|
Gorky

DOOP Secretary

|
|
Why do so many people eat up Steig Larson's books but ignore the works of Cormac McCarthy? *
'Cause Cormac McCarthy is a pretentious blowhard. Insert almost any other literary author in that second slot there, though, and I totally appreciate where you're coming from.  It's amazing to watch the pea-brained kids talk about Jersey Shore and laugh like a bunch of idiots while imitating their behaviour.
Trust me, you'll be encountering plenty more superficial dum-dums in high school. Just be thankful you're mature and thoughtful enough not to have fallen into that trap. Nerdiness is an admirable quality in a young lady...or at least that's what I've been telling myself for the past eight years. (Although I will say that Jersey Shore and other reality shows of its ilk are prime fodder for vicious mockery. Unironically and unabashedly loving those shows, however, is pretty damn troubling.) And in answer to the original question: I think there's a stigma surrounding both sci fi (at least in mainstream pop culture) and animation, and Futurama just happens to be a sci fi animated show. So it's kind of screwed. If it was just a live-action science fiction show or just an animated workplace comedy, I'm sure it would have a wider audience. But combining the two elements probably makes most TV viewers uneasy. People have their prejudices, you know, thinking shows like that are juvenile or unconnected to their own experiences or what have you. Their loss, I say.
|
|
|
|
|
sparkybarky

Liquid Emperor
 
|
|
 |
« Reply #42 on: 09-04-2011 21:20 »
« Last Edit on: 09-04-2011 21:21 »
|
|
Why do so many people eat up Steig Larson's books but ignore the works of Cormac McCarthy? *
'Cause Cormac McCarthy is a pretentious blowhard. Insert almost any other literary author in that second slot there, though, and I totally appreciate where you're coming from. 
Ooooh, Gorky, dem's fighting words. It's time for a literary smackdown. Hahaha, I'm being...er...ironic (I think I'm using that word correctly--I think it's the most misused word in the entire English language, or maybe that's "hopefully"). I don't take offense to you calling McCarthy a blowhard, though a few of his books are among my favorites. It's all good. We like what we like. Similarly, I don't think us Futurama geeks and freaks should be bothered by others not liking it. It leaves more for us. Hopefully, this post makes sense. (Bender should sing about that word, too.  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
5qu1d

Crustacean

|
|
I think that you need to see at least 2 to 3 episodes in order to appreciate the humor and want to see more. Many people aren't willing to invest that much time in a TV show they've heard is good from a friend. I feel that if you are trying to introduce Futurama to a friend, that the two best episodes to start with are either the pilot episode or the Farnsworth Parabox.
|
|
|
|
|
|
spira

Liquid Emperor
 
|
|
Trust me, you'll be encountering plenty more superficial dum-dums in high school.
'Course, it's way easier to avoid them in high school than it is in middle school. At least for me it was. Futurama does require a lot more investment than many other shows. You've really got to stick around for a while to get to appreciate how awesome it is, which turns off a lot of newcomers.
|
|
|
|
|
transgender nerd under canada

DOOP Ubersecretary
 
|
|
Nerdiness is an admirable quality in a young lady.
Hear, hear! I agree. Given the choice between a stunningly gorgeous woman with no brain and an appreciation for Big Brother or the girl in the Futurama T-shirt who has her nose in a science textbook, I know who I'd want to spend an hour talking to. Of course, this is why I don't end up getting laid anymore. Nerd girls are much more unique and interesting than some off-the-shelf or by-the-numbers slut, but they're all either already dating some jerk (and therefore don't really want to date this jerk as well) or they're lesbians. Or they want to have sex with my friend. That last one seems to be the most common case, come to think of it. In conclusion, all girls are crazy. Especially those that display any sign of interest in me whatsoever. That's a sure sign of mental instability. Nerd girls are approximately 20% hotter than the rest though. Even if they're also about 80% crazier.
|
|
|
|
|
Otis P Jivefunk

DOOP Secretary

|
|
Evaluation; there's not enough nerd girls. Tis a sad depressing state of affairs, oh well, the chances of me meeting any are slim to none anyways as I'm too busy being a nerd to go out...
Conclusion, I was born the wrong gender...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gorky

DOOP Secretary

|
|
But he presumably would not have the same problem with touching them...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SolidSnake

