# Fascinating plot developments.....that are dropped. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2012, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836 "2012-02-05T06:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/41 "2012-02-06T04:19:14Z")
> [@EvilMinion](#): > > Another plot point on Buffy and Angel that was repeatedly forgotten for convenience was the reason for why there was a Slayer. Giles, Xander and other humans repeatedly fought vampires and weren’t ripped to shreds, so if humans could fight vampires, why have a Slayer? I’m beginning to think a lot of people did not watch the final season 😉 In fact we see the creation of the slayer line, in pre history Africa where some wizards(probably the start of the watchers council) arrange for a teen girl to get raped by a demon or something while they perform a ritual which creates the slayer line. So really the only reason the slayer exists is because of their actions. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/42 "2012-02-06T04:20:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > To be fair, they didn’t really have time to deal with it in **Serenity**.\* And they did go back and explain all of it in the comic books\*. Clearly, I’m missing some books! I have one…somehow missed there were more. Thank you! Amazon, I’m a comin’! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/43 "2012-02-06T04:21:04Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > _Law and Order_, when Serena Sutherland was fired and she asked if was because she was a Lesbian. That was not, however, fascinating so much as incredibly stupid and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![EvilMinion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@EvilMinion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilMinion)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/44 "2012-02-06T05:10:51Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I’m beginning to think a lot of people did not watch the final season 😉 > > In fact we see the creation of the slayer line, in pre history Africa where some wizards(probably the start of the watchers council) arrange for a teen girl to get raped by a demon or something while they perform a ritual which creates the slayer line. > > So really the only reason the slayer exists is because of their actions. I know why the Slayer exists in the Buffy-verse itself, but I guess my point is if that if humans can fight vampires and survive, what’s the point creating a superhero who can fight them? If she alone has the strength and skill to fight the vampires, etc..why do we see non-superpowered humans fighting vampires and surviving? It’s more of an inconsistency with the writing than with the mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/45 "2012-02-06T05:14:56Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > An interior decorator! But his house looked like shit! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/46 "2012-02-06T05:19:31Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The only possible conclusion is that the Russian (Slava) eventually died in the woods, and with no leads as to how it happened, his people chalked it up as a loss and moved on. The Russian who was taken to the Pine Barrens was named Valery. His boss is Slava. Otherwise I have to agree with the assessment. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/47 "2012-02-06T05:20:09Z")
_Fringe_ likes to do this. They’ll start up some tiny sub-plot and never mention it again. Like Broyles and Nina being in a relationship or that FBI agent investigating Fringe Division and some how linking it to the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/48 "2012-02-06T13:49:53Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > They touched on it in ST:Voyager…it’s why Voyager’s nacelles rotated up when going to warp. Speaking of Voyager (and Trek doesn’t appear to be doing very well on this thread), the whole Threshold episode. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/49 "2012-02-06T14:30:22Z")
Another World’s Head writer Harding LeMay wanted to have Michael Randolph, a major young male character, come out of the closet. He had the story line written and the actor hired. Then sponsor Procter & Gamle nixed the idea. Two decades later, twice the soap Days of our Lives introduced young men, who hadn’t been seen since they were toddlers, coming home from college scheduled to come out of the closet to their parents. But both actors gained such a fanbase that the story line was dropped. The guys were Brady Black and Eric Brady. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/50 "2012-02-06T14:58:43Z")
> [@EvilMinion](#): > > I know why the Slayer exists in the Buffy-verse itself, but I guess my point is if that if humans can fight vampires and survive, what’s the point creating a superhero who can fight them? If she alone has the strength and skill to fight the vampires, etc..why do we see non-superpowered humans fighting vampires and surviving? It’s more of an inconsistency with the writing than with the mythology. It only matches the inconsistency that any smart demon or vampire would get the hell out of Sunnydale first thing. There’s only one slayer, so you move to the east coast and feast undisturbed. It makes far more sense to have an army of slayers, since you do have any army of vamps/demons. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/51 "2012-02-06T16:54:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It only matches the inconsistency that any smart demon or vampire would get the hell out of Sunnydale first thing. There’s only one slayer, so you move to the east coast and feast undisturbed. > > It makes far more sense to have an army of slayers, since you do have any army of vamps/demons. I think the idea was supposed to be that all the really bad demons/vamps would be drawn to the Hellmouth. Sure, you could feast to your heart’s content in NY, but could you bring about the end of the world? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/52 "2012-02-06T17:01:46Z")
Yes, but there’s also a second Hellmouth in Cleveland – with no slayer. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/53 "2012-02-06T17:22:25Z")
