In one episode of the Simpsons we learn that all male Simpson have gene that makes them stupid. In another episode of Simpons, we learn that Homer is stupid because a crayon is lodged in his brain.
That just irritates me!
What contradictions or pet peeves have you seen in tv shows, games, and movies?
Oh yeah....there is no way Mario can jump that high!
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Oh, there are way too many of those to count. Ever notice that when a baby is born on some sitcoms 3 or 4 episodes later it's suddenly a fully grown wise cracking child? Worse of all, THE OTHER SIBLINGS HAVEN'T EVEN AGED! Do they HONESTLY think we're stupid or something? Like we're not going to notice this? They did it on Growing Pains, Fresh Prince, that really stupid show Yes, Dear that annoys the heck out of me and so many others! It's the dippiest, stupidest thing in the universe. There are other irratating things like this, but I can't think of them at the moment...
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Actually, that's one of the things that make me laught at the Simpsons -- they don't even try for continuity. You just take episode by itself.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
The Simpson gene makes them failures, not idiots. It's a subtle distinction, but one that lets me live secure in the consistency of the Simpsons.
My favorite annoyance is replacing the actor who plays a character on a show (Darin Stevens being the most famous example).
When they did it with Becky on Roseanne, the original came back for the last season. Everytime somebody sees her for the first time in the episode, they say, "Where the hell have you been."
Oh, and on "That 70's Show," Donna has a little sister for one episode, then she just goes away.
Dagonee
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote: My favorite annoyance is replacing the actor who plays a character on a show (Darin Stevens being the most famous example).
Actually, I'm annoyed when people are annoyed by this. I think it should be perfectly acceptable to replace actors.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Well, I'm annoyed when people are annoyed by my being annoyed by this. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Therfore, you clearly cannot choose the wine in front of me.
Posted by Daring Rooster (Member # 7252) on :
quote: What contradictions or pet peeves have you seen in tv shows, games, and movies?
Star Wars...one of the many infernal tinkererings that George Lucas decided to incorporate into the re-re mastered original trilogy; in Return of the Jedi, when the 3 jedi ghosts appear at the end of the movie, the ghost of Anakin is now seen as Hayden Christiansen.
I realize that, of all the so-called "corrections" that George made, this one was perhaps the most necessary - given that he created an impossible setup with the new trilogy...we're shown in the newest Star Wars movies that Anakin was a strapping youth in his early 20's just before he became Darth Vader, yet in Return of the Jedi his ghost (in the un-tampered with version) appears to be pushing 50.
I know all of this intellectually, but AAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!
Why must you tamper so with my once-beloved trilogy, Mr. Lucas?!?!
-Chris
[ January 11, 2005, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Daring Rooster ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Yes, that is irratating, especially when the person looks nothing like the original person. I hate dippiness factors and shows that are geared around being dippy. Like Gilligan's Island. There's no point, all the episodes are alike, they are still stuck on that island because of that stupid twerp Gilligan. Plus, they had that smart professor, Why the heck couldn't he just build a ship or something and then get them off the island? The show would be just one episode then. But, Gilligan would probaly find a way to sink it because he's dumb and that's the whole point. Then you have people who are being chased by some creature who STAND THERE AND WATCH the creature approach them. How dumb is that? But, that's not even half as irratating as the classic parents are going out, kids decide to have a party, the party gets out of control. Come to think of it, it's not that unrealistic. My cousins did that one time when My grandmother left for about a week... Drove me mad.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
In Poltergeist II, the oldest daughter (Dominique Dunne) wasn't even mentioned. Granted, Dominique died, but they didn't replace her, or even mention her in the second movie.
And the oldest son on My Three Son got married and was never seen again and they just adopted Ernie and still had only three sons!
Soaps replace actors all the time. It's weird. I hated it when I watched soaps and it's why I stopped watching the young and restless. They replace Jack Abbott with Cliff from all my children! Actually, it's not too bad when they switch actors, and was kind of cool when the actor was only out for a week or so and at the beginning of the first scene they'd say "today, the role of (whoever) is being played by (whatever). Can you imagine them saying "tonight, the role of Sydney Bristow is being played by. . .?"
Posted by Daring Rooster (Member # 7252) on :
My biggest movie pet peeve has got to be when Hollywood butchers a really good book, in the pursuit of making a movie...
"The Sum of All Fears" Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan? BEN AFFLECK AS JACK RYAN?!?! Does he look like a Harrison Ford, or an Alec Baldwin?
