# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/101 "2016-09-10T17:56:21Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > OK, I tried to watch a few early episodes, and although I don’t remember if [this](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2lwmre) is the exact one I saw, it certainly fits the mold. More competent Roscoe, and check out Daisy at around the 18 minute mark, trying to pretend to seduce Duke Slater from Gomer Pyle. > > It’s a really early one, so making it more kid-friendly later on is certainly the reason why it’s different. In the pilot episode there are several jokes referring to Enos as a virgin which was later dropped obviously after they decided to be kid-friendly. Also, initially the General Lee was Bo’s car and Luke had his own. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/102 "2016-09-11T03:05:08Z")
On STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the half-alien Deanna Troi has a weird accent that you’d maybe figure she got from her alien parent – but in a later episode, we _meet_ her alien mom, who talks like she was born and raised in Ohio. But it’s okay, because Mom helpfully notes that Deanna’s accent “reminds me of your father.” We get to hear her father talk in a later episode; he sounds blandly all-American. AFAICT, they never bother to address it any further on the show. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/103 "2016-09-11T03:38:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > On STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the half-alien Deanna Troi has a weird accent that you’d maybe figure she got from her alien parent – but in a later episode, we _meet_ her alien mom, who talks like she was born and raised in Ohio. But it’s okay, because Mom helpfully notes that Deanna’s accent “reminds me of your father.” > > We get to hear her father talk in a later episode; he sounds blandly all-American. > > AFAICT, they never bother to address it any further on the show. And to top it all off, by the TNG movies Marina Sirtis gave up on the “Mediterranean” accent altogether and just went straight Brit. ---
**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 11, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/104 "2016-09-11T17:54:05Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > And to top it all off, by the TNG movies Marina Sirtis gave up on the “Mediterranean” accent altogether and just went straight Brit. Until I saw her interviewed on CNN, I thought she was Israeli. :smack: Someone else must have thought so too, since she’s now head of the Mossad on _ **NCIS** _. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/105 "2016-09-11T20:07:32Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Although the scanner/transporter on the thing would make it better than a phaser since you could target folks out of line of sight. Sure, but that wasn’t part of the original rifle design. It was invented by the mad Vulcan who was killing people. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/106 "2016-09-11T23:02:30Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Sure, but that wasn’t part of the original rifle design. It was invented by the mad Vulcan who was killing people. Perhaps but it would still be a good add on. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/107 "2016-09-11T23:03:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > But hey: Back then, every straight male in America wanted to bang Charlene Tilton. That’s not true. I wanted to bang Victoria Principal. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/108 "2016-09-11T23:05:28Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > And to top it all off, by the TNG movies Marina Sirtis gave up on the “Mediterranean” accent altogether and just went straight Brit. Better yet was her Russian accent for Stargate SG1. Apparently she had never done a Russian accent before and she was intimidated by all the real Russians trying out, but her ability to technobabble got her the job. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/109 "2016-09-11T23:09:06Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Better yet was her Russian accent for Stargate SG1. Apparently she had never done a Russian accent before and she was intimidated by all the real Russians trying out, but her ability to technobabble got her the job. Behold, the most [amazing Marina Sirtis accent](https://youtu.be/yEEjNfDc9qE?t=18s) ever recorded. ---
**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 11, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/110 "2016-09-11T23:53:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s not true. I wanted to bang Victoria Principal. So did I, but I’d’ve gone with Charlene first. :o ---
**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:** [September 12, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/111 "2016-09-12T02:01:51Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > I think a lot of these examples aren’t what I’m looking for. A lot of what we’re seeing is continuity goofs like forgetting the name of Spock’s mother. I’m looking more for is major plot holes created by the rules changing because the writers changed their minds or they hadn’t thought up a limitation on someone until a later episode. Like if in one episode Spock uses his mind meld on a ferengi and then in a later episode we’re told that you can’t use telepathy against a ferengi. A big one would be the plot point of the TNG episode “Force of Nature”, where two scientists discover that warp drive damages the very fabric of space, and if not curtailed will eventually saturate space with dangerous rifts. The episode ends with the dilemma of either abandoning the use of warp drive- indispensable to their entire civilization- or eventually rendering entire sectors of space uninhabitable; a dilemma worsened by wondering whether other races will honor restrictions on warp drive or not. (A aesop about global warming?) Then in later episodes reference is made to this a time or two, and then the whole idea is dropped. Supposedly later improvements to warp drive solved the problem, but I don’t remember that ever being explicitly stated in any episode. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/112 "2016-09-12T05:24:55Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > A big one would be the plot point of the TNG episode “Force of Nature”, where two scientists discover that warp drive damages the very fabric of space, and if not curtailed will eventually saturate space with dangerous rifts. The episode ends with the dilemma of either abandoning the use of warp drive- indispensable to their entire civilization- or eventually rendering entire sectors of space uninhabitable; a dilemma worsened by wondering whether other races will honor restrictions on warp drive or not. (A aesop about global warming?) > > Then in later episodes reference is made to this a time or two, and then the whole idea is dropped. Supposedly later improvements to warp drive solved the problem, but I don’t remember that ever being explicitly stated in any episode. An awful episode. Forget the other civilizations - think about the ones who have went back and forth across the galaxy for millions of years - I assume using Warp. I think, given the time, it was more about CFCs and the hole in the ozone layer. But it is just typical of the clowns who took over the franchise that they never thought about the impact of this issue of the week story. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/113 "2016-09-17T22:10:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > So did I, but I’d’ve gone with Charlene first. :o Well, I wanted to jump on Ray Krebbs…or Bobby. (Probably Bobby if I had to choose.) And there’s nothing wrong that that! ---
**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 19, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/114 "2016-09-19T23:57:33Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Well, I wanted to jump on Ray Krebbs…or Bobby. (Probably Bobby if I had to choose.) And there’s nothing wrong that that! You’re obviously not one of the straight males I was talking about… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301/115 "2016-09-20T20:43:45Z")
Lois and Clark. In the pilot, Clark is wearing glasses from the very beginning. However, it’s not until late in the episode that he gets the idea to create a second identity as Superman in order to help people and still lead a (relatively) normal life. Why would he start wearing glasses he didn’t need before he had a need to disguise his face? The same is true of the 1948 Superman movie serial. However, a few years ago (long after L&C went off the air), the comics proposed a (relatively) reasonable explanation: Clark faked bad vision in high school to get out of sports, for fear that he might accidentally injure someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-tv-shows-that-make-no-sense-with-future-continutity/765301.md?page=5)