Top Five Cult Things
Top Five is a show where the hosts categorize, rank, compare, and stratify everything… from cars to gadgets to people and movies. From stuff that is hot, and things that are not nearly as interesting – it’s Top Five.
You love it. You think it is the best thing since Tang, but it never seemed to catch on like that Return of the Jedi movie. These are our top five cult things.
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4 Comments
Here are five of my favorite cult television shows in no particular order:
News Radio: I have never seen WKRP, but when Matthew started talking about that show, my mind went directly to this. This sitcom about a New York radio station had an amazing ensemble cast with the likes of Phil Hartman, Dave Foley, Andy Dick, and Joe Rogan, and lesser known gems like Vicki Lewis and Khandi Alexander. This hilarious tale of a news director’s slow descent into madness is definitely worth a watch.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine: I’ve always gotten the impression that this was the redheaded stepchild of Star Trek shows, never really getting the attention it deserved, which is a shame because this show had some of the best characters in Star Trek. There was Sisko, who would do anything, and I mean anything, to further the aims of the Federation. There was Quark, who turned a racial stereotype into a surprisingly deep character. There was Garak, who is the supposedly unassuming tailor who is the main reason anyone should watch this show. Other people can have their TOS or TNG, I’m a niner through and through.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Looking back on it, this show was a bit prophetic. Watching dumb movies with smartmouthed individuals is a hallmark of geek culture, and I truly think this show informed that culture in the decades that followed.
Megas XLR: I think this show would be up Matthew’s alley (which, given his disposition will probably make him averse to watching it). A generously proportioned gearhead from Jersey stumbles over a giant mecha, which he refurbishes into some frankensteinian machine with a muscle car for a head. This show has such an awesome vibe throughout, spoofing on anime, science fiction, and geek culture in general.
Stargate SG-1: This is my Star Trek (which, i know is weird considering that a Star Trek show is on this list). The tales of Jack O’Niell (two L’s) and his crew was revelatory to my younger self. They jumped around this big wide universe encountering all sorts of alien cultures and civilizations and I was outright inspired. Plus it has McGuyver. Watch it!
now some people might laugh but I will say my top 5:
5: Up in Smoke: the pivital Cheech and Chong movie was amazing, only meeting in greatness is Nice Dreams. Laughing at the truck made of weed and then the ending where Cheech is in the pink tutu singing “Ear Ache My Eye”. It is very memorable and so very funny.
4: Rocky Horror Picture Show: DO I really need to say why?
3: Donnie Darko: I loved how weird it was and how it got you thinking how crazy it was. The bastardization of a sequal they tried to do was so horrible, I couldn’t even finish watching S.Darko.
2. A Clockwork Orange: It was a really weird movie and the music and the acting was so amazing.
1. V — I remember growing up and my parents actually video taped the entire miniseries as well as V: The Final Battle. I would watch that movie over and over, my sister hated it but I loved the movie, and I don’t think I know anyone else that loved the original. I later found the entire series of what happened AFTER the miniseries, it wasn’t as good as the originals, but it was still interesting. Then I watched the “remake” that was made, and was pissed that they didn’t pick it up for a second season, with how that cliffhanger was.
Great topic. I had a little trouble deciding if some of things fit the definition of “cult”, but it was the best list I could come up with…
5. Night of the Living Dead: One of my favorite movies of all time, it established the genre as we know it today, and it set the bar high. Without this movie, there would be no The Walking Dead. To me, the Romero zombie is the definitive zombie of the genre.
4. Dungeons and Dragons: I played both D&D and AD&D growing up, but didn’t think about it much until I stumbled upon the greatness that is the Critical Hit podcast. Now not only did I run a 4e campaign, I’ve got a 5e campaign underway, and have a subscription to D&D online.
3. Rat Queens: This amazing graphic novel written by Kurtis Weibe and published by Image Comics is a character driven series about four female adventurers that take on their medieval world in a refreshingly modern way. I absolutely adore these characters.
2. Firefly/Serenity: An attempt to combine the sci-fi and western genres only lasted one season, and didn’t seem to catch on. On the bright side, it was so well written, and picked up such a cult following that it earned a two-hour movie to draw some loose threads to a close. Unfortunately, it only left me wanting more and made me lament over the fact that it was cancelled before its time.
3. Deadwood: This gritty HBO western was my favorite TV show of all time until I got hooked on Game of Thrones. Mediocre ratings caused it to get cancelled after three seasons, which was so unfortunate because it was so well written and the characters so riveting. I’m finally coming to grips with the fact that this show is never coming back.
Thanks Top 5!
Exactly like Dino said above, when Matthew was talking about WKRP (which I’ve never seen an episode), it felt such like the spiritual predecessor to the EXCELLENT (at least the first 4 seasons with Phil Hartman) Newsradio. Amazingly funny cast, ever-strange scenarios — Community, another favorite of mine, feels much in the same vein at times.
Clue: The Movie. For a LONG time, this has been my absolute favorite movie. It has an amazing ensemble cast (Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull, Michael McKean, and cameos from Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s and Johnny Fever from WKRP!). It is INFINITELY quotable. It has made the jump to Rocky Horror-level cult-ism, now with a showing of the film with actors in front of the screen and callouts and such at 54 Below in NYC in a few months (http://54below.com/artist/clue-at-54/)