Chainsaw
T
A very BAD man.
It is what it is
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Post by Chainsaw on Nov 9, 2009 11:26:54 GMT -5
I tend to agree, but the creators and writers decided early on that the reality of the show was going to be quite flexible to accomodate them (perhaps one of my favorite conceits: the fact that West Springfield is the exact size and shape of Texas). The one I really hated was the one where Homer became a rock star during the 90's. That episode put me off a lot. However, it's also great to see them refer back to older episodes in callback jokes, like Lisa calling Skinner "Arman" in the episode where Snowball II dies.
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Post by gamblore on Nov 9, 2009 13:59:14 GMT -5
The Simpsons shouldn't count because breaking continuity was always part of the joke, even during the earliest seasons. How many "lifelong dreams" has Homer had? How many explanations have been given for his baldness? The Krusty the Clown Show is sometimes an afternoon kids show, sometimes a sketch comedy show, and sometimes a late night talk show. Moleman has frequently died. In one episode Burns was revealed to have abandoned his parents to live with a heartless millionaire, despite other episodes stating that he was born into his wealth and was raised by his biological family. On the DVD commentaries, the creators and writers freely admit that they always used the elastic continuity concept. While I agree, the later episodes are damn near raping continuity, a key example being the 90s episode. Everyone harps on the 90s episode for raping continuity, but Homer's Barbershop Quartet did the exact same thing, and it's considered a classic episode. The entire ending of the episode was dedicated to lampshading this. It's also a matter of necessity. The longer the show runs, they have to either bump forward the dates or make Bart 31. I'm glad they went with the former.
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Post by Red Impact on Nov 9, 2009 14:05:38 GMT -5
Funny thing I've noticed, while Simpsons is elastic with continuity, Futurama is actually really good with it for the most part.
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AFN: Judge Shred
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Post by AFN: Judge Shred on Nov 9, 2009 14:08:54 GMT -5
Weird you mention that. I just watched seasons 1 and 2, in about a day and a half (the flu is good for something), and that bugged me a ton.
Earl has a lot of little things like that, but they also have so many little things that they come back to, so the show is kind of a push as far as good vs. bad continuity.
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Post by amsiraK on Nov 9, 2009 14:21:17 GMT -5
Hotlips' family and upbringing changes a couple of times, as does her Father's military career. Not only that, but Margaret's father gets brought back from the dead! In one episode, she mentions that he's dead and then in later seasons, not only is he alive enough to go to the "reunion party" with her mother, but makes an appearance at the camp as well!
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Post by Mike Strike on Nov 9, 2009 14:28:17 GMT -5
I remembered one: the football game arc from Rocky & Bullwinkle. They found out the opposing team were men in drag yet they completely forget the following episode. Man that one haunted me as a kid! When did they say that about it being a comic?!? And Adam coming back made sense because Sentinel Knight restored his powers. (Which makes him more powerful than Zordon. Which is dumb, I must admit.) Tori (I.E. the "sensible" one) said it in the season premiere when the Dustin (the "dumb" one) mentioned something about them. & I was talking about Tommy who had rejoined in the Dino Thunder season the following year. Sudden aging is an issue, as is the chicken or the egg question of weather the "Mystic Mother" predated Rita since she was called the source of all good magic which kinda implies that she's been around a while.
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Post by bibboid on Nov 9, 2009 16:09:14 GMT -5
Batman (the Adam West version) - Every time Batman would catch the supervillain and put him in prison and a year later the same supervillain would be back on the streets causing mayhem again. Why didn't they just keep them locked up? Mumble-grumble-stupid-prison-system-mumble-grumble.
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Post by The Tank on Nov 9, 2009 16:17:28 GMT -5
Batman (the Adam West version) - Every time Batman would catch the supervillain and put him in prison and a year later the same supervillain would be back on the streets causing mayhem again. Why didn't they just keep them locked up? Mumble-grumble-stupid-prison-system-mumble-grumble. Oh, come on. Even in the comics, you could break out of Arkham with little more than a pillow and a spork.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2009 16:22:12 GMT -5
Funny thing I've noticed, while Simpsons is elastic with continuity, Futurama is actually really good with it for the most part. You're right. Futurama alway stays 1000 years in the future. In the recent movies from '07-'09 Fry mentions that he has been in the future for 8 years and it is also stated that it is the year 3008. They do a really good job with that.
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Post by BlackHoleMark on Nov 9, 2009 16:41:34 GMT -5
The last season of LOST had some really lazy continuity problems. Just as a point, none of the mentioned problems are technically continuity errors. Because you put them in spoilers, I obviously can't explain further, but those are all things that could very easily be explained in one or two sentences.
