# Late to the pop culture party **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307 "2007-12-26T18:45:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/1 "2007-12-26T18:45:12Z")
Have you ever had this experience – you don’t experience a movie/song/book/game/whatever until its moment in the zeitgeist has passed. And then – the horror – you have no one to talk about it with, which is most of the fun, cause everyone else is bored with it now and has moved on. This just happened to me. I saw “28 Days Later” this weekend. Really enjoyed it. Wasn’t what I was expecting. And wow – Cillian Murphy. Where has HE been all my life. But - That train has passed, and I’m left wondering if this sort of thing has ever happened to you. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/2 "2007-12-26T18:50:44Z")
I can’t remember the last time I was caught up, pop culturallywise. I just saw _The Aviator_ last weekend; good flick. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/3 "2007-12-26T18:59:31Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] Have you ever had this experience – you don’t experience a movie/song/book/game/whatever until its moment in the zeitgeist has passed. And then – the horror – you have no one to talk about it with, which is most of the fun, cause everyone else is bored with it now and has moved on. This just happened to me. I saw “28 Days Later” this weekend. Really enjoyed it. Wasn’t what I was expecting. And wow – Cillian Murphy. Where has HE been all my life. But - That train has passed, and I’m left wondering if this sort of thing has ever happened to you. [/QUOTE] Well, you do know [28 weeks later](http://imdb.com/title/tt0463854/) is out and geisting, and it is an equally good movie to some extent. I’m sure you could still find people discussing the merits of the two movies on some horror or zombie board somewhere on the internet. But to answer, yes. Happens to me quite often, I was on top of pop culture and media (movies, TV, and music) to a much greater extent in the past. However, I feel no impelling urge to necessarily discuss it. It’s sometimes fun as a topic with people who enjoy it and are like minded, but I’m more private about my geekeries. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/4 "2007-12-26T19:07:25Z")
I never watched an episode of Seinfeld until the last season and then had to watch reruns… mostly, because I worked on the nights it was on. Talk about being late to the party on that one. Same story with Northern Exposure… never saw it until it was in reruns. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/5 "2007-12-26T19:08:26Z")
I just started George R.R. Martin’s _A Game of Thrones_ last week. I went looking for old threads about it, but they were spoilery and I didn’t want to peek. I totally missed _Babylon 5_ when it was being broadcast. We got the DVDs from Netflix last year and my total online experience with fandom has been the Lurker’s Guide. (We stopped about halfway through Season 4…after the Shadow War was over, I just lost interest) ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/6 "2007-12-26T19:54:10Z")
Yeah, my husband and I decided to try **24** when it began this past season (a season that most people seem to think sucked) and we really enjoyed it. So we started buying the DVDs and we had just finished season 1 a few weeks ago and I called my mother (who has been a fan since the first season) and yelled… I can’t believe Nina killed Jack’s wife!! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/7 "2007-12-26T19:57:51Z")
Didn’t watch “Seinfeld” until a couple years after it ended. Didn’t watch “Sopranos” until last February–managed to watch the whole series (more or less) in time for the new episodes last April. People still love that one, so it’s not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/8 "2007-12-26T20:36:28Z")
I’m just now watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer series on DVD. Sure, I read lots of discussion and raves about it from people online who had the same taste as I did. I just never got around to watching it while it was actually on. But you know what? Watching it on DVD is better. No commercials, and I can sit down and cruise through five episodes in a row if I’m in the mood, or just leave it for months if I’m not. Good TV on DVD is a great investment. Maybe I’ll see 6 Feet Under or The Sopranos one of these years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/9 "2007-12-26T20:40:33Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] I just started George R.R. Martin’s _A Game of Thrones_ last week. I went looking for old threads about it, but they were spoilery and I didn’t want to peek. [/QUOTE] Considering that it’s a seven-book series with only four books out, I think there’s plenty of time to get caught up on this one. _If_ he ever gets around to writing the other three, of course… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/10 "2007-12-26T20:45:10Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] Considering that it’s a seven-book series with only four books out, I think there’s plenty of time to get caught up on this one. _If_ he ever gets around to writing the other three, of course… [/QUOTE] Oh, god. SEVEN books? I thought this coming one was the last…am I looking at another author dying before the end of their ginormous saga? Martin’s not feeling ill, is he? Please say no. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/11 "2007-12-26T20:56:43Z")
