Hot Topic: How much are you bothered by continuity errors?

[Puffy]

But this is a discussion board, critiquing the shows is one of the main objectives. Critique is a good thing

Sure, but I would say: "Critique could be a good thing"

I would always use my words very carefully, because words could be used like a sword, especially when it comes to critique.

The creative team invested their life and heart blood in that project. The full life actors also their life. Sure, a soup in a restaurant, if it doesnt taste, just forget it. No big deal.

But by being critique about a project, a project about thousend of thousend houres of work, with uncountable moving pieces of a puzzle in the background, I wouldnt even dare to judge that the same like a soup.

So, I would always use my words very -very carefully, because there are so many things I dont know. But I guess gratitude and matter of fact critique are die out virtues in these days.

This are more the "want everything and complain about everything" kind of days. 😉

But maybe I am totally wrong and it is just all drama. 🙂

 

[Taake]

The creative team invested their life and heart blood in that project. The full life actors also their life. Sure, a soup in a restaurant, if it doesnt taste, just forget it. No big deal.

It is also their job. Saying "life and heart blood" went into the project is you making a subjective assessment to how they dealt with their vocational role.

 

[Puffy]

It is also their job. Saying "life and heart blood" went into the project is you making a subjective assessment to how they dealt with their vocational role.

Sure. But I dont see that as a problem.

And I guess we passed the "subjective assessment" part, when Joss decided to go full risk, when he had the opportunity to make a movie and he made Buffy the TV Show instead. Wouldnt you agree? 😉

But I suggest it is the best to leave that whole "good and self forgeting critique" topic well alone. It was a mistake and I should have never brought that up. Sorry, hindsight. 😉

P.S.
Like Schäuble and Varoufakis: We agree to disagree. 🙂

 

[Taake]

.

And I guess we passed the "subjective assessment" part, when Joss decided to go full risk, when he had the opportunity to make a movie and he made Buffy the TV Show instead. Wouldnt you agree? 😉

Ehm, no. Joss decided to go full risk sure, but the rest of the writing and creating team? They were hired to do a job and they did it. They certainly didn't go full risk on anything.

Yes, we agree to disagree. I don't think critique is as harmful as you're making it out to be, especially not in the business we're discussing. Someone who couldn't take critique probably wouldn't have made it as a tv-show writer in the first place.

 

[thetopher]

A dogmatic stick to the rules (like the Spike daylight thing) is a good example. The audience is not stupid, so everybody know that rule. So, it could be totally ok and would make sense to sacrifice that rule, to achieve something else, more suited for the greater picture. Thats called art.

By the same token the writers are also not stupid, and its not that difficult to keep in mind the basic rules of the 'verse that you helped create. If you want to expand on them, I get that, but ignoring them is simply a middle figure tot he viewer in some cases. It's like saying 'oh., you're invested in this crap? Well, it ain't real so there!' 😉

And there is such a thing as bad art, or art that is not as good as 'other' art, or simply paintings by one artist that aren't as good as other, earlier paintings.

Art can be judged, rated, analysed, discussed, graded or whatever. It's how we evaluate the quality of particular art that matters.

If some people's position is to say 'everything is awesome' all the time, then that's fine- but its simply a certain point of view.

 

[white avenger]

How much are you bothered by continuity errors? A small example: Angel telling Joyce on BtVS that he doesn't drink coffee because it makes him jittery, while in season 1 of AtS he drinks it all the time.

I'm not really bothered by by ongoing errors. I may always notice them (I'm the kind of guy who's always counted the number of times the cowboy shoots his revolver before reloading) but they don't actually ruin my enjoyment of the movie, TV show, book, or whatever. I can suspend my disbelief quite a long way for the sake of plain entertainment. In fact, it can actually be fun to come up with your own explanation as to how the inconsistency can be explained away (for example, the cowboy's revolver in the example that I used might actually have been a LeMat, developed and used in limited numbers by Confederate forces during the Civil War, which actually fired 9 times between reloads, or ten, if you count the 20 gauge shotgun barrel underneath the primary barrel)

As for Angel's sudden tolerance to coffee on his own show, maybe the simplest explanation would be that Cordy introduced him to decaf.