For those of you who follow Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, I need not explain this obvious display of insolence on the part of the studio...
"Battlefield Earth" Words fail me. Hubbard must have run laps in his coffin when this twisted wreck of an adaptation hit the big screen.
-Chris
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Worse is what they did to Practical Magic. That was such a great book but the movie was terrible! Like that whole resurrection scene, what was up with that? It's one thing to add scenes from a movie when it's logical and makes sense, but when the scenes don't add anything to the movie, it's just mutilation!
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Battlefield Earth? A bad adaptation of a lumbering, boring novel--who cares? Besides, Hubbard believed in reincarnation, so any spinning would be as a new person (assuming the Hubbard soul got the memo.)
edit to add: I read a expose of scientology (there are lots of them), and the funniest thing was that if you were invited to join the prestigious "Sea Org", to join you had to sign some ridiculous million-year contract with scientolgy. Like one lifetime of service to a cause is not enough...
[ January 11, 2005, 06:01 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote: Besides, Hubbard believed in reincarnation, so any spinning would be as a new person (assuming the Hubbard soul got the memo.)
Oh.........contradictions don't bother me that much...........but I dislike how in tv shows.........they change something's color.......like in the Simpsons for example........in an episode Bart is wearing a red hat.......you look away and turn back the hats GREEN..........you look away and turn back and its red again.............that annoys me so much.........Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Chris, I've read the entire Jack Ryan/John Clark series with the exception of Red Rabbit and at the point that they decided to make Ryan a younger type I didn't have a problem with Ben Affleck. I bigger problems have been them skipping The Cardinal of the Kremlin and killing off the person who is supposed to become FBI director in Clear and Present Danger. I also don't like the way they portrayed Clark CaPD.
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
Complete character transplants for characters. This usually takes place after a few episodes of a new series as they get the characters down,(although sometimes it happens half way through a movie and you just think 'Huh? What did the original writer do to get sacked?').
We were watching the first episode of CSI last week, and my Mum's going 'Hey, Grissom was a stud? WHAT HAPPENED?' It was pretty funny, but also irritating.
Why can't they just get characters sorted out before they start and then stick to it? I mean, I get character growth, but total change from one episode to another for no reason annoys me. Okay. Rant over now.
Posted by Daring Rooster (Member # 7252) on :
quote: Battlefield Earth? A bad adaptation of a lumbering, boring novel--who cares? Besides, Hubbard believed in reincarnation, so any spinning would be as a new person (assuming the Hubbard soul got the memo.)
LOL! Well, I never looked at the scientology stuff he came up with, (and don't intend to) so I'll hafta take yer word on that.
Still, I always appreciated the satire he wove into his stories. The mission earth decalogy remains one of the funniest series I have ever read...Battlefield earth was similar (though not as funny).
quote: Chris, I've read the entire Jack Ryan/John Clark series with the exception of Red Rabbit and at the point that they decided to make Ryan a younger type I didn't have a problem with Ben Affleck. I bigger problems have been them skipping The Cardinal of the Kremlin and killing off the person who is supposed to become FBI director in Clear and Present Danger. I also don't like the way they portrayed Clark CaPD.
Yep, I didn't like their skipping over the Cardinal of the Kremlin either...must not have been "action packed" enough for them. Perhaps a weeeee little ole' part of my pet peeve stems from not liking Ben Affleck in anything but comedic roles... That's certainly not all of it though...I much prefered the older Ryan. As for Clark, do you mean that you didn't like Dafoe as the choice?
-Chris
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Complete character transplants for characters. This usually takes place after a few episodes of a new series as they get the characters down,(although sometimes it happens half way through a movie and you just think 'Huh? What did the original writer do to get sacked?').
That's one thing Joss Wheedon does very well. Total character changes, in a believable way. Spike, especially.
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. A well thought out and described progression for a character. IMO, Spike's is one of the best character progressions ever shown on TV. Of course, that might just be because I love Spike. Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I don't know if Spike's character change really counts - I'm sure Joss Wheddon had it all planned from the first day of filming series one.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Wesley's wasn't bad, although there was a bit of discontinuity. Cordelia and Willow's were pretty good, too.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Also, if I recall correctly, Spike was supposed to get dusted in his second episode, but Joss thought he was too much fun to kill.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
I loved the dark Wesley in the later episodes.
One question though, why did he start having sex with the Wolfram & Hart lawyer?
