“I like it, but I don’t?” – Television’s ever-present blessing and curse

I found the most accurate review of Girls in the comments section on The A.V. Club.

It was short, to the point, and represents the majority of what people are thinking about HBO’s much-discussed comedy.

“I like it, but I don’t?”

Full disclosure, I’ve seen one and a half episodes of Girls, as well as creator/writer Lena Dunham’s full-length independent film Tiny Furniture.

I get her humor; it’s simply not my thing. There are some sight gags that are funny. At the same time, Dunham has a problem writing this awful-sounding dialogue.

However, I get more entertainment of listening to people get frustrated talking about Dunham’s show. Watching women watch Girls on Sunday nights was easily the best hour of the week for me.

I could see their faces squirming, or that sigh. When I watched people watch Girls, it was the first time I heard someone audibly say “ugh” without sarcasm.

Yet, they kept watching.

And these same people tell me they’ll watch the third season, at least the first episode to see where it goes. However, they’ve told me that they won’t attempt to keep up with the show it if keeps being annoying.
The “ugh” factor has apparently reached its peak.

Girls is one of many shows that’s not entertaining so much as it is compulsively watchable because its characters and subject matter are awful. I’m no different than Girls‘ audience. I just hate-watch other, worse stuff — Hardcore Pawn, Lizard Lick Towing, Operation Repo, Duck Dynasty, etc.

How have I not gone blind, deaf and dumb?

If someone were watching any of these shows with me, I’d just keep glancing at them, roll my eyes, and yell, “This is stupid.” But, I wouldn’t change the channel. What are my options?

NBC has yet to create a consistent show outside of their one or two great comedies. CBS consistently has some of the worst television that people find entertaining, which boggles my mind. I don’t know how How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Two and a Half Men are considered funny. I usually skip ABC. Outside of Bob’s Burgers, I can’t find anything on Fox, either.

Television like many other media is at this interesting, divisive time. We are in a golden age of TV, where cable shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Homeland, Justified, Louie, and numerous others are taking audiences out of that comfort zone of what is expected in a great TV show. Also, these shows are buoyed by excellent storytelling and great acting. Once-underrated talents like Louis C.K., Timothy Olyphant, Bryan Cranston, and Jon Hamm are now stars.

To add to that argument, Kevin Spacey and filmmaker David Fincher made some of the more compelling television of the year with the Netflix-exclusive House of Cards, changing how viewers consume the very medium. Netflix will also premiere new episodes of Arrested Development, the canceled cult classic starring Jason Bateman, in May.

On the other side of the coin, television is in its worst era. Duck Dynasty pulls in more viewers on Wednesday nights than most network television shows. Shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo exist, and on The Learning Channel. Tyler Perry convinced TBS that he is “real funny” and dominates the channel on multiple nights.

What you have is a medium (television) where that opinion of “I like it, but I don’t?” is accessible to the majority of the television shows. We keep watching because those other billion channels we subscribe to have nothing better to offer.

You’re stuck, or are you?

When I moved back to Baton Rouge, I made a good decision, which hardly ever happens. I wouldn’t renew my cable subscription, opting for other choices through the Internet. Instead of coming home to turn on and berate my television for its barrage of bad caricatures, I’ll either play a video game or simply watch something else.

It’s also the greatest excuse ever. When someone asks me if I’ve seen this show, I say those four beautiful words: “I don’t have cable.” It ends the conversation, rather than turning into a half-hour dissertation on those six other words: “I like it, but I don’t?”