# Things you expected nothing of, but turned out to be great **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498 "2020-09-01T05:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/82 "2020-09-04T14:15:05Z")
My brother says the same thing. I’m not sure where he picked it up from. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/83 "2020-09-04T14:19:59Z")
[quote=“Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle, post:73, topic:919498, full:true”] > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > > It was _Die Hard_ . It most assuredly did not suck. > > > [/quote] > > > > > > I never saw it, but I agree, any film with Alan Rickman CAN’T suck > > For heaven’s sake, get it on Netflix or something. Alan Rickman chews the scenery masterfully. That was the brilliant thing about Rickman; he could turn in a subtle, beautifully understated performance, but he could also go full-on, balls-to-the-wall, go-big-or-go-home deliciously hammy, as well. (He did the same thing - and was the only really good thing - in Kevin Costner’s _Robin Hood_ .) I love the “I read about them in Time Magazine” bit. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/84 "2020-09-04T16:46:21Z")
I remember having a Canadian TV show recommended to us. Canadian? Do they even _have_ electricity? What’s the show about? Small town Saskatchewan? Seriously? Needless to say, **Corner Gas** is one of my favorite shows of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/85 "2020-09-04T16:58:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I love the “I read about them in Time Magazine” bit. Yep. Probably the best line in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/86 "2020-09-04T21:00:34Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > The original Mortal Kombat movie. I went in expecting to MST3K it, but it did such a good job balancing taking the source material respectfully while not abandoning the absurdity of the setup that it was just fun. IMO it’s one of the best ‘video game to movie’ adaptations around, probably the best of one from a game that isn’t a story game - adaptations of RPGs and adventure games have an easier time making a good movie since there’s a plot beyond ‘these guys keep pairing up and fighting’. Oh gosh, yes. It’s a ton of fun. Johnny Cage’s one liners are great. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/87 "2020-09-05T00:50:36Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > but I lost interest early on because it really isn’t Father Brown any more. Those stories generally don’t work in a visual medium. There isn’t enough action. re Father Brown Mysteries, agreed. The TV version is tolerant and kind, where Chesterton’s version is a bit harsh. The TV version is kindly toward neo-pagans; Chesterton’s version would be not only disapproving, but bitter. He wouldn’t exactly advocate burning at the stake…but he wouldn’t renounce it either. By and large, Chesterton suffered from a bit of bigotry…and the TV version of Father Brown has turned its back on bigotry. The TV show really is better than the original stories. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/88 "2020-09-05T01:05:26Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > and the TV version of Father Brown has turned its back on bigotry The actor who plays Father Brown, Mark Williams, is not religious at all, and he has remarked a few times in interviews how often he disagrees with Father Brown’s methods and point of view. A lot of the murderers go free and only live with guilt, which is really unsatisfying. He injects as much good-nature and tolerance he can into the character to, I think, offset what he sees as a dereliction of serving proper justice. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/89 "2020-09-06T00:18:30Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > My sister struggled for quite some time to get me to watch The Emperor’s New Groove and Avatar: The Last Airbender. My mother, likewise, with The West Wing. I’m glad they’re persistent. I had obviously heard of The West Wing. but, not being much of a TV watcher, had never seen it until a few days ago. I’ve been binge-watching and really enjoying it. Just starting Season 3. I understand that the quality really drops off around Season 4, but it’s been great so far. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/90 "2020-09-06T00:34:59Z")
**Better Call Saul**. A Breaking Bad prequel centered on the obnoxious lawyer? How is this supposed to be any good? It is not good, it is excellent. I would say it has even surpassed Breaking Bad in terms of quality. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/91 "2020-09-06T02:26:53Z")
Both _Ace Venture: Pet Detective_ and _Fight Club_ took me by surprise because I had such low expectations going in. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/92 "2020-09-06T03:49:16Z")
It’s Season 5 of The West Wing that’s a bit of a slog to get through, even with a couple of really good episodes. Stick with it, though - the Santos campaign stuff in Seasons 6 and 7 is really good. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/93 "2020-09-06T04:56:20Z")