Professor

|
|
My Big Brother is the type of guy who thinks Futurama, isn't funny and is a "crappy show" with no good reasons to back it up.
My brother tells me that "I've never seen you once laugh at Futurama", even though he's never around when I'm watching the new episodes, nor when I started watching the whole series to begin with.
I go on to tell him that I've already watched the episodes, and they may not break out as laugh-out-loud funny anymore, they're all very enjoyable to watch because the show tackles other stuff besides humor, and could keep me entertained for hours.
My brother is a Family Guy fan. Yes, he's one of those people who prefer comedy over story I guess. But I still don't understand what's so funny about FG's 8 year old kid humor, rather than Futurama's witty and clever humor? And how does Humor make a show any better than another?
Also, he tried to tell me that Family Guy is more realistic than Futurama. Like, WHAT? I mean yeah, Futurama takes place in the future, and uses alot of sci-fi references, some of which may be a bit cheesy. But it's 1000 in the future. Who ever said it wasn't possible? You can actually get away with having stuff like having rayguns, spaceships, and alien species having a show take place in the future. In Family Guy, how can a baby talk, and how can a dog talk? And how is a baby smart enough to have sexual decisions, make rayguns, time machines, the list goes on.
Family Guy is more realistic than Futurama..... Big Brother logic for ya.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beamer

DOOP Secretary

|
|
1. They suck.
2. There are no other reasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SolidSnake

Professor

|
|
Yeah, my brother might not like it, but my dad does like the series. My dad is not a huge sci-fi geek or anything, but he generally likes Sci-Fi, and is a longtime Trekkie. He likes the direction Futurama takes though. He likes the direction older Seasons took, as well as the newer seasons took. He will sometimes point out references I wouldn't know (Like in Leela and the Genestalk, he pointed out every Jack and Beanstalk reference).
He's been watching the series with me since 6B, and I'm eventually going to get around to watching the series from start-to-finish (the third time for me) with him soon. I've of course, shown him other episode like Parasite Lost, Space Pilot 3000, Parabox, you know, the classics during the time it's off the air..
|
|
|
|
|
cartoonlover27

Professor

|
|
My friend and I have this thing, where if one of us likes something, the other will not admit it. She finally did admit she likes Futurama, so. She said and I quote," it's stupid" before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DannyJC13

DOOP Secretary

|
|
My mum loves Futurama and doesn't mind watching it at all, she usually always watches the new episodes with me when they air in the UK, and occasionally I'll show her a new episode online before it hits TV over here. She thinks it's hilarious and her favourite character is the Professor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tachyon

DOOP Secretary

|
|
Very sad.  I was chatted up once by a cashier in a grocery store because she liked my Planet Express schematic shirt. She didn't register on Peel (afaik) so she must secretly hate Futurama...
|
|
|
|
|
|
SilverWolf

Crustacean

|
|
My friend said it was depressing. I think she meant how dark it is depresses her. I like that about it though...
|
|
|
|
|
Beamer

DOOP Secretary

|
|
Dismissing creative expression for being "dark" rules out, like, 90% of all art. And Futurama is hardly "dark" compared to most other adult comedy cartoons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DannyJC13

DOOP Secretary

|
|
I think a lot of people who haven't seen the pilot "don't get" the premise or anything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TheMadCapper

Fluffy
UberMod
DOOP Secretary

|
|
 |
« Reply #79 on: 08-28-2013 22:28 »
« Last Edit on: 08-28-2013 22:29 »
|
|
People who dislike the show are not necessarily stupid or unsophisticated or anything like that. They just have not formed a positive opinion of the show due to some reason or combination of reasons. Some people haven't really watched the show with an open mind, maybe because they are indeed prejudiced against cartoons being entertainment for mature audiences. Maybe some of them just don't have an open mind to anything fantasy or sci-fi. Some people just don't find the premise interesting. After all, a traditional sitcom is more based in real life as it centers on the family unit, which is more relevant to many viewers' experience of life. Which leads nicely to my next paragraph.
I once read an article about why The Office continued to succeed after Steve Carrell's departure, and I felt it was spot on: it's because his character was a major part of the show but he was NOT the everyman, the person the audience can relate to. That part was John Krasinski's character Jim and to a degree Jenna Fischer's character Pam. They were the characters people liked, wanted to see succeed, and related to, and they were in large part why so many people kept coming back. The other characters were entertaining but not empathetic. Lots of people need to feel some kind of connection to the characters to really become engaged. And guess what? Futurama doesn't necessarily have that for everyone. For one thing it's animated. And the closest thing to an everyman is Fry, who is a complete moron. There's no family unit to relate to because the PE crew isn't a family. They live in a craaazy futuristic world which we obviously enjoy but which makes the show less realistic to those who are already having trouble connecting themselves to the Futurama universe.
And of course, there's poor taste. Some people would just rather watch Jersey Shore. And of course, there are certainly people out there who consider Futurama to be in poor taste, what with the rudeness, profanity, casual sex, lack of moral lessons, etc.
This is the part of the post where I stop typing and
|
|
|
|
|