The 'I want this' culture....

Banks246Banks246 Posts: 521
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Have some people forgotten how to enjoy things?

It seems these days it's my way or no way...

It's not just Doctor who, but many things I like and watch.

Yes not everything is perfect, like everything in life things can be improved and changed....

But have some people lost the ability to appreciate what they are watching without over analysing and deciding it did not go the way they wanted?

It seems almost the cool or 'hip' thing to do now, slag something off because everyone else is doing it.

I honestly think some people don't even properly watch them anymore and just get their notepads out at the ready, so they can list off everything they didn't like about it...

Correct me if I am way off here, your thoughts?
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  • bp2bp2 Posts: 1,117
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    Yes we do have a I want this culture. Sadly it occurs everywhere not just for Doctor Who and television. I don't think overanalysing is a symptom of this culture though. Also the bit about slagging off is describing herd behaviour
  • tomwozheretomwozhere Posts: 1,081
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    I understand. Sometimes I think 'Ooh, it could have great if the did it like this!' But it's not like I hate the episode for it. I'm really worried that the Special won't go the way people wanted it to go and they're all going to claim it was terrible.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 497
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    It does seem odd how much criticism is hypothetical, i.e what 'should have been' or 'could have been', or in the case of the upcoming anniversary - "If this incredibly specific story idea I've just had doesn't happen, I'll be extremely annoyed!".

    I try not to have any preconceptions of what an episode should be (I was expecting X but got Y), and just evaluate what I'm actually given. As Ian Chesterton said "I take things as they come"
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 138
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    Seems to be far too much self entitlement now, since the internet everyone has an opinion and often their opinion is all that matters.

    Esp for Dr Who and the 50th Anniversary, I will enjoy the episode regardless of who is in it or what happens and simply enjoy it for what it is :) and i wont be throwing a tantrum if xxx doesnt appear or xxx doesnt happen!
  • Banks246Banks246 Posts: 521
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    Good to see I am not the only one then!

    I just sit down and enjoy the episodes I watch, even the ones people say are not that great.

    Thought the Doctor's speech in Rings of akhenaten was incredible.
  • mossy2103mossy2103 Posts: 84,307
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    13lives wrote: »
    Seems to be far too much self entitlement now, since the internet everyone has an opinion and often their opinion is all that matters.

    I also blame the rise of reality TV and viewer participation programmes where viewers are given some means of influencing the storyline, characters or outcome by phone voting.
  • Banks246Banks246 Posts: 521
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    mossy2103 wrote: »
    I also blame the rise of reality TV and viewer participation programmes where viewers are given some means of influencing the storyline, characters or outcome by phone voting.

    Good point, never thought of this.

    Certainly seems to be playing a role in this I want culture.
  • DODS11DODS11 Posts: 2,023
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    Yep. The new way of watching television is to never be satisfied by anything it throws at you.

    Personally, I've loved the past few series - sure, a couple of episodes weren't to my taste but the same went for RTD's time on the show, it happens. What I don't understand is people who seem to dislike every single episode, yet they still bother to log on to the internet every week and spew their inane bile all over the place, looking like a pathetic, whiny brat.

    And this doesn't go for every criticism - of course there are some very well spotted and interesting critiques of the show out there - but there is definitely a herd minority both here and on other forums who are clearly only continuing to watch so they can gripe and complain.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,753
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    DODS11 wrote: »
    Yep. The new way of watching television is to never be satisfied by anything it throws at you.

    Personally, I've loved the past few series - sure, a couple of episodes weren't to my taste but the same went for RTD's time on the show, it happens. What I don't understand is people who seem to dislike every single episode, yet they still bother to log on to the internet every week and spew their inane bile all over the place, looking like a pathetic, whiny brat.

    And this doesn't go for every criticism - of course there are some very well spotted and interesting critiques of the show out there - but there is definitely a herd minority both here and on other forums who are clearly only continuing to watch so they can gripe and complain.


    I think that says it perfectly.
  • DICKENS99DICKENS99 Posts: 2,619
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    Is this a comment on our society in general or internet forum culture?
  • TheSilentFezTheSilentFez Posts: 11,103
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    Banks246 wrote: »
    Good to see I am not the only one then!

    I just sit down and enjoy the episodes I watch, even the ones people say are not that great.

