Bizarre Premises

[Serpentine]

What's the weirdest premise for a film (or book or game or anything) you've seen? Maybe it was good despite the bizarre premise, or maybe it was awesome because of it, or maybe it was just all round weird. Either way, you'll be doing well to beat mine.

Mine is called Anonymous Rex. I just discovered that it was made for the Sci Fi TV channel, so maybe it's not that surprising. What was a little surprising is that it's based on a novel called Casual Rex...
Anyway, as my Boy pointed out, this movie had to go through a process in order to get made. Several people thought it was a good idea. This is what I think that process looked like:

Long version.
"Okay, I've got this idea... You know how the dinosaurs all died out? Well, they didn't."
"Okay."
"So, some of them survived, and for some reason they decided they had to hide from humans, so they developed highly advanced holographic technology that makes them look human."
"I'm listening..."
"One of them, a Velociraptor*, is a private detective! And he has to solve a sinister mystery involving a pheremone-pumping sexy lady dinosaur, with the assistance of his lumbering triceratops side-kick."
"Go on."
"As a twist, the triceratops' daughter is actually a human! A human pretending to be a dinosaur pretending to be a human!"*
"Oh yeah, finish it!"
"We have a Baldwin!"
"Alec?!"
"No."

Short version.
"Dinos in disguise!"
"Genius!"

*I haven't finished watching this so I don't know if it's right, but if it is it might be somewhat of a spoiler.

[Lycan 01]

That sounds... awesome. I totally want to see this movie. Then again, I also liked Ice Spiders. Woo, Sci-Fi Movies! :smallbiggrin:

Sounds a lot like the anime Wolf's Rain, where wolves have been hunted almost to extinction by humans, and to survive they'd developed a strange magical ability to appear as humans. Like, unless they willingly let you see them as a wolf or they bite you, they just appear as a dude walking down the street, even though in reality its a wolf... Its actually a fairly awesome anime, except...


THE ENDING SUUUUUUCKS!!!

[DSCrankshaw]

The City and the City by China Mieville. It won a Hugo and a World Fantasy award. It's premise?

Two cities in two different countries exist at the same place and time. There's no sci fi explanation--the citizens of the two cities live side by side but pretend not to see each other. To fail to unsee the other city is a crime worse than murder.

[Lord Seth]

BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo takes place in the year 3001.5 at which time the Earth has been conquered by the Chrome Dome Empire. Their leader, Czar Baldy Bald IV, has issued an edict that everyone must be bald, which is enforced by his army called the Hair Hunt. Our hero, BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo, who has the special power to extend his nose hairs and attack people with them, is on a quest to thwart their plans. Along the way he's joined by other characters, such as walking talking jelly, a guy with ice cream for a head, and someone who can use his farts as weapons.

Incidentally, this is my favorite show. Of all time. (though the early episodes are a bit weak)

[Prime32]

BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo takes place in the year 3001.5 at which time the Earth has been conquered by the Chrome Dome Empire. Their leader, Czar Baldy Bald IV, has issued an edict that everyone must be bald, which is enforced by his army called the Hair Hunt. Our hero, BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo, who has the special power to extend his nose hairs and attack people with them, is on a quest to thwart their plans. Along the way he's joined by other characters, such as walking talking jelly, a guy with ice cream for a head, and someone who can use his farts as weapons.

Incidentally, this is my favorite show. Of all time. (though the early episodes are a bit weak)Don't forget that the most common and powerful fighting style is confusing your opponent into submission. And that it's basically a parody of Fist of the North Star.

[Asthix]

Same premise as Anonymous Rex, except I think that everyone should see PomPoko (http://www.videosurf.com/video/pompoko-trailer-77339200). Not only because of the awesomeness, but because of the transforming Tanuki scrotum weapons too.

EDIT: also, Bobobo Bo Bo Bobo is awesone and I'm so glad it got mentioned in this discussion.:smallbiggrin:

[Dr.Epic]

Adventure Time if you think about it:

It's about this 12-year-old boy who's a butt-kicking paladin and his magical talking dog with the voice of Bender from Futurama and they have to rescue the candy princess from the evil ice king. And that's not even touching upon all the other bizarre content.

[AshDesert]

BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo takes place in the year 3001.5 at which time the Earth has been conquered by the Chrome Dome Empire. Their leader, Czar Baldy Bald IV, has issued an edict that everyone must be bald, which is enforced by his army called the Hair Hunt. Our hero, BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo, who has the special power to extend his nose hairs and attack people with them, is on a quest to thwart their plans. Along the way he's joined by other characters, such as walking talking jelly, a guy with ice cream for a head, and someone who can use his farts as weapons.

Incidentally, this is my favorite show. Of all time. (though the early episodes are a bit weak)

I LOVE THAT SHOW!

FLCL. A kid grows giants robots out of his head, and gets caught up into a fight between people from outer space, an evil corporation, and the Pirate King, along with his friend/crush, who uses an electric bass guitar as her primary weapon. It is the weirdest anime series I have ever seen (well, a tie between it and BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo) and it is awesome.

[chiasaur11]

Well, while we're passing along everything, Scott Pilgrim is a wee bit on the odder side.

Canadian slice-of-life romantic comedy is not the first thing that comes to mind when the phrase "boss fight" is tossed around, all I'm saying.

[TheEmerged]

BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo

True story. I'd caught part of a few episodes of this show when I met a full-on anime junkie. I mentioned it to her and said, "I've been trying to get a grasp on it, but no luck. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was supposed to be parodying something."

Her response? A deep belly laugh and then, "You shouldn't know beter." :smallredface:

RE: Original Topic. There's this webcomic about a doctor (who is also a ninja) who has a gorilla for a nurse, a teenaged gun-totting sidekick with a giant moustache who rides a velociraptor -- who himself rides an Accord and lives in a haunted forest. He comes from a family of Irish ninjas (and their shamrock shuriken). His mentors include the clone of Benjamin Franklin and his father (who prone to setting himself on fire). The mayor of the town turns out to be a timetraveller that is terrified of zombies.

Enemies have included Ronald McDonald, Paul Bunyan sufferers, people who have jetpacks coming out of their stomachs, ninja drug zombies, and Danish Movie Stars who need to be punched in the butt.

One of the climactic moments of the series is when he surfs a robot Dracula down from the real Dracula's moonbase thanks to his ninja brother who just got done defeating a ghost wizard (whose spells include a Knife Eye Attack) that was possessing a politican, at the request of the Catholic church in a submarine.

And this makes complete sense within the world it is in. I probably don't even have to tell you the name of the comic.

We take the Internet for granted sometimes, you know?

[Ravens_cry]

You are a Grim Reaper/Travel Agent in a Noir/Aztec inspired Underworld with nothing but your trusty scythe and your wits to aid you. Oh and flowers kill people, again.
Did I mention it is really, really, to the power of really, awesome? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Fandango)

[Dogmantra]

Not so much a specific film as an entire genre, but how stupid do you think the first person who suggested a mockumentary felt when he said "Hey guys, I think we should make a documentary. Except let's make it all up!"?

