Objective/perspective

As a newbie I may have missed a previous discussion on this so please point me there if I did!

I was going to add my two penneth to the Not Going Out thread when I went off on a tangent (as always) so thought I'd separate it.

Way back when I first noticed NGO was on, I (with little thought) assumed it was about an agoraphobic (remember Game On anyone? loved that series). I gave it a watch anyway and didn't really like it - seemed more gag than substance. But recently a friend was saying how good it was so I gave it another try with a more open mind and have enjoyed it since then!

I looked forward to The IT Crowd when it started but again thought it had no substance initially. A year later while channnel hopping I started watching mid way through an episode and really like it now. (The fact I'd seen Chris O'Dowd in Under the Blue Sky by then on stage helped!)

There are other series eg Father Ted which do nothing for me how ever many I see, but I can appreciate it has strong characters, plots, a great cast and is well loved by many so I don't think my personal views are particularly useful when it's not my kind of humour.

I'd looked forward to seeing Lab Rats because of the people involved and found it cringeworthy. But as I've not managed to watch a whole episode yet I'm not really qualified to talk about its artistic merit!

I guess I'm just wondering how others on here approach giving their opinions on all the different sitcoms? Is it objective or purely based on whether it makes you laugh? If you don't like something straight away, do you write it off after one episode or persevere?

It wasn't on this site but I was following a blog last week and a guy was watching BBC One for the night as though it was some kind of endurance test. He picked fault with everything in NGO and it was annoying me so I took my own advice and stopped reading it! My main motive for watching anything is a bit of escapism and to be entertained. Why keep watching if you really don't like something especially when you expect to hate it from the start? (A secondary motive for me is to learn from it BTW.)

On the other hand everyone's entitled to their own opinion of course. 

In fact if I type much longer I will have disagreed with everything I've written before long. Hopefully someone else will have something to add!

J

I watch everything. Primarily I'll judge on whether something entertains me, but I can also see good characters, plots, etc, in shows that I don't like.

Quote: Aaron @ February 15 2009, 2:09 PM GMT

I watch everything. Primarily I'll judge on whether something entertains me, but I can also see good characters, plots, etc, in shows that I don't like.

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Cheers Aaron, that's saved me half the job.

It's rare that I immediately like something, but I'm usually prepared to give a show three or four episodes before deciding I really don't like it.

First off, a programme needs to make me laugh. Secondly, the characters need to grab me. They don't necessarily have to be hilariously funny, they just need to be consistent and strong. If the characters don't grab me (The Old Guys springs immediately to mind), then I usually give up watching after a few episodes.

There are programmes I "must see" although Not Going Out is the only one I can think of at the moment (oh, and Moving Wallpaper when it was on). I also have programmes I watch if and when I can, but won't go out of my way to see like The Green Green Grass, My Family, Life Of Riley, Ladies Of Letters.
Essentially, I'll give anything a fair crack at the whip.

Quote: Jane Perrin @ February 15 2009, 8:55 AM GMT

I'd looked forward to seeing Lab Rats because of the people involved and found it cringeworthy. But as I've not managed to watch a whole episode yet I'm not really qualified to talk about its artistic merit!

I guess I'm just wondering how others on here approach giving their opinions on all the different sitcoms? Is it objective or purely based on whether it makes you laugh? If you don't like something straight away, do you write it off after one episode or persevere?

View original

It is not so much whether it makes me laugh, as whether it engages or intrigues me. I persevered with Lab Rats because there was clearly a fantastic show in there somewhere and I wanted to understand why it had not worked - and because I kept hoping that it would grow on me. I do not set out with the intention of hating anything, but if I am going to persevere there needs to be sufficient flashes of quality in the writing and performances to make me think that the potential is there. I am afraid in the case of Life Of Riley my objective assessment was that show was a dud, and I gave my reasons at the time. That is what this board is for; I despise those who just come on here to say a show is shit, without backing up their opinion. If others enjoy the show they are applying different critical criteria to me, and I am happy for them.

Thanks for those replies - I've not been around here long but Aaron I'm loving your general enthusiasm for comedy.

Rustle - I agree re Moving Wallpaper - I'm hoping the second series will be as good. Ben Miller is v good in it.

Timbo - In retrospect I should have given Lab Rats more chance (I included perspective in the thread title as I had high hopes for Lab Rats initially so when I wasn't impressed I focussed on what I didn't like and gave up rather than looking for the reasons it was commissioned - which would have been more productive).

As a wannabe writer there's as much to learn from the ones that don't seem to work as the ones that do.  Also it shows how hard is it to get it right - and to impress from the outset!  So I must watch more.  And this site is great for getting a variety of considered opinions on everything available.

Thanks again

J