Late To The Party: Obvious Things About Shows You Realized Embarrasingly Late

[Fukui San]

I had a realization about a show that was completely obvious that I was shocked I never realized it before. I didn't see a topic on Everything Else TV that would fit in, so I'm making it here. Please merge if I just missed it.

The embarrassingly late realization: It wasn't until Season 2 of American Vandal came out and all of the episode titles were poop references that I realized that all of the episode titles of season 1 were penis references. It should have been obvious!

[HazelEyes4325]

I'm spoiler-tagging this one as it has to do with the plot of  The Good Place.

Spoiler

It wasn't until the season 2 finale that I realized that this show was a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz.   I adore The Wizard of Oz and I'm usually pretty quick to catch onto things like this, but that one caught me completely by surprise.

[GaT]

I'm not sure if this counts, but I watched Mad Men for 2 seasons before I realized that the actor who played Pete Campbell was the same actor who played Connor on Angel, a show I have seen at least 5 times all the way through. I'm still amazed it took me that long.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

The embarrassingly late realization: It wasn't until Season 2 of American Vandal came out and all of the episode titles were poop references that I realized that all of the episode titles of season 1 were penis references. It should have been obvious!

Heh.  Speaking of American Vandal, it took me almost all of episode one to figure out it was a parody.

In my defense...  I wandered into the living room while my husband was watching it so I had no idea what it was.  And my husband is an inveterate documentary watcher.  That man loves a good documentary.  He had just finished Ava Duernay's the 13th.  So how was I to know he hadn't just started a new one?  At any rate, I remember sitting there outraged that this asshole was getting a whole documentary because he was vandalizing his school.  My husband laughed his head off while I was making my pissy comments. and then laughed harder at me once the light bulb went on.

[festivus]

33 minutes ago, GaT said:

I'm not sure if this counts, but I watched Mad Men for 2 seasons before I realized that the actor who played Pete Campbell was the same actor who played Connor on Angel, a show I have seen at least 5 times all the way through. I'm still amazed it took me that long.

I love that. I only knew it was him from reading about the show before it started and knowing VK was going to be on it. He looked and acted nothing like Connor. 

[Hanahope]

3 hours ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

I'm spoiler-tagging this one as it has to do with the plot of  The Good Place.

  Hide contents

It wasn't until the season 2 finale that I realized that this show was a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz.   I adore The Wizard of Oz and I'm usually pretty quick to catch onto things like this, but that one caught me completely by surprise.

Wow, I had no idea.  I'm gonna have to think on this.

[Picture It. Sicily]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

I'm not sure if this counts, but I watched Mad Men for 2 seasons before I realized that the actor who played Pete Campbell was the same actor who played Connor on Angel, a show I have seen at least 5 times all the way through. I'm still amazed it took me that long.

I did the same thing with Joel Murray, who played Freddy Rumsen. I had no idea he was also the one who played Greg's overgrown frat boy buddy Pete on "Dharma and Greg". It was really embarrassing when you realize I was watching D&G reruns nearly every day at that time. I worry about my brain sometimes.

[Blergh]

OK, this is somewhat of 'd'oh' moment for me to admit but when I was a kid this show called Another World came on in the afternoons- and it took several viewings before I came to realize that it was a soap and NOT a sci- fi show!

[ratgirlagogo]

What a great idea for a topic! Thanks, Fukui San!

The first one that leaps to mind is Warehouse 13.  It took until season three (!) for me to realize that the title was a reference to another classic Canadian sci-fi show with a similar premise:  Friday the Thirteenth, the Series.  

Also I only figured out VERY recently that Aaron Ashmore from that show (and Lost Girl and Killjoys) was not the same actor that appeared on (possibly the worst TV show ever) The Following.  I didn't realize he had a twin named Shawn Ashmore!  

[Sandman87]

Don't feel bad forumfish. When I was very small, I used to think that all shows were being performed live, even when they were reruns. Even the cartoons.

[merylinkid]

2 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

What a great idea for a topic! Thanks, Fukui San!

The first one that leaps to mind is Warehouse 13.  It took until season three (!) for me to realize that the title was a reference to another classic Canadian sci-fi show with a similar premise:  Friday the Thirteenth, the Series.  

