Against My Better Judgement

Have you ever liked something you know you shouldn't? I mean really liked it...a lot?
No, I'm not talking about that guy you had a crush on in High School, though--seriously--what were you thinking?

I'm talking about entertainment.

Okay, this blog is geared toward writing, and therefore, books. Still, I think the lines between story delivery systems (ie: movies, TV, books, video games) are blurring fast, and a lot of the same rules apply these days.

So have you ever loved something, a movie or TV show or even a book that you knew was really, really bad?
I bet you have.

Have you found yourself thinking, why am I watching this? Why am I still looking? Downloading? Reading? Why haven't I changed the channel? Did I just laugh at that?
Why am I waking up at seven am every morning to catch the day's episode of an angsty, ridiculous, high-school-girl-super-hero-japanese-fiasco? Or was that one just me? ahem.

I suspect that this might be a universal phenomenon. I suspect that no matter how bad these shows are there is something about them that puts a hook in our brain we can't wiggle out of. I suspect that some shows, the ones we don't just make a face and turn off, can be so bad, they're good. They have a secret ingredient. (see post about Colonel Sanders)

I want to know what that ingredient is.

A friend of mine recently confessed an addiction to a "terribly bad show." We tried to pin down what was the key ingredient, what had pulled and kept her in. Plot? Characters? Who knows, but it had something.

So tell us, then. Have you ever loved something that you knew was not exactly worthy? What was the hook for you? The redeeming quality that let you forgive all its weaknesses?
Don't be shy, folks. I'll confess right off the bat: I love the movie Ishtar.
You can't get any more embarassing than that.

Let me have it,
~Frances