# Plotlines that were abandoned mid-series with no explanation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124 "2010-03-11T16:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/81 "2010-03-14T04:13:04Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Actually, the writers said they were going to address it, but the writer’s strike screwed it up. Now their excuse is “we went too long without mentioning it, so we’re just gonna ignore it.” Maybe they could have done the same with Heroes’ entire Season 2. Or I could have done the same, so I could get back the time I wasted watching the thing. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/82 "2010-03-14T06:56:26Z")
> [@The\_Shroud](#): > > For the next few times he meets her, he does something dramatic which makes her want to continue with the relationship, before pointing out to her that she only likes dramatic relationships and they both agree to stay together in a quiet, dramatic-free relationship. Sounds like a break up to me. But you’re right, they never officially break up on screen, though JD does say something like “If there’s nothing else besides the drama, it’s time to move on” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jl5WRThr0II/hqdefault.jpg "My Drama Queen Part 2/2 (Guest Star Amy Smart)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl5WRThr0II) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/83 "2010-03-14T07:52:48Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Yeah, always wondered about him, too. He should have popped up again later. This bothers me so much. It wasn’t a dropped plotline, it was an incident in a one-off episode and you could tell it was that kind of episode from the first few minutes. It was a setup to put Chris and Paulie in a weird situation and explore their relationship. The Russian didn’t come back for the same reason we never find out what’s in Marcellus Wallace’s suitcase: it doesn’t matter. From the show’s standpoint, he did what he was supposed to. And if he’d come back for revenge or something it would have been really unbelievable. I can’t believe anybody ever expected this, or even though we were going to hear another two words about the guy. I loved the episode, but it was supposed to be a diversion, not the setup for The Revenge of Some Russian Guy. If you want a dropped plot on the Sopranos, I’d say the wiseguys were awfully incurious about the disappearance of guys like Richie Aprile. And I guess the illegal airline ticket investigation went away when Livia died, but I don’t know if the FBI would have really let it go that easily. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/84 "2010-03-14T08:36:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This bothers me so much. It wasn’t a dropped plotline, it was an incident in a one-off episode and you could tell it was that kind of episode from the first few minutes. It was a setup to put Chris and Paulie in a weird situation and explore their relationship. The Russian didn’t come back for the same reason we never find out what’s in Marcellus Wallace’s suitcase: it doesn’t matter. From the show’s standpoint, he did what he was supposed to. And if he’d come back for revenge or something it would have been really unbelievable. I can’t believe anybody ever expected this, or even though we were going to hear another two words about the guy. I loved the episode, but it was supposed to be a diversion, not the setup for The Revenge of Some Russian Guy. The reason people thought there would be more is because of the TV/movie rule of if you don’t see the body the guy isn’t dead. They very deliberately left it open and even added to it when you see that Paulie’s car is stolen at the end. It’s clear that they wanted people to speculate on what happened to the guy. Personally I hoped they’d never resolve it but I can hardly blame people who thought there would be a resolution. > [@](#): > > If you want a dropped plot on the Sopranos, I’d say the wiseguys were awfully incurious about the disappearance of guys like Richie Aprile. And I guess the illegal airline ticket investigation went away when Livia died, but I don’t know if the FBI would have really let it go that easily. Richie was unliked had no support and had approached a few people about wacking Tony. They were incurious because they didn’t care and they could probably guess what happened. I thought they mentioned the Airline tickets being rolled into the later Rico case but I may be wrong. With Livia dead they lost their big witness and probably the only solid connection between Tony and the tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/85 "2010-03-14T09:03:43Z")