Ok, I lied, I have two questions. Joss said Cordelia was written out of the show because he could not think of any more stories for her. Huh?
Is that really true, or was there some kind of contract dispute?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:One question though, why did he start having sex with the Wolfram & Hart lawyer?
Because she was trying to seduce him to join W&H, and he was all alone after the little mixup with Connor.
Plus she was willing to dress up like Fred.
No idea on the Cordelia question.
Dagonee
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
"Plus she was willing to dress up like Fred."
I see....
Thanks Dags. Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I have more problems with Clark being depicted as a mercenary than with the casting itself, but I thought Liev Schreiber was a much better fit for the role. The real problem with The Sum of All Fears is that now they really can't continue the movies as a series following the books because the whole young Ryan thing makes no sense. They really just should have kept him middle aged and if they needed a main character to be involved in more action they could have just given Clark a lot more to do. The other thing they left out of Sum of All Fears was Bill Clinton getting disintegrated. Unfortunately, I think its just going to get harder and harder to make the Clancy books into movies because they're so long, the exception is Teeth of the Tiger because that was shorter and in fact they could actually make the movie better than the book pretty easily.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
It drives my husband crazy when people drop things or throw them and never retrieve them. Then sometime later in the show they mysteriously have the thing in their pocket again.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I hate time travel shows where they emphasis that one change in history will have shocking retributions, then loose all continuity between episodes--which is why I prefer B5 to TNG. Heck, even DS9 did time travel with a bit on continuity.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
quote:Worse is what they did to Practical Magic. That was such a great book but the movie was terrible! Like that whole resurrection scene, what was up with that? It's one thing to add scenes from a movie when it's logical and makes sense, but when the scenes don't add anything to the movie, it's just mutilation!
It's a travesty what they did to that book. I threw up inside my mouth a little when the aunts told Sally to go inside and practice her spells. Sally has a pottery store? The stupid phone tree. So awful. I'd rather see Rob Schneider as a stapler.
His name was Chuck. Andrew tells me about him every other day - it's unbelievably annoying.
My entertainment pet peeve is all the gun inaccuracies in almost every single movie and t.v. show I have ever seen. The worse one is when they have law enforcement officers call magazines clips. IT'S A MAGAZINE! (Clips don't have springs.) A close second is the incorrect grip that almost every actor has. Don't these shows and movies have weapons consultants? I could go on and on. The worst part is that it makes everyone feel like they know how to use a gun and that is very dangerous.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Holding a gun sideways is a good way to get a shell casing in your eye. And the thumb behind the slide? Good way to lose it.
Edit: And don't get me started on movies where the hero is throwing guns away and pulling a new one out.
Sheesh!
[ January 11, 2005, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: Dagonee ]
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Actually my problem with guns is when people go flying after they get hit by a bullet. Its too bad they don't seem to do that in war movies, can you imagine a Revolutionary War or Civil War battle where one side lets loose a barrage and the front row of the other side goes flying in the air?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:And the thumb behind the slide? Good way to lose it.
Yeah, I made that mistake once. Bled like a stuck pig.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I twitch a bit when men shove guns down their pants.
Hee! Rob Sneider as a stapler! Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I was practicing a drill where you go from shooting one-handed to two hands and I was trying to beat my best time, so I got sloppy and stuck my thumb up. I tore a chunk out of my acrylic and felt very, very stupid.
And how come no one ever runs out of bullets? I'd love to get one of those magic, perpetually full magazines - it takes forever to keep reloading during target practice.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Yeah, I made that mistake once. Bled like a stuck pig.
Ouch! Poor Noemon!
Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :
quote: And don't get me started on movies where the hero is throwing guns away and pulling a new one out.
quote: Actually my problem with guns is when people go flying after they get hit by a bullet.
quote: And how come no one ever runs out of bullets? I'd love to get one of those magic, perpetually full magazines - it takes forever to keep reloading during target practice.
*cough* Matrix *cough*
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I don't know if Spike's character change really counts - I'm sure Joss Wheddon had it all planned from the first day of filming series one.
[qutoe]Also, if I recall correctly, Spike was supposed to get dusted in his second episode, but Joss thought he was too much fun to kill.[/quote]I was watching one of the season 4 DVDs the other day, and either Joss or the actor that plays Spike said that he was originally supposed to be a disposable villan who was the epitome of cool.
