# Slaughtering Sacred Cows of Entertainment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834 "2005-01-09T03:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/181 "2005-01-11T04:17:10Z")
… because James Brown couldn’t pay the cost to be the boss, evidentally. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/182 "2005-01-11T05:20:52Z")
yeah, I would include Springsteen. ITA with the Dylan thing–ugly, bad voice, shallow lyrics and bad harmonica playing–he must be a genius! Guess Brando coulda been a contender, eh? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/183 "2005-01-11T06:09:33Z")
**Rain Man** was boring, stupid and predictable. **Fargo** was pretentious, overwrought and overrated. I agree about **Seinfeld**. Unfunny and uninvolving. Herman Melville and James Joyce were enough to make unsuspecting readers vow to never go near modern fiction again. ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/184 "2005-01-11T07:24:10Z")
Games: -Diablo 2 - dismal compared to the first; no more of the claustrophobic atmosphere, inferior soundtrack, far less story and replayability despite a hell of a lot more content. Redefined ‘bloody runs,’ perhaps not for the better. -Vice City -Age of Empires - nine parts Warcraft + one part Civilization = complete crap. -Heroes of Might and Magic 4 - the strategy gamer’s equivalent of Godfather 3. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/185 "2005-01-11T12:14:13Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > I think Stanley Kubrick was the most bloated pretentious over-rated director in the history of film. His early works were good, especially _Paths of Glory_. Dr. Strangelove was good, too. Then he believed his own hype (I guess) and started turning out shite like _Clockwork Orange_. And _Full Metal Jacket_. And _Eyes Wide Shut_. From beyond the grave he posessed Spielberg and made _A.I._. Curious, you omitted “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Where does it fall in your assessment? Or “Barry Lyndon”? ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/186 "2005-01-11T12:32:53Z")
The fact that so many people have mentioned The Doors really makes my day. Thank you! My personal musical pet hate, apart from those guys, is _U2_. Someone very insightful (I think it might have been Terry Practchett but I could be wrong. And sorry if I garbled the quote) said that if you’re fourteen and you don’t think Lord of the Rings is the best book ever written there’s something wrong with you. If you still think so past your twenties there’s something even more wrong with you. The films are just awful. At any age. Oh, just for the hell of it. Harry Potter of course. My very eloquent comment here is: bleeeeeeegh. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/187 "2005-01-11T13:29:46Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > Television - > **Star Trek - the Next Generation** - self-important, overblown and overpraised. Retained none of the original 60s series’ charm, but expanded voluminously on the pretentious bile. It also contains three of the all-time most annoying characters ever to appear regularly - Riker, Troi…and Wesley!! Is omitting Dr. Crusher and Geordi from this list really justified? Still I love the show. Horrible plots, horrible characters, horrible dialogue - and still I could watch it all day. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/188 "2005-01-11T18:46:30Z")
I nominate: **The Lion King**. How this always ends up at the top of “best Disney movie” polls baffles me, as I always thought it was a HUGE jump down in creativity, music, plot, and general fun from the Great Three that preceded it (that being **Little Mermaid** , **Beauty and the Beast** and **Aladdin** ). **Gattaca**. Lord does that movie irritate me. I do, however, really love **Titanic**. Here’s a real challenge. Can we find a well-loved, critically acclaimed work that not more than one or two dopers will say bad things about? (I’m quite sure it’s impossible to find one that NO dopers will criticize, dopers being the contrary people that they are.) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/189 "2005-01-11T19:01:09Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] I nominate: **The Lion King**. How this always ends up at the top of “best Disney movie” polls baffles me, as I always thought it was a HUGE jump down in creativity, music, plot, and general fun from the Great Three that preceded it (that being **Little Mermaid** , **Beauty and the Beast** and **Aladdin** ).QUOTE] A slight hijack, to agree with your point about the “great 3” – probably the best string of 3 Disney movies since Snow White - Pinocchio - Fantasia. I wonder how much the dropoff after Aladdin is attributable to the death of half the song-writing team (Ashman? Mencken?). And then they produce dreck like Pocahontas and Hunchback, and the golden era is over. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/190 "2005-01-11T19:39:48Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > As a sci-fi fan, I’d have to go with **Dune**. > > I’ve read this book twice, the first time expecting to love it, since most everyone else I knew who read sci-fi did. > > The second time was to figure out why I didn’t catch onto whatever those people were talking about. > > My opinion of it is about what several people say about Lord of the Rings, good story, but way too long winded. If you have 200 pages worth of story, don’t put it in 500 pages of novel. The thing with Dune is that, taken in isolation, it is merely an above average pulp scifi story, nothing earth shaking. But in context with the whole Dune series, it is the finest scifi series ever written. So if you only read the first book, feel free to slaughter it as a sacred cow, but if you’ve read the whole series then it’s a glove slap and arquebusses at twenty paces for you! