Thursday Threesome: Three Cheesy TV Shows I Just Cannot Stop Watching

We’ve all been there; enjoying something we think we ought not to. Telling our friends enthusiastically about the latest developments on this television show while they look at us, one eyebrow raised in disapproval, and scoff.

Whether it’s a band, a movie or a television show, the outcome remains the same, we love what we love and there’s not a darn thing we can do about it.

Below the jump are three television shows, cheesy as they may be, some with questionable acting or fumbled plot lines, that try as I might I cannot help watching and loving in some strange way.

Enter at your own risk.

An honourable mention goes to Torchwood here. The first season of that show was near unwatchable and resulted in friends describing it as television cancer. It got significantly better in season two, becoming an awesome sci-fi series and peaked with the Children of Earth specials which were amazing. Because it became so genuinely good I am not sure that it can be put with the three shows below which are more guilty pleasures.

1. Britannia High

This show came out a while ago and lasted a single season. It’s about a performing arts school called Britannia High and a group of students who attend, following their training and personal problems, their relationships and their success. As you’ve probably guessed this is a musical show with an original soundtrack and I love it. I really really love it despite the cheese and the pop... I and about two other people I know. This was before the time of Glee (which I am not a fan of) and I think is about 1000 times better. But I understand I might be clutching at straws here. Britannia High is full of talented actors, singers and performers, its stories really do have heart and tackle some deeper issues, not that anyone will believe me. If you like musicals and musical drama you should check it out. The songs will worm into your head. 

They really were actually quite great dancers. Really.

2. The Secret Circle


Oh man. Think the Craft but in series format, with teenage male and female witches. This show amplified teenage drama, added questionable acting and sprinkled some crazy plot twists on top. A group of teenagers discover they come from a line of witches and that they can practice magic. In order to be stronger and safer in their practice, they must complete a circle of seven witches from the seven major families and bind this circle together. Cassie, the new girl in town, is the final member of the would-be circle and needs to be convinced to join. Once bound, the truth about magic and their parents’ past begins to unfold. I admit I would wait for my boyfriend to be away to watch this show, but watch it I would, addictively. I needed to know. I needed to know about Cassie’s dark magic, about the boat fire and what the other magic circles were up to! What about Adam and Cassie? Would they get together? Would Fay find out what her mother was up to? Was John Black back? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE RELATED!!!??? And do you know the worst part? The show was cancelled after a single series, and though part of me realised that money was probably going to something better, most of me knew it probably wasn’t and I JUST STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. 

Look at the intensity. The brooding. Wow.

3. Once Upon a Time

I have my own version of the Triple Threat; the three attributes that would make me watch a show no matter how bad it might be. The first is female protagonists. There are so few most of the time that I cannot resist a show that seems to have a large number of them. The second is magic. I am a sucker for magic shows. I love them. I think this was perhaps built into me as a child. The third is Robert Carlyle. No, you don’t understand, I watched most of Stargate Universe because he was so damn good. That show was terrible and I couldn’t finish it and I am a massive Stargate fan. Robert Carlyle is one of those truly watchable actors who takes on roles with incredible intensity. Enter Once Upon A Time with the complete set; a show about story book characters in the real world, sent by magic and featuring the likes of Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Belle, Aurora, Mulan, the Wicked Witch, a female sheriff... and Robert Carlyle; as a very strange and wonderful Rumpelstiltskin. You can see how I didn’t stand a chance. Aside from him, the rest of the show’s cast perform dubiously and the plots barely hang together... but you know... I want to know what their stories are. Who will show up next? How much lamer will it get? I don’t know. It’s just so rewarding. This is another show that I am not allowed to watch when my boyfriend is home. He says that just hearing the dialogue from the other room is enough to drive him insane. Yes, it’s just that poor. I can’t help it. I love it. And now it has a new spin of show called WONDERLAND for me to get addicted to, although I am pretty sure that one doesn’t have Robert Carlyle in it. 

Eeeeeeee! He's so strange and awesome!

What are your guilty pleasure shows?