Hope everybody had an enjoyable week. Beginning with this edition, I want to start doing two new weekly features that will appear in every column. Being a stickler for continuity, the first feature will bring up an example of a television show contradicting its own continuity. Some of these examples may be big, some may be small. They’ll basically just be instances that have really grated my nerves and stuck out like a sore thumb for me personally. If you’d like, you can also e-mail me some examples of your own, or offer an explanation as to why my example doesn’t quite work. If you come up with a good example or defense, maybe I’ll even include it in the following week’s column.
The second new feature is quite simple: A fun fact regarding television. Now, the fun fact may be about an actor, it may be about a show in general, it may be about a character. The possibilities are endless, but basically it will just be something that I find interesting related to television that I don’t think you will know. And, again, feel free to send me any fun facts that you may want included in the column.
Anyway, let’s get started.
CONTINUITY POLICE, VOLUME 1:
Okay, this one is a bit of a doozy (and a two-parter, too!), so bear with me as I try to explain it. For whatever reason, this has always bothered me.
On an early episode of Mad About You, Jamie (Helen Hunt) tells Paul (Paul Reiser) that he has to sell his bachelor pad now that they’ve moved in together. Long story short, in a cross-over gag we learn that Kramer (from Seinfeld) is the person subletting Paul’s apartment. It’s a funny bit, and even includes Paul asking Kramer about Jerry Seinfeld, the comic who lived next door (I’ll be referring to this again a little later). Anyway, this means that in the television universe, the “Mad About You” universe and “Seinfeld” universe are both real.
However, in the episode of Seinfeld that George and Susan get engaged, they go to sleep watching an episode of Mad About You. That means that, according to Seinfeld, the “Seinfeld” universe is real, but the “Mad About You” universe is fake. This contradicts what we had already been told.
Then, to further contradict this all, in the episode of Mad About You that Paul tries Viagra, he runs into Jerry Seinfeld on the street. This was right after Seinfeld ended, so Paul goes on and on about what a huge fan he is of the show. So, that now means that the “Mad About You” universe is now real, but the “Seinfeld” universe is fake.
So, basically, two shows cross over, telling the fans that both shows are real. Then, the cross over show defies that, and a couple years later the original show not only defies its original continuity, but also the continuity established in the cross over show. You need some sort of chart to keep track of this all.
Oh, and in the cross over episode, Paul asks Kramer about the comic who used to live across the hall (Jerry). This means that Jerry lived in the apartment building before Kramer. However, in the backwards episode of Seinfeld, we learn that Kramer lived in the apartment building first. Man, that cross over episode really messed with my head, I guess.
LOST:
Is it me, or did ABC completely skip over an episode of Lost? This past week they showed the second part of the episode that Claire and Charlie are kidnapped by Ethan, however I would have sworn that the week before, they had the episode that Sayid was held captive by the French woman. Did ABC completely skip over that first part of the episode, or did I just miss it? Anybody else keeping track of the repeats over the summer that can answer this?
Anyway, regarding this episode, it was another strong one. Jack is one of my favorite characters, so I always enjoy episodes revolving around him. On top of that, considering the amount of pressure the rest of the castaways put on his shoulders, it’s also nice to see him when he’s at his most vulnerable. I also enjoyed getting some further back story between Jack and his father, including (I assume) why his father left to go to Australia in the first place (because Jack played a part in him losing his license). It was also interesting seeing how important the other cast aways view him as. As noted by Locke (when Jack wanted to put himself in a potentially dangerous situation), being the only physician on the island, losing Jack would hurt the group more than anybody else.
I also really liked the way Kate’s relationship with her father contrasted with Jack’s relationship with his. When Kate reveals that she knows how to track people, the immediate assumption is because she was running from the law. However, we then learn that it was because she used to go hiking (or was it hunting?) with her father, showing that they had a close father/daughter relationship. Meanwhile, we get repetitive flashbacks of Jack continuously butting heads with his father, revealing that the only time Jack’s father showed any love for him was when he was being manipulative or when he wanted something in return.
We also got further subtle hints regarding Walt and Locke’s respective special abilities when it comes to the island. With Locke, he frequently mentioned “having a gut feeling” in regards to knowing what direction to go in when they were trying to find Claire and Charlie. He also knew the exact moment that it would start raining, and in both instances he seemed to have an uncertain confidence in his instincts. The emergent revelation of Walt’s abilities was somewhat more subtle, with him being able to will the dice into landing on whatever number he wanted. I also particularly enjoyed Hurley telling Walt that he’d get the money he owes him, when we later find out that Hurley won the lottery and can actually pay off that hefty debt.
The episode was also significant because we got our first view of the latch, as well as the developing friendship between Locke and Boone. Speaking of furthering relationships, I liked how we got a glimpse of how much these characters have grown to care about each other, particularly in the scene with Kate, Jack, and Charlie. I continue to thoroughly enjoy this show, and I really hope ABC doesn’t skip any more episodes.
THE 4400:
I must say, though, that my favorite show over the summer that actually premieres original episodes has to be The 4400 (now that Family Guy is on hiatus until September). It was interesting getting some back story on Richard, and I continue to wonder what his abilities may be. Since so little attention has been placed upon it, and since we do not already know, I have a feeling that it’s going to end up being something significant. In that same vein, I have a feeling that Jordan’s disappearance may have to do with his own abilities (since we never found out what abilities Jordan has, either), and not Shawn’s, like I originally assumed.
Speaking of Shawn, I like how he is beginning to reconcile with his family, and I particularly liked how his brother came to him for assistance regarding Kyle. It was cool how Shawn offered the 4400 complex as a safe house of sorts, and I’m definitely intrigued by how he will react when he discovers that Kyle was the one who assassinated his mentor (this may have been dealt with in last night’s episode, which I haven’t seen yet). The Kyle storyline has definite implications that will impact Tom, Shawn, and a lot of other important branches of the ongoing storylines of the regulars. Speaking of which, we haven’t seen much development in the Isabelle story arc.
YOUR TV FUN FACT OF THE WEEK:
Here is another new feature I want to start doing. Without further adieu, A Case of the Mondays presents your first TV Fun Fact:
Ironically, the literal translation of the Dutch name “James Van Der Beek” (Dawson Leery of Dawson’s Creek) is “from the creek.”
Well, that’s it for this week. Be sure to send me an e-mail if you have any continuity contradictions that get under your skin, or a fun fact that you don’t think many people may know.
