Are there any shows that you hate but find yourself watching just to snark on? Judging from the forums, 7th Heaven is the obvious champion of this thread. For me, its Saved By the Bell and Dawson's Creek.

Sex and the City reruns. (They show two a night, so at this rate it shouldn't take long.) I don't know why I watch it... I spend most of the time griping about Carrie or Charlotte. I guess I watch it for Miranda, but I don't even like her *that* much.

Stop laughing. Saved by the Bell is still worse, and you know it. ;)

Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. It is awful in every possible way -- and I'm addicted to it for the endless bounty of snarkage.

I can't stand "Laguna Beach." I HATE IT. It's so obviously fake. The girls are bitches, and the guys are assholes. I just want to slap everyone on the whole damn show.

But I can't help myself. If I'm channel surfing and see it, I HAVE to watch it. I'll even watch reruns that I've seen millions of times before. I think I need psychological help....

It's over now, but I watched Joey way too many times, out of some weird sense of loyalty. I actually throw up a little in my mouth when thinking about it...

I get hooked into Next on MTV. Although the contestants are mortifyingly vapid and superficial, I just can't help watching.

Walker, Texas Ranger.

Oh, shut up.

Tell me it doesn't give you some satisfaction to watch Walker and company kick various bad guy ass. Or to watch Walker himself get his ass kicked every now and then.

Murder, She Wrote is a hopelessly cheesy and poorly plotted mess that features some of the most awkward dialogue and grossly over-the-top acting in TV history. Yet, for reasons that defy rational explanation, I love every tacky minute of it and have instructed my TiFaux to record every episode, no matter how many times I've already seen it. It's just such enjoyable, comforting escapism.

I know that when evaluated objectively, The O.C. is not a very good show. Hell, for most of last season it wasn't even a mediocre show. As a general rule, I hate soaps and am more than a little weary of teen-centric dramas. However, I'm simply incapable of not watching this show. I still have this weird attachment to the characters and find a lot of the dialogue wonderfully sharp and rewind-worthy. The fact that I'm 31 and hence about 15 years older than the show's coveted demographic makes this addiction even sadder. I hate that this show has such a hold on me!



I, too, hate this show but find myself watching it far more often than I'd like to admit. It's a trainwreck, but a wonderfully addictive one!

I would say that Prison Break falls into this category for me. I realize that, in general, I don't have anything positive to say about the show (with the exception of Robert Knepper's performance). IMO, this show puts suspension of disbelief off the map. There's mediocre acting, ridiculous plot contrivances, OTT middle distance staring, and perfectly manicured prison yards - yet I still keep watching it. Damn you, PB, DAMN YOU!

I also watch Elimindate (don't judge me!)

*hangs head*

Actually, Entertainment Weekly did a little segment on the average viewer's ages for shows, and I was quite surprised to see the average viewer age for The O.C. is 32.

I still can't believe that I still watch Charmed. Actually I can't believe that it's still on the air. When the show debuted, it was decent enough. However since Shannen was fired, Charmed has managed keep getting worse. This season in particular blows. Yet I still watch. Bleh.

Before I gave up on it completely, I used to watch Smallville.

Sex and the City. I hate SJP and Cynthia Nixon as well as their characters, but whenever it's on I find myself watching it.
I'm also addicted to South of Nowhere. It's lame, but I really like the lead girls and their characters, and it's lesbiantastic!

My constant viewing of Yes Dear is a textbook example of this subject. I couldn't say I like any of the characters and I don't identify with the situations ( I'm married, but no kids ) but I catch it at least once each weekday. Damn you sydication !! And Jean Loiusa Kelly ... did you have to be so milfy !?!

I had never heard of Jean Louisa Kelly, so I had to go to IMDb to check her out. Damn, milfy is right, Groovy Chainsaw!

Topic? For a while I was watching Fear Factor, but only only because my ex wanted to see it, although I have to admit I got totally sucked into the couples competition. *hangs head in shame*

Did I forget to mention that if there were no "Walker, Texas Ranger", there would be no "Walker, Texas Ranger" lever?

And for that, ladies and gentlemen, we must be truly thankful.

Amen!