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/191 "2005-01-11T19:58:05Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > , taken in isolation, it is merely an above average pulp scifi story, nothing earth shaking. But in context with the whole Dune series, it is the finest scifi series ever written. I haven’t made it through them all, but I feel the opposite; a great book and a series that became less good with each book. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/192 "2005-01-11T20:00:19Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Curious, you omitted “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Where does it fall in your assessment? Or “Barry Lyndon”? 2001 was OK, if overrated. It’s hard for me to judge it now, seeing as time has not been kind to the SFX sequence at the end. Also I found the endless speculation as to “what it all meant” amusing since all anyone had to do was read the novel. I’ve never seen Barry Lyndon. The Shining had it’s moments, but so did the Ring, and Nightmare on Elm Street. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/193 "2005-01-11T20:02:24Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I like the Simpsons, but I don’t understand the appeal of Futurama. Nothing in any of the episodes I’ve ever seen is either funny, satirical, or insightful. Hells yes. I’ve never understood that either. The only thing that makes me laugh is Dr. Zoidberg, and he’s almost literally a two-joke character. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/194 "2005-01-11T20:07:28Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > A slight hijack, to agree with your point about the “great 3” – probably the best string of 3 Disney movies since Snow White - Pinocchio - Fantasia. I wonder how much the dropoff after Aladdin is attributable to the death of half the song-writing team (Ashman? Mencken?). And then they produce dreck like Pocahontas and Hunchback, and the golden era is over. Can it really be a golden age if the ten movies before and after those three (or four… I include _The Lion King_) were all mildly entertaining at best, mediocre more often, and quite often atrocius? Aside from its very earliest efforts – _Snow White_, _Cinderella_, _Pinnochio_, etc – and that brief window in the late eighties and early nineties, Disney animated features have pretty much sucked. ---
**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 11, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/195 "2005-01-11T20:18:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Here’s a real challenge. Can we find a well-loved, critically acclaimed work that not more than one or two dopers will say bad things about? (I’m quite sure it’s impossible to find one that NO dopers will criticize, dopers being the contrary people that they are.) Someone once started a thread about who was a better character; Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. Everyone said Bugs Bunny - it was unanimous. So this proved there is one Universal Truth that nobody disputes - Bugs Bunny is Good. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/196 "2005-01-11T20:19:23Z")
My list of things I can find no redeeming qualities in that people seem to piss themselves over: U2 Radiohead Phish/Greatful Dead Tool Thomas Kincade Shrek 1 and 2 Bruce Springstein (sp?) The Mists of Avalon (the book, everone knows the mini-series sucked) Lucielle Ball (in anything she was in) Futurama The Lord of the Rings books (the movies were alright) John Grisham Jim Carey Adam Sandler Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vincent Gallo Sex in the City 24 and many many more ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/197 "2005-01-11T20:22:10Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Someone once started a thread about who was a better character; Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. Everyone said Bugs Bunny - it was unanimous. So this proved there is one Universal Truth that nobody disputes - Bugs Bunny is Good. I hate Bugs Bunny. He’s cooler than Mickey but I still dislike him. Daffy all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/198 "2005-01-11T20:22:16Z")
How about something a little more broad? Specifically, the obligatory retard/spaz/man-child/moron in pretty much any comedy? The two that jump out most immediately are Kramer from Seinfeld and Matthew from Newsradio. Two shows that are, IMO, very entertaining, but I just can not stand either one of those characters. The only one that I ever liked was Harry from 3rd Rock From the Sun. Harry (seeing snow for the first time): Aaaah! Albino brain chiggers! Everyone cover your ears! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/199 "2005-01-11T20:39:30Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I hate Bugs Bunny. Everyone else loves Bugs. You’re strange and your Mother dresses you funny. 🙂 Memo: Hereafter begin every post concerning Aes with “What’s up, Doc?” ---
**Author:** ![Try\_As\_I\_Might](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Try\_As\_I\_Might](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try_As_I_Might)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/200 "2005-01-11T20:58:27Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > How about something a little more broad? > > Specifically, the obligatory retard/spaz/man-child/moron in pretty much any comedy? > > -Joe How about all of the recent sitcoms that have the really dumb (and usually at least slightly overweight husband) who is shown to be a complete kneebiter in every show. ie. King of Queens, Jim Belushi’s show, Roseanne, Everybody loves Raymond, etc., etc. It may be true (at least in my case), but holy crap, can’t we get another set up for a sitcom? :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834.md?page=11)