[Claudius Maximus]

Problem Sleuth is about three hard-boiled detectives and their adventures in a land of imagination. It is presented in the context of a bizarre and glitchy puzzle game/RPG. For example, all weapons are also some other, harmless item, and it's impossible to guess which form it will take when you use it.

In the film Six-String Samurai, the US got destroyed in nuclear war with the soviets. Civilization is now centered on "Lost Vegas," where The King rules. As the story opens, The King has just died, and a wandering rocker named Buddy battles his way across America, intent on becoming the new King. The villain is Slash. Surprisingly enjoyable movie.

[Jaros]

Osmosis Jones: It's basically a cop film, only it's set inside Bill Murray's body (well, he's not playing himself, but the actor is Bill Murray). The cops are white blood cells, the villain is a virus, and Osmosis's by-the-book university cop buddy is a cold pill. I love this movie.

I should also mention some of the other voice talent:
Osmosis Jones - Chris Rock
Drix (cold pill) - David Hyde-Pierce
Thrax (virus) - Laurence Fishburne
Mayor Fleming (who lives in the brain, of course) - William Shatner

Edit: Oh, and on a seperate film, a line from the 'Harold & Maude' tvtropes page under 'better than it sounds', "It's a romantic comedy about a 17-year old boy and a 79-year old women. Wait, where are you going?"

[AshDesert]

Axe Cop. He's a cop with an axe. Written by a 5-year-old, drawn by his 30-year-old brother. I think this (http://axecop.com/index.php/acask/read/ask_axe_cop_5/) sums it up pretty well.

[Sneak]

Pretty much every story Jorge Luis Borges wrote ever.

[An Enemy Spy]

What's the weirdest premise for a film (or book or game or anything) you've seen? Maybe it was good despite the bizarre premise, or maybe it was awesome because of it, or maybe it was just all round weird. Either way, you'll be doing well to beat mine.

Mine is called Anonymous Rex. I just discovered that it was made for the Sci Fi TV channel, so maybe it's not that surprising. What was a little surprising is that it's based on a novel called Casual Rex...
Anyway, as my Boy pointed out, this movie had to go through a process in order to get made. Several people thought it was a good idea. This is what I think that process looked like:

Long version.
"Okay, I've got this idea... You know how the dinosaurs all died out? Well, they didn't."
"Okay."
"So, some of them survived, and for some reason they decided they had to hide from humans, so they developed highly advanced holographic technology that makes them look human."
"I'm listening..."
"One of them, a Velociraptor*, is a private detective! And he has to solve a sinister mystery involving a pheremone-pumping sexy lady dinosaur, with the assistance of his lumbering triceratops side-kick."
"Go on."
"As a twist, the triceratops' daughter is actually a human! A human pretending to be a dinosaur pretending to be a human!"*
"Oh yeah, finish it!"
"We have a Baldwin!"
"Alec?!"
"No."

Short version.
"Dinos in disguise!"
"Genius!"

*I haven't finished watching this so I don't know if it's right, but if it is it might be somewhat of a spoiler.

That made me think of the Mario movie.

[Fjolnir]

Wasn't the OP a series, not a movie or am I mistaken?

[Dr.Epic]

God Hand. I think the sanest part of the game is the end credits and if you played it you know how messed up they are.

[Copacetic]

Osmosis Jones: It's basically a cop film, only it's set inside Bill Murray's body (well, he's not playing himself, but the actor is Bill Murray). The cops are white blood cells, the villain is a virus, and Osmosis's by-the-book university cop buddy is a cold pill. I love this movie.

I should also mention some of the other voice talent:
Osmosis Jones - Chris Rock
Drix (cold pill) - David Hyde-Pierce
Thrax (virus) - Laurence Fishburne
Mayor Fleming (who lives in the brain, of course) - William Shatner



Best movie ever.



Re: Bizarre premises, Transformers.

"The main characters are cars'
"Okay"
"Who are secretly robots"
"Right"
"Battle-robots"
"Naturally"
"Alien battle-robots"
"..."
"I'm a genius"

[Bhu]

I can't remember the name, but during my current work project for seeing if old films are available on DVD there's one where five American women who've been raped by a serial killer learn kung fu to get revenge on him because he made them sing Jingle Bells while molesting them. As film premises to go that's just...yeah.,. :smalleek:

[Icewalker]

It's funny how some things might not seem that strange in full, because they are detailed and functional, but when summarized, get very, very odd. For example, G Gundam, in which one of the characters is...

...a German ninja, who is secretly a robot clone of the main character's brother, before he turned evil, having replaced the original German ninja. He also has a borderline magic katana.

[Grumman]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Everything is better with spinning. Everything.


I can't remember the name, but during my current work project for seeing if old films are available on DVD there's one where five American women who've been raped by a serial killer learn kung fu to get revenge on him because he made them sing Jingle Bells while molesting them. As film premises to go that's just...yeah.,. :smalleek:
He's apparently not a very good serial killer if his victims are teaming up to kick his ass instead of being, y'know, dead.

[chiasaur11]

Best movie ever.



Re: Bizarre premises, Transformers.

"The main characters are cars'
"Okay"
"Who are secretly robots"
"Right"
"Battle-robots"
"Naturally"
"Alien battle-robots"
"..."
"I'm a genius"

Well, that one's a little easier to understand.

Hasbro had some mech toys from Japan. They needed a cartoon, comic, etc. to maximize sales. So, they went into the Marvel offices.

"Hey, Jovial Jim Shooter. We need a backstory to these weird robot toys we bought from Japan"

"Sure! Daring Denny O'Neil and I will get right on it!"

And eventually, since Mechs didn't do well in the states sales-wise, Marvel decided on Space Aliens. Oh, and Denny and Jim didn't have what Hasbro wanted, so they passed some of the duties to Boisterous Bob Budiansky and Blushing Bill Mantlo.

And now you know the rest of the story.

[Fjolnir]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Everything is better with spinning. Everything.

I once described this show to a friend as "giant robots powered by manliness and love, oh and a ton of drills"

[Comet]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Everything is better with spinning. Everything.



I once described this show to a friend as "giant robots powered by manliness and love, oh and a ton of drills"

This premise is not weird at all. It's entirely logical and inspiring! And phallic, but that's not something real men are afraid of.

On the video game front, most Shin Megami Tensei titles would work for this purpose, I think. Focusing here on Persona 3 (very very mild spoilers, but still boxed away for length):

The main character arrives at a new school, has no friends and is generally considered to be the introverted, silent type. Standard Japanese school drama hijinks commence, right? Not quite.

His dorm mates are revelealed to be living a double life: by day they are easy going students, but at night they fight against Jungian archetypes turned into beasts and gods of various myths on the hidden hour between days that no ordinary person can even perceive.
How do they fight against these Shadows? By shooting themselves in the head with a special gun that draws out their own psychological monsters, called Personas.

