21 Ridiculously Cheesy Or Stupid TV Scenes And Lines That Literally Ruined The Entire Show
TV shows almost always get worse as they go — that's to be expected. Usually, the decline is gradual. But sometimes, something so out of pocket and bizarre happens that you literally decide "that's it. I am never watching this show again."
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Here are 21 TV moments and lines that were ridiculously out of place, tonally off, over the top, or just plain badly written/acted.
1.On Glee, when they performed "Gangnam Style" and made Tina — one of the only significant Asian characters* — do the rap:
They could've picked ANY OTHER SONG in ANY LANGUAGE. But they choose to do this one. It made no sense to the plot, and it was frankly offensive to give Tina the rapping, especially since it's one of the only solos she gets in the entire series.
*If you can even call her and Mike significant. They were totally sidelined and done dirty.
Watch the scene here:
2.On Grey's Anatomy, when the staff sang "How to Save a Life" while, erm...saving a life:
VERY few TV shows can pull off a musical episode (really the only great example out there is Buffy), and Grey's Anatomy's attempt was just a miss. Friends, your show has got to be campy if you're going to do a musical episode, and Grey's is not camp enough. Singing "How to Save a Life," an iconic Grey's song pulled from more serious moments, just felt soo cringe here, especially because it was played completely straight.
Watch the scene here:
3.On Teen Wolf, when Scott was "forced" to bite Liam because otherwise he'd fall from the edge of a building and die:
IN WHAT WORLD IS IT BETTER TO HOLD SOMEONE DANGLING FROM THE EDGE OF A BUILDING WITH YOUR TEETH THAN YOUR HANDS??? I understand Scott's werewolf teeth are strong, but his teeth are several feet from his hands. Why didn't he adjust and get a better grip, or use his claws??? It was such a ridiculous way to put Scott in a situation where he "had" to turn someone.
Watch the scene here:
4.On Riverdale, when Edgar tried to escape in a homemade rocket:
Look, I know Riverdale was already completely ridiculous and over the top, and there should probably be something from an earlier episode on this list. But...I just can't get over this one. Where was that rocket going??? To space??? I cannot.
Watch the scene here:
5.On Euphoria, when Elliot took up a full four minutes of an important episode with a song that meant absolutely nothing to the plot:
This made me so mad because A) it was SO LONG, B) it was unneccesary for the plot and just felt like a promo moment for Dominic Fike, and C) in what world does RUE need to apologize to ELLIOT? Elliot enabled her using, and then let Jules and Rue's mom flush a suitcase of drugs that Rue was supposed to sell down the toilet, rather than try to return them so Rue didn't go $10,000 in debt with a scary drug dealer!!!! Like, dude, I want to hear YOUR apology, not a four-minute song. You don't even KNOW Rue; you only know her when she's high!!!!
Watch the scene here:
6.On One Tree Hill, when Dan finally went in to get a heart transplant and then A DOG ATE IT:
My favorite is Lucas's expression here, like he's blaming Dan for this happening??? It's true poetic cinema and truly one of the wildest things I have ever seen on TV. I can't believe the show continued for three seasons after this.
Watch the scene here:
7.On Angel, when Cordelia slept with Connor because the world was ending:
I mean, do we need to go into why this was bad? Cordelia changed that boy's diapers and was in love with his dad...like a couple months prior. Yes, we later find out Cordy was possessed here, but that doesn't excuse it. This plotline was inexcusable. I also love how she had to do it because it was the "end of the world" and then fire rained from the sky but...literally nothing else happened.
Watch the scene here:
8.I also just have to nominate when Cordelia comes down the stairs, suddenly pregnant with Connor's baby, in this ensemble:
HOW DID EVERYONE NOT REALIZE SHE WAS EVIL RIGHT THEN AND THERE??? IN WHAT CONTEXT WOULD CORDY WEAR THIS??? Her voice and outfit and necklace and UGH...it's all just so cringe and un-Cordy.
I can't find the clip, but it's at the end of 4x15. You can watch the show on Amazon!
9.On The Secret Life of the American Teenager, when Grace's dad died right as she had sex for the first time — and then there was a scene where she blamed herself and uttered this iconic line:
Watch the moment here:
10.When Deb admitted her feelings for Dexter (her brother) on Dexter:
I think every Dexter fan can admit that this one scene basically ruined the entire show. This isn't GoT, people. We don't want sibling incest. Yeah, they aren't technically blood related, but they were raised as siblings, and this was just completely out of pocket and horribly executed.
Watch the scene here:
11.Similarly, on Friends, when Ross tried to kiss his cousin:
Maybe not quite as bad as being in love with your brother...or maybe worse, since Ross and Cassie are ACTUALLY related!!! This was so gross to me, and the fact that it was played for laughs....eurgh. If I had any affection left for Ross at this point, it was lost in this scene.
Watch the scene here:
12.Also on Friends, when Joey proposes to Rachel:
Friends was so good at cliffhangers like this, but this one was just...too far. In no world would Rachel think Joey was proposing. And then later, they actually get together??? It's the most random couple ever and they had NO chemistry. It felt like the show was running out of ideas at that point — and ways to keep Ross and Rachel apart.
Watch the scene here:
13.When a flash-forward revealed that Caroline and Alaric (her former teacher and the only consistent parental figure in the series) were ENGAGED:
I can't find the above scene, but it's at the end of 7x06. You can watch the show on HBO Max.
14.Though tied for a close second is the scene at the end of the same episode, when it's revealed that Jo's twins were magically transported into Caroline's womb the season prior, and Caroline — a vampire — is now pregnant:
Watch the scene here:
15.On Pretty Little Liars, when Aria was implanted with Emily's eggs:
A did a bunch of wild stuff, but literally implanting Emily's donated eggs into Ali...WHO CAME UP WITH THIS? I just want to talk.
Watch the scene here:
16.On WandaVision, when Monica acted like Wanda was the hero of the show:
While I didn't like what Multiverse of Madness did in making Wanda a full villain, honestly my bigger issue was with the end of WandaVision. I loved how villainous Wanda was acting, while also feeling like we could still empathize with her because of the pain she was going through. But Monica acting like what she'd done was understandable was a step wayyyy too far and made it seem like the show was trying to excuse Wanda's actions. It just felt weird and sanitized and tonally off with Wanda's arc toward villainy. It's a bummer because WandaVision started so strong, but it fumbled the bag at the end.
Watch the moment — as well as commentary on why it's stupid — here:
17.When ED SHEERAN HIMSELF randomly showed up on Game of Thrones, completely pulling you out of the fantasy world you had previously been immersed in:
Watch the scene here:
18.On Gossip Girl, when Bart was revealed to be alive:
Gossip Girl was always soapy, but having someone who died three seasons ago turn out to actually be alive was wayyy soapier than anything else that had happened. Also, literally no one missed Bart, and it made no sense to bring him back. One more thing — I know why Chuck is shocked, but why does BART say "Oh, my god"???
Watch the scene here (at 1:23):
19.And when they killed him while weird old-timey suspense music played:
You gotta watch this to understand why it's so weird. It's completely over the top. I understand they were making a Hitchcock/old film reference, but it's far too heavy-handed and out of place on GG, unlike its past old film references (like in Blair's dreams), which were tasteful.
Watch the scene here:
20.Speaking of music moments — on The O.C., when Marissa shot Trey and then "Hide and Seek" played:
I mean, there's a reason this is so meme-worthy. The music choice is so laughably wrong for the moment, and it goes on for SO LONG and is so overdramatic, even considering what's happening and the show it's in.
Watch the scene here:
21.And finally, on Happy Days, when Fonzie jumped over a shark on water skis:
