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V a top-5 rated show among Republicans

2

23skidoo

Admiral
Admiral
This is a weird one.

The Hollywood Reporter has just posted a list of the top TV shows among Republicans and Democrats.

The higher-rated series (in terms of actual ratings) tend to be those favored by Republicans (Idol, NCIS), while more modestly rated but critically acclaimed fare like Breaking Bad and Mad Men score big with Democrats (and, naturally, not one of the Top 15 series for Reps scored in the top 15 for Dems. And vice versa (why doesn't that surprise me?).

What did surprise me was the show that tied for 4th place with Republican viewers ... V! It was also the only SFF series to make either list. Which is why I'm putting this here.

I wonder if that well-timed joke about universal health care in one of the early episodes had something to do with it! ;)

I'd take the list with a grain of salt, though. I mean, while it's no surprise to see Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann's shows topping the respective lists, I find it hard to believe Democrats love the Kardashians so much they'd rank them at #4!

Anyway, here's the list:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/right-wing-tv-43558

Alex

PS. This was posted in the spirit of fun (and also to point out a possible factor in V surviving a second season). In the current climate, Rep vs Dem discussions often turn into cluster-frells and flame wars. Please save the serious brick throwing for the TNZ forum - thanks!
 
Interesting story, but without seeing how they gathered the data and the actual numbers(the numbers in the chart at the top of the article seem very vague) it seems like a lot of conjecture.
 
I think V should take that as a sign to jump feet-first into Tea Party-esque paranoia. Not that I buy into such things, but that show needs some edge and identity, something to distinguish it from every other half-assed conspiracy/sf show that's been trotted out to near-instant failure. Since Hollywood skews librul to the extent it has a thought in its brain at all, skewing right would increase the odds that the show might seem a bit fresher and more original.

Anyway, you missed the article's analysis of the situation - righties like winners and lefties like losers. :rommie:
 
Very interesting. It'd be a cool study to find out why. Really didn't expect to see Modern Family so high on the Republican side. Not that all Republicans are homophobes, by any means. Some of the staunchest Republicans I know are also in favor of gay rights, but at the same time the staunchest anti-gay people I know are Republicans.

Looking at the lists and reading the article, I watch more shows on the Republican side, even though I'm a Democrat. I actually watch a total of 0 shows on the Democrat side, although one of my life goals is to start watching Mad Men.
 
^ Aye, it was in TNZ a few weeks back.

For me, the main takeaway is as I've always said - Republicans love cop shows, because they feed into their worldview of society (especially big librul cities) being positively drowning in evil people and their deeds. I watched an episode of Lie to Me a while back, and its giddy self-satisfaction with its ludicrous pulp murder plot was more than a little sick.

So, that's three cop shows on the Republicans' top fifteen, and only one on the Democrats', and that one, in de-emphasizing ludicrous and rare murder plot in favor of far more common (and less glamorous) sexual assault cases, is perhaps the most realistic one on TV.
 
It's because the pilot had a couple of minor points/lines, that were interpreted by some as a shot at the Obama administration and universal health care.

This made a lot of press on conservative media sites.

Similar to how The Dark Knight has a lot of conservative fans who interpreted it as a defense of the Bush Administration (lol).
 
But the medical angle was so minor, I can't see how that could have been a big draw. I think Republicans just want a show that taps into more generalized paranoid fantasies that appeal to their mindset - the scary "other' (literal aliens, but not illegal ones since they all have passports now :rommie:) who is in cahoots with the corrupt powers that be, to crush individual rights of the little guy. The little guys finally get fed up, grab guns and launch an insurrection, woo-hoo!

This is very different from the liberal fantasy that focuses on a main character who is an "outsider" - Dexter Morgan being a terrific example - who isn't depicted as being a pure and noble crusader against oppressive society, but rather has to struggle with his own demons and find a place in that society.

The biggest difference is that the characters in the right-wing fantasy are noble and pure. Nobody questions their rightness. The left-wing fantasy prefers characters who have ignoble and impure aspects, but nonetheless manage to be sympathetic.

In the right-wing story, the outsider is the bad guy. In the left-wing story, the outsider is the "good" guy, good being in quotes because there are no absolute good or bad guys.

In the right-wing story, a totally happy ending is possible when the bad guys are defeated. In the left-wing story, a totally happy ending is impossible; some compromised happy ending is the best we can expect, and it's perfectly possible that the main character is headed for total failure, imprisonment or death.
 
You know this does make me wonder if David Icke's followers in America (assuming he has any) participate in the electoral process and if so, who they vote for.

Because they literally believe the premise of V.
 
Interestingly enough the democratic list has a few of my favorite shows on it, while the republican-skewing list reflects the tastes of my parents relatively well. :vulcan:
 
^ Or, to simplify Temis' post, liberals like to be challenged to think; conservatives don't. :p
 
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