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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

..to be a tad surprised that JFK....

122 replies

KnockMeDown · 22/11/2013 20:49

..is being totally eclipsed by Dr Who?

Both 50 year anniversaries. One a TV show, albeit a classic, long running, etc.... The other the assassination of the leader of the free world, a pivotal moment in history

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Dr Who - in particular David Tennant, and have already set tomorrow night's show to record, but the sheer disproportion of the coverage and interest just seems odd to me. Am I the only one?

OP posts:

sOODdragon · 23/11/2013 08:13

2752 people died in the WTC. You'd have to be spectacularly thick to think it's something to trivialise.

senua · 23/11/2013 08:18

CS Lewis died on the same day. That was a pub quiz question this week.

And Aldous Huxley.

daisychain01 · 23/11/2013 08:22

SOODdragon, probably defies comparison regarding which event was more shocking. Those women were spectacularly daft, in fact it made me think, what a waste of University education, all those £000s wasted on ignorant people who would turn tragedy into a fancy dress joke!

JapaneseMargaret · 23/11/2013 08:23

I had no idea about Dr Who. I did wonder why people (on MN) seemed to be banging on about it, and that even a 'smiley' had been created.

YANBU, however, to be fair, it's only in the UK where people are taking Dr Who so seriously.

Elsewhere, it's all JFK. My Irish DH has recorded every flipping programme that seems to have been aired on the subject.

katese11 · 23/11/2013 08:36

There are also two different films out that feature jfk. I am surprised that Google had a Dr Who theme yesterday rather than a jfk one.

Tbh, the two events are linked in a way. .. one of the reasons that Dr Who took off was because it offered escapism in a depressing week.

senua · 23/11/2013 08:55

it's only in the UK where people are taking Dr Who so seriously.

It is being broadcast simultaneously in 75 countries round the world.

nennypops · 23/11/2013 09:04

Dr Who is more interesting, its been running FOR 50 years

A pedant speaks -

It hasn't been running for 50 years. It was off our screens between 1989 and 2005.

BitOutOfPractice · 23/11/2013 09:10

SooDragon I'm not a time lord do dr who is pretty irrelevant to me!

runes · 23/11/2013 09:14

Dr Who is a big load of shite

SofaKing · 23/11/2013 09:20

I think they are both totally unrelated events and trying to compare them is impossible.
JFK assassination is a historical political event.
Dr Who is a current sci-fi show which has survived on television for 50 years, on and off.
Depending on your interests different people will assign them different priorities- there are over 60 screenings of Dr Who in Toronto for example, I doubt that will be the same in Dallas.

AlwaysSnoozing · 23/11/2013 09:22

I don't really get what he did

I was born thirty one years after his death. His CIA did something embarrassing to do with Cuba (a failed invasion, according to Wiki) and I don't see how he affected me much. Doctor Who is also pretty inconsequential but it's in the now, updating, happening.

ithaka · 23/11/2013 09:26

JFK was an American president.

Dr Who is a British TV programme.

I hope that clears up the mystery for you OP.

BTW, yes to the posters who mentioned it is also the anniversary of the deaths of CS Lewis & Aldous Huxley. I think Huxley's Brave New World is every bit as relevant & prescient as 1984. I am not sure why it is not referenced in current media in the way 1984 is.

Whistleblower0 · 23/11/2013 09:26

Cant be arsed with any of the Dr Who shite. Give me JFK coverage any day..

lljkk · 23/11/2013 09:29

JFK death is a bigger deal in USA, no?
JFK wasn't as wildly popular in life as he became in death.
Dr Who is the positive future, JFK death a depressing past. I know which one I'd rather think about.

Panzee · 23/11/2013 09:30

You were clearly not near radio 2 yesterday. JFK overload.

JapaneseMargaret · 23/11/2013 09:32

As I say, it's only in the UK where people are taking Dr Who so seriously. If they are indeed broadcasting it in 75 countries, then I'm guessing my country is probably one of those.

Haven't heard hide nor hair of it. This thread is the first I knew of it.

ILetHimKeep20Quid · 23/11/2013 09:41

Does that mean cs Lewis work Will be public domain now?

mrsjay · 23/11/2013 09:46

there has been tv newpaper covrage of JFK all week channel 4 ran documentaries and I am sure the yesterday channel did too, JFK was not our president but it has been marked here OP you probably just missed it, was al over the news yesterday what more do you want,

Dr who is a long standing Brittish institution programme it is massive and of course the beeb is going to be going on about it personally I can't wait for tonight,

tolittletoolate · 23/11/2013 09:52

AlwaysSnoozing · 23/11/2013 09:55

They're broadcasting it in my home country and there's a lot of news about it over there, according to family and a quick browse of news sites.

Manchesterhistorygirl · 23/11/2013 09:55

Well he avoided nuclear war because the Russians were playing brinksmanship with devices sited on Cuba.

Watch 13 Days. www.imdb.com/title/tt0146309/ it's a very good film and an easy watch.

BelaLugosisShed · 23/11/2013 10:00

I suppose the "charitable" view of JFK is that he was charismatic and that women threw themselves at him, rather than him using his position of power to get very young women to have sex with him.
He's been made into some kind of saint but he must have been a deeply unpleasant misogynist in reality.

creighton · 23/11/2013 10:02

the americans put nuclear arms in turkey pointed at Russia. when the Russians tried to do the same in cuba, everyone got shirty and there was the standoff for which kennedy is praised.

mrsjay · 23/11/2013 10:02

He's been made into some kind of saint but he must have been a deeply unpleasant misogynist in reality.

I think so too I don't think he was as sainty as made out i bet he just dismissed women once he had finished with them,

creighton · 23/11/2013 10:03

kennedy died before he messed up big time

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