# Anyone else dislike dream sequences? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 18, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170 "2022-07-18T21:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/1 "2022-07-18T21:28:00Z")
Not much else takes me out of a TV show or movie more than an extended dream sequence. Most recently, in the Sopranos ep 5.11. Seemed like most of the ep was an extended dream. Now they’re riding a car with a lot of characters who have died; now they’re having dinner w/ Annette Benning; now one character shoots another - but he’s not dead or is he?; now a character’s gun falls apart and the bullets are apparently chocolate… WTF? I don’t even try to analyze my own dreams. I have no interest in doing so in my TV/movie watching. If you like them - why? Do you feel they help you understand a character’s psyche or something? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/2 "2022-07-18T21:35:16Z")
I very often like them simply for the weird factor. If the weirdness can also be explained as some subconscious epiphany, then that’s even better. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/3 "2022-07-18T21:40:05Z")
I’m with you, mostly because they never really capture what a dream is like and also because it’s usually lazy writing. There is nothing more boring than listen to someone describe their own dreams, ditto for made up dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/4 "2022-07-18T21:42:05Z")
I hate, hate, hate them. The dream episode of MASH, highly praised by most, is the only one I won’t watch. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/5 "2022-07-18T21:43:09Z")
They rank very high on my list of things I really hate to see in movies or TV shows. And they may be my actual most-hated device in fiction - other than the occasional case where they actually have plot meaning, like Dune, they are just so fucking lazy. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/6 "2022-07-18T22:11:09Z")
I will go against the grain here - I love the dream sequence in _Office Space_, as well as the two in _The Big Lebowski_. I have not paid enough attention to them in general to develop a distaste for them, however, but those examples stand-out as plusses for those movies, for me. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/7 "2022-07-18T22:15:14Z")
The Big Lebowski is the exception to the rule, those sequences are brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/8 "2022-07-18T22:16:42Z")
Especially when the fact it’s a dream is a _reveal_. Wondering how he’s gonna get out of this fix? Yeah, it was a dream. So, FYI, nothing you just watched matters. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/9 "2022-07-18T22:22:02Z")
I am trained now that when an unlikely thing happens its probably a dream. Its used all the time now to make bold diversions that don’t need to be followed up in reality. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/10 "2022-07-18T22:23:59Z")
They’re usually a cheap shortcut to reveal what can be done better in far more interesting ways. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/11 "2022-07-18T22:26:05Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Most recently, in the Sopranos ep 5.11 You know, I clicked on this topic to say I do hate dream sequences, EXCEPT for the Sopranos. I feel like it’s the only show to capture what dreams actually feel like. They’re mostly nonsensical and kinda forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/12 "2022-07-18T22:37:20Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Especially when the fact it’s a dream is a _reveal_. > > Wondering how he’s gonna get out of this fix? Yeah, it was a dream. So, FYI, nothing you just watched matters. Gaaaaah! (that was “Impotent Gutteral Rage”, by the way) SO many TV episodes have started with something _a)_ unlikely, _b)_ aspirational, or _c)_ horrific. You’re watching “the guy” finally kiss/almost save/brutally murder “the girl”, and suddenly he wakes up (extra points for “in a cold sweat” or “screaming”). And, yes, you feel cheated. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/13 "2022-07-18T22:55:09Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I will go against the grain here - I love the dream sequence in _Office Space_, as well as the two in _The Big Lebowski_. I’m with you. I hate _bad_ dream sequences, but a well-done dream sequence can be a great addition to a film, either for comedy, for weirdness, or in rare instances, to drive the plot. The two you mention above are fantastic. Other good ones that stick out in my mind: - _A Christmas Story_ - “you’ll shoot yer eye out!” - _Pee Wee’s Big Adventure_ - clowns operating on bicycles hits both comedy and weird - _American Beauty_ - I thought the movie was overrated, but Lester’s dreams were crucial for developing his character - _Raising Arizona_ - the dream at the end of the movie was a perfect conclusion. A happy ending with everything resolved would feel fake, but you still walk out happy. - _Trainspotting_ - the toilet plunge is hilarious, and the dead baby crawling on the ceiling is a great depiction of the paranoia of a bad trip - Pretty much every dream in the original _Nightmare on Elm Street_, although this might be cheating a bit since the dreams _were_ the plot - The Red Lodge dream in the last original _Twin Peaks_ episode - this had to be the strangest thing shown on network TV at the time ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/14 "2022-07-18T22:55:50Z")
