# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 168
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3342 "2019-08-20T16:29:07Z")
The ending of that episode has been much discussed among Buffy fans. Consensus is that Dawn summoned the Demon. Xander took credit for it order to save Dawn. And that shows his usual courage and heart. I don’t know if this has ever been officially confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3343 "2019-08-20T17:10:04Z")
I can buy that. Makes more sense than Xander calling Sweet. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3344 "2019-08-21T05:00:40Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > I was reading the thread on comedy through repetition and it suddenly occurred to me title Laugh-In was a take off on Love-In. Maybe. I remember those times, and there were love-ins and sit-ins and all sorts of other -ins. “Laugh-in” was just a logical addition to all those. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3345 "2019-08-21T16:48:43Z")
[And crab-ins!](https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1968/01/18) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3346 "2019-08-21T17:31:27Z")
There’s a thread in Elections called Hee-haw, Y’all! The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary. And I didn’t give it too much thought, but then today I realized what the Hee-haw part was about. :smack: \*\* \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3347 "2019-08-21T17:59:49Z")
Japan’s Rising Sun flag? The sun I can totally see: it looks like a sun. Today, however, I realized that the color was not quite the normal color of the sun but that was okay because yellowish white is hard to put on a flag. Then I realized that the sun _as it is rising_ is indeed red. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3348 "2019-08-21T20:06:27Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The ending of that episode has been much discussed among Buffy fans. Consensus is that Dawn summoned the Demon. Xander took credit for it order to save Dawn. And that shows his usual courage and heart. > > I don’t know if this has ever been officially confirmed. I can buy that theory too. Thanks! ---
**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:** [August 21, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3349 "2019-08-21T20:20:28Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > There’s a thread in Elections called Hee-haw, Y’all! The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary. And I didn’t give it too much thought, but then today I realized what the Hee-haw part was about. :smack: Which is…? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3350 "2019-08-21T20:21:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Which is…? Hee-Haw is the stereotypical sound of a donkey. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3351 "2019-08-21T22:11:27Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Hee-Haw is the stereotypical sound of a donkey. Thank you! For weeks, I was trying to figure out how a reference to the TV show would work, and couldn’t. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3352 "2019-08-22T06:32:51Z")
Okay, I was just watching a video about the Mandela Effect and this one got me. The theme song to _Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood_ - if you had asked me, I would have told you the opening line is _“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood”_. But it isn’t. The line is _“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood”_. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3353 "2019-08-22T06:40:20Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Japan’s Rising Sun flag? The sun I can totally see: it looks like a sun. Today, however, I realized that the color was not quite the normal color of the sun but that was okay because yellowish white is hard to put on a flag. Then I realized that the sun _as it is rising_ is indeed red. It probably wasn’t a factor when Japan adopted its flag but the classic laws of heraldry prohibit having white and yellow touching. But look at the [Papal flag](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/611Yd3dhj8L._SX466_.jpg), which clearly has yellow and white touching. That was intentional; it was supposed to demonstrate that the Pope, as God’s representative, did not have to submit to any secular laws. ---
**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 22, 2019, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3354 "2019-08-22T07:27:22Z")
I was watching [the video for Up Up Down Down by Kirby Krackle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg2kDtJZos8), earlier. I’ve watched it a bazillion times. There’s a twist at the end - she’s a serial killer and the singer is her latest victim - which, upon this rewatch, I realized was forshadowed by the girl’s choice of clothes… Her shirt has the Poison Mushroom from Super Mario Bros. II/The Lost Levels (depending whether you’re talking about the Japanese or US version, respectively). Boy should have seen it coming. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3355 "2019-08-22T16:54:42Z")
