# 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:** 304
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6067 "2024-12-10T23:15:40Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Was that a reference to the widespread sentiment that the quality of the show markedly improved after Riker grew a beard? IIRC, yes it was. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6068 "2024-12-10T23:51:45Z")
“Riker’s beard” is the opposite of “jumping the shark”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6069 "2024-12-11T00:21:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > In my defense I’ve never seen the show but I am aware of it. The British show _Call the Midwife_ > > I am very aware of that show as here, when talking about Downton Abbey, several posters kept bring up that show over and over. You mean Downtown Abbey? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6070 "2024-12-11T01:19:32Z")
I think I dated her once. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6071 "2024-12-11T04:14:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > “Riker’s beard” is the opposite of “jumping the shark”. There’s even a page on it at TV Tropes. > **[Growing the Beard - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard)** > > The opposite of Jumping the Shark and Seasonal Rot, Growing the Beard is the definitive moment when a series begins to become noticeably better in quality. This often involves a new writer or other creative person coming on board, the happy … ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6072 "2024-12-11T11:59:50Z")
I watched, and very much enjoyed, the incredible show “The Venture Bros”. Shared it with my youngest kid when he was old enough, he loved it too. Yesterday, to kill some time before he got home, I pulled up a compilation video on YouTube of Bunson Hunnydew, from Muppet Lab (creating tomorrow, today!). I got about 3 clips in before I made the connection that Beaker, the assistant, is essentially H.E.L.P.eR, the robot assistant in Venture Bros. Similar sounds, similar freakout, similar build… ---
**Author:** ![deneen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deneen/32/17713_2.png) [@deneen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deneen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6073 "2024-12-11T12:21:20Z")
Well. Didn’t this just ruin my morning. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2024, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6074 "2024-12-11T12:40:36Z")
I recently noticed that Veruca Salt’s fate in _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ is essentially a twisted parody of Lewis Carroll’s Alice. One chases after a rabbit and falls down a hole into a wondrous hidden world, the other chases after some squirrels and falls down a hole into a pile of garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6075 "2024-12-11T15:47:36Z")
And Violet Beauregarde changes size and color. And Mike Teavee gets stretched out to five times his height, and Augustus Gloop gets squeezed thin. And nothing happens to Charlie; nothing negative, that is. He gets everything as a reward for obedience. (The Fizzy Lifting incident was not in the book.) I think you have something there! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6076 "2024-12-11T18:19:42Z")
Eh, that’s a bunch of hooey. The song was originally titled ‘Brown-skinned Girl.’ ---
**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 12, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6077 "2024-12-12T16:26:42Z")
I can see that interpretation as being possible. _Hey, where did we go?_ _Days when the rains came_ _Down in the hollow_ _Playin’ a new game_ This could be a metaphor for trying out anal sex during her period. _And whatever happened_ _To Tuesday and so slow?_ _Going down the old mine with a_ _Transistor radio_ _Standing in the sunlight laughing_ _Hiding 'hind a rainbow’s wall_ _Slipping and sliding_ _All along the waterfall with you_ Mentions of going slow, slipping and sliding, and going down the old mine all work with the anal sex interpretation. I can see somebody writing a song that of the surface is about looking back to innocent memories of times spend with a past girlfriend - but then throwing in sexual references for a laugh. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6078 "2024-12-12T20:18:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Mentions of going slow, slipping and sliding, and going down the old mine all work with the anal sex interpretation. Okay, smart guy: now explain the part about making love behind the stadium. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6079 "2024-12-12T20:27:20Z")
Maybe **behind** is the operative word there!! ---
**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:** [December 13, 2024, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6080 "2024-12-13T09:20:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Okay, smart guy: now explain the part about making love behind the stadium. That’s just a metaphor for man’s inhumanity to man. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6081 "2024-12-14T22:32:34Z")
The song _Istanbul (Not Constantinople)_, by They Might Be Giants, ends with a cymbal crash. It’s likely that cymbal was made by Zildjian, a company founded in Constantinople (not Istanbul). ---
**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:** [December 15, 2024, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6082 "2024-12-15T05:33:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The song _Istanbul (Not Constantinople)_, by They Might Be Giants The song was written in 1953 by Jimmy Kennedy (lyrics) and Nat Simon (music), and first performed by The Four Lads, whose version went gold. > **[Istanbul (Not Constantinople)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_(Not_Constantinople))** > > "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 novelty song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. It was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. The lyrics humorously refer to the official renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song's original release, performed by The Four Lads, was certified as a gold record. Numerous cover versions have been recorded over the years, most famously a 1990 version by They Might Be Giants. > Jazz h... ---
**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:** [December 15, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6083 "2024-12-15T06:12:13Z")
Yes, I knew that TMBG’s version was a cover. I mentioned their version because it’s probably better known here, and it ends with the cymbal crash; I don’t know if the original does. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2024, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6084 "2024-12-15T13:21:48Z")
And even if the earlier versions ended with the cymbal, the Zildjian company dates back to the 17th century, so there’s still a good chance that the the cymbal was a Zildjian (I don’t know when they became the dominant manufacturer of cymbals in the US). ---
**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:** [December 15, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6085 "2024-12-15T15:38:16Z")
For nearly 30 years now, I was under the impression that Kyle’s mom was a super king kong (or maybe super fucking) mega mega bi-otch. Turns out she’s a super [King Kamehameha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I) bi-otch. I just assumed it was Cartman saying ‘mega mega’ in a stylized way. I was re-watching this video and the way the opera singer pronounced it caught my attention: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4RzRgJ7Y2eU/maxresdefault.jpg "A South Park Opera?! Vocal ANALYSIS of "Kyle's Mom" and more!!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RzRgJ7Y2eU&t=217) ---
**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:** [December 15, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6086 "2024-12-15T20:46:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And even if the earlier versions ended with the cymbal, the Zildjian company dates back to the 17th century, so there’s still a good chance that the the cymbal was a Zildjian (I don’t know when they became the dominant manufacturer of cymbals in the US). Oh, yeah, they’ve been around forever, and are still owned by the same family, I believe. At some point the company moved to Massachusetts, which wasn’t even a colony at the time it started. [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=303) [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=305)