First Mutant ([info]firstmutant) wrote,
@ 2005-09-16 16:19:00
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Entry tags:thoughts

The Relative Importance of Continuity
http://www.livejournal.com/community/fanthropology/131370.html
"Soap people are just happy to be there. Sci-fi people want to know why in episode 2221 the molecular dithigium didn't split the atoms in half."
- Forbes March, actor (Mutant X, All my Children)

This is an interesting observation. Science fiction fans are indeed notorious for obsessively picking apart minutiae. And yet...I've watched incredibly detailed diatribes about continuity (or the lack thereof) in other genres as well--even in the seemingly permissive world of daytime television, where a character long dead can be effortlessly resurrected for the next season. Nitpicking isn't limited to the geeks; it just takes on a different form and focus in each fandom.


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[info]issuegirls
2005-09-16 09:20 pm UTC (link)
Speaking as a Mutant X fan... con-ti-what? ;)

Cat

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-16 10:06 pm UTC (link)
It's called "contimohanization".

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 12:32 am UTC (link)
Love the term. hehe

~~Lina ;)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 12:43 am UTC (link)
How else could Brennan come by 2 biodads, Shalimar have 2 different families, Jesse's grandfather be Mr Moneybucks in S1 and Mr Rusticplaidshirt in S3, Adam be a serious scientist AND practitioner of ceremonial magic, and Mason suffer a 70-80 IQ point loss between S1 and S2?

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-17 12:51 am UTC (link)
Shalimar has two different families?

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 01:13 am UTC (link)
Well...

In S1's Russian Roulette, Adam very casually asks Shalimar, "Well, you've got a family, don't you?" and she replies just as casually, as if there was nothing extraordinary about them.

However...

In S2's stunning season-ender, Shalimar is revealed to have The Family from HELL, her parents placing her in a mental institution at the age of 10 where she was beaten in the belief she'd stop expressing her mutancy if the barbarity continued long enough. (HUH? Feel free to comment on this unusual approach to mental health...)

They just cannot be the same families...

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-17 02:02 pm UTC (link)
That's a laugh. You really don't want to get me started with the way mental health is portrayed in Mutant X. The one psychologist who is not a monster is Dr. Palance from "Shadows of Darkness," Brennan's high school counselor.

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 01:05 am UTC (link)
Then there was Harrison who kidnapped Jesse somewhere in S1 & supposedly experimented on him at Genomex.

~~Lina ;)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 01:14 am UTC (link)
Slimey Ken just wasn't, well, slimey in that S3 opus. Slimey Ken, what happened to you? Come back, Slimey Ken!

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 01:47 am UTC (link)
There's a reason I can't remember season 3 besides the copious amounts of overtime, isn't there?

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 02:11 am UTC (link)
S3, like S2, just was not Mutant X. I don't know what the hell they were, but 2 and 3 were at least two different series, "Mutants Wandering About with No Particular Specific Purpose" and "Just How Easily Do the Mutant Kids Believe Whatever They Are Told?", with occasional special programs entitled "Unintended Mutant Humor".

I loved the way part of Genomex somehow became part of Sanctuary in S3, with Shalimar and Sparky consummating their (unconvincing) lust in Mason's office...one of the more unsubtle moments of contimohanization.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:24 am UTC (link)
I generally liked season 2. Though during the Evil Knockout Attempt of Doom any excuse to turn off the science part of my brain (and watching even S1 with that active isn't recommended) was a good excuse. :)

Though I sometimes wonder if destroying Genomex was a mistake. Moving away from the freak of the week premise, while risky, might've worked better if they'd went back to it sometimes.

Though moving away from that was, IMHO, Smallville's eventual undoing too. (I've watched Season 1 recently, having discovered they finally released them all in a box. The individual DVDs made it more expensive, per episode, than Star Trek. And I refuse to buy Star Trek because it's too expensive.)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 02:39 am UTC (link)
The PureMX Interview with Rocco Matteo

After diligent research by Cono, our intrepid Shalgal contacted none other than ROCCO MATTEO, production designer for Season 1 and the man behind the high style of the series. He graciously agreed to answer a few questions. An interview task force was assembled with Shalgal herself, Dark Mirage, Falconia and Frickangel. We came up with 10 questions sent to Matteo. He has already answered Part 1 in great detail and promised more to come!

First off, we'd like to thank you for agreeing to do this question and answer with us. We sent you 10 questions, but feel free to pick and choose which ones to answer. We weren't sure what you would remember or how many questions you'd like to respond to. We really feel that Season One's appearance give it a special feel even when the plot of the episodes weren't the greatest. We give you a large amount of credit for creating this feel.

