InsaneJournal

Current mood:	confused
Entry tags:	tv talk

Kill Your Television
So. I just finished watching the last Bones ep before the finale and it occurs to me yet again (because I have this thought pretty much weekly) that I really, really don't like the show.

That's not meant to be a slight against those of you who do enjoy—or even love—the show. Recognizing that a show isn't my cup of tea is different than saying OMG, IT SUCKS. But it does raise the question of why I continue to watch a show that I really don't like and don't enjoy.

It's a pretty common thing in fandom for people to say, "If you don't like it, why don't you just stop watching?" And, in theory, I agree with the core principle of that, even if I don't agree that complaining or criticizing equals hate for a show. But, for the first time in my life, I find myself watching a (small) number of shows that I really can't say that I like and I wonder why.

In the case of something like Dollhouse, I can't say that I like the show, but I, nonetheless, found myself fascinated by it. The problematic-ness of its central conceit and execution made me interested in seeing how—and if—they would be resolved. And that was enough. Well. That and the lovely shots of Tahmoh Pennikett half naked.

With Grey's Anatomy, though I am frequently upset with the majority of the players and the plot-lines often make me roll my eyes, I'm sticking it out for the love of certain characters—Christina, Bailey, Addison, before she left…and lately, Mark Sloane, wtf. I live in fear of Shonda screwing them up, but I still feel an emotional-intellectual attachment to them that keeps me hanging on. And for now, that's enough.

Lost is probably the easiest; though I don't really like any of the characters anymore, I'm watching to see what happens. I've invested too much time and mental energy in the show to quit before I get my answers. And, truthfully, watching in this way generally gives me an emotional detachment I'm finding quite pleasant. Like Dollhouse, I just want to see. I don't really care, I just want to know.

But Bones…I'm not sure why I'm watching Bones. At first, it was for Boreanaz. Which is ironic, since Angel was often my least favorite character on his own show, but there was something remarkable about his transformation from a show that made him miserable to a show that clearly makes him very happy. I had a brief flirtation with Hodgins and Angela's romance but, for obvious reasons, that didn't last. And now I find myself nursing a little fondness for Sweets, even as he often trips my embarrassment squick. But my attachment to any of these things has always been a loose, ambivalent one, and I generally don't feel much of a pang when I fail to watch Bones in favor of something that I like more.

There are so many more cons for me to watching Bones than motivations…and yet I do continue to watch it. Sometimes I hate myself a little, for being unable to disentangle myself from it, but I'm still watching. So many shows I've shed without a backwards glance and yet I can't quite manage the same trick with Bones. Why?

I'm not sure. At heart, I suspect it's a terrible combination of boredom and inertia; I usually don't watch Bones when it airs on network television, I watch it…ahem, afterward. And, being the media junkie that I am, I generally reach a point, sometime during the week, when I want to watch something, I want to watch something new, but I also don't want to have to pay too much attention to it. And Bones fits the bill.

I try not to complain about it (Bones) too much, because I know it's my choice to watch it. It's my choice to subject myself to something that I know doesn't make me happy. I can't blame the show for that, or fandom. (Man, I would love to have someone to blame) At the same time, I keep picking at it, trying to discover what it is that keeps me tethered, that won't let me disengage. And…I don't know. I have no answers.

Do you guys have any shows like that? What do you think keeps you hanging on, past the point of enjoyment? Or where it never existed?