I've been watching Enterprise lately. I hate all but two of the characters, I hate the plots and I think it's pretty much the worst Star Trek product ever.

Modern Girl's Guide to Life.

I always end up watching Gastineau Girls whenever it's on. I really hate Brittany the daughter, but I kind of like Lisa the Mom and can see myself being friends with her.

Laguna Beach is like a really bad train wreck that I can't tear myself away from. What is wrong with me?

Oh, the shame, the shame! I can't stay away from the TV Land showings of godawful '70's dreck like What's Happenin!! and Three's Company. I'm mesmerized by their consistently rock-bottom awfulness. Achieving such uber-cheesiness on a weekly basis for so many years is really quite impressive!

I actually wish the network would show the Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and the Donny and Marie Show, so I could be even more disgusted with myself.

Hey, hey, hey! SbtB is a quality program. What?

I watch One Tree Hill every week and I hate myself for it. The plot lines are contrived, the acting is horrible, and the dialogue is ridiculous. Still, I watch. Every frickin' week.

I used to shamefully watch Mutant X regularly. Well, the first 2 seasons anyway. Eventually, the cheese was just too much for me.

I'm addicted to Starting Over, even though I hate most of the inmates and definitely hate the Life Coaches. I don't know why (or how) I get sucked in every season.

Survivor and American Idol are two. I'm almost always disappointed with the winner and in the case of AI, how blatantly obvious it is who they want to win, but for some reason I just can't not watch them. Also, ER. IMO, it's not very good this year or for the past couple of years, but it falls into "habit" viewing for me.

Will and Grace - hate it, but still watch sometimes.
And for some mysterious reason I have to check out what stupid thing Jay Leno is doing. I can't say I watch but I do peek from time to time and then bitch about him.

Full House reruns. I can't resist the Miller-Boyett crap factory.

Ooh, yes American Idol for me too. I started watching it in the second season, just to keep my finger on the pulse of American culture. But slowly, and quite regretfully, I became addicted. And I hate it! I hate every awful aspect of it. And I hate that I cannot not watch it. I hate that I had conversations at some point with my colleagues about the merits of Fantasia. Ugh, it makes me loathe myself to purposely stop what I'm doing and sit down in front of the TV to watch it.

Help!

I have not missed an ep of The O.C. since it started. The first season I loved the snappy dialogue and the cheesy goodness of it all. Last season was such a huge disappointment, the acting was embarrassing, and the plots were silly beyond belief. This season is worse, but I can't stop watching. In fact, I'm addicted to the power-duo of crap that is The O.C. and Reunion on Thursdays. As cheesy as Reunion is, I don't know if I can say I hate it yet, but I'm getting there fast. The only thing that's keeping me interested is finding out which songs they'll play from my high school and college days.

Jeebus, you are not alone. I used to watch, too. I had a serious crush on Victor Webster at one time, despite his inability to act himself out of his tight T-shirts.

When "Beverly Hills 90210" was first-run, not only was I hooked, but I had a friend who was hooked, and whenever possible we watched it together. Gradually - around the time Dylan 'chose' Kelly - we began to have real problems with the show, and those problems got worse and worse until all we did was complain for the whole hour we watched. Yet we never stopped watching. Anyone remember the old Listerine commercial that actually made a virtue of the fact that the stuff tasted vile? "The taste you hate... twice a day". Well, for us, BH90210 became "The show we hate... once a week."

I bailed midway through the second season. First season was fun to snark on, but Iyanla was just too infuriating for me. I only stuck with it as long as I did because of the SO forum here.

I never watched "Mutant X", but I loved Victor Webster on "Days of our Lives". Favorite soap hunk ever besides Cameron Mathison.



My friends and I are big fans of it, but we've watched from Day One and have conceded that the first season will always be the best and right now there's not enough sympathetic people in the house. During class, though, we would pretend that we were in the Starting Over house and we would have daily goals complete with overdramatic narration.

"Today, on STARTING OVER: Erin has her math quiz. Will her lack of studying come back to haunt her? Meanwhile, Jakey struggles with the fact that his pants are too big. Can he solve the problem, or will it lead to embarrassment later in the day?"