PureMX: Mr. Matteo, the whole Mutant X production had to have a "feel", a particular look. How did you participate in its creation? What did you contribute to it?

Re: the feel of the show... I was hired first after the head writers. I read very early drafts of 2 scripts. Immediately I wanted to know how we would define the world of this show in terms of the x-men franchise and also in terms of our limited resources. It became obvious that the connection to the x-men would be nil, and that the show needed to create places that were unique to us. I had to define what those things might be, and how they might evolve over the run of a series. One starting point was the notion of how there could have been 2 opposed ideas of how to 'nurture' humans with heightened abilities. I thought 1 view embraced 'invasive' science and an authoritative administration that went with it, while the other view was a more 'holistic' or spiritual style run as a 'family'. It was decided that these 2 sides should be elaborated into 2 standing sets that would carry at lot of the storytelling. A lot of things inspire my work. I researched bio engineering and the human genome project. I saw documentaries and watched movies. i knew what came to be known as the GSA needed to be based as a secure lab environment. The actual plan of the main pieces were inspired by two things mostly: The main circular hall was a continuation of the work I had started on the "hub' set of Section 1 in the Nikita series. I felt the overiding relationships were the same....a central figure lording over an ongoing controlled experiment. The "gestation ring" was a primary holding and observation area for controlled experimentation on humans. The idea was that on the peripheral areas radiating out from this centre, were labs each detailed with a unique 'proceedure' that we-the audience- would glimpse every week. I proposed that the series could accumulate numerous interesting and scary places and re searches.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
interview continues here
[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 02:40 am UTC (link)
The PureMX Interview with Rocco Matteo

After diligent research by Cono, our intrepid Shalgal contacted none other than ROCCO MATTEO, production designer for Season 1 and the man behind the high style of the series. He graciously agreed to answer a few questions. An interview task force was assembled with Shalgal herself, Dark Mirage, Falconia and Frickangel. We came up with 10 questions sent to Matteo. He has already answered Part 1 in great detail and promised more to come!

First off, we'd like to thank you for agreeing to do this question and answer with us. We sent you 10 questions, but feel free to pick and choose which ones to answer. We weren't sure what you would remember or how many questions you'd like to respond to. We really feel that Season One's appearance give it a special feel even when the plot of the episodes weren't the greatest. We give you a large amount of credit for creating this feel.

PureMX: Mr. Matteo, the whole Mutant X production had to have a "feel", a particular look. How did you participate in its creation? What did you contribute to it?

Re: the feel of the show... I was hired first after the head writers. I read very early drafts of 2 scripts. Immediately I wanted to know how we would define the world of this show in terms of the x-men franchise and also in terms of our limited resources. It became obvious that the connection to the x-men would be nil, and that the show needed to create places that were unique to us. I had to define what those things might be, and how they might evolve over the run of a series. One starting point was the notion of how there could have been 2 opposed ideas of how to 'nurture' humans with heightened abilities. I thought 1 view embraced 'invasive' science and an authoritative administration that went with it, while the other view was a more 'holistic' or spiritual style run as a 'family'. It was decided that these 2 sides should be elaborated into 2 standing sets that would carry at lot of the storytelling. A lot of things inspire my work. I researched bio engineering and the human genome project. I saw documentaries and watched movies. i knew what came to be known as the GSA needed to be based as a secure lab environment. The actual plan of the main pieces were inspired by two things mostly: The main circular hall was a continuation of the work I had started on the "hub' set of Section 1 in the Nikita series. I felt the overiding relationships were the same....a central figure lording over an ongoing controlled experiment. The "gestation ring" was a primary holding and observation area for controlled experimentation on humans. The idea was that on the peripheral areas radiating out from this centre, were labs each detailed with a unique 'proceedure' that we-the audience- would glimpse every week. I proposed that the series could accumulate numerous interesting and scary places and re searches.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: interview continues here
[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:52 am UTC (link)
::looks puzzled:: Thanks, that's interesting, but I'm not awake enough to see the connection. A little help?

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Re: interview continues here
[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 03:02 am UTC (link)
You were saying if getting rid of Genomex was a mistake? It was a huuuuuuuuuuge mistake.

Matteo designed the Genomex set.

~~Lina ;)

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Re: interview continues here
[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 05:47 am UTC (link)
Yes, that and the visual style of S1, which included not just Matteo's wonderful sets, but the odd camera angles and tinted scenes. S2 & 3 had no particular style; combined with the way the stories meandered all over the place from monster shows (the guy in the rubber suit that looked vaguely fishlike) to Ain't Brennan HOT! shows (much of S2) to What the Hell is Adam Really About shows...there was no coherency, but a helluva lot of contimohanization...

