# A poll: ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373 "2010-10-26T02:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/21 "2010-10-26T04:58:03Z")
Oh, man, do I have memories of midnight showings. (But I never dressed up.) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/22 "2010-10-26T05:14:21Z")
I like the music. The music is exactly what it needs to be and has some pretty solid songs and some songs that are just great to sing along to. The movie is awful, the only thing that redeems it is the experience or the memory of the experience. It really doesn’t work if you’re on your own or if everyone is sitting there in silence in someone’s living room. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/23 "2010-10-26T05:16:58Z")
> [@maggenpye](#): > > My parents (!) introduced me to RHPS when I was 15. My parents introduced me to it too! Come to think of it they introduced me to lots of things that seem slightly inappropriate for parents to pass on to children. Madonna, ZZ Top, Seinfeld, Father Ted… > [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Don’t get me wrong - I love the movie, and the soundtrack has a special place in my heart forever - but (particularly after getting familiar with the original London cast recordings) I can’t say the movie soundtrack is flawless. > > The addition of Meatloaf makes for a _great_ audience participation gag, but the music was better without him, really. (Some of the production really gets in the way of some great music and misses the mark. Not in a super-obvious way, but once you hear what O’Brien was going for before it got dirtied up, it’s hard to listen to the movie versions of some of the songs again - they don’t measure up.) I probably think the movie soundtrack is so good because it’s the version I’m most familiar with. I have a special edition of the soundtrack that mixes in some live show performances from casts around the world, and it’s really interesting to hear, but again that familiarity will always bring me back to the film versions. I’m not sure what you mean by the addition of Meat Loaf - he was in the stage show years before he was famous, so if you mean they added him to the film as stunt casting that can’t have been the case - if that’s not what you meant I apologise! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/24 "2010-10-26T05:23:43Z")
Love it. Saw it in public countless times. Whenever one of the songs comes up on the radio or on the mp3 player, I can’t help but sing along out loud. But the idea of watching it on TV wouldn’t even cross my mind. The film is, by any measure, absolute shit. It’s the live experience, as well as the joy of taking your friends and have 'em come out all WTF-ed that it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/25 "2010-10-26T05:38:49Z")
Excellent in all its incarnations. I have the soundtrack on my iPod and sometimes I just listen to it straight through … for the thrills. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/26 "2010-10-26T05:43:58Z")
I voted for seeing it in a public setting, but I do love it regardless. I heard & memorized the songs on the one-disc LP for years before I had the privilege of actually seeing the film. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/27 "2010-10-26T05:44:26Z")
Saw it live countless times in the early-late eighties. Fun, campy movie to watch at home, but RHPS as a phenomenon is a live thing. Thinking otherwise is like expecting a castle to have a phone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/28 "2010-10-26T05:48:37Z")
I saw it in a theatre back in the seventies. But the audience participation was still a regional thing. There was a couple of audience things going on at the show I saw but mostly it was just watching the movie. But I liked the movie and I’ve watched it a few times on my own since then. It’s a good movie with some catchy tunes and nice performances. Worth watching even if you don’t have a theatre full of people in costume. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/29 "2010-10-26T05:52:15Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by the addition of Meat Loaf - he was in the stage show years before he was famous, so if you mean they added him to the film as stunt casting that can’t have been the case - if that’s not what you meant I apologise! He wasn’t part of the London cast and the music was changed a bit to give him more prominence. You really hear him when he’s not there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/30 "2010-10-26T05:59:30Z")
I’ve never seen it live, just at home. As a movie, it sucks. Some of the songs are pretty good, though. I have no interest in seeing it live at this point. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/31 "2010-10-26T06:01:29Z")
I voted, “Saw it - meh” and I was unimpressed. Considering I am a big fan of musicals, I thought I would really like it - but sadly, found it lame. Tried a few times over the years to sit through it, but cannot get very far into the film before switching channels. I was at a Hollywood party and happened to be standing by Barry Bostwick and, with nobody else standing around, he and I just had a nice normal conversation. Great guy, very down to earth. We talked about this and that for about 5 - 10 minutes when some Hollywood agent pretty much bumped me out of the way to have a chat with Barry. Anyway, the next day I mentioned this to a friend who went crazy from envy and said, “Did you talk about Rocky Horror!?” When I mentioned I wasn’t even aware he had been in the film, my friend just about killed me and literally didn’t speak to me for weeks. FYI - I believe I read where Barry Bostwick is going to be in the upcoming GLEE episode where they do a song (or more?) from Rocky Horror, in case anyone is interested. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/32 "2010-10-26T06:10:16Z")
