# stuff you should like, but are "meh" about **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199 "2014-02-13T00:22:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/41 "2014-02-13T21:53:06Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Prachett – Tried a couple books (don’t ask me which, it’s been ages) and they didn’t stick for me at all. The humor felt like a poor man’s Douglas Adams. I will sort of repeat my comment again only because my experience was so similar to yours - I was a big fan of the Hitchhiker’s guide and when I tried Pratchett, I read the first couple of books in publishing order and I made the EXACT same comparison. Similar style as Adams, just less funny. Years later a friend who is a huge Pratchett fan got me started with Wee free men. I can’t stress how good that book is, and I love that entire series(The Tiffany Aching books, though they drop off a little since the last ones have been written after his dementia thing kicked in). That series also got me to soften up towards Pratchett enough to try Guards! and I really enjoyed the whole Sam Vimes series, all of which is excellent. I recommend a re-trial. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/42 "2014-02-13T22:03:39Z")
Heroes ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/43 "2014-02-13T22:10:25Z")
Animated movies. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/44 "2014-02-13T22:16:15Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > And apparently to allow those who don’t enjoy the show to feel superior to those who do :rolleyes: My comment was about the mindset of the writers of the show and not the audience, but you can take it as an insult if you like. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/45 "2014-02-14T15:03:06Z")
I wrote: “[T.P.]: I’ve tried his books, but they do less than nothing for me; so far as I’m concerned, he tries frantically and over-the-top-ly to be ever-so-ever-so funny, and fails dismally.” > [@bldysabba](#): > > Which ones have you tried? \*Guards ! Guards ! \* (as recommended by you in this thread) and _Carpe Jugulum_. Couldn’t finish either of them. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Prachett – Tried a couple books (don’t ask me which, it’s been ages) and they didn’t stick for me at all. The humor felt like a poor man’s Douglas Adams. > [@bldysabba](#): > > I will sort of repeat my comment again only because my experience was so similar to yours - I was a big fan of the Hitchhiker’s guide and when I tried Pratchett, I read the first couple of books in publishing order and I made the EXACT same comparison. Similar style as Adams, just less funny. Years later a friend who is a huge Pratchett fan got me started with Wee free men. I can’t stress how good that book is, and I love that entire series(The Tiffany Aching books, though they drop off a little since the last ones have been written after his dementia thing kicked in). That series also got me to soften up towards Pratchett enough to try Guards! and I really enjoyed the whole Sam Vimes series, all of which is excellent. I recommend a re-trial. I perhaps responded to this thread under false pretenses re Pratchett – I’m not just “meh” about his stuff, I actively hate it: was repelled by everything about it that I heard or fleetingly saw, ever since I first saw mention of the guy. (And I do like Douglas Adams.) As mentioned: tried two Pratchett novels – they produced in me the occasional faint grin or titter, but mostly, they just confirmed the impression I already had: for me, he’s lead-heavy, lumberingly attempting-humorous and only managing to be goofily embarrassing. I reckon that my trying him any further, would only be a waste of time. From the first, I’ve found even his characters’ names very off-putting – meant to be grotesquely comical, but for me, just grotesquely cringe-makingly idiotic. That’s a thing which annoys me with some other authors too: Dickens pisses me off with his Pecksniffs and Pumblechooks and similar nonsense – but in the 21st century, Dickens is pretty much a fringe taste anyway – no hordes of fanboy/girls shouting “You’ve _got_ to like him ! What’s wrong with you?” I’ve encountered very many people who love Pratchett, and whom I respect (and most of whom are not intolerant evangelists for his stuff). I suspect I may be missing out on something potentially very good; but I reckon I’m just not wired to appreciate Pratchett. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/46 "2014-02-14T15:04:08Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > My comment was about the mindset of the writers of the show and not the audience, but you can take it as an insult if you like. One is inherently the other. They wouldn’t keep writing like that if the audience didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/47 "2014-02-14T16:44:10Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > \*Guards ! Guards ! \* (as recommended by you in this thread) and _Carpe Jugulum_. Couldn’t finish either of them. FWIW I wouldn’t recommend _Carpe Jugulum_ to someone new to the series. It’s not a particular favorite of mine to begin with, and I don’t think it would be particularly interesting to someone not already familiar with the major characters – a lot of the plot is based around changes in their lives and their relationships to one another. _Guards! Guards!_ is also not a particular favorite of mine, but is the first book with that set of characters and provides a good introduction to the series, so if you didn’t enjoy it then I’d agree that this series probably just isn’t for you. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/48 "2014-02-14T16:56:12Z")
Lemme add to _Dr. Who_, or at least the new one. I have watched and enjoyed some of the older Dr. Who stuff. Me and girlfriend decided to watch the first ep of the new version and it was utterly horrible. Ridiculously cheesy and really seemed to make the mystery secondary to the relationship between the Doctor and the companion (which I’ve heard is, unfortunately, something that happens with this new version - while the old version was the mystery of the serial first, relationship second). ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/49 "2014-02-14T17:16:18Z")
Star Trek God I hate that show and all the spin-offs and the movies. The original show premiered when I was in Junior High, and it struck me as poorly acted, and poorly written, with most of the story lines taken from bad TV westerns, like Wagon Train, adapted to space exploration, with cheap set-designs… even scored with the same cheap music that had been used in the bad westerns. But everyone else wanted to talk about it at the lunch table. Mercifully, the show had a short run. But then I go to college, and they start showing all the cheesy runs and everyone continues to talk about. They give me the nickname “Bones” because I hate the show so much. Then after college, they start making those crappy movies – I’ve seen parts of them on TV – crap, I say. And then the Star Trek Next Gen, which is poor remake of Lost in Space. And more movies and more spinoffs. My whole life has been plagued by Star Trek and its fans. Make it go away!! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/50 "2014-02-14T18:49:48Z")
