She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has recently ended its run on Disney+, which showed Jennifer accepted herself as the titular name and found a way to balance her superhero and attorney lifestyle. The superhero comedy has received many nods from fans but also has received some negative social feedback from its fandom on small details that seemed out of place for its iconic Marvel character, She-Hulk, such as her twerking scene in episode 3.
TV viewers on Reddit talked about the unavoidable fact that it just takes one detail even on a favorite series to ruin it for its fans. Similar to She-Hulk, they brought up interesting points regarding popular shows like Stranger Things, Reacher, and Weeds and what went wrong.
Show Name (Workin' Moms)
After becoming a hit series in Canada, Workin' Moms is set to launch its seventh and final season this year. Despite its talented cast and interesting storylines, Redditor foldsbalswin could not get beyond its name even though she admitted she was a mom and liked the show's premise.
The Reddit user stated that "... one thing about it drives me nuts. Workin'. Workin'. Workin'. I f**** hate that word. It grates on me reading it, typing it, saying it out loud (because you gotta say it like you've left off the g of course), I just can't." Show names do matter to fans as a catchy title will hook them, and whether it was the title's slang or sloppiness, it is something networks need to carefully consider when launching a show.
Esteban and Andy's Sword Fight (Weeds)
Unrealistic plot twists and cheap drama can make or break the opinion of its viewers. Weeds, starring the much loved Mary-Louise Parker, was an example given in this context. Reddit DoneDidThisGirl posited, "I still watched but when Esteban and Andy had a sword fight for Nancy’s honor was when I realized that the show I loved was dead and gone."
Several other Redditors agreed how the addition of Mexican cartel and other cheap thrills gave the show a feel of a soap opera, deviating from its original popular plot premise of a suburban mom trying to make ends meet selling weed.
Matching Outfits (See)
As one of the best original AppleTV+ series, See is based on the life of Baba Voss, who lives in a dark and forbidding time when all humanity is blind and fighting for its very existence. Many people lauded Jason Momoa's character - the smartest in See - but felt the show did not always stay committed to its essential premise that people are blind - an inconsistency that ruined it for some viewers.
Redditor DKK17 stated, "Biggest one is that they don't seem to fully commit to the blind society thing. You have characters like Jason Mamoa who completely sells having been born in a blind society and others, like his wife, who almost don't at all." Other Redditors debated how the infrastructure could have been built by a blind society or perfectly coordinated outfits worn by the characters who were blind, questioning the overall commitment to the premise of the series.
Nintendo Reference (Stranger Things)
Viewers are becoming savvier about what makes sense in a storyline and the period in which they are depicted. Though it became renowned for playing the best 80s music, Stranger Things included a detail that turned out to be out of sync with its 1980s aesthetic. SlowMoFoShow revealed, "They also make references to the Nintendo entertainment system that nobody would make in 1985 or 86 in middle America."
The year 1990 is when the Super Nintendo Entertainment System became a US rage. Therefore, the inconsistency of portraying this detail to have happened in the 1980s in Stranger Things bothered this ardent fan as they expect more integrity from networks and creators.
Joyce Screaming B*tch (Stranger Things)
Returning by popular demand for season 5, Stranger Things continues to elicit emotions regards its portrayal of women by its viewers on Reddit. AsocialRedditer was peeved about it, saying, "Stranger Things. First episode. Winona Ryder hangs up on her ex-husband's current partner, and she screams 'b!tch!" at her. Broke the Bechdel test for me. I haven't watched a single minute since."
Though the Redditor makes this claim about the Bechedel test, it is not exactly true about the show as a whole, as they misinterpreted the definition of it. However, they were clearly so put off at the idea that a woman would react this way to an ex's new partner that they just couldn't keep watching.
90-Minute Format (Crash Landing On You)
Episode length is a key factor for adopting a show, and anything too long can be a turnoff. Reddit user spinereader81 remarked about this issue for the South Korean TV show, Crash Landing on You, saying, "...in the case of Crash Landing on You, it's because every episode is an hour and a half long, and there's something like 16 episodes."
Many viewers simply don't have the patience to see long shows since many people do not have the retention span to watch them in one sitting. And with people having personal livelihoods, investing leisure time for a 90-minute episode can be a very legitimate reason not to watch a show superseding the importance of the cast or plot.
Jack Reacher's Walk (Reacher)
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Reacher became the popular Amazon Prime crime thriller, starring Alan Ritchson as the larger-than-life character Jack Reacher. Based on the Lee Child bestseller novels, this show has had a loyal following since its launch in February 2022. Despite the positive reception, diehard fans noticed Jack Reacher's walk and expression to be slightly different from the book.
Rexan02 pick on this difference, asking, "Does anyone think he kind of walks funny though? Like he doesn't swing his arms enough or something? And he kinda looks like he's always half smiling, where I would think Reacher would have more of a cynical half-scowl." Though adaptations are open to making creative changes, even the Jack Reacher books make it clear the type of person the titular character is, and not living up to those expectations means ruining the character's important aspects.
Dr. Temperance & Zach Get Together Offscreen (Bones)
As one of the best TV dramadies which enchanted audiences from 2005 to 2017, Bones had a definite fan following for its main characters, Dr. Temperance (Emily Deschanel), the Doctor's assistant Dr. Zach Addy (Eric Millegan), and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), to name a few.
A detail that irked a Redditor was how the romantic relationship of Zach and Dr. Temperance was handled. Redditor ganache98012 stated: "...when they ignored 8+ years of sexual “will-they-won’t-they” tension and just casually got them together offscreen I was done. You can’t cheat and treat your audience like that." Fans were robbed of a moment where these characters eventually became official, and it only made it worse by building up this anticipation, only for the milestone to fall short on the audience.
Characters Off Screen For Multiple Episodes (Heroes)
The NBC superhero drama from 2006-2010, Heroes, is an example of a show identified by Redditors as having some inconsistencies. The Redditor 345tom said: "but it's funny how often they introduced characters and then they just never touched them again.Or just forgot about half the cast for 5 episodes."
Considering that Heroes had a large ensemble cast, it is not uncommon for TV shows to focus on one character over another, as some episodes dedicate more time to developing a character's arc than others. This supernatural series was no exception, but the character's screen time is a small detail that warrants some frustration, as it leaves fans wondering what happened to each character.
Felicity Smoak (Arrow)
Writing and crafting a female lead in a show can be a dealbreaker, and popular action thriller shows such as Arrow dealt with the brunt of the criticism. Oliver's love interest, Felicity Smoak, was felt by some users to be not a well-rounded, balanced character.
Redditor stunts002 commented, "Felicity was such a badly written character...It was so weird how she would swing WILDLY from actively participating in vigilante life to then becoming super judgmental of everyone else for doing exactly that." While it is one thing to have an ensemble cast where disliking a character is minuscule, Arrow's small circle makes disliking a character a huge deal. Felicity's inconsistent arc was more pronounced in the small Arrow team, which ruined many fans' perceptions of her and the overall pacing in the series.