# 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:** 283
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5647 "2023-11-06T02:50:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > In “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, why didn’t the devil claim victory? The winner of such a contest is pretty subjective, claim victory and take the soul- who’s going to stop him? IIRC, there’s a short story where the devil — having yet again lost one of his signature wagers for a soul, as in tale after tale after tale — steps aside from keeping up appearances for a contemplative moment, in which that fallen angel thinks to himself, _hey, another soul saved, nice work._ ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5648 "2023-11-06T04:17:31Z")
Okay, the Far Side panel, in which a hairy blob is watching “The Bacteria Bunch” on TV. Caption: “Single-cell sitcoms.” Instead of single- **camera** sitcoms. 🤦‍♀️ ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5649 "2023-11-06T11:08:49Z")
On the backup vocals front, there’s also Stevie Nicks on John Stewart’s “Gold” and Mick Jagger on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” (excuse me: “Yaw sow vine”). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5650 "2023-11-06T13:53:42Z")
_Portnoy’s Complaint_ ends with the same three-letter word as _Ulysses_. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5651 "2023-11-06T14:28:26Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > > > The Castaways’ Ballad is a shanty-type melody, but the song itself is (like it says on the tin) a ballad. It scans perfectly well with My Darling Clementine and my High School’s alma mater. > > And every Emily Dickenson poem. I thought that was “Yellow Rose of Texas”? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5652 "2023-11-06T15:21:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > On the backup vocals front, there’s also Stevie Nicks on John Stewart’s “Gold” and Mick Jagger on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” (excuse me: “Yaw sow vine”). As long as we’re, here, that back up singer, in the blue suit, that’s Luther Vandross. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ydLcs4VrjZQ/hqdefault.jpg "David Bowie- Young Americans") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLcs4VrjZQ) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5653 "2023-11-06T17:58:45Z")
Michael McDonald singing backup on “Ride Like the Wind” 😉 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b0HzWMqLeiE/hqdefault.jpg "MICHAEL McDONALD - A Tribute To The Greatest Backing Vocalist Of All Time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HzWMqLeiE) ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5654 "2023-11-06T20:03:38Z")
A relatively obscure one here. There’s a song titled _[The Intro and the Outro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCtkJxyYsrc)_ by the Bonzo Dog Band. The singer introduces the various members of the band. Some of them are the actual members of the band playing their actual instruments. But then the song goes on to add various other famous people who are supposedly performing, like John Wayne on xylophone, Liberace on clarinet, Charles de Gaulle on accordion, etc. And one of these is Eric Clapton on ukulele. I always assumed this was just another joke. But I recently found out that Eric Clapton actually was there in the studio and actually played the ukulele for the recording. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5655 "2023-11-06T20:06:46Z")
Thanks for explaining that. That was one of the few _Far Side_ cartoons that puzzled me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5656 "2023-11-06T23:22:06Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I thought that was “Yellow Rose of Texas”? And “Amazing Grace” and “Stairway to Heaven” and “House of the Rising Sun” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and a bunch of others. It’s an incredibly common meter. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5657 "2023-11-07T09:24:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A relatively obscure one here. There’s a song titled _[The Intro and the Outro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCtkJxyYsrc)_ by the Bonzo Dog Band. The singer introduces the various members of the band. Some of them are the actual members of the band playing their actual instruments. But then the song goes on to add various other famous people who are supposedly performing, like John Wayne on xylophone, Liberace on clarinet, Charles de Gaulle on accordion, etc. And one of these is Eric Clapton on ukulele. > > I always assumed this was just another joke. But I recently found out that Eric Clapton actually was there in the studio and actually played the ukulele for the recording. Okay, that’s hilarious. I’d assumed the same as you, but wow. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5658 "2023-11-07T15:15:34Z")
Here’s another interesting factoid from that song. The Zebra Kid was a professional wrestler. His name was Lenny Montana (actually his real name was Leonardo Passafaro). Five years after this song was released he’d become better known for his most famous acting role; he played Luca Brasi in _The Godfather_. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5659 "2023-11-07T17:21:50Z")
Now that I think of it, it’s obvious that _True Grit_ would have been better if Barry Pepper and Matt Damon had switched roles. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5660 "2023-11-07T17:37:33Z")
A lot of people complained that the Hulu adaptation of _Catch-22_ changed the ending from the original novel. I didn’t dislike it, but it took me a long time to realize the irony of the Hulu series’s ending, and I actually like it more once it hit me. At the end of the Hulu series, Yossarian has clearly suffered a serious mental breakdown. Which means he can go home, just like he’s always wanted. All he has to do is ask… ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5661 "2023-11-11T19:18:39Z")
It just dawned on me that the name of the department store “Costington’s” on _The Simpsons_ is a pun on COSTING TONS. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5662 "2023-11-12T21:28:10Z")
That “Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who” ---
**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:** [November 13, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5663 "2023-11-13T02:38:25Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Okay, the Far Side panel, in which a hairy blob is watching “The Bacteria Bunch” on TV. Caption: “Single-cell sitcoms.” Instead of single- **camera** sitcoms. I dunno. Seems like way too involved for no real joke. There’s no humor derived from the knowledge there’s no studio audience vs the show is filmed like a movie. This is the same guy who made [“cow tools”](https://screenrant.com/far-side-gary-larson-cow-tools-comic-end-career/). It appears to just be a silly example of the type of sitcom a single celled bacterium might watch. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5664 "2023-11-13T21:48:05Z")
Huh. I think it is a play on “single-camera sitcoms.” I think it’s a known enough term, and The Brady Bunch, which is being parodied, was an example of one. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5665 "2023-11-13T22:04:13Z")
I’ve never heard the term before now. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5666 "2023-11-13T22:29:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > **Titanic** - Young Rose and Jack fantasized about riding roller coasters in California and riding horseback on the beach. At the very end of the movie, there are shots of her pictures showing her doing those things by herself after she survived the wreck and abandoned her old life. Several years later watching Titanic with my daughter that I realized that Old Rose at the beginning of the movie when she’s doing pottery and overhears the TV discussing the Titanic…she’s wearing the Heart of the Ocean necklace. It just happens to be cosmetically concealed with a brass or bronze covering. See 1:19 mark in the video below. > **[Titanic - Old Rose | Women In The Picture (HD)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQg1GPtsWBo%2F)** > > Titanic. "Oh yes, the woman in the picture is me."In 1996, 84 years after the sinking, treasure hunters led by the famed Brock Lovett are searching for a rar... [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=282) [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=284)