Continuity errors-a list

Joseph DeMartino said:

I thought the debate was more about whether JMS changing his mind counted as an "error". If I announce that I'm going to spend the weekend in Miami, get as far as Lauderdale, suddenly hang a right and go to Tampa instead, is that an "error"? Did I screw up and "miss" Miami or did I change my target?

I say I changed my target YMMV.

Regards,

Joe

Click to expand...

True. I think I want to nitpick this a bit more and see if it makes sense. What you described above I would classify as a mistake.

So if JMS changed his mind about how he wanted something done in the show is really a mistake or not...I'd say no, it isn't. He realized he wanted to do something better, changed his mind, and did it that way. It wasn't an accidental change, it was intentional, for the better of the story, and he did it on purpose. So I'd say that is NOT a mistake.

However, could that change effect the continuity of the show, to someone who doesn't read online, all of JMSs posts and comments? Yes! Perhaps continuity error isn't the right word, but a discrepancy in continuity would have been a better way to name this topic.

He can make an intentional change, but although intentional, it would have the effect of altering the continuity of the show as a result. Not an accidental mistake mind you, or even an error, but certainly causing a discrepancy in continuity.

I think a lot of the ones we discussed here were an example of that. There might be one or two true "oops" kind of mistakes in the show....but no one is perfect and to only have a couple of those in a show is outstanding.

I think you just nailed it Recoil ... whether by accident or design a discrepancy is still a discrepancy,

there is another one in severed dreams, the EAS Roanoke is destroyed twice, once when the Churchill rams it and it comes apart and it also gets shot to pieces.

There are a couple others like that in Severed Dreams but with so many SFX shots, I can see how it would happen.

For example, you see Clark-loyal starfuries fire on the Churchill and cause an explosion but then we see the bridge of the Alexander with everyone rocking about. Now maybe they got hit too but since it came immediately after the shot of the starfury attack, the implication is that it cause of the damage and not another off-camera attack.

That is also the episode where the marines from the breaching pod burn through the wall, when really they should have burned through the floor (not to say that they couldn't have burned through the floor first, then burned through a bulkhead or two out of spite).

RMcD said:

That is also the episode where the marines from the breaching pod burn through the wall, when really they should have burned through the floor (not to say that they couldn't have burned through the floor first, then burned through a bulkhead or two out of spite).

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Maybe they burned through into a closet?



They did, of course, get it right in War Without End.

Also in Severed Dreams Delene states that the only person so survive a Minbari "fleet" was behind her implying Sheridan's batle was against a fleet again.

just wondered
is it me or do they seem to imply in the final episode that Sheridan had had his 20 years and the alliance was also 20 years old.
sheridan died at the end of 2260 at zhadum
the alliance was found at the end of the following year
rising stars?

Recoil said:

Joseph DeMartino said:

I thought the debate was more about whether JMS changing his mind counted as an "error". If I announce that I'm going to spend the weekend in Miami, get as far as Lauderdale, suddenly hang a right and go to Tampa instead, is that an "error"? Did I screw up and "miss" Miami or did I change my target?

I say I changed my target YMMV.

Regards,

Joe

Click to expand...

True. I think I want to nitpick this a bit more and see if it makes sense. What you described above I would classify as a mistake.

So if JMS changed his mind about how he wanted something done in the show is really a mistake or not...I'd say no, it isn't. He realized he wanted to do something better, changed his mind, and did it that way. It wasn't an accidental change, it was intentional, for the better of the story, and he did it on purpose. So I'd say that is NOT a mistake.

However, could that change effect the continuity of the show, to someone who doesn't read online, all of JMSs posts and comments? Yes! Perhaps continuity error isn't the right word, but a discrepancy in continuity would have been a better way to name this topic.

He can make an intentional change, but although intentional, it would have the effect of altering the continuity of the show as a result. Not an accidental mistake mind you, or even an error, but certainly causing a discrepancy in continuity.

...

Click to expand...

Umm... Isn't this pretty much why the word, "retcon" exists?