For anyone curious about the LeMat, revolver, look here:

LeMat Revolver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Kana]

It depends on the error. Mostly I can fanwank them or justify them. For the most part, with Buffy, I'm not bothered. I stick to an 'official' truth if possible. For example Buffy had three different birthdays but it was made official that it was 19th January 1981.

 

[Puffy]

By the same token the writers are also not stupid, and its not that difficult to keep in mind the basic rules of the 'verse that you helped create. If you want to expand on them, I get that, but ignoring them is simply a middle figure tot he viewer in some cases. It's like saying 'oh., you're invested in this crap? Well, it ain't real so there!' 😉

And there is such a thing as bad art, or art that is not as good as 'other' art, or simply paintings by one artist that aren't as good as other, earlier paintings.

Art can be judged, rated, analysed, discussed, graded or whatever. It's how we evaluate the quality of particular art that matters.

Just two thoughts:

1. Why should the writers show a middle figure (finger?) to the viewers? What could be there motivation to do that? Pissing the audience off, so they are buying more of the product? I dont know, so please tell me. 😉 Me, by the way, I never had the feeling that the writers were doing such things to me, while I was watching the show. But I think its just me, because I also enjoy the show, isnt that an odd idea?

2. So there are people that decide what matters. Cool. Always good to know, that there are such people out there. Very convenient. Could you give me some names, please. That would help a lot. And could solve a lot of disputes out there, if the evaluation process of that people is valid, but I guess if that people are also judging there own evaluation process, it will be at least 110% valid. No doubts about that. 😉

 

[thetopher]

1. Why should the writers show a middle figure (finger?) to the viewers?

Yeah, I meant 'finger' and its not a deliberate intent obviously.

What could be there motivation to do that? Pissing the audience off, so they are buying more of the product? I dont know, so please tell me.

Like I said, it comes from laziness more than anything. Some errors are so awful that you feel that the writers aren't even trying.

Me, by the way, I never had the feeling that the writers were doing such things to me, while I was watching the show. But I think its just me, because I also enjoy the show, isnt that an odd idea?

I can enjoy something and critique it at the same time. Is doing two things at once an odd idea to you?

2. So there are people that decide what matters. Cool. Always good to know, that there are such people out there. Very convenient. Could you give me some names, please. That would help a lot.

How about: EVERYONE.
The point you seem unable to grasp is that everyone has different opinions on what matters to them, what annoys them and what they like/judge to be 'good art'.
You ask somebody for their opinion and then belittle them by saying 'oh lighten up, I love it all, I enjoy it all, why don't you?' simultaneously dismissing their opinions as you elevate yours above theirs by implication.
Simply put; if you don't want to here somebody's opinions, don't solicite them.

 

[Lyri]

Sure. 🙂

So try me. Are there really continuity errors? Or are there only things, some poeple are interpreting to be continuity errors?

Maybe these so called continuity errors are only in the heads of some peoples.

The fact that Sunnydale was apparently a coastal town, but the coast seems to have completely disappeared by the time 'Chosen' came along. There are docks and a beach within, at the very least, driving distance, but the lack of fact checking among the writers mean that they completely forgot about them both.

Buffy's birthday changed three times within the space of one season. Never mind that, it changed within one episode!!

Anya mentions in S5 that she can't drive, yet in S3 she says she has a car outside ready to leave.

In S7, The First says it is incorporeal and can't interact with the human world and can't touch things, yet in S3, Jenny was constantly touching Angel.


All of these are examples of continuity errors that the writers failed to think about and/or remember. And there are probably loads more, but those are the ones I remembered off the top of my head.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Just two thoughts:

1. Why should the writers show a middle figure (finger?) to the viewers? What could be there motivation to do that? Pissing the audience off, so they are buying more of the product? I dont know, so please tell me. 😉 Me, by the way, I never had the feeling that the writers were doing such things to me, while I was watching the show. But I think its just me, because I also enjoy the show, isnt that an odd idea?

2. So there are people that decide what matters. Cool. Always good to know, that there are such people out there. Very convenient. Could you give me some names, please. That would help a lot. And could solve a lot of disputes out there, if the evaluation process of that people is valid, but I guess if that people are also judging there own evaluation process, it will be at least 110% valid. No doubts about that. 😉

Please watch the tone of your posts. There is no need to be condescending to other members.