Also I only figured out VERY recently that Aaron Ashmore from that show (and Lost Girl and Killjoys) was not the same actor that appeared on (possibly the worst TV show ever) The Following.  I didn't realize he had a twin named Shawn Ashmore!  

Damn i thought it was similar about finding weird objects but never caught the reference 

[Fukui San]

7 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Heh.  Speaking of American Vandal, it took me almost all of episode one to figure out it was a parody.

In my defense...  I wandered into the living room while my husband was watching it so I had no idea what it was.  And my husband is an inveterate documentary watcher.  That man loves a good documentary.  He had just finished Ava Duernay's the 13th.  So how was I to know he hadn't just started a new one?  At any rate, I remember sitting there outraged that this asshole was getting a whole documentary because he was vandalizing his school.  My husband laughed his head off while I was making my pissy comments. and then laughed harder at me once the light bulb went on.

This is hilarious. Please tell me your husband watched Documentary Now. Don't ask why.

8 hours ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

I'm spoiler-tagging this one as it has to do with the plot of  The Good Place.

  Reveal hidden contents

It wasn't until the season 2 finale that I realized that this show was a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz.   I adore The Wizard of Oz and I'm usually pretty quick to catch onto things like this, but that one caught me completely by surprise.

It hadn't occurred to me but it really makes sense! I don't think it's an obvious thing at all but a very subtle reference or theme.

[selkie]

4 hours ago, forumfish said:

As a little girl watching PBS, I thought "Viewers Like You" was the name of a corporation that supported the station.

The one that got me back in the day was 'Live Via Satellite"  and I thought Via Satellite was a town in Spain or Yugoslavia or something. 

[Shannon L.]

When I was a kid, I used to think the To Be Announced was a show with a small group of adults talking about the biggest new/political reports of the day.  I thought it was named that because we never knew what that would be from one day to the next.

[Ceindreadh]

6 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Don't feel bad forumfish. When I was very small, I used to think that all shows were being performed live, even when they were reruns. Even the cartoons.

After I got that dramas were pre-recorded, for a while I thought that each episode was filmed in the week after the previous episode had been broadcast. 

[ChromaKelly]

All the sexual innuendos went right over my head when I watched Three's Company as a kid. It wasn't till later that I realized Larry was trying to get in every girl's pants, Mrs. Roper was just wanted Mr. Roper to do her, the whole Jack is pretending to be gay thing...
 

[theredhead77]

This one is movie related (but the move is so old it's been on TV). I was well into my 30s before I learned that the MIG fights in Top Gun were taking place in the Middle East (or over Russia, I can't remember now). I got into a serious argument (online) with a friend because the MIGs were clearly just off the coast of San Diego. The argument was so bad that my friend called me thinking I was trolling him. I really have no idea why I thought that since I grew up watching Top Gun (it's sure appropriate for a kid!), but I did.

[meep.meep]

It took me around 40 years to finally realize why everyone on The Prisoner wore striped clothes.   Apparently, I'm slow .......

[merylinkid]

18 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

When I was a kid, I used to think the To Be Announced was a show with a small group of adults talking about the biggest new/political reports of the day.  I thought it was named that because we never knew what that would be from one day to the next.

That's actually a really cool idea for a show.   I mean we have that now, but the name is GREAT.  

[Guest]

Captain Stottlemeyer on Monk is Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.  Did he ever tell Monk to rub  the lotion on its skin?

Nearly everyone on the Andy Griffith show is single.

Edited September 19, 2018 by ParadoxLost

[Popples]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

Captain Stottlemeyer on Monk is Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.  Did he ever tell Monk to rub  the lotion on its skin?

Holy hell! I did not realize that. While I've never seen the film in it's entirety, I've seen clips of that scene loads of times.

I also didn't recognize that Sharona was Evelyn from A League of Their Own.

[Haleth]

10 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

Captain Stottlemeyer on Monk is Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

He played the sheriff on The Bridge a few years ago too.

It wasn't until I read it on the forum that the two bumbling techs on Westworld-- Felix and Sylvester-- were named after cartoon cats.

