General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFowl Play: Saying Goodbye to 'Duck Dynasty,' TV's Worst Show
These days it's tough to find reasons to be cheerful about the state of the nation but an America without Duck Dynasty is a good place to start. No show in television history has ever sucked quite like this one. And if the TV gods are willing, no show ever will.
A&E's massive hit became a cultural presence in 2012 for its down-home charm the zany adventures of a real-life Lousiana clan who kept their country manners and backwoods habits, with Phil, Miss Kay, their bearded sons and loopy Vietnam vet Uncle Si. Tonight, after five seasons of shenanigans running the family duck-call business, the Robertsons sign off tonight with their series finale, the last gasp of their barely noticed farewell go-round. The decline and fall of Duck Dynasty seems like it should have been a big-deal event, but it's a surprisingly meek exit for a hit that loomed so large just a couple of years ago. This is the way the dynasty ends not with a quack but with a whimper.
It's poetic justice that 2017 is the year the Robertson family is finally heading off to the duck pond in the sky. The show represented the pre-Trump Christian right's fantasy of itself a family of hairy but God-fearing bootstrappers bowing their heads in prayer over the dinner table. Just a year ago, this was the most feared demographic in American politics the bloc that couldn't be bought or sold. But when the Christian right fell in line behind the most flamboyantly secular presidential candidate of the past century a pussy-grabbing New Yorker who didn't pretend to owe Jesus a damn thing they sold themselves out, ensuring it'll be a cold day in heck before they get another chance to vote for one of their own. The right is a whole new bird hunt now, as the godless white nationalists take over from the church ladies. And that makes Duck Dynasty look pitifully dated, in addition to everything else that blows about it.
The Robertsons weren't even fun to watch on a reality-trash level, because they were too phony to believe so artificial in their micro-scripted dialogue, so cynical in their piety, so bone-headed in their recycled sitcom plots. Hell, even their beards looked fake. So their family values always came across as a made-for-TV shuck; however sincere they may or may not have been in real life, the Robertsons never failed to turn into show-biz frauds onscreen. In one episode, Miss Kay confides that Phil never remembers their wedding anniversary the only dates he can remember are Christmas and Easter. Aaaaawww.
http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/fowl-play-rob-sheffield-on-the-end-of-duck-dynasty-w473591
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)And good riddance.
Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)RIP to HST, and where are you, Oscar?
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)RS managed to stay afloat in a world where good journalism is rare, where TMZ style 'reporting' gets more clicks than substantive in-depth articles.
Although I do enjoy their snarky pieces too - Matt Taibbi is always spot on.
What would HST have to say about where we are now?
muntrv
(14,505 posts)Dem2
(8,168 posts)Although that racist "The First 48" didn't help ... where, who knew, 95% of murders are committed by non-whites.
WoonTars
(694 posts)Especially after it turned out they were frauds...
meadowlark5
(2,795 posts)And I was insulted by the absolute stupid things they would do and say. I can't say I found anything I saw funny. I would just shake my head in disgust that this idiocy was being glamorized to be copied and emulated by viewers.
UpInArms
(51,284 posts)n/t
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)Gather the soothsayers. We need to talk.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)While I still see Mama June at the checkstand at the supermarket from time to time, Honey Boo Boo is probably getting orthodonture and obsessing over her first prom dress in obscurity. The Robertsons have pulled off the spirit gummed beards (they were always yuppies underneath them, you know) and are now concentrating on their various new businesses, such as they are, while making sure the stock portfolio remains healthy.
All that remains of the genre are a few shows about people in the Alaskan bush, heavily scripted and just as phony as the rest of the slop.
I hated these shows. I dealt with backwoods poor folks down south and most of them lived quietly boring lives as they tried to do their best with too little to work with.
While I realize the LCD will prevail, especially on some of the cable channels, I'm delighted to see it raised even a millimeter as they revive "Trading Spaces," an interior desecration show that did have its hilarious moments.
LOL Lib
(1,462 posts)These hicks conned millions out of the Bible thumpers. Some of my family fell for these dopey homophobes. They are grifters just like President Turnip.
Initech
(100,102 posts)Conservatives thrive on stupid bullshit, and you can't get much stupider than that.
