid, when he went into an office to report traffic, there was an area called ‘the pit’ where the producers (the people who put the traffic incidents in to the system for the reporters to report) would have the TV on all day. Every day had to include The Price is Right (another favorite of mine) and Judge Judy. They loved it.
J--Thank you for commiserating with me. I am feeling better today, just worn out.
DeleteI never watched BH90210, but it's obviously a Pop Culture phenomenon. There was a big push to bring it back in some capacity, I read, and the characters and actors were quite well-loved. Your immersion in it during lunch really was a win/win for you.
Sam grew up on The Price Is Right, a show he watched with his adored babysitter Joann (who he called Nanny) every day. He once wrote a letter to Bob Barker that simply said "Please play Plinko", which was his all-time favourite game on that show.
I just like the contestants' reactions when their name is called. That, for me, is the best part.
My guilty pleasure is Family Feud including Family Feud Canada. I love morning lifestyle programs; that's how I keep current whether or not I'd subscribe to some of the third world fashion/decorating/cooking recommendations. Finding Your Roots gives me history lessons. Amazing Race allows me to travel vicariously. I like tv.
ReplyDeleteMona--Another Family Feud watcher! Lifestyle Programming, as you call it, fascinates me, but I don't watch it anymore. It started driving me crazy. I prefer looking at websites and not listening to people talk about it.
DeleteI also like Finding Your Roots. That show is so interesting and poignant.
At the moment, Season 4 of the Crown, plus all of the reviews that are foaming at the mouth about the wrongs done to history. Since I remember the '80's clearly, and reminded JG that the Falklands War was about to happen before we got to it, the whole thing is considerably entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch much TV on a regular basis, as what JG likes is not what I like, and he depends on it. I guess my guilty pleasure consists of watching Sci fi and Fantasy movies when himself is not using the set. TLOTR, of course.
Mary--Is The Crown really making you feel guilty watching it? Or is it just season 4?
DeleteYou and I would be at odds considerably regarding the TV. I don't like SciFi and Fantasy either. I did appreciate TLOTR--the first one--but have never read the novels. Not my thing. But I'm sure we'd find plenty of other things to watch that we both like.
Or just read and talk!
Indeed, read and talk. We should.
DeleteStaying at home since the virus invaded our lives has me watching more TV than I ever did before. I have antenna TV by choice which in addition to all Los Angeles TV stations and their numerous added stations plus four PBS stations and their additional stations offer all the programming I need. I do subscribe to netflix but only watch their offerings spasmodically. My only TV guilt is I’m watching too much now. I view a lot of PBS of all types as the mood strikes me. I did go through a period of watching those court shows, comparing them and concluding the best were Judge Judy and Judge Milian. Like you, I’m amazed at the court cases people bring to trial, but i’ve tired of those shows. I suppose some of the drama shows I watch on PBS, mostly British, and commercial TVs real life tales drug out into hour long stories may be of questionable value — even my alternating between Colbert and Kimmel, occasionally Corden, SNL are starting to get old for me. Just not a lot of commercial stations series programs that appeal to me whether they’re supposed to be comedy, drama, entertainment/music.
ReplyDeleteJoared--We're cord cutters, too.Like you, we're tired of so many shows, and I think the writing in a lot of the dramas is terrible and stale.
DeleteWe have started turning to Netflix more and more often now because of the volume of commercials! Often, we forget what we've been watching because of the interruptions.
Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining! I love Judge Judy! She has a home in our town and I pray I run into her one day in the wine section of Target. :)
ReplyDeleteI love some of the newer TV dramas: This Is Us and A Million Little Things, but I can also zombie out watching The RealHousewives of anywhere....like your shows, most of that is foreign to me too.
BB Suz--If you do catch a glimpse of Judge Judy out and about, I hope you can get a photo and post it. I'd love that.
DeleteI don't feel guilty at all about watching This Is Us. I think the acting is quite good and the writing is largely excellent. My brother is a big fan of A Million Little Things and has recommended it to me. I should try to grab it on a streaming platform.
I've never seen any of the Real Housewives shows, but I know there are quite a few now. The fact that the two words Real and Housewives are used as descriptors for those women cracks me up.