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From: Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Things presented in-story as Good Ideas that seem like really Bad Ideas
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 08:23:17 -0700
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On Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:34:14 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

>In article <hnr0ej9n73p041mlj8glqham0ca8mrq7go@4ax.com>,
>Paul S Person  <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>On Mon, 9 Sep 2024 19:40:49 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
>>Nicoll) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <vbnesl$r81$1@panix2.panix.com>,
>>>Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:
>>>>In article <lk79hhFp0bkU1@mid.individual.net>,
>>>>Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:
>>>>>Lucky Starr's "Council Of Science", the Venus Belt, the Federation's
>>>>>"Prime Directive".  Things like that.
>>>>>
>>>>>Examples?
>>>>
>>>>When I watched SF as a kid, everybody had some sort of pocket =
communicating=20
>>>>device.  Kirk had a communicator, Napoleon Solo had a fountain pen, =
and=20
>>>>even Maxwell Smart had a shoephone.
>>>>
>>>>But not ONCE did any of them ever get a call about their car =
warranty.
>>>
>>>I read a review of NBC's Search (1972 to 1973) in which the reviewer=20
>>>was greatly distracted by the agents' scanners. These were =
communication
>>>and information gathering devices compact enough to fit into a tie-
>>>clip or a ring jewel. They seemed to have infinite range and nothing
>>>appeared to block the signal. The reviewer speculated that perhaps
>>>they used phased neutrinos.=20
>>>
>>>Huh. Only 23 episodes. It felt like it ran longer than a year.=20
>>
>>That's not, generally, a good sign.
>
>I have fond memories that I am sure would not be bitterly betrayed if
>I found an episode or two to watch. After all, Columbo is standing=20
>up. OK, there is the issue I've able to spot the killer in every=20
>episode so far.=20

It's been a long time, but my memory suggests that some/most/all
episodes were more about how Columbo figured it out.=20

IOW, the idea was that we would watch Columbo solve a problem that we
already knew the solution to (ie, whodunit). This is not the same as a
classic mystery, where the audience is given the same clues as the
investigator and so may be able to solve the case on its own.
--=20
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"