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Matt Dunn
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Post by Matt Dunn on Nov 9, 2009 16:45:55 GMT -5
Recent Simpsons episodes and Family Guy. I mean, Peter's real father is an Irishman so he's not really a Griffin and not related to his black ancestor, right? And then there's Brian's line from an old episode: "God is pissed!" Look at him now. Dang, you beat me to it! Also, I thought the evil monkey was killed by Brian's son. Not even a mention of his injuries in Sunday's episode. Also, I thought dedicating most of an episode to the evil monkey was stupid and kind of lazy.
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Tarik Dee
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Post by Tarik Dee on Nov 9, 2009 17:00:17 GMT -5
Batman (the Adam West version) - Every time Batman would catch the supervillain and put him in prison and a year later the same supervillain would be back on the streets causing mayhem again. Why didn't they just keep them locked up? Mumble-grumble-stupid-prison-system-mumble-grumble. Oh, come on. Even in the comics, you could break out of Arkham with little more than a pillow and a spork. Did someone call me?
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Dr. T is an alien
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Nov 9, 2009 19:15:42 GMT -5
You know a show that has absolutely no concept of continuity? Tom Goes to the Mayor.
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Post by silentrage on Nov 10, 2009 16:03:06 GMT -5
& I was talking about Tommy who had rejoined in the Dino Thunder season the following year. Oh sorry. Sudden aging is an issue, as is the chicken or the egg question of weather the "Mystic Mother" predated Rita since she was called the source of all good magic which kinda implies that she's been around a while. That one's easy. The way they explained the actress change in season 2 was that Rita used some magic beauty cream. She could have just stopped using it. And maybe there was always a Mystic Mother? Or perhaps they consider 8 years to be a long time? Not sure. I don't know they exact dialogue you're speaking about.
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Post by markdown474 on Nov 10, 2009 19:30:57 GMT -5
On an early episode of The Brady Bunch, Greg wanted his own room and the parents while discussing it said the attic wasn't an option unless Greg was only 2 feet tall. Fast forward two seasons and the attic is is full sized and where Greg eventually moved to.
Also on the pilot of NCIS, FBI agent Fornell was unfamiliar with Gibbs and his team but later continuity is thrown out the window and Fornell is the ex-husband of one of Gibbs ex-wives (apparently Gibbs warned Fornell not to marry her). Fornell and Gibbs ex have a little girl together.
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Nov 10, 2009 20:02:06 GMT -5
Batman (the Adam West version) - Every time Batman would catch the supervillain and put him in prison and a year later the same supervillain would be back on the streets causing mayhem again. Why didn't they just keep them locked up? Mumble-grumble-stupid-prison-system-mumble-grumble. Oh, come on. Even in the comics, you could break out of Arkham with little more than a pillow and a spork. But a spork has so many uses though. It's the greatest utensil in the world. It's even good for removing eye balls, thank you Alias.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Nov 10, 2009 20:07:15 GMT -5
The last season of LOST had some really lazy continuity problems. Just as a point, none of the mentioned problems are technically continuity errors. Because you put them in spoilers, I obviously can't explain further, but those are all things that could very easily be explained in one or two sentences. If you'd like, you can put your responses in spoiler tags, too. Wouldn't be too difficult.
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Post by GaTechGrad on Nov 10, 2009 20:11:52 GMT -5
No one ever explained what happened to Richie Cunningham's older brother in "Happy Days", did they? Come to think of it, no one ever explained what happened to Spearchucker Jones in "M*A*S*H", either. Chalk "Seven" from "Married with Children" up on this list as well... I thought it was hilarious when Seven's "missing child" picture randomly shows up on the side of a milk carton.
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Post by Perpetual Nirvana on Nov 10, 2009 20:38:15 GMT -5
Doctor Who
In the first Dalek story, called simply "The Daleks", the Daleks were desended from a race called the Dals who had mutated after a nuclear war with a race called the Thals. Then in "Genesis of the Daleks" we find out the Daleks come from a humanoid race called the Kaleds who have been experimented on by a scientist called Davros.
And that's just one example.
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Jiren
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Post by Jiren on Nov 10, 2009 21:21:17 GMT -5
Doctor Who In the first Dalek story, called simply "The Daleks", the Daleks were desended from a race called the Dals who had mutated after a nuclear war with a race called the Thals. Then in "Genesis of the Daleks" we find out the Daleks come from a humanoid race called the Kaleds who have been experimented on by a scientist called Davros. And that's just one example. Dr Who continuity =
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