# Explain why Show X is the polar opposite of Show Y. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821 "2016-06-30T19:20:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/21 "2016-07-01T19:28:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > They might have thought they were exceptional, but not strange. If anything they thought they were better off than anybody else. They thought all the weird decor in their house was the height of good taste and sophistication. They assumed that anyone else would like to live like them if they could. That’s what I mean. They Addammses would not have used the word strange in its pejorative sense to describe themselves. They thought of themselves as strange in the sense that, oh, MacGuyver is strange–able and willing to do things that most people can’t even attempt. ETA: And Gomez and Morticia certainly felt sorry for married couples who didn’t love one another as instensely as they did. And they were probably right to And they were certainly right about their decor being awesome. They were wise enough to buy stuff they liked, not stuff that would please BETTER HOMES & GARDENS. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/22 "2016-07-01T19:39:56Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > **The Flintstones** is a show about people living in a millenniums-ahead-of-their-time society – one that approximated the culture, mores, and (in their own way) technology thousands of years ahead of their times. > > **The Jetsons** , conversely, is a show about people living in a strangely archaic society – one with super-advanced technology, but remarkably regressive and backward in culture and society. Unless Bedrock was actually what the surface of the Jetsons’ Earth looked like after an Apocalypse!!! OoooWeeeeOooooo! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/23 "2016-07-01T20:03:18Z")
_Star Trek_ is sci-fi for idealists. _Lexx_ is sci-fi for cynics. In _Star Trek_, the heroes always defeat the villains. Good always triumphs over Evil. In _Lexx_, the heroes usually die early in the episode. The survivors are flawed mortals, with petty grudges, personal agendas, and ulterior motives. The villains may dream of being Darth Vader, but most of them are petty bureaucrats and schoolyard bullies. Despite the cosmic background, the battle between Good and Evil occurs on a very human scale. And the universe doesn’t care. The villains win as often as the heroes, and either way, it owes more to blind chance than to anyone’s skill or courage. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/24 "2016-07-01T20:16:25Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _Star Trek_ is sci-fi for idealists. > _Lexx_ is sci-fi for cynics. > > In _Star Trek_, the heroes always defeat the villains. Good always triumphs over Evil. > > In _Lexx_, the heroes usually die early in the episode. The survivors are flawed mortals, with petty grudges, personal agendas, and ulterior motives. > > The villains may dream of being Darth Vader, but most of them are petty bureaucrats and schoolyard bullies. Despite the cosmic background, the battle between Good and Evil occurs on a very human scale. > > And the universe doesn’t care. The villains win as often as the heroes, and either way, it owes more to blind chance than to anyone’s skill or courage. While you’re overall correct about the idealism/cynicism thing, it’s not true that the Trek heroes always defeat the bad guys. Assuming we’re talking about the original series, on at least one occasion Kirk decided that his enemy of hte week probably had a point (the Gorn incident)., and in the Organia incident, I think we’re meant to conclude that both Kirk and Kor had gotten so caught up in patriotic fervor that they were both arguing for a war that neither actually wanted to fight. And it’s pretty common for there to be no black hat at all. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/25 "2016-07-02T17:57:46Z")
The anime Another is the opposite of every anime harem comedy ever. Its a horror series with only one (creepy) girl and a normal guy. Madoka Magika is the opposite of every magical girl anime. The girls get there powers form an alien who could care less about them and the girls end up turning into horrible monsters when they use their powers too much. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/26 "2016-07-02T23:13:09Z")
_The Beverly Hillbillies_ was country folk moving to the city; _Green Acres_ was city folk moving to the country. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/27 "2016-07-03T19:23:15Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Well…Morticia and Gomez did. Wednesday didn’t care. I think tehy were all a little scared of Wednesday. Which was a perfectly rational response to the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/28 "2016-07-03T20:50:43Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Which was a perfectly rational response to the situation. Being a little afraid of Wednesday was rational for Morticia and Gomez. Puggsley should have been full-on phobic. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/29 "2016-07-03T20:55:09Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Being a little afraid of Wednesday was rational for Morticia and Gomez. Puggsley should have been full-on phobic. I always figured what made him so special was his ability to take anything she could dish out and survive. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/30 "2016-07-03T23:06:14Z")
On the /reddit/community message board, a common statement is that “Big Bang Theory is a dumb show about smart people, while Community is a smart show about dumb people”. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/31 "2016-07-03T23:11:45Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > On the /reddit/community message board, a common statement is that “Big Bang Theory is a dumb show about smart people, while Community is a smart show about dumb people”. How can a show featuring Melissa Rauch be dumb? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/32 "2016-07-04T18:46:39Z")
I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re polar opposites\*, but I read Ellen Kushner’s _Swordspoint_ recently and kept thinking that the setting and content were pretty similar to _The Princess Bride_\*\* while the tone was completely different. Both are set in what seems to be a Renaissance era “[Ruritania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruritanian_romance)” and feature swashbuckling heroes, beautiful ladies, political intrigue, kidnappings, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, and (arguably) true love. _Swordspoint_ plays this mostly straight, though.\*\*\* There’s some witty dialogue but it’s not really a comedic book, and while the very beginning and end present the story as a sort of fairy tale there’s not a framing story as in _The Princess Bride_. In _The Princess Bride_ Prince Humperdinck’s plot to start a war with Guilder is basically a MacGuffin (there’s a little more about Guilder in the book than in the movie, but not much), while in _Swordspoint_ the political schemes of the nobility are a major part of the book. \*Not that this will stop me from posting in this thread! \*\*Best known as a movie, but originally a novel. \*\*\*In the sense of “serious” or “unironic”; the central romance is actually a same-sex one. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821/33 "2016-07-04T19:37:05Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > On the /reddit/community message board, a common statement is that “Big Bang Theory is a dumb show about smart people, while Community is a smart show about dumb people”. I’ve heard that, but with a different show in the second half. Arrested Development maybe? It’s Always Sunny? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-show-x-is-the-polar-opposite-of-show-y/758821.md?page=1)