Re: Writers who jumped the shark

Keith Snyder <keith@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:<BB2AE862.7C63E%keith@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>...
> in article _ncNa.7037$T4.6932@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Jim Barker
said:
> 
> > I never understood why the vampires didn't just start wearing kevlar
vests.
> 
> Kevlar doesn't work against bladed weapons.  You can get a knife right
> through it.
> 
> And here I thought a mystery writer would have nothing to contribute to
this
> thread.
> 
> As for continuity... the "foolish consistency" quote comes to mind. 
Nobody
> gives out awards for "Best Continuity."

Indeed.  Outside of the fan community (and I mean that in the
SF/fantasy/comics sense), it doesn't seem to be particularly prized. 
Serial dramas, and Buffy is one such even though many of the episodes
are self-contained, seem to thrive on bending continuity just as much
in adhering to it.  Just look at soap operas.  They may be a more
extreme example, but ultimately they face the same dramatic pressures
as more "respectable" programs like BUFFY or ER.

I wonder how many fan-favorites would have fared, continuity-wise, if
they'd lasted more than a couple of seaons.  Just consider one that
did, THE AVENGERS.  The John Steed of the Emma Peel episodes was a
rather different fellow than the more cynical and calculating
spymaster of the Cathy Gale ones.