TV's Pet Peeves

Television today is so full of cliches and cheap gimmicks that it's easy to find one that you don't like. This includes everything from big things like the "reality TV"-genre to trivial ones like removing the opening or ending credits of a show. You can post almost anything TV-related here. Anyway, here is some of my TV's pet peeves.

Canned Laughter: Why do TV producers keep insisting in putting canned laughter in comedy shows? Do they think that people need some kind of help of knowing when to laugh? On the other hand, most sitcoms are so unfunny that they need a laugh track so that can tell when a joke is being made. They need to make a law agaisnt canned laughter.

The Faceless Character: Usually, they're either, annoying relatives or some mysterious bad guy and usually they're featured more in cartoons than live-action TV. Characters in this archetype includes Inspector Gadget's Dr. Claw, Charlie from Charlie's Angels and Wilson from Home Improvement (actually Wilson showed half of his face most of the time, but I disgress). If you're not going to show somebody's face, then you give him/her the same voice as the adults in Peanuts.

1st Season Cliffhanger Finale: Why do some producers insist on ending the first season of their show with the main character(s) in a perilious situation (like in the Lone Gunmen) if they're not even sure if their show is gonna get renew.

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Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted

Canned Laughter: Why do TV producers keep insisting in putting canned laughter in comedy shows? Do they think that people need some kind of help of knowing when to laugh? On the other hand, most sitcoms are so unfunny that they need a laugh track so that can tell when a joke is being made. They need to make a law agaisnt canned laughter.

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couldn't agree with you more. First time I was introduced to this canned laughter was in an episode of Full House.

Its not some comedy shows that have this canned laughter...all comedy shows have it. Very, very sad.

"this show was filmed in front of a live studio audience"


that used to be so common.

And the canned cheering for characters and wooing and its all a sad sad joke.

mostly I just hate how shows . . . keep . . . staying on the air for no reason other than to be the air. Make X-files a 3 or 4 year series, and you'd have something excellent. take X-files in its current form, and so much nonsense was tacked on just to keep it going that all I can do is shake my head. maybe it became good again over the last four years, I don't know.

dramas should be planned only as mini series like they do in japan. So they have everything from start to finish ready, instead of milking the premise as long as they can.

How 'bout the lack of minorities among the main casts of TV shows on the big networks?

A little variety would be nice...

Just watch food network and cartoon network, then you dont have to worry.

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Originally posted by Freeter
How 'bout the lack of minorities among the main casts of TV shows on the big networks?

A little variety would be nice...

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only if it's not forced. i don't want to see a group of friends where each person represents a different ethnicity, and they all live in middle america. that's one of my main pet peeves; when they try too hard to diversity and lose realism.

my other pet peeve is just the ludicrous amount of bad shows on tv. the wb has a lot of crap shows. i can care less about friends and all those other nbc shows. upn is also loaded with awful shows. seinfeld was the last of the great shows.

the only thing i watch on tv voluntarily now is raw, smackdown, seinfeld re-runs, and the news, which is also bad; but i gotta be updated with worldy events, no matter how retarded the stories are (news flash: pizza makes you fat! oh really? oh shit, i thought pizza was a dieting food).

discovery channel
sci fi channel
espn, espn2
bravo

those are the channels i mostly flip to.

Only shows i still watch are Angel, Wrestling, Dawson's Creek(I need something to remind me of my teen angst years), Boston public and the Simpsons. That probably comprises about 6 or 7 hours a week. That's a damn shame.

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Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted
Canned Laughter...

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I hate that shit... I also hate commercials that try to sell me a product by making me "feel good."

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Originally posted by Nash
the news, which is also bad; but i gotta be updated with worldy events, no matter how retarded the stories are (news flash: pizza makes you fat! oh really? oh shit, i thought pizza was a dieting food).

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I like to get all of my worldly updates on the daily show :)

what pisses me off is that I turn on the DISCOVERY CHANNEL OR TLC to learn something, but instead find myself watching some COPS rip off show, or inside the mind of a murderer show...thats wack. i thought these were the intelligent channels, if i wanted to watch a show that thrives on people's misery, I'll watch the news,

heres something i wrote a while back that fits the bill of this thread:::;

In a society which finds deviant pleasure in watching entertainment shows like COPS, Worlds Scariest Police Chases, Temptation Island, and other such quality television programs it is no wonder that the 10 o’ clock news as become something of an unstoppable side show, the innocent viewer is, bombarded by information, every angle of the screen is filled with scrolling text, (where the hell I am supposed to look, should I pay attention to the main story, pay attention to the bottom text, or watch the Dow Jones ratings, even though I own no stocks) again built for the modern homo sapien, who is so busy, that he has no time nor patience to absorb anything of substance, just a quick fix, after all, time is money son:::

It as if CNN has taken notes from MTV (a sign of the times I suppose), now I believe this is not the media’s fault, for if FOX news has 20 news scrollers plus the Dow Jones report, who is to say CNN is wrong for emulating them in competition for ratings????

My question is:::::

When the fuck did this happen?!?!?!

What was the exact date that traditional news changed from one story at a time coverage, to an all out blitzkrieg, complete with motion graphics, and music straight out of a Shwarzenneger movie????

Is no one else offended by the horrific titles the media assigns to every world catastrophe or happening. Is this an attempt to desensitize modern America by placing them in a dreamy landscape, where nothing is real unless it occurs down the street from your house??? Even a compassionate person such as myself had a hard time shedding a tear for my fellow humans who fell victim to the Sep 11 happenings, am I an evil person, just plain cold hearted, or so desensitized by the news and these bullshit movies that it seems like just another movie???? Was it planned like this…I doubt it…

What is the effect of these motion graphics (always blue and white, mind you), titling of real life happenings, complete with sound track available at FOXNEWS.com, participate!!! Can we take the world seriously as a nation with this sensationalized version of reality??? This is serious stuff people; we need to take this type of thing seriously…

Wasn’t the news supposed to be objective????
Recently FOXNEWS did an expose on Voyeurdorm.com, a website that places cameras in a dorm; whatever have you, some bullshit….

The irony of this groundbreaking expose was that the reporters were criticizing the producers of this website for selling sex, when any of the anchors and/or reporters on this so called credible news network could have easily been swapped with these voyeur girls and no one would have noticed….

gimme a fuckin break. Programming of the modern American mind………….
M …u .. S … t………………………………………………………………… R e s I s t.

yeah, TV sucks nowadays. but how come we keep watching it? because theres nothing better to do.

btw, anyone see the finale of Survivor? the jesus-pimping chick won! wtf?!!?