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I love the show.
I think the people who are offended by it are just looking for an excuse to be offended. Sure it pokes fun at Nerd and Geek stereotypes but all sitcoms poke fun at stereotypes. Maybe these people are the ones who can't stand humor in any fashion... you know the overly serious people. I mean comedy acts are funny and they poke fun at the stereotypes... Ever watch a black comedian target black stereotypes or a mom comedian target mom stereotypes, even married comedians poking fun at husband or wife stereotypes... This stuff is funny and intended to let us laugh at ourselves, why find offense where none exists?
Near as I can figure the geek/nerd community and/or those who identify themselves as such are either an easily offended or impossible to offend group due to constant teasing in middle/high school, and the hate it/like it line is drawn there.
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
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I love the show.
I think the people who are offended by it are just looking for an excuse to be offended. Sure it pokes fun at Nerd and Geek stereotypes but all sitcoms poke fun at stereotypes. Maybe these people are the ones who can't stand humor in any fashion... you know the overly serious people. I mean comedy acts are funny and they poke fun at the stereotypes... Ever watch a black comedian target black stereotypes or a mom comedian target mom stereotypes, even married comedians poking fun at husband or wife stereotypes... This stuff is funny and intended to let us laugh at ourselves, why find offense where none exists?
Way to make generalisations about people. I detest the show and I gave my reasons.
I love shows like Community and the IT Crowd, and will happily watch Modern Family.
I would rather be kicked in the groin than have to sit in-front of 2&1/2 men or Big Bang Theory.
I could say something like "Maybe people who like Big Bang Theory have an unsophisticated sense of humour and are not smart enough for a more complex show." but as most of the people her play Pathfinder and are fans of Paizo so that proves to me they are smart and have great taste.
Just different taste to mine and I wont put them down for it.
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I would rather be kicked in the groin than have to sit in-front of 2&1/2 men or Big Bang Theory.
I could say something like "Maybe people who like Big Bang Theory have an unsophisticated sense of humour and are not smart enough for a more complex show."
1) I love both of the shows you mentioned, as does my other half.
2) That wouldn't offend me at all, it would be just another e-opinion from a random forum poster. Thicker skin = less stress.Just my e-opinions, YMMV, etc.
I think the people who are offended by it are just looking for an excuse to be offended. Sure it pokes fun at Nerd and Geek stereotypes but all sitcoms poke fun at stereotypes. Maybe these people are the ones who can't stand humor in any fashion.
You do know this thread was started because someone asked James Jacobs "Do you like Big Bang Theory? Does anyone else in the office?" and his response was "No I don't, and many of the people here at Paizo are offended by it", right?
Just to put in perspective who you are calling "looking for an excuse to be offended" and "can't stand humor in any fashion".
Tone down the assumptions. You're reaching far farther than you have any reason to.
No you're right... I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.
I still feel that if you can't laugh at yourself you won't find stereotype based humor funny at all. BUT I was wrong to go so far as to state as false a thing as "can't stand humor in any fashion" OR to assume that they are looking for an excuse to be offended. I am sure there are some people out there that fit my description in fact I can think of one right now. Still to try to paint everyone that way was wrong and I apologize.
Way to make generalisations about people. I detest the show and I gave my reasons.
Actually it was that site I found in one of your previous posts that set me off... combine a tripe filled self righteous pile of lies and half truths of a site with my bad mood and I go and write something stupid. For which I am sorry. To equate a good comedy with bullying... the man who wrote that should be publicly shamed. Bullying is a very real problem and doesn't deserve to be trivialized NOR does such a good show deserve such blatant lies.
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Different strokes for different folks. I love BBT. I used to love HIMYM and now I don't like it so much. I cannot stand cop, Dr, Lawyer shows as to me they are not real either and far more fake than BBT, but that is TV
My BF loves BBT as well. He actually knows someone just like Sheldon... yes people like that do exist and this person has a Genius IQ
If you find offence in BBT, so be it, don't watch it as I am sure you will not. I myself would wonder why people do not like it. For me I love the goofiness of it all and poking fun at people. Being a techno geek (I work in IS, I play PC and RPG games, I was always shy and could not talk to the opposite gender). I find humor in it all. Just like as a musician I can find humor in musician jokes, or tech jokes. Yes some can be offensive or hurtful, but the ability to laugh at ones self is a good thing.
