This bothers me about sitcoms

[LucyCompanyPhan]

Ever be watching a sitcom and it will say like a characters birthday but then in another episode it will say the same characters birthday and it will be a different date.

Or there will be 2 facts that don't match eachother.

Why do writers do this? I know that there is always gonna be flaws and stuff but you would think with writing something, you would remember and know most about it rather than to just be a fan and catch these mistakes.

[barwars]

Writers change.
And unless its a big plot-point.... they'll probably forget.

[TJL]

One of my biggest pet peeves is lack of continuity in TV shows.
One of my favorite shows M*A*S*H is loaded with errors. My guess is with older shows, they really didin't keep track of the plotlines because they didn't think the audience would follow all the details of the show, but that was a before a little thing called syndication.

Now we can watch the old eps of a show in reruns while new eps are being aired on the networks, so we can see all the sublte changes.

[LucyCompanyPhan]

I know its just very distrubing. If I were a writer, no matter for what, I'd want to know as much information as possible and you would think with multiple writers someone would say "hey didn't we ...."

[barwars]

sometimes fans know more than writers

[phoebe7165]

Friends is really bad about keeping track of what. In the pilot, Rachel was introduced to Chandler like they didn't know each other, but in a later episode, they met each other at the Geller's years before. There are others, too, I just won't go into it.

Wings has alot of inconsistencies, too. In the pilot, Fay tells Joe that she didn't know he had a brother, but in a later episode, we find out how Joe & Fay met, and Joe tells Fay that his brother ran off with his fiancee. There are more there, too.

I guess the writers don't think that the viewers aren't going to notice.

[treky]

"The Odd Couple" has TONS of inconsistoncies!
For instance, in "The Jury Story" it shows Oscar & Felix meeting when both of them served on a jury together, in the early 60s. But later, they say that they met when they served in the Army together.
In one episode, Oscar & Blanche are looking at their wedding pictures, when Oscar says he never returned the tuxedo he wore. But, later you see that he got married when he was in the Army, and didn't wear a tuxedo.
Another time, Oscar says his mother doesn't know he's divorced. But in another show, he says's that his mother's "been buging me to get a girlfreind since I got divorced".
Those are just a few of the many, many ones.

Part of the problem is, after the pilot episode of a show airs, the writers sometimes "tweak" the characters and format a little bit. Also during the first season of a series. And sometimes, they change writers after the pilot episode.

[Clint Eastwood Fan]

In the Cosby Show pilot Cliff and Claire only had 4 children. They soon changed that and Sondra suddenly appeared.

[TJL]

Originally posted by treky

Part of the problem is, after the pilot episode of a show airs, the writers sometimes "tweak" the characters and format a little bit. Also during the first season of a series. And sometimes, they change writers after the pilot episode.

It used to be where all of the changes were made between the pilot episode and the second episode.
Now modern sitcoms continue to change things around throughout the entire first season.

On "Good Morning Miami" two characters were dropped within the first eight episodes.

In my opinon, if a show is making such drastic changes in season one, it wasn't ready to become a series in the first place.

[ClassicComedyFan2]

It honestly doesn't bother me that much. For instance, when I write and make a continuity error, I turn it into a joke. :)

I mean, come on, I am big Star Trek fan, and Trekkers are notorious for nitpicking. But, I, on the other hand am not bothered that much by it.

[PanamaMike]

At the heart of it is this: They don't care!!!!

I worked on a tv series a few years ago that lasted 20 episodes. By episode 20, the script was contradicting things that happened in episode 1

If they get an idea they think will work, they go with it, regardless of what may have happened in the past.

[barwars]

Originally posted by PanamaMike
At the heart of it is this: They don't care!!!!

I worked on a tv series a few years ago that lasted 20 episodes. By episode 20, the script was contradicting things that happened in episode 1

If they get an idea they think will work, they go with it, regardless of what may have happened in the past.


Thats probably why "your" series only lasted 20 episodes!!