One of my pet peeves, and one that is unavoidable, is when characters who should never age are noticably older at the end of the show. Data and Angel are examples of this.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Good to know I didn't imagine that.
I'll forgive them on the aging thing. I'd rather have that than the TV equivalent of George Lucas trying to stop it with CGI.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
X-Files is really guilty of this one.....When people leave and don't say goodbye or hang up the phone without a closing.
(M) Mulder here
(S) We found odd wrappings in the parking lot.
(M) Did they have a green discharge on them?
(S) Yes.
*click* the phone hangs up and Molder goes to investigate.
Say "thank you" "good bye" or ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
grrr....frustrates me everytime I see it! Seinfeld is guilty of it too...
[ January 11, 2005, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: lem ]
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Yeah, but Angel was still a hottie though.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Not as bad as ST:TNG crew's inability to give a concise report to the captain.
"What's happening number one?"
"You're not going to like this sir. You'd better get down here."
"Get down here? I'm the freaking captain. If you can't explain over the radio, haul your enlarged carcass to the bridge and give me details."
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: Then you have people who are being chased by some creature who STAND THERE AND WATCH the creature approach them. How dumb is that?
My favourite along these lines is the hero running down the train tracks while being chased by a train.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Yeah, but Angel was still a hottie though.
This is why people think you're a woman!
Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
My mom gets really annoyed when characters in movies don't shut doors behind them. Watching Angel Eyes with her was awful because she kept complaining about the lack of door-closing.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Hey, I'm like Cordy. I think it, I say it. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I'll forgive them on the aging thing. I'd rather have that than the TV equivalent of George Lucas trying to stop it with CGI.
quote:Yeah, but Angel was still a hottie though.
Is it just me, or does he look much better in season 2+ of Angel than he did when he was younger during the first season of Buffy?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Another pet peeve: When getting chased by a car, they run right in the path of the car. They don't go off to the side, they don't try to get behind a light post. They stay in the middle of the road and hope that they can run faster than the car.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Yet anoter peeve, and one that ST:TNG is guilty of: the major characters do almost *everything* on screen. Somebody needs to escort the visiting dignitary to their room? Get O'Brian! Why? Because we don't have anything else for him to do this episode!
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
It's still not as bad as doing the same thing with a train.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Angel had too much pasty make up on during Buffy. He also looked a little too young to play the part of a world-weary vampire during the first few seasons of Buffy.
Angel also looked better with a couple of extra pounds on him. Cordy, on the other hand, was much hotter in Sunnydale.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Cordy, on the other hand, was much hotter in Sunnydale.
She was hottest in Pilea - nice outfit for a head of state.
[ January 11, 2005, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: Dagonee ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote: Ever notice that when a baby is born on some sitcoms 3 or 4 episodes later it's suddenly a fully grown wise cracking child? Worse of all, THE OTHER SIBLINGS HAVEN'T EVEN AGED! Do they HONESTLY think we're stupid or something? Like we're not going to notice this? They did it on Growing Pains, Fresh Prince
The first episode when Nicky magically grew up on Fresh Prince was also the first episode with the new woman playing Vivian, but they made a joke out of it on the show. When Nicky first walks on screen, Jazz says something like "Who was that?"
Will - "That's little Nicky."
Jazz - "He sure grew up fast. And what happened to the other woman who played the mother?"
That's paraphrased, but it was still hilarious.
As far as personal pet peeves go, I hate it when I read books and then movies change them so dramatically you can barely tell it's the same movie. Sum of All Fears is a good example. They erased a good 80% of the book, and changed the other 20% entirely. I won't go into all the details, they are too numerous. But I hate the characterization of Clark, I don't like that Ryan is younger and not married yet, especially when he is supposed to have multiple kids at that point. I don't like all the details they leave out, I don't like how they change his position in the CIA and evaporate the role the FBI played. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but the Pylea episodes is the reason I started watching Angel.
[ January 11, 2005, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
One thing that's always bugged me about the various Treks is that no one on the bridge ever takes any initiative. They just stand there intert until the captain gives a direct order to do something, even when what they're instructed to do is obvious, and something that anyone but a halfwit would have been doing already.
Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
I started watching because of Spike so don't feel bad.
I also think that Angel looked better older and chunkier. David Boreanaz is just one of those men who took a long time to 'fill out', I think. My husband's one of those men, too (and boy is he purty now! ). Another one: John Travolta. Did you know he's fifty years old?
/end derailment
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Wait, vwiggin is a guy?!?