The main character joins these brave kids, struggling against monsters, time and a massive dungeon that holds the secret to the end or salvation of the world. All the while trying to maintain a healthy social life in the waking hours.

Oh, and the main character's powers grow when he forms meaningful personal relationships. So, you spend roughly half the game battling mythological beasts in a massive dungeon and the other half talking to people in the real world, solving their problems and gathering a harem of potential love interests just so that the demons that you rip out of your own head to do battle for you would end up strong enough to save mankind.

Classic material, isn't it? And a great game, too.

[darbythegambler]

not one mention of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure? nazi robot vampires, that's all i have to say (for part 2 at least)

[Fjolnir]

TTGL might not have the most bizarre premise but it certainly has some fairly bizarre execution of the given themes

[Tengu_temp]

FLCL. A kid grows giants robots out of his head, and gets caught up into a fight between people from outer space, an evil corporation, and the Pirate King, along with his friend/crush, who uses an electric bass guitar as her primary weapon. It is the weirdest anime series I have ever seen (well, a tie between it and BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo) and it is awesome.

FLCL is much weirder than Bobobo. The former is genuinely mind-screwing, the latter is mostly just a silly parody.

The weirdest premise ever is probably Killer 7. This game is very hard to describe, but I will try:

In an alternate reality where all countries got rid of their nukes, an attacks began to get carried out by a terrorist organization known as Heaven Smiles, consisting of oddly-colored, contantly grinning zombie-like creatures that are invisible to normal people - only their laughter can be heard. They attack by grabbing people and then exploding. The only force that can combat them is a group of seven assassins known as Killer 7, who can see them thanks to a special ring possessed by one of them. Except that all those assassins are really alternate personalities of an old man in a wheelchair, who can assume their forms after waking them up from a TV. At least one of those personalities can exist as an independent entity, as well. Another one of them is a Mexican luchador who dual-wields grenade launchers. In order to upgrade the personalities, you need to gather blood from killed enemies and give it to a doctor in the TV's Blood Channel, who turns it into serum. A German-speaking guy in a bondage suit serves as the equivalent of your Legend of Zelda fairy helper.

And this is just stuff you know from the beginning. The truth is much more complex and bizarre. Evangelion, FLCL and Space Odyssey 2001 are tame in comparison to the level of weirdness and symbolism shown by this game.

[Asthix]

not one mention of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure? nazi robot vampires, that's all i have to say (for part 2 at least)
Oh I was going to mention JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but I couldn't think of a funny enough summary for what little I've read.

I'm constantly struck by how strange the Katamari games are while I'm playing them.

[Mordaenor]

That made me think of the Mario movie.

Which is, itself a pretty bizarre concept if you think about it. The original game: Italian Plumber saves Princess in a mythical kingdom by jumping on the heads of his enemies, which for some reason resemble mushrooms and turtles. He doubles in size when he touches a mushroom, and can throw fire when he touches a flower.

[The Rose Dragon]

I keep reading the title of this thread as "Bizarre Penises". It disturbs me.

Also, a lot of premises are weird when you stop and think about them. The execution makes the actual shows vary in levels of bizarreness rather than the premise.

For example, take a look at Fallout and Fallout 2: both have the same basic premise of "this one guy trying to help his people by leaving for the larger world beyond his Vault / tribe - also, this all happens in a world years after the nuclear apocalypse, and the world was stuck in the 1950s mindset and technology paradigms until the apocalypse". Fallout itself is pretty straightforward, with few oddities (few enough that a lot of people miss its parody / pastiche nature). Fallout 2 is full of oddball cases, robot dogs (as in, more than one of them), a Scientology parody (which actually turns out to be pretty OK), aliens from outer space, pop culture references, and it is pretty obvious that it's not exactly a straight take on the post-apocalypse genre. Same premise, wildly different experiences.

And Fallout 2 is a pretty bizarre experience if you immerse yourself in it long enough.

[thorgrim29]

Codex Alera: A roman legion got lost and ended up in another world. Centuries later, their descendants, who have bonded with pokemon inspired spirits of nature, and pretty much kicked everyone's ass on their continent, are attacked by the barbarian elves with spirit animals, the Zerg, and giant wolf people.

[Ravens_cry]

A reality warping rabbit kicks the ass of a bald hunter with a speech impediment every which way to Sunday.
A duck and a pig fight a mild mannered Martian over a planet with the only remaining source of a key component of shaving cream. Everyone loses.
A wolf lusts after a sexy stage performer but ends up getting chased all over the place by her grandmother.
A low drawling dog little hound dog chases after an escaped criminal, who occasionally literally goes to pieces.
Damn, I love Golden Age Cartoons.
A Moose and Squirrel fight devious foreign spies. A chicken and lion fight crime, the chicken wears a Musketeers like outfit and gains superpowers after drinking a special serum.
Though many, many, were bad, some Dark Age cartoons made up for their limitations and were awesome.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Codex Alera: A roman legion got lost and ended up in another world. Centuries later, their descendants, who have bonded with pokemon inspired spirits of nature, and pretty much kicked everyone's ass on their continent, are attacked by the barbarian elves with spirit animals, the Zerg, and giant wolf people.

To be fair, that series was written after some people told Jim Butcher (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Codex_Alera#Origins_of_the_series.27s_premise) "Even you couldn't start with, say, 'Lost Roman Legions + Pokémon' and make that story not suck." The premise is supposed to be bizarre.

[Prime32]

Which is, itself a pretty bizarre concept if you think about it. The original game: Italian Plumber saves Princess in a mythical kingdom by jumping on the heads of his enemies, which for some reason resemble mushrooms and turtles. He doubles in size when he touches a mushroom, and can throw fire when he touches a flower.It's a metaphor for a 'shroom-induced drug trip obviously.

[Science Officer]

'If On A Winter's Night a Traveller' is a book about you, The Reader.
or perhaps you, the Other Reader
It is the story of your struggles and desire to read a book.
That book is called 'If On A Winter's Night a Traveller'.

Who Knows? is a short horror story about ambulating furniture.

Snow Crash is also pretty weird. The world's greatest sword-fighter and last of the freelance hackers leaves his job delivering pizzas for the mafia to save the world from being mind-controlled in ancient Sumerian by a diabolical cable company.

[Mordaenor]

A chicken and lion fight crime, the chicken wears a Musketeers like outfit and gains superpowers after drinking a special serum.

Okay I need help, this is the only reference I don't get from your list.

[The Rose Dragon]

Snow Crash is also pretty weird. The world's greatest sword-fighter and last of the freelance hackers leaves his job delivering pizzas for the mafia to save the world from being mind-controlled in ancient Sumerian by a diabolical cable company.

Is that the book where the protagonist is named Hiro Protagonist?

