FARK.com: (6537836) 21 Dropped TV Subplots. Somehow, LOST does not take up all 21 spots

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		21 Dropped TV Subplots. Somehow, LOST does not take up all 21 spots (avclub.com)		193
		More: Interesting, human beings, Saved by the Bell, subplots, Carlton Cuse, General Hospital, Adrianne Palicki, Zack Morris, David E. Kelley

• • •

16831 clicks; posted to Entertainment » on 05 Sep 2011 at 12:27 PM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/6537836

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

193 Comments (+0 »)

Archived thread

First | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | » | Last | Show all

bingethinker		2011-09-05 05:05:06 AM

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!

BreezyWheeze		2011-09-05 07:37:19 AM

The same could be said of Dexter, or Heroes.

NJP2007		2011-09-05 08:00:20 AM

Ignores one of the biggest dropped subplots - Richie's "older" brother on "Happy Days." And there's a similar story, apocryphal I think, about one of the daytime soaps circa late 50's or early '60's wherein a peripheral character excuses him or herself to go upstairs to bed - and never comes down. Years later, the head writer gets a letter from a confused viewer wondered just when said sleeping character will be making a reappearance.

LordOfThePings		2011-09-05 08:13:33 AM

NJP2007: character excuses him or herself to go upstairs to bed - and never comes down.

Except for the upstairs part, was sounds like Spearchucker Jones.

LordOfThePings		2011-09-05 08:15:31 AM

LordOfThePings: Except for the upstairs part, ~~was~~ sounds like Spearchucker Jones.

Please phrase that in the form of not a question.

FirstNationalBastard		2011-09-05 08:23:50 AM

NJP2007: Ignores one of the biggest dropped subplots - Richie's "older" brother on "Happy Days." And there's a similar story, apocryphal I think, about one of the daytime soaps circa late 50's or early '60's wherein a peripheral character excuses him or herself to go upstairs to bed - and never comes down. Years later, the head writer gets a letter from a confused viewer wondered just when said sleeping character will be making a reappearance.

That wasn't a dropped subplot so much as a character just disappearing.

FlashHarry		2011-09-05 09:19:06 AM

the ultimate is still chuck, richie's older brother on happy days. seen and mentioned in season one, never to be mentioned again.

Confabulat		2011-09-05 09:33:53 AM

Speaking of awkwardly aging Walts, lil' Walter White Jr (aka Flynn) is looking quite a bit older that he oughta be, don't you think? Still loves his breakfast cereal though.

DamnYankees		2011-09-05 09:41:36 AM

That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude		2011-09-05 09:45:24 AM

9. Julien's gay lifestyle, The Shield

Huh? Don't really see how that belongs on the list. It was a subplot that ran its course and ended with him being married, living a lie under the guise of having been "cured". I mean...the show didn't air on Bravo, did they expect a multi-season arc for Julien being gay?

19. Furio's romance with Carmela, The Sopranos

You've gotta be shiatting me. They put THAT on there but barely mention "Russian in the woods"? GTFO. Furio goes back to Italy and he confesses to his uncle how he's in love with the bosses wife. His uncle tells him there's only two options, kill the boss or abandon his love. He can't bring himself to kill Tony (as we blatantly see in one episode), and opts to leave for Italy instead (as we hear after). That's not dropping the plot. At least they gave his subplot some closure as opposed to just "walking upstairs forever" ala Family Matters.

That's one shiatty list.

DamnYankees		2011-09-05 09:47:16 AM

Two of those to comment on:

TNG - what's the follow up on? It ends with an ominous note, but no more or less than usual. No need for a followup, no unanswered questions.

The West Wing - Sam loses. This is made pretty obvious. He leaves the White House knowing he will lose and presumably does. What more is there to say?

TheOther		2011-09-05 09:57:35 AM

15. Foreman's near-death experience, House - the results confirm that his brain has been affected. How badly? We may never know, because it never really came up again

Did I dream the subsequent episodes where Foreman's outlook and mental capacity are issues; where he asserts a 'Don't worry, be happy' and he'shiatting the books to relearn what has been lost? Was 13 in the shower the whole time?

All lists suck in some manner, but dayuuum!

TheOther		2011-09-05 10:17:47 AM

TheOther: he'shiatting the books

CAWKSUCKIN' FILTER!!1!!