By the way.... what series was it??

[Riff]

And more importantly, is it one of these?


The Client
The Cosby Mysteries
The Crew
Dark Skies
Going to California
The Home Court
Life with Roger
The Mind of the Married Man
Minor Adjustments
On Our Own
One West Waikiki
Out All Night
Ponderosa
Raven
Strip Mall
The Torkelsons


I got dibs on "Strip Mall!"

[PanamaMike]

It was the Showtime crapfest "Leap Years".

[Mrs. Ducky]

Originally posted by PanamaMike
At the heart of it is this: They don't care!!!!

I worked on a tv series a few years ago that lasted 20 episodes. By episode 20, the script was contradicting things that happened in episode 1

If they get an idea they think will work, they go with it, regardless of what may have happened in the past.




What did you do on it?

[db108108]

I guess it's whatever is convienent or works into the plotline at the time. It's not that the writers think that viewers won't nitice (because I think they do know this).

[TJL]

Here's another pet peeve of mine with sitcoms; lack of research.

On "Friends" the other night, Chandler and Monica's surrogate Mom visits New York City, and when they ask her what she wants to do during her visit to the city, she says she wants to "climb to the top of the Statue Of Liberty."

The Statue has been closed to visitors since 9/11.
Friends has always had a slightly inaccurate view of New York City life, but to me it this says they have a bunch of writers who have never lived in New York and have no idea what it's really like here.

Of course I could be overreacting, I'm a bit cranky and I do need to be put down for the night.

;)

[Janice]

Originally posted by TJL
Here's another pet peeve of mine with sitcoms; lack of research.
Friends has always had a slightly inaccurate view of New York City life, but to me it this says they have a bunch of writers who have never lived in New York and have no idea what it's really like here.
I agree. Another glaring misstep on Friends was when Chandler wore a baseball cap with the Red Sox logo on it. I mean, come on.

j/k :happyface

[Janice]

I've often wondered if writers these days keep a written profile and history of each character....to keep a record of the details of characters. Favorite songs, foods, their childhood, education, family, jobs, etc.

If they do this, I would imagine that the information is compiled and logged into a computer.

Anyone know the deal?

[TJL]

I know a lot of shows have what is called a "bible" which lists the major plots each season for the characters.

I would like to think that each sitcom has someone who is kind of an achivist who keeps track of the character's back story.

Thanks to the internet, and the myriad of websights devoted to popular TV shows; with their detailed episode guides and character profiles, writers of top sitcoms should have no trouble looking up past events on thier show.

[TJL]

Originally posted by Janice
I agree. Another glaring misstep on Friends was when Chandler wore a baseball cap with the Red Sox logo on it. I mean, come on.

j/k :happyface

offtopic:

;)

[James]

Watch Family Matters. Forget Judy (or lack thereof :D )! There is a lot of inconsistency in how long Carl and Harriette Winslow have been married. Carl's age is inconsistent--in one episode his birth year, when considering the date on which the episode came out, was calculated to be 1950, while in one episode during the early part of the 1997-98 season, he says he's 41 years old, making him born in 1955 or 1956! :eek:

(FWIW, Reginald VelJohnson, who played Carl, was born August 16, 1952.)

[treky]

Originally posted by TJL
Here's another pet peeve of mine with sitcoms; lack of research.

On "Friends" the other night, Chandler and Monica's surrogate Mom visits New York City, and when they ask her what she wants to do during her visit to the city, she says she wants to "climb to the top of the Statue Of Liberty."

The Statue has been closed to visitors since 9/11.
Friends has always had a slightly inaccurate view of New York City life, but to me it this says they have a bunch of writers who have never lived in New York and have no idea what it's really like here.

Of course I could be overreacting, I'm a bit cranky and I do need to be put down for the night.

;) well, considering the woman was from another state-I think it's Ohio-maybe she simply didn't know about the statue. I didn't, until I read your post.