Not exactly a plotline, but in _The Wire_, there’s a scene that takes place in a gay bar. The camera pans across the room and focuses very briefly but very deliberately on a middle-aged man, William Rawls, a major character who up until point has shown no sign of being gay. It’s never mentioned in the show again. I have no idea what the writers were trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/86 "2010-03-14T12:39:00Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Not exactly a plotline, but in _The Wire_, there’s a scene that takes place in a gay bar. The camera pans across the room and focuses very briefly but very deliberately on a middle-aged man, William Rawls, a major character who up until point has shown no sign of being gay. It’s never mentioned in the show again. I have no idea what the writers were trying to say. This was talked about in a thread a while ago - we were discussing whether he was gay and the consensus was that that scene had been played for the sake of ambiguity. Apparently the writers have said he might be, and that it would definitely play well with his alpha dog persona at work. Apparently (I’ve not scene them watching it) there are some other clues dropped in on this issue, like some graffitti saying “Rawls sucks cock” written in one of the station locker rooms, but then who doesn’t write that kind of stuff about their superiors? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/87 "2010-03-14T13:20:41Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri: You’re not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator. > Christopher Moltisanti: His house looked like shit. That was a funny line. Paulie said that because the guy worked for the interior ministry and he misheard it over a bad cell phone connection. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/88 "2010-03-15T02:43:10Z")
On Star Trek TNG, when Guinan first met Q, they spoke of something in happening between them in the past and they both stood as though they were about to fight. For Q to be in that position, he would had to have known Guinan had some kind of power, but they never told why they hated each other or why he felt she was a threat to him. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/89 "2010-03-15T03:36:09Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > On Star Trek TNG, when Guinan first met Q, they spoke of something in happening between them in the past and they both stood as though they were about to fight. For Q to be in that position, he would had to have known Guinan had some kind of power, but they never told why they hated each other or why he felt she was a threat to him. I’ve heard rumours that there were plans for an episode with one or both of them if **Enterprise** had been renewed for a 5th season. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/90 "2010-03-15T04:02:44Z")
On “The King Of Queens” Doug has a sister played by Ricki Lake, who is featured in a handful of episodes, and then she vanishes into thin air, never to be mentioned again. Apparently on the pilot episode Carrie also has a sister who only appears in that one single episode, after which it is mentioned over ond over during the course of the series that Carrie is an only child. Neither dropped character detracts much from this mostly mediocre (though occasionally funny) series; it never really tried too hard at being realistic, which was fine for what was trying to be—just another by-the-numbers TV sitcom… ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/91 "2010-03-15T20:55:48Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Even more puzzling is the fate of the station’s licensed telepath Talia Winters: In an earlier episode, Kosh the Vorlon hired her for an assignment that was actually a trick to get a psychic recording of her personality. Later, it is revealed that the Talia we thought we knew was a false persona and that her true self was an undercover agent for Psi Corp. Appalled at what has happend to Talia, Security Chief Garibaldi remembers the incident of the recording and rushes from the room to see if it can be used to restore the version of Talia they knew… and then nothing. They don’t even say it didn’t or couldn’t work. Wow, I totally don’t remember that part at all. And I’ve seen the series at least two or three times the whole way through. (That is to say, I remember what happened, but not the potential way out you’re referring to.) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/92 "2010-03-15T21:23:33Z")
According to [this wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathwalker), that’s what _would_ have happened if Andrea had stayed with the series. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/93 "2010-03-15T21:28:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > 24 season 4. > > Behrooz Araz gets traded to the terrorists in exchange for Jack Bauer’s life and is never seen again. On that note – the end of season 2 (of the same show). Mandy initiates “Plan B” – giving President Palmer the poison handshake of death. Season 3 starts, blowing right past that plot point with barely a mention (other than something like “once the instigators were rounded up” or some such thing). ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/94 "2010-03-15T21:33:59Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > According to [this wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathwalker), that’s what _would_ have happened if Andrea had stayed with the series. Oh, okay, I remember that now. I think my confusion was that I never realized (or forgot) that it was her entire personality; I thought it was more specifically just a record of her worst fears, which wouldn’t make a particularly useful backup for a restore. