# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecc23a/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/102 "2020-09-07T03:11:50Z")
This was a long time ago, but people right here on The Straight Dope were raving about this TV show about a high school cheerleader who fought vampires. I had actually seen the movie, which was OK but not great, so it took me a while to getting around to the series. I was amazed at how much I _cared_ about the characters. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/103 "2020-09-07T03:19:27Z")
Ditto. It took a few episodes before I actually started paying any attention, and then I was hooked. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/104 "2020-09-07T23:59:55Z")
_[The Guest](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980592/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_. There was nothing on the cover or in the description that even remotely interested me. The writer was a guest on Red Letter Media’s Best of the Worst and Re:View, so I checked it out. It’s pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/105 "2020-09-08T05:50:06Z")
I found a VHS tape called Requiem For A Dream in a bin my ex girlfriend had from her deceased father. One evening she was gone, the house was quiet, so I put it in for background noise as I played Civilization IV. 20 minutes later I stopped my game and rewound it to the beginning and watched it straight trough. Powerful film. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/106 "2020-09-08T13:29:26Z")
Ambrosia in concert were very good. Saw them open for the Doobie brothers. They were very similar to the doobies even though at that time their hit was a ballad. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/107 "2020-10-15T19:58:13Z")
Due to this thread, we watched _Hot Tub Time Machine_ and _Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs_, both of which we wouldn’t have otherwise watched. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/108 "2020-10-15T20:09:09Z")
What’s your verdict? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/109 "2020-10-15T20:24:39Z")
Stepping away from movies, I expected nothing of _The Order of the Stick_. A poorly drawn webcomic with jokes based on a game I never played? No reason to read it. But I started hearing good things about it and decided to give it a chance. And now it’s a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/110 "2020-10-15T20:28:44Z")
_Cobrai Kai_. On the surface it sounds like a crappy 80s nostalgia cash-grab. But I found it really entertaining (if a bit silly) and they did a great job of making Johnny and Daniel both sympathetic and douchey at the same time. _Future Man_ on Hulu. I thought it would just be mildly entertaining standard sci-fi time travel action comedy. Turned out to be great. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/111 "2020-10-15T20:45:15Z")
Second Future Man. I watched it over the summer when there was little else on and it was kind of fun. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/112 "2020-10-15T20:52:12Z")
Once at a Motorhead concert there were like 3 or 4 opening bands, and as they took their turns each one sucked worse than the previous one. The final band was called Supersuckers and i thought: “Well, that figures.” As it turned out, the Supersuckers rocked like crazy and were an awesome find. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/113 "2020-10-16T06:01:08Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > What’s your verdict? Oops. Thoroughly enjoyed both, but probably wouldn’t watch them again. Of the two I would be more likely to watch _Cloudy_ again as choice for can’t sleep tv. Very glad we watched them. The set decoration for the run-down ski-lodge was incredible. It really left a strong impression. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498/114 "2020-10-16T16:37:11Z")
Once at the dollar theater we decided to check out a little sci-fi movie called _Serenity._ We were impressed with the complexity of the universe and the characters, only to find out later the film was based on a TV show called _Firefly._ So we decided to give it a shot. As most people here are probably aware, it was damned good TV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-expected-nothing-of-but-turned-out-to-be-great/919498.md?page=5)