Better than it sounds

[eve11]

I am up way too late but this meme is too much fun:

TVTropes meme: go to Better Than It Sounds and find some shows/books/whatever that you like. List 20, let people guess.

Ah, I've also added a few of my own (or mildly edited some of theirs) since I couldn't find them over there or didn't like the summaries.


Fifteen summaries from books/TV/movies. I'll post who gets the answer (in order) but not the answer itself so you can continue to play along and guess if you'd like :)

1. A disillusioned punk rocker starts a new career in debt collection. --cromarty

2. Police officers investigate crimes. Lawyers argue about them in court. --sallymn

3. Three ex-military criminals and their insane friend help small businesses by harassing their competitors. --casett, auntiemeesh, maypanic

4. A government employee has a really bad day. --casett, auntiemeesh, maypanic

5. A variety show (eta: often involving animals) where nearly all of the acts end in total disaster. Comes complete with its own MST3K riffers. --astrogirl2 (pre-edit clue)

6. Well-dressed men talk about Madonna and wonder if one of them is a police officer. --astrogirl2

7. Cranky squatter kidnaps school teachers and then gets lost. --sallymn, maypanic

8. Scientist, police officer afraid of water and war veteran go fishing. With explosives. --casett, maypanic

9. A stammering cripple pretends to be retarded so his family doesn't murder him. Becomes king of the world in the sequel. --sallymn

10. A sheltered genius with an identity crisis rebels by tormenting those he feels deserve it. --auntiemeesh, astrogirl2

11. After the lights go out, a super secret Government project in Washington can barely manage to deliver packages on time. --maypanic

12. A boy reads a book and really identifies with the main character. --aralias, maypanic

13. Stolen answering machine leads to first recorded leftist cyber crime. With modems. And saxophone music. --maypanic

14. An elderly dentist pursues a long-distance runner. --elyssadc, maypanic

15. A Cult Classic Marty Stu Self Insert Fic about The Bible.

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

2. Law & Order?

7. ... Dr Who? (sounds like the First Doctor to me...)

9. has to be I Claudius :)

[eve11]

correct on all of them! Good job!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I do so love I Claudius... one of the best TV series ever.

[casett.livejournal.com]

3 - the A team

4 - 24

8 - Jaws?

These are difficult!

[eve11]

Yeah, I might have made them too difficult in an attempt to make them not too easy? But you are correct on all those guesses!

[aralias.livejournal.com]

i don't watch it, but i think 10 could be 'dexter', then again, maybe not.

12 sounds a lot like the neverending story or something, but not enough like it for me to be certain, and 15 is either the new testiment or... it isn't.

i have no idea. i don't think i'd even have got 'doctor who', sadly.

[eve11]

No on 10, but yes on 12. Good job! Man, I always seem to make these too hard. :( (ETA: 15 is not the new testament, but it is an older work)

[aralias.livejournal.com]

what about... the life of brian? though you've said older work, and perhaps that isn't old enough.

[eve11]

Not quite. It's literature, not film...

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I'm crap at these, but I'll give it a shot.

3. A-Team?
4. 24?
5. American Idol?
10. The Pretender?

That's all my guesses for now.

[eve11]

yes on 3, 4, and 10, nice! No on 5. I adapted the clue from the original "better than it sounds" summary to take out a bit I thought made it too easy. I'll go back up and edit...

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I wish it to be known that I got this before I saw the edit. :)

[eve11]

lol, ha! I'll add that in.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Oh! #5 is The Muppet Show! #6 is Reservoir Dogs. #10 sounds like The Pretender. And is #15 Life of Brian? I'm not sure...

[eve11]

Right on all except #15, which is literature, not film. Good job!

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

I have NO idea. Sorry! #14 might be Marathon Man. But probably not.

[eve11]

#14 is indeed Marathon Man. Good catch!

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad I got one. These are hard!

[eve11]

I can never judge how hard or easy they're going to be. I always make them too hard! Maybe if I put in the genre (TV/Movie/book), it would help.

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

14. Marathon Man?

The others I think I recognize have all been guessed, but -
3 The A-Team
4 24 - well, a series of really bad days now
7 Doctor Who! I'm also fond of "Serial kidnapper entices away a dozens of mostly young women, claiming to have a magic blue box, then places them in situations of life threatening danger."
8 Jaws
12 The Neverending Story

I feel like I can almost think of what 13 is. Almost...

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

Dagnabbit, now I'm looking at the other answers I see someone beat me to 14 while I was slowly typing.

[eve11]

Ah, but you were close! I will give you both credit for that one, good catch. 13 is still one of my favorite movies almost 20 years later, if that helps you...

ETA: and all your other guesses are correct, too :) I do like your summary of Doctor Who as well :D

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

13- Sneakers?

[eve11]

you got it! :D

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

Woo! Think we still have that somewhere on VHS. Don't have a VHS player anymore, though...

11- Dark Angel?

[eve11]

Yeah, I had it on VHS for a while too. And had a CD of the soundtrack which was quite brilliant.

11- Dark Angel?
Bingo!

[kernezelda]

#15 - The Life of Joseph Smith ?

[eve11]

Lol, nope, think earlier and allegory. :D

[infinitemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that 15. is Ben Hur. Wildly guessing, mind.

ETA and is 1. Repo Man?

[eve11]

No on 15, but yes on 1. Nice catch! :D