The New Weekly Survey Thread

newsmanfan

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:news: HERE IS a SURVEY FLASH!

I have been buried in fiction for a few weeks now (mostly my own, but also studying and learning from others'). So, a fiction-themed survey:

1. Best (professionally published) short story you've ever read?
2. Best (professionally published) novel you've ever read?
3. Best not-yet-published work of fiction you've read (fanfic counts)?
4. Best-written of the canon Muppet stories (i.e. those produced or licensed by Henson or Disney - film or print)?
5. Your favorite Muppet fanfic, if you have one?
6. Best-written TV show currently running?
7. Best-written film?
8. Worst book of fiction you've read (in terms of the actual writing, aside from theme or subject)?
9. Worst-written TV show?
10. Worst-scripted film?
 

newsmanfan

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1. Best (professionally published) short story you've ever read?
Tie between "The Cask of Amontillado" and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."

2. Best (professionally published) novel you've ever read?
My tastes change from year to year...right now, going to go with The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

3. Best not-yet-published work of fiction you've read (fanfic counts)?
Duh. "Kermie's Girl."

4. Best-written of the canon Muppet stories (i.e. those produced or licensed by Henson or Disney - film or print)?
I feel like "The Muppets" (the movie) is possibly the most enjoyable of all the Muppet films: romance, intrigue, silliness, and obscure in-jokes.

5. Your favorite Muppet fanfic, if you have one?
See answer to #3.

6. Best-written TV show currently running?
I'm a season behind on "House of Cards," but that's up there. Really liking the plotting and character development on "Daredevil."

7. Best-written film?
Arty: "Wings of Desire." Pop: "Cabin in the Woods."

8. Worst book of fiction you've read (in terms of the actual writing, aside from theme or subject)?
Anything by Nicholas Sparks or Danielle Steel, with Nora Roberts a close third. At the bookstore where I used to work, we would read each other aloud passages from these authors, which were always hysterically awful. I'm talking Tommy Wiseau levels of awfulness.

9. Worst-written TV show?
Soooo many choices. Even discounting all of reality TV. "Dark Matter" was so terribly, obviously, a "Firefly" ripoff.

10. Worst-scripted film?
"The Room" had a script, right?...And recently I had the exquisite agony to sit through "Star Crash," an early Hasselhoff lo-fi sci-fi which MST did a fair job of shredding.
 

Pig'sSaysAdios

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1. Best (professionally published) short story you've ever read? I always enjoyed The Ransom of Red Chief by O.Henry
2. Best (professionally published) novel you've ever read? Well, I know one of my favorite book series has to be the Sammy Keyes mysteries. I'm a little too old for them but, the way Wendelin Van Draanen writes the stories really makes you enjoy the characters. Sammy is so relatable that sometimes I forget i'm not reading an autobiography. And the plot twists are always genuinely clever and unexpected
3. Best not-yet-published work of fiction you've read (fanfic counts)? I really haven't read enough of those to know, but I suppose D'Snowth has put out some really great SST fanfics
4. Best-written of the canon Muppet stories (i.e. those produced or licensed by Henson or Disney - film or print)? Well, if we're including Sesame Street films here, Follow That Bird is my all time favorite movie of all time. If we're just talking Muppets/fantasy films than The Muppet Movie (1979). The characters were at their best developed and most enduring by that point, and so many of the jokes were on point
5. Your favorite Muppet fanfic, if you have one? So far I really enjoy the ones D'Snowth and Ruhanna have put out
6. Best-written TV show currently running? Ooh, that's hard because there are so many great shows running today (Shut up D'Snowth :wink:!) But so far the best show i've seen in a long time has to be Stranger Things
7. Best-written film? That's a toughy. I'd say one of the best written films i've seen so far was The Incredibles. In my opinion, that's the perfect way to structure a screenplay
8. Worst book of fiction you've read (in terms of the actual writing, aside from theme or subject)? The Sesame Street/Looney Tunes crossover fanfic I wrote when I was five.
9. Worst-written TV show? Hmm... how about I just say all of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 70s and call it a day :wink:
10. Worst-scripted film? Welp, I don't wanna say The Room because that's too easy. So i'm gonna have to say The Little Panda Fighter (look it up)
 

newsmanfan

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6. Best-written TV show currently running? Ooh, that's hard because there are so many great shows running today (Shut up D'Snowth :wink:!) But so far the best show i've seen in a long time has to be Stranger Things
Good choices all...though I have a few bones to pick with the Stranger Things writers about the season end ep. Too many threads hurriedly tied up; it felt too slapped-together to me, though I still enjoyed it, and am looking forward to season 2.
 

