Every Thursday night after work, I plop down on my sofa and set my DVR to play My Boys, the Jordana Spiro-starring show that’s one of the most underrated comedies on TV today. Between Jim Gaffigan’s hysterical brilliance as family man Andy, and Kyle Howard’s unabashed sweetness as nice guy Bobby, I find it impossible not to fall in love with My Boys, even though it’s on the same network that relentlessly and inexplicably forces The Bill Engvall Show upon me. (TBS, stop trying to make Bill Engvall happen! ‘Cuz it’s not gonna!)
But then, Lauren Conrad had to ruin it all for me. Rumors have been popping up on the web that The Hills star is currently romancing Howard (it’s not clear whether or not Howard will appear in the MTV show as a result). And, sure, while they have some things in common — Howard had a small role in Orange County, Conrad is from the O.C.; Howard is on a show that devoted an entire episode to a douchebag intervention, Conrad is on a show that’s devoted its entire run to douchebags — I can’t help but love My Boys a little less upon hearing such rumors. Plus, it’s an unwise move for Howard — My Boys needs all the viewers it can get, and if I’m dying a little inside every time I read about his late-night clubbing with Conrad, soon they’ll be none of me left to help boost the show’s ratings.
I’ll turn it over to you, PopWatchers: When has real life ruined your favorite TV shows/movies?
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When Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere started dating in real life, it was hard for me to watch them as family members in the show. Just a little awkward…
Hayden and Milo were also who I was gonna mention. I mean, it’s going to be hard to watch them play niece/uncle, especially knowing that she’s not quite 19 and he’s 31! Legal or no, it still seems inappropriate somehow.
Amy & Bright on Everwood. It was almost creepy to think of them dating since they played brother and sister.
When Adrian Grenier, who I always thought was cool in his anti-Vinceness, started hanging out with Paris Hilton…Entourage seemed a lot less ironic after that.
Don’t really have a couple but just wanted to say hear, hear on the Bill engvall (and I would add Tyler Perry)comment. I think TBS thinks that if they bombard us w/ those commercials we will eventually give in. We won’t. Please stop
Ditto on the Milo/Hayden hook-up. Peter Petrelli has lost all of his hotness for me, which is truly a shame after his hotness sky-rocketed after that alternate future episode. The only other one I can think of at the moment is another sibling pair, Deb and Dex on Dexter. OK, so he was adopted, but it still creeps me out. Plus I really don’t like the actress.
The “Sisterhood” movies seem a little too weird now that I know that Amber Tamblyn is dating David Cross (a.k.a. Tobias Fuenke from Arrested Development).
Also, it’s not a particular movie or show, but knowing that my girl Jennifer Hudson is dating someone who appeared on “I Love New York” just about kills me.
Milo and Hayden for sure. In season 1 I thought of Peter as a dweeb, then season 2 he became hunkalicious when he lost the bangs and pumped up, and then he started dating Claire so now I find him creepy and a little bit of a pedo.
I can’t believe this would taint your viewing of My Boys.
I second Amy & Bright on Everwood. SQUICK. Then she had to go be even weirder and date Dave Annable on Brothers and Sisters – that’s kept me from checking the show out!
Milo and Hayden – Heroes
Knowing that Jorge Garcia and Terry O’Quinn have been an item since season 2 of “Lost” has completely ruined the show for me.
The real-life breakup of Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan kinda ruined their character’s romance on Alias.
John Krasinski and Rashida Jones. I think she’s a horrible hag who committed the worse offence anyone could make on The Office – SHE WASN’T FUNNY. I hated that entire story arc and it really taints my Krasinski love to know that he got her the job and for some reason continues to date her. Ugh.
I was going to mention Deb and Dex as well, but Andie beat me too it. I don’t like her either, but I can’t decide if it’s the actress or the character I don’t like.
Kate–I had the same exact thought about My Boys when I heard this as well.
Agreed with the Alias comment. Once the relationship ended and she got some movie roles the shoe was dead. But I guess John Meyer is now redeemed in that he isn’t with Jessica anymore.
Benjamin Bratt on L&O wasn’t totally ruined by Julia Roberts, but was annoyingly distracting.
