Victory Manual

Are all fictional shows stupid? Claytonian, the Hopeless Romantic, thinks that they are, although it sounds from his post as if he discussed this topic in depth elsewhere. But I don’t think that they are, no matter how many plot holes or ridiculous science explanations there are, as long as they’re original, and well written.

I’d like to think that Claytonian doesn’t really think that shows are stupid, because, being a hopeless romantic, I hope that he has a more positive view of things. “Stupid” is a strong, negative word, and I think “improbable but fun anyway” is a better phrase to use.

Fictional shows are written beginning with the question, “What if?” It’s a fun question to run with, and usually ends with interesting results in any conversation.

Incidentally, everything ever invented started with the same question. “What if I mix such-and-such with this and that?” and BAM! we have soap. 100 years ago, the idea of a television was ridiculous. 50 years ago we could only imagine a man on the moon. 25 years ago, a mobile phone was something out of a madman’s dream. We’ve got all that and more, and it was all preceded by fiction.

There are plot holes in the theory of evolution. There are plot holes in the theory of creation. There are even “plot holes” in the Constitution. (That’s why we have amendments) But there are people who believe in these things passionately, regardless.

There are shows that make claims that we know not to be true, but they exist for the story plot to hold strong. Of course, we know that these claims are false, but we suspend our disbelief for the sake of entertainment, much the way that we read about and ponder Charles Darnay in a Tale of Two Cities, even though we know he is a fictional member of French royalty. (Also, very disappointingly, there is no fortress of solitude in the arctic, no matter how hard I wish there to be) But this doesn’t mean that the idea is altogether “stupid”. We come out of the story with something new, whether it’s a different way of thinking about life, a new take on a historical time period, or even just the hope that we will one day be able to own personal spacecraft the way we own automobiles today.

I just enjoy hearing a new idea; something that I’ve never heard or thought about before, no matter how close to or far from reality it is. Are these ideas Improbable? Most likely. Impossible? In many cases, probably. But, stupid? I don’t think so.

(I’d like to take this opportunity to list what TV shows I enjoy: LOST, Scrubs, 24, Battlestar Galactica, and Smallville)