Lately I’ve just been waiting for most TV series to come out on DVD and then watch the whole season in a month or so. So I’m usually a year behind on those things. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/12 "2007-12-26T21:07:28Z")
I just saw the first season of _Arrested Development_ on DVD recently. Likewise for _Rome_. Luckily, my wife saw _Rome_ with me so we can discuss it with one another. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/13 "2007-12-26T21:08:31Z")
A couple of years ago I was running a crew of mostly younger folks in their 20s (I’m 36 now so was in my early 30s at the time). In particular, there was this one guy named Cory who was really into pop culture and like to discuss it endlessly. I would get a constant barrage of questions from him like “Do/did you watch [_insert TV/movie name here_]?” While I’m not completely ignorant of the modern world, I only go to the movies maybe once or twice a year and I don’t watch much television. Anyways, whenever Cory would hit on something I’d seen it was like striking oil. He would insist on talking about it all day and would keep bringing it up over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/14 "2007-12-26T21:10:43Z")
I agree with everyone who’s pointed out how handy it is to catch up on TV shows with DVDs. That’s what I did when I discovered “House” late in its third season. I still miss the rush of talking about these things with other folks when the other folks are interested. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/15 "2007-12-26T21:27:50Z")
Ok, here it is. In 1990, I was 7 years old. I was 18 the first time I watched _The Simpsons_ or any of the _Star Wars_ movies. I also discovered Weezer, Nirvana, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and pretty much any respected arists of the garage band 90s in 2001. And I ‘‘discovered’’ Rush about 2 years ago. They released \*Tom Saywer \*two years before I was even born. Oh, right, and\* Star Trek: The Next Generation\*? Just finished discovering that this year. Currently in about Season Three of _DS9_. At my age, even people who love Star Trek are bored with it. It’s all fresh and exciting and new to me, and nobody cares! Heh, I have a feeling I’m in for this again another decade from now. People are talking about stuff like \*House \* and _Lost_, and since we have no TV in our home, I admit I have no idea what I’m missing. At the moment, I’m too enthralled with _Star Trek_ on DVD to bother. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/16 "2007-12-26T21:28:05Z")
I didn’t watch _House_ for the first couple of seasons it was on. I started watching the reruns on the USA network following _Monk_. I started watching the first-run episodes somewhere in the middle of last season. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/17 "2007-12-26T23:43:30Z")
I have never been on the frontlines of a pop culture phenomenon and the closest I’ve ever come is discovering Blue October through a friend a couple weeks before their single really hit it big a couple years ago. I’m always years late to the party. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/18 "2007-12-26T23:54:03Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] I didn’t watch _House_ for the first couple of seasons it was on. I started watching the reruns on the USA network following _Monk_. I started watching the first-run episodes somewhere in the middle of last season. [/QUOTE] I saw the very first episode of House, figuring I’d have a new show to be on top of from the start. I hated it and haven’t watched an episode since except in passing. What can I say, they lost me… it’s a shitty show. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/19 "2007-12-27T08:53:32Z")
Well, isn’t that _special?_ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307/20 "2007-12-27T13:29:05Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] I didn’t watch _House_ for the first couple of seasons it was on. I started watching the reruns on the USA network following _Monk_. I started watching the first-run episodes somewhere in the middle of last season. [/QUOTE] Same here. I was changing the channels in March and saw a conversation between two people which was riveting. I thought “This is some of the best TV I’ve ever seen. What is it?” I wish someone had put a gun to my head and forced me to watch House from the beginning. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-to-the-pop-culture-party/431307.md?page=2)