WARNING – copious amounts of TV Tropes linkage contained herein! You have been warned. 

Originally, I was going to write about first paragraphs today. But yesterday I happened to catch Amber West’s Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday – and apparently it was worth watching Castle. I watched two episodes and now I’m hooked.

Hooked!

Even though I’d already decided – based on a random episode here or there – that Castle was Not My Thing. I had many reasons for staying away from Castle, chief among them mourning for Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion’s character in the kickass Firefly) and also the fact that I thought it was Bones 2.0. By the way, I happen to love Bones, except that I thought it was silly at first too.

Judging by this picture, I’m not the only one who sees similarities – although I admit that plucky couples solving mysteries is hardly a reinvention of the wheel

Right now though, I’m liking Castle so much that I’m wondering how I could ever think it was not for me. In fact, I have a feeling that after a few more viewings it’s going to fast turn into My Favorite Thing.

The thing is, I do this a lot. If someone wanted to bet on my life, they would have three sure bets: 1) I will always pour lots of sugar into my coffee and/or tea, 2) I will trip on something, and 3) Whatever show/movie/book I loudly proclaim to hate today will turn out to by my favorite show by tomorrow.

Here are some shows where my first impression was the wrong impression:

Doctor Who

When I first caught a glimpse of Doctor Who, I was like – what is this low budget goofy weirdness bringing down my beloved sci fi genre? I thought David Tennant over-acted, too.

Now I think Tennant’s a genius, that the goofy weirdness is a breath of fresh air, and that the low budget forces them to be creative with their scripts in ways that would benefit a lot of over-budgeted American stuff.

Psych

When I first saw Psych, I thought it was decently funny but that Shawn, the main character, was obnoxious.

Now I think it’s one of the most hilarious things on television, and Shawn is one of my favorite characters on television: an overgrown man-child who is strangely charismatic, who can be the Chess Master when he feels like it, and who is refreshingly free of angsty dramatic trauma – his biggest problem is that his parents divorced and he’s still not over it, which is sad in a way, but also relatable.

Lost

When I first saw Lost, back during the fever of the first season when it was big Big BIG? I got confused because I missed episodes, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

Then, a couple years ago, I sat down and watched the series in the proper order (a rare feat for me), and now it’s one of my favorite television shows of all time, even the parts that frustrate a lot of people.

I could go on and on and on. I do this with television, movies, books, music. It seems that I’m destined to love what I hate.

Am I just judgmental? But there are tons of shows that I give a chance even when most people turn up their noses – like Haven, which I think is under-appreciated in the critical world.

Eric Balfour judges you for judging him

Am I just bad at first impressions? My judgement is usually good in other arenas of life. Or maybe it’s just bad to judge a book by its cover – which I tend to do since, being a child of the digital media age, something has to grab my attention immediately or we’re a done deal.

Or maybe – and here’s the psych student coming out in me – maybe I subconsciously avoid the things that I know will really hook me. (Never said I was a good psych student, just that I was one.) So that I can have, you know, a life and stuff. Although there’s also stuff like White Collar and Suits, which I’ve been on board with from day one.

Dreamy men in fancy suits helped 

But more importantly – am I the only one? Does anyone else do this?

Have you ever mistakenly judged a book – or television show – by its cover?