I’ve always felt that I ought to like Tolkien…I’m down with elves and magic rings and shit, used to be a stoner…but I’ve read The Hobbit and LOTR and it never sparked for me. I have a book with just an excerpt about Gollum telling riddles in the dark with a hobbit, and that’s a good part, I enjoyed that. I tried to watch the movie version and at about ten minutes in, was distracted by some drying paint. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/51 "2014-02-14T18:55:37Z")
Lone Survivor - the movie. I read the book when it first came out and knew that they’d be making a movie. There was so much in the movie that never actually happened it kind of ruined it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/52 "2014-02-14T18:56:01Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Star Trek > > God I hate that show and all the spin-offs and the movies. > > The original show premiered when I was in Junior High, and it struck me as poorly acted, and poorly written, with most of the story lines taken from bad TV westerns, like Wagon Train, adapted to space exploration, with cheap set-designs… even scored with the same cheap music that had been used in the bad westerns. But everyone else wanted to talk about it at the lunch table. > > Mercifully, the show had a short run. But then I go to college, and they start showing all the cheesy runs and everyone continues to talk about. They give me the nickname “Bones” because I hate the show so much. Then after college, they start making those crappy movies – I’ve seen parts of them on TV – crap, I say. And then the Star Trek Next Gen, which is poor remake of Lost in Space. And more movies and more spinoffs. > > My whole life has been plagued by Star Trek and its fans. Make it go away!! Live long, and prosper. / ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/53 "2014-02-14T19:02:01Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > …it struck me as poorly acted, and poorly written, with most of the story lines taken from bad TV westerns, like Wagon Train… Given that Gene Roddenberry envisioned the show as “Wagon Train to the Stars,” I’d say you were spot on with that observation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/54 "2014-02-14T19:41:55Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > \*Guards ! Guards ! \* (as recommended by you in this thread) and _Carpe Jugulum_. Couldn’t finish either of them. FWIW, it wasn’t the book that I was recommending, it was the Vimes series. As a whole it’s great reading. If it’s not for you, it isn’t. No biggie. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/55 "2014-02-14T19:47:26Z")
I thought you’d suggested to me in your post #16: “Pick up _Guards ! Guards !_ and read through the Vimes series.” Anyway – I fear it’s indisputable that Terry will always be the pearl, and me the swine. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/56 "2014-02-14T19:52:41Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Given that Gene Roddenberry envisioned the show as “Wagon Train to the Stars,” I’d say you were spot on with that observation. 🙂 Then Roddenberry should have cast John McIntyre as Kirk, Robert Horton as Spock and Frank McGarth as Scotty. Much better actors. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/57 "2014-02-14T20:09:36Z")
Opera I like a pretty wide variety of music, from heavy metal (which I admit I don’t bother listening to any more) to classical, but something about operatic voices leaves me tepid. I remember thinking (back in the 70’s, as a teen) that if I could get a synth to sound like that, it’d be really cool, so why don’t I like it when a human does that? At the time I had the impression that opera was yesteryear’s substitute for the wailing electric guitar that hadn’t been invented yet. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/58 "2014-02-14T20:31:44Z")
For me, I had to first see an opera performed live, by a large-scale company, before I could enjoy it just by listening to it. Wagner works the best for me. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/59 "2014-02-14T20:36:02Z")
I see a lot of people already mentioned Big Bang Theory. I’ve had a bunch of people tell me I should love it because I always talk about all the stuff they talk about. I’ve tried to watch it a few times and just found it incredibly boring and unfunny. I’ve since been told that maybe I’m “too smart” for it. As far as intelligent humor goes, I tend to prefer either a more subtle approach to it, Futurama being a good example of this, or straight up directed so that only the nerd type will get it, XKCD being a good example of this one. And as for the whole socially awkward thing is just, awkward, not funny. Yes, I’m a lot more intelligent that most of the people I engage with, and I have some social hangups, though probably less than most people. But I seldom have trouble actually having a human conversation and connecting with people, especially if we can actually have that conversation in one on one, or at least in a very small group. Either way, I’ve just never really found awkward situations as anything other than just that. I also love fantasy and sci fi, but there’s a lot of classics and such that I just can’t get into. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is one I really wanted to like, I know the basic story and it’s fascinating, many of my friends and family have read it and love it, and I tried to read it a few times, and just can’t. Similarly for some classic sci fi stuff. I love Star Trek, especially TNG and DS9, but just couldn’t get into other similar series like Babylon 5, Battlestar Gallactica, or Firefly. And particularly in music, especially as a metal head, there’s a lot of bands I really should like, but just don’t. For instance, I generally don’t like anything by the “Big Four” (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax). I used to be a Metallica fan, and still like some of it, but I find Slayer and Megadeth pretty meh, and I actively hate everything I’ve ever heard by Anthrax. More, it’s practically heretical to say it, but I’m also not a fan of Black Sabbath. They were excellent live, mostly because of the energy of the crowd, but their music is pretty meh. As far as classics go, I’m more more into stuff like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199/60 "2014-02-14T20:41:51Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Lemme add to _Dr. Who_, or at least the new one. I have watched and enjoyed some of the older Dr. Who stuff. Me and girlfriend decided to watch the first ep of the new version and it was utterly horrible. Ridiculously cheesy and really seemed to make the mystery secondary to the relationship between the Doctor and the companion My wife enjoys the new Dr. Who and just accepts the campy nature as part of the package. But she’s never seen the old shows. I used to watch it back when I was a kid and can’t get past seeing episodes shot in 2013 still featuring giant low-budget salt shakers with plunger arms screaming “Exterminate!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-should-like-but-are-meh-about/681199.md?page=4)