# Moments in TV shows that make no sense with future continutity **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301 "2016-09-07T21:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/21 "2016-09-08T00:30:30Z")
A lot of _How I Met Your Mother_ flashforwards make no sense as a result of the finale. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/22 "2016-09-08T00:31:15Z")
The TR-116 rifle from DS9’s “Field of Fire” would have been incredibly useful if the crew was ever involved in a major interstellar war. You know, like if they ever had to fight the Dominion and the Cardassians at the same time. Or something. But like most things on Star Trek, everyone forgot all about it at the end of the episode. Ground combat in Star Trek was always total nonsense, but that one example stood out in my mind. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/23 "2016-09-08T00:42:37Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I see this “fact” posted in various places without any cites, credible or otherwise. I doubt very much that it’s true. TV writers are writing “for hire” and as such their work would belong to their employers. Untrue. I once talked with Sally Caves, who wrote “Hollow Pursuits,” which introduced Reg Barkley. She got a payment whenever the character appeared - except for cameo appearances. She was complaining that one use was being called a cameo. The WGA is very powerful in Hollywood. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/24 "2016-09-08T00:45:15Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > All of the early events on Friends are completely screwed up. IIRC, Carol was pregnant with Ben for over a year. I think they eventually resolved that by saying that they hooked up one last time just before the divorce. On the other hand, Chandler “met” Rachel about 6 times. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/25 "2016-09-08T01:38:11Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the Star Trek reboot, they created the ability to teleport at interstellar distances, negating the need for starships. I wouldn’t go that far. It’s certainly a better way to travel, but it’s a pretty wretched way to explore. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/26 "2016-09-08T02:26:00Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The shows _Emergency!_ & _Adam-12_ had some weird discontinuity. Both shows supposedly take place in the same universe, as Reed & Malloy would occasionally guest star on _Emergency!_ However, later in the series, John Gage suddenly becomes an obsessed fan of the TV show _Adam-12_ . That’s like how in an early episode of Mad About You we find out Kramer from Seinfeld is living in Paul’s old apartment, complete with guest appearance by Michael Richards. Years later on Seinfeld, Susan makes George watch Mad About You. There’s another problem with this one. Paul makes a reference to Kramer about the funny guy across the hall (Jerry) but in another Seinfeld episode (the backwards one) we see Kramer already living across the hall when Jerry is moving in. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/27 "2016-09-08T02:42:52Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > The TR-116 rifle from DS9’s “Field of Fire” would have been incredibly useful if the crew was ever involved in a major interstellar war. You know, like if they ever had to fight the Dominion and the Cardassians at the same time. Or something. > > But like most things on Star Trek, everyone forgot all about it at the end of the episode. Ground combat in Star Trek was always total nonsense, but that one example stood out in my mind. You know whats useful?? Firing your phaser like a flashlight instead of a projectile weapon. Using maximum setting which is supposed to take out a small building. The wide beam setting is handy too. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/28 "2016-09-08T02:44:35Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > All of the early events on Friends are completely screwed up. IIRC, Carol was pregnant with Ben for over a year. Carol finds out she’s pregnant in a very early episode and gives birth (as a different actress) before the season’s over, so less than a year. Rachel, however, was pregnant with Emma at the end of one season, and gave birth at the end of the next season, so yeah. Lilith on Cheers was pregnant for a really long time, so much that they hung a lampshade on it before she finally popped out Freddy. > [@Morbo](#): > > I watched an old **Dukes of Hazzard** episode not too long ago, having not see it in probably 25 years. I felt like I was going insane it was so different from what I recalled. There was a drunken brawl at the Boar’s Nest, I’d swear Daisy Duke was dressed way sluttier than I expected, and Roscoe P Coltraine was actually serious and smart, not the bumbling idiot I remember. > Then I watched another one, and all of that was gone, replaced by the more clean version from my memories, and Roscoe was once again a moron. Weird. “Sluttier” than the short shorts that bear her name? I don’t recall that ever happening, but I do recall in the first episode some mildly incestuous flirtation between her and one of her cousins. Like many shows, there were some slight tweaks between the first few episodes and the rest of the series. There were a few episodes with another, more competent sheriff, played by fake Darrin himself, Dick Sargent, due to a dispute with James Best, but I assume that’s not what you’re thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/29 "2016-09-08T02:54:30Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > On the other hand, Chandler “met” Rachel about 6 times. Kind of like on the original **The Odd Couple** (the Randall/Klugman one) where Season 1, Episode 4 Oscar & Felix reminisce about how they first met, 7 years previous on jury duty. But Season 2, Episode 15 Oscar tells the story of how he introduced Felix to Gloria, then after they’d been dating for awhile on the day he wanted to propose, Felix loses his voice. Since Felix’s oldest child is over 10, this means that Felix & Oscar would have know each other for over a decade. But Season 5, Episode 10 while talking about how their father’s met each other, many years earlier, Felix & Oscar met when they were kids. