When were you there right from the start?

[Hunter X]

We all have various TV shows, book and movie franchises that are recommended to us, by friends, or by posters on this or other boards, by word of mouth. This thread is not about those experiences.

Instead, what shows, books or movies were you there for right from the beginning, with no idea if it would become a big thing or not? You took a gamble with some time investment and won.

I can't of many for myself. Come to think of it, most of my favourite shows have been ones recommended to me, often by reading threads right here. Buffy, Angel, Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, The Wire, Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender are all franchises/shows I started following midway through or after they had ended.

The only ones that I'd consider among my top shows that I can think of being there for from the first broadcast are Lost and Firefly.

How about you?

 

[Lindley]

Coincidentally, Lost and Firefly.

 

[Starbreaker]

Lost, Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, Battlestar Galactica

 

[OmahaStar]

Buffy, Angel, Babylon 5, Lilo and Stitch: The Series, Drawn Together, BeastMaster, ST:TNG, STS9, ST:Voyager, Doctor Who (modern era), Sarah Jane Adventures, Dollhouse, True Blood, Big Brother, that's all I can think off right now.

 

[Admiral2]

24, nuBSG, Married With Children, The Simpsons (watched the Tracey Ullman Show when it was on Fox), Family Guy, Futurama, The X-Files, plus others that either didn't make it big or I didn't follow through on.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I saw Office Space opening weekend, thought it was hilarious, but was shocked how empty the theater was. I'm glad to see it's become a cult hit, as it rightfully should.

 

[Canadave]

Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and (new) Doctor Who all come to mind for me.

 

[scotpens]

Star Trek. Saw the first ep of the original series in 1966 and stayed with it to the bitter end, even though Season 3 was mostly crap.

The original Star Wars in 1977. And the James Bond flicks almost from the start -- the first one I saw was Goldfinger in 1964. I caught up with Dr. No. and From Russia With Love a bit later.

 

[Admiral Shran]

I saw Office Space opening weekend, thought it was hilarious, but was shocked how empty the theater was. I'm glad to see it's become a cult hit, as it rightfully should.

It was like that for me with The Big Lebowski. Given how little attention it received in the theatre, I'm both amazed and pleased that it has gained such a following.

 

[auntiehill]

The Simpsons, 24, nuWho, Futurama, Dexter, Firefly, LOST, plus far more than I care to admit.

 

[Hunter X]

Star Trek. Saw the first ep of the original series in 1966 and stayed with it to the bitter end, even though Season 3 was mostly crap.

The original Star Wars in 1977. And the James Bond flicks almost from the start -- the first one I saw was Goldfinger in 1964. I caught up with Dr. No. and From Russia With Love a bit later.

I knew one of you old guys would be coming along soon with a Star Trek or Star Wars reply. But I won't be impressed until someone says Lord of the Rings.

(I'm just envious, that's all)

Coincidentally, Lost and Firefly.

What a crazy random happenstance.

Oh yeah, I was there for Dr. Horrible.

 

[Aragorn]

24, Lost, The West Wing, Castle, Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, Fringe.

Watched the BSG miniseries when it reaired on NBC but I didn't have cable so it was a while before I got to see the show.

On the flip side, I watched Voyager and Smallville from the beginning but after a few seasons I didn't feel like wasting my time on such garbage and gave up on them. Returned to watch the Voyager finale. That was a mistake.

 

[Lindley]

I'm not sure that BSG and Doctor Who should count, or remakes/continuations or older shows in general. Does that *really* count as the "beginning"? Maybe you didn't know how good it was going to be, but at least you had a pretty decent idea of the plot going in.

