But yeah, I'm using it the common usage that implies changes to canon.
To me, shows would be pretty restricted if they got criticized every time they introduced an element that was not previously laid out chronologically.
Plus, stories would be pretty boring (not to mention predictable), if for instance they started out like this: Sam has a girlfriend named Jessica, and a friend named Luis, and another friend named Brady who used to be straight-laced but then got into drugs or something...and Sam worries about him, but he's a good friend because he introduced Sam to Jessica, and Sam is planning to marry Jessica...but then his brother Dean shows up. Oh, and since we have to lay out all information immediately, so that we aren't accused of retconning later - why don't we also tell you that a demon bled into Sam's mouth because years before his mother had made a deal, and his mother was a Hunter, oh, and in the future Dean's going to travel back in time and...
I mean, really, what are these people expecting? Some of the things that they're accusing of being retcons are actually good story telling! Who cares whether the writers had the idea for these story elements from the beginning or came up with them later? If they fit in with canon and contribute to the intricacy of the overall story-arc, then it's all good.
Ugh...um...sorry about that. That rants not directed at you, obviously.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-05-23 07:43 am (UTC)But yeah, I'm using it the common usage that implies changes to canon.
To me, shows would be pretty restricted if they got criticized every time they introduced an element that was not previously laid out chronologically.
Plus, stories would be pretty boring (not to mention predictable), if for instance they started out like this:
Sam has a girlfriend named Jessica, and a friend named Luis, and another friend named Brady who used to be straight-laced but then got into drugs or something...and Sam worries about him, but he's a good friend because he introduced Sam to Jessica, and Sam is planning to marry Jessica...but then his brother Dean shows up. Oh, and since we have to lay out all information immediately, so that we aren't accused of retconning later - why don't we also tell you that a demon bled into Sam's mouth because years before his mother had made a deal, and his mother was a Hunter, oh, and in the future Dean's going to travel back in time and...
I mean, really, what are these people expecting? Some of the things that they're accusing of being retcons are actually good story telling! Who cares whether the writers had the idea for these story elements from the beginning or came up with them later? If they fit in with canon and contribute to the intricacy of the overall story-arc, then it's all good.
Ugh...um...sorry about that. That rants not directed at you, obviously.