Mugato		2011-09-05 10:24:50 AM

Virus attack on President Palmer

That wasn't a dropped subplot. Mandy tried to assassinate Palmer and he lived but his hand was all farked up. End of sub plot. I do wish they would have brought back Mandy though.

/Mmmm....Mandy

UberDave		2011-09-05 10:29:42 AM

DamnYankees: Two of those to comment on:

TNG - what's the follow up on? It ends with an ominous note, but no more or less than usual. No need for a followup, no unanswered questions.

Right before the killed the "head" alien, it was sending out a signal. The episode ended with them wonder where the signal went...suggesting that there may be more aliens on the way. I think they dumped a follow up this for the better Borg story line.

TheOther		2011-09-05 10:38:04 AM

UberDave: DamnYankees: Two of those to comment on:

TNG - what's the follow up on? It ends with an ominous note, but no more or less than usual. No need for a followup, no unanswered questions.

Right before the killed the "head" alien, it was sending out a signal. The episode ended with them wonder where the signal went...suggesting that there may be more aliens on the way. I think they dumped a follow up this for the better Borg story line.

I thought Janeway was exiled to the Delta Quadrant because she was the new hive queen?

LordOfThePings		2011-09-05 10:42:51 AM

TheOther: I thought Janeway was exiled to the Delta Quadrant because she was the new hive queen?

I thought it was because nobody in the Alpha Quadrant could stand her voice.

Tatsuma		2011-09-05 10:43:52 AM

9. Julien's gay lifestyle, The Shield

That's retarded, that subplot was never dropped, it was brought up fairly regularly when he was married, even in the last season.

Tatsuma		2011-09-05 10:46:43 AM

19. Furio's romance with Carmela, The Sopranos

Again, that's retarded. The romance went as far as it could. Furio nearly killed Tony, and realized he had to flee otherwise he would end up dead, which is why he returned to hide in Italy. It broke Carmela's heart, and it was one of the main motivations for her to finally divorce today (only to take him back later).

It wasn't dropped in any way.

DamnYankees		2011-09-05 11:11:39 AM

UberDave: DamnYankees: Two of those to comment on:

TNG - what's the follow up on? It ends with an ominous note, but no more or less than usual. No need for a followup, no unanswered questions.

Right before the killed the "head" alien, it was sending out a signal. The episode ended with them wonder where the signal went...suggesting that there may be more aliens on the way. I think they dumped a follow up this for the better Borg story line.

There may be more aliens on the way. Yes. May. There wasn't. Did you need a line in a future episode saying "well, thankfully nothing came of that"?

TheOther		2011-09-05 11:13:07 AM

LordOfThePings: TheOther: I thought Janeway was exiled to the Delta Quadrant because she was the new hive queen?

I thought it was because nobody in the Alpha Quadrant could stand her voice.

Any dammed excuse was a dammed good excuse.

She comes in colors everywhere		2011-09-05 11:42:01 AM

What kind of ID did Book have to get into that hospital?

Because if we've included Deadwood in TFA, then we can go into other shows that suffered Total Existence Failure.

Tatsuma		2011-09-05 11:59:43 AM

She comes in colors everywhere: What kind of ID did Book have to get into that hospital?

Cancellation does not equal 'dropping a plotline'.

Also, spoilers but here's why

UNC_Samurai		2011-09-05 12:00:21 PM

They mention the super-villains from Heroes, but not Peter Petrelli's irish girlfriend who got left in an alternate future timeline?

coco ebert		2011-09-05 12:25:07 PM

Wow, I wish I could view the outrage in this thread as pure energy output.

coco ebert		2011-09-05 12:27:42 PM

DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

I loved Lost but I honestly couldn't tell you what really happened in seasons 4 and 5. I think I got most of it at the time, but there was so much going on, so many characters. I dunno, I kind of got... lost around the time of Fionnula Flanagan came on and there was the big circle and so on.

DamnYankees		2011-09-05 12:30:55 PM

coco ebert: DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

I loved Lost but I honestly couldn't tell you what really happened in seasons 4 and 5. I think I got most of it at the time, but there was so much going on, so many characters. I dunno, I kind of got... lost around the time of Fionnula Flanagan came on and there was the big circle and so on.