So those who do not like it. Details why?
Why do I hate Cop, Dr, Lawyer shows. Every week in every cop show 2+ people get killed in horrible ways. If this happened then we would be extinct. They are not realistic. Dr Shows To many again. I work in he health care industry and if hospitals where that exciting... WOW it would be so stressful no one would want to work in it. It is worse than a soap opera at times. Lawyer shows. See the cops shows... same thing. Most people hate lawyers, so why glorify them. Even many cops don't like them. And if you make a show about those 3... why not about an Accountant. OR a PC tech. STAND BACK... she is going to blow up. We have 15 seconds to operate or...
OH and trust me... when a semi or very attractive female walks into most Comic Book/Game stores... guys do stop and look mouths agape. So they have that right in BBT. It's happened to me.
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I am not seriously offended by the show (So many other things in existence to offend my sensibilities)
But I don't find it remotely funny, and I do think it's more about "laughing at" nerds than laughing at pop culture or "laughing with nerds"
Pretty much what Kthulhu and Jawa said. I just don't find the show funny, the laugh track is irritating and the show's not good enough to make up for it, and I'm extremely tired of people telling me I just "don't get it", I "have no sense of humor", or that I should be into the show because "it's just so you."
If I didn't live in a house with two fans of it, I'd probably just be "meh, not impressed, don't care for it", but constant exposure and bugging about it has amped that up to active distaste. If nothing else, I am utterly, utterly, utterly tired of my parents quoting "AFK!" in Sheldon's voice, complete with the same goofy little "You get what I'm quoting right?" grin on their faces, every time they knock on my door to get my attention.
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Way to make generalisations about people. I detest the show and I gave my reasons.Actually it was that site I found in one of your previous posts that set me off... combine a tripe filled self righteous pile of lies and half truths of a site with my bad mood and I go and write something stupid. For which I am sorry. To equate a good comedy with bullying... the man who wrote that should be publicly shamed. Bullying is a very real problem and doesn't deserve to be trivialized NOR does such a good show deserve such blatant lies.
I have experienced bullying, both physical violence and mental abuse because at high school I was a nerd, I hid in the library at lunch time when I was what you would call a junior, it was the safest place.
I was more fortunate than a younger guy with persoality traits similar to "im not crazy I have a certificate Sheldon" who was punched pushed into bins thrown into the girls toilets on a daily basis. If Big Bang theory was on back when I was at school there would not have been any empathy or sympathy they would have just nick-named him Sheldon gave him a dead arm and pushed him into a bin, the rose garden, and or the girls toilets.
Aside from that show is formulaic, and very predictable, there are other shows that explore the same subject matter in a funnier and more clever way, that does not alienate our community or give ammunition to bullies.
You are free to enjoy it I won't stop you I am not calling for it to be taken off air or calling people humorless. Nor would I be so rude as to tell people the show they like was shit while they were watching it and having a good time. I am happy when others are happy and I won't rain on your parade...
When asked my opinion though I will give it.
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Big Bang Theory, Community, and How I met Your Mother are my three favorite comedies on the air (Live action at least. Archer, Family Guy, and American Dad get added when we take away the need for flesh bodies).
I will respect a person's right to be offended by something but I don't really see it. Then again I'm one to believe most things are free game of poking fun at. I make fun of myself more than anyone else does. Self deprecating humor is my thing ^_^
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Pretty much what Kthulhu and Jawa said. I just don't find the show funny, the laugh track is irritating and the show's not good enough to make up for it, and I'm extremely tired of people telling me I just "don't get it", I "have no sense of humor", or that I should be into the show because "it's just so you."
If I didn't live in a house with two fans of it, I'd probably just be "meh, not impressed, don't care for it", but constant exposure and bugging about it has amped that up to active distaste. If nothing else, I am utterly, utterly, utterly tired of my parents quoting "AFK!" in Sheldon's voice, complete with the same goofy little "You get what I'm quoting right?" grin on their faces, every time they knock on my door to get my attention.
