Hate Watching

The latest TV craze seems to be “Hate Watching.” People seek out and habitually watch shows they can’t stand, shows that make them angry.

Why? Because there’s not enough real aggravation in the world or bad entertainment – we need more!

It used to be you would watch awful shows for the cheese factor. As the old expression goes – they were so bad they were good. They were so over-the-top off base that it was amusing. MOMMIE DEAREST, Roger Corman movies, Ed Wood productions, the ‘60s BATMAN series, Japanese game shows, MANNEQUIN 2, Psy, and anything hosted by James Lipton or starring Ru Paul.

There was a certain kitsch, camp aspect to them. And there are still shows worth watching for that reason. Give me a PREGNANT AND DATING and SHARKNADO any day!

But lately that trend has morphed into watching shows religiously that you actively hate so much they piss you off.

Now I should mention this is not a new phenomenon. In the late ‘60s/early ‘70s there was an ABC sportscaster named Howard Cosell. He was this pompous, dyspeptic blowhard with a grating voice and abrasive delivery who offered color commentary on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. Most people despised him but they tuned in to disagree with everything he had to say. To a much lesser degree, Simon Cowell fills that role. He plays the villain, but his analysis is actually quite candid and refreshing. ESPN’s Chris Berman has made a very nice career for himself by getting on people’s nerves. Same with baseball's Tim McCarver.

But today the practice has become a popular fad. SMASH was probably the hate watcher’s champion. And GLEE was not far behind. A current favorite is THE NEWSROOM. A friend said to me about THE NEWSROOM: “I hate it each and every week.”

But he watches it.

Trust me, the provider doesn’t care why you watch shows just as long as you do. You could love it, loathe it, only watch because you want to sleep with Olivia Munn -- it matters not. They've got you.

When you consider how terrible the ratings were for SMASH, probably the only people who tuned in were hate watchers.

Personally, I’ve abandoned the practice. The last show I hate watched with any regularity was HAWAII FIVE-O. At first I watched because I wanted to like it. Then I realized the stories were terrible and the acting was worse, and yet I still watched because I love the scenery of Hawaii and figured, “Seriously, how much worse can it be?” They would answer that question every week, and then they started integrating commercials into the show (one for Subway was jaw dropping), and eventually I said, “What the fuck am I still watching this for? Click. I’ve never watched a minute of it since.

I thought I’d hate watch the CBS sitcom PARTNERS last year, but the pilot alone was so excruciating that I could never go back.

Seems to me that hate watching is not healthy and certainly not good for the psyche. In a thousand-channel universe, and thousands of movies available for you on demand, why waste your time and energy on material you know will only infuriate you? Would you get in your car and drive during rush hour traffic if you didn’t have to? Would you date Roseanne twice? No. Of course not. So why watch THE TALK?

Life’s too short. I’m still kicking myself for having watched Howard Cosell.

Do you hate watch? If so, why and which shows, and have you ever considered extensive therapy?