# Most Inaccurate/Worst Comparison somebody made to make you watch/read/play something **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613 "2017-08-02T07:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/1 "2017-08-02T07:33:44Z")
Basically, somebody made you a recommendation and they framed it by comparing it to something else, except either the pitch made it seem like it was much better/worse than it actually was, or was completely inaccurate and you still remember it to this day. My dad took me to see “Varsity Blues” when I was 13 because he said it was “The Waterboy Meets Clueless” based on the trailers/ads he saw. It was like neither of those movies (thought the nudity was good though) Not a personal recommendation but the anime “Bleach” was often said to be “Anime Ghostbusters” in the lead-up to the show’s premiere even by Cartoon Network, when the only relation to Ghostbusters was that they fight ghosts in both and Bleach has some comedic elements at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/2 "2017-08-02T17:40:30Z")
One of my all time favorite comedies is **Wayne’s World**. It’s intelligent and self-aware, with lots of classic and memorable scenes. One of my NOT all time favorite comedies is **Encino Man** , starring former MTV personality and not-noted-comedic-actor Pauly Shore. And yet I distinctly recall the VHS tapes of Encino Man being emblazoned with the quote “If you liked Wayne’s World, you’ll love Encino Man”. Now, in fairness, I’ve never actually _seen_ Encino Man. But nothing I’ve ever heard about it suggests that any of its humor is even in the same genre as Wayne’s World, much less exceeding it in quality. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/3 "2017-08-02T21:17:37Z")
I’ve been a Dream Theater fan since _Images and Words_; I’d still call them one of my favorite bands, even though their last few albums have been less than stellar. About 15 years ago, one of my best friends was going on and on about some new band she’d found called Everessence or something. I just _had_ to hear this amazing album, they’re a lot like Dream Theater, I’d really dig them. She insisted I borrow her CD, and I didn’t make it all the way through. It was just run-of-the-mill grunge garbage. The worst part of the experience was that I somehow lost the CD, and had to go through the embarrassment of buying her a new copy. I bought it on Amazon so I wouldn’t have to deal with an actual person at a music store. For months afterward, Amazon thought I wanted to hear all the latest and greatest grunge. And then of course I found the CD, soon after. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/4 "2017-08-02T23:04:45Z")
My sister told me “Close Encounters” was going to be like “Star Wars”. It’s still a sore point. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/5 "2017-08-02T23:46:02Z")
I was told that about _Battle Beyond The Stars_: if you liked _Star Wars_, you’ll love _BBTS_! With John-boy and a tit spaceship. What a pile of crap. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/6 "2017-08-03T00:52:33Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I was told that about _Battle Beyond The Stars_: if you liked _Star Wars_, you’ll love _BBTS_! > > With John-boy and a tit spaceship. What a pile of crap. They should have said, “If you liked _The Magnificent Seven_, you’ll love _BBTS_,” which actually was a pretty decent movie. And it helped to finance _Return of the Secaucus Seven_, which started the career of writer/director John Sayles. Plus it gave James Cameron a place to start. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/7 "2017-08-03T00:59:34Z")
When I was a teen, I was told that since I liked Black Sabbath, I was sure to like Emerson, Lake and Palmer. As it turned out, I DID like ELP. But they had absolutely nothing in common with Sabbath. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/8 "2017-08-03T02:04:20Z")
A friend talked me into watching the sci-fi show _Babylon 5_ by telling me it was “HP Lovecraft in space.” Turned out to be one of my all time favorite shows, but I still wonder what the hell he was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/9 "2017-08-03T02:15:59Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > When I was a teen, I was told that since I liked Black Sabbath, I was sure to like Emerson, Lake and Palmer. > > As it turned out, I DID like ELP. But they had absolutely nothing in common with Sabbath. Maybe it’s like on Amazon. “People who bought the thing you just bought also bought these things that are entirely unlike the thing you just bought”. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/10 "2017-08-03T02:29:48Z")
This is kinda going out on a limb, but I got conned into paying actual money to see _Blair Witch Project_ (Goddammit! I still want my money back! :mad: ) by watching the thing on free TV supposedly about the “legend”. The TV show was cool. The movie made me want to commit violence on someone. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/11 "2017-08-03T04:12:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A friend talked me into watching the sci-fi show _Babylon 5_ by telling me it was “HP Lovecraft in space.” Turned out to be one of my all time favorite shows, but I still wonder what the hell he was talking about. Which season did they say this in? Because by the end, the Vorlons and Shadows were kind of Lovecraftian. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/12 "2017-08-03T12:43:00Z")
I can think of two instances where this happened on the local comics page. One was when Richard Thompson, who drew the strip “Cul De Sac”, had to retire for health reasons. The other was when they were re-running old “Calvin and Hobbes” strips for a while. In both cases, when they had to replace the strip, they promised the new strip would be just as good as what it was replacing. And then we wind up with crap like “WuMo”. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/13 "2017-08-03T23:24:50Z")
Big Bang Theory: “It’s intellectual humor.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inaccurate-worst-comparison-somebody-made-to-make-you-watch-read-play-something/792613/14 "2017-08-03T23:39:39Z")
“You’ll like Star Wars [the book]. It’s just like Star Trek!”