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/30 "2016-09-08T03:16:40Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > …The shows _Emergency!_ & _Adam-12_ had some weird discontinuity. Both shows supposedly take place in the same universe, as Reed & Malloy would occasionally guest star on _Emergency!_ However, later in the series, John Gage suddenly becomes an obsessed fan of the TV show _Adam-12_ . **Petticoat Junction** , **Green Acres** , and **The Beverly Hillbillies** were all set in the same universe and shared characters (especially the first 2 shows), yet one episode of **Green Acres** had the residents of Hooterville doing a play of **The Beverly Hillbillies**. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/31 "2016-09-08T03:19:29Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > A lot of _How I Met Your Mother_ flashforwards make no sense as a result of the finale. They only have themselves to blame for that though since they knew the ending from the beginning ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/32 "2016-09-08T03:23:55Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > She was complaining that one use was being called a cameo. Hollywood really is the most corrupt industry in America. Just look at their odd accounting system used to prevent actors from ever getting paid. The guy who played Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi can’t get paid because he only gets paid if the film makes a profit and it still is listed as being in the red. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/33 "2016-09-08T03:29:51Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I watched an old **Dukes of Hazzard** episode not too long ago, having not see it in probably 25 years. I felt like I was going insane it was so different from what I recalled. There was a drunken brawl at the Boar’s Nest, I’d swear Daisy Duke was dressed way sluttier than I expected, and Roscoe P Coltraine was actually serious and smart, not the bumbling idiot I remember. > > Then I watched another one, and all of that was gone, replaced by the more clean version from my memories, and Roscoe was once again a moron. Weird. You mean when she was hitch hiking in a bikini? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/34 "2016-09-08T04:20:12Z")
Game of Thrones, IIRC: Varys, S1: I will kill Daenerys for you, Lannisters, by sending someone to poison her. Varys, S5: Haha, I was serving Daenerys the whole time! But neglected to warn her about the poison… There’s a reason it went like this (I won’t spoil the book version), but in the show it seems that the writers pointed themselves into a corner. > [@Ponch8](#): > > One from\* The Simpsons\*: Marvin Monroe, the family therapist, was supposed to be dead (there was a Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital, and they alluded to his death in a clip episode). Then he reappeared in a later episode several years later. I think the writers brought him back just to fuck with the viewers. Yes. People apparently hated the Sadgasm episode because it mucked with continuity, as if continuity was ever a concrete thing on the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/35 "2016-09-08T04:29:21Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Maj. Margaret Houlihan’s father turned up in “M_A_S\*H” after she said he had died. She was very drunk at the time, though. Speaking of M_A_S\*H, in the earliest “Dear Dad” episode, Hawkeye wraps up his letter to his father by saying, “Hug Mom and Sis.” Of course, it was later well established that Hawkeye was an only child, and his mother died when he was very young. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/36 "2016-09-08T04:39:27Z")
Don’t try to make soap opera continuity a thing. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/37 "2016-09-08T05:19:11Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Speaking of M_A_S\*H, in the earliest “Dear Dad” episode, Hawkeye wraps up his letter to his father by saying, “Hug Mom and Sis.” Of course, it was later well established that Hawkeye was an only child, and his mother died when he was very young. Henry Blake’s wife was named Mildred at one point and Lorraine at another. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/38 "2016-09-08T05:24:03Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The shows _Emergency!_ & _Adam-12_ had some weird discontinuity. Both shows supposedly take place in the same universe, as Reed & Malloy would occasionally guest star on _Emergency!_ However, later in the series, John Gage suddenly becomes an obsessed fan of the TV show _Adam-12_ . The Green Hornet and Kato guest starred on _ **Batman** _, but on _ **The Green Hornet** _, the bad guys of the week were watching _ **Batman** _ on TV. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/39 "2016-09-08T05:28:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > This was explained on an episode of Frasier where some Cheers people appeared. Frasier said that he’d just talked to his father and was mad at him. So he said he was dead. He also told the gang at _ **Cheers!** _ that his father was a research scientist, and not a police officer. I don’t remember if Frasier ever explicitly told them he was an only child, but in the episode mentioned above, it was clear he’d never once mentioned that he had a younger brother. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/40 "2016-09-08T06:25:17Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Hollywood really is the most corrupt industry in America. Just look at their odd accounting system used to prevent actors from ever getting paid. The guy who played Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi can’t get paid because he only gets paid if the film makes a profit and it still is listed as being in the red. Do you mean David Prowse, who wore the Darth Vader suit in _A New Hope_ and _The Empire Strikes Back_, too, or James Earl Jones, who did his voice? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301.md?page=3)