Fionnula Flanagan came on in the beginning of season three - and she was awesome. Flashes Before Your Eyes was a tremendous episode.

whizbangthedirtfarmer		2011-09-05 12:37:52 PM

I can tell you which subplots I'd hope they would drop--the "romance" and "marriage" of LaGuerta and Batista. I'm halfway through season five, and I can't stand either one of them anymore. We're in love; no we're not! Hey, look at all of this money she's keeping from me! That's it! I'm divorcing you!

It almost made me relieved when Julia Stiles appeared.

/almost
//should have stopped at Season Four and then done a few movie-length episodes
///do I have to do everything around here?

Seth'n'Spectrum		2011-09-05 12:40:42 PM

UNC_Samurai: They mention the super-villains from Heroes, but not Peter Petrelli's irish girlfriend who got left in an alternate future timeline?

I'm still worried about her.

PizzaJedi81		2011-09-05 12:43:50 PM

UNC_Samurai: They mention the super-villains from Heroes, but not Peter Petrelli's irish girlfriend who got left in an alternate future timeline?

I imagine a dartboard of HEROES subplots, and the dart just happened to land on that one.

swahnhennessy		2011-09-05 12:44:14 PM

Seems odd to include The Simpsons in that list as that episode was satire, which was made clear by the ending.

PizzaJedi81		2011-09-05 12:46:29 PM

swahnhennessy: Seems odd to include The Simpsons in that list as that episode was satire, which was made clear by the ending.

And was brought up in a later episode, with one of my favorite exchanges:

Lisa: I'm keeping you! You're Snowball V, but to save money on a new dish, we'll just call you Snowball II and pretend this whole thing never happened.
Principal Skinner: That's really a cheat, isn't it?
Lisa: I guess you're right, Principal Tamzarian.
Principal Skinner: I'll just be moving along, Lisa. Snowball II.

Tatsuma		2011-09-05 12:47:02 PM

DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

Oh yeah, like we know

What was the deal with Libby
What exactly were Walt's powers, why he had them, and how they could have been useful to the Others.
What exactly were Walt's superpowers and how come they never actually did anything useful?
Where did all the extras disappear to when the main cast went back in time?
If everybody who crashes into the island dies or can't get off the island, how did anybody get off the island to tell Darma about the island?
How come Jacob was invisible to people before he was dead?
Where did the "island natives" come from?

If these thousands of people were on the island and didn't see each other for months, how come the one night Michael decided to take his boat off the island, the cast from Deliverance knew exactly where he'd be? And why did they want Walt so bad in the first place?
How come so many people kept popping up on the island who never checked to see if the survivors of the plane crash were okay?
Why was Walt the only kid on the plane? Because I don't know about you guys but I have never flown anywhere without the adorable companionship of a screaming baby.
Why was Darma still making food drops?
What was that light/"source" on the island after all? How did that cork get there? What were those skeletons below the waterfall?

and a thousand other subplots that were absolutely not never answered after we were told they would be, only to be later told 'Stupid it's not about the Island, it's about the characters!'

somemoron		2011-09-05 12:51:14 PM

I thought that Conspiracy was a good arc for the first season. The Bord definitely replaced it what with the "They're coming!" bit, but I would have liked to see that arc continued, even if it was much later.

\Also, they ruined the Borg when they gave them a Queen. Still entertaining, but not as terrifying as a mindless, soulless wave of cybernetic consumers.
\\The Cybernetic Consumers(tm), On tour now!

Seth'n'Spectrum		2011-09-05 12:51:34 PM

What happened to Anna Torv's sister on Fringe? Is she going to reappear at some point and stab Peter and Olivia in a fit of rage?

/yeah, yeah damn budget cuts

DamnYankees		2011-09-05 12:51:36 PM

Tatsuma: DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

Oh yeah, like we know

What was the deal with Libby
What exactly were Walt's powers, why he had them, and how they could have been useful to the Others.
What exactly were Walt's superpowers and how come they never actually did anything useful?
Where did all the extras disappear to when the main cast went back in time?
If everybody who crashes into the island dies or can't get off the island, how did anybody get off the island to tell Darma about the island?
How come Jacob was invisible to people before he was dead?
Where did the "island natives" come from?