I don’t know if this has been covered, but for me it was the old TV show **“The Prisoner”** which I binge watched on dvd recently. One of the ongoing themes is Drake trying to find out who is “Number One”, the person in charge of the Village. In the intro he asks his interrogator “Who is Number One?”, the answer is “You are number 6.” Which I always took to be a reply reinforcing to Drake what his own number is. However, in the last episode, he pulls back Number 1’s mask and sees himself, which totally changes the response to the intro question: “_ **You are,** _ Number Six”. It was staring us in the face the entire series. The belief is that he was the head of the Village and he gave himself an amnesia treatment and had himself placed in there as a “Prisoner” to test if the village was escape proof. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3356 "2019-08-22T17:06:14Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > I don’t know if this has been covered, but for me it was the old TV show **“The Prisoner”** which I binge watched on dvd recently. > > One of the ongoing themes is Drake trying to find out who is “Number One”, the person in charge of the Village. In the intro he asks his interrogator “Who is Number One?”, the answer is “You are number 6.” Which I always took to be a reply reinforcing to Drake what his own number is. > > However, in the last episode, he pulls back Number 1’s mask and sees himself, which totally changes the response to the intro question: “_ **You are,** _ Number Six”. It was staring us in the face the entire series. > > The belief is that he was the head of the Village and he gave himself an amnesia treatment and had himself placed in there as a “Prisoner” to test if the village was escape proof. Congratulations – you’ve discovered what is possibly the answer (especially considering how, in the last episode, _Fallout_, The Prisoner pulls off the mask on Number One and sees his own face\*. his idea has been bruited about for the past few decades among Prisoner aficionados. But I don’t think I’ve heard the idea of his giving himself amnesia to “test” the Village effectiveness. One of my friends suggested that all of the series effectively takes place in The Prisoner’s own mind. He hypothesized that, as an agent, he was given information or an assignment that collided so strongly with his own beliefs and code of ethics that he retreated into his own mind, and he imagined it all. That explains how “They” can know so much, and why people he thought were undoubtedly on “his side” turn out to be turncoats. Although lots of places claim that The Prisoner was really Drake, McGoohan’s character from Secret Agent/Danger Man (including one of the novels based on the series), McGoohan has consistently denied it. Arguably, that’s to avoid giving royalties to the folks responsible for that earlier series. McGoohan liked playing secret agents, and portrayed others in his career. \*Of course, another mask-pull revealed an ape, so make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3357 "2019-08-24T12:29:16Z")
I chose to ignore the ape face part since that didn’t fit into my theory 🙂 I also thought it was interesting how McGoohan supposedly went into hiding after the finale aired because fans were so pissed off. I’m sure there’s already thread here for “Series Finales that were a Disaster” ---
**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:** [August 26, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3358 "2019-08-26T17:16:08Z")
Okay, I knew that Janis Joplin’s version of “Me and Bobby McGee” was a cover and that Kris Kristofferson wrote the song and sang it before Joplin. But I recently found out that the song was originally recorded by Roger Miller. And then I checked and found out that Gordon Lightfoot, Kenny Rogers, the Stonemans, Charley Pride, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and the Statler Brothers all did a cover before Kristofferson released his version. So Joplin’s cover was the ninth release of the song. And all of these versions were recorded and released in an eighteen month period. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3359 "2019-08-26T18:15:15Z")
I just came across a clip from the _Batman The Brave and the Bold_ cartoon featuring the obscure Batman villain The Music Meister. I realized that the villain in the musical episode of _The Flash_ is basically (supposed to be?) the same villain. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3360 "2019-08-26T18:17:50Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I just came across a clip from the _Batman The Brave and the Bold_ cartoon featuring the obscure Batman villain The Music Meister. I realized that the villain in the musical episode of _The Flash_ is basically (supposed to be?) the same villain. Yeah. I strongly suspect that without the B&B episode raising the Meister’s profile a bit, he wouldn’t have been used in Flash/Supergirl. ---
**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 26, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3361 "2019-08-26T20:39:38Z")
Music Meister was created for B:tBatB. There have been similar characters, such as the DCAU’s [Music Master](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Music_Master_(DCAU:_Legends)) (and Music Master’s influence, Fiddler), but the Brave and the Bold character was the first Music Meister. I suspect, though, given the similarity of name and design (the red hair, the diastema, the tie) that Music Meister began life as a version of Music Master, but for some reason they decided not to use that name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=167) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=169)