 

[Captain Craig]

Only listing Sci-Fi that I was there from the start of episode one:
X-Files
ST: Deep Space Nine
ST: Voyager(though I faded in/out about S5)
ST: Enterprise
Earth 2
Seaquest DSV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel
Roswell
Smallville(though I bailed S6)
Sliders
Firefly
nuBSG
LOST
New Amsterdam
Dollhouse
nu-V
Fringe

Other popular shows:
The Office
Community
The Big Bang Theory

 

[PsychoPere]

I'm not sure that BSG and Doctor Who should count, or remakes/continuations or older shows in general. Does that *really* count as the "beginning"? Maybe you didn't know how good it was going to be, but at least you had a pretty decent idea of the plot going in.

You raise a decent point, but I'm going to count BSG among mine because I can remember reading posts from Aaron Douglas online after the miniseries aired and waiting for Sci-Fi to announce whether it was going to series or not. It went right up to contract time, contracts were extended... and we had to keep waiting until the last minute again for Sci-Fi to announce it had made a decision. I think that sort of experience, considering how easily it could seem to have gone the other way, makes it worth including.

Other than BSG: 24, Lost, Firefly (first details of production on series, through to cancellation, through to waiting on pins and needles for every scrap of information Joss could offer about "maybe movie?!" through to walking out of the theater). Not sure if I can count Dollhouse or Dr Horrible, even though, as a big Joss fan, I kept my eyes peeled for every piece of news I could find on those prior to first airings; not sure if they count as "big thing," particularly Dollhouse.

Other than those, I can't think of anything to include.

 

[Sakrysta]

Firefly
Journeyman
New Amsterdam
DS9
Voyager
Dollhouse
Castle
Chuck
Lie to Me
Life

 

[Too Much Fun]

Does "Dollhouse" count? I don't think it was exactly a hit. I watched it from the beginning too, but it doesn't fit the example of a series that was taken for granted when it came out, only to gain a cult following later (yet, although I don't see that happening). The only hit I'm sure I watched from the first episode was "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". TNG, kind of, except when it premiered I was only four years old, so I don't think I started to really follow it weekly in its original broadcasts until about the fourth or fifth season.

I know "The X-Files and "The Simpsons" were recommended to me after they'd already been on the air for two or three seasons, so again, these are shows I watched in their original runs, but not from the very beginning. I'm a little ashamed of my attitude towards "Futurama". I had a rather smug attitude about it as a teenager. First of all, I thought it was a really unoriginal title, and for some reason I thought it was arrogant and greedy of Matt Groening to think he could make another hit animated series after "The Simpsons". After it got cancelled, I started watching re-runs and wished Groening had ended "The Simpsons" and focused on it full time.

The only great show I ever loved that I watched from the starting only to see it get cancelled was "Undeclared". I remember that it premiered around the same time as "24", right when I started university. It was perfect timing to watch a witty and fun show about college and I expected it to outlast "24", which just sounded like a lame gimmick show to me. I was way off on that call. I wished it lasted longer, but if it had, maybe we wouldn't have seen "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", so I guess everything worked out in the end.

I also saw "The Big Lebowski" in theatres when it came out. I saw it with my father at the age of 15 and loved it, going into it knowing nothing about the movie and not expecting it to be a hit. I was only vaguely aware of who the Coen Brothers were at the time and didn't see "Fargo" until years later.

 

[cultcross]

Stargate SG-1 - I'd borrowed my father's copy of Stargate on video some time before, and when I saw 'Children of the Gods' on Channel 4, I tuned in. And stayed for good

 

[Goliath]

Star Wars. The Big Lebowski.

I wasn't into cyberpunk right from the start, but pretty close. I started reading it in the late 80s, around the time when Mona Lisa Overdrive, Wetware, and Islands in the Net were published. I got to hear William Gibson give a reading of his story "Skinner's Room" and an excerpt from the yet-unpublished The Difference Engine in 1989.

 

[clint g]

BSG and Enterprise are the two biggies that come to mind right now.

TNG, DS9, VOY, and SG-1 I jumped in and out of regularly but I can't say I watched every one from beginning to the end without taking a season or two off.

There are quire a few anime series I've watched from the beginning, but there are too many to list so I wont bother