Oooooh, the world of lesser-known fandoms.  This is honestly one of my favourite geeky topics.  I think we all have those weird things that we’re really into, that it seems like nobody on the planet has heard of.  But what’s awesome is that when you find another human who not only has heard of, but loves the same thing as you, it’s like *BAM* instant friendship!  There’s nothing like having someone recognise the obscure reference on your shirt, or bust out a quote from that weird film you adore.  So today I’m taking time to celebrate 5 of my lesser-known fandoms.

1. Hercules Returns

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4437BxAHB4

Hercules Returns is a hilarious Australian film about a dude who quits his corporate job to run his own cinema.  His former boss sabotages the opening of the cinema’s premier screening of Hercules by substituting the audio reel with the Italian version of the film.  Disaster!  Luckily the hero and his two mates step in to dub over the entire film.  The rest of the movie is the dubbed-over version of Hercules.  It’s crude, it’s stupid and it’s utterly hilarious.  I was crazy excited when I found that this film was available on DVD, and it’s always the perfect pick-me-up when I’m having a rough day.

 

2. Heavyweights

Heavyweights was one of those movies that I watched over and over as a kid, and was a little bit scared to see as a grown-up in case it had lost it’s magic over the years.  But when I did finally check it out again, it was just as hilarious as I remembered.  It’s a Disney film starring many of the kids from the Mighty Ducks films about a fat camp.  It holds a special place in my heart, because my best friend growing up was a fat kid, and it was one of the only films from our childhood where the fat kids were the heroes of the story.

 

3. Freaks and Geeks

OK, so in the Netflix age, Freaks and Geeks isn’t as obscure as it used to be.  But for years it was one of those shows that I was hard-pressed to find another person who had seen it.  Only the first episode aired in Victoria, and I watched it, went bonkers over it, and then was heartbroken when the Ten Network didn’t show any more.  It’s only one season long, but it stars baby-faced versions of Seth Rogan, James Franco and Jason Segel.

 

4. The Young Ones

 

When I was in high school, my best friend and I used to spend most of our weekends re-watching The Young Ones and eating scrambled eggs and chocolate chip cookies (the two best dishes we’d learned to make in home ec).  None of the other kids at our school had seen The Young Ones, which made it pretty easy for us to rip off the comedy stylings of Adrian Edmonson  in our drama class without getting caught out.  Even now, I get so excited when I find someone else who likes BBC comedy from the 80’s and will bust out a chorus of “Dr Marten’s Boots” or “The Young Ones” with me.

5. Clone High

My friends Kath and Evan introduced me to Clone High.  Incidentally, Kath and Evan are such fans of the show that they have Clone High quotes engraved on their wedding rings.  I immediately loved the show, which is about a high school populated by the clones of various historical figures.  It’s pretty freakin’ hilarious.

 

What are your favourite obscure fandoms?