# Stories that rose above their origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780 "2018-03-18T15:48:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/1 "2018-03-18T15:48:56Z")
By this I mean stories and media that were markedly better than may have been expected given their premise and origins. Of course this is somewhat subjective so this thread isn’t really about arguing if something had a poor origin or not. I would mention the movie Battleship which originated from, of all things, the board game. Personally I found it a much better and more entertaining movie that the similar themed ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ of the same year. Unlike most alien invasion movies it really felt like a _battle_ with both sides making moves and counter-moves, with victories and defeats. I’m not American but I have to admit I almost stood up and cheered when the Battleship Missouri came around and launched a broadside. Rihanna was also much better in her role than I would have expected. So basically a big, silly, but exciting and fun movie from a boardgame. I wasn’t expecting anything other than a silly comedy from the movie _Dogma_ either, though it was that it was also surprisingly thought-provoking and interesting in places. It depicted angelic beings in a much more ‘realistic’ way than the common contemporary idea of what they are like, in Christian, well dogma, people don’t die and become angels, they are a seperate race of created beings and would actually be pretty frightening creatures to meet. There are also several other aspects of the movie that are unexpectedly clever and well-written, I’m thinking of the boardroom and parking lot scenes in particular. So again not what I personally expected and a pleasant surprising. My last example is going back some and won’t be familiar to an American audience. In the 1980’s in the UK a comic book called ‘Eagle’ was launched, one of the longest running strips was ‘Computer Warrior’ about a boy called Bobby Patterson who had discovered the ‘real life’ facility and was drawn into his computer to play video games for real. [![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOagMSKAZQ0/UPBmEpsYpPI/AAAAAAAAAXE/-Xtn7uDZHhs/s1600/2080604-eagle_382_super.jpg) ](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOagMSKAZQ0/UPBmEpsYpPI/AAAAAAAAAXE/-Xtn7uDZHhs/s1600/2080604-eagle_382_super.jpg) Although obviously intended as a marketing exercise and tie-in to game releases it was actually one of the best strips in the comic, over the years creating a compelling and thought-provoking storyline with a likeable and believable protaganist. The basic idea was that another reality existed inside the electronic realm of the computer, in it a war was taking place between good and evil _(more accurately with retrospect between Chaos and Order, the leader of the forces of Order, The Warload, was actually a pretty frightening character in himself)_ and those playing computer games were being selected as Champions to fight the forces of Chaos with the fate of the world at stake, for those who failed they would be delivered into the hands of Chaos as part of the agreement, and the results were pretty nightmarish. As a child in the 80’s it was really neat to see computer games that I was aware of ‘brought to life’, it wouldn’t have nearly the same impact today with almost photo-realistic 3-D games but back then it was fantastic. I recently re-read the strip as an adult and even now it holds up pretty well. It was also surprisingly forward-looking with the main character befriending a female gamer and a black boy who acted as his allies and helped out when on more than one occassion he totally screws things up, another realistic touch, although an excellent gamer he is also rash and impulsive and wants nothing more than to withdraw from the championship, which is forbidden under the rules. To summarise an obvious marketing exercise became an interesting and compelling story, rising above what would have been expected from its origins. It kind of fell apart after the main storyline came to its natural conclusion and ultimately had a very weak ending, but personally I tend to ignore everything after the former point. [https://comicvine.gamespot.com/bobby-patterson/4005-80654/](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/bobby-patterson/4005-80654/) _(with list of all games played in case anyone is interested)_ Anyone have any other examples? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/2 "2018-03-18T16:48:09Z")
_Pirates of the Caribbean_ was better than you would expect for a movie based on an amusement park ride. Fantasy fiction was considered to be lowbrow pulp fiction until Tolkien published _Lord of the Rings._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/3 "2018-03-18T16:52:56Z")