Another Star Trek problem is, of course, the com badge. Turn it on, but not off? Turn it off? Sometimes yes, sometimes no?
Ophelia, I'm the same way! Close the damned door! Drives me nuts. Especially when it's a 120 outside, or 5 below. All I can do is sit there and think about how rude they are being. Do they not know how much electric bills are? All that air conditioning/heat flying out the door. It's seriously the only thing I can think about. This is why I usually don't remember much about movies. I obsess over trivial details and then have to ask my husband what happened.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote: Like Gilligan's Island. There's no point, all the episodes are alike, they are still stuck on that island because of that stupid twerp Gilligan.
This didn't bother me too much in Gilligan's Island, but it bugged me to no end in Scooby Doo. I am still really ticked off that it has become "trendy" to dig Scooby Doo. *barfy smilie*
quote: "Get down here? I'm the freaking captain. If you can't explain over the radio, haul your enlarged carcass to the bridge and give me details."
w00t! Yeah.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote: Wait, vwiggin is a guy?!?
Yeah, but he doesn't try very hard to remind us of it. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:One thing that's always bugged me about the various Treks is that no one on the bridge ever takes any initiative. They just stand there intert until the captain gives a direct order to do something, even when what they're instructed to do is obvious, and something that anyone but a halfwit would have been doing already.
For example....?
That reminds me of my History professor's lecture from earlier tonight. He was talking about universal truths and universal ideas and he used the episode "Darmok" where Picard is beamed down to a planet's surface with the Captain of a Tamarian vessel. The Tamarian's words are translated into English, but it sounds like gibberish because he speaks by making allusions to some ancient mythology "Darmok and Tamal on the river, Darmok at Tanagra." So Picard has no idea what he is talking about, but ends up using the Epic of Gilgamesh as his own form of communication. Thus two people who don't speak a common language can communicate through a universal truth. Just thought that was a funny reference for a Prof to make.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I love that episode of ST:NG I should watch it again one day.
I used to like Scooby Doo when I was a kid and did not know better, same with Thundercats. Now... Dippiness factors through the roof! I hate cartoons when the bad guy makes these ridiculous plans to get rid of the good guy that never work, that are designed to fail. I also hate how on Thundercats Lion-O grew up but Wilykit and kat didn't. What the heck is up with that? I could see if they were babies or something and they had to put them in the little pod thing as infants then suddenly they were children, but to not grow up at all? Lame. Extraordinarily lame. Then you have stuff like Sailor Moon. The whole thing could be condensed into just a few episodes. Instead of SM just using her huge mighty big mega attack power as soon as the bad guy appears she waits until the last possible minute after everyone else has used their attacks. While they are all doing some smashing work she just freaks out and runs around acting silly. Yet, Sailor Moon is still a bit amusing.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
I'm heterosexual too ... although given my dating drought in the last two months I think I should keep my options open.
For my personal enjoyment, this is the list of the hottest people in the Whedonverse (in order of hotness):
Inara (squared) Daddy Angel Electric Girl from Angel High School Cordy Grunge Wesley Captain "Tight Pants" Reynolds Kaylee Darla Buffy Charles "I am Denzel" Gunn Mrs. Reynolds Blue Fred
[ January 12, 2005, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Wait, vwiggin is that hottie Beren One Hand?!?
You people need to stop changing screen names!
Or send me an e-mail so I can refer to my "notes" while reading posts.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yes, he's got two literary screen names, and one is male, the other female. But the female one used a male screen name.
It's no wonder anyone's confused.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Lyrhawn--no specific example is leaping to mind, but it happened all the time. I think I noticed it most during Voyager. Next time I watch an episode of Trek and see this kind of thing happening I'll make note of it here (assuming that I haven't completely forgotten about this conversation ).
vwiggin, how can you not have Zoe from Firefly on that list?
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Doh! That's right! That woman has the sexiest legs this side of (lewd Chinese words). Well, as punishment I think I have to watch the entire Firefly DVD set again. Yup, I think that's fair.
Kayla, my names may change but my hotness remain the same.
Dags, don't forget to buy me something nice from Amazon.
[ January 12, 2005, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Zoe? What about Inara? She gets my vote.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
As long as we're complaining about Trek, the thing that always bothered me the most is: someone has been called into the captain's quarters for official reasons. Either he's telling them something, or he's chewing them out, whatever. They aren't off-duty; they're there as captain and subordinate, not as friends. The person stands there until he's finished talking, then they just leave! And he doesn't even mind! Is this or is this not a military organization? I always want to scream at the TV, "HE DID NOT DISMISS YOU!"
