Only liking two TV shows and not prefering adult oriented shows?

[sampsoninc916]

Dear all,
I'm new to AspiesCentral, but I found this forum from a Google of autism forums, and multiple forums popped up, so I chose this one. Yes, I am autistic, as a matter of have I have both high functioning autism and asperger's syndrome. How many of you are so picky about what TV shows you like. As in, what criteria should a TV show fulfill for you to like it? For me, only two TV shows fulfill my criteria, Thomas the Tank Engine and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Thomas the Tank Engine (pre Season 8) I've liked ever since I was a baby, I had a lot of the toys and I watched all the episodes. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, however, I've only been a part of the fandom since my sophomore year in college. I don't own a lot of the toys, but I've watched every episode of the show up to the latest, the Season 3 closer, Magical Mystery Cure. Both these shows fulfill my criteria in what I would like on a TV show, more TV shows out there:

1. Bright colors, family friendly, teaches good values to both kids and adults.
2. Sells lots of toys and merchandise.
3. Has a fantastic fandom, like Star Trek.
4. Has a bunch of variety with creating characters.
5. Is totally and completely popular.

The troubling thing about that is that they're kids shows, while the popular, super duper famous shows on TV are in the likes of NCIS, Big Bang Theory, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Dancing With the Stars, Family Guy, etc. more adult oriented shows that not only do not get my attention, but also, several of these shows aren't even family friendly and contain rotten material that my parents would disapprove of. I try to tell everyone about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but everyone around my general area doesn't even know what I'm talking about. I mean, if you're an active user on the Internet, you got to be living under a rock just to not know about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Well, a lot of people in my area are not real Internet users like I am, they're just casual Internet users, not knowing much about computer skills, taking their kids to whatever place they need to be, watching the sports on ESPN, FOX, or CBS, and going over to their jobs not knowing what they are missing out on and what they need to know in order to adapt themselves to the future world of technology, such as how to create Android apps and such.

How many of you like either Thomas the Tank Engine or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, or both?

 

[WildCat]

I've almost lost faith in modern television and entertainment, everything is a rehash of something else and just plain lacks originality and/or creativity. Concerning MLP:FIM, I don't quite get it...I mean, is it just another case of people joining the bandwagon to fit in with the rest of their peers because "everyone else is doing it", or do people legitimately enjoy watching the series and find a little something of value to be had? I'm not against it solely because its target audience is supposed to be younger children (that would be foolish, anyways), but I can't say I'm for it either as it seems to me like yet another one of these souped up internet fads that somehow mysteriously gained a large fanbase overnight, due to what reason I'm not exactly sure of yet. I think it was an article about animation that did it justice, but if there's more to it then that then maybe someone could elaborate?

 

[Soup]

There are a host of members here who are self-identified Bronies here who absolutely love the entire MLP thing. I love Spongebob myself & some of the old stuff like ScoobyDoo & a few others. I don't watch any sitcoms or any of these drama series shows. At the other extreme, I watch any very serious documentary films & do a lot of heavy reading (academic papers). Reality shows do nothing for me & I find none of them to be 'real' in the least.

 

[Pella]

When it comes down to it, TV is meant for entertainment, if it makes you feel good, I say watch it. I personally don't watch either. I tend towards sci-fi supernatural stuff or off-beat comedies. We do have a few Bronies on here though.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I love cartoons because I can forget about my adult problems for a short while and pretend I'm five again when the biggest issue I had was what toy I could make mum and dad buy for me.

In saying that I only like the older cartoons from when I was a kid because modern cartoons just seem to be all about the fart joke and I want escapism not twenty minutes of farting and butt jokes.

I love anime too. There is a surreal escapism to that. When you look at anime like say Dragonball Z while it has a very grown up story line, it still has these moments when it just likes to laugh at itself. There is a huge amount of escapism to it because lets face it if we could all fire energy beams from our hands and fly then we wouldn't need this kind of show.

However my taste in anime is limited to a few shows only mostly because I like the real but not aspects (pokemon, yugioh and dragonball z could exist in this world ... ) and because sometimes anime has that far out story line you just have to watch a couple times over to get. One anime Rah Xephon I had to watch a couple times then pick up the manga and watch the movie before it really made sense.