I’m still in shock from someone mentioning “My Boys” as an underrated comedy. While I’m a fan of Jim Gaffigan, this show is complete and utter garbage. Not as bad as Bill Engvall, but there’s a reason they’re both on the same network and are over publicized.
It definitely sucks when cool actors date idiot reality stars, but if My Boys is gonna only produce like 6 episodes every 40 years (or that’s how it feels anyway), nothing Kyle does is going to have an impact on the show.
I was so disappointed when I heard that the two of them are together. I have only watched the show a couple of time, but I’m a fan…and it also made me die a little inside to see them together.
I remember the craziness that surrounded plot developments on Alias once it got out that Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan were dating. The fact that Vaughn and Syd were always meant to be together on the show may have signaled a death knell for the show when the romance bled into real life. It got even weirder when they had to write in Garner’s pregnancy (who would turn out to be Violet, Garner’s daughter with Daredevil co-star Ben Affleck) and had to pretend that it was Vaughn’s baby, thus creating some kind of Twilight Zone-worthy love triangle that extended between real life and fictional reality.
when sophia bush and chad michael murray divorced in real life, but their characters got together on One Tree Hill. It didn’t ruin the show, but it changed their on screen chemistry.
A couple of examples of reali-life romance having no discernable effect on the show:
– Milo Ventimiglia (who’s been roundly criticized here for dating his onscreen niece, Hayden Panettiere on Heroes; admittedly a little weird) dating Alexis Bledel while doing Gilmore Girls. It kind of enhanced the chemistry between Jess and Rory and that relationship remains one of the more popular ones from the show.
– Evangeline Lilly dating Dominic Monaghan on Lost. Helps, of course, that Charlie and Kate were rarely onscreen together after the first season. Have they broken up now? I’m not sure…
LMAO at Wojo. And yowza Kate, I completely agree about Kyle and Lauren. I was nauseated when I first heard it. Other major ones I recall include Milo/Hayden (although there’s plenty of other things that keep me from watching what Heroes had devolved into), Jennifer Garner/Michael Vartan, and Emily van Camp/Bright. Why does Emily always date her brothers on her shows? Yuck.
One movie one that kinda kills me inside is Evan Rachel Wood dating Marilyn Manson. Plus, now she looks like another Dita von Tesse! I still remember her as that sweet kid on Once & Again.
I wouldn’t say particularly ruined … but I was bummed when Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer broke up. And now it seems weird that their characters are still together … when we SEE THEM that is!
Dee — it’s a little off topic, but I agree with you about Evan Rachel Wood and Marilyn Manson. I lose respect for every woman he dates. He presents himself as this scary subversive freakshow, but he’s really a misogynist Republican with a 401(k). Ok, well maybe that does actually make him a scary freakshow after all….
Knowing that Drew Barrymore was with Tom Green ruined my fandom of all things Drew. Just was she was getting her respect back…BOOOM! She hooks up with the stoner-loser gross dude.
I gained a lot of respect for David Duchovny when I found out he was hooking up with Tea Leoni.
Though I’d stopped watching by then, it did creep me out that the Dr. and the Alien woman with the wierd nose thingee hooked up for real in the backdrop of Star Trek: Truck Stop in Space Where Nothing Interesting Happens (sorry, DS9).
Finally, My Boys is officially tainted for me. I can’t stand the Hills and can not believe how these shallow Douchebags have somehow become a national fascination.
Rather than give any love to these jerks on that awful Mtv reality show (and it’s saying something to call an Mtv show AWFUL when most of them are kind of bad), I won’t support anything that has anything to do with them.
Bye Bye My Boys. It was fun while it lasted.
When House co-stars Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Spencer began dating, their characters, Chase and Cameron, hooked up. I don’t like the Chase/Cameron pairing. The two actors have no onscreen chemistry.
Frankly, EVERYTHING on TBS is ruined for me, between the endless ads for the Tyler Perry show and the annoying pop up ads for the Bill Engvall show. They both look terrible but even if they were great I would never watch, as TBS is so obnoxious in advertising them.
By the way, who from “I Love NY” is Jennifer Hudson dating? Ugh, what an awful thought.