[Joe]

Corporal Klinger on MASH was actually supposed to be trans (transsexual or transvestite, I don't know know enough to say), or at least claiming to be trans. I know he was trying to get sent home for being insane, but that never worked for me. Yeah, he wore a dress, but he seemed on the same level of sanity as everyone else. Everyone had their quirks, is what I'm saying.

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

Corporal Klinger on MASH was actually supposed to be trans (transsexual or transvestite, I don't know know enough to say), or at least claiming to be trans. I know he was trying to get sent home for being insane, but that never worked for me. Yeah, he wore a dress, but he seemed on the same level of sanity as everyone else. Everyone had their quirks, is what I'm saying.

Homosexuality was considered a mental illness back in the 1950's, so Klinger's cross dressing was part of his efforts to be declared mentally ill and sent home.  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders (DSM) listed it as a mental illness until 1974.  That's the guidebook for American Psychiatry to classify disease.  And, yes, of course, the military also banned gays from serving back then, but Klinger undoubtedly felt a mental health discharge was preferable.  And made for better TV.

[Ceindreadh]

5 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Homosexuality was considered a mental illness back in the 1950's, so Klinger's cross dressing was part of his efforts to be declared mentally ill and sent home.  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders (DSM) listed it as a mental illness until 1974.  That's the guidebook for American Psychiatry to classify disease.  And, yes, of course, the military also banned gays from serving back then, but Klinger undoubtedly felt a mental health discharge was preferable.  And made for better TV.

IIRC, there was one episode where Sidney the recurring psychiatrist was king to give Klinger a section 8 on the grounds of homosexuality, but Klinger was offended by it and refused. 

[AimingforYoko]

I posted this about ten years ago on TWoP: I didn't realize until about a decade after it had left the air why the show was titled Hawaii Five-0.

[bmasters9]

That the title of that 1965-69 CBS Western action/adventure series The Wild Wild West (w/Robert Conrad and the late Ross Martin) can be taken three ways:

If you start the accent on the first Wild, you can think of it as being about how wild it was in that region of America then. 

If you accent on the second Wild, you can think of the Wild West as having a wildness over and above what it was known for.

But if you accent the West, that puts the emphasis on Jim West (Robert Conrad's character) and his proto-MacGyver-like (or proto-A-Team-like) methods of getting out of whatever jams he found himself in (some of his methods being pretty darn wild). 

Would you see this the same way?

[DrSpaceman73]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 8:53 PM, Sandman87 said:

Don't feel bad forumfish. When I was very small, I used to think that all shows were being performed live, even when they were reruns. Even the cartoons.

Its hard to do live cartoons.  Exhausting on the artists. 

After a long time of watching 30 Rock, I realized Jenna is just like alive action Miss Peggy.

I pointed this out and someone on here, I believe, pointed out to me the show is pretty much like The Muppets with Liz as Kermit. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Also never proven and just my own theory, but I always viewed Arrested Development as like  weird, 21st century California comedy version of The Godfather. 

The son Michael reluctantly taking over the family business.  The unproven but ongoing corruption charges vs his father.  Michael trying to make the company "legitimate".  The bumbling brothers that can't do anything right and just get in Michael's way.  The family members that don't do much for the company and just hang around for money.  Barry the attorney as the bumbling "consigliere". 

[Sandman87]

I used to watch House occasionally, and just recently started watching watching it again in syndication. It just dawned on me a few days ago that the character House is at least partially based on Sherlock Holmes: An abrasive person who's a genius at deductive reasoning and addicted to drugs, who's more interested in figuring out the problem than in fixing it, and who lives in an apartment with a street number of 221B. The last name is a bit of a giveaway too.

It was the street number that made me figure it out.

[festivus]

12 minutes ago, Sandman87 said:

I used to watch House occasionally, and just recently started watching watching it again in syndication. It just dawned on me a few days ago that the character House is at least partially based on Sherlock Holmes: An abrasive person who's a genius at deductive reasoning and addicted to drugs, who's more interested in figuring out the problem than in fixing it, and who lives in an apartment with a street number of 221B. The last name is a bit of a giveaway too.

It was the street number that made me figure it out.

I never did figure that out on my own, I had to read it in the forums. In my defense, back then I didn't know a whole lot about Sherlock Holmes and I'm one of those people that the obvious goes right over my head sometimes. (lots of times :)

[paulvdb]

I'd watched 3rd Rock from the Sun for a long time before I realized that the male characters' names were from the saying "every Tom, Dick and Harry."