[Marillion]

Many years into the future, you are a cargo transporter for a minor inter-planetary carrot shipping company. You go on vacation with the company ship to get away from your nagging wife and bumbling boss, but are shipwrecked on an uncharted planet with an atmosphere you can't survive in without the aid of a rapidly failing life support system. This planet contains strange, nightmarish creatures many times your size, all of them willing to eat you without a second thought. In order to survive and repair your ship, you must befriend a native parasitic species that is a strange hybrid of plant and animal, themselves on the brink of extinction, possibly with sinister motives of their own. As you collect the pieces you need for your ship, you stumble upon remnants of a civilization that seemingly vanished from the world several millennium ago, with hints made that they exterminated themselves. And then you realize...It's Earth.


I love Pikmin!

[The Glyphstone]

Is that the book where the protagonist is named Hiro Protagonist?

Yesiree. And don't forget his sidekick, a girl who delivers mail via skateboard by attaching herself to speeding cars on the highway with a magnetic grappling hook. Or the rocket-propelled cyborg security dogs.

Man, Snow Crash is weird if you look at it.

[Bhu]

He's apparently not a very good serial killer if his victims are teaming up to kick his ass instead of being, y'know, dead.

I found it less believable that the victims were patient enough to study kung fu considering they knew who and where he was...

[Mr. Zolrane]

I LOVE THAT SHOW!

FLCL. A kid grows giants robots out of his head, and gets caught up into a fight between people from outer space, an evil corporation, and the Pirate King, along with his friend/crush, who uses an electric bass guitar as her primary weapon. It is the weirdest anime series I have ever seen (well, a tie between it and BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo) and it is awesome.

Curses, you beat me to it! FLCL is freaking amazing; it only gets better with repeated viewings. And Nyquil. Lots and lots of Nyquil. :smallbiggrin:


Axe Cop. He's a cop with an axe. Written by a 5-year-old, drawn by his 30-year-old brother. I think this (http://axecop.com/index.php/acask/read/ask_axe_cop_5/) sums it up pretty well.

You beat me to it again! Axe Cop is crazy awesome.


It's funny how some things might not seem that strange in full, because they are detailed and functional, but when summarized, get very, very odd. For example, G Gundam, in which one of the characters is...

...a German ninja, who is secretly a robot clone of the main character's brother, before he turned evil, having replaced the original German ninja. He also has a borderline magic katana.

G Gundam is vintage camp. Not to be missed by anyone who can appreciate that sort of thing.


Okay I need help, this is the only reference I don't get from your list.

Super Chicken. Google that jank.

Ash mentioned Axe Cop before. The stream-of-consciousness feel of that comic kinda reminds me of the stories I used to tell my little brother to get him to fall asleep. The premise of those stories: basically a spoken version of Pokemon fanfiction thought up by someone whose only knowledge of Pokemon at the time was having misread the names of Pokemon toys on a McDonald's Happy Meal toy display. They were very, very weird. I swear I needed therapy as a kid.

[Haruki-kun]

Most bizarre premise? OK, so bear with me for a second.

This princess is kidnapped by a giant spike-shelled turtle who controlls an army of mushrooms and other turtles, some of them also with spikes. As a last resort, the princesses subjects, all mushroom people, unlike her, decide to call her boyfriend, an italian plumber who jumps really high. The italian plumber is apparently the only one who can jump high enough to step on the evil mushrooms and turtles.

The plumber is also able to eat flowers that allow him to shoot balls of fire, or to eat leaves that make him sprout racoon ears and a tail, thus gaining the ability to fly. Then the italian plumber saves the princess and lets the evil giant turtle go because clearly he isn't dead yet.

When you describe it like that, it can't possibly sound more bizarre.

[John Cribati]

Seto No Hanayome: A Mermaid saves a human from drowning. The crime is punishable by death (of either party.) If Human marries Mermaid, both can live. Mermaid is a Mafia Princess. Mafia Boss is not happy with Human, hires six-inch-tall assassin, shark-man, and very sexy black guy to kill human. Also, the Terminator in a Sailor fuku.

[FoE]

The Amazing Screw-on Head. A half-hour animated special starring a robotic head with a screw for a neck who defends Civil War-era America from supernatural threats, the foremost being his former butler, Emperor Zombie. It features werewolf women, chimpanzees with guns and at least one ancient god imprisoned in a vegetable.

[chiasaur11]

Yesiree. And don't forget his sidekick, a girl who delivers mail via skateboard by attaching herself to speeding cars on the highway with a magnetic grappling hook. Or the rocket-propelled cyborg security dogs.

Man, Snow Crash is weird if you look at it.

And another thing. The government is pretty much just the mail and the (spun off) CIA now, with the CIA becoming a private corporation.

Mobs and megacorps run the world in fenced off cities. This is shown to be, on the whole, pretty okay.

[Icewalker]

The Amazing Screw-On Head (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5434666681046246946#) is SO GOOD. I wish it ran for more than just a pilot!

[leakingpen]

Okay I need help, this is the only reference I don't get from your list.

SUPER CHICKEN! (rocky and bullwinkle scuse me, george of the jungle side cartoon, later spin off)

http://www.superheroeslives.com/cartoons/super_chicken_%281967%29.htm

[chiasaur11]

The Amazing Screw-On Head (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5434666681046246946#) is SO GOOD. I wish it ran for more than just a pilot!

A pilot and a one off graphic novel.

The scary thing?

That was Mike Mignola trying to come up with a mainstream and commercially viable concept.

[FoE]

The scary thing?

That was Mike Mignola trying to come up with a mainstream and commercially viable concept.

I remember him talking about it and mentioning how his girlfriend (or possibly his agent) got excited over the notion that he was trying to do something commercially viable that could be made into toys. And then he mentioned it was set during Lincoln's presidency and she was like *SIGH*.

Groin's looking out for your behind, Head! You can't afford to keep him at arm's length!

[Bhu]

In 1863 the Civil War was won based on the importation of Yetis and Mammoths from Canada:

http://paizo.com/paizoGames/v5748btpy81x6

[AshDesert]

Heat Vision & Jack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHvjcsELcjA). Just go watch it, at least the title sequence. It is just pure, undiluted awesome.

[Ravens_cry]

SUPER CHICKEN! (rocky and bullwinkle scuse me, george of the jungle side cartoon, later spin off)

http://www.superheroeslives.com/cartoons/super_chicken_%281967%29.htm
And Fred!
***
Yes indeedy, that was what I was referring too.
Jay Ward was amazing. With extremely limited animation he could wring a surprising number of laughs.

[chiasaur11]

Heat Vision & Jack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHvjcsELcjA). Just go watch it, at least the title sequence. It is just pure, undiluted awesome.

One of the creators has a show on NBC right now, actually.

Community. Comparatively normal premise, but similarly exceptionally quality.

[Friv]

Baseball.

So you have to throw the ball at the guy on the other team, except you aren't allowed to hit him. That's bad. Remember that - never hit the guy on the other team with the ball. What you want is to get close to him without hitting him, only he's going to try and hit the ball. If you can do that three times, he loses. But don't miss. If you miss four times - yes, four, shut up no not three - he gets to walk to his safe point and you can't stop him (see safe points, below). But he's not trying to hit you, either, he just wants to get the ball as far from you as possible as long as it's not too far off. If he hits it too far off, it counts as not hitting it at all, unless he's messed up twice already because hitting it too far off can't make you lose unless someone catches the ball in midair.