S1, even at its worst (Sleazy Lorna the Scorpion Woman!)had style.

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Re: interview continues here
[info]tptigger
2005-09-19 03:17 am UTC (link)
Oh, I get it. :) Yeah. It really lost focus after season one.

I think they forgot rule two of format shake ups: have a plan!

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-16 10:20 pm UTC (link)
Indeed. Mutant X provides many prime examples of what NOT to do when writing a television series.

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 12:32 am UTC (link)
So very true. Very true indeed. ;)

~~Lina ;)

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 12:09 am UTC (link)
If Mutant X inspired such merchandise, it would've been a candidate for a Discontinuity guide :)

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-17 12:50 am UTC (link)
Ha! That is classic.

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 01:09 am UTC (link)
Soaps stretch it out to the limit. A kid born today on a soap shows up tomorrow a teenager looking the same age as their parents or almost everyone survives a bombing. No one ever dies. Soaps are a real fantasy. No matter what they say about dealing with so-called real issues, they're pure fantasy.

~~Lina ;)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 01:16 am UTC (link)
During a siege of illness, I watched a soap that had a guy eavesdropping at a window for weeks...never needed to go to the litter pan or to eat...

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 01:22 am UTC (link)
Soaps are so funny. No one ever watches tv or listens to the radio. Though on occasion if they do watch or hear anything, it's from a station that seems to be the only station in town.

No one ever sleeps either & there's no weekends either I believe on soaps. They could go for one day in a whole month. By next month it's the next day.

~~Lina ;)

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-17 11:01 am UTC (link)
I know. It seems that regular soap watchers are aware of all of these things, but have a sense of humor about them. And yet, for all the unreality that regularly exists in these shows, there are some points of continuity which even soap opera fans will not tolerate, especially those who have been following show for a couple of decades or longer. If you watch soap discussion boards for a short time, you'll see them. Aside from the constant background grumbling about the decreasing quality of certain shows and constant recycling of plotlines, there are outbursts of outrage against things like ridiculous characters that make no sense, particularly ill-planned storylines, or the mis-casting of a part. I remember a petition that went to TPTB of one soap for having cast an actress who looked far too young and was far too aggressive to pick up the role she was supposed to have. She was gone by the end of the month. Granted, actors in soaps have fairly precarious positions anyway, but producers of Mutant X never listened to fan opinion, much less allowed their decisions to be swayed by fandom concerns.

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 12:24 pm UTC (link)
Oh God! On All My Children, Kendall Hart (played beautifully by Sarah Michelle Gellar~who we all know as Buffy~10-12 years ago) is an excellent example of miscasting or WTF happened to Kendall?!

By the time the character left the series, the orig character had kissed & made up with the great Erica Kane (Kendall's mother; Erica had been raped & then pregnant as a result as a teen & gave up Kendall for adoption).

For some reason about 2-4 years ago, Kendall showed up again (played by a different actress) all pissed & wanting vengeance against Erica. The orig Kendall yes wanted to make Erica's life a living hell & wanted Erica to accept her & have a relationship with her, but Erica just couldn't be her mother since Kendall already had a "mother" & that's more or less what the orig Kendall finally understood in the end. She had also lost her adopted father & her adopted mother asked her to come home to help in a small shop they had been running. Before Kendall left, she & Erica had words, kind words, & Erica forgave Kendall for giving her hell.

It's why I never understood when the second Kendall came around why she wanted vengeance against Erica (who was going through about her umpteenth murder trial at the time).

The orig Kendall had also got involved with & fell in love with a guy named Del & he too had some help in making Kendall realize what she was doing to Erica. He also left Pine Valley with her to help her & her mother.

It's why I gave on soaps, writers & directors & actors & producers were being fired left & right. Characters that had been with the soap since the beginning or at least 25-40 years were suddenly non-existent. In came the pretty faces.

On one soap, As The World Turns, once Douglas Marland died unexpectedly & untimely, ATWT went downhill from there. It wasn't Marland's soap anymore. He kept things straightforward & he knew all the storylines & the characters & what was going on & everything. He didn't just sit back & let the producers & writers do their thing, he made sure they did it right.

The themes have changed. The credits have changed. Everything is so much different then when I last used to watch soaps on a regular basis.

Currently, I'm trying to watch the Young & the Restless because of Sheila (another great villain!), but I'm not sure why they brought her back. More or less, she seems to be doing nothing from what I've seen so far. I'm confused... :/

~~Lina ;)

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 01:48 am UTC (link)
I'd say "Let's write one" but that would require watching third season, huh? :)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 02:17 am UTC (link)
No.