    Thought the Doctor's speech in Rings of akhenaten was incredible.

    I'm the same. There are very very few episodes I haven't enjoyed. I just love Doctor Who.
  • CD93CD93 Posts: 13,939
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  • Banks246Banks246 Posts: 521
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    DICKENS99 wrote: »
    Is this a comment on our society in general or internet forum culture?

    Just internet in general, I've actually very very surprised how positive the posters on this forum have been tbh.
  • Lady of TrakenLady of Traken Posts: 1,314
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    Banks246 wrote: »
    Have some people forgotten how to enjoy things?

    It seems these days it's my way or no way...

    It's not just Doctor who, but many things I like and watch.

    Yes not everything is perfect, like everything in life things can be improved and changed....

    But have some people lost the ability to appreciate what they are watching without over analysing and deciding it did not go the way they wanted?

    It seems almost the cool or 'hip' thing to do now, slag something off because everyone else is doing it.

    I honestly think some people don't even properly watch them anymore and just get their notepads out at the ready, so they can list off everything they didn't like about it...

    Correct me if I am way off here, your thoughts?

    I dont think the preview of new episodes or trailers actually help either. I understand it is to build up interest but does it also then build up a false expectation ? .For example I've read so much about how lots of forum members are looking forward to DW Hide. But what if it doesnt live up to what that person is expecting?
    They want to vent their fdissatisfaction and the internet becomes an easy place to be vile, hidden behind anonimity .We can, if a poor unfortunate writer, such as Helen Raynor, happens to read a thread about her contribution, however destroy their confidence.
    I remember the total surprise of the Cybermen in Peter Davisons 'Earthshock' . We had DWM but not a lot of publicity except for the Radio Times back then and sometimes its all the better for it.The curse of the modern age is too much information is out there.
    13lives wrote: »
    Seems to be far too much self entitlement now, since the internet everyone has an opinion and often their opinion is all that matters.

    ......i wont be throwing a tantrum if xxx doesnt appear or xxx doesnt happen!

    Thinking about it more generally as a society we have more protections in law for adults and children and supposedly are a liberal society so can say whatever we please, when ever we want. But less people voting in national elections now than 20 years ago suggests that some of the publicdont believe in formal representation to really effect change. The politicians havent given us much to trust them for lets be honest.

    So change becomes limited to expressing opinions about things in the private sphere ie what they watch in their own homes.The internet gives people this freedom to express their frustrations which may emcompass a wide variety of things.We are all supposed to be fans of Doctor Who but how many people on DS say that the programme wasnt as good as years ago. When they say I want xxx isnt it just a way of trying to assert control over something they care about. Ultimately though as fan we dont have any real say over DW because it isnt our job to have it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 955
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    CD93 wrote: »

    It's a reader blog thing but yes exactly! I love Star Trek... I hated enterprise... Guess what... I just didn't watch it...
  • RevengaRevenga Posts: 11,321
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    People thinking about and imagining what they want shows both enjoyment of the show and its universe and a willingness to embrace the potential and possibility that it offers.

    Taking aspects you like and imagining how you would have preferred things or done them yourself is good and creative. It's only when someone gets annoyed and angry that what they wanted didn't happen that problems arise. But merely suggesting and discussing alternatives is healthy.
  • Granny McSmithGranny McSmith Posts: 19,622
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    Revenga wrote: »
    People thinking about and imagining what they want shows both enjoyment of the show and its universe and a willingness to embrace the potential and possibility that it offers.

    Taking aspects you like and imagining how you would have preferred things or done them yourself is good and creative. It's only when someone gets annoyed and angry that what they wanted didn't happen that problems arise. But merely suggesting and discussing alternatives is healthy.

    I agree with you.

    I still think my alternative version of what happened to Donna after Journey's End is better than RTD's. And it was definitely the 10th Doctor who took River to Darillium, in spite of what Moff may say. :D

    But I do agree about people watching programmes they hate and then posting on here to say they hate them:confused: Could you be bothered?

    I think it's different if you don't like a particular series of a long running programme like DW. I didn't like series 5 & 6 overall, but there were enough good episodes to keep me watching, and however bad I felt it was at times, just watching Matt was always a pleasure for me. (And then there was Rory, too:D).