Dream sequences are okay in sci-fi or fantasy shows bc these stories take place outside the realm of possibility in the first place. But in a serious drama like The Sopranos; it’s just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/15 "2022-07-18T23:26:14Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The Red Lodge dream in the last original _Twin Peaks_ episode - this had to be the strangest thing shown on network TV at the time Pretty sure that wasn’t a dream. Hard to tell with Lynch, though. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/16 "2022-07-18T23:47:59Z")
My defense of a couple of the ones listed in this thread. MASH. I didn’t care for most of the dream sequences, like Hawkeye floating in a pond full of arms and legs. Oh no! He has a hero complex and can’t save everybody! That wasn’t exactly news to anybody. But Mulcahy’s dream made the whole episode. That soldier hung up on that cross and dripping blood on the scriptures. All you really saw was the soldier’s foot, but it was easy enough to imagine the rest. That was a powerful image, and it wasn’t something that they could have shown in the normal course of the show. I also liked Margaret’s dream, the way her tuxedoed husband marched off in perfect lock-step with the soldiers. Reminds me a lot of The Wall. As for The Sopranos, I think that the dreams were the perfect accent for Tony’s panic disorder. Most of them were crap, granted. The talking fish were merely humorous. But the one with Tony’s dead girlfriend (Gloria, was it?) who offered to show Tony either her hoo-ha or the rope burns around her neck was something special. Like others have said, dream sequences are very often lazy writing. Sometimes, they’re just filler. But they can be useful and good for showing images and for conveying feelings or symbols that could not otherwise be portrayed. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/17 "2022-07-18T23:51:05Z")
Most dream sequences stand out as obvious, or, if occurring at the end of a film to explain it all away, as viewer-debasing cheats. While a dream sequence can take me out of a movie, I can forgive that if the sequence is exceptionally cool. Examples include (but are not limited to): _Sherlock, Jr._ (1924) has movie projectionist Buster Keaton falling asleep and entering a movie. Pink elephants on parade from _Dumbo_ (1941) is an awesome alcohol-induced dream sequence. Salvador Dali-designed dream sequences are the best things in _Moontide_ (1942) and _Spellbound_ (1945). _Los Olvidados_ (1950) is essentially a bleak neo-realist film with a few dream sequences that distinguish it. _The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie_ (1972) makes excellent use of dreams to link sequences of the film. _Kentucky Fried Movie_ (1977) features a funny parody of _Enter the Dragon_ which ends on a _Wizard of Oz_-like note. In _Terminator 2: Judgement Day_ (1991), Linda Hamilton dreams the CG-end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/18 "2022-07-18T23:55:04Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > > [@TroutMan](#): > > > > The Red Lodge dream in the last original _Twin Peaks_ episode - this had to be the strangest thing shown on network TV at the time > > Pretty sure that wasn’t a dream. Hard to tell with Lynch, though. Good point. The Red _Room,_ which was part of the _Black_ Lodge (I conflated the two), definitely started as Cooper’s dreams (I think?). But the last episode was maybe a real place. Kind of like the diner scene in _Mulholland Drive_ (and the rest of the movie). I’m not sure which parts were dreams, and I don’t think Lynch knew either. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/19 "2022-07-19T01:32:30Z")
The final _An American in Paris_ daydream, set to said music by George Gershwin, goes on far too long: over 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170/20 "2022-07-19T01:53:35Z")
Someone who doesn’t like dream sequences. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVBclV5ps2U) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-dislike-dream-sequences/968170.md?page=2)