[quote=“Chronos, post:36, topic:919498”] A couple of decades ago, I heard that Disney was making a movie based on one of their theme park rides. C’mon, man, that’s just desperate.[/quote] Almost as bad as making a movie based on a board game. I expected to hate it so much… like flames, on the side of my face! But Clue surprised me. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/94 "2020-09-06T05:07:24Z")
This might not fit the bill, but not having watched _Titanic_ in 1997, I thought it was a lousy glurg-ish movie that just happened to make a billion at the box office. I eventually did watch the movie in 2009 and it was surprisingly good, very good. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/95 "2020-09-06T14:26:06Z")
For me, it’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. I refused to see the original in the theatres when it was first released, despite my having gone to pretty much everything at the time, because I couldn’t stand Mike Myers. I’d previously seen him in Wayne’s World, which I found annoying, and So I Married an Axe Murderer, which I found insufferable. (I still bear a grudge against the friend who made me sit through it with him.) I didn’t end up seeing Austin Powers until three or four years later; the family I was rooming with had it on DVD and I walked in on their son watching it on the living room TV. I had only entered the room for some quick errand (I think I may have left my laptop there) but whatever it was, it was completely forgotten after 30 seconds. I ended up watching the film from the middle to the end, and then when it was done, I immediately watched it again from the beginning. I’ve since seen it several more times. Yes, I think it’s that good. I think the reason the film resonated so much with me was that as a child I was a huge fan of Get Smart. I loved that 1960s parody of the spy genre so much, and appreciated that 30 years later Myers was able to deliver a completely fresh take on it, while still keeping it set in the same era. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/96 "2020-09-06T14:28:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > While I never watched Ren and Stimpy as a kid, I work on the assumption that SBSP is this generations Ren and Stimpy. If _Spongebob_ is the _Ren and Stimpy_ of this generation, then it must also be the _Ren and Stimpy_ of the previous couple generations—the show is over 20 years old. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/97 "2020-09-06T14:39:29Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > _She-Ra and the Princesses of Power_ . Are we watching the same show here? I used to watch this (along with _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_) as a small child and even back then I could tell that it was produced with the overriding purpose of selling action figures. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/98 "2020-09-06T16:01:37Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Are we watching the same show here? I used to watch this (along with _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_ ) as a small child and even back then I could tell that it was produced with the overriding purpose of selling action figures. You’re not watching the same show. You’re watching _She-Ra: Princess of Power_, a terrible 80s toy commercial. **galen\_ubal** (and I) are watching _She-Ra and the Princesses of Power_, a recent reboot on Netflix. It takes most of the basic elements from the original, and re-mixes them into a surprisingly deep and well-written show, with complex characters and real drama. It’s also just really fun. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/99 "2020-09-06T16:55:08Z")
Edward Scissorhands. I thought it was going to be a stupid piece of horror fluff…and it was remarkable. It drew me in (my roommate, too) and completely captured me. I was impressed, despite a strong initial prejudice against it. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/100 "2020-09-06T23:18:50Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > > [@psychonaut](#): > > > > Are we watching the same show here? I used to watch this (along with _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_ ) as a small child and even back then I could tell that it was produced with the overriding purpose of selling action figures. > > You’re not watching the same show. You’re watching _She-Ra: Princess of Power_ , a terrible 80s toy commercial. **galen\_ubal** (and I) are watching _She-Ra and the Princesses of Power_ , a recent reboot on Netflix. It takes most of the basic elements from the original, and re-mixes them into a surprisingly deep and well-written show, with complex characters and real drama. It’s also just really fun. What **gdave** said. It hooked me in with just how _funny_ it was, right from the get-go. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/101 "2020-09-07T00:15:54Z")
When my folks used to visit, I would always try to get them to watch some great movie that I know they would never have seen otherwise. One time, I chose Edward Scissorhands, and my dad (who _hated_ any type of horror) was very leery of it. I told him to trust me. Both of them ended up loving it. BTW - same for The Nightmare before Christmas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498.md?page=6)