If these thousands of people were on the island and didn't see each other for months, how come the one night Michael decided to take his boat off the island, the cast from Deliverance knew exactly where he'd be? And why did they want Walt so bad in the first place?
How come so many people kept popping up on the island who never checked to see if the survivors of the plane crash were okay?
Why was Walt the only kid on the plane? Because I don't know about you guys but I have never flown anywhere without the adorable companionship of a screaming baby.
Why was Darma still making food drops?
What was that light/"source" on the island after all? How did that cork get there? What were those skeletons below the waterfall?

and a thousand other subplots that were absolutely not never answered after we were told they would be, only to be later told 'Stupid it's not about the Island, it's about the characters!'

Around ninty percent of these questions are factually wrong or already answered in the show, or are truly retarded, akin to asking "how come it was never explained how George had so many hot girlfriends".

PizzaJedi81		2011-09-05 12:53:08 PM

somemoron: I thought that Conspiracy was a good arc for the first season. The Bord definitely replaced it what with the "They're coming!" bit, but I would have liked to see that arc continued, even if it was much later.

I read somewhere that the Conspiracy and the Borg were originally supposed to be related, but they dropped that because...um...hey, look over there!

\Also, they ruined the Borg when they gave them a Queen. Still entertaining, but not as terrifying as a mindless, soulless wave of cybernetic consumers.
\\The Cybernetic Consumers(tm), On tour now!

I dunno. It changed them from robo-zombies to robo-ants. COULD be as bad, but...::shrug::

coco ebert		2011-09-05 12:54:54 PM

DamnYankees: coco ebert: DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

I loved Lost but I honestly couldn't tell you what really happened in seasons 4 and 5. I think I got most of it at the time, but there was so much going on, so many characters. I dunno, I kind of got... lost around the time of Fionnula Flanagan came on and there was the big circle and so on.

Fionnula Flanagan came on in the beginning of season three - and she was awesome. Flashes Before Your Eyes was a tremendous episode.

Oh, right. Yeah, that was great. With Desmond and the ring, right? I think I mean the episode where they get all the people off the island together and she takes them into a room with a huge apparatus (don't even remember what it was exactly). I dunno, I started to feel like I needed a manual to keep up. It was still a great ride, though.

NeoCortex42		2011-09-05 12:55:51 PM

Tatsuma: DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

Oh yeah, like we know

What was the deal with Libby
What exactly were Walt's powers, why he had them, and how they could have been useful to the Others.
What exactly were Walt's superpowers and how come they never actually did anything useful?
Where did all the extras disappear to when the main cast went back in time?
If everybody who crashes into the island dies or can't get off the island, how did anybody get off the island to tell Darma about the island?
How come Jacob was invisible to people before he was dead?
Where did the "island natives" come from?

If these thousands of people were on the island and didn't see each other for months, how come the one night Michael decided to take his boat off the island, the cast from Deliverance knew exactly where he'd be? And why did they want Walt so bad in the first place?
How come so many people kept popping up on the island who never checked to see if the survivors of the plane crash were okay?
Why was Walt the only kid on the plane? Because I don't know about you guys but I have never flown anywhere without the adorable companionship of a screaming baby.
Why was Darma still making food drops?
What was that light/"source" on the island after all? How did that cork get there? What were those skeletons below the waterfall?

and a thousand other subplots that were absolutely not never answered after we were told they would be, only to be later told 'Stupid it's not about the Island, it's about the characters!'

Libby had a breakdown when her husband died and checked herself into the hospital.
Walt was mostly useful to the Others because they needed children to replenish their population due to the pregnancy issue.
The main cast went back in time, not everybody. The extras were still chilling on the island.
It's possible to get off the island by using the right bearing. It's not impossible for someone to make it off and figure out how to get back (The mainland station)
Island Natives were the survivors of crashed boats over the years, or abductees from Dharma, etc.

Maybe I'll do the rest later. I have a meeting to go to. Most of your questions were either answered or really are not important at all.

Disposable Rob		2011-09-05 12:58:02 PM

DamnYankees: UberDave: DamnYankees: Two of those to comment on:

TNG - what's the follow up on? It ends with an ominous note, but no more or less than usual. No need for a followup, no unanswered questions.

Right before the killed the "head" alien, it was sending out a signal. The episode ended with them wonder where the signal went...suggesting that there may be more aliens on the way. I think they dumped a follow up this for the better Borg story line.

