# 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:** 195
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3883 "2020-12-12T21:17:06Z")
I rewatched the _Star Trek: TNG_ episode “Time’s Arrow” recently. Having the ability to watch parts 1 and 2 back to back made me notice something. In part 1, after Data’s severed head is discovered, Data told Geordi that he actually comforted by the knowledge that he is going to die at some point, as he is theoretically immortal. Then in part 2, after Data’s head got severed in 1893, the away team took his body back through the portal to the 24th century, where Geordi reattaches the 500 year old head they found in part 1. Which means Data actually _didn’t_ die in 1893. Geordi basically took away Data’s chance to die like a human, after he’d told him he was comforted by the idea that he was in fact going to die (the possibility of Data dying in the future of some other cause notwithstanding). ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3884 "2020-12-12T21:39:00Z")
Watching the Reginald Owen Christmas Carol now and it does take a lot of liberties with the story. It’s barely recognizable. I wouldn’t concern myself over it. It has a corpulent Bob Cratchit who lives in a house scarcely less fancy than Nephew Fred. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2020, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3885 "2020-12-13T07:06:17Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > As much as I love Charlie Brown, comic strip and Christmas special, I have to bring up the overwhelming irony of Schulz lecturing us on on commercialism in between commercials for Ford Motor Company, Dolly Madison treats, Little Debbie, Metlife insurance, Chex Mix, Cheerios, Comind (Brazil Bank), Calbee (Japanese snacks), All detergent, 7/11 (in Thailand), All Nippon Airways, Hallmark cards, Hart’s bread, Honda cars, Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’sMacy’s, Milk Bone, Peanut’s Peanut Butter (in Australia), Friendly’s, Mattel, Mr Donut (in Japan), Popsicle, Red Baron Pizza, Webber’s Bread, Whitman’s Chocolates, Wonderful Pistachios, Cedar Point, Kings Island, Knotts Berry Farm, and some more foreign ones. Heh. I kid you not. This very day, the wife picked up a [Peanuts Aloha shirt and mask at Reyn Spooner](https://www.reynspooner.com/collections/peanuts-x-reyn-spooner). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3886 "2020-12-13T15:40:41Z")
I watched the classic anime Akira again a few weeks ago. A couple things I noticed / interesting coincidence : Akira takes place in 2019. The finale takes places on the construction site of the Neo-Tokyo Olympic stadium The actual Olympics are scheduled to take place in Tokyo in 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3887 "2020-12-13T15:45:41Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Which means Mrs. Cratchit and her daughters are going to spend all Christmas day plucking, stuffing, and roasting that monster Not fully cooked and prepped? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3888 "2020-12-13T18:46:50Z")
Some butchers would do all that and since Scrooge is paying for it, why not? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3889 "2020-12-14T13:06:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Some butchers would do all that and since Scrooge is paying for it why not? But he’s sending it all the way across London; the Cratchits’ home is far enough from his that he has to get the delivery man a cab. Seems more likely that he’d just bring the bird - maybe already plucked - to the Cratchits’, for them to cook in the local baker’s oven, as per @Melbourne and @Filbert. Yeah? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3890 "2020-12-14T17:57:44Z")
Sure, who knows? Clearly Dickens knew it wouldnt be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3891 "2020-12-14T18:11:26Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > … unless, of course, you are British with a non-rhotic accent, in which case the stereotypical sound of a donkey is _Eeyore!_ > > I was an adult before I figured that out. Along the same lines - in the book “Little Women” the girls refer to their mother as “Marmee.” I always thought that was weird. It was only fairly recently that I realized that the family would have had non-rhotic Boston (pahked the cah) accents and so despite the spelling, it would have sounded closer to “Mahmee” which isn’t weird at all. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3892 "2020-12-14T18:23:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, who knows? Clearly Dickens knew it wouldnt be a problem Or Dickens was a middle-class professional, and was unaware of the hidden costs of poverty. Which was the thought behind my original wondering about the turkey; it’s a feel-good story for Dickens and his audience, but for an actual impoverished Victorian family, would it have been an unalloyed benison? Did Scrooge inadvertantly send the Cratchits a white elephant? Not to belabor a deceased equine, but it’s a point I’ve occasionally pondered. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3893 "2020-12-14T18:25:24Z")
Not at all. So they get to eat a late nite dinner , and then a week of leftovers, it is a huge blessing to such a family. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3894 "2020-12-14T18:54:31Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Or Dickens was a middle-class professional, and was unaware of the hidden costs of poverty. That’s not true. Dickens grew up in poverty and was personally familiar with its effects. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3895 "2020-12-14T19:07:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > Or Dickens was a middle-class professional, and was unaware of the hidden costs of poverty. > > That’s not true. Dickens grew up in poverty and was personally familiar with its effects Ignorance fought. Thanks. Makes me feel better about that damn turkey. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3896 "2020-12-14T19:25:15Z")
A Christmas Carol probably contains an element of wishfulness. John Dickens, Charles’ father, was an account clerk. And in his lifetime that meant he was poor. He ended up with debts he couldn’t pay and was sent to debtors prison. Charles, who was twelve at the time, had to leave school and was sent off to a workhouse. You have to wonder if Charles was thinking about his own family when he created the Cratchits. He may have wished for some deus ex machina that would have stepped in and saved his family like Scrooge’s overnight conversion did for the Cratchit family. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3897 "2020-12-14T19:33:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s not true. Dickens grew up in poverty and was personally familiar with its effects. Quite right. His entire account of the Cratchit Family Christmas was drawn from personal recollection It’s not as grim as usually portrayed – there’s quite a bit of sweet nostalgia mixed in with the description. But the family was clearly poor, and they were blowing their budget for a festive holiday meal. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2020, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3898 "2020-12-15T04:21:09Z")
In the Dustin Hoffman movie Little Big Man, English is spoken throughout. However as a nod during those times when Hoffman’s character is speaking an Indian language, when he is REALLY speaking English, he has a common/country/hick/redneck accent. When he is speaking the Indian language, his accent disappears. “Nothing in this world is more surprising than the attack without mercy!” ---
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3899 "2020-12-25T02:43:43Z")
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ begins in 1919. Mr. Gower, the druggist, has a brother who died of the influenza. NOBODY IS WEARING A MASK! 😬 ---
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3900 "2020-12-25T15:53:54Z")
Would also like to note the movie makes it very clear that George gets laid a lot… or would if he wanted to. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3901 "2020-12-26T01:07:32Z")
You know, it’s all over town that he’s been giving money to Violet Bick. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3902 "2020-12-26T03:40:50Z")
In _A Christmas Story_, when the family is leaving the house and Ralph’s mom turns off the leg lamp, saying “wouldn’t want to waste electricity”, all the upstairs lights are on. I know she’s really turning it off because she’s embarrassed by it, but leaving those other lights on makes it all the more obvious “wasting electricity” isn’t the real reason. [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=194) [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=196)