The thing that annoys me about anime is often what was a show for adults in japan is cut down and made a kids show in america. There is so much awesome anime that suffers for this.

I also agree that with cartoons and anime because they are bright and colourful they could entertain an aspie mind a little more than other shows lol

 

[Soup]

I tried to get into Anime cartoons but there was too much noise, too much emotion & screaming & I'd wind up overstimulated & rocking & flapping. My son used to like Sailor Moon when he was a kid but I didn't relate at all to the silly boy-crazy characters.

 

[Pella]

I don't like most anime, most of the anime series seems like a whole lot of shrieking. Quite a few seem to have this thing where the main female knows nothing about the world and just follows the nice guy around doing whatever he says cause he knows because he is from this world. I think the message is supposed to be the nice guy gets the girl but shouldn't he get the girl because he is the nice guy instead because the girl doesnt know any better.

 

[King_Oni]

Actually, liking only 2 shows is perfectly fine if you ask me. Especially since you also have requirements a show needs to meet. Quite sure if you run into a show that meets those rules as well, you can add it to your list.

Surely, people can argue if those rules are good or bad, but I don't think that's the issue here.

That being said; I don't watch either Thomas the tank engine (I believe it wasn't even on tv when I was a kid, and as such I probably never caught on to it when I was in my teens already) nor jump on the MLP bandwagon. I do watch cartoons and they're not neccesarily "adult" cartoons. Though some might have more adult undertones (Animaniacs anyone?). I see some people here mention anime; that's not for me either... I don't know why exactly. Maybe I still have that "I want cartoons to be toy commercials"-vibe going on from back in the 80's when I watched Transformers, GI Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

[IdahoRose]

I love anime too. There is a surreal escapism to that. When you look at anime like say Dragonball Z while it has a very grown up story line, it still has these moments when it just likes to laugh at itself. There is a huge amount of escapism to it because lets face it if we could all fire energy beams from our hands and fly then we wouldn't need this kind of show.

However my taste in anime is limited to a few shows only mostly because I like the real but not aspects (pokemon, yugioh and dragonball z could exist in this world ... ) and because sometimes anime has that far out story line you just have to watch a couple times over to get. One anime Rah Xephon I had to watch a couple times then pick up the manga and watch the movie before it really made sense.

The thing that annoys me about anime is often what was a show for adults in japan is cut down and made a kids show in america. There is so much awesome anime that suffers for this.

I love anime too. It's been a special interest ever since I was 7 or 8 (I'm 22 now). I like it because the art style is appealing like other cartoons (cute and colorful) but at the same time many series deal with mature topics that you would only find in a live-action series here in the US. When I try to watch Western animation, I am often attracted to the unique and colorful character designs and settings, but I'm frequently disappointed by their lack of characterization and the creators' unwillingness to explore mature topics, and vice-versa for live-action movies/series. Anime provides the perfect balance for me - The cute art juxtaposed with the mature storylines simultaneously satisfies both my childlike/artistic nature and my desire for deep storytelling.

 

[Geordie]

I am a big fan of both TV series. So I can speak about it.

I am a rail fan, so I find Thomas The Tank Engine a rather accurate portrayal of trains.

But now, I watch MLP:FiM almost exclusively.

I don't watch TV. I watch FiM on YouTube, and like you, I watch all 65 episodes of FiM. I even watched all aired episodes in Taiwanese Mandarin (as I am of Chinese descent, and Taiwan's dub is really awesome, save for them not dubbing songs in Mandarin), and am in the process to watch all episodes in European French (just for the fun).

I watch FiM because it gives me a long lost feeling of companionship and friendship. Twilight Sparkle is quite an INTP, just like many Aspies. For me, I am an ESTJ, like Applejack. Rainbow Dash is an ESTP and someone whom I feel I can be best friends with, hence my display picture. And no, not everyone does FiM, Jonathan - it took another Aspie mate I know to bring me into the Brony Herd/fandom.

Nevertheless, I see no problems liking only one or two TV shows. Some shows, like FiM, revolutionize the way we think about television shows. They can be both entertaining to both the kid and the parent. I like FiM because it gives all its viewers companionship with the six main pony characters - and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, their younger sisters or somepony.

