MovieChat Forums > True Detective (2014) Discussion > Most Overrated show on television?

Most Overrated show on television?

posted 8 years ago by elsephen
46 replies | jump to latest

Granted, I haven't seen season 2, but the consensus (not sure what it's worth, since it's the reason I trusted season 1 to be great) is that it's bad...

True Detective (S1) is wonderful to look at, and it's acted well... but... the story is... pretty lazy. Especially the ending of season 1. It's as if the writers either had a deadline or just decided to check out early. The ending was like something out of a kid's book (total cartoon character bad guy out of nowhere) while the build-up was fairly realistic...almost painfully so. (slow moving)

I just never felt any sort of suspense, and they stumbled across clues far too conveniently for my liking.

Just not understanding what people see in this one other than eye-candy from a cinematography stand-point. The fluid scene was awesome too, but that was about as intense as the show ever became and seemed out of place.

What am I missing?

[–] Porrohman 8 years ago

"What am i missing?"

Good taste and a few *beep* braincells.

[–] ethermusic1981 8 years ago

Dickish reply is dickish.

[–] chibistevo-478-46753 7 years ago

Anyone with braincells would realise the hack-job Pizalatto did with the plot in Season 1 toward the end.

A plot with mystery and hard boiled detective elements cannot survive on character examination alone. It just can't, and that's why True Detective is, by story engineering terms, an absolute flop.

Of course, the mainstream public lap it up because of the admittedly top notch direction job and acting performances. They literally have no clue they've been fed one of the most overhyped dramas in years. And you have the gall to talk about taste and brain cells.

[–] CeroneSicario 7 years ago

Whoever said there was a law for a detective story to only be about the case? Newsflash, before the show even started it was already established that it would be about the detectives, not the case, the case is simply a plot device for pushing the main characters to the edge of their psyches and how far they will go to get the job done regardless of the outcome. That is what True Detective is, not some supposed twist you wanted to happen by season's end. The killer we got at the end, there are really people like that, they're just REALLY damn good at hiding it.

[–] joaocamilotorres 7 years ago

It is quite otherwise. The plot is minor for Detective stories. A monkey kills two women in a room is the plot of Poe's first detective story.

A good detective is about dialogue and the characters. Holmes and Watson are more memorable than all the plots or their cases (In fact, most of them are very ridiculous). Complex plot and twists was a latter development, a bit under cinema influence.

[–] CeroneSicario 7 years ago

You pretty much reiterated what I said. True Detective, yes, is very much about dialogue and the characters (the very strength of the show).

[–] joaocamilotorres 7 years ago

I believe that is called an agreement ;)

[–] CeroneSicario 7 years ago

I concur x)

[–] TimeTravel_7 8 years ago

is The Walking Dead

My "top" 200:
http://www.imdb.com/list/g41XE9AVM7k/

[–] ChrRome 8 years ago

The Walking Dead is getting to the point of being underrated. It had 1 bad season (Season 2) and it seems like people who stopped watching it just assumed the rest of the show continued to be at that level of quality.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ChrRome 8 years ago

Assuming you aren't watching it, because watching 6 seasons of something you think is terrible is idiotic, why would you make a random assumption that it got worse?

There is constant character and plot progression after they leave the farm at the end of season 2

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joaocamilotorres 8 years ago

Plot and character progression on Walking Dead. The only character change is the zombie's capacity to be inteligent to somehow be atracted to fire.

[–] CeroneSicario 7 years ago

Seasons 5 and 6 are the absolute WORST seasons. You ask me the show was truly in its prime in its first two seasons. Season 3 worked only because of the Governor, after that it ALL went downhill in terms of story and consistency. The only watchable element of this show now is Negan, expertly played by the under-appreciated Jeff D. Morgan. They don't even deserve an actor of that caliber. At this point, they're milking the damn thing merely by the graces of Robert Kirkman prolonging his own comic series. The Walking Dead is suffering what could have happened to Game of Thrones had they decided to stretch that out even farther as well as Martin sleeps on his future entry for the next several years.

[–] joaocamilotorres 7 years ago

While I agree the first two seasons of Walking Dead are better, I would say the show was never great reggarding character development, there was a lot of plot holes or at least ridiculous sittuations (I saw some of this on the comic). But it is something that belongs to the genre, which frankly is not meant to be a long character based novel, but action based story.

By the way, Game of Thrones, with all technical quality is nowhere that good either. Most characters ended flat and the series demands some depth. There is a lot of gratuitous violence and sex, which show, a bit like Walking Dead, the writers love to appeal to shock. And with the last seasons, without the books, they missed a lot of references reggarding geography/chronology of the series and you utter mediocre characters (such as the latter Ramsey, saved by the actor who is a good comedian) and sittuations (such as Jamie rescue mission).

[–] CeroneSicario 7 years ago

GOT is miles ahead in terms of writing and characters than TWD. The prime difference between the two is that one show has a solid enough goal built up by a great multidimensional story while TWD is one story told over and over again each season with a little more action and a little more gore, with no end in sight. It may just be the genre and context that is limiting its ability to have a direction, but it just doesn't register anymore at this point. Kill these damn folks off and end the series already.

[–] joaocamilotorres 7 years ago

I agree GoT is superior to TWD reggarding characters creation, but I must say, that is no big feat. It is for example, much inferior to the first season of True Detective or Fargo in this reggard. (but I am ok with that, things do not need to be always the same level).

[–] TheDarkKnightMatter 7 years ago

TWD is recycled nonsense for the brain dead fanboys. Same story over and over with annoyingly bad characters.

Don't get hurt kid. I'm not your daddy, I'll beat you senseless.

[–] tomgoodwin815 8 years ago

Hardly. The most overrated show is Game of Thrones, by miles.

[–] APimpNamedSlickyG 8 years ago

Tom is on point GoT overrated that it hurts

[–] zinabaggins 8 years ago

Absolutely.

[–] BilboTheDefiler 8 years ago

OP is right. and TD fanboys are the worst.

[–] EruTHEone 8 years ago

No way. True Detective is the best show ever made in TV history

[–] centauri2014 8 years ago

I'd say that Season 1 is a solid 9/10. Season 2 was maybe 6/10. You have to bear in mind that Nic Pizzolatto spent years writing S1 but had to crank out S2 with a much smaller time table. The problem with the ratings here on IMDB is that they make no distinction between the two seasons.

Ladies and gentlemen...Mr.Conway Twitty

[–] nosidak-434-909833 8 years ago

Totally agree regarding season 1 hugely overrated in my opinion. Great acting very good cinematography as well.
story really lacked a lot. And season 2 was garbage.

[–] Nuncle_Euron 8 years ago

You're on the wrong board, Game of Thrones is over there ----->

I'll pump her full of motley seed, until she pops out a little me! -Shagwell