This question sounds familiar.
Painfully familiar.
In fact, I would love to experience this question again for the first time. Unfortunately, I can’t. Because I already experienced it for the first time on June 5, when the prompt asked me which movie I would erase from my memory so I could watch it again for the first time.
So now, apparently, the question has been rebooted.
Not remade, exactly. More like one of those sequels that changes just enough of the title to pretend it is not the same movie.
The original prompt was:
If you could erase one movie from your memory and watch it again for the first time, which one would it be?
This new one asks:
What’s a book, movie or TV show that you wish you could experience again for the first time?
Ah, yes.
Totally different.
The first question asked which movie I would like to erase from my memory so I could experience it again for the first time.
This one asks what book, movie or TV show I wish I could experience again for the first time.
That is not a new question. That is the original question wearing a fake mustache and pretending to be its own cousin.
I already answered this. I did the work. I wrestled with the wording. I pointed out that asking which movie I would like to erase from my memory is a dangerous way to phrase the question, because there are several movies I would gladly erase from my memory with no intention of ever watching them again.
I mentioned Howard the Duck.
I mentioned every Jaws movie after the first one.
I mentioned every Smokey and the Bandit movie after the first one.
I mentioned Cannonball Run II.
I even brought up Jack and Jill, which I never actually saw but heard enough about to feel spiritually damaged. My daughter saw it, despite my warnings, and described it to me. That was enough. I still wonder what sins Al Pacino committed that forced him to appear in such a monstrosity.
So yes, I have already done my public service announcement on movies that could be removed from civilization without damaging the cultural fabric.
Once I got past the wording, though, I answered the actual question. I chose Arthur. Not because it is the greatest movie ever made, but because it is my favorite movie, and there is a difference.
The best movie is the one you defend with arguments about writing, direction, acting, cinematography and cultural importance.
Your favorite movie is the one that sneaks past all that and claims a room in your heart.
That is what Arthur did for me.
I wrote about seeing it as a teenager with my dad. Dad and I were not especially close, but every now and then he would come home from work and say he wanted to take me to a movie. There was no big speech. No grand father-son moment. No dramatic attempt to bridge every distance between us. Just a movie theater, a bucket of popcorn, a couple of hours in the dark and something we could enjoy at the same time.
And the best movie we saw together was Arthur.
From the moment “Arthur’s Theme” started playing and the Orion logo circled on the screen, I was hooked. Then Dudley Moore appeared as the lovable drunk, the jokes started flying, John Gielgud began stealing every scene as Hobson, and somewhere along the way it became my all-time favorite movie.
Not the best movie.
My favorite movie.
There is a difference.
So, yes, I already answered the question. I answered it with thought. I answered it with feeling. I answered it with references to bad sequels, duck costumes, Burt Reynolds cash grabs and Adam Sandler in a dress. I gave this prompt everything it could have asked for and more.
And now it has come back.
To be fair, this new prompt does expand the field. It adds books and TV shows. That means I could choose a book instead of a movie. I could choose To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Lord of the Rings, or A Christmas Carol. I could choose a TV show and talk about discovering The West Wing, MASH*, Lost, Breaking Bad, The Andy Griffith Show or something else that first pulled me in and kept me there.
But that would reward the behavior.
And I do not want to encourage the prompt generator.
Because once we allow this, where does it end?
On Monday, it asks, “What is your favorite meal?”
Two weeks later, it asks, “What food item do you most enjoy placing into your face?”
In July, it asks, “If you could consume one edible experience again for the first time, what would it be?”
By September, we’ll be getting, “What is a question you wish you could answer again for the first time, preferably one we already asked you in June?”
Well, congratulations.
Here we are.
So my answer remains the same.
The movie I would most like to experience again for the first time is still Arthur. I would still love to sit in that theater again with my dad. I would still love to hear that song begin again. I would still love to see the Orion logo circle the screen again. I would still love to discover Dudley Moore’s timing and John Gielgud’s brilliance without already knowing every joke before it lands.
But since I cannot experience Arthur again for the first time, and I apparently cannot experience this prompt again for the first time either, I will simply say this: Some stories are worth revisiting. Some questions are not.
This one, however, did give me the chance to complain in writing, so maybe it was not a total loss.
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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
