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Big Lebowski, Anchor Man, Big Bang theory, anything with Jim Carey bar dumb n dumber 1.
Just dont get any of them. At all. Ever.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
The humor in Big Bang theory (when it was watchable) basically boiled down to laughing with (and often at) people with Spectrum behaviors so pronounced they impact quality of life. That's a real bucket of chuckles.

No wonder they morphed it into a stock sitcom.

but that's just 'merika being 'merika, the characters can't just be weirdo's it had to be pseudo-medical (in sitcom terms) reasons for the non-compliance with established culture, and Katie was a much better idea than Penny but again outright slatternly doesn't test as well as nudge nudge wink winkness they went with

For over-rated I'm going to have to go for Wonder Woman, it is indeed a fun romp but just being better than other DC output and having a female lead isn't a reason to get over airiated

 Ratius wrote:
Big Lebowski, .

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

Musically?

Oasis. They were rubbish. Liam can't sing, none of them are original. Their catalogue is derivative. Had it not been for the tabloids latching onto Liam being a goon, they'd have sunk without trace. Gimme Pulp any day.

This! The entire genre is absolute tosh. From a country that produced such greats as Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, Queen and the like, these tossers were criminally bad in comparison.

Firefly, I've sat through the entire season and the big damn movie, but a load of toss in my eyes. Basically a sci-fi show recorded on a disused western lot for the most part while raiding the gun section of the prop department and dubbing in pew-pew noises to make it all sound more shiny.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
I find the term "overrated" to be exceedingly overrated, particularly as it implies that other people are somehow wrong for liking something you don't.

It's the old thing where people can't just say "I didn't like this", but have to jump to "This is objectively bad."

My own is Slumdog Millionaire. The inspiring message seems to be that if you have several extraordinary strokes of luck in rapid succession, you can achieve your dreams. Hurrah? Also, if you know how the game show works, it guts the climax of any tension because he doesn't have to answer the final question! He could just say "Don't know, I'll stop here." and still leave with the equivalent of half a million.

For Game of Thrones.....it's well acted, the scenery is pretty, the plot is fascinating, but about S4, I realised I didn't care who won anymore. The characters seemed so uniformly gakky (aside from a few who were punished for trying to be the least bit decent) that I realised I was rooting for the White Walkers. I still enjoy hearing about it second-hand, in the same way I might enjoy reading about a history of the actual Wars of the Roses, but I've mostly lost interest in it as a dramatic show. Then again, I feel the same way about most of the big TV dramas over the last fifteen or so years--they largely seem to be about horrible people doing horrible things to equally horrible people.

 curran12 wrote:
Deadpool.

Not necessarily because his stuff is bad, but because he is so everywhere. It's a meme that won't go away. And so many people see a Deadpool costume/cosplay as carte blanche to act like a jackass.

I love Deadpool the way I love hot peppers: in small doses. His schtick becomes very gratingly tryhard, very fast. Ryan Reynolds himself did the exact same stuff for The Hitman's Bodyguard and it was one of the worst movies this year I think in no small part due to that.




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 Nostromodamus wrote:
Yes, Oasis were rubbish.

I also really dislike Tarantino/his movies.

I love some of his stuff while just plain not getting others. I thought Django Unchained was a triumph, and can watch Inglorious Basterds a million times, but I imagine more Tarantino fans would call Reservoir Dogs a better movie, and I didn't think it was very good at all. Same for Kill Bill, which I found way, way too long.

I think Shakespeare is overrated. Sure, his work was highly influential and permeates modern culture almost as much as the Bible, but the greatest writer the English language has ever seen? Nah. His oeuvre has a lot of repetition and is mostly made up of him taking already successful stories, figuring out what worked, and then fleshing that out while playing to the massesd. He's the P. Diddy of literature.


Okay, he's better than P.Diddy.

Star Trek, I always thought it too preachy and lacking in moral ambiguity to be interesting. Shatner's terrible over acting is the only good thing about it. I can understand how people could get immersed in the ST universe though.

 BrookM wrote:
Firefly, I've sat through the entire season and the big damn movie, but a load of toss in my eyes. Basically a sci-fi show recorded on a disused western lot for the most part while raiding the gun section of the prop department and dubbing in pew-pew noises to make it all sound more shiny.

I actually agree with the overrated bit. However it's more the cult following that came after it was cancelled. Yeah it's a good show but it's not so absolutely amazing that it must be brought up for years and years.