If he does hit the ball, you have to try and catch the ball, in which case he loses, while he tries to pass over four safe points in a preset order, stopping if he thinks he can't make the next one. If the ball touches the ground, though, he doesn't lose, unless you can touch him with the ball (it's okay, you can do that now) while you're also holding it. If he reaches a safe point, he can stay there. You're allowed to put people at the safe points, but they can't try to stop him in any way unless you're holding the ball.

Also, he can try to sneak around when you aren't looking, but you can cut him off by throwing the ball to the people you have stationed at his safe points, who will then try to touch him with the ball.

When a new guy starts trying to hit the ball, if he can hit it, the guy who's at a safe point can try to make it to a new safe point, unless you catch the ball in midair, at which point he's not allowed to run forwards and has to run back to his original safe point before you get to it with the ball, in which case he loses.

If he can get around all four safe points, his team gets a point. If you can make three members of his team lose, everyone changes sides.

And you do it nine times.

Oh, and the break takes place after seven rotations, near the end, instead of in the middle.

[chiasaur11]

Baseball.

So you have to throw the ball at the guy on the other team, except you aren't allowed to hit him. That's bad. Remember that - never hit the guy on the other team with the ball. What you want is to get close to him without hitting him, only he's going to try and hit the ball. If you can do that three times, he loses. But don't miss. If you miss four times - yes, four, shut up no not three - he gets to walk to his safe point and you can't stop him (see safe points, below). But he's not trying to hit you, either, he just wants to get the ball as far from you as possible as long as it's not too far off. If he hits it too far off, it counts as not hitting it at all, unless he's messed up twice already because hitting it too far off can't make you lose unless someone catches the ball in midair.

If he does hit the ball, you have to try and catch the ball, in which case he loses, while he tries to pass over four safe points in a preset order, stopping if he thinks he can't make the next one. If the ball touches the ground, though, he doesn't lose, unless you can touch him with the ball (it's okay, you can do that now) while you're also holding it. If he reaches a safe point, he can stay there. You're allowed to put people at the safe points, but they can't try to stop him in any way unless you're holding the ball.

Also, he can try to sneak around when you aren't looking, but you can cut him off by throwing the ball to the people you have stationed at his safe points, who will then try to touch him with the ball.

When a new guy starts trying to hit the ball, if he can hit it, the guy who's at a safe point can try to make it to a new safe point, unless you catch the ball in midair, at which point he's not allowed to run forwards and has to run back to his original safe point before you get to it with the ball, in which case he loses.

If he can get around all four safe points, his team gets a point. If you can make three members of his team lose, everyone changes sides.

And you do it nine times.

Oh, and the break takes place after seven rotations, near the end, instead of in the middle.

You like Bob Newhart too, eh?

[Bhu]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102994/usercomments

Apparently 3.5 is not the first instance of commoners being stalked and viciously murdered by housecats.

[Lamech]

Erfworld is pretty high up there.

Xenosaga
Xenosaga: How to describe this: Humanity has spread across two galaxies and is in danger from monsters from another dimension called gnosis. These are actually the spiritual components/will/imaginary part* of people who reject the world and other people. When they attack they turn people into pillars of salt or sometimes more gnosis. And people spontaneously gnosify too.
But wait theres more: the faster than light travel is done by using columns built on the collective subconscious of humanity.
The entire universe is kept eternally repeating itself by the Big Bad, in order to save it from being destroyed by god. He does this with a machine called Zarathustra.
And thats a very brief summary it gets more bizarre if you actually play it.

*as in square root of a negative number

[HalfTangible]

Bobobobobobobobo has already been mentioned. I've heard it's good but seriously WHAT THE INTERCOURSE?!

Weirdest i've actually watched?
Either mystery men (i liked it, don't get me wrong, but the actual premise just seemed... weird, for a superhero setting.) or Slappy and the Stinkers.

Spoilers probably not necessary, it's an old movie.
A bunch of boarding school/private school troublemakers get put on double probation for stealing a leaf blower, sneaking out of class, stealing an office chair, destroying a car and breaking the principal's neck with an ejection system.

So when they go on the field trip they hadn't been banned from they find a sea lion, which some other guy whose name sounds very similar to 'Broccolli' is trying to steal it. But before he can, they steal it and bring it back with them on the bus after getting the principal in a wrestling match with an octopus.

They then decide it would be a good idea to keep the sea lion at the principal's house and, lo and behold, the teacher comes home.

They then sneak him back to the ocean, where he promptly decides 'no, screw you, i don't wanna go in the ocean!' because an orca whale is nearby. (Killer Whales eat sea lions)

The sea lion sneaks out of the bathtub they were keeping him in and shows up at parent's day, breaking the arm of one of the students whose father is apparently rich as all heck. THEN he kicks the kids out of the school for something the sea lion did.

Remember broccolli? He shows up, claims to be from the aquarium and like morons the kids and parents believe him. When the actual aquarium guys show up, they decide to go rescue the sea lion from life in a bulgarian circus (they were very specific about the bulgarians >.>) The kids then outsmart the criminal with rope traps and a megaphone with a lie a two year old could've seen through ("YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY HUNDREDS OF POLICE! AND MARINES!"). The principal shows up for some reason and they ride the bathtub they've been carrying the sea lion in into a lake which at least two of the six acknowledge will probably kill them.

Then the cops show up and the principal brings them back to the school.
Good movie. But incredibly weird =/

[Threeshades]

Most bizarre premise? OK, so bear with me for a second.

This princess is kidnapped by a giant spike-shelled turtle who controlls an army of mushrooms and other turtles, some of them also with spikes. As a last resort, the princesses subjects, all mushroom people, unlike her, decide to call her boyfriend, an italian plumber who jumps really high. The italian plumber is apparently the only one who can jump high enough to step on the evil mushrooms and turtles.

The plumber is also able to eat flowers that allow him to shoot balls of fire, or to eat leaves that make him sprout racoon ears and a tail, thus gaining the ability to fly. Then the italian plumber saves the princess and lets the evil giant turtle go because clearly he isn't dead yet.

When you describe it like that, it can't possibly sound more bizarre.

Don't forget that the plumber's brother has the same abilities as him and dresses about the same except where one of them wears red the other wears green.

Note also that the Princess and the plumber have a history of her being kindnapped by a giant gorilla with a red tie who likes to toss barrels at people and him saving her. And the plumber as a child was abducted and saved by a band of dinosaurs who can catch other creatures with their long tounge and depending on what they caught convert them to fireballs, just spit them right back out at a lethal velocity or convert them into eggs, which instead of multiplying their own numbers the dinosaurs use to toss around to kill enemies or destroy obstacles.

But videogames back in the day often had weird premises.

