IIRC Kevin is the main instigator of the RenFest hate. I believe in A Year at the Movies, he stated that he used to be a RenFest geek and later became ashamed of it, as people sometimes do. This is from memory, so it might not be entirely accurate.
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Honestly, the culture had very little appeal for me. It was the fighting that attracted me, as I was already into martial arts. The household I joined was also well known for partying, and didnāt care so much about the political LARPing aspects of the SCA. āWe drink and we fight, and we drink and we die!ā was our motto. I did not stay around long once medical issues put me out of the fight.
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A Year at the Movies was a fun read.
Ren-Faire geekery is similar to D&D in that respect. There was a time that admitting to being into those things was not cool, although I have never been ashamed of either. These days itās no big deal, everyone wants to play D&D, and Ren-Faires are more commercial than ever.
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Actually that makes sense. Thanks for the memory.
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The āSerfās Up!ā sketch from The Magic Sword made me feel like the show had been watching me right back. I would frequently needle my roommate and her buddies by asking if I could come along to an event and muck out stables or fix Ye Olde Sammitches for them. Because it seemed like every single SCAdian was royalty and no one was peasantry.
Also, I ended up having another friend who was very into the scene. He and my roommate would take jabs at each otherās costuming skills when the other wasnāt around. And THAT got old in a hurry. I preferred the comics-making scene, where usually weād at least have the guts to snark one another face to face. 
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Vadinho!
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Just like everyone who glamorises the Regency or whatever assumes theyād be landed gentry instead of someone who, if they were lucky, might get groped by the landed gentry.
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I have a feeling you were in with the wrong SCA crowd. On the other, I also know for a fact that most of the SCA felt that my crowd was the wrong SCA crowd. The SCA is vey cliquish, and though there are plenty of people pretending to be royalty, and actually making themselves out to be royal snobs, there is also the riff-raff hanging about the edges. We were the ones who seldom showed up for court or feast, but always had a presence on the field, and threw the biggest party of the event. We would have welcomed a peasant along to muck out our non-existent stables and then join us for a drink or three and a night of bawdy songs.
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Serious question ā which 3 or 4 would you say are the best and why?
Asked by some one who has had very little interest in this genre, so if I should decide to check one out, Iād like it to be one of the better ones.
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My only close up exposure to SCA was when I was visiting my brother and his girlfriend and they took me to a SCA meeting.
The guys all talked about their battles and the women all sat there doing embroidery. It was more boring than church.
I did have friends who worked the Ren Fest and I always enjoyed going and hanging out with them, although I usually went in male drag (pirate or musketeer) because itās really hard to manage those dresses all day long.
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It really depends on what youāre looking for in this genre. Personally, Iām not so keen on the deadly earnest ones.
- Hawk the Slayer: A bit clunky at times, but has a great cast and some excellent performances, although our hero is rather dull. Thereās a RiffTrax of it.
- Ladyhawke: Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer look utterly gorgeous, and it has a good story - just watch it, youāll love it!
- Red Sonja: Brigitte Nielsen and Ahnoldt having fun in a Conan-themed world (although Schwarzenegger isnāt called Conan in this film).
- The Barbarians: This stars the Paul brothers, aka the Bad Boys of bodybuilding. Their characters have a mental age of about 12, but both make Stallone look like Emo Phillips. This movie is so stupid, it may break you.
- Deathstalker 2: Genuinely daft and knows it. John Terlesky (Chopping Mall) practically winks at the camera, while Monique Gabrielle (Penthouse Magazine) makes up for her lack of talent with sheer enthusiasm. The only Deathstalker flick that ends with a blooper reel.
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Thanks, Garth_Vader! I already have the Rifftrax of Hawk, but it has been awhile since I watched it. Might be time to do that.
Deathstalker 2 sounds like it might be fun and Iāve heard of Ladyhawke before, so that might make my list of contenders. Iāve just never cared much for Arnold S.'s whole act in any of his movies. I do recall seeing his first Conan movie in a theater (granted, it was a second-run theater, but still) when it came out.
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This trailer manages to skirt the worst of the puerile imbecility. So if you think this clip is dumb, just imagine what the whole movieās like.
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It DOES lead to one of my favorite trio riffs:
Mike: Uh, is this feeling a little weird to you, too?
Servo: ā« Then we beginā¦ the beguineā¦ ā«
Crow: ā« Once you have found him, never let him goā¦ ā«
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I think one of the ādeadā warriors Deathstalker encounters was the leader of the Rebels in āEscape from the Bronxā. Deathstalker sees him , and exclaims, āI thought I killed you !ā
I was unable to find his name, anyone else notice this?
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What kind of name is Relson?
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On rewatch, Iāve gottaā say that itās entirely possible that Princess Eldoradoās whine about āwalking through the mud and the sunā¦ā to meet Priscilla Queen of the Desert is the single-worst unriffed line in the entire history of the show. The terrible delivery is some help here, of course.
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