- 23/07/2023
Not every show needs to look like Euphoria or Westworld!
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00:00 Watching an ugly TV show can feel like a chore at times.
00:03 Either you'll be cringing at the aesthetic or failing to escape into fantasy and feeling
00:06 stuck in the real world.
00:07 But that's where shows like the following ten have thrived as they throw unpleasantries
00:11 your way to make you laugh, feel, and become immersed.
00:14 By confronting you with something that doesn't look shiny, glossy, and cinematic, you can
00:18 explore a whole different kind of entertainment.
00:20 So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with What Culture here with 10 Great TV Shows That
00:24 Are Ugly On Purpose.
00:26 10.
00:27 Mighty Boosh If you're not familiar with the bizarre world
00:30 of The Mighty Boosh, then you're in for the kind of ride that can only be described as
00:33 trippy.
00:34 Mighty Boosh is a show created by the comedians Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett.
00:37 It's a wacky series full of silly scenarios and surrealism that often borders on the nonsensical.
00:42 Plus, it's full of vulgarity, cheapness, goofy costumes, and worst of all, jazz.
00:47 All of this melts together in a melting pot to create a mind-boggling aesthetic that is
00:51 one of the show's key selling points.
00:53 The series thrives on its ugly roots.
00:55 Since the first episode, it has been full of practical effects with creatures, monsters,
00:58 and all sorts of odd props.
01:00 There's a cracked fox, a man made of cheese, mutant zoo animals, and a fish person, and
01:04 that's only scratching the surface.
01:06 They're all made with a deliberately cheap quality, looking like they were patched together
01:09 with random pieces of household items found the day before shooting.
01:13 But that homemade feeling and the general grossness of the creations is an integral
01:16 part of the show's appeal.
01:18 9.
01:19 In The Flesh Zombies are ugly by nature.
01:22 Watching a walking corpse is never going to be a delightful experience, and that's something
01:25 any show which tackles them needs to understand.
01:27 With that in mind, this underrated BBC horror drama went in a fascinating direction.
01:32 In The Flesh shows as the undead are integrated back into everyday life following a zombie
01:36 uprising.
01:37 Other projects have dealt with the idea of humanising zombies before, but none of them
01:40 have felt as thoughtful as this one.
01:42 The series is high in concept and ambition, yet it's a surprisingly sombre and monotone
01:47 experience.
01:48 One of the reasons for this show's unique vibe is that it's presented with a bland
01:51 muteness that makes the wild concept seem strangely ordinary.
01:54 There's a distinct lack of colour, making the show look grey and cold, much like the
01:58 Northern Village setting and the zombies, of course.
02:00 While that can lead to it looking dull, that's the exact purpose, as it normalises the undead
02:05 in a way that makes them feel strangely believable.
02:07 This visual ugliness and bland cinematography make it an unexciting visual treat, but capture
02:12 the perfect vibe of a walking corpse of a show.
02:14 And we mean that in the very best way possible.
02:17 8.
02:18 Pistol
02:19 Danny Boyle, The Sex Pistols, a punk pastiche aesthetic, mix them all up and what do you
02:23 get?
02:24 An ugly yet riveting miniseries.
02:26 This show is a textbook example of how ugliness can be beautiful.
02:29 Pistol makes you feel like you're stepping inside the archive footage of a Sex Pistols
02:32 concert and does so entirely thanks to specific filmmaking tools.
02:36 The series chooses to be framed with a 4 by 3 aspect ratio, reflecting the TV mechanics
02:40 of the 70s.
02:41 This is taken even further by the constant cutaways to actual vault footage, which matches
02:46 this specific framing and makes you question whether you're watching constructed drama
02:49 or real life moments.
02:51 In addition to this comes the camera focus, which flip-flops between a soft focus and
02:54 a grittier one.
02:55 Both of these visual tones and the switches between them give the show a chaotic and manic
02:59 vibe, especially when paired with the frantic editing.
03:02 But they also make the series look grungy and gritty, capturing the essence of the Sex
03:06 Pistols.
03:07 Overall, it's a thoughtful and unique looking show that readily emits the ugly, filthy energy
03:11 of the band it's honouring, even if John Lydon, formerly Johnny Rotten, has shared
03:15 his hatred for it.
03:16 7.
03:17 Channel Zero
03:18 Horror and ugliness go together like vampires and Mardi Gras.