[Brewdude]

A skilled mercenary company has a contract to bodyguard the prince of a city state about to go into rebellion, when an ancient werewolf/dracula thing's tomb gets broken into by hapless grave robbers. They want out of this contract, but they've never broken a contract in their entire history, and there's a new potential client sitting in the port on a diplomatic mission to this city state.

They find a way out of their contract, only to find that their new employer is the chief lieutenant of the BBEG "Dark one" whose country he controls in the midst of it's own rebellion by "the good guys" which it is now part of the merc company's job to assist in quelling.


Yeah, I love the Black Company: Ancient Evil monster from antiquity? Meh, just one more piece in the playing area.

[John Cribati]

Don't forget that the plumber's brother has the same abilities as him and dresses about the same except where one of them wears red the other wears green.

Note also that the Princess and the plumber have a history of her being kindnapped by a giant gorilla with a red tie who likes to toss barrels at people and him saving her. And the plumber as a child was abducted and saved by a band of dinosaurs who can catch other creatures with their long tounge and depending on what they caught convert them to fireballs, just spit them right back out at a lethal velocity or convert them into eggs, which instead of multiplying their own numbers the dinosaurs use to toss around to kill enemies or destroy obstacles.

But videogames back in the day often had weird premises.

Not to mention that the Plumbers, Princess, and Turtle, Dinosaur, and Gorilla like to play various sports with each other when they're not doing the "capture/save the princess" bit. This includes Board Games, Go-karts, Tennis, Soccer and Basketball. Let's not get started on the fights they have. They attack each other until they go flying off, then spawn right back over the stage, until time runs out or they run out of resets.

[Mordaenor]

Not to mention that the Plumbers, Princess, and Turtle, Dinosaur, and Gorilla like to play various sports with each other when they're not doing the "capture/save the princess" bit. This includes Board Games, Go-karts, Tennis, Soccer and Basketball. Let's not get started on the fights they have. They attack each other until they go flying off, then spawn right back over the stage, until time runs out or they run out of resets.

Ahh.. Yes. The relationship between Mario and Bowser. Some days they battle each other to the death(ish), other days they go Go-Kart racing together.

[John Cribati]

People go to war by moving, one group at a time, one person at a time, limited to a set number of tiles per move. A stone of some kind is either the resolution or source of the conflict. Fire Emblem

[olelia]

A genius who, when taking ANTI psychotic medicine, starts seeing a creepy rabbit. Suddenly he can start seeing "wormholes" which actually represent time travel in some way or fashion.

Donnie Darko... definitely an odd movie

[chiasaur11]

Oh, and since I haven't seen a mention yet:

Six String Samurai is about a post nuclear United States. Vegas is the only free city, ruled by King Elvis.

When he dies, Buddy Holly must cross the wasteland with his katana and his guitar to claim the title, fighting the Grim Reaper and a Russian Surf Rock outfit along the way.

From what I've read, sadly, it doesn't seem to be as great as the concept suggests.

[Lord Raziere]

Excel Saga?

Puni Puni Poemy?

or are these too obvious to mention?

[Bhu]

Oh, and since I haven't seen a mention yet:

Six String Samurai is about a post nuclear United States. Vegas is the only free city, ruled by King Elvis.

When he dies, Buddy Holly must cross the wasteland with his katana and his guitar to claim the title, fighting the Grim Reaper and a Russian Surf Rock outfit along the way.

From what I've read, sadly, it doesn't seem to be as great as the concept suggests.

It's not that bad. They did what they could with what they had, and they tried a little too hard.

[Claudius Maximus]

Yeah, I like that movie all told.

Also I mentioned it on the first page.

[Turalisj]

I LOVE THAT SHOW!

FLCL. A kid grows giants robots out of his head, and gets caught up into a fight between people from outer space, an evil corporation, and the Pirate King, along with his friend/crush, who uses an electric bass guitar as her primary weapon. It is the weirdest anime series I have ever seen (well, a tie between it and BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo) and it is awesome.

There's a reason LCL is in the abbreviation for the show. :smallwink:

[Yora]

Excel Saga?

Puni Puni Poemy?

or are these too obvious to mention?
I think the most bizarre thing I ever watched was Neon Genesis Evangelion. However the premise was the only thing that seemed reasonably sane:
"Giant Monsters from Space attack earth and Children in Giant Robots fight them." Odd, but so far nothing strange in TV land.

[Turalisj]

How about

"Earth is used as a giant wrestling cage where mixed-martial-artists fight each other in giant robots and the nation supporting the winner rules the world'?

[Eldan]

That would be an interesting counterpoint to the thread, actually.

"Shows with completely reasonable premises but totally bizarre execution."

[Yora]

One really awsome show from my childhood was Kaptain Blaubär. (Actually the last 5 minute segment of a 30 minute kids show.)
It was about a blue bear who was a retired sailor who lived with his three grand children (also bears) and his old first mate on his ship, and each episode told the little bears a story of his adventures. For a kids show, this is a perfectly reasonable and sane background and execution.
But each and every one of his stories had a completely bizarre premise. The one I remember most is the one in which he used to be a swimming instructor for penguins on the inflatable island of Atlantis. Or being the manager of a singing saw fish. Or transporting a shipment of pearls and swines (you can guess how this turns one turns out).

[Eldan]

I fondly remember the one based entirely on a German pun: "Wahlversprechen" (Campaign Pledge) and "Walversprechen" (Promising something to a whale).

It was about how whales were kinda stupid (though apparently intelligent and able to talk human language), so you could promise them anything in exchange for services, and then didn't have to keep it. I'm not sure, but I think he needed the whale to pull his ship out of a calm.

God, I loved that show. As a kid, the entire "Sendung mit der Maus", of which the captain was clearly the best part, was the only thing my parents allowed me to watch on TV.

[Yora]

Most of the episodes were about puns Which I assume is why it was quite popular with parents as well.

[Eldan]

Really?
In my defence, I was like five or six years old and must have missed most of them.

His lying contest against Baron Münchhausen was also a lot of fun. Though a little uncreative: he told the exactly same tales, just with things switched around so they became even more ludicrous.
He was saved from a swamp when his horse pulled itself out by it's own mane.

[Prime32]

I think the most bizarre thing I ever watched was Neon Genesis Evangelion. However the premise was the only thing that seemed reasonably sane:
"Giant Monsters from Space attack earth and Children in Giant Robots fight them." Odd, but so far nothing strange in TV land.Yeah, the whole point of Evangelion was taking a standard Super Robot formula and screwing it up. The protagonist's father built his robot... but he's an ass who doesn't care about him. The robots don't run on your determination, they run on your despair. And are actually giant lobotomised humans. The girl he's attracted to is actually a clone of his mother. And no John, you are the demons!

[Tengu_temp]

Man, spoilers much?

And don't tell me Eva is so old and well-known that you are free to spoil everything. When I started to watch it for the first time just a few years ago all I knew beforehand is "the main character is whiny" and "this will be filled with symbolism and mind screw".

