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January 20, 2006
A Semi-Special Minor Tweaks
In television parlance, a "flashback episode" is one in which highlights from previous shows are strung together in order to make a new, "original" episode. This keeps writers from having to invent plots, write dialogue, and do all the other stuff that makes writing so darn troublesome. Instead all they have to do is come up with some lame premise (the characters get stuck in a traffic jam or trapped in an elevator) and then the characters "remember" what's happened to them in past shows. It's an overused, transparent device that reveals the writer for what he actually is, i.e., a lazy hack.
This occurred to me recently when I was marooned on a tropical island. I also thought about that time I found an orange flier stuck in my door. After considering that for a while, I remembered when the humidifier and the de-humidifier engaged in some pretty mean trash talk. That was unexpected! As was that conversation between Brad Pitt and Franz Kafka -- I mean, I'm pretty sure Brad Pitt is dead. I also reminisced about that time I gave artists some free advice and that discussion I had with the guy who drove me around St. Louis (which wasn’t very hard to remember, seeing as how it just happened).
There were plenty of other things to mull over, but just then the Coast Guard arrived and rescued me. Phew. And let me add: Hooray!
Posted by teb at January 20, 2006 11:15 AM