There may be more aliens on the way. Yes. May. There wasn't. Did you need a line in a future episode saying "well, thankfully nothing came of that"?

I like to assume that somewhere between the first and second season, the parasites were completely successful in taking over the whole Federation and just never had a reason to talk about it.

jake3988		2011-09-05 12:59:04 PM

BreezyWheeze 2011-09-05 07:37:19 AM The same could be said of Dexter, or Heroes.
=====================================================

Dexter has a LOT of subplots (typically 4 or 5 a season) and a few of them are terrible (Liddy in seaosn 5 for instance).

But I honestly can't remember a single one that they dropped and didn't resolve.

Then again, I really only ever focused on the main plot each season. So it may have happened and I just didn't realize it and/or care.

Bill Frist		2011-09-05 01:06:17 PM

DamnYankees: That's probably because Lost resolved almost all of its subplots.

Love how you turn into a pure troll on LOST threads!

Super Chronic		2011-09-05 01:10:24 PM

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude:
19. Furio's romance with Carmela, The Sopranos

You've gotta be shiatting me. They put THAT on there but barely mention "Russian in the woods"? GTFO.

Good lord, a thousand times THIS. I clicked the link thinking "well, the Russian in the woods is obviously #1, but let's see what else they put in there."

HMS_Blinkin		2011-09-05 01:12:10 PM

PizzaJedi81: swahnhennessy: Seems odd to include The Simpsons in that list as that episode was satire, which was made clear by the ending.

And was brought up in a later episode, with one of my favorite exchanges:

Lisa: I'm keeping you! You're Snowball V, but to save money on a new dish, we'll just call you Snowball II and pretend this whole thing never happened.
Principal Skinner: That's really a cheat, isn't it?
Lisa: I guess you're right, Principal Tamzarian.
Principal Skinner: I'll just be moving along, Lisa. Snowball II.

Yep. Was annoyed that the writers of that stupid article didn't recognize satire when they saw it. And that was one of the best exchanges in Simpsons history.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired		2011-09-05 01:15:37 PM

As far as the TNG one is concerned: the Borg was a direct result of that story line. The Borg was originally supposed to bbe an insect race that was linked to the ones mentioned in the article but when the producers did the math all the makeup/prosthetics/set design was gonna be too pricey so they reworked it into the Borg storyline. All in all not too bad a resultq, up until the Borg was neutered as a villain.

Sleep, indeed...

Bill Frist		2011-09-05 01:20:21 PM

HMS_Blinkin: PizzaJedi81: swahnhennessy: Seems odd to include The Simpsons in that list as that episode was satire, which was made clear by the ending.

And was brought up in a later episode, with one of my favorite exchanges:

Lisa: I'm keeping you! You're Snowball V, but to save money on a new dish, we'll just call you Snowball II and pretend this whole thing never happened.
Principal Skinner: That's really a cheat, isn't it?
Lisa: I guess you're right, Principal Tamzarian.
Principal Skinner: I'll just be moving along, Lisa. Snowball II.

Yep. Was annoyed that the writers of that stupid article didn't recognize satire when they saw it. And that was one of the best exchanges in Simpsons history.

I think they quite clearly recognize that it is satire. They end by saying: "comments sharply on TV shows that ask us to become invested in characters and later pull out the rug."

It is satirical commentary. I mean, fark, this is The Onion dude/lady. They know satire.

PIP_the_TROLL		2011-09-05 01:22:19 PM

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: until the Borg was neutered as a villain.

This argument has never made sense. Having a directional intelligence ruins it for you somehow? Even when it's plainly stated that she's not so much their leader as the axis for the hive mind. Data asks questions about it in First Contact.

And if having individuals in the Borg is a dealbreaker then they did it day 1, minute 1 with Locutus.

Tatsuma		2011-09-05 01:23:01 PM

DamnYankees: Around ninty percent of these questions are factually wrong or already answered in the show, or are truly retarded, akin to asking "how come it was never explained how George had so many hot girlfriends".

So you'll just wave your hand? Seriously, are you Cruse?

jake3988: Dexter has a LOT of subplots (typically 4 or 5 a season) and a few of them are terrible (Liddy in seaosn 5 for instance).

CHICKY HINES

Also shut your whore mouth, Liddy was awesome