Btw BrookM i usually agree with you on a lot of game choices. Perhaps i should add you to my steam list. Let me know if you're interested.
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I might get flak for this next one. Games made from blizzard. Yeah it has good games but Diablo 3 was a massive grind. Even people that wanted to get me into WoW seemed to hate the grinding. It's more like you have to be addicted to grinding in games to enjoy Blizzard games. Even with Starcraft 2 i liked it but the amount of insane hype was just too much. I guess that's what expectations become after years of waiting for an anticipated game. Even the original SC1 though it's actually more fun than i originally gave credit to has a much bigger fan-base than a lot of good games that just went off the radar. Oh and don't even get me started on the super antiquated resource system in SC2. Base building can be ok but the gatherers and to a lesser extent builders part of RTS games needs to die. I suppose it makes starcraft 2 unique now but it just relies on such old mechanics that we moved passed for a reason. I mean try focusing on the actual strategy rather than how much income you get. Simplify resource management.

- I feel nothing for Star Wars.
I see why Disney picked it up to sell mega endless garbage to its fans. Smart move actually. Incidentally, I own absolutely nothing SW related.

- Professional Sports.
That's what I want to do with my time. Watch a bunch of millionaires play a game very well meant for children. While I pay through the nose for a ticket & sit in the hardest most indestructible chairs in all of creation for 4+ hours. I'd love to spend $13 for a warm & watery cheap beer while numbing my ass simultaneously.

- Concert tickets to big acts.
$100+ a ticket to see Maiden, Springsteen, U2?
Naw man those bands are just greatest hits packages now. They haven't produced good new music in years. Nostalgia keeps yachts safe on the piers.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I think Shakespeare is overrated. Sure, his work was highly influential and permeates modern culture almost as much as the Bible, but the greatest writer the English language has ever seen? Nah. His oeuvre has a lot of repetition and is mostly made up of him taking already successful stories, figuring out what worked, and then fleshing that out while playing to the massesd. He's the P. Diddy of literature.


Okay, he's better than P.Diddy.

Nah, Shakespeare's immense influence makes him immune to being overrated. He's a giant and that's that, whether or not his stuff is to your taste.

This might be a good topic of its own. The Beatles also cannot be overrated, for similar reasons.


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 BrookM wrote:
Firefly, I've sat through the entire season and the big damn movie, but a load of toss in my eyes. Basically a sci-fi show recorded on a disused western lot for the most part while raiding the gun section of the prop department and dubbing in pew-pew noises to make it all sound more shiny.

I think it was a cute show, but definitely not groundbreaking or worth the enormous emotional attachment some have to it.

 DANGEROUS DICK LONGFELLOW wrote:
Maiden,

Politely disagree here.

Maiden know how to put on a show, and can still rock it as hard as they ever could. Plus, Book of Souls is a pretty superb double album.

I mean, check out this beauty.




Absolutely cracking track, and their longest song to boot.


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 gorgon wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I think Shakespeare is overrated. Sure, his work was highly influential and permeates modern culture almost as much as the Bible, but the greatest writer the English language has ever seen? Nah. His oeuvre has a lot of repetition and is mostly made up of him taking already successful stories, figuring out what worked, and then fleshing that out while playing to the massesd. He's the P. Diddy of literature.


Okay, he's better than P.Diddy.

Nah, Shakespeare's immense influence makes him immune to being overrated. He's a giant and that's that, whether or not his stuff is to your taste.

This might be a good topic of its own. The Beatles also cannot be overrated, for similar reasons.

Disagree.

Shakespeare is well regarded because his works survived. I rate Chaucer far above Shakespeare for a start.

Beatles? Early stuff was good, but few seem willing to admit their later stuff was pretty dire.

After thinking about it a bit more, should we be disagreeing at all in this thread?

People's opinions are...their opinions.

State your piece and move on?

Shakespeare, like Dickens, is an interesting one in this regard; his work had no aspirations beyond just trying to entertain a large amount of people, and since then, people have read waaaay too much into it. It's a credit to his work that it stands up to that scrutiny, but it was never meant to be pulled apart like that... I guess what I'm saying is that Shakespeare is the OT Star Wars of its day!

So I won't say they are over-rated, just over-thought. I think the reason so many people detest Shakespeare is because instead of just letting kids enjoy his wonderfully entertaining plays for what they are, the British education system insists on forcing them to dissect, interpret, basically approach them as a 'science' rather than a form of entertainment. I guarantee that Shakespeare would be less of a byword for boredom if kids were just taught the essentials for understanding the texts, then just allowed to watch and enjoy them not as high art, just as a good time.

Admittedly, I'm a big Shakespeare fan so highly biased, I accept that some people won't find it entertaining in any case, but I definitely think it'd help if they weren't forced on kids as soon as they hit year 8 and then relentlessly redone for the next 6 or so years of English lessons. Especially when the same ones are done over and over again... There are more plays than just Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo And Juliet!

 flamingkillamajig wrote:

I might get flak for this next one. Games made from blizzard.