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Lyrhawn, Inara was the first person on his list.
Another issue I have with Trek is the fact that they always send down the key people in charge of the ship on every away mission. Captain of the ship, head doctor, head science officer, chief of security--you name it, if they're vital to the survival of the ship and crew, they're going to beam planetside, and they aren't going to bother with protective suits of any kind. OSC talks about this in How to Write Science Fiction, by the way.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
In that it's good or bad?
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I have a huge entertainment pet peeve called "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High" which is this weird "science" show with teenagers in it that comes on the Discovery Channel. They go to a boarding school that has a black hole somewhere in it. Actually, I love this show, which is why I've watched it so often and noticed all the scientific inconsistencies.
There was an episode on NBC Saturday morning in which one of the main characters (Marshall) writes a horoscope column for his school newspaper, and the next day everything begins to come true. Now, this show is "scientific" so there has to be a logical explanation for everything. They find one, of course. Apparently, the bell curve on a hand-out the science teacher gave Marshall got turned upside down, so now things which were once highly unlikely to occur (such as Marshall being psychic) have become highly likely to happen. At this point one must ask oneself, how did the bell curve get turned upside down, and more importantly, how would a representation of the bell curve effect the people around it? It's just a drawing, right? Well, the highly scientific answer to this is "we have a black hole!" (I'm not even going to address the "fact" of a black hole occuring inside a school.)
Anyway, Marshall apparently predicted that a member of the science club would die (this was a typo, he meant to type diet) so the science club kids all begin to meet with near-fatal accidents. They reckon that each time someone almost dies, he's in the clear because the odds of someone being in a serious accident twice in a row are astronomical.
Um, hello? The bell curve is upside down. If the odds are against it, that means it's more likely to happen, right? Whatever.
I guess what bugs me the most about the show is that they seem like they are honestly trying to bill themselves as a show that teaches science to teenagers.
There are many episodes like this:
In an episode about cloning, the teacher explains pretty thoroughly how it would be possible to clone a human. He uses scientific jargon and sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Next thing you know, one of the science club kids gets "cloned" and the clone develops in, like, twelve hours and hatches from a giant egg. ARGH.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
You forgot Saffron, Mrs. Reynolds.
I hear that Zoe is coming back to Alias. I guess I'll have to watch.
[ January 12, 2005, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:You forgot Saffron, Mrs. Reynolds.
Woah, good character.
Teshi, he lists it as one of the *many* things he finds objectionable about Trek. He says, and I agree, that it would be much more realistic and interesting to have a Trek where the main characters were all members of a dedicated away team that always worked together. He points out that in additon to resolving the silliness inherent in having all the most important people run off the risk their lives at the drop of a hat, there could be great dramatic tension between the head of the away team and the captain and general command structure of the ship.
Posted by odouls268 (Member # 2145) on :
quote: What contradictions or pet peeves have you seen in tv shows, games, and movies?
I've seen every episode of Friends, and throughout the series, Ross is given four different birthdates.
Wow, I'm pathetic.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Ohh..here is a bad one for me, and I think that both Bourne movies are guilty of it.
When there is a car chase and a window breaks but after a couple shots the window is unbroken.
That just agitates me worse then Michael Savage!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote: OSC talks about this in How to Write Science Fiction, by the way.
I loved that book! It made me giggle every time he ripped on Trek.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sorry I missed Inara on the list, sometimes I forget how to read.
Back on Star Trek though, the main cast is already comprised of something like eight people. You don't think it would be even more silly for then to add ten more in to do all those away mission, escorting dignitaries, so on and so forth? Chief O'Brian actually got stuck with most of that until they made him a main character and eventually shipped him off to Deep Space Nine. Either way though, it'd be twice as silly to have a cast with 18 main characters, just so the "reality" of science fiction can be achieved.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:You don't think it would be even more silly for then to add ten more in to do all those away mission, escorting dignitaries, so on and so forth?
One of my favorite things about watching old ST:TNG is seeing actors that I now know playing disposable ensigns. I've seen Lyta Alexander, G'Kar (he wasn't disposable), the theif chick on Crusade, and the Lois half of Lois and Clark on ST:TNG.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:I loved that book! It made me giggle every time he ripped on Trek.