 

[ChaseRules]

I find it annoying at times but as long as it's not massively world changing or out of character, I don't mind them being there. The most important thing is how the writing makes me feel.

I agree . As long as the errors arnt too big I do what the people did in Sunnydale did about Vampires & just close my eyes to it . Buffy was good enough that I
let the small stuff go . Buffy was AU already so thst was

The fact that Sunnydale was apparently a coastal town, but the coast seems to have completely disappeared by the time 'Chosen' came along. There are docks and a beach within, at the very least, driving distance, but the lack of fact checking among the writers mean that they completely forgot about them both.

Buffy's birthday changed three times within the space of one season. Never mind that, it changed within one episode!!

Anya mentions in S5 that she can't drive, yet in S3 she says she has a car outside ready to leave.

In S7, The First says it is incorporeal and can't interact with the human world and can't touch things, yet in S3, Jenny was constantly touching Angel.


All of these are examples of continuity errors that the writers failed to think about and/or remember. And there are probably loads more, but those are the ones I remembered off the top of my head.

Those are the ones I had a hard time with but I didn't have a choice if I wanted to keep watching even thought a few times I wanted to slap the back
of someone head because of what I saw .

 

[Puffy]

Simply put; if you don't want to here somebody's opinions, don't solicite them.

Ckeck. So every opinion is cool. Thats very convenient. And a no brainer. I like that. Only the world seems a little bit odd to me, you know, all these things going very wrong. Why, if all these opinion just needed to be respected. So if some people in another country have the (random) opinion god told them to harm me really bad, hey, I just have to say "cool". Because if that wouldnt be cool for me, I just would elevate mine over theirs. Sure. 🙂

 

[Taake]

Ckeck. So every opinion is cool. Thats very convenient. And a no brainer. I like that. Only the world seems a little bit odd to me, you know, all these things going very wrong. Why, if all these opinion just needed to be respected. So if some people in another country have the (random) opinion god told them to harm me really bad, hey, I just have to say "cool". Because if that wouldnt be cool for me, I just would elevate mine over theirs. Sure. 🙂

I will reiterate a warning already given to you in this thread: Please watch the tone of your posts. There is no need to be condescending to other members.

Also please stick to the topic, we are talking about a fictional tv-show.

 

[Lyri]

Another error I remembered - Spike's chip didn't fire when he was fighting his way out of The Initiative.

 

[ChaseRules]

Maybe they wernt really human ? LOL

 

[thetopher]

So every opinion is cool. Thats very convenient. And a no brainer.

Then try and respect other peoples opinion of the show without the side-helping of condescention in you postings.

Only the world seems a little bit odd to me, you know, all these things going very wrong. Why, if all these opinion just needed to be respected. So if some people in another country have the (random) opinion god told them to harm me really bad, hey, I just have to say "cool".

You seem to have forgotten that we were talking about ART, not terrorism. 😉

 

[Taake]

Let's leave this here and move on with the topic, thank you.

 

[cryptwarmer]

I'm ok with continuity issues that fall under normal human error, hey this is fiction and these people are actors, and artistic necessity/license. After all I signed on board to watch and I'm free to get off at any stop.

It's tough, on a show where there are many writers that come and go, to have to absolutely hang onto every detail that someone cooked up years ago when a little tweak will help the show get where it's going now. I allow myself to blink and get on with it.

When shows jump the shark and I find myself unable to take the leap with them...makes me sad and sometimes down right cranky. That's the reason why I've stopped watching many shows, they just went someplace that I was unwilling to go.

Buffy never went anyplace I was unwilling to follow, though I have done my share of grumbling, eye rolling and heavy sighing at times...hey, sounds like my real life too. lol.

Last week I noticed Spike's tan lines in one episode. Lots of times during fight scenes the stunt double looks nothing like the character actor. It's a tv show. It entertains me.

Noticing these things isn't always a complaint or a harsh judgement against the writers and producers. Gaffs exist, they're reality, saying they exist is stating a fact, not a condemnation.

 

[Lyri]

Yeah, they're human, but the fact is that we're still sitting here talking about these errors ten years later.

This is why Kean and I often joke about the need for shows to employ a superfan to read over scripts and watch filming so that they can catch all these little things, lol.