# what pop culture event or artifact disappointed you the most **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651 "2011-09-26T14:04:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/41 "2011-09-28T03:11:01Z")
The 1977 publication of _The Silmarillion_. Like thousands of other Tolkien fans, I reserved my copy. Except for a couple of revelations I found, I was disappointed. I haven’t opened my copy again. > [@Skammer](#): > > I think _The Chronicles of Narnia_ movies, for me. Those books have been an emotional touchpoint for me since I was a kid, and even now at age 42 I read them every few years (to my kids now). But thanks to [spit] Douglas Grisham [/spit] they were bowdlerized for film, with very important scenes and language and symbolism removed or ignored or changed. Gah. It was a fine cast but it was just a travesty the way they shit all over C.S. Lewis’ stories. I preferred the 1988 BBC/Wonderworks TV version. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/42 "2011-09-28T03:25:21Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > There’s nothing worse than the feeling that you’re watching a terrible movie crap all over a beloved franchise. Oh yeah, [Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief](http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/12/entertainment/la-et-percy12-2010feb12). Thanks for reminding me. Take a seventh grade kid, who has been bounced from one school to the next, has a deadbeat dad and a stepdad who stinks, and has been diagnosed with an alphabet soup of learning disorders (I exaggerate, but how many diagnosed early adolescents _wouldn’t_ feel this way) and let him find out that the reason that he is a misfit is because he is the son of a god and he is made to be a hero. What’s more, his math teacher really is a monster and she does want to kill him. The junior high aged kids that I knew loved the books. It may have been a regional thing, but the book signings were standing room only affairs, with activities that filled an entire parking lot. They opened a summer camp here that was based on the books. What’s more, Riordan wrote the first book so that it read like the first version of a script and could be easily rewritten for film. But how far can you water down a concept? For the movie, Percy didn’t have to make the hard decisions in the Underworld (He didn’t mail the Medusa’s head to his dad either.) Annabeth never called him seaweed brain, Neither Aries nor his jerk redneck daughter existed and the gods were just boring. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/43 "2011-09-28T03:32:06Z")
Y2K. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/44 "2011-09-28T03:36:31Z")
The _Star Trek_ reboot is up there somewhere. Terrible, terrible film. But to be fair, most of the _Trek_ movies range from mediocre to bad. I was bemused more by _Matrix Reloaded_. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/45 "2011-09-28T03:52:33Z")
Sounds to me like my parents’ generation got gipped on the comet front. Hale-Bopp was the _shiz-nitt_. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/46 "2011-09-28T04:11:09Z")
Spider-Man 3. I enjoyed the first one and LOVED the second one (best sequel to any movie released in the last 25 years), the third one we got a whiny emo Peter Parker and the most worthless adaptation of Venom (favorite comic book character ever) you could possibly get. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/47 "2011-09-28T15:57:59Z")
The finale of M_A_S\*H. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/48 "2011-09-28T16:16:11Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Spider-Man 3. > > I enjoyed the first one and LOVED the second one Ditto. My wife and I hadn’t been to the movies since our 1st daughter was born. She was about 5 months old, and we found a Drive-In (yes, a Drive-In!) that was playing it. We couldn’t in good conscience bring a screaming baby to a regular theater, but if she cried in our car, who would care? So we drove 45 minutes to see that crapfest. (and I’m not talking about the diaper changes in the backseat, I’m talking about the movie. It started on the wrong foot and never recovered: The long-anticipated showdown between Peter and Harry … BONK! Amnesia… nevermind. :P) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/49 "2011-09-28T16:29:38Z")
When I was in college, one of my sorority sisters took her younger sister (7 or 8 years old) to a re-release of _Peter Pan_ and asked if I wanted to come along. I’d never seen it. Disney classic! Beloved by all! Of course I wanted to go. \*Seriously? \* ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/50 "2011-09-28T16:30:19Z")
Live 8. Live Aid was a decade defining pop culture mega event. I remember watching every minute my mom would let me watch. Of course living in the outskirts of Philly helped. I was amazed that that many people were just a few miles away partying to the biggest concert event ever. The acts are a bit dated now but man oh man they were the elite of the 80s. Which brings us to Live 8. Terrible lineup. I’m no old fogey that didn’t recognize any of the bands, but they had a whole lot of third tier flash in the pan bands like the arctic monkeys. Trying to do a show on all continents was overreaching. In general it just lacked the shear awesomeness of the 80s event. It did however manage to annoy me while I was trying t drive around the area. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/51 "2011-09-28T16:49:38Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > When I was in college, one of my sorority sisters took her younger sister (7 or 8 years old) to a re-release of _Peter Pan_ and asked if I wanted to come along. I’d never seen it. Disney classic! Beloved by all! Of course I wanted to go. > > \*Seriously? \* Hmmmm… how do you feel about other Disney animation of that period? I love that movie. No, scratch that – I LOVELOVELOVE it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/52 "2011-09-28T17:16:28Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > Evel Knievel and the Snake River Canyon jump. Not only did he wimp out by triggering the parachute almost immediately, it _wasn’t even a motorcycle_! The only reason that I opened this thread was to post this. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/53 "2011-09-28T19:15:40Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Hmmmm… how do you feel about other Disney animation of that period? I love that movie. No, scratch that – I LOVELOVELOVE it. I love a lot of it. It was the story that put me off. Tinkerbell is a demanding little bitch. I would have gotten her with a bug zapper by the end of the first scene she appeared in. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/54 "2011-09-28T19:48:49Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > This. > > I grew up on the Chronicles of Narnia and was fond of them even after I became an atheist. Watching the movies was… wrong. Like when you think there’s another step and there’s not and you fall on your face. I only saw the first one, because, well, I’m a quick learner. You’re twice as quick as me; I watched the first two before deciding I would skip _Dawn Treader_ (my favorite of the books) and instead, punch Gresham in the nose next time I saw him. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/55 "2011-09-28T20:05:00Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I love a lot of it. It was the story that put me off. Tinkerbell is a demanding little bitch. I would have gotten her with a bug zapper by the end of the first scene she appeared in. I can see that. I mean, basically trying to kill Wendy… that’s a bit over the top. But being a guy, I must say I have a certain appreciation for Tinkerbell. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/56 "2011-09-28T20:38:15Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Super Bowls are considered big deal pop culture events. Of the 45 played so far, by my count 20 of them, or 44%, were real snooze fests. And most of the so-called half-time entertainment doesn’t have the production value one would expect from a middle-of-the-road high school marching band, the “big name” singers lip sync to canned accompaniment that doesn’t match the instruments their band members pretend to play, and I’ve seen better pyrotechnics displays at hick-town 4th of July celebrations. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/57 "2011-09-29T03:13:28Z")
Woodstock '94 was said to be disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/58 "2011-09-29T03:19:54Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I love a lot of it. It was the story that put me off. Tinkerbell is a demanding little bitch. I would have gotten her with a bug zapper by the end of the first scene she appeared in. Zap if you believe in fairies… ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651/59 "2011-09-29T04:10:31Z")
KISS’ [Psycho Circus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_Circus) album, promoted as the long awaited reunion album, the first one from the original band in 19 years. The minute it came out, it was obvious that Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were replaced by session musicians on most tracks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-event-or-artifact-disappointed-you-the-most/597651.md?page=2)