_The Doberman Gang_ was a movie about some crooks training dogs to rob a bank. It seems pretty silly on the face of it, but it’s a well-constructed heist comedy with a cute twist in the end. _Them!_ sounds like a pretty silly (and scientifically ridiculous) concept for a monster film, but it’s first-class in everything, from the subtle humor, the portray of the ants, and the action and adventures. _Battle Beyond the Stars_ was designed as a quick knockoff of _Star Wars_. Screenwriter (and later director) John Sayles turned it into a knockoff of _The Magnificent Seven_ (even having Robert Vaughn playing a similar role) that makes a solid space opera. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/4 "2018-03-18T18:19:42Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _Pirates of the Caribbean_ was better than you would expect for a movie based on an amusement park ride. > > Fantasy fiction was considered to be lowbrow pulp fiction until Tolkien published _Lord of the Rings._ _Haunted Mansion_ was also fairly good. Of course Eddie Murphy was the reason. I’ve mentioned this before but _Silent Hill_ was a fairly good horror movie, considering it was based on a video game. _The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu_ is very good , despite the book and the two British movies being boring as hell. Of course Peter Sellers is the reason. Speaking of Peter Sellers he’s also the reason the movie _The Mouse That Roared_ is better than the book. I personally think _Son of Kong_ should be a cult classic. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/5 "2018-03-18T19:07:49Z")
_Mars Attacks_ (1996) is without question the greatest movie ever made based on a set of gum cards…though it is debatable whether it is actually as entertaining as the cards themselves. _Out of the Past_ (1947), _Kiss Me Deadly_ (1955) and _Touch of Evil_ (1958) were based on pulp fiction novels of low (if any) critical regard. The movies are film noir classics. > [@furryman](#): > > …_The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu_ is very good , despite the book and the two British movies being boring as hell. Not sure what book or pair of movies you are referencing here. According to IMDB, “The movie actually had little resemblance to any earlier ‘Fu Manchu’ film or original Sax Rohmer ‘Fu Manchu’ story.” As for Fu Manchu movies… > **[Fu Manchu | Film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Manchu#Film)** > > Dr Fu Manchu first appeared on the big screen in the British silent film series The Mystery of Dr Fu Manchu (1923) starring Harry Agar Lyons, a series of 15 short feature films, each running around 20 minutes. Lyons returned to the role in The Further Mysteries of Dr Fu Manchu (1924), which comprised eight additional short feature films. > Dr Fu Manchu made his American film debut in Paramount Pictures' early talkie The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) starring Warner Oland, soon to be known for hi... Of the five Fu Manchu movies made in the 1960s, two were Brit/German co-productions while the others included additional Euro partners. MGM’s _Mask of Fu Manchu_ (1932) is generally regarded as the best Fu Manchu flick and it’s certainly a whole lot better and more entertaining than\* The Fiendish Plot…\* ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/6 "2018-03-18T20:16:33Z")
Off the top of my head, I’ll go with [a series about a blonde cheerleader who kills vampires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_vampire_slayer) and [a series about an anthropomorphic horse-man washed-up former sitcom actor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojack_horseman). ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/7 "2018-03-19T18:28:00Z")
I’ve always called **Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles** far better than it had any right to be. I mean, the first 2 Terminator films are great for what they are, but the latter ones seem to indicate there wasn’t much gas left in that tank. Certainly not enough for a weekly TV series, and without the big star who is practically synonymous with the series? But TSCC took that ball and ran with it, further than anyone thought they could (and could have gone even longer, dammit!) with great acting and great writing. a show sorely missed. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/8 "2018-03-19T21:59:13Z")
What, you want me to say something bad about **Clue**? Because I’m not saying anything bad about **Clue**. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/9 "2018-03-19T23:06:20Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What, you want me to say something bad about **Clue**? > > Because I’m not saying anything bad about **Clue**. I liked Clue. But it always troubles me a little that the game (and thus the movie) is called Clue in the US. Parcheesi is called Ludo in the UK - from Latin “I play” - so the murder mystery game is Cluedo. Like Ludo. Geddit? It’s clues, and it’s a game, and everyone’s heard of Ludo, so Cluedo. No? You don’t know Ludo? Parch…what? Oh. OK. As you were. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/10 "2018-03-19T23:13:20Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > I liked Clue. But it always troubles me a little that the game (and thus the movie) is called Clue in the US. Parcheesi is called Ludo in the UK - from Latin “I play” - so the murder mystery game is Cluedo. Like Ludo. Geddit? It’s clues, and it’s a game, and everyone’s heard of Ludo, so Cluedo. No? You don’t know Ludo? Parch…what? Now I’m wondering how you’ll handle the future _Chutes and Ladders_ vs. _Snakes and Ladders_ movie controversy. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/11 "2018-03-20T00:57:38Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I personally think _Son of Kong_ should be a cult classic. _Son of Kong_ IS a cult classic. The problem is that the first half is boring as hell, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The problem is that the studio said to Schoedsack and Cooper "Give us another _King Kong_, but gave them a.) hardly any time , and b.) only a fraction of the funding they got for Kong. That they turned out as good a film as they did is to be applauded. But they had to cut a lot of corners (animation takes time, and it’s expensive), so the first half is incredibly padded. They re-used animation models and stock footage they already had. They pulled something similar the next year, yanking a lot of funding at the last minute, so that _She_, which was to have been shot in color, ended up black and white. The output is pretty amazing – in the space of four years, Cooper turned out four classics – _The Most Dangerous Game, King Kong, Son of Kong_ , and _She_, but it was no thanks to the penny-pinching studio. (Yeah, I know there was a depression, but they pulled funding even with that taken into account.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/12 "2018-03-20T10:34:56Z")