03:22 Good for some, but not everybody.
03:23 Channel Zero thrives on this uncanny spectacle, as it's a show that is never pleasant to
03:27 watch yet you can't look away.
03:29 The series takes famous creepypastas and turns them into reality.
03:33 As you can expect from such a premise, it's filled to the brim with unpleasant imagery.
03:36 It manages to achieve a unique look thanks to an oppressively bleak colour palette and
03:40 minimalistic set design.
03:41 Its presentation of typical everyday life acts as the perfect backdrop to the show's
03:45 crowning glory, those being the creatures and visual effects.
03:48 While other horror shows try to make their villains look cool or stylish, Channel Zero
03:52 works hard to make them as creepy and harrowing to look at as possible.
03:55 You'll be riding a rollercoaster through the uncanny valley in this series, as many
03:59 of the figures in this show are designed to look somewhat real, but sliced with horrifying
04:03 facial features and expressions.
04:05 The show takes its inspiration from the ugly, bleak, dark reaches of the internet, so it's
04:09 not surprising that it looks the part.
04:11 6.
04:12 The Inbetweeners
04:13 There's a reason The Inbetweeners became a smash hit and invaded the UK's culture
04:17 so hard that quoting it became second nature.
04:19 It's because every British kid watching found it relatable, perhaps too relatable,
04:23 in fact.
04:24 Painfully relatable.
04:25 The Inbetweeners was grounded in the nitty gritty realities of British school life.
04:28 There were ugly classrooms, uncomfortable uniforms, childish banter, embarrassing moments,
04:32 and a general sense of cringe that you couldn't escape.
04:35 Of course, with ingredients like that, the series needed to look the part.
04:38 The show's visuals deliberately presented something murky and cheap.
04:42 Its natural lighting, bland set design, basic camera angles, and overall lack of polish
04:46 gave it an effortlessly low budget vibe.
04:49 This would be a death sentence for most programs, but for this E4 classic, it was essential
04:53 to giving it the feeling of an authentic English secondary school.
04:56 If you don't think the importance of that grimy aesthetic was a big deal, then just
04:59 look at the US remake of the show.
05:01 This adaptation completely forgot that sense of grit, going with something far more glossy.
05:05 And just look how things worked out for that one.
05:08 5.
05:09 Raised by Wolves
05:10 When you say science fiction, most people imagine roaming starships, lens flare, shiny
05:14 polished surfaces, and intricate robots.
05:16 Well, those same people might be a little shocked by the look of this recently unjustly
05:20 cancelled HBO series.
05:22 Raised by Wolves is a beautiful looking experience, but it's also hideous at the same time, which
05:26 is quite a feat.
05:27 It should come as no surprise that this show is essentially an anti-sci-fi, as it came
05:31 from the mind of Ridley Scott, who has revolutionised the genre more than once.
05:35 The series is based on a primitive planet, devoid of life and culture.
05:38 It's a beige and austere environment that feels dystopian and empty.
05:42 Thus, the colours are deliberately desaturated to provide a hard contrast to the characters
05:46 and their technology.
05:48 This was a genius move, as it captured the toil and struggle of the central figures,
05:52 but it also made the rare moments of excessive visual effects look spectacular by comparison.
05:56 You'd be treated to sudden bursts of technology-stylish visuals against the ugly scorched earth background,
06:01 making it a constant juxtaposition of styles.
06:03 Again, it's a shame this show was cancelled prematurely, but you should seek it out if
06:07 you want a sci-fi that doesn't look like a sci-fi.
06:10 4.
06:11 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
06:13 Like The Inbetweeners, this is a show that strives to capture the gruesome reality of
06:16 its setting.
06:17 Always Sunny forgoes the sugary sweetness of the typical sitcom, instead delving into
06:21 the depravity and stickiness of owning a bar in downtown Philly.
06:24 Always Sunny was initially presented in a 4 by 3 aspect ratio, making it clear from
06:28 the start that it was cheaper than a pack of gum.
06:30 It was even filmed on the affordable Panasonic DVX-100 Mini-DV, which is why the camera quality
06:35 looks so grainy and bitty in the first few seasons.
06:38 While this cheapness was a reflection of the show's minuscule budget, it was also a vital
06:42 tool for capturing the derelict spirit of the series.
