# 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:** 226
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4505 "2022-01-06T13:52:15Z")
It could be several things at once. It could be the word “adamant”. It could be because he wanted to refer to Adam and to ants. It could be because he wanted to refer to the television show _Atom Ant_. It could be because he wanted to refer to the television show _Adam Adamant Lives!_. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2022, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4506 "2022-01-08T12:46:57Z")
Didn’t ‘realize’ this, but dayum! > ---
**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:** [January 8, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4507 "2022-01-08T22:56:44Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I _thought_ I’d come to the (extremely) late realization that **Adam Ant** = _adamant_ . Looking at Wiki, it’s not the case after all. According to the ant man himself , he chose “Adam” because Adam was the first man and “ants” because ants would survive a nuclear explosion. I like my theory better. You can’t always trust a primary source like this. Sometimes people will be inspired by something obvious but later feel they should make up a more interesting and obscure story to explain their inspiration. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4508 "2022-01-09T09:46:55Z")
Kinda puts a spin on Wolverine’s skeleton being coated in [adamantium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adamantium?wprov=sfti1). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4509 "2022-01-10T02:29:53Z")
> [@digs](#): > > It’s My Party And I’ll Snub Who I Want To Lesley Gore’s producer on her early singles was Quincy Jones. It was his first hit. _She_ made _him_ famous more than the other way round. He was of course a name inside the industry and as a jazz artist but after he put a high school junior on top of the charts he was wanted everywhere as a producer. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4510 "2022-01-10T17:58:26Z")
I don’t think many people will remember this UK comedy series from the 1990s - “Goodnight Sweetheart” about a guy called Gary who discovered a time portal in London enabling him to go backwards and forwards from the 1990s to 1940s wartime London. To clarify - there were frequent references in the 1940s scenes to two kids known as the Kray twins. Later on in the 1960s they became notorious as the most violent members of a criminal gang responsible for many gangland murders. They were Ronnie and Reggie Kray. However - Gary’s two best friends in his time travelling adventures were, in the 1940s a man called Reg, and in the 1990s, best friend Ron. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4511 "2022-01-10T20:14:45Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > I don’t think many people will remember this UK comedy series It was a popular and long-running show. Of course many people remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4512 "2022-01-10T23:27:17Z")
This one just happened an hour ago and it’s a little embarrassing. You know the old song, I’m Henry the VIII I am? I’ve heard it a quadrillion times. Today it popped up on my playlist and, out of the blue, I realized that it was not about a King of England from days of yore. Nope, it’s about a regular bloke who married the widow next door and her previous seven husbands all happened to be named Henry. Or, actually, Enery. mmm ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4513 "2022-01-10T23:53:45Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Or, actually, Enery. No Sam! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4514 "2022-01-11T00:23:09Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > This one just happened an hour ago and it’s a little embarrassing. > > You know the old song, I’m Henry the VIII I am? I’ve heard it a quadrillion times. Today it popped up on my playlist and, out of the blue, I realized that it was not about a King of England from days of yore. Nope, it’s about a regular bloke who married the widow next door and her previous seven husbands all happened to be named Henry. > > Or, actually, Enery. > > mmm I’m right there with you. Even after having heard it many times and knowing the words, I just . . .disregarded them, I guess, and always think of His Majesty. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4515 "2022-01-11T00:52:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Nope, it’s about a regular bloke who married the widow next door and her previous seven husbands all happened to be named Henry. More than that, it’s about the next victim of a serial killer. The undertaker is already making preparations. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4516 "2022-01-11T00:56:59Z")
Thanks to a recent thread I started about Henry The Eighth, I learned that the original version goes all the way back to 1910 and had several different verses (_not_ all the same as the first). So if you want more of ‘Enery’s story, here it is: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AXD4y3jRf5o/maxresdefault.jpg "I'm Henery The Eighth I Am - Harry Champion - Vintage Music Hall Singalong Lyrics - 1911") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXD4y3jRf5o) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4517 "2022-01-11T14:44:05Z")
This revelation will affect your Mersey beat cred. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4518 "2022-01-11T17:27:00Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Didn’t ‘realize’ this, but dayum! > > [https://twitter.com/FloraEGill/status/1478323538478215168?t=M5q0Y9PkddHC9pJIm9aBlA&s=19](https://twitter.com/FloraEGill/status/1478323538478215168?t=M5q0Y9PkddHC9pJIm9aBlA&s=19) I am repidly approaching the Brimley/Cocoon Line myself. [https://twitter.com/BrimleyLine](https://twitter.com/BrimleyLine) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4519 "2022-01-11T23:01:40Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > This revelation will affect your Mersey beat cred. Lord have mersey. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4520 "2022-01-13T12:18:14Z")
So in all those quadrillion times, you just never paid _any_ attention to _any_ of the words after the first two lines? Because it’s not like the rest of the lyrics are obscure, darkly symbolic, or unintelligible, as in, say, _Louie Louie_. And there’s nothing at all about the historic Henry VIII. > I’m Henry the eighth I am > Henry the eighth I am, I am > I got married to the widow next door > She’s been married seven times before > > And every one was an Henry (Henry) > She wouldn’t have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam) > I’m her eighth old man, I’m Henry > Henry the eighth I am Yeah, that’s more than a _little_ embarrassing. 😁 ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4521 "2022-01-16T00:53:07Z")
Re: the Golden Girls vs Sex and the City. In all fairness, the GG cast might have been playing early to mid-fifties but they were really in their sixties (with the exception of Rue, who did seem younger than the rest). Plus, the show might have been our introduction to the characters but the cast was already well known as middle-aged from other shows a decade earlier (such as on Maude). So we knew these actresses were retiree age, while the SatC show a decade before was the actresses as “youngish” women. So the perceptions would obviously be different. Having hit 52 myself, I _was_ taken aback that I have reached that Golden Girl age range, but really I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4522 "2022-01-16T01:47:18Z")
Yep. It’s true that we see women in their 50s differently these days, and that’s partly why the GG were supposed to be believable as being in their fifties. That has changed, but the actual actresses were older, so part of the difference is down to that. Also I was a kid when the GG was on, and I loved it, but they never seemed like they were supposed to be in their fifties - especially Rose, who basically had early-onset dementia. They seemed like retirees (state-pension age), not women in late middle age. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4523 "2022-01-16T02:13:43Z")
This is not an obvious thing, or the millionth time, but I recently found out that Zoe Perry, who plays Mary Cooper on _Young Sheldon_, is the daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who played Mary Cooper on _The Big Bang Theory_. It’s also not the first time she’s played a younger version of one of her mother’s characters; she was a young Jackie on flashback sequences on _Roseanne_. I’m not a regular viewer of _Young Sheldon_. Has his mother had him tested, yet? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4524 "2022-01-16T04:22:07Z")
Yes, see these: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gdQJ8iLTK9o/maxresdefault.jpg "Young Sheldon | The Story of my mother had me tested | Sheldon Cooper | Marry Cooper | Missy Cooper") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdQJ8iLTK9o) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/68ETWEafkA8/maxresdefault.jpg "“I’m not crazy, my Mother had me tested” Compilation | The Coopers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ETWEafkA8) [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=225) [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=227)