Sacred Cows

[Lumenskir]

Note on Forum Placement: This involves a bunch of mediums outside the scope of just TV's, movies, music, literature, etc., so I figured General would be the best possible catchall. I also thought about limiting it to just music for that forum, but the music forum is mostly vestigial at this point anyway so I figured opening it up to all medium would make for more conversation.

So, what are your sacred cows, those pieces of entertainment that you adore and revere so much you will never tolerate someone putting down or neglecting it?

I kind of realized when I made the HIMYM thread that I would be ok if someone professed a dislike for the show because even though I think it's quite possibly the best three-camera sitcom ever, it still can't escape the fact that it is a three-camera sitcom. However, I would honestly be prepared to lecture someone at length about how much of an assholish prick they are if they ever spoke neutrally (god forbid negatively) about Arrested Development.

In that same vein, I don't think I could ever form a truly deep friendship with someone who didn't like K.C. Accidental the first time they heard it. I'm not saying we would never get along, but I don't think I'd ever be able to let my guard down enough to form anything meaningful.

[Regulus Tera]

I think you all know my answer.

Mirai's is Devil May Cry and POS' is FFVI, I'm suspecting.

EDIT: Oh, Solid Snake's is Metal Gear Solid and Squall Leonhart's is FFVIII.

[Fifthfiend]

I have kind of a problem with the usage of "sacred cows" in this context as to my mind that connotes false idolatry. When I sincerely like a thing I usually extol its virtues / defend it against criticism because well, I genuinely feel that I am correct about those virtues / its critics are incorrect about its purported flaws.

Anyway, Calvin and Hobbes. Every once in a while someone will come along and try to criticize Calvin and Hobbes and their complaints are inevitably false, miss the point entirely or answered directly by the comic itself. Which will typically lead right into whichever grab-bag mix of ad hominems and other fallacies because the people who start that sort of thing are usually looking so desperately for a sacred cow to slaughter that the last thing they are willing to accept is the possibility that C&H simply was in fact that good.

Maybe Chrono Trigger in that I'll cop that I poooooosssibly was a bit overzealous in singing its praises but not so much that anymore because Chrono Trigger DS is a thing that happened and so now thinking about that game kind of makes me want to throw up a little bit so, yeah.

[POS Industries]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Every once in a while someone will come along and try to criticize Calvin and Hobbes

This statement can't possibly be true.

Originally Posted by Regulus Tera

POS' is FFVI, I'm suspecting.

Haha, naw, World of Ruin totally gets boring and Kefka was a retardedly underpowered endboss for someone that was literally a god. Now "Star Trek: First Contact," on the other hand, that right there is something I won't abide people talking shit about. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further....

....and IIII will make them pay for what they have done!

[01d55]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

I have kind of a problem with the usage of "sacred cows" in this context as to my mind that connotes false idolatry. When I sincerely like a thing I usually extol its virtues / defend it against criticism because well, I genuinely feel that I am correct about those virtues / its critics are incorrect about its purported flaws.

Well y'know there's an actual religion that does say that cows are sacred and it's not exactly fringe, globally, so.

I mean it's not as if Hindus don't sincerely like cows and extol their virtues because the genuinely feel that they're fundamentally good animals and deserving of respect.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by 01d55

Well y'know there's an actual religion that does say that cows are sacred and it's not exactly fringe, globally, so.

I mean it's not as if Hindus don't sincerely like cows and extol their virtues because the genuinely feel that they're fundamentally good animals and deserving of respect.

You know I looked it up and you're right! My reading of the phrase was wrong and yours is indeed the correct one. Objections withdrawn!

So yes Calvin and Hobbes as I totally hold it beyond any criticism I can imagine being leveled against it. Past that actually not a lot of things I can think of because even most things I really, really like have some flaw or other in them which I will acknowledge. Mostly because I am just hyperfuckingcritical of everything but well, there you are. Or even when I personally enjoy a thing and someone else doesn't, I'll usually see the reasoning for why they might not.

But yeah Calvin and Hobbes it's just flat out like Progressive Boink said; "Calvin and Hobbes outclasses the rest of the comic strip world more than anything else has ever outclassed the rest of its medium." Period, full stop, end of discussion (except to discuss how much better Calvin and Hobbes is than any other comic ever.)

Oh! Doctor McNinja. I would have a real problem understanding someone not being able to like that.

[Krylo]

Originally Posted by Lumenskir

In that same vein, I don't think I could ever form a truly deep friendship with someone who didn't like K.C. Accidental the first time they heard it.

You... don't have many close friends, do you?

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

[...] not a lot of things I can think of because even most things I really, really like have some flaw or other in them which I will acknowledge. Mostly because I am just hyperfuckingcritical of everything but well, there you are. Or even when I personally enjoy a thing and someone else doesn't, I'll usually see the reasoning for why they might not.

This.

This is my answer.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Krylo

This.

This is my answer.

Yeah. I'm mostly thinking of like, Terry Pratchett novels which I've read like all of ever multiple times over yet if you press me you can almost certainly get me to bitch for like twenty minutes about any given one of them. Especially if they have Granny Weatherbitch in them I mean, Granny Bitchwax that is, Granny WhatafuckingbitchIhateher.

...I was going to say something critical about Back to the Future and the Princess Bride though to be honest as I'm sitting here I can't think of a single thing honestly wrong with them. The closest I can get to a criticism just ends up saying they fell short of marks it was never their mission to hit in the first place. Like you could call Princess Bride not-deep, but its entire purpose is to not be deep, in its role as the ultimate apex of dashing, thrilling, derring-do adventuring.

...Bits of the book kind of sucked, but the movie ironed all of those out quite neatly.

[Mondt]

I have a hard time defending things with more than its just so fucking awesome you suck when it comes to things like this so generally I just let people say what they want, no matter how much I like it.

This isn't always true though.

[Lumenskir]

have kind of a problem with the usage of "sacred cows" in this context as to my mind that connotes false idolatry.

I think we might be mixing up golden calf with sacred cow? I'm not completely sure though, I'm kind of just stealing the term from the A.V. Club.

I have a hard time defending things with more than its just so fucking awesome you suck when it comes to things like this so generally I just let people say what they want, no matter how much I like it.

This isn't always true though.

So, you posted in this thread to tell us that sometimes you have sacred cows, but not what they are?

Also, I'm currently hating myself for forgetting to put The Wire up in the first post, because lately I've been seeing a lot of hipster-hating-hipster backlash against it and I want to just choke anyone who blatantly dismisses it as instantly overrated when it is undoubtedly the best television series ever.