LOL Lib
(1,462 posts)Two of the most cringe, gag, and vomit worthy shows ever. Perfect mind numbing tv for the conservative cult.
Initech
(100,102 posts)I like to think I have good choices in entertainment. I don't listen to shitty music, watch shitty TV shows or movies, or read shitty books. I listen to Depeche Mode and Green Day, awesome bands. They listen to Ted Nugent and Kid Rock and Florida Georgia Line. I watch Archer and 30 Rock, they watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Duck Fucking Dynasty. I read books that are about things like history. They read Ann Coulter's latest hate filled piece of shit. Totally different worlds.
Wounded Bear
(58,706 posts)Never interested me in the slightest.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,337 posts)Like Bush stopped "clearing brush" on his "ranch"
Cosmocat
(14,572 posts)It can be as brazen self promotion like these guys and Trump, and they still eat it up with a ladle.
Initech
(100,102 posts)But it's being replaced with the "Catch me outside, how about that" girl. If you think I'm kidding, look it. And Mama June is back on TV as well. There's no end to reality TV horseshit. Oh and fuck Duck Dynasty!
dalton99a
(81,570 posts)ornotna
(10,807 posts)There are miracles. Finally.
GWC58
(2,678 posts)I never, ever watched that phony ass garbage! Good riddance to a show I cared nothing about.
MADem
(135,425 posts)JI7
(89,264 posts)i watched a few minutes once and just could not get it. and it was very OBVIOUSLY fake also which in itself would not be bad as long as it was good and entertaining but it wasn't.
Cha
(297,655 posts)Response to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)
Ken Burch This message was self-deleted by its author.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)He was the only one who seemed close to being a decent guy. You had a feeling he realized the whole thing was a joke all along.
OnDoutside
(19,970 posts)secret of myself and my wife is to watch an hour of crap tv after our kid has gone to bed, but we wouldn't watch that rubbish. We'd draw the line at stuff like Mountain Men/American Pickers/Swamp People/Alaska Last Frontier/Gold Rush even though we know most of them would certainly have voted for Trump. However, many of them are simple people .... you know, f*cking idiots....
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)That was a few years ago before we gave up on satellite TV. Myself and a lot of my friends were antique and collectible dealers (and some were 'pickers' as well) on eBay so we found the show rather interesting.
As for the rest... IDK. I've only seen the Duck Dynasty crap for sale in Wal-Mart and heard them on some news shows once or twice. They're certainly not at all my cup of tea so to speak but up here in red dumbnuts NY their stuff was being worn quite a bit.
OnDoutside
(19,970 posts)Mountain Men and Alaska Last Frontier to be likeable. We're fortunate to have access to BBC/ITV/Channel 4 here in Europe, which is a better standard.
Ferretherder
(1,446 posts)...down Arkansas Road from me - and I helped put in his TV's, audio and lighting control. It's probably not very hard to imagine that while the show was at its most popular, Willie could hardly be bothered to say two words to the 'help', but, just a week or so ago, I had to redo the mount on an outside TV, and he hung out and talked to me and the company owner like we were old friends. I guess with the passing of Duck Dynasty, it's time to become REAL people again.
...I fucking loathe 'reality' TV.
...and no, I never saw a single episode.
Vinca
(50,303 posts)They're nothing but a bunch of Bible-thumping grifters.
Ferretherder
(1,446 posts)...they have the money to afford it!
rug
(82,333 posts)samnsara
(17,635 posts)...wouldn't go to bed I threatened to make her watch it.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)Seriously, when the show was in its first season and everyone was talking about it, I honestly thought they had brought these guys back:
Which would be an awesome idea. Imagine my crushing disappointment when I found out what it really was.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,198 posts)1. A show about a family who makes duck hunting calls is the stupidest premise for a reality show ever.
2. No one in their right mind will want to waste their time watching this shit.
I stand by Thought No. 1 100% to this day.
Sadly, I was still proven wrong about Thought No. 2.
By the way, Carl Hiaasen's Razor Girl is a great read. Just saying.
katmondoo
(6,457 posts)the dumbest most stupid shitty show ever along with Duck Dynasty