Continuity in TV Shows (particularly the Simpsons)
 

Does continuity in TV shows bother you? I'm thinking of the episode of the Simpsons this past Sunday (the repeat one) where Marge turns into a body builder.. Two things stood out.. One there was a line about bumper stickers on her car and they show the station wagon with a bunch of stickers.. but in every other episode there are none. The other was when her pearl necklace gets stolen and she gets upset and tells the crook not to let it tangle.. In a previous episode, we see a big ball of pearl necklace in a drawer that she unwraps and grabs another one... Anyone else notice stuff like this or do I just need to go back to work?

whoops.. should've put this in TV Talk.. sorry mods.. can you move it or should i just repost it there?

Remember the episode where Homer gets the job of the voice of Poochy, and lays into a nerd who nitpicks something incredibly inconsequential?

;)

On the Simpsons, continuity is always secondary to humor. If it's funny, just laugh, don't spend time worrying about Bart eating butterscotch in one episode when we learned in an earlier episode that his two allergies are butterscotch and imitation butterscotch.

"The Simpsons" hasn't had continuity since the first episodes. Geography, character histories, etc are all flexible. Listen to some of the commentaries on the DVDs for more insight on this.

Ummm... this is the show where Bart has been in third grade for, like, ten years...

The only real continuity in the Simpsons is character deaths. Other than that, it doesn't really exist.

Oh, Milhouse's parents got divorced, and they still are

When I see continuity errors on The Simpsons I don't really care that much. (maybe because it's a cartoon and I can let a little more slide). But when I see it in live action shows it makes me wonder if the writers, producers, creators, etc, even pay attention half the time.

Although I do get annoyed that the Simpsons moved into Homer's childhood home after Homer and Grampa burned it down :)

Barney-->alcoholic--->recovering alcoholic--->alcoholic(?)

Yes, from the very start, the lack of continuity have often been openly adressed on the Simpsons.

I remember an early episode ending with Lisa and Bart were discusing how Homer liking Ned Flanders wouldn't last as the situation would be back to normal next week.


Then, there was also this episode where the Simpsons adopted a racing horse.

Marge : Mmmh! Should the Simpsons get a horse?

Comic book guy : Excuse me! I believe this familly already had a horse, and the expense forced Homer to work at the Kwik-E-Mart, with hilarious consequences.

Homer : Anybody care what this guy thinks?

Crowd : No!



On another topic but still appropriate for this thread :

Milhouse : We got to spread this stuff around! Let's put it on the Internet.

Bart : No - we have to reach people whose opinions actually matter.

Continuity bothers me more in hour dramas or major motion pictures than it does in half hour comedies.

I mean does anyone remember when Kramer on Seinfeld was named Kessler and had a dog?

Or when Theo was actually Teddy and Sondra didn't exist on the Cosby Show.

OR how about Uncle Jesse's last name change in Full House? I also think Saved by the Bell was ripe with incontinuity.

Seinfeld had a cross-over with Mad About you, in which Paul Reiser was subletting his apartment to Kramer. A couple seasons later on Seinfeld, George & Susan are in bed watching Mad About You.

Re: Continuity in TV Shows (particularly the Simpsons)
 

Whenever you notice anything like that, a wizard did it.

Or how Harry morgan pretended to be a general in an early episode of Mash, and then pretended to be colonel Potter later on (for like 6 seaons), and NOBODY noticed.

Re: Re: Continuity in TV Shows (particularly the Simpsons)
 

:lol: "In epsode-"
"Wizard."
rotfl

There's more to Simpsons "continuity" than just deaths. For example, every time they show their basement, it has the giant Aztec ("No Maggie--Olmec") head that Mr. Burns gave them. And Ned still runs the Leftorium. And Apu is still married and still has octuplets. Etc. Etc. Of course, for every bit of continuity, there are a hundred other things they cheerfully ignore.

Am I the only one that remembers when Homer sees himself walk past the living room window while he's inside on the couch?