_American Warships_ is an Asylum knockoff of _Battleship_ which was a crappy movie based on a simplistic game. And despite that “pedigree”, I thought it was surprisingly good. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/13 "2018-03-20T12:06:09Z")
_The LEGO Movie_. My kids had LEGO and it was vicious stuff, forever laying in wait, ready to be trodden on by bare feet. Nothing clever or funny about it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/14 "2018-03-20T12:15:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Now I’m wondering how you’ll handle the future _Chutes and Ladders_ vs. _Snakes and Ladders_ movie controversy. Although I know not this “Chute” of which you speak, I must admit that whatever it is probably makes more sense than a snake as that particular board game element. 'Cos, you know, once you’ve been swallowed by a snake you’re kind of dead… ---
**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:** [March 20, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/15 "2018-03-20T12:27:37Z")
The elephant in the room here has to be comic-book movies, right? Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big fan of the source material. And I get the whole bit where they _can_ adapt the best stories from decades of stuff. But they’re pretty much stuck having to do the origin first, and they often have to make it toy-friendly and need to do this or that solely to keep from pissing off the readers — but still they keep lining up Oscar-caliber talent and hitting it out of the park, lately. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/16 "2018-03-20T13:16:16Z")
As a recent example, the newish Goosebumps movie. There’s no reason it should be so good. But everyone involved seems to be having a good time and the director/writers knew enough to get straight to the monsters and let them romp. It’s entertaining as all get out. Contrast this with the boring Pacific Rim. That’s a movie that has kaiju and giant mechs and was still boring because it wasted time getting to the good stuff and shoehorning in subplots about dull characters. That’s no fun. “Kid, this ain’t that kinda movie.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/17 "2018-03-20T13:34:49Z")
_Paul Blart Mall Cop_. Easy to dismiss sight unseen, but it’s a solid comedy that made me laugh a lot. _Dumb and Dumber_ is also a lot better than anyone expected. It was a surprise hit, of course, but even now people who have never seen it underestimate how good it is. The later _Fast and Furious_ movies are also way better than anyone would’ve expected based on the first couple in the series. Once they found their feet, though, they’ve been outstandingly dumb fun. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/18 "2018-03-20T15:48:05Z")
A 1987 Danny DeVito/Billy Crystal comedy with a really cheesy title based off of Hitchcock’s _Strangers on a Train_ sounds like a recipe for disaster, but _Throw Momma from the Train_ was really good. I also seem to recall _Dude, Where’s My Car?_ being a lot better than its title, stars or promotional materials suggested it would be. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/19 "2018-03-20T19:51:30Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > I would mention the movie Battleship which originated from, of all things, the board game. Personally I found it a much better and more entertaining movie that the similar themed ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ of the same year. Unlike most alien invasion movies it really felt like a _battle_ with both sides making moves and counter-moves, with victories and defeats. I’m not American but I have to admit I almost stood up and cheered when the Battleship Missouri came around and launched a broadside. Rihanna was also much better in her role than I would have expected. So basically a big, silly, but exciting and fun movie from a boardgame. I totally agree, I thought Battleship was a lot of fun. I ignored silliness and enjoyed the rides. I mean, what’s not to love about 16" broadsides vs alien motherships. The only thing that rolled by eyes? Not the alien space travel, not the peg-bombs, not the “square E-9” coordinates missile attack, not the weird shield thing… My “wait what” moment: How did that screw-up become a US Naval _officer_? ---
**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:** [March 20, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780/20 "2018-03-20T20:21:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **The Other Waldo Pepper** : > > The elephant in the room here has to be comic-book movies, right? To be clear, do you mean comic-book movies, or superhero movies? They’re not synonymous. A lot of low-action serious dramas originated in comic books, and some superheroes didn’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-that-rose-above-their-origins/810780.md?page=2)