# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 188
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3741 "2025-08-09T03:22:28Z")
- > [@Sigene](#): > > was the fact that the glasses hid his face an important aspect? > > For example (but not limited to) did David Ford have to play two characters and the glasses allowed for some camouflage from the audience perspective….or maybe he was a twin, and it was a way to distinguish the blind twin from the other. The glasses are the important part, but not exactly that they hid his face. They did something else. And it has nothing to do with twins or any plot point, supernatural or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3742 "2025-08-09T05:37:04Z")
Were his eyes sensitive to the light? ---
**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:** [August 9, 2025, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3743 "2025-08-09T05:48:29Z")
Did his eyes develop a medical condition similar to David Bowie’s? > **[David Bowie’s Different Colored Eyes: Anisocoria](https://rscharfmanmd.com/david-bowies-different-colored-eyes-anisocoria/)** > > Why did David Bowie have two different colored eyes (heterochromia)? In fact, David Bowie's eyes were different colors due to anisocoria. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3744 "2025-08-09T12:07:19Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Were his eyes sensitive to the light? No ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3745 "2025-08-09T12:07:52Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Did his eyes develop a medical condition similar to David Bowie’s? No ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3746 "2025-08-09T12:09:47Z")
Is the blindness connected in any way to his character getting killed off? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3747 "2025-08-09T12:19:49Z")
Is the production method (shooting each episode straight through) relevant to this solution? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3748 "2025-08-09T13:27:52Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Is the blindness connected in any way to his character getting killed off? No ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3749 "2025-08-09T13:28:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is the production method (shooting each episode straight through) relevant to this solution? Yes ---
**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:** [August 9, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3750 "2025-08-09T13:42:31Z")
Cue cards? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3751 "2025-08-09T13:43:40Z")
Did the glasses make some aspect of his job easier? If so, is it related to makeup / costume changes? Was he appearing in any other shows, films, plays, etc., at the time? Did he have any relevant medical conditions or disabilities? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3752 "2025-08-09T13:56:46Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Cue cards? Yes! You got it! David Ford had a very difficult time remembering his lines. The grueling day-to-day scripts and schedule were harder for him than most. His rumored affinity for the bottle may have made it even more of a challenge. Before the “blindness” it was obvious when he would be looking for his cue cards rather than talking directly to another character. His solution was to blind his character, thus making the need to be seen conversing directly with others unnecessary. His character in dark glasses could be looking straight ahead (at the cue cards) while conversing on screen and thus conceal his need for cards from the viewer. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3753 "2025-08-13T14:11:09Z")
In a similar vein: imagine I told you I had a script that I’d figured was ready for TV, only I then got informed that, well, look, the advertiser isn’t paying to merely get a commercial or two aired during this; they actually want a scene added, with characters talking about how much they’re enjoying the product, okay? IMHO, there’d be _nothing lateral about that_; maybe I’d stamp my foot and holler about artistic integrity, but maybe I‘d just shrug and write the scene to placate that advertiser. And, what the heck: if the powers that be ever decided to redo it _without_ that advertiser, then we could just drop that extraneous scene, right? I didn’t figure we needed it in the first place; I’d presumably be fine with an audience seeing it As I’d Intended. Yeah, so, this is — the _opposite_ of that. Once upon a time, there was a script the writer was content with, and he added _nothing_ referencing this or that advertiser; each advertiser simply paid up without asking for a mention in the script, and it aired on TV just fine. And, when the time later came to take another crack at it on TV with some different actors, well, nothing got taken out, but a new scene got written in because of the _lack_ of an advertiser. No references to any product or whatever were involved. What was? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3754 "2025-08-13T14:15:40Z")
Did the scene break the fourth wall (i.e., acknowledge in some way that it was a TV show)? Did the extraneous scene make some product look bad? Did any other scene in the show? Is it to pad out the runtime, because a show with fewer commercials (of whatever sort) wouldn’t take up a full standard timeslot? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3755 "2025-08-13T14:31:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did the scene break the fourth wall (i.e., acknowledge in some way that it was a TV show)? No. **Did the extraneous scene make some product look bad? Did any other scene in the show?** Not as far as I can tell. **Is it to pad out the runtime, because a show with fewer commercials (of whatever sort) wouldn’t take up a full standard timeslot?** I don’t know if this involved a standard timeslot, and so I honestly don’t know whether the overall runtime was a factor; for all I know, maybe they would’ve been happy to air it with a slightly _shorter_ runtime than they wound up with, if it ran a little longer than they would’ve liked but they shrugged and decided to allow it anyway — or if a given scene had been deemed to be offensive or something, and if the story would’ve still made sense without it. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3756 "2025-08-13T15:33:09Z")
Was the show at all about advertising? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3757 "2025-08-13T15:36:59Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3758 "2025-08-13T15:41:52Z")
To be clear, this script aired on TV without anything added to reference an advertiser. Then, the **same script** was filmed for TV again with different actors and a new scene was added because of the lack of an advertiser. Assuming this is yes, how much time passed between the two broadcasts? Did the original broadcast include live commercials with the show’s actors? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3759 "2025-08-13T15:56:05Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Assuming this is yes, how much time passed between the two broadcasts? > > Did the original broadcast include live commercials with the show’s actors? Five-and-a-half months. No, I don’t believe so. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3760 "2025-08-13T16:58:02Z")
Were both broadcasts on the same network? Same country? Same language? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=187) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=189)