Judging Based on Merit

Recently, I've been blazing through Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. It's so awesome that I don't mind King's occasional indulgence to describe or repeat more than I need described or repeated. It's so awesome that it's the first fiction I've read in 3-4 years and that's saying something, because I was an English major. The kind who would read, literally, a book a day every summer in preparation for the GREs. It's so awesome that I haven't even picked up my other reading material since I started.

Thing is, I would have never even touched a Stephen King novel a few years ago. "Smut fiction", I might have called it. "Obtuse crap", possibly. All because I read The Shining in High School and thought the writing was void of real meaning. All because Stephen King fits neither into classic literature or post-modern art. All because of nothing really.

It reminds me of a chat I had with a friend of mine about Heroes. I started watching so I could write a spec script for it (so I could get a writing position on a show I truly enjoy). Though the show is obvious made for a more stupid audience, it was good enough to watch while hoping for it to get better. But it's actually only gotten worse. And because of NBC's recent Tonight Showdown and their subsequent need for a bunch of new dramas, they probably won't cancel it.

My friend said, "If this season doesn't end well, I'm not watching anymore."

And I agreed that "I'm not watching it either way at first, but" and this is where we differed "I'll wait to see if next season is good to decide if I'm going to watch it."

My friend, knowing the internet's magic way of providing us with reviews and the ability to watch TV shows after they air said anyway, "But we've already watched so much crap."

To which I replied, "Yes, but after all of that, would you really be willing to miss the best part?" Of course not.

And so I find myself reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower and wondering how I ever made the same error my friend did. I don't care whether or not I end up watching season 5 of Heroes (if it exists), but I know that if it's good, I'll like it.

My main concern is in re-evaluating other things in life that I'd once dismissed, not by its merit, by it's worth, but as a result of some arbitrary decision made in haste. What I wonder is what you, dear reader, are now thinking about giving a fair chance and what great stuff you've come across that you wish others would give a fair chance as well.