[Yora]

Man, spoilers much?
Not really. Those things are pretty obvious and barely scratch on the surface of what's actually going on.
(Except the part about Rei, would be best to remove that one.)

[Turalisj]

Man, spoilers much?

And don't tell me Eva is so old and well-known that you are free to spoil everything. When I started to watch it for the first time just a few years ago all I knew beforehand is "the main character is whiny" and "this will be filled with symbolism and mind screw".

Your avatar could be considered a spoiler as much as anything that's been posted :smalltongue:

[Tavar]

Man, spoilers much?

And don't tell me Eva is so old and well-known that you are free to spoil everything. When I started to watch it for the first time just a few years ago all I knew beforehand is "the main character is whiny" and "this will be filled with symbolism and mind screw".

It's over 15 years since it first aired. At what point could people talk about it without 'spoiling' things?

[The Rose Dragon]

It's over 15 years since it first aired. At what point could people talk about it without 'spoiling' things?

There are no statute of limitations on spoilers.

Except for things like "King Kong climbs the Empire State building and is killed", because that image is everywhere.

[Tengu_temp]

(Except the part about Rei, would be best to remove that one.)

So's the part about the true nature of the Evas.


Your avatar could be considered a spoiler as much as anything that's been posted :smalltongue:

*pulls a rule out of his arse* It's not a spoiler if its only purpose is to scar the eyes of everyone who sees it.

[Yora]

I watched it just last fall. :smallbiggrin:
And I played Metal Gear Solid for the first time last year.

[Tavar]

There are no statute of limitations on spoilers.

Except for things like "King Kong climbs the Empire State building and is killed", because that image is everywhere.

That's ridiculous. Of course they do, otherwise every single thread in this sub-forum should have "spoiler warning" on them. Heck, I've always gone by 2 years for common stuff(6th harry potter book, for example), 5-10 for more uncommon ones(pretty much every anime falls into this category). If you don't want to learn the info after that, you really shouldn't read discussions that involve that.

[The Glyphstone]

That's ridiculous. Of course they do, otherwise every single thread in this sub-forum should have "spoiler warning" on them. Heck, I've always gone by 2 years for common stuff(6th harry potter book, for example), 5-10 for more uncommon ones(pretty much every anime falls into this category). If you don't want to learn the info after that, you really shouldn't read discussions that involve that.

Psssst. Snape kills Dumbledore.

[Reverent-One]

That's ridiculous. Of course they do, otherwise every single thread in this sub-forum should have "spoiler warning" on them. Heck, I've always gone by 2 years for common stuff(6th harry potter book, for example), 5-10 for more uncommon ones(pretty much every anime falls into this category). If you don't want to learn the info after that, you really shouldn't read discussions that involve that.

We're not in an NGE thread though. If we were, I'd agree with you on this point.

[Tavar]

We're in a thread talking about bizarre premises, though. One aspect of this is that we're going to actually mention premises that were bizarre. Maybe even give the reasons why they were so bizarre.


Plus, the fact that the show's over 15 years old. It's not a spoiler, it's referencing an old work. Unless we seriously want to start not referencing any media works AT ALL. Because, guess what! By their rules, those are all spoilers.:smallsigh:

[Reverent-One]

We're in a thread talking about bizarre premises, though. One aspect of this is that we're going to actually mention premises that were bizarre. Maybe even give the reasons why they were so bizarre.

And this still doesn't provide people with any warning about what shows/movies/books might have major twists revealed in the thread.


Plus, the fact that the show's over 15 years old. It's not a spoiler, it's referencing an old work. Unless we seriously want to start not referencing any media works AT ALL. Because, guess what! By their rules, those are all spoilers.:smallsigh:

We really only have to worry about spoilers for major plot points/twists though, not everything that has to do with the work.

[Arbane]

House of Leaves: A family moves into a new house, and finds that one room is slightly bigger on the inside than the outside. All wrapped up in multiple layers of scholarly obfuscation, editorial comment, and unreliable narrators.

When They Cry (Higurashi): An extremely bipolar horror/mystery/school comedy trapped in a time loop.

When They Cry (Umineko): It starts out looking like an ordinary murder mystery, but by the end of the first volume we have the main character trying to prove to the witch who claims to have killed him and his entire family that she doesn't actually exist. It only gets weirder from there.

Homestuck: A kid spends his birthday trying to dodge his cake-obsessed father and play a reality-warping computer game with his friends, while locked in a life-or-death struggle with a terribly awkward inventory system. Then he ends up in another dimension.

[Tavar]

And this still doesn't provide people with any warning about what shows/movies/books might have major twists revealed in the thread.
Once you read the title of the show you don't want spoiled, you should probably skip over that segment. Plus, the whole 'reading a topic that's spoiler friendly when you don't want spoilers'.



We really only have to worry about spoilers for major plot points/twists though, not everything that has to do with the work.

Except Tengu_temp's complaint boils down to "you mentioned any of the reasons the shows bizarre at all".

[Reverent-One]

Once you read the title of the show you don't want spoiled, you should probably skip over that segment. Plus, the whole 'reading a topic that's spoiler friendly when you don't want spoilers'.

Or we could just put spoiler warnings on those sorts of things. Not like it takes much effort.


Except Tengu_temp's complaint boils down to "you mentioned any of the reasons the shows bizarre at all".

No, his complaint boiled down to bizarre things that are also major plot twists. And as such aren't really part of the basic premise of the show.

[Tengu_temp]

There is a middle ground between spoiling everything and not discussing anything, you know. It's called spoiler tags. Use them.

And again, age has nothing to do with whether a story is free to spoil or not. There's a lot of 20+ years old anime, books and movies that will still surprise you with their plots.

Also, even when discussing something that is free to spoil due to being so well-known, when someone asks you not to spoil you should comply and use spoiler tags. Saying "it's old and well known, your fault!" is anything but polite.

[Fjolnir]

Bizzare premises hmm...

I think the entire pokemon series is fairly bizarre, if not in premise, then in execution.... A 10 year old boy is given a monster that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world and is sent on a massive solo journey through the countryside by a creepy old man, during which he defeats a massive organized crime cartel that all the adults know about but are too apathetic to deal with, forcing you to use your monsters against their monsters and you barely even get PAID for it...

[Yora]

Far more bizarre is YuGiOh! :smallbiggrin:

Though I have only seen the abbridged series, but a friend told me it's actually very accurate.

[Turalisj]

Far more bizarre is YuGiOh! :smallbiggrin:

Though I have only seen the abbridged series, but a friend told me it's actually very accurate.

It is... to a degree. The abridged series is far more entertaining though.


Also-
Kaiba: Come on Mokuba, we're going to have our own tournament. With blackjack and hookers.... You know what, forget the tournament part.

[Yora]

"Somehow playing a card game has left me severly injured."

[The Glyphstone]

"My hair gives me super strength!"
"Freeze or we'll shoot you with our invisible guns!"
"BROOKLYN RAGE!"
"Shut up, Mokuba."