Oh man. Yeah, forced exposure and relation to a show you might otherwise have just been neutral too or possibly even would have liked a bit will poison it thoroughly. Sometimes the biggest enemy a franchise can have are overzealous fans pushing it a bit too hard on others insisting "Try it, you'll like it! It's your kind of thing!"
Not saying that's something all BBT fans do of course. It's a problem that a lot of shows and other things have.
Having family members that are determined to prove my dislike of Michael Bay's work "wrong" is just one example of what makes me sympathetic to this complaint.
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I've never been a big sitcom fan in the first place but with this one i found the characters annoying and only lasted one episode, can't even remember the name of said episode but it began with a joke of the group being sheldon's C-men assuming that the X-men took their name from Xavier's initial rather than there possessing the X-gene and that simple lackof research of the marvel canon for cheep laugh completely turned me away from the series
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Pretty much what Kthulhu and Jawa said. I just don't find the show funny, the laugh track is irritating and the show's not good enough to make up for it, and I'm extremely tired of people telling me I just "don't get it", I "have no sense of humor", or that I should be into the show because "it's just so you."
If I didn't live in a house with two fans of it, I'd probably just be "meh, not impressed, don't care for it", but constant exposure and bugging about it has amped that up to active distaste. If nothing else, I am utterly, utterly, utterly tired of my parents quoting "AFK!" in Sheldon's voice, complete with the same goofy little "You get what I'm quoting right?" grin on their faces, every time they knock on my door to get my attention.
Oh man. Yeah, forced exposure and relation to a show you might otherwise have just been neutral too or possibly even would have liked a bit will poison it thoroughly. Sometimes the biggest enemy a franchise can have are overzealous fans pushing it a bit too hard on others insisting "Try it, you'll like it! It's your kind of thing!"
Not saying that's something all BBT fans do of course. It's a problem that a lot of shows and other things have.
Having family members that are determined to prove my dislike of Michael Bay's work "wrong" is just one example of what makes me sympathetic to this complaint.
right there with you i have a friend who is a massive fan making constnat quotes, if i get one more 'knock knock Penny!" wakeup call i will choke hime to death with his brass D20
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So those that say the "Laugh track" annoys them, does that mean other comedies annoy you as well? I ask because all comedies use them even when taped in front of a live audience.
Comedy series that don't use laugh tracks:
CommunityThe Office
Parks & Rec
30 Rock
Happy Endings
New Girl
Raising Hope
Action!
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Suburgatory
Arrested Development
Scrubs
Curb Your Enthusiasm
I can find a few more if you like.
So those that say the "Laugh track" annoys them, does that mean other comedies annoy you as well? I ask because all comedies use them even when taped in front of a live audience.Comedy series that don't use laugh tracks:
Community
The Office
Parks & Rec
30 Rock
Happy Endings
New Girl
Raising Hope
Action!
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Suburgatory
Arrested Development
Scrubs
Curb Your EnthusiasmI can find a few more if you like.
But a lot of these are bad.
Especially the Office.
Scrubs was good though.
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Hate it. First off its at atrociously overplayed caricature of geek/nerd culture highlighting all the typical coming of age issues that every other kid that age has to go through, so that part of the show doesn't in any way lend itself to the 'positive spin' of being a show about intelligent scifi/fantasy fanatics.
So what we have left is trying to make the scifi/fantasy fanatic's take on how to handle those seinfeldian issues in a particularly intelligent/geeky/nerdy way. But thats not what happens.
Remember the episode where the two of them got 'spock in a transporter' toys?
Very popular episode. Nimoy voice... Big ratings...
But if these guys are truly as ubergeek/nerd as they were portrayed to be there wouldnt be a second thought given to repairing the broken spock. The whole point behind geek/nerd culture is a combination of scifi/fantasy fanatic and above average intelligence. At the bare minimum fixing the toy would have been trivial, but instead theres this 'ill switch out my broken toy for one thats still mint in the box. Nobody will ever know. Just because i'm an intelligent geeknerd doesnt mean i'm above spending 20 minutes of an episode treating my friends like trash. Brilliant.
