So I was just watching season 5 of Charmed this weekend, and I realized that while this was still on TV, I used to think this was the dumbest show on television (admittedly, I never watched it). Now I cant seem to get enough of it and watch 2-3 episodes nightly. I realized I did the same thing with Sex and the City a few years back. Anyone else find any television shows like this that you thought would never watch, but later, whether on dvd or syndication came to really like?

Acutally ... Charmed(TNT).

Dawson's Creek (TBS). I am surprised how good the writing was.

Desperate Housewives

Ugly Betty
OTH
Gilmore Girls (not so much anymore though)

'Gilmore Girls' sure didn't look like it would be worthwhile when it debuted (is that how you spell that?).

Battlestar Galactica - like many fans of the older series, I was against the changes being made. A friend of mine asked me to hold season 1 if I ever got a used copy in, and when I finally got it he said he'd pick it up after I gave it a chance and watched it. Since he had previously turned me on to House, I threw in the first disc as a courtesy, fully expecting to take it out after the first ep was done. Instead I blazed through the first half of the season that day.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel - I always thought that the show sounded dumb. I ended up seeing a few episodes of Angel and got hooked on it. I watched the entire 5 seasons of Angel, then figured that since I had used copies of all 7 seasons of Buffy in my store, I might as well watch it. Got hooked on that show also.

Boondocks - I liked the comic strip, but the first time I saw the cartoon on Cartoon Network, I felt like it didn't capture the spirit of the strip. After getting in a used copy, I gave it a second chance and loved it.

CSI - Once again, I was bored with nothing to do at work, so I grabbed a previously viewed copy of season 1 off the shelf. I liked it enough that I watch the seasons when I get them in, but it's not a show that I make sure to watch every week.

In conclusion, my store has been very good for my collection and viewing habits!

Yeah I think Gilmore Girls is the equivalent to those "chick-flicks" that a large % of men like as well. Something along the lines of a Mean Girls.

The Hills
Gilmore Girls

Scrubs - I remembered watching it when it first aired for a couple episodes and thought it was dumb as hell. But with shows that I currently watch going on haitus from time to time I needed something to watch that had a decent run. With Scrubs having 6 seasons it was a perfect candidate at only 23 minutes or so per episode and I've been loving it ever since I started watching a couple weeks ago, I'm about a quarter of the way through season two now

Heroes - When the previews for the show were on before it ever aired I thought the show looked unbelievably shallow and I figured I'd never in a million years enjoy it, boy was I wrong, as it's easily one of my favorite shows now.

The Office (U.S.) - Having seen the british version I thought the U.S. version was probably good but wouldn't bring anything original to the table. Bored out of my mind I decided to check out the first season and while it was much like it's British counterpart in the beginning the show really broke into it's own stride early in the second season and I'm really glad I started watching it.

Boston Legal

Usually I have a pretty good feel for a show I would like or not like, so the only one that would fall under this topic is the US version of The Office. I figured it would be another lame adaptation of a superior British sitcom.

Scrubs def. for me. At first it seemed so slapstick, but now I think it is brilliant and innovative. Hysterical~!

And....I'm embarassed to admit..."Two and A Half Men"...thought it was horrible at first, but my husband really liked it, and after repeatedly watching it, it has really grown on me. Its got a crude edge to it, and I think its pretty darn funny.

Six Feet Under - A drama about a family of undertakers, a gay couple, coping with death and aging, a young artist that experiments with drugs, raising children, etc.

It doesn't sound like something I'd like at all, but wow is it good.

Everyone Loves Raymond.
Beast Wars. Grew up on G1 Transformers. Didn't like them all being animals. Like it fine now.

FIREFLY

I thought it was going to be like cheapass Hercules/Xena/Andromeda/Stargate syndicated Sunday afternoon stuff.

I'm 2/3 throught the series and LOVING it! It's gonna be sad when I finish it and it will never "feel new" again.

Buffy and Angel are my first ones. They are what really opened my mind to giving other stuff a chance. I agreed to watch them all if my sister would watch my favorite show at the time, The X-Files. I had new favorites afterwards.

Xena, Hercules and Highlander. Despite Buffy opening my mind I didn't believe I could get into these shows, because I thought they were too cheesy or I didn't see how I could like them. However, the cheesiness and over the topness (especially with Xena, which is the best of the three) becomes part of the fun and Xena has some nice character depth due to her dark past. They aren't on the same level as Buffy or Angel, but they were good fun and each had their moments.

Battlestar Galactica, well sort of anyway. I was fairly open minded to this one, but at the same time I kept thinking it's probably not something I'd get into. I'm not generally a sci-fi tv show fan aside from The X-Files and Firefly. I gave it a chance though based on the high reviews and I was hooked by episode 5. It took me longer than some other series, but it was good.

So, I now try shows with high reviews even if it goes against what I think I might like or what people think I should like.

I may actually watch Gilmore Girls in the future. That's not a show I would've ever seen myself watching, but I really know nothing about it except that it's geared mostly towards females. If the show is good and the characters are good that's all that matters to me though. Not sure if this one will work for me or not though.

Deadwood - I don't have HBO, but I enjoyed all the Sopranos season sets that I rented. I had a couple of people tell me I would like it, but I didn't believe them. I thought it would just be Gunsmoke with lots of swearing. (Come to think of it, that pretty much describes it), but I really liked it anyway. I resisted until I ran out of Sopranos episodes, then I got hooked on Deadwood. Great writing, characters and acting. Too bad it's over.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, Hercules, and Highlander are all shows that I enjoyed more than I expected to.

A lot of the same as everyone else. Battlestar, Buffy, Angel - for all the reasons already stated.

Something not yet mentioned though and my current obsession: Veronica Mars.

A girl I was dating three years ago mentioned it when it first came out and I laughed at the premise and told her I'd never watch it. Over the course of the next couple years, people whose opinions I value kept telling me it was good and I should give it a shot. Finally a friend of my roommate mailed us her copy in exchange for some Scrubs seasons and we finally gave it a shot. Not only is it a lot more mature and smarter than I thought it would be, but it's also not at all "Nancy Drew-ish" for lack of a better discription. Not the least reason to watch is Kristen Bell, who comes off as quirky, smart, funny, cool (in a one-of-the-guys girl kinda way) and quite easy on the eyes. Come to think of it, I owe Kate an apology...


Doc

Nip/Tuck and CSI Miami spring to mind.

Smallville.

Laughed at the idea for the past 6 years, then started watching it because of Netflix. Now I'm stuck buying all seasons thus far.

Jericho. It started off un-laughably bad ... but has almost done a 180. At least I don't wince at the dialogue anymore and the plot points are intriguing.

American Idol.

veronica mars

but now i love it, one of my fav shows ever. hopefully gonna start watching buffy soon too

Battlestar Galactica. I was always a SciFi "hater," then Lost started. It was clearly not portrayed as SciFi initially - and it's level of "SciFi-ness" is debatable - but I loved the show, and while following threads on Lost here at DVDTalk, I saw a lot of mention of BSG. IIRC it was only days before S2 started, SciFi Channel was having a marathon of S1, so I Tivo'd it, then went out and rented the mini-series. Couldn't stop watching.

Now my eyes are open much wider to different genres, SciFi in particular. I'd never have tried Firefly if not for BSG.