If you got to read/watch/listen to a movie, a single season of a tv show, or a book again as if it’s the first time, what would you choose?

Which bit of media do you think would be best to experience again completely ignorant of its contents going in?

While my favourite book is Lord of the Rings, I don’t think reading it again for the first time would be especially good, perhaps worse as I would miss the deeper details.

Oddly I might pick the Hangover 1, as I can’t remember going to watch a movie with little to no knowledge of it, and laugh out loud dozens of times during it.

 

Yeah, not HP, because I would lose all the accumulated knowledge of the series including, presumably, my ability to continue writing my fanfics.

I think I would pick The Queen's Gambit (TV show). That was seriously affecting on first watch through and I would love to experience it again, but equally, forgetting about it would not substantially impact me in an inconvenient way.

 

I agree with you about LOTR books but I wouldn't mind seeing the movies for the first time again, extended versions of course.

I'll add a honorary mention to Skyrim, even though you didn't include games in the list. I don't care about the combat and the main story line, but I had hours and hours of prime fun just exploring and reading journals and cooking etc. And then the joy of discovering mods. Boy.

 

If we can do entire series, I wouldn't mind going through my Discworld collection for the first time again.

 

If I absolutely had to pick a show/movie/book, it'd be Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I've got that movie basically memorized at this point, and being able to watch it again fresh would be fantastic.

That said, I would rather use this power on games. Being able to play through Bioshock or Knights of the Old Republic again not knowing the twist would be a phenomenal experience.

 

I'd go with Howl's Moving Castle or Chronicles of Chrestomanci. I think it would be really interesting to reread the entirety of DWJ's work as an adult without any of the nostalgia I feel from my childhood to see if it still holds up.

Goddamn... I want a Chrestomanci animated series.

 

I'd probably pick a funny movie. Some laughs hit so hard the first time you experience them. Or maybe Mr. Show, if I could pick a series.

 

Something with a twist or mystery element. Gravity Falls was amazing the first time I watched it through, wondering what was going on. The second time through, it was good but not nearly as great as I remember. Seeing the original Star Wars trilogy and getting the twist on Darth Vader would be a blast, since I watched those movies so young that I can't even remember what my reaction was.

Side note, I think I remember the concept of this being a magic item in a fanfic: it was a music box that erased your memory of its performance whenever you close it, so that each time you open it up you recapture the wonder.

 

Mass Effect trilogy

 

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by Stuart Turton

Brilliant novel. I loved the mystery, but re-reading it wasn't as enjoyable as some other similar books. Out of all the books I've read, this one suffers the most from a spoiled ending. I'd love to re-experience that plot, unspoiled.

 

100% Skyrim. If I could start over from scratch with that game, I'd put another 1000 hours into it.