I used to watch DOOL some years back, and heard VW was on the show, but I never remembered seeing him. Wasn't he Nicolas Alamain? Also, who's Cameron Mathison?

Hee!

I'm still watching Lost, though I've grown to hate it. I tried to stop this week, but it is still programmed in the VCR, so I ended up watching the tape after reading the recaplet. Mr. Megasaur laughed at me, but then he ended up watching part of it too. The only way I'll stop is if I cancel the program in the VCR because obviously I can't stop myself.

I am one of many on the 7th Heaven board who watches 7th Heaven to see how bad it gets. Many of them hate that GD show.

I can't not watch Reunion because once I started watching, I got invested in the mystery and had to find out who did it and why. But frankly, I wish Mathew St. Patrick would just stand in front of the camera and tell me the outcome, so I wouldn't have to subject myself to the bad acting, the year-specific cliches ("Our company is called America Online!" "Everyone in Seattle dresses like this. It's called grunge!"), and the abuse of some of my favorites songs by the soundtrack monkeys (my heart broke a little bit when "Losing My Religion" started playing last week).

Dawson's Creek owns this thread for me. The thign is I know I hate it as I'm watching it, yet I can't stop. Good thing TBS moved it to once at 9am rather than the excessive twice a day.

I've been watching Surface every week. The writing and acting are bad, I don't give a crap about any of the characters, and I hope the sea monsters eat or electrocute them all. But it's so cheesy, I can't keep myself from tuning in. And the CGI baby sea monster is so ugly he's almost cute.

For me, it's Little House on the Prarie. I loved it as a kid, but it makes me cringe now....and yet, if I see it on the TV guide, I find myself inexplicably tuning in. I need help.

Little House is great to watch for the snark value.

I, too, must watch Little House, even though I don't really like it. I think it has something to do with all those people snarking about it on the show's thread! ;-). I also watch Walker, Texas Ranger, because I love the opening credits, with that song, and him standing above the Dallas skyline (Dallas is my hometown); but the teaser part of the episode (before the theme song) is so long, I become invested in the show.

Cheaters. I know its wrong to watch people cheat, cry, scream, and occasionally stab people, but I can't look away. Its like a mysterious force is making me watch this show.

Does R. Kelly's Trapped in a Closet count as a TV show? They air it on TV, so I'll vote yes. Anyway, I got sucked into that thing and think its terrible, but I can't wait to see chapters 7-12.

Ally McBeal is another craptastic show I watch despite the fact that I can't stand it and want to drop-kick Ally like a football.

I know-I hate this show but always watch it-dammit.

For me it's America's Next Top Model. I'm not a big fan of reality shows anyway and this one, with Tyra's over-the-top panel judgments and extremely limited vocabulary, the contestants' lack of self-awareness and bitchy personalities, TPTB trying to convince me that modeling is in fact a real job, and those goddamned My Life As A Cover Girl spots, should be anathema to me. And yet, every Wednesday I'm faithfully parked in front of my TV.

Last year, I got sucked into Dawson's Creek, watching it twice a day. Fortunately I'm at work when it comes on now so that addiction has been cured.

Yes, Victor Webster was Nicholas Alamain, Vivian's nephew. All I remember from his stint was he ended up seducing Kate while wearing a towel.

Cameron Mathison is Ryan Lavery on "All My Children" and the only reason he's my favorite is because my friend and I met him at a Meet and Greet at the Mall of America. We were two 16-year-old boys amidst a few hundred middle-aged women.

To get on topic, I really hate those dating shows like 5th Wheel and Elimidate but always have to watch them if I catch them flipping because I can't not know who the person picks at the end!

No judgment here. It's Blind Date for me. And I don't even date! And I watch even though it's painful to observe not just the people who are obviously so wrong for each other clash like oil and water, but the people who have decided their dates went well even though the audience can tell that those potential hook-ups are absolutely doomed.

I like Blind date. I love the ones where one of them says "Oh yeah, we had great chemistry. I'd go out again in a second." The other person says "I'm never going out with this person again."

If I come across a Miller-Boyett show channel surfing, I will usually get sucked in, even though I hate those shows. Full House and Family Matters are the worst offenders.