Take away the ability to cope with even rudimentary intellectual challenges and they're not geek/nerds... They're dorks. See. Here's my problem. I am an intelligent scifi/fantasy fanatic so I recognize the props, recognize the subtle references to all of the things I know and love. I've got a buddy who's definitely none of that, but he loves the show... Why?
Because it puts 'incredibly intelligent people' in the exact same sitcom situations that he finds challenging, and then shows that smart geeky people handle those situations in the exact same quirky inept way... So now he thinks he's a smart quirky starbucks sipping nerdgeek.
So I put it to the test. I just waited until I heard the laugh track and watched him laugh with it. He's laughing and says 'see, isnt this funny? Isn't this great?'...
Then I paused the show and asked him why he laughed. He couldnt explain why he laughed. He couldnt explain what he heard that was funny.
He laughed because there was a laugh track so he knew when to laugh.
It was one of the cast members saying something in relation to Nathan Fillion, so you laugh because if you're truly a scifi geeknerd you know who Nathan Fillion is, but if you're not, theres no reason for that joke to be funny, and yet there he is, laughing like he gets the joke, but not knowing the joke is him laughing without knowing why and making him feel smarter and 'geeknerdier in a way that is now pop culturally not a negative stigma'... It makes him feel like he's one of the cool smart geeknerds when in fact he still doesnt get any of it.
Its absurd.
So those that say the "Laugh track" annoys them, does that mean other comedies annoy you as well?
Yep. Makes me cringe every time.
Some shows are good enough to tolerate it or even ignore it. BBT is not. (Don't ask me to list an example, it's been too long, I don't remember. And I have a feeling I would think whatever I used to think was funny no longer so.)
I ask because all comedies use them even when taped in front of a live audience.
No, not all comedies use one, as Fabius has already demonstrated.
I've got a buddy who's definitely none of that, but he loves the show... Why?
Because it puts 'incredibly intelligent people' in the exact same sitcom situations that he finds challenging, and then shows that smart geeky people handle those situations in the exact same quirky inept way.
This sounds exactly like my parents.
The fact that the show uses a laugh track isnt the thing I hate about it.
Its the fact that it displays smart people as acting stupid, which makes non nerdgeeks feel 'nerdcool' without earning it? Deserving it? Like being a fan of musclecars without knowing how to change your own oil.
That and the fact that I get more 'actual legitimate intelligent humor' from an episode of family guy that I get out of a whole SEASON of BBT.
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I don't hate it, but it's generic lowest-common-denominator sitcom de jure.
People with intelligence and taste watch Community instead.
No. People with Intelligence and Taste watch the people who watch Community and jot little notes down in the daily observation log like - The Subject appears to be emotionally aroused by a mixture of audible dialogue, primitive music cues, and visual stimuli, all designed to trigger the appropriate emotional response. Note to self: Must change the channel to see how the subject responds to Big Bang Theory.
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I dislike BBT because I think the writing is mediocre and goes for the lazy jokes. It'd be merely forgettable if it wasn't overexposed. I'm pretty sure I'd be completely indifferent to it if my roommates hadn't watched it and about four other shows on a constant rotation and quoted it incessantly. The laugh track really doesn't help its case, but it doesn't break the show. Granted, I really don't watch much TV anymore.
If you think about it, it's sort of what Twilight did to people who like vampires. A very polarizing piece of entertainment taking center stage that falls squarely into love it or hate it for most - a fair amount of people find it downright insulting, but it has a strong fandom for reasons people in the hatedom simply cannot fathom.
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I dislike BBT because I think the writing is mediocre and goes for the lazy jokes. It'd be merely forgettable if it wasn't overexposed. I'm pretty sure I'd be completely indifferent to it if my roommates hadn't watched it and about four other shows on a constant rotation and quoted it incessantly. The laugh track really doesn't help its case, but it doesn't break the show. Granted, I really don't watch much TV anymore.
If you think about it, it's sort of what Twilight did to people who like vampires. A very polarizing piece of entertainment taking center stage that falls squarely into love it or hate it for most - a fair amount of people find it downright insulting, but it has a strong fandom for reasons people in the hatedom simply cannot fathom.
