THE FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE GLOSSARY
Buy / Rent / Meh /By REnt MEH/
Game
Though this game is originally played with movies, it has extended to include shows, theater, and experiences beyond pop culture and media. Buy / Rent / Meh works as a rating system that allows you to give something the highest rating if you would “buy it”, a medium rating if you would “rent it” and a low rating if you’re reaction to it is “meh”. Note: “Meh” can be interpreted as being on a scale of “it’s not great but i don’t mind, to a full blown it’s awful/terrible”. The idea is that if you really like something you are willing to “buy it” (as in buy the actually movie), but if you just liked it or would only want to enjoy it once then you’d “rent it” but if you were not a fan then it’s a meh. It entirely depends on the person playing.
Example: Which of these 80’s teen movies would you Buy Rent or Meh: Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, St. Elmo’s Fire.
Example: Which fast food do you Buy Rent or Meh: Cheese steak, Cheese burger, Poutine.
Showendipity: /showENdipity/ Noun, plural noun: showendipities Adj: Showendipitous
1. A television show or movie that comes along just when you need it (emotionally).
Example: When suffering from post tv show or film depression due to disappointment and a new show comes along to reignite your love for fiction, that is Showendipity. Ie: “When the Last Jedi ruined my childhood, it was Showendipity that I started watching Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, which gave me a new fictitious universe to love”.
Example: After a breakup all your shows are ruined because you watched them with your significant other, it is Showendipity when you discover a brand new show that you love to help you forget your ex. i.e., When I broke up with my boyfriend someone recommended Friday Night Lights, which I then became obsessed with and helped me forget about that loser / Tim Riggins became my new boyfriend.
Tradesies: /tradeZEES/ Unmarked Plural Noun
1. When one agrees to watch a defined amount of tv shows or movies as a result of negotiations with a specific person, in exchange for that person watching a defined amount of media in return.
Example: If someone refuses to watch a show or movie that you are desperate for them to see, you can entice them by negotiating Tradesies. i.e., I will agree to watch the first season of Outlander, if you watch watch the first season of Chuck. Note that a tradesie does not have to be based on a 1 : 1 conversion. For example, I will watch 1 Season of Chuck if you will watch 1 episode of Black Mirror.
Told You Shows: /I TOLD you SHOws/ Noun
1. The act of recommending a show to someone that they end up loving. When“I Told You Show” status is achieved, the person who recommends the show must be publicly called a genius by the new fan and the new fan must explain why they love the show. Note: The status of an “I Told You Show” genius is especially sweet when you recommend a show that the person had resisted for a period of time.
Example: Shai refused to watch Black Mirror even though Lily begged him to watch just one episode. Due to a particularly challenging “Tradesies” (see entry for Tradesies for clarification), Shai finally watched an episode of Black Mirror and loved it. Lily got an “I told you show” for the recommendation and Shai had to publicly call her a genius (please note: this example while accurate, is fictional).
Cast… Away!
/CAst (pause) Away/
Game
Cast...Away! Is a game that involves inventing a “dream” cast of actors for a specific movie or television show. The game can be played in several different ways. In fact, the interpretation of said game is often debatable.
Example: One example of Cast...Away! Is when you and at least one other person cast a prequel or sequel of an already existing film or a spin-off of a television show. For example: You cast the sequel to Mallrats, ie: which actors would play the original film’s kids in the sequel.
Example: Another version of the game is when you re-cast the shitty casting of an actual movie. For example, you re-cast 50 Shades of Grey to have Christian Grey played by the gorgeous Matt Bomer and not the piece of boring plywood who played him in the actual movie.
Ep-spectation /ep - SPECtation/ Noun
1. When you’re showing someone an episode of a show that you like and you want them to like it just as much as you do. Moments of high epspectations are often accompanied with high anxiety. When epspectations are not met, it can lead to show-barassment (please see definition for clarification).
2. Epspectations can also be when you yourself have high epspectations for an episode of a show.
Show-barrassment /SHOw-BArasMENT/ Noun
1. Show-barrassment is when you are excited to watch something with another person, typically a new TV show or episode (movies can be applied as well), but the other person’s reaction is underwhelming and you feel show-barrassment. For example, Becky was excited to watch Detroiters with her husband but he didn’t think it was funny. As a result, she felt major show-barrassment.
2. Though not as common, show-embarrassment can be used for when you are embarrassed to like a particular show (movies can be applied as well). For example, how is it possible that Becky does not have show-embarrassment for liking Riverdale?
MVP (Most Valuable Player) Noun
MVP is typically the best part (or most valuable part) of a cast of a movie or a TV show or a specific episode of TV. It usually refers to the actors in a movie or show or the actual characters, though the term can be extended to movie or TV crew, or even outside the realm of media.
Example: The MVP of American Animals is Evan Peters as Wade.
Example: The MVP of this meal were the delicious home fries.
LVP (Least Valuable Player) Noun
LVP is typically the worst part (or least valuable part) of a cast of a movie or a TV show or a specific episode of TV. It usually refers to the actors in a movie or show or the actual characters, though the term can be extended to movie or TV crew, or even outside the realm of media.
Example: The LVP of The Last Jedi was the alien that gets milked by Luke Skywalker.
Example: The LVP of this meal was mom’s chicken burger. (See FNM #43 for the chicken burger story)
MIP
(Most Improved Player)
Noun
MIP is typically a character or actor whose arc or preformance has evolved overtime to make them a fan favorite or just generally more enjoyable or significant than earlier in the story.
Example: In Stranger Things, Steve is the MIP because at first he's an unlikeable jerk but then evolves into a loveable main character with excellent rapport with Dustin that you can't help but be your favorite.
Example: Over the course of the Game of Thrones TV series, Sansa Stark is the MIP because at first she's naive and spoiled but by the end of the show she becomes a seasoned political strategist.
Compare-a-thon
Noun
A term coined by author and podcaster, Christopher Royce, in the 8/14/20 episode when referring to a game the FNM siblings play where a single character, show, movie or other pop-culture concept is pitted against a succession of opposing concepts to determine the relative value of the phenomena under discussion.