> [@EvilMinion](#): > > I know why the Slayer exists in the Buffy-verse itself, but I guess my point is if that if humans can fight vampires and survive, what’s the point creating a superhero who can fight them? If she alone has the strength and skill to fight the vampires, etc..why do we see non-superpowered humans fighting vampires and surviving? It’s more of an inconsistency with the writing than with the mythology. It was probably a bigger deal when non-superpowered humans were scraping by with pre-20th-century gear. (Heck, it took an entire army to beat that guy who could be harmed by No Weapon Forged, back when; in modern times, he’s no match for one hit by a rocket launcher.) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/54 "2012-02-06T17:28:48Z")
Most fans of _Friday Night Lights_ agree that season 2 is more or less off the rails. It was the year of the writers strike, but more importantly, the network seemed to have pressured the show to incorporate more “sensational” story lines, which are SO not what _Friday Night Lights_ is about. By season 3, they seem to have worked this out and the show gets back on track, with seasons 4 and 5 getting even better. However, even with all the garbage that was in the truncated season 2, there was one new character that I was really liked … Santiago, a kid with issues that Buddy agrees to foster, initially because Buddy wants Santiago’s talent on the football field, but it actually turns into an interesting dynamic beyond that. I wish the show had given any information at all about what became of Santiago, but after that season, he was never mentioned again. ---
**Author:** ![drewcosten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@drewcosten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewcosten)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/55 "2012-02-06T17:34:06Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > As I recall,that was originally supposed to lead into the Borg, who were originally supposed to be insectile. However, they discovered that they couldn’t make a insect alien that didn’t look stupid, so they went with the version of the Borg we all know. The parasites in question were also a major plot point towards the end of the DS9 “season 8” novels (though they’re not necessarily canon, with the new timeline in the movies they may as well be). The turned out to be related to the Trill symbionts. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/56 "2012-02-06T19:19:10Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > The russian from the Sopranos. Pauly and Christopher bring him into the woods to bury him, but he makes an escape, getting shot in the process. The never find a body, so they can never bury it and hide that they killed him. It was never mentioned again. I actually liked this about the Sopranos. It added an element of realism for me. Sometimes crap like that happens and you have to live in that shadow of doubt. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/57 "2012-02-06T20:08:02Z")
Happy Days. Chuck Cunningham’s sudden disappearance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/58 "2012-02-07T01:02:54Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It only matches the inconsistency that any smart demon or vampire would get the hell out of Sunnydale first thing. There’s only one slayer, so you move to the east coast and feast undisturbed. I once started a thread asking essentially the same question about the Marvel universe. All of the major superheroes seem to be based in New York City. So why don’t supervillians just avoid that city and move to Philadelphia or Chicago? I speculated that either those cities were overrun with unchecked supervillians or they had their own superheroes who were doing the same work as the NYC superheroes but not getting any publicity for it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/59 "2012-02-07T02:40:09Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > No, he would not have been too embarrassed to recount this incident to his boss (who we are told in the previous episode is like a brother to him, and who served with him in the military in Chechnya.) He would have described the entire ordeal, and then the Russians would have hunted down Tony and tortured him brutally before murdering him and chopping him up into pieces. This is the problem with watching too many Arnold/Seagal/Van Damme/Stallone movies. The escaped Chechen (interior designer…Paulie cracks me up) thinks that the mob wants him dead. Smart move is to get out of sight, not rip off a local gun shop and find an AK that holds 3000 rounds in order to take out all of the Sopranos family. Their skills, assumed to be significant (maybe even Ranger-level) aside, they don’t have the resources nor the manpower to battle Tony’s crew, and at that point he probably could have called NY for more manpower. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836/60 "2012-02-07T02:54:32Z")
OK, I’m not an expert on the mob, but I’m _pretty_ sure that the Russian mob syndicate is significantly _more_ powerful than Italian organized crime families, which - in my understanding - are just barely holding on. Valery would absolutely _not_ think that “the mob wants him dead” because Paulie _told_ Valery (paraphrased) “not that it makes any difference now, but we didn’t come to your apartment to kill you, just to collect the money. But you had to run your mouth, and that’s why we’re about to kill you.” He knew that his attempted execution was the result of the argument and physical altercation in the apartment, not some kind of officially-sanctioned hit. I’ll revise what I said though, the Russians probably wouldn’t seek to kill Tony because Tony had nothing to do with Valery’s kidnapping and didn’t even know about it until after he escaped. They’d probably go after Paulie and Christopher. And I fully believe that they would have killed those two if Valery had survived and told Slava what happened. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fascinating-plot-developments-that-are-dropped/611836.md?page=4)