[Tengu_temp]

That would be an interesting counterpoint to the thread, actually.

"Shows with completely reasonable premises but totally bizarre execution."

Whether a premise sounds mundane or bizarre is often a matter of perspective. For example:

Kid lives in the middle of nowhere, meets wild girl out of town, his whole life changes.
FLCL

High school graduate struggles with employment, finds job in a small independent company.
Excel Saga

Answers in spoiler tags.

[Nameless Ghost]

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds is even more odd: Card games on motorcycles!

[Reverent-One]

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds is even more odd: Card games on motorcycles!

Card games on motorcycles? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Ej7M3xWjY)

[Zen Monkey]

People take spoilers too seriously

1. Rosebud was the name of his sled.
2. Snape kills Dumbledore.
3. King Kong dies.
4. Titanic sinks.
5. Bruce Willis is dead.
6. Jesus dies, then gets better.

[Turalisj]

The Joker swapped the adresses. :smalltongue:

[The Rose Dragon]

4. Titanic sinks.

You can't really spoil history, though.


5. Bruce Willis is dead.

Nope, Wikipedia says he's still alive, at age 55.

[Turalisj]

Spike is just sleeping.

[Douglas]

Far more bizarre is YuGiOh! :smallbiggrin:

Though I have only seen the abbridged series, but a friend told me it's actually very accurate.
The abridged series is accurate to a point, but it exaggerates a lot and is definitely a parody.

One of my favorite lines, and one that really is pretty accurate, is (paraphrased from memory) "OMG are you telling me this show actually has a plot?!?"

Let's see, premise of real non-abridged Yu-gi-oh's plot:
1) Long ago, in ancient Egypt, magic was real and magicians fought "shadow duels" with summoned monsters and stuff.
2) The most powerful magician of all was a particular Pharaoh, and his spirit is held in a magic artifact belonging to the main protagonist, called the Millennium Puzzle.
3) Some bad guys want the Millennium Puzzle to steal its magical power.
4) The Millennium Puzzle will only recognize a change of ownership if its owner is defeated in a shadow duel with the Puzzle as a prize.
5) Someone has studied ancient Egyptian shadow duels and created a card game based on them. This card game is apparently accurate enough that the Millennium Puzzle will accept it as a substitute, even though the game does not normally involve real magic.

So, um, yeah, that's the (first) explanation for why a Children's Card Game is Serious Business.

[Fjolnir]

it's not that card games are Serious Business, it's that SHADOW games are serious business. That they happen to be played with the cards developed from an adaptation of the ancient shadow games is irrelevant Other shadow games included: a tabletop RPG, "Capsule Monster Chess", stabbing oneself through a pile of money(the objective is not to stab your hand), and the ever popular "Knock Hockey on a flat griddle with a puck made of ice and a vial of high explosives"

[Turalisj]

Bad Yami! No mind crush!

[Prime32]

it's not that card games are Serious Business, it's that SHADOW games are serious business. That they happen to be played with the cards developed from an adaptation of the ancient shadow games is irrelevant Other shadow games included: a tabletop RPG, "Capsule Monster Chess", stabbing oneself through a pile of money(the objective is not to stab your hand), and the ever popular "Knock Hockey on a flat griddle with a puck made of ice and a vial of high explosives"That was only in Season 0 and the manga though. The seasons released worldwide only focus on Duel Monsters.

[The Glyphstone]

That was only in Season 0 and the manga though. The seasons released worldwide only focus on Duel Monsters.

And the little bit of Dungeon Dice Monsters filler.

[Serpentine]

I managed to watch Psycho for the first time a few years ago without having it spoilered for me before hand. No, there is no statute of limitations on spoilers. Some have been spoilered to comprehensively to bother worrying abut, but most have not and if in doubt it's best to err on the side of caution.

Some pretty good stuff! I was mostly intending slightly more "accidentally" bizarre premises - as opposed to deliberately messed up ones, the sort that are made as bizarre as possible for the sake of being bizarre; Spongebob Squarepants comes to mind - but a lot straddle the line and it's no big deal.
Actually, with that in mind: a young wallaby moves to America where he befriends a castrated bovine and a neurotic tortoise, and is for no particular reason despised by the toad living next door. Most animals can speak, even the ones that get killed and eaten, except for pet dogs.

[Agrippa]

I managed to watch Psycho for the first time a few years ago without having it spoilered for me before hand. No, there is no statute of limitations on spoilers. Some have been spoilered to comprehensively to bother worrying abut, but most have not and if in doubt it's best to err on the side of caution.

Some pretty good stuff! I was mostly intending slightly more "accidentally" bizarre premises - as opposed to deliberately messed up ones, the sort that are made as bizarre as possible for the sake of being bizarre; Spongebob Squarepants comes to mind - but a lot straddle the line and it's no big deal.
Actually, with that in mind: a young wallaby moves to America where he befriends a castrated bovine and a neurotic tortoise, and is for no particular reason despised by the toad living next door. Most animals can speak, even the ones that get killed and eaten, except for pet dogs.

That's Rocko's Modern Life. Also note that Rocko's steer friend, Heifer, is literally raised by wolves.

[Serpentine]

Oh yeah. And also his boss was... I'm not even sure what he was. A toad? That had what appeared to be smouldering cigarette butts in his back.

[horngeek]

A Human Alien takes along people in his larger-on-the-inside, time-travelling box. Along the way, the fight crime save the world, numerous times.

In numerous times, as well. :smalltongue:

Also, whenever the alien suffers fatal wounds, he regenerates and switches actors gains a new personality, and physical features.

...I shouldn't even have to tell you by now. :smalltongue:

[Jimorian]

House of Leaves: A family moves into a new house, and finds that one room is slightly bigger on the inside than the outside. All wrapped up in multiple layers of scholarly obfuscation, editorial comment, and unreliable narrators.

I compulsively need to mention whenever House of Leaves is brought up that the author's sister, Poe, created a companion album, Haunted (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026GID3W), that both ties into the book, and is totally hers. It is also one of the absolute very best albums of the past decade.

[The Rose Dragon]

...I shouldn't even have to tell you by now. :smalltongue:

Hell, I never watched the show, and I know what you're talking about.

[Bhu]

A plutonium leak awakens a gigantic sea monster which sneaks into a seaside town, whose psychiatrist has cut off all her patients meds and is pressuring the pharmacist to give them placebos. Coincidentally the monster has evolved to feed off depressed individuals from mammal species by unleashing pheromones that make them horny. It then attempts to mate with a fuel tanker truck, takes an insane b movie actress as a girlfriend, and take revenge against an old blues singer who fished up one of its kids a few decades ago. There are also subplots involving the sheriff running a meth lab, murder, a bionic bar waitress, true love, and narration by a dog.

http://www.amazon.com/Lust-Lizard-Melancholy-Cove/dp/0060735457

Just about all of Christopher Moore's stuff is like this. And he's darn funny too.