    But some on here seem to hate everything about DW, yet still watch and still post.

    I really don't get it.

    It's not just DW, either - I've been involved in threads on the TV forum where people just seem to watch programmes in order to be able to slag them off and argue with people who liked it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 138
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    What i cant understand is people posting while the episode is running, why cant you just watch it:confused: then post afterwards about how much you loved/hated it.

    Surely your going to miss the flow of the episode if every 10 seconds your on the forum posting about why clara is wearing a blue sweater yet last episode it was a red sweater which clearly means she is the Rani:p

    But yeah agree its healthy to discuss but people need to calm down and remember they aren't in charge of writing the episodes etc so chill!!
  • CD93CD93 Posts: 13,939
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    When they miss something, it's usually blamed on Murray Gold.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,772
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    DODS11 wrote: »
    And this doesn't go for every criticism - of course there are some very well spotted and interesting critiques of the show out there - but there is definitely a herd minority both here and on other forums who are clearly only continuing to watch so they can gripe and complain.

    One of the problems all this sort of thing has created, is that people with genuine, honest, heartfelt and reasoned negative opinions on something are dismissed as "haters" just because there are so many nutcases spewing bile on the internet.


    I stopped making points about soldiers on the net a long time ago because of this.
  • PiippPiipp Posts: 2,440
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    What always gets me is how certain episodes get such flack when they've aired, yet by the time the next series rolls round said episode is suddenly viewed as quite good. I think it's just the negativity coming out around transmission. Take S6, most people here seemed to hate it as it aired. Yet now, nearly two years down the line, a majority of people here seem to actually like S6.
  • AirboraeAirborae Posts: 2,644
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    Piipp wrote: »
    What always gets me is how certain episodes get such flack when they've aired, yet by the time the next series rolls round said episode is suddenly viewed as quite good. I think it's just the negativity coming out around transmission. Take S6, most people here seemed to hate it as it aired. Yet now, nearly two years down the line, a majority of people here seem to actually like S6.

    You think? :eek:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 171
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    I think there are entire books on the OP's original question, I vaguely remember one of them going something like this:

    1. Original TV series - each episode stood alone, nothing that happened in one epsiode had any influence on the next and nor was there anything that said you were watching a continuous unfolding of time

    2. TV becomes more complex and characters start to evolve, storylines play our over an entire series, people become more emotionally invested.

    3. We now move into a post-structuralist age where everyone has experienced (2) and therefore expects plot / time / character development and that expectation influences what we see and expect now. So people, esp the most emotionally invested, are disappointed when things don't happen THEIR way. The next evolution of TV may be one where we are all watching our own version of the show... which will make discussion boards more difficult... :0
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 171
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    Oh and I think we're all generally more critical about everything (not just TV) and express our criticism pretty viscerally. For example I would say that the Rings and the Submarine episodes were crap; however on a scale of crap, I don't mean they are as crap as, eg any given episode of Casualty. So I don't mean they were crap, I mean they were average (IMO). Did I watch them? Yes. Did I enjoy them? Rings, no, Submarine, only the professor. Does this mean I hate Dr Who - no, I watch it cos overall I enjoy the show and wait for episodes like Blink or Hide, but I do feel a little cheated that not all the episodes are as good as those. And by the season finales, which have become too timey wimey for me. But I still enjoy the show overall, so am not watching something I hate, just something that occasionally disappoints me.
  • DICKENS99DICKENS99 Posts: 2,619
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    Have you ever tried to choose a new purchase by going off what people say on one of those aggregating review sites? You would think that most manufacturing companies were incapable of building something as simple as a working door ("V.disappointed. I will never buy from this company again. Door worked fine for about 5 minutes and I was able to get from the lounge to the hallway and back again, but when I tried to use it to get from the lounge to the kitchen it just led me back into the hall. My money back please").

    The internet gives us the freedom to whine and complain and displace all the aggression and tension 'real' life provides without having to bother the dog, and I daresay for some it is a useful safety valve to be able to vent about something so inconsequential as a TV show in relative anonymity. Looking at the poll results for the last few episodes the majority place it as excellent to average, so if the threads themselves do appear disproportionately negative I would say that is just par for the course on the internet and is likely to remain so unless more people start getting militantly nice and start an aggressive policy of positive posting.
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