Ugly Things That Ruin a Show

[Spot's Meow]

I'm interested to know if anyone else has this problem. There are certain TV shows or movies that are very difficult for me to watch because they contain something ugly. And I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean that there is something physically unattractive about the show, whether it be a character, set design, costumes, etc. This prevents me from either watching or fully enjoying a show that would otherwise be okay, because the ugliness just distracts me too much. Examples may better illuminate what I mean:

1. Family Guy - The dad
I hate Family Guy. Not because of the writing, which can be funny, or its creators, or that it's an animated show. I hate it entirely because the dad is so frickin' ugly. I cannot watch him on my screen, I just can't. When I see commercials for Family Guy I change the channel so as not to feel disgusted by this character. Blech. It's not even that he's fat, it's more about his face and general appearance. I don't like his voice either.

2. Futurama - Zoidberg
I actually love Futurama and watch it anyway, but don't enjoy any episodes that include plots about Zoidberg. I know, he's supposed to be gross and weird, but I feel like they took it too far. I can't focus on the story because he looks too icky and his voice sounds gross.

3. 2 Broke Girls - Uniforms
Now, I wouldn't watch this show anyway, because I think it's terribly written, but I don't even like seeing commercials for it because of those hideous uniforms the girls wear at work. That color yellow is so ugly, especially with red.


So does anyone else out there have things like this that ruin a show for them?

 

[auntiehill]

Soooooooooo....you wouldn't sit through a performance of Richard III because the dude's not attractive, then?

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

I think MTV may have what you're looking for. Only pretty, superficial people are allowed on their shows.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I think MTV may have what you're looking for. Only pretty, superficial people are allowed on their shows.

Yikes. You'll notice my examples were animated characters. I could not think of any real people that would fit as examples, because real people are different (obviously). And as I mentioned it often has to do with the set or costumes, not even people at all. I am not a shallow person.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

This thread is easier to answer if you expand the definition of 'Ugly' to include ugly behavior. Pretty much anything that gets on network TV is pleasing to the eye.

American Dad - Roger

I hate everything about this character. His annoying voice, the way he manages to be MORE irritating than the shallow, entitled, amoral narcissists he's patterned after.

I love South Park but it can go over the top with the animated gore and poop.

What else? I haven't watched 2 Broke Girls but whenever I see ads for it I think the expression the main character has on her face is repulsive. But I feel that way about a lot of sitcom characters. They always have this veneer of judgmentality and sarcasm and this body language like they think everything that doesn't service their needs and expectations is stupid. If the script didn't say that they're all good friends and love each other you'd think they despised each other.

Community kind of reverses that, the script says they hate each other but their body language says they're all good friends.

 

[Greg Cox]

I can see where the OP is coming from. He's not demanding pretty actors; he's talking about the visual palette and aesthetics of a show. Which, when you're dealing with a visual medium, is a factor worth considering.

Case in point: I like CONTINUUM, but I occasionally wish it was less drab visually. And, to be honest, I suspect that one of the reasons I never got into STARGATE was because all those boring khaki uniforms couldn't compete with something as visually lush and colorful as, say, FARSCAPE or XENA. And DS9's Bajorans would have been more interesting if they weren't always wearing muted earth-tones . . . zzzz.

It's not shallow to judge the visuals of a TV show or movie, even if that's hardly the only factor that matters . . . or even the most important one. I mean, I still watch and enjoy CONTINUUM for the characters and plots, despite all those unexciting offices and warehouses . . .

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Yeah. I probably would have made a better effort to muddle through Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda if not for the fact that I hated the way the show looked whenever they did laser-gun battles. It was all flashing strobe lights and smoke and it gave me a headache.

Classic Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows but I nearly gave up on it early on because I found some of the ugly bad production values to be so poor. The image that particularly stood out for me was in "The Robots of Death." They keep showing these "ominous" close ups of the robots' feet, despite the fact that their feet just looked like big felt socks with aluminum foil hastily wrapped around them. I also remember having a strong negative reaction to the design of the Nestene consciousness in "Spearhead from Space." And even though now I've mostly acclimated myself to the show's aesthetic, I still can't stand watching "Mawdryn Undead" because Mawdryn is so damn ugly & gruesome!