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/95 "2010-03-15T21:38:01Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Babylon 5 had a couple. Commander Sinclair’s girlfriend, a freelance prospector shows up at the station a few times, but gets dropped as a regular character. Even more puzzling is the fate of the station’s licensed telepath Talia Winters: In an earlier episode, Kosh the Vorlon hired her for an assignment that was actually a trick to get a psychic recording of her personality. Later, it is revealed that the Talia we thought we knew was a false persona and that her true self was an undercover agent for Psi Corp. Appalled at what has happend to Talia, Security Chief Garibaldi remembers the incident of the recording and rushes from the room to see if it can be used to restore the version of Talia they knew… and then nothing. They don’t even say it didn’t or couldn’t work. So the Talia Winters character is dropped and nothing further happens, except later it’s strongly implied that she was callously murdered by PsiCorp after she was of no further use. Related: At some point in the Shadow War, some Shadow ships are captured, with human telepaths wired into them as cyborg guidance-systems. One of these slave-pilots, it turns out, is Bester’s love interest. He promises to help and support Sheridan and his team if they will try to restore her to her original condition. She is never mentioned again, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/96 "2010-03-15T21:45:49Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > On the series _Queer as Folk_ the character Emmett, a flamingly gay promiscuous southern guy who usually works as a waiter of gofer and later a porn-star, became involved with a very rich much older man (Emmett was 30-ish and the old guy was around 70). The old man, George, wanted him as a kept boy but they actually fell in love. Unfortunately George died while they were trying to join the mile-high club. > > In his will George left Emmett $10 million. His family (he’d been married and had kids and grandkids who no longer spoke to him) challenged the will claiming undue influence and senility and the like and Emmett got a counsel to fight it (one of the lesbian characters who was a lawyer). The family entered negotiations and offered him $2 million in cash so long as he’d sign a statement claiming he and George had never been involved sexually or romantically (which they knew was a lie but it was to spare the family a scandal). Emmett considered it but refused and said “I’ll see you in court” or something similar; the jist was he’d rather not get a penny but tell the truth than lie about the man he loved for $2 million. > > This was never _one time_ referred to again. Emmett entered two major relationships (Ted and the closeted football player) and had some other plotlines but they never mention the status of the lawsuit or give any indication that he might one day be rich or anything like. While it was a sweet-ish scene that love mattered more to him than principal, there’s no way in hell he or anybody else would drop a better than decent shot at $10 million or that his friend the lawyer would let him. > . Also, Emmet spent tens thousands of dollars buying his friends presents - a diamond bracelet for Debbie, a trip to Italy (I think) for Justin, an entire season of designer suits, a car, etc. How the hell did he pay all that off? I would assume the family wouldn’t just let him keep the money he’d already spent, they didn’t seem like the type. I get why the writers might not have wanted to do a long, drawn-out plotline with a court case and all that, but at least some mention of what happened would’ve been nice. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/97 "2010-03-15T23:13:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Related: At some point in the Shadow War, some Shadow ships are captured, with human telepaths wired into them as cyborg guidance-systems. One of these slave-pilots, it turns out, is Bester’s love interest. He promises to help and support Sheridan and his team if they will try to restore her to her original condition. She is never mentioned again, AFAIK. She is - when they realise the telepaths can be used to fight the shadow ships they start to do so and Bester is told that his lover wasn’t one of them. We don’t find out exactly what did happen to her but we should probably assume she was left with the other telepaths not used in the fight who at that point were beyond Earth’s medical science to actually help (so they intended to keep them frozen until they knew how to do so). ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/98 "2010-03-16T04:43:16Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > According to [this wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathwalker), that’s what _would_ have happened if Andrea had stayed with the series. I thought she went off on some mission with G’kar? ---
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/99 "2010-03-16T12:32:57Z")
In _The Sarah Connor Chronicles_, the subplot around John Connor’s troubled female chemistry partner, Cheri Westin, was abandoned when the first season was cut short due to the writer’s strike. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/100 "2010-03-16T13:53:56Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > I thought she went off on some mission with G’kar? That was Lyta Alexander (played by Patricia Tallman). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124.md?page=6)