Me too! Giggles punctuated by shouts of "Yeah!" and "I've always thought that!"
Lyrhawn, I do that too (the forgetting to read thing).
I wouldn't have a huge 18 character cast of major characters--I'd have the captain, chief security officer, chief medical officer, and the like be fairly peripheral characters, with the main characters being the members of the away team.
I would call this show Star Trek: Away Team, by the way. Original, aren't I?
By the way, don't get me wrong--I love the various iterations of Trek, with DS9 being far and away my favorite. My wife and I argue about this, actually, as she much prefers Voyager (well, after they introduced 7 of 9, anyway). I enjoy the shows quite a bit, but I'm not blind to what I see as their flaws either.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yeah, with space battles being basically an afterthought with Trek, and most of the story about interaction with aliens, the away team as the focus would make a lot more sense.
Even Battlestar Galactica got that mostly right, as did Space: Above and Beyond (although using pilots for ground missions was a pretty big plot hole in that one).
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Another thing that bothers me about Trek, but that it certainly isn't alone in, is the way all objects in space have the same orientation. All ships and stuff share the same "up".
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Even when Spock is exploiting Kahn's "thinking in two dimensions" they preserve orientation.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
quote:Sorry I missed Inara on the list, sometimes I forget how to read.
She's so hot, I'd list her twice.
One of my favorite TNG episodes was about four ensigns dealing with their possible promotions. One of them worked for Dr. Crusher, one was a younger version of Riker, one was given an unfair evaluation by Picard, and one was a Vulcan who kept bugging La Forge about making Engineering more "efficient."
I really enjoyed seeing Enterprise through their eyes.
[ January 12, 2005, 05:47 PM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: Another thing that bothers me about Trek, but that it certainly isn't alone in, is the way all objects in space have the same orientation. All ships and stuff share the same "up".
This always bugged me too, and it's one of the few things that I consistantly dislike (most things I can overlook)
Even after huge disasterous battles all ships still have the same up. It's like they're all one one single plane or something.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
How about hearing gun/phaser/torpedo fire through the vacuum of space?
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
quote:Even after huge disasterous battles all ships still have the same up. It's like they're all one one single plane or something.
Obviously Ender would've kicked ass in the Trekverse....
[ January 12, 2005, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
obviously
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Ender is a literary character from a Literary 'Verse and they are always superior to TV and movie 'Verses.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I don't watch Star Trek - any of them - and one of the many reasons is the terrible, terrible wardrobe. Why oh why do they have to wear such hideous jumpsuits?
Before everyone jumps all over me, I am married to a big ST fan.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
In TOS, the uniform for the women...
I mean, I can kind of understand the right fitting thing in the others- after all, the men have to wear it too- but the little teeny weeny skirts?
And they call that gender equality.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Come on. You really don't want to see DeForrest Kelly in a miniskirt.
[ January 12, 2005, 06:01 PM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:How about hearing gun/phaser/torpedo fire through the vacuum of space?
That never bugged me, because the launch can be heard in the firing ship and the impact can be heard in the target ship. I just never imagined the microphone being where the camera is.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Well, I mean, what's with the music playing in the background, hm? That's so not real- no one really has a soundtrack, especially one that swells in accordance with the action of the story line. So of course any show with music is totally unrealistic.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Just because you don't have a soundtrack... Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Sound track I hated the old Star Trek uniforms. They looked so stupid. Like pajams. I like the ST: TNG uniforms better. In fact, Star Trek the Next Generation is sooooooo much better than the original one. The original one was dippy and filled with people with bad hair. Plus William Shatner really talks like that! With the pauses and stuff! But, Twilight Zone was better than the Original SG. Deep Space Nine was really good. Odo was my favourite and they did a rather nice lesbian alternative universe story. Sadly, they got rid of the first dax. She was a babe! But, then again, so was the second Dax. She was cute in a clumsy, awkward sweet way. Voyager started off good because it had Kes and I liked her, but they got rid of her for 7 of 9 and she was not as cool! Then it became Sex in Space. Everyone kept playing musical beds all the time. That made the show terrible!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Speaking of Odo ---
While watching Alias last night, I realized that Jack Bristow is everything that they wanted Odo to be, only better.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I would call this show Star Trek: Away Team, by the way. Original, aren't I?
I read that they had 4 show ideas they were toying with when they finally decided on ST:Enterprise.
One was almost exactly like you describe with your ST:Away Team, Noemon.