Not a TV show, but I really have a hard time enjoying The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey because of just how gross the Goblin King is. I'm also kinda grossed out by that Orc leader that replaced his severed arm with a big metal hook.

I lost most of my interest in Farscape when I saw "DNA Mad Scientist." It's got needles going into people's eyes. Aeryn is turned into a hideous Pilot-hybrid. And the charcters' behavior is pretty ugly too, the way they just rip-off Pilot's arm for their own selfish reasons.

There are also TV shows that I find difficult to watch because the color palette is so bright & oversaturated. I'd almost call it "too pretty." I struggled with Pushing Daisies for this reason.

 

[Greg Cox]

Have you ever seen Last Man Standing, this Depression-era crime drama starring Bruce Willis? Good God, I still remember how brown that movie was . . . .

 

[Pondwater]

For a while I didn't watch Big Bang Theory because I didn't like Leonard. But after watching it regularly, he's not so bad at all. After he got back with Penny, I liked him more.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Anything involving Mr. Hankey from South Park. Whenever he's onscreen he leaves shit everywhere. It's sick, really.

 

[Kirkman1987]

The Silly hats and a lot of the costumes in the Dune miniseries are very distracting. Most people who have seen it seem to agree.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Big Bang Theory seems too much to me like 'Geekdom from the perspective of non-geeks' for me to get into it. Like, they know the sort of thing geeks like but they have no real understanding of why they like it, not like Community or Chuck.

 

[Gaith]

I don't mind strong green filters/color schemes at times, but even if Superman Returns weren't such a blah movie, I think I'd have trouble watching it again on looks alone. I guess Singer was going for some sort of classic feel on top of the sets, costumes, and general production design, but the result is downright garish. And while I haven't seen the full fan edit itself, this color-corrected preview by one Booshman is a huge improvement over the official film.


And yeah, I can't watch any of the Seth MacFarlane animated shows either. Yuck.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The Silly hats and a lot of the costumes in the Dune miniseries are very distracting. Most people who have seen it seem to agree.

I like the David Lynch film version, but it has some things in it that are just Lynch deliberately trying to be disgusting for disgusting's sake. The Guild Navigator, for instance. And worse yet, the Baron Harkonnen. I mean, come on, is it really necessary for the Baron to be THAT revolting? Lynch loves doing stuff like that, but is it necessary?

 

[the G-man]

You'll notice my examples were animated characters...

Kat Dennings from Two Broke Girls may be built like Jessica Rabbit but I assure you that she isn't an animated character.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

American Dad - Roger

I hate everything about this character. His annoying voice, the way he manages to be MORE irritating than the shallow, entitled, amoral narcissists he's patterned after.

How can you not love Roger? He is just fab-yoo-luss!

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Have you ever seen Last Man Standing, this Depression-era crime drama starring Bruce Willis? Good God, I still remember how brown that movie was . . . .

Haha! It totally was. It's like they filmed it in a sand storm.

 

[Vendikarr]

Have you ever seen Last Man Standing, this Depression-era crime drama starring Bruce Willis? Good God, I still remember how brown that movie was . . . .

Haha! It totally was. It's like they filmed it in a sand storm.

I really had the feeling the director wanted to shoot it in black and white, but the studio balked, so he went for drab instead.

I think it would look much better in black and white.

 

[Greg Cox]

Have you ever seen Last Man Standing, this Depression-era crime drama starring Bruce Willis? Good God, I still remember how brown that movie was . . . .

Haha! It totally was. It's like they filmed it in a sand storm.

I really had the feeling the director wanted to shoot it in black and white, but the studio balked, so he went for drab instead.

I think it would look much better in black and white.

Hmm. You know, it was practically sepia-toned . . . .

 

[AliciaD496]

For me the answer is Bob's Burgers. Can't stand a single aspect of that show, the animation is AWFUL, the voices grating. The guy's mustache, the weird bunny hat, the ugly girl (a badly drawn Meg) all bother me. I did try watching the very first episode when it premiered, the plot was just as horrible as the visuals. On the off Sunday that I do catch the Simpsons, I immediately change the channel afterwards to avoid even seeing the opening credits of Bob's Burgers.

Honestly that's about the only show that's repulsed me based on looks alone. The 'new' animation domination shows coming up look pretty awful too though.