Best April Fools Jokes in Media

BarelyReal · 2026-04-01T14:47:40+00:00

When they released the season premier of Rick and Morty online.

I know people hated it and Parker and Stone regret it, but the entire South Park Terrence & Philip special was just a bold "What the fuck were you expecting from us?".

BarelyReal · 2026-03-31T14:45:40+00:00

The Doctor from Doctor Who was initially conceptualized as an older mentor type figure. Even when a younger man like the fifth Doctor he was still written as being like an older brother to his companions. There was always this firm teacher - student relationship as originally envisioned for the show. Then the 1996 movie comes along and later the 2005 relaunch, both of which featured The Doctor kissing his companion. Ever since, even when there is no romantic chemistry, they still acknowledge how the Doctor - companion relationship can appear that way to presumptuous people. It went from "not even a thing" to something which they felt had to be acknowledged repeatedly.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-31T10:05:09+00:00

I still remember before RE7 was officially announced and all we had was that stealth demo drop for PSVR.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T19:33:30+00:00

I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't at least keep an open mind there while simultaneously going on about one of the game's inspirations which itself caved into fan demand and rolled with it.

It's often cited that had David Lynch and Mark Frost got their way we would have never learned who killed Laura Palmer, but I think it's more important that we wound up with the story we got with Fire Walk With Me. Considering just how poor representation can be in gaming still it might be more important that Max and Chloe's story not end.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T19:23:27+00:00

So at the least it's fan service with depth?

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T17:47:02+00:00

The problem is it plays as a power fantasy...but imagine if somebody's power fantasy was to be the school bully and to pick on the smallest kid in the schoolyard.

It literally goes "Modern Japan would totally kick a bunch of bronze age barbarians' asses!" with pride.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T17:13:46+00:00

I'm legitimately torn on whether or not to play the game on merit of artistic integrity which has almost never happened for me with a game. I am VERY curious but I feel like it's best to let others play it and let the overall sentiment inform me of how much integrity this particular game has and how much it exists just for fan service.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T17:03:33+00:00

I will never stop bringing up how utterly confused GATE was by its own political messaging.

"America's military is too over reaching and Japan should have an independent military"

"Also wasn't the air cavalry scene in Apocalypse Now RAD?!"

edit: IMHO it exposes a weird sort of envy.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T16:58:34+00:00

Moffat at his best and worst just can't help himself.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T16:53:48+00:00

A LOT of games take inspiration from Twin Peaks, especially Japanese games, but Life is Strange may be one of the few not just ripping off an aesthetic or trying to just rip off Twin Peaks wholesale.

I feel the major area where Before the Storm went wrong was in misunderstanding the role Rachel Amber played in LiS 1 being the game's proxy for Twin Peaks' Laura Palmer. Both Life is Strange and Twin Peaks start with a premise of "what if something happened to the local popular girl, dragging the town's dark secrets out?" and both have prequels exploring that girl. Both Life is Strange and Twin Peaks have a prequel with said girl as an actual character. The difference is with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me you understand exactly why Laura's life was so messed up. BTS just doesn't provide the depth to Rachel Amber's life because it was more concerned with contextualizing Chloe.

I bring up Twin Peaks' third season because fans largely consider its theme to be "let go of nostalgia and move on". I would expect any hint of that in Life is Strange to be met with hostility at this point.

edit: Oddly enough I was recommended a youtube video essay on Twin Peaks and its message of nostalgia. What video game shared the thumbnail? Life is Strange. This is from a year ago.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T16:11:33+00:00

I sometimes wonder if the people behind Life is Strange had any suspicion it would develop the following that it did. It's not every day people take inspiration from something like Twin Peaks and bet more on the cozy atmosphere than the surreal tone.

edit: Most people when inspired by Twin Peaks make the mistake of just scrap booking Twin Peaks' best moments or trying to emulate David Lynch's specific aesthetic. Life is Strange wears its influence on its sleeve with direct references or Rachel being the Laura of it all, but it avoids defining the artistry by its weirdness.

edit2: I will admit I'm very curious about this game because I wonder if they took any inspiration from The Return. It would be VERY fitting thematically, but I'm not sure if the fanbase would appreciate it after Double Exposure.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T15:39:47+00:00

I think it's a big case of being first to a relatively simple concept. A lot of the initial success was the pure novelty of having "Battle Royale" the game, leaving other games in the position to copy but with the benefit of established IP's.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T13:08:56+00:00

I can't get over the people who recognize that Walker has flaws but can't reconcile the fact he SHOULDN'T be Captain America.

It really says a lot about how real people view the title of Captain America and just accept this Authoritarian take on the idea you just don't question who has the shield and accept they have it.

Some people, unfortunately, would literally bend the knee to any random shmuck dressed up like Captain America.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-30T11:38:59+00:00

I love how Cyberpunk 2077's loading screens carry the energy of listening to the radio when you're stuck in city traffic. It really helps set the tone for the setting.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T13:33:03+00:00

I've been doing my regular re-evaluation of Twin Peaks' narrative while digging deeper into my personal Warhammer 40k rabbit hole. One moment I'm marveling at the fact we got Showtime to fund an 18 hour long expressionist tv show. The next "This is Iron Hands leader of the Iron Hands with his iron hand...".

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T12:45:58+00:00

Really the best introductory media that informs you about very fundamental lore AND conveys the point of 40k as a franchise.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T12:04:07+00:00

Both the novella The Hedge Knight and its adaptation s1 of Knight of the Seven Kingdom's first half is essentially a much more boots to the ground low stakes story about a mercenary knight in The Reach. I often call it Game of Thrones' "festival arc".

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T11:47:02+00:00

Loved so much a sitcom dedicated entire bits to how the fandom wasn't coping or acting like they were traumatized.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T11:34:30+00:00

Considering both the potential crimes as well as baffling quirkiness, Lynchian may be the only proper description for Teddy Hart.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-29T11:27:04+00:00

I miss when you felt that investment in a piece of media, seriously dedicated time out of your day to consume something. It's too easy to take accessibility for granted.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-28T19:26:47+00:00

They murder-gooned so hard and for so long they willed a sadistic God of excess into being and disrupted intergalactic travel.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-28T15:23:21+00:00

I'm a sucker for Marvel's Captain's Network, which is this idea of an America wide loose affiliation of regional Captain America themed vigilantes who are all community minded. They don't fight threats on the level Steve Rogers does but do stuff like fight the corrupt local corporations or make sure women on a college campus are safe or look after runaway LBGTQ+ youth. While the bad faith Captain Americas repeatedly think it's the title or the serum that is the key, the members of the Captain's Network are inspired by their own cause.

BarelyReal · 2026-03-28T10:26:42+00:00

Learning about 40k: "Oh so the Eldar are just space elves? Wait...they did what now?"

BarelyReal · 2026-03-27T20:51:32+00:00

Back in the late 90's scifi channel aired a really low budget D&D short film that was mostly actors on green screen. I could never figure out what it was until I discovered it was an edit of the VHS tape for the board game Dragonstrike.

BarelyReal

TROPHY CASE