Old Thunder

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1. Best (professionally published) short story you've ever read? Tough... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was a favorite of my younger days, but if I really had to choose I'd probably go with Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of the Lion's Mane. It's not a very traditional Holmes story but it's my personal favorite. Also, despite Poe's writing style kinda confusing me, I'm kinda partial to Murders in the Rue Morgue as well.
2. Best (professionally published) novel you've ever read? Probably Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None... but it's tough to choose.
3. Best not-yet-published work of fiction you've read (fanfic counts)? The Life And Times Of Jim The Jinx, an ERS Novel on Sodor Island Forums. Considering most people here aren't die hard Thomas The Tank Engine fans, you probably have no clue what I'm talking about...
4. Best-written of the canon Muppet stories (i.e. those produced or licensed by Henson or Disney - film or print)? Gonna cop out and say The Muppet Movie...
5. Your favorite Muppet fanfic, if you have one? Never read any...
6. Best-written TV show currently running? Thomas & Friends. That's pretty much the only current thing I watch RN. :stick_out_tongue:
7. Best-written film? ...now that's tough. Gonna say it's between 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Die Hard, Silence of the Lambs, Jaws, The Princess Bride, you know what, screw it, I can't decide.
8. Worst book of fiction you've read (in terms of the actual writing, aside from theme or subject)? Hmm... no clue.
9. Worst-written TV show? No clue.
10. Worst-scripted film? ...no clue.
 

Pig'sSaysAdios

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Good choices all...though I have a few bones to pick with the Stranger Things writers about the season end ep. Too many threads hurriedly tied up; it felt too slapped-together to me, though I still enjoyed it, and am looking forward to season 2.
Yeah, I agree, it wasn't quite the strongest episode, but for the most part i'm glad the writers opted more for character development than they did the scary monster part of it. I'm pretty terrified for season 2 because it's actually supposed to be darker and scarier than the first. I'm not sure that i'm ready for that. :concern:

Anyway, here's a new survey:
1. If aliens really are out there should we be afraid, and why?

2. Should aliens be more afraid of us?

3. Pick a space franchise: Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, Doctor Who, or Howard the Duck?

4. Where would it be cooler to pee, in space or in a golden toilet in a mansion?

5.Who do astronauts call on when they have a problem, Houston or Whitney?

6. Muppet Babies or A Pup Named Scooby Doo?

7. Would you do a pig's laundry for free?

8. Is love truly what makes a Subaru a Subaru?

9. Howard the Duck: Yes or yes?

10. Why do cows? Why do they?
 

Old Thunder

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1. If aliens really are out there should we be afraid, and why? I'd be nervous at least.

2. Should aliens be more afraid of us?
Depends on the aliens of course, though if they want to take us over, they might succeed, given the unrest in the world...

3. Pick a space franchise: Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, Doctor Who, or Howard the Duck?
Star Trek

4. Where would it be cooler to pee, in space or in a golden toilet in a mansion?
Uh....

5.Who do astronauts call on when they have a problem, Houston or Whitney?
Ghostbusters

6. Muppet Babies or A Pup Named Scooby Doo?
Muppet Babies I guess...

7. Would you do a pig's laundry for free?
Depends on the pig.

8. Is love truly what makes a Subaru a Subaru?
No.

9. Howard the Duck: Yes or yes?
Never even watched it.

10. Why do cows? Why do they?
It's a bigger mystery than Flight 19.
 

D'Snowth

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1. I'm not sure. I mean, if they really are out there, why haven't they conquered and destroyed us yet? Or, are they just sitting back and watching us do it to ourselves?
2. Probably not.
3. Star Wars.
4. Space - you don't have to worry about shaking it off, flushing, or putting the seat back down.
5. Houston.
6. Why, Muppet Babies, of course!
7. Sure.
8. I don't know, I don't believe I've ever driven a Subaru.
9. Merf?
10. Because they're cows, and cows are idiots.
 
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