Interesting story I hadn’t heard before. Richard O’Brien, who created Rocky Horror, was born in the UK but his family moved to New Zealand when he was ten. He lived there until he was twenty-two when he went back to England to work in the theatre. But his family still lives in New Zealand and he visited there regularly. O’Brien is now 68 and he planned on returning to New Zealand this year to retire. And he was surprised to find out he was being denied permanent residency and citizenship in New Zealand. Apparently he is considered an immigrant and New Zealand doesn’t allow people to immigrate to New Zealand over the age of 55. There was a minor public protest over this and after a few weeks, the New Zealand government announced it would make an exception for O’Brien. He is now being granted residency and will be eligible for citizenship in the future. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/33 "2010-10-26T06:48:27Z")
I like the film okay. I’ve never seen the movie in a public viewing, but when I first saw it on video I had a lot of friends with me. We didn’t know any of the weird rituals, but it was a shared experience, at least. I’ve also seen a professional stage production, in the mid 90s. That was very entertaining, especially seeing some famous (local) actors. ---
**Author:** ![ratmanizhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@ratmanizhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratmanizhere)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/34 "2010-10-26T06:48:41Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Saw it live countless times in the early-late eighties. Fun, campy movie to watch at home, but RHPS as a phenomenon is a live thing. Thinking otherwise is like expecting a castle to have a phone. “castle to have a phone” GROOAANNNNNNN I prefer the live participant showings of RHPS, but my wife has yet to see it anywhere but on television. Nowadays, fan participation isn’t allowed at the annual public showing in our area. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/35 "2010-10-26T07:04:46Z")
I was introduced to it at about age 29 in Cleveland hts. where it still shows (yay). Loved it. Loved the local cast, sat in the back row to avoid any wetness from the squirt guns. Saw it about 60 times. Fell in lust with Tim Curry. The word reactions never leave you. Walk up to anyone whos seen it and say fee fi fo fum, and you know they will be thinking the response. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/36 "2010-10-26T07:19:46Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > The word reactions never leave you. Walk up to anyone whos seen it and say fee fi fo fum, and you know they will be thinking the response. Which is the wonder of regionalism. What’s the response/where in the film is it? The theater I used to go to was in New London, CT (or was that Groton?) Either way, there was a steady influx of squids from the local sub base, so there was plenty of evolution. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/37 "2010-10-26T07:42:09Z")
I’ve seen it a number of times at midnight showings and several times at home. Public viewing rocks! I still hit a local theater about once a year (with friends) to do the Time Warp. Audience participation is what takes a campy movie and turns it into a cultural phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/38 "2010-10-26T07:48:04Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Which is the wonder of regionalism. What’s the response/where in the film is it? > > The theater I used to go to was in New London, CT (or was that Groton?) Either way, there was a steady influx of squids from the local sub base, so there was plenty of evolution. You know, I had always thought it was the same everywhere. Now I’m wondering. I do forget where in the film it was, nor would i like to post the reply. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/39 "2010-10-26T08:44:51Z")
I was in high school and college during the best/worst time possible for RHPS - right when the anniversary soundtrack came out with the audience participation on it. It was suddenly known again, but still undergroundish\*, yet it absolutely KILLED the regionalism, as everyone became robots, repeating what was on the tape (Yes, tape. It was pre CD, at least for me.). So I have no idea what used to be said/done at RHPS shows in Chicago; by the time I got there it was the same as the NYC show of several years previous. ☹ I hope the regionalism has returned, but I’m unlikely to go find out. My most preferred method isn’t listed. That would be to watch it in a decent sized living room with 12-20 very good friends already familiar with the show and phenom, with chemical enhancement of everyone’s choice. That’s the best parts of live and the comforts of home, without having to deal with teenagers at the theater. \*By which I mean, I’m sure the quarterback and head cheerleader didn’t know of the existence of RHPS. It was the domain of the theater kids. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373/40 "2010-10-26T09:11:58Z")
Back in the early 80s I did Janet somewhere in the vicinity of 240 times over a couple of years. It was just the group of people I hung with, and it was fun. mrAru and I went to see it when we first moved up to New London CT, and it was entirely different in atmosphere. That was the last time we ever went to see it live. We did buy the video tape, and the DVD when they came out. I have also seen the sequel, Shock Treatment in theatrical release. I believe that it has been released on DVD and I know it was shown on cable movie channels a few times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-rocky-horror-picture-show/558373.md?page=3)