R-Point

Midsomer Murders (the good seasons, 1-8) did this from time to time. I won't give any spoilers.

This is a second category of TV trick I like where the writers play off common TV show conventions to set up twists or mysteries like when Dawn showed up on Buffy or everyone lists their memories on TNG and it wasn't automatically self evident that the new guy was an alien because new crew 1/2

Apple’s Afterparty was good at this

www.reddit.com/r/TheAfterPa...

I think you’re hitting on why this doesn’t happen; in the moment, “plot point you can dismiss as a continuity error” just looks like a continuity error and takes you out of it. even worse in a series, where fans can assume you’re retconning an actual continuity error

It was extremely well received by fans (and used as proof of the showrunner’s brilliance etc) in part because it *was* a plot point based on a purely visual cue (and one you could easily assume was just an error) which as you say, you really don’t see that many of

Brokenwood (tv). Midsummer Murders (tv). Lynley (tv). Maigret (2025). Rivers of London books. The original Bosch books. Ludwig (2025 tv). Elementary (except the last season).

Not exactly what you’re saying but I’m thinking here of the Doctor Who plot where the Doctor loses his jacket and then suddenly has it back for one scene later in the episode and it’s later revealed as a deliberate plot point (involving time travel, obviously).

I think by definition I don't want books here (for once!).

Wondering if anyone on here can beat the other site.

Yeah, it's all very varied, but you'll probably get better CRITICAL analysis about something from (somewhere) within its fandom than from without. They've thought about it the most and they care the most.

Want to go on a David Bordwell kick. What's the best stuff? (Not necessarily the broadest introduction, I like reading narrow works too.)

Finished "Apothecary Diaries". Never seen another show that had the protagonist sleep through the climax because she probably wouldn't be very interested in it.

Kellogg's made their own until they got sued so they changed the name to "granola".

Just took out:

Depends on time and place I guess, in "The World of Yesterday" Stefan Zweig recounts the extreme reverence with which actors were treated in Vienna towards the end of the 19th century, although as he notes Vienna was far from typical in its appreciation for the arts

There were definitely prestigious actors (I think William Macready is an early example - famously he sparked a riot by performing in the US at a time of nationalist fervour) but I think the profession as a whole was still maligned en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_P...

I think Carl Bernstein is the last journalist to basically take a joruneyman route, starting as a copyboy in high school and moving to papers where they were fine hiring journalists w/out college degrees when he flunked out, and then moving up from there as he built his reputation.

People try this today—I knew someone online who moved to North Dakota after college because they snagged an opening at one of the papers there (this was ~2013). In the 20th century one could do it locally, and earlier without a college education.