I'm 200% on board with this one. Blizzard games cant keep me engaged at all. Theyre really boring clickfests to me. Ive always been of the opinion that theyre more about the brand than anything else, they could come out with "Blizzard: Poo" and sell a million units just on the name as nerds shell out $69.99 for a literal turd in a box.

But seriously, Diablo 3? Boring grindfest and 90's era attritional clickycombat. SC2? Forgot it as soon as I finished the campaign in 2010. World of Warcraft? The very definition of mind numbing grind game. Heroes of the Storm? I hate Mobas personally, so I cant comment, but Blizzard basically entered that arena a decade later than it should have when gifted DOTA on a silver platter

WC2 and SC1 were great...in the mind 90's. WC3 was...ok...in 1999 (when ground breaking games like Homeworld were emerging).

Haven't been terribly impressed by anything from Blizzard in almost 20 years.

I will never forget spending a month delving into Twelfth Night (or As You Will) as literature. It was a damn Benny Hill sketch!

We had to cover Hamlet three times in my public education. Three times! One really starts to find flaws in a play about a dithering emo who just can't get himself to act. King Lear, Macbeth, Othello and Julius Caesar were all far more engaging. But, yeah reading a play instead of watching it, struggling with archaic grammar and vocabulary, and pouring over every line (sometimes even the dick jokes) as if it was the word of God...surprised the teachers couldn't figure out why students hate to read.

Shakespeare is well regarded because his works survived. I rate Chaucer far above Shakespeare for a start.

What an odd comparison to draw. You do realise they're centuries apart? What you've done there is essentially say "I rate Beethoven far above Elvis Presley for a start." An opinion you're perfectly entitled to hold, but it's going to raise eyebrows at such a divergent pair of examples. Or does "olde worlde writey bloke" sufficently qualify the comparison? In which case I will advance the argument for Slave #2437 and his hieroglyphic work at Giza.

 Paradigm wrote:
Shakespeare, like Dickens, is an interesting one in this regard; his work had no aspirations beyond just trying to entertain a large amount of people, and since then, people have read waaaay too much into it. It's a credit to his work that it stands up to that scrutiny, but it was never meant to be pulled apart like that... I guess what I'm saying is that Shakespeare is the OT Star Wars of its day!

So I won't say they are over-rated, just over-thought. I think the reason so many people detest Shakespeare is because instead of just letting kids enjoy his wonderfully entertaining plays for what they are, the British education system insists on forcing them to dissect, interpret, basically approach them as a 'science' rather than a form of entertainment. I guarantee that Shakespeare would be less of a byword for boredom if kids were just taught the essentials for understanding the texts, then just allowed to watch and enjoy them not as high art, just as a good time.

Admittedly, I'm a big Shakespeare fan so highly biased, I accept that some people won't find it entertaining in any case, but I definitely think it'd help if they weren't forced on kids as soon as they hit year 8 and then relentlessly redone for the next 6 or so years of English lessons. Especially when the same ones are done over and over again... There are more plays than just Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo And Juliet!

Brilliant. In my younger days I had some surplus time and read all of the Shakespeare plays that were in the English book. Freed of having to dissect it, they were awesome and started a love for Billy that exists to this day.

It also doesnt help that most school study of Shakespeare goes out of its way to pretend all the double-entendre and humor that's supposed to be in there doesn't exist, and misses a lot of the wordplay that you'd only get knowing 16th century vernacular English. It gets sanitized to the point of absurdity.

It's no wonder most people dont appreciate it as much as they should

If I have to dissect one more Shakespeare play I swear to God I'll dissect the person telling me to do it.

Also im not fussed on cabin in the woods, it was like. "Look it's a smart satire of horror films." Except the Evil dead did that years ago.


And do you really expect me to believe no college student has ever smoked weed in the cabin before? Really?

Jimi Hendrix. Sure, he is very good at playing a guitar. But he couldn't write a song to save his life. Singing? Holy hell, kill me now. He would have been better as a band member, not a band leader.

Are we sticking to media here, or can we pick anything that's popular?

'Cause for me it is Sushi.

What a worthless and wasteful contribution to food. It's sole purpose is to be used as a medium for getting wasabi and pickled ginger in your mouth.

"Oh, but you have to spend years training to be an expert in making sushi, they have all these special names and it's a big part of ritual and custom"

No, it's crap stuff that is barely food that is massively overhyped.