 

[ColorfulDreams]

I am similar,only I tend to like the more adult themes. The only shows I will watch are sitcoms,and movies are even more limited. I pretty much only like 3 TV shows( Parks and Recreation,30 Rock,and South Park). So I have to watch them over and over until i get super tired of them. Movies I can rarely watch because I have a very short attention span for things,unless I have established a keen interest in them.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I don't like most anime, most of the anime series seems like a whole lot of shrieking. Quite a few seem to have this thing where the main female knows nothing about the world and just follows the nice guy around doing whatever he says cause he knows because he is from this world. I think the message is supposed to be the nice guy gets the girl but shouldn't he get the girl because he is the nice guy instead because the girl doesnt know any better.

There is some anime out there with strong female leads. Sailor moon just happens to not be one of them lol. I tried watching that and I was so annoyed with her pathetic whining after about a season I put it aside. Hellsing comes to mind as a anime with strong female leads (Integra Hellsing has the strongest vampire in existence on a leash ... one he gave her because she was a strong woman) though Ceras Victoria takes a while to go from a pathetic puppy following around her maker into a strong woman who doesn't need her master to tell her what to do all the time. Though this is not a show for the faint of heart!!

Honestly I've never really been able to figure out why they need to scream and yell all the time. One day I might figure it out.

 

[Geordie]

Perhaps shouting and screaming is what cuties do in distress?

 

[Lexi]

I still watch Disney channel and most of the people at school are busy talking about inappropriate shows like Jersey Shore, Family Guy, Sex and the City...i don't get what there really is to like about some of those shows! My sister and I are both on the spectrum and prefer going to the baby shows channels...lots of pretty colors and images :alien:[/SIZE]

 

[arnoldmcguire335]

To be honest I don't care about what's on Network Television or other channels, all I care is watching on Disney Channel (And also Nickelodeon, but I stopped caring to tune in the channel when I was too lazy to keep watching the last good show there, Sam and Cat). The only adult shows I watched were Life As We Know It (Which was short lived) and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (but even then I had difficulty following it due to the length of the show's run and its 1-hour length per episode).
Oh and I do enjoy Friendship is Magic, and I also watch Sentai shows on Youtube or Facebook.

 

[3000 Years of Summer]

Man, I used to watch Thomas the Tank engine a LOT when I was little. Anyone remember this one?

Man, when I was the littlest babaloo that episode could make me dung up my drawers.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I love MLP Friendship is Magic. (Obviously.) And I still have fond memories of Thomas the Tank Engine, even though it's been years since I actually saw an episode. The shows I saw were films of actual toys. Apparently more recent ones have a computerized look. I had a crush on Edward, the old and gentle engine. (with human beings, someone being too old precludes the possibility of a crush. Apparently it's different with trains.)

 

[dudeman]

Hey Sampson! If you like those two shows, I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Fraggle Rock. It's bright, colorful, whimsical, funny with lots of great music and many good moral messages. It's probably the best thing Jim Henson ever did. For a more modern show, I would recommend Sofia The First, which has all the same pluses (waiting for season 2 is killing me. Hurry up, Disney!).

 

[Turnip]

I watched the 2 seasons of MLP: FiM which Lauren Faust was involved in and found them enjoyable enough, mostly because of the writing though; things you mention like "sells lots of toys and merchandise" just aren't a consideration for me!

I am sorry but I find myself wondering if the stated criteria aren't actually the at the centre of the issue - you do state that it is "troubling" that the programs you enjoy are kids shows but one of your citeria is even that the programs must sell lots of toys!

Let me also state: children's television is not intended to teach values to adults, the lessons in MLP: FiM and TTTE are aimed directly to children exclusively (adults are expected to understand the complexities of life well beyond what is covered in these programs). Children's shows are typically enjoyed by adults when they happen to be entertaining to them.

A major theme of your post seems to be that you want to watch popular programs (with a "fantastic fandom") but then you complain that MLP: FiM isn't popular with the people you know, and you suggest that you wish this to be different. If watching what is popular is the goal so that you have something to discuss then your post suggests you should be watching sports on "ESPN, FOX or CBS" (which presumably meet your citeria rather well too; though please understand that I point this out despite being bored to tears by watching any sports myself and refusing to for the most part)

Finally as you are in college I also feel the need to suggest you should be less concerned about your parents approving the content of the TV programs you watch; it's fine if you choose not to watch a program because you don't like it's content - as an adult this is your choice.