06:45 This is a show full of vomiting, gagging, fecal matter, racial slurs, and more, so that
06:49 ugliness was integral to hitting those lowbrow notes.
06:52 Naturally, the show has become far more aesthetically pleasing in its later seasons, with a 16
06:56 by 9 aspect ratio and a bigger budget.
06:59 There are still plenty of remnants of that grit in there, but that sense of polish has
07:02 made the show's later seasons a little less disgustingly charming.
07:06 3.
07:07 The Wren and Stimpy Show
07:08 If you think the slew of modern animated shows aimed at adults are gross and disturbing,
07:12 you clearly didn't watch cartoons in the 90s.
07:14 The last decade of the 20th century brought a boatload of ugly cartoons, with the likes
07:19 of Ed, Edd n Eddy, Cow and Chicken, and Courage the Cowardly Dog diving into a deep pool of
07:23 debauchery.
07:24 Still, while those shows adored their ugliness, none of them could hold a candle to the vulgarity
07:28 of The Wren and Stimpy Show.
07:30 Wren and Stimpy's ethos seemed to be to throw as much disturbing and ugly imagery
07:33 into kids' faces as possible.
07:35 The show's general aesthetic was one of twisted creatures and distorted bodies, but
07:38 it was the outrageous close-ups that generated the stuff of nightmare.
07:42 You saw some utterly revolting things, like Wren being grated against a man's stubble,
07:46 Stimpy using a crowbar to rip a nail off a pus-riddled toe, Wren picking nerve endings
07:50 out of his toothless mouth, a self-mutilating jester, and way, way more.
07:54 Each moment was animated with an intense gruesomeness that made many people question whether the
07:58 show was appropriate for kids, which, to be fair, it really wasn't.
08:02 It's one of the most misshapen, grossest, and ugliest TV shows you'll ever see, and
08:06 I think that's the point.
08:08 2.
08:09 The Office
08:10 Mockumentaries are designed to replicate reality as much as possible.
08:13 So what could be uglier than the stuffy inside of an office in Slough?
08:17 The Office was a series that revolutionized what you could do with sitcoms and TV in general.
08:21 It was one of the first shows to popularize the faux-documentary comedy format, paving
08:25 the way for others like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family.
08:28 Still, to this day, no other show has captured mundanity quite like this Ricky Gervais/Steven
08:33 Merchant classic.
08:35 Offices are ugly, and that's at the forefront of this show.
08:38 Taking a walk through Wernham Hogg brings beige furnishings and the muted colors of
08:41 office attire.
08:42 The show was also full of big, bright windows letting tons of overexposed natural light
08:46 in, casting heavy shadows and giving the whole thing an authentic vibe.
08:49 Plus, don't forget the efforts of that documentary crew, with handheld cameras and basic shots
08:54 setting the stage for a deliberately amateur and gritty depiction of everyday life.
08:58 Of course, the US remake of this show started with the same MO, but eventually turned into
09:02 something far more colorful and visually pleasing.
09:04 In the end, both were great, but for entirely different reasons.
09:07 1.
09:08 The Walking Dead
09:09 It's time to turn back to zombies, but unlike the sleeper hit that was In the Flesh, this
09:13 show is often considered the magnum opus of walking corpses.
09:17 The Walking Dead came during the early days of the TV renaissance.
09:20 In the same vein as programs like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, the series proved
09:24 that the small screen could be majorly cinematic.
09:26 It did this thanks to its enormous scale, stunning practical effects and well thought
09:30 out shots, but despite all that, the show was still ugly as all hell.
09:34 Looking through the colour choices of the series will leave you with very little to
09:36 look at.
09:37 The majority of the palette is brown, which gives this distinct sense of decay.
09:40 Naturally, the theme of decomposition is an integral part of the series about walking
09:44 decomposed bodies, so it fits like a glove.
09:46 The world is also a barren wasteland of empty streets, abandoned buildings and scattered
09:50 body parts.
09:51 Another contribution to the series was that it was shot on 16mm film, at least until the
09:55 latest season when it was switched to digital thanks to the pandemic.
09:58 This was to create the series' iconic grainy visuals and give it a classic horror look.
10:02 And that concludes our list.
10:03 If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments below and while you're
10:07 there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
10:10 Also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
10:13 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
10:15 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see you real soon.
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