All of my stuff assumes S2 & S3 mostly never happened. NO ceremonial magic, NO Victor Webster auditioning as Clark Kent, NO silly Dominion (which is double plus silly sounding once you know 'Dominion' is the name of a supermarket chain in Canada...), NO Malevolent Santa, and NO contimohanization.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:27 am UTC (link)
I thought "Dominion" was ripping off either Star Trek: Deep Space 9 or the Sci Fi Channel website.

Malevolent Santa? Ceremonial magic? Victor Webster auditioning as Clark Kent? I am most definitely repressing the lows of this show. :) I'm good at that.

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 02:44 am UTC (link)
Well...a Canadian series shot in a city with Dominion stores littered all about...

The utter absolute nadir of the series was the gawd awful Brennan in the invisible town ep in which he leaps into the sack with a floozie before they even know each other's last names, but their lame lust is portrayed as True Love...nevertheless, as soon as his buds show up, Brennan hops aboard the Flying Sow and dumps the floozie...

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:54 am UTC (link)
Brennan really has a bad habit of sleeping with anything (female) with a pulse, doesn't he? (That episode I remember. I spent most of it banging my head against a wall.)

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 03:08 am UTC (link)
Also, let's not forget Eckhart wanting to make more mutants. Though only God knows why...?

~~Lina ;)

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 03:27 am UTC (link)
He wanted absolute power so he could be absolutely corrupt?

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 05:53 am UTC (link)
Nope.

I don't even think that was Mason. Mason had wit and intelligence. Whoever showed up for Lest He Become was an imposter.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:22 pm UTC (link)
*blinks* See, I have that impression from season 1.

If he just honestly wanted to see these "anomalies" controlled, why pod each and every one that failed him. Ruthlessly. Like not giving ear guy a new filter thingy.

Don't get me started about imposters. The real Brennan Mulwray would not have sparked Eckhard to death. Nope nope nope.

(This was the thing about season 3 I really hated--all of a sudden Mutant X started regularly killing people. WTF?)

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[info]tribeofroses
2005-09-17 03:09 pm UTC (link)
Too bad you weren't around when the series official site message board was still around. You would have loved to have read the comments they made about Brennan killing Eckhart. Pathetic excuses for it.

~~Lina ;)

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 10:16 pm UTC (link)
Oy veh. Producers are really good at cognitive dissonance. You should've heard the Highlander group's "justifications" for the manner in which they killed of Richie.

::eyeroll::

I mean, sure Stan Kirsch was leaving and they had to write him out, but the character deserved more than a big giant plot hole!

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 06:19 pm UTC (link)
If he just honestly wanted to see these "anomalies" controlled, why pod each and every one that failed him. Ruthlessly. Like not giving ear guy a new filter thingy.

Funny you should mention the 'podding of the week'. Mason did a LOT of bluffing...more than hardly anyone realized:

http://puremx.masonesque.net/html/bodycount.html

And as for Brennan's character--where is there evidence of repenting his criminal past? In 301, he not only kills Mason, he kills the woman in the wheelchair and he also picks a stranger's waller when he needs some cash.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 10:14 pm UTC (link)
Weren't we agreed that S3 had serious problems? They seem to have lost all sense of character by that point. Jesse and Shal were off at times by then too.

Lexa was merely inconsistent.

I'm saying--it's like the ratings flagged, so they changed all the things that were right with the show.

(Gee, guys, have you ever thought of finding the fans on the 'net and asking them why people are tuning out in droves, we could've told them.)

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[info]kincsem
2005-09-17 05:49 am UTC (link)
& then in Cirque de Floozies, the video image of Mason wants all the mutants DEAD!

CONTIMOHANIZATION

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[info]firstmutant
2005-09-17 10:44 am UTC (link)
Neat, I would love to! You wouldn't have to subject yourself to S3 at all. You could take S2 and I could tackle S3; we could do S1 together. There are so many things to put into a discontinuity guide to Mutant X.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:19 pm UTC (link)
*g* OK, I'm in. :) Not that I need another fannish project, but the TPDIS shirts should only take up another month or so--then they go to Cafe Press and I can paint them pink. ;)

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[info]lonelywalker
2005-09-17 12:21 pm UTC (link)
One of the things about science is that it's science. There are laws and you damn well better stick to them. Soap operas rely mostly on interpersonal relationships, rather than the laws of physics, and people are more likely to change than gravity.

But you never know.

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[info]tptigger
2005-09-17 02:23 pm UTC (link)
*snort* Sometimes with SciFi you're just best off accepting that the writers are completely clueless and laughing it off.

Though blaming the poor actors for it is silly.

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