Big Bang Theory is shitty because its humor is entirely predicated on the acceptability of bullying, Cruelty, and cultural vindictiveness as a source of humour. That's why I only found the recent episode where sheldon fakes the slider's wormhole to mess with the others for invading his privacy to be funny. It took 9 seasons to get to it so unless Penny turns out to be a time traveler from the future sent to turn sheldon into a Man in some plan to raise the future IQ/grade point average of all Iowans by breeding with him...its all down hill from here.
Wait: Kirk is some Farm boy from Iowa...may be she is attempting to create a future Captain Kirk for when the Federation Does happen...
Wow: '...in some plan to raise the future IQ/grade point average of all Iowans by breeding with him...' That's it. That is Why Penny is there - what better means of raising the grade point average than going into the region of lowest score and breeding with the locals to increase the minimum intelligence for a region in the future.
Big Bang Theory is s!@&ty because its humor is entirely predicated on the acceptability of bullying, Cruelty, and cultural vindictiveness as a source of humour. That's why I only found the recent episode where sheldon fakes the slider's wormhole to mess with the others for invading his privacy to be funny.
I must admit, the few episodes I've seen haven't relied on those things any more than any other sitcom, but I can see how the premise is thin enough that there could certainly be an over reliance on those themes over the course of nine seasons. It's not a problem unique to BBT; a lot of ideas and premises do very well in a limited scope, but to try to turn them into ongoing sitcoms is problematic.
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So those that say the "Laugh track" annoys them, does that mean other comedies annoy you as well? I ask because all comedies use them even when taped in front of a live audience.Comedy series that don't use laugh tracks:
Community
The Office
Parks & Rec
30 Rock
Happy Endings
New Girl
Raising Hope
Action!
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Suburgatory
Arrested Development
Scrubs
Curb Your EnthusiasmI can find a few more if you like.
But a lot of these are bad.
That wasn't the point.
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I hate it. There's something dishonest and pandering about the humor. It's also humor that's 20 years out of date and would be considered over played even then. The writing is also incredibly lazy with many references that out of date and/or just plain wrong. This show is just empty and soul-less. There's no real care or effort in producing Big Bang Theory and it shows. Overall it reeks of "US NERDS! AMIRITE!" like some sorta lost spawn of G4 faux-hawkers.
I hate it. There's something dishonest and pandering about the humor. It's also humor that's 20 years out of date and would be considered over played even then. The writing is also incredibly lazy with many references that out of date and/or just plain wrong. This show is just empty and soul-less. There's no real care or effort in producing Big Bang Theory and it shows. Overall it reeks of "US NERDS! AMIRITE!" like some sorta lost spawn of G4 faux-hawkers.
Out of curiosity, is that something that you felt was present in season 1 and 2 or is it based on the the later seasons?
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I honestly can't tell. On weekends I game over at the designated host's house and while the GM is preparing he's watching the show. I'm catching snippets of it and it disgusts me. I remember clearly that Sheldon character was busy being nightmarish b#$$*~$@ to everyone while the show tried to play it off as him being strait-laced, by-the-book, everything-is-in-check character. My friend thinks it's funny while I'm thinking to myself that if I knew Sheldon than me and him would have long talk about his behavior and his feelings were gonna get hurt. In fact there was a guy in our group that WAS like Sheldon! We kicked him rather unceremoniously for his godawful behavior. So that's another thing about this show I don't like. It casts genuinely terrible people shunned by even the most socially awkward as wacky and zany while nerds and geeky people are tearing themselves away such perceived stereotypes. The characters of Big Bang Theory are all representations of the "THAT GUY." Y'know THAT GUY you have a story about that ultimately leads to you explaining why you do not associate with them anymore. The type of stories that make you cringe.
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So how many of you that hate BBT watch Cops/Dr/Lawyer/Detective shows?
Those are just as stupid and far more unrealistic than BBT
Those shows are usually horribly unrealistic, but they don't (usually) have supposedly smart people doing rediculously dumb things. They also aren't designed to make fun of cops/doctors/lawyers/detectives.