Another one took place at Starfleet Academny. Thank ST:90210
A third one would follow Captain Sulu during the years betwen ST6 and ST:TNG. This is the one I wish they would have done.
The fourth was ST:Enterprise, which they decided on.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Huh! That's funny Porter! I wish they'd done either that one or the Sulu one. Either would have been cool.
I wonder if they've ever considered doing a sitcom? Say, Quark's Place or something*.
*Just to clarify, I'm not saying this would be a good idea. I think it'd be a train wreck. I just wonder if they've ever considered it.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Two Cardassians, a Ferrengi, and a Pizza Place
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They probably have, now that Gene's been gone for a while. Heck, that academy show idea sounds like it was halfway there. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote: Two Cardassians, a Ferrengi, and a Pizza Place
Priceless!!! I love it
There's tons of parody shows you could do. The Fresh Prince of Risa. Poor boy from New Sydney on the moon is sent to live with his aunt and uncle on Risa.
I REALLY like the idea of Star Trek: Away Team. We should create one of those online petitions and send it to UPN.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Actually, they came *really* close to doing ST:90210, from what I've read. Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: The fourth was ST:Enterprise, which they decided on.
Other than the Academy one, which would have been like hell on earth, I think they picked the most boring one. Another ship flying through space! How novel!
They should have done a more interesting idea which deviates from what we were used to, like the Star Trek: Away Team idea or something. They needed change, and they didn't choose the one that would change it.
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I remember the most stunning thing about the ST:TNG finale for me was that they broke out of the everybody-in-the-same-plane-and-with-the-same-orientation thing.
Actually, it's been so long that I could be wrong about this. Wasn't that the episode where a future-version of the Enterprise came out of nowhere from what, to everybody else, was below, and blasted the heck out of another ship? Or did this happen in one of the movies?
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
My God, we're such geeks!
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
I find it interesting how in many tv shows that contain boyfriend/girlfriend situations after the two we were hoping would get together finally do get together they don't last that long, or break up and frequently get back together if they're major characters...for instance, Zack and Kelly on Saved By The Bell, or Rachel or Ross on friends. Thinking about it, this seems more frequent in sitcoms.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
The ST:TNG finale had Picard jumping through time. There were 3 versions of the enterprise at that anomoly -- one where Picard had barely become captain, one with Picard 8 years later (at the end of the show), and one captained by Admiral Riker.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
"If I had a pretty little peeve, I'd pamper it like it was like a queen."
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
I too am of the opinion that they shouldn't have made Enterprise, but instead put the entire franchise on hiatus, waited half a decade or so and jumped to the future 400 years from the time frame of Voyager/DSN into a totally different era in which everything is in a sort of decline and aliances have utterly shifted.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Starfleet in the dark ages would be pretty cool.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
"All Good Things" is by far one of the best episodes of any Star Trek series. The future Enterprise (GalaxyX - Class, NCC 1701-D) has a cloaking device and some sort of new age phaser mounted on the dorsal side of the saucer section. Very cool design, Riker had the ship refitted when he was made Admiral.
And yes, we are massive, massive dorks/geeks.
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
quote: I remember the most stunning thing about the ST:TNG finale for me was that they broke out of the everybody-in-the-same-plane-and-with-the-same-orientation thing."
That was indeed amazing and it is matched in quality (IMO) only by the film "First Contact" and several two-parter episodes in "Voyager" ("Year Of Hell", certainly, plus "Scorpion") and the entire last story arc of Deep Space Nine during the final season. Those for me were the height of the Star Trek franchise.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:My God, we're such geeks!
Wait 'till we get started!
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
I always wanted them to do a Trek series from the point of view of the Klingons. The Klingons are one of the most fascinating fictional cultures ever devised, and they've even developed a language for them that real people have actually learned and can speak. I think having a whole series set on a Klingon world or space station or ship (though it would have to be better lit than Klingon ships have traditionally been) would be a wonderful opportunity to explore and enrich their culture even further. And it could even teach us valuable lessons about ourselves . . . or some crap like that. Mostly I just think it would be cool. Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
oh Verily I LOVE that idea!
Posted by School4ever (Member # 5575) on :
On the last page someone mentioned "Strange Days." My husband and I love this show because the science is so bad. Then we found out that NBC has it on the air as educational programming. We have discovered there is usually about one sentance each episode that includes an actual scientific principle, so now we watch just to find it.
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