# I am really getting sick of important plot being given outside the film. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2012, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963 "2012-02-06T10:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/21 "2012-02-07T19:02:00Z")
> [@grude](#): > > And you knew that investigators searching for them found the house from the end of the movie intact as we see it in the film, despite the fact it burned down in the 1940s? Intact? It’s a derelict shell of a building. Looks to me like it’s what’s left of a building that burned down several decades ago. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cMQQpmm5u3w?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/22 "2012-02-07T20:56:18Z")
So… You’re really getting sick of something that happened in 1999 and then again 10 years later? Or do you have any other examples? ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/23 "2012-02-07T21:14:45Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Going back a bit… OK quite a bit. The final part of the movie _2001 - A Space Odyssey_ was very difficult to understand if you hadn’t read the novel. > > Does that count? If anything fits the OP, this movie does. The entire last portion of the movie just doesn’t give make any sense without knowledge of the plot of the book. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/24 "2012-02-07T21:17:17Z")
The opening scenes of Revenge of the Sith don’t make a lot of sense if you hadn’t seen the Clone Wars cartoon. You can sort of piece it together, but it’s unclear who Grievous is, why he wheezes nonstop, and why he kidnapped Palpatine in the first place. None of that gets any actual explanation in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/25 "2012-02-07T22:29:35Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > The opening scenes of Revenge of the Sith don’t make a lot of sense if you hadn’t seen the Clone Wars cartoon. You can sort of piece it together, but it’s unclear who Grievous is, why he wheezes nonstop, and why he kidnapped Palpatine in the first place. None of that gets any actual explanation in the movie. It gets explained in the opening crawl. Just like in Episode 4 you don’t know anything about what’s happening except what’s in the crawl. You’re just dropped right into the action. I have heard that the Tron sequel had a pretty good tie-in comic that helped flesh out the world a lot and made the movie more enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/26 "2012-02-07T23:24:34Z")
> [@grude](#): > > What the hell man?! You do not explain plot details vital to even understanding the movie outside the movie in crap most people don’t know exists, its ridiculous… > > When did this become accepted and ok and not a jerk move? I have the same complaint about TV shows. Battlestar Galactica was going along fine, then they had their “web only” episodes squeezed in before IIRC season 4 kicked off. I think a TV show should be a \*TV show. \*Sure, make episodes available On Demand or whatever and have web browser interfaces, but run the show on TV, too. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/27 "2012-02-07T23:34:13Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > So… You’re really getting sick of something that happened in 1999 and then again 10 years later? > Or do you have any other examples? Two examples that sprung instantly to mind, if I had the spare time I’d compile a giant list. In related annoyances a few years back website tie ins were all the rage, Stephen King’s Rose Madder has a missing chapter and a url for readers to go to a website to read it, that site is now gone. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/28 "2012-02-07T23:39:50Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > If anything fits the OP, this movie does. The entire last portion of the movie just doesn’t give make any sense without knowledge of the plot of the book. I think its fairer to say the book and movie complement each other, in the sense that the book does a better job of explaining to your head what’s going on and the movie does a better job of explaining to your eyes what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/29 "2012-02-08T03:43:58Z")
> [@grude](#): > > In related annoyances a few years back website tie ins were all the rage, Stephen King’s Rose Madder has a missing chapter and a url for readers to go to a website to read it, that site is now gone. :mad: Are you sure? Rose Madder was published in 1995. The Internet barely existed in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/30 "2012-02-08T16:59:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Two polar bears are watching the game on TV. One of them gets frustrated (I presume because his team is doing poorly, though I’ll admit that that wasn’t explicit; maybe I needed to check out the webpage) and gets up to get a Coke. Hijinks ensue. What did I miss? I was wondering that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/31 "2012-02-08T17:50:56Z")
> [@grude](#): > > . . . Stephen King’s Rose Madder has a missing chapter and a url for readers to go to a website to read it, that site is now gone. :mad: Does it help? ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/32 "2012-02-08T17:59:44Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > So… You’re really getting sick of something that happened in 1999 and then again 10 years later? > Or do you have any other examples? Another example is probably “Donnie Darko”. Although the online stuff didn’t help that much. The biggest help was for anyone that was watching the movie in the theater or in some other venue that they couldn’t just freeze frame. There were some text pages that were only on screen for a second or so. At the online site, you could (eventually) read what they said. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/33 "2012-02-08T18:19:28Z")
How about the new reunion scene between Buttercup and Wesley in _Princess Bride_ that you have to send away for from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Did it ever get published or is Kermit Shog still standing in the way? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/34 "2012-02-08T19:03:04Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Does it help? I can’t imagine anything that could make that book worthwhile. The only reason I read it is because I was sick for 10 days and it was all that was left in the house I hadn’t read. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/35 "2012-02-08T19:08:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Are you sure? Rose Madder was published in 1995. The Internet barely existed in 1995. That was my thought too - the Netscape IPO was in mid-August of 1995 (which is my go-to date as to when the Internet first _really_ became mainstream news.) Having read the book, first edition, I don’t recall this at all. I do recall that it had a great opening chapter, then went downhill so fast it was like stuck in a black hole. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/36 "2012-02-08T22:35:30Z")
A couple of posts I’ve made on the subject: [Back in 2004 I said](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=250216): > [@](#): > > While I like the current run of Clone Wars cartoons, it’s got me worried. If this catches on as a trend, will it eventually become not just optional but necessary to follow a storyline through multiple media? Where important plot points jump from movie to HBO special to web site to video game? I’d hate to go to the second or third installment of a trilogy at the movies and find out that it’s unintelligable unless you know what happened “offscreen”. [Then in 2006, the Battlestar Galactica reboot](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=374459%22): > [@](#): > > Awhile back I started a thread in which I expressed my fears that “multimedia storylines” would make it impossible for a casual movie/tv viewer to follow a series. The beginning of **Revenge of the Sith** makes no sense if you didn’t catch the second Clone Wars cartoon. Now we’re gonna have to download clips, buy the special DVD, watch the HBO special, etc., etc. dammit! I have _dialup_, how am I supposed to download webcasts? I did get broadband- [fortunately, because it didn’t get better- 2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503219): > [@](#): > > > [@Baldwin](#): > > > > I hardly even know who Hoshi is, and don’t remember a relationship between Gaeta and an Eight on New Caprica. Did I miss an episode, or is this stuff you only get from the webisodes? > > Webisodes. Or maybe it was a director’s cut special DVD. Or the approved-as-canon videogame. Or the animated series. Or… damn, I’ve been dreading this: the dawn of the Multimedia Story Line, pioneered by Star Wars, in which you can’t follow what’s going on **just by watching the damn show**. :dubious: > “Mommy, why is that robot guy who kidnapped Palpatine coughing and acting weird?” ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/37 "2012-02-09T01:14:13Z")
I thought the Japanese were doing this kind of crap well before that, what with things like .hack. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963/38 "2012-02-10T01:59:51Z")
The only thing Star Trek doesn’t explain about Nero’s motivations is why he just sat on his ass for 20 years after killing Kirk’s dad. Actually it was in the movie but they took it out. The deleted scenes are on the DVD. He’d been captured by Klingons and spent the intervening time in prison. Certainly no need for a comic to explain that he was driven mad by the destruction of his home planet and he’s come back in time to get revenge on those he blames. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-really-getting-sick-of-important-plot-being-given-outside-the-film/611963.md?page=1)