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, paulvdb said:

I'd watched 3rd Rock from the Sun for a long time before I realized that the male characters' names were from the saying "every Tom, Dick and Harry."

I only realized when they pointed it out on the show. There was a scene where Officer Don said the phrase and a look of realisation came over him........and mine.

For another show, it was years after the show was off the air before I realized Head of the Class was the smart student version of Welcome Back Kotter.

Edited September 21, 2018 by Snow Apple

[Danny Franks]

When I was a kid, watching 'Allo, 'Allo!, I never realised that the girls who worked as waitresses at the cafe also worked as prostitutes, servicing the German soldiers. Watching old episodes of it today, it was pretty bloody obvious. Perhaps I just didn't really know what prostitution was, then, because I definitely always knew that Rene was sleeping with both waitresses on the side. Really, it was surprising that the BBC were prepared to put that sort of thing on at 7pm on a Saturday evening.

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

When I was a kid, watching 'Allo, 'Allo!, I never realised that the girls who worked as waitresses at the cafe also worked as prostitutes, servicing the German soldiers. Watching old episodes of it today, it was pretty bloody obvious. Perhaps I just didn't really know what prostitution was, then, because I definitely always knew that Rene was sleeping with both waitresses on the side. Really, it was surprising that the BBC were prepared to put that sort of thing on at 7pm on a Saturday evening.

They were prepared to put it out precisely because it flew right over the heads of any kids watching!

Also, it was the '80s. The '80s could get away with a lot of things that wouldn't fly today.

[SrOfficial]

On 2018-09-18 at 1:14 PM, ChromaKelly said:

All the sexual innuendos went right over my head when I watched Three's Company as a kid. It wasn't till later that I realized Larry was trying to get in every girl's pants, Mrs. Roper was just wanted Mr. Roper to do her, the whole Jack is pretending to be gay thing...
 

That has to be the smarmiest show ever.  It did go over kid’s heads.  I used to let my kids watch (ugh, awful mom!).  During one episode, I overheard the following:

Kid #1 - What’s a virgin?

Kid #2 - I think it’s someone who’s never had a date.

[Dr.OO7]

On 9/17/2018 at 8:53 PM, Sandman87 said:

Don't feel bad forumfish. When I was very small, I used to think that all shows were being performed live, even when they were reruns. Even the cartoons.

HA! So did I! Not the cartoons though.

Here's a good one:

I thought "sleeping together" meant . . . sleeping.

Don't look at me like that, so did you.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Camille

[cpcathy]

It's not TV, but having to do with radio. When I was little, I thought that the bands would come into the studio and play a song, then they would leave and another band would come in, and so on.

[Maharincess]

1 hour ago, Camille said:

HA! So did I! Not the cartoons though.

Here's a good one:

I thought "sleeping together" meant . . . sleeping.

Don't look at me like that, so did you.

I was so stupid as a kid that I thought salt cooled food off. If pepper made it hot, my mind just assumed that salt cooled it off. 

[Popples]

3 hours ago, Camille said:

Here's a good one:

I thought "sleeping together" meant . . . sleeping.

Don't look at me like that, so did you.

Absolutely. It's why it took me many years to get the big deal about the final ending of the film Clue when Mr. Green says he's going home to sleep with his wife. I thought that he meant he was going home to go to sleep next to her in bed. It also didn't help that I had never heard the term "homosexual" before (I'd heard "gay"), so all the references went over my head.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Popples
Spelling error

[Annber03]

59 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

It's not TV, but having to do with radio. When I was little, I thought that the bands would come into the studio and play a song, then they would leave and another band would come in, and so on.

Okay, this is really cute :D. 

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, cpcathy said:

It's not TV, but having to do with radio. When I was little, I thought that the bands would come into the studio and play a song, then they would leave and another band would come in, and so on.

You think that's bad? I used to think that whenever a live action show would break for cartoons or side- skits (e.g. Sesame Street and Electric Company), that meant all the live performers had stopped what they were doing to watch said cartoons and side-skits! But then again, at that age, I had the dream of growing up to be on both shows and telling my mother it would be possible because they came on at different times so I could just run over to the next stage when the first show had ended!

