Is there an intelligence test TV writers have to fail?

[Jim]

Hi,

I'm watching the move "The Clearing" with Robert Redford, in a scene the detective asks his wife how tall is he, she responds six foot. [6']

note: a 3 inch difference in height since he is 5'9" per his bio at IMDB. When I worked with Redford in the movie Havana I was told he only works with actors close to his height, I was a movie extra, btw I'm 6'2".

Which license does this represent?

Bye, back to the movie.

Robert Redford Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000602/bio

[Rhydderch Hael]

...It seems that those are two common occurrences. Either a series is pulled when it is still going good, or a series continues past its expiration date (i.e., it's gone bad). Other than mini-series, I can't think of any that were ended 'just right' (although Lost might do it today). Any candidates?

--Pete

The creators of the original BBC version of Life on Mars deliberately ended it after two series/seasons to avoid going stale, and probably to preserve John Simm's sanity as well (there is only one episode where he's not in every scene, and it was written that way so he could have at least a few days off like the rest of the cast).

You can act to "pigs in space" for only so long before the audience wants answers.

[LavCat]

You can act to "pigs in space" for only so long before the audience wants answers.

I rather liked Pigs in Space myself. Not every series can have a character named Link.

[Vandiablo]

The creators of the original BBC version of ...

That's the more telling part. You can watch a season of most British shows, and the season will have a "conclusion" in the final episode. This is in contrast to American shows that for years would strive to make all episodes interchangeable. Nowadays the better written shows, even the sitcoms, will at least have a "finale" as the last episode, where significant events can happen that will alter any future episodes of the show. Maybe the British shows are less optimistic about continuing another season, or more confident that the audience would follow into the next season despite changes. The American shows seemed to be extremely reluctant to make any change.

Or at least that's my opinion based on watching comedies of both nations.

You can act to "pigs in space" for only so long before the audience wants answers.

Statler and Waldorf were always shouting questions from the balcony, even though they usually didn't want the answers.

-V

[Occhidiangela]

...and the person speaking was a highly educated and intelligent linguist.

I give partial credit to Occhi here:

Many movements come from the efforts of cunning linguists.

V

Why thank you.

As most of what I watch on the TV is sports or news, my assessment of TV writing has to do with how it has driven me away from the medium.

The news, on the other hand, is as plagued by errors in fact as it is by errors in usage. What I want to know, however, is how many carpenters play in the NFL? They keep talking about taking it to another level ...

[[wcip]Angel]

I don't recall any specific examples on bad tv-writing, as my allegiance is now firmly placed in the literate minds of HBO-employed writers.

However, I'm sure writers of 24, Prison Break, Heroes, Lost and other half-assed shows have committed this faux pas on more than one occasion.

The word is "evacuate"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5d82ndui_s