Edit: and while we're at it - Katanas! They are crap swords! Very useful if you want to butcher a load of unarmoured peasants of if you want a one on one fight. Massively overshadowed by the superior European swords (that came as a result of superior European metal availability).

The katana was fine for its purpose. As the secondary weapon. Samurai were supposed to be archers first and foremost. A good longsword, the hand and a half kind,was far more versatile than the katana. IHMO, of course. The arming sword, not sure, but leaning towards more versatile.

Overrated? Hmmm.

Ah, yes.

The Beatles

Good grief, that White Album.

So many edits. I hate phone typing.

 Red Harvest wrote:
The katana was fine for its purpose.

Yeah, crap was a bit of hyperbole. But if we're talking about things that are overrated then I don't think there's anything wrong with over-egging why they're overrated.


Agreed with whoever said Game of Thrones. The show could never have another episode and you'd get little more than a shrug out of me.

I've honestly never understood the appeal of superheroes. This may have something to do with how I'm not American, and how I wasn't really exposed to superhero comic books until I was past my teens. When I grew up in Norway in the 80's and 90's we mostly read Carl Barks' Donald Duck stories and Franco-Belgian adventure comics.

I don't understand the need for superhuman abilities to tell stories, and Superman in particular is just predictable and undefeatable. Superpowers just aren't a compelling device for telling stories in my opinion, and the story doesn't need to be in any way less fantastic or imaginative for the lack of them.

Superheroes are just another sub genre of fantasy. How do you feel about mythology or epic quests? They tend to intersect quite a bit.




It always blows my mind when Europeans describe some fantastic run of high quality Donald Duck comics.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I think Shakespeare is overrated. Sure, his work was highly influential and permeates modern culture almost as much as the Bible, but the greatest writer the English language has ever seen? Nah. His oeuvre has a lot of repetition and is mostly made up of him taking already successful stories, figuring out what worked, and then fleshing that out while playing to the massesd. He's the P. Diddy of literature.


Okay, he's better than P.Diddy.

That's ridiculous. He's the JJ Abrams of literature. Rebooting every story, and even the entire sonnet poetic form, while encasing it all in iambic pentameter- the equivalent of Elizabethan lens flare.

 Paradigm wrote:
Admittedly, I'm a big Shakespeare fan so highly biased, I accept that some people won't find it entertaining in any case, but I definitely think it'd help if they weren't forced on kids as soon as they hit year 8 and then relentlessly redone for the next 6 or so years of English lessons. Especially when the same ones are done over and over again... There are more plays than just Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo And Juliet!

I remember the first time I saw an actual performance of Shakespeare, vs studying the text and it was a revelation--oh I see, this is meant to be funny! I think a much better way to read Shakespeare might be in comic form--it loses so much as dry text, when you can't see the emotion and body language of the characters.

Vaktathi wrote:It also doesnt help that most school study of Shakespeare goes out of its way to pretend all the double-entendre and humor that's supposed to be in there doesn't exist, and misses a lot of the wordplay that you'd only get knowing 16th century vernacular English. It gets sanitized to the point of absurdity.

It's no wonder most people dont appreciate it as much as they should

When I was in high school it was the opposite. The teachers tried to convince us how much we should like Shakespeare because of all the dirty wordplay. I personally think half of the appeal of it nowadays is the work that goes into understanding anything written in antiquated English that was forced to fit into iambic pentameter or a sonnet or whatever else he used. Strip that away and the humor is like watching Will & Grace.

Henry wrote:Are we sticking to media here, or can we pick anything that's popular?

'Cause for me it is Sushi.

What a worthless and wasteful contribution to food. It's sole purpose is to be used as a medium for getting wasabi and pickled ginger in your mouth.

No, no, no - sushi is for getting seaweed and mayonnaise into my mouth.

People have mentioned many of mine: Christopher Nolan (Memento is particularly awful), Blizzard, Game of Thrones, Firefly, Marvel movies... I think enough people dislike Big Bang Theory and Harry Potter for those to not really count for me.

I'd like to mention The Hangover. I generally dislike any Las Vegas movie where the characters get super-excited to go there. It's like Las Vegas is the only city in the country that has alcohol, parties, drugs, and prostitutes.

HBO in general is overrated. It's not just Game of Thrones. The Sopranos, True Blood, Westworld, Boardwalk Empire, Silicon Valley, Eastbound and Down, Girls, Sex and the City, Flight of the Conchords... I've seen way too much praise for these shows. I think context is a big part of many people's enjoyment, and having to pay extra or pirate these shows, plus the nudity and/or language, just makes everything from HBO become overrated.

One last thing: The Godfather. What is it about organized crime that makes it the most dramatic, prestigious, highest-rated thing you could make a television show or film about?