# 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:** 213
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4245 "2021-07-26T15:32:12Z")
I watched _Pulp Fiction_ with a friend who had experience with gangs in Southern California and he said the reason Vince took Mia out was Marcellus wanted him to prove he was still loyal to his syndicate after being away for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4246 "2021-07-26T15:46:22Z")
Ooh, speaking of Doctor Who… There was a point many years ago, when I was walking down the street holding my cellphone in my hand with earphones wired in (I did say “many years ago”) listening to music and reading something off the phone and had an epiphany: “Holy shit - I’m an Ood.” Remember the Ood? Aliens with a “second brain” they always carried around in one hand? A second brain that wirelessly linked to a “central brain” that allowed them all to communicate with each other in a “collective consciousness”? Seriously, that whole [Planet of the Ood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Ood) episode was just about the Doctor giving everyone back their WiFi access. I mean, I haven’t seen this theory elsewhere but it totally works. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4247 "2021-07-27T17:21:28Z")
I love the Ood. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4248 "2021-07-27T17:28:15Z")
I searched this very long thread, but don’t see it mentioned yet. I watched _Blade Runner_ for the umpteenth time, and noticed something. Deckard is looking for a replicant woman with a snake tattoo on her neck, as seen in the photo printout from his magic photo examination machine. He goes to Taffy Lewis’s, sees Zhora perform onstage, and follows her into her dressing room. There is no snake tattoo on her neck. Later, after he shoots her and then turns her over, there’s a snake tattoo on her neck. ---
**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 27, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4249 "2021-07-27T17:53:42Z")
The first time I saw Bluetooth earphones I thought to myself “the Borg are here!” ---
**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:** [July 28, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4250 "2021-07-28T01:53:34Z")
This is not exactly a revelation. But I just saw [a YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6btmJSRueE) that talks about movie props. I hadn’t known that common objects like paper bags and ice cubes make too much noise and screw up the sound recording during scenes. So prop masters have developed quieter replacements for these objects. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4251 "2021-07-28T02:09:21Z")
I just watched that video yesterday! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4252 "2021-07-28T03:08:35Z")
Maybe someone knows this one? So, when the F.B.I. arrested Bukowski and he was sharing a cell with “Tara Bubba eat, Tara Bubba sheet!”… what was the connection to Gogol, or the Ukraine? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4253 "2021-07-29T01:36:54Z")
You know, it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized the significance of the counting vampire on Sesame Street being named THE COUNT. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4254 "2021-07-29T03:25:53Z")
Yeah, well I just noticed that Big Bird was… a big bird. . (Or I might have just said that to make Hypno-Toad feel smarter) ---
**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:** [July 29, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4255 "2021-07-29T14:18:10Z")
And in European and Chinese vampire lore, vampires are obsessed with counting. > **[Vampire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire)** > > A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century. Vampiric e... > "Other methods commonly practised in Europe included severing the [tendons at the knees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patellar_ligament) or placing [poppy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppy) seeds, [millet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millet), or sand on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire; this was intended to keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains,[[26]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire#cite_note-Barb49-26) indicating an association of vampires with [arithmomania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmomania). Similar Chinese narratives state that if a vampiric being came across a sack of rice, it would have to count every grain " ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4256 "2021-07-29T23:24:40Z")
In Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You” video she’s singing to/blaming her mother. Her father left them both but it was seeing her mother’s response to it which destroyed her. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4257 "2021-07-30T12:36:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > And in European and Chinese vampire lore, vampires are obsessed with counting. The world awaits the first movie about a vampire with characteristic OCD. A sort of _Monk – The Vampire_ ---
**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:** [July 30, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4258 "2021-07-30T12:44:52Z")
A vampire haunts Vegas. Tragically, his hiding space is near the blackjack tables… ---
**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:** [July 30, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4259 "2021-07-30T13:24:37Z")
They blew their chance to depict this when they made the TV movie **The Night Stalker** (which eventually gave us the _Kolchak_ TV series). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4260 "2021-07-30T17:38:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A vampire haunts Vegas. Tragically, his hiding space is near the blackjack tables… Having no soul, he doesn’t appear on the security cameras. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4261 "2021-07-30T21:01:41Z")
Then the pit bosses wouldn’t either… 😛 ---
**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 1, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4262 "2021-08-01T05:51:04Z")
In _Parks and Recreation_, Henry Winkler plays an obstetrician named Dr. Saperstein. In _Rosemary’s Baby_, the satanic obstetrician is a Dr. Sapirstein. Spelled slightly different, they are pronounced the same. (Different first names though.) ---
**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 1, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4263 "2021-08-01T14:08:51Z")
Would like to note that, in the ‘only Nixon can go to China’ way, mad props to Spielberg for getting a 10yo boy to shout out the word ‘penis’ in the #1 box office hit of the year, a movie for all ages. Just completely got away with it, a true banner moment in cursing history. 👍🏼 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QaWUaboCIrM/hqdefault.jpg "E.T. in 15 seconds (penis breath)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaWUaboCIrM) Dee Wallace’s reaction was perfect as well. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4264 "2021-08-02T11:51:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > in the ‘only Nixon can go to China’ way Ha — good analogy. [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=212) [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=214)