[WhitneyWhit]

This is one of my earliest childhood memories but it took me a while to realize that the siren I was hearing at the same time everyday was actually the theme song to General Hospital. It was in the days when their opening credits was the ambulance racing through the hospital gates.

Also when I was very young I thought sitcoms were real and and it wasn't until I asked my mom if people watched us too that I learned what exactly a TV show was.

[merylinkid]

7 hours ago, WhitneyWhit said:

This is one of my earliest childhood memories but it took me a while to realize that the siren I was hearing at the same time everyday was actually the theme song to General Hospital. It was in the days when their opening credits was the ambulance racing through the hospital gates.

Also when I was very young I thought sitcoms were real and and it wasn't until I asked my mom if people watched us too that I learned what exactly a TV show was.

It's not like she could say yes.   it would destroy the illusion of the show.  Sooo maybe they were.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, LucindaWalsh said:

I thought until about the fifth episode of Fargo that they had really made a casting super win by having the actor playing Lorne Malvo look so much like Billy Bob Thorton.

I'm not making fun of you, but this was so incomprehensible to me that I had to read it many times over until I finally realized that you didn't realize Billy Bob Thorton was in Fargo.

Edited October 8, 2018 by HunterHunted

[janie jones]

18 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I'm not making fun of you, but this was so incomprehensible to me that I had to read it many times over until I finally realized that you didn't realize Billy Bob Thorton was in Fargo.

Ha!  Same here, and I couldn't figure out at first why it was so important to the plot that the character should resemble Billy Bob Thornton.

[AntiBeeSpray]

On 9/17/2018 at 7:28 PM, forumfish said:

As a little girl watching PBS, I thought "Viewers Like You" was the name of a corporation that supported the station.

I thought they meant that all viewers were like each other.

[AntiBeeSpray]

On 9/18/2018 at 1:14 PM, ChromaKelly said:

All the sexual innuendos went right over my head when I watched Three's Company as a kid. It wasn't till later that I realized Larry was trying to get in every girl's pants, Mrs. Roper was just wanted Mr. Roper to do her, the whole Jack is pretending to be gay thing...
 

Ran into something similar with Perry Mason. It took me two times to catch a doozy in one of the movies.

 

Spoiler

From the case of the Fatal Fashion (1991).

 

From a scene where Perry and Della are leaving the court house/police station...

 

Della: Well?

 

Perry: Well, what?

 

Della: You still haven't told me if you decided to take her case.

 

Perry: Della, there are thousands of very good attorneys in the city who would jump at the chance to defend a woman who is not only innocent but who could pay their fee without blinking an eye.

 

Della: But you have something that they don't.

 

Perry: What is that?

 

Della: A secretary, who'll find it very hard to forgive you if you turn this case down. (Oh... Della. You sly dog you ;). Using the no sex card lmao.)

 

Perry: (He shakes his head.) Della... 

 

Della: Oh Perry... (She looks at him.)

 

Perry: Ok...  Della, call Ken.

 

He then walks away and as he does so, she looks at him with a small, satisfied smile on her face.

 

Della: I already have.  ( Meaning she forgave him... and all's right in that regard >:)  -- and in regards to calling Ken (missed that part of the scene, but it still has such double meaning there, very clever of the writers and of the actors! (the way that the scene was played was brilliant and that last bit of line delivery... said sooo much))

Edited October 9, 2018 by AntiBeeSpray

[Rockstar99435]

Not a tv show, but I must have watched Dirty Dancing 100 times in 3rd and 4th grade and it wasn't until I rewatched in my late 20's that I realized why Penny needed a doctor.

[Crs97]

On 9/17/2018 at 8:53 PM, Sandman87 said:

Don't feel bad forumfish. When I was very small, I used to think that all shows were being performed live, even when they were reruns. Even the cartoons.

When I was very young and living near Houston, I was so excited because it was snowing on Sesame Street and I wanted to see snow.  As mom explained that television and real life were two separate things, I ran outside to see three snowflakes fall to the ground.  Needless to say, it took years for me to accept that television was (1) not live and (2) not showing me things happening right now in my life.