The existence of other bad/subpar/mediocre/uninteresting things does not negate nor lessen the bad/subpar/mediocre/uninterestingness of BBT. I find it bad on its own merits, not simply because it's bad compared to something else. I'm not sure what your purpose is in even asking, unless you're just trying to wipe someone's opinion off your radar with a "Oh you like doctor/detective/cop shows, your taste is obviously lousy, you don't count" justification, or something.
That said. To answer your question, Sherlock (BBC) and Elementary (US) are on my to-watch list, but haven't gotten around to them yet (though as a Doctor Who fan, I'm 99% certain I'll love Sherlock). But that's less because it's detective show and more because it's Sherlock Holmes.
Otherwise I used to watch Law and Order growing up and got bored with it, and watched NCIS for a couple of seasons before, again, getting bored with it.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Realism isn't necessary for my entertainment; quality is. Your average cop/dr/lawyer/detective show sucks because it's poorly written, has terrible characters, and is painfully formulaic.* The fact that it's unrealistic comes in somewhere between "who cares" and "it's fun to poke holes in tv!" (Though, that said, for some reason, I am obsessed with the fact that NCIS is able to generate multiple seasons worth of television given that their jurisdiction should be extremely minimal).
*Except for the Wire, which is the motherf%$#ing bomb.
I find BBT mildly annoying, in the same way that Dennis the Menace is. In my free time, I don't want to listen to a bunch of neurotic, annoying kids blathering about their personal drama, punctuated by canned laughter. Outside of that I don't really care one way or another.
I like some fantasy/sci fi, but I'm picky. Jack Vance (obviously) is a favorite, Firefly I disliked at first but it grew on me. I enjoyed the old Star Trek because of its unabashedly racist, sexist goofiness and idiocy, but can't stand any of the spinoffs (which in my opinion take themselves too seriously). Never got into comic books.
I'm a scientist in real life.
Realism isn't necessary for my entertainment; quality is. Your average cop/dr/lawyer/detective show sucks because it's poorly written, has terrible characters, and is painfully formulaic.* The fact that it's unrealistic comes in somewhere between "who cares" and "it's fun to poke holes in tv!" (Though, that said, for some reason, I am obsessed with the fact that NCIS is able to generate multiple seasons worth of television given that their jurisdiction should be extremely minimal).
*Except for the Wire, which is the motherf!~$ing bomb.
Of course, The Wire was the shiznit because it avoided the idiocy that every other cop/laywer show falls into: DON'T SAY A F**&ING WORD UNTIL YOUR LAWYER ARRIVES!!!!!!
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(Though, that said, for some reason, I am obsessed with the fact that NCIS is able to generate multiple seasons worth of television given that their jurisdiction should be extremely minimal).
It's because a whole shitload of Navy personnel keep managing to get themselves killed in the Washington, D.C. area.
Hint: If you're in the Navy, stay the hell away from Washington! It's a freaking deathtrap for you!.
(More seriously: That show is popular due to its characters, and not its stories.)
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(Though, that said, for some reason, I am obsessed with the fact that NCIS is able to generate multiple seasons worth of television given that their jurisdiction should be extremely minimal).It's because a whole s%+#load of Navy personnel keep managing to get themselves killed in the Washington, D.C. area.
Hint: If you're in the Navy, stay the hell away from Washington! It's a freaking deathtrap for you!.
(More seriously: That show is popular due to its characters, and not its stories.)
They do manage to create interesting and compelling flawed, but not dumb, main characters
(Though, that said, for some reason, I am obsessed with the fact that NCIS is able to generate multiple seasons worth of television given that their jurisdiction should be extremely minimal).
You must be REALLY baffled by Psych's multi-season crimefest.
If it keeps going like this Santa Barbara's going to be a ghost town.
Though the fact that it's more comedy than drama helps matters immensely.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I know, I know, it's a silly complaint. According to CSI, it rains in Las Vegas more than Seattle (seriously, how many episodes of that show take place in the rain). It's just that the jurisdictional slice of crimes which would involve the Navy is so mind-bogglingly small!