OKCRay
09-11-2003, 03:06 AM
Whenever any show is on the air for any length of time (especially when many different writers are involved), inconsistencies have a way of creeping in. To MTM's credit, there really haven't been many at all... but here's a few that I can think of offhand... let's hear if you can think of any!
Mary's High School/Graduation: during season 2, Mary and Rhoda travel to Mary's hometown for her all-class high school reunion. In this episode, she was a graduate of Leif Ericsson High School, class of '59. Later in the Ted and Georgette wedding episode, Mary's class ring is borrowed, and supposedly the inscription is Roseberg High, class of '58.
On various occasions, Mary and Rhoda contemplate a vacation together. The first time ("Divorce Isn't Everything"), when planning to take a charter trip to Europe, Mary talks about studying Spanish in high school while Rhoda thought she spoke fluent French. The following season when they planned a vacation to Mexico, Mary says she took two years of French in high school.
This one actually doesn't reveal itself until RHODA. Mary is forced into a double-date with the ultra-obnoxious Warren Sturges because Rhoda accepted an invitation from someone speaking on the phone using a Donald Duck voice. According to Rhoda, she knows TWO individuals who use Donald Duck voices ("the other one's a judge!"). On her spinoff, she makes a date with an old high school friend, while new hubby Joe sits home and becomes jealous. Her old friend, to Rhoda's surprise, turns out to be a judge, and she exclaims "I never knew a judge before!"
The location of the WJM newsroom has been said to be situated on various different floors within the same building (references to how many flights of stairs, among others)
During the life of the series, Murray and Marie celebrated their 10th and their 18th wedding anniversaries, so the time element may not exactly be constant.
Disappearing character: Debby Morgenstern (Rhoda's little sister), apparently she got married and was never mentioned again. Sometime during the first season (during one of Ida's visits to Minneapolis), Rhoda mentions having a sister named Brenda (great that the writers picked up on this), and also that she had a brother.
and the biggest one by far: In the episode, "What Mary Richards Is Really Like", Mary is interviewed by a writer who really grills her into revealing secrets involving Lou and the WJM newsroom. Knowing his reputation, she dresses in a manly-looking pantsuit for the luncheon interview. Murray tells her that his son has a jacket just like hers. This in and of itself is nothing unusual, however it becomes a big-time inconsistency two seasons later when Murray laments the fact that he has three daughters and really wants a son. Understandably, Marie does not want to have another baby, so they eventually adopt Lee Chin, giving Murray the son he had always wanted.
Mary's High School/Graduation: during season 2, Mary and Rhoda travel to Mary's hometown for her all-class high school reunion. In this episode, she was a graduate of Leif Ericsson High School, class of '59. Later in the Ted and Georgette wedding episode, Mary's class ring is borrowed, and supposedly the inscription is Roseberg High, class of '58.
On various occasions, Mary and Rhoda contemplate a vacation together. The first time ("Divorce Isn't Everything"), when planning to take a charter trip to Europe, Mary talks about studying Spanish in high school while Rhoda thought she spoke fluent French. The following season when they planned a vacation to Mexico, Mary says she took two years of French in high school.
This one actually doesn't reveal itself until RHODA. Mary is forced into a double-date with the ultra-obnoxious Warren Sturges because Rhoda accepted an invitation from someone speaking on the phone using a Donald Duck voice. According to Rhoda, she knows TWO individuals who use Donald Duck voices ("the other one's a judge!"). On her spinoff, she makes a date with an old high school friend, while new hubby Joe sits home and becomes jealous. Her old friend, to Rhoda's surprise, turns out to be a judge, and she exclaims "I never knew a judge before!"
The location of the WJM newsroom has been said to be situated on various different floors within the same building (references to how many flights of stairs, among others)
During the life of the series, Murray and Marie celebrated their 10th and their 18th wedding anniversaries, so the time element may not exactly be constant.
Disappearing character: Debby Morgenstern (Rhoda's little sister), apparently she got married and was never mentioned again. Sometime during the first season (during one of Ida's visits to Minneapolis), Rhoda mentions having a sister named Brenda (great that the writers picked up on this), and also that she had a brother.
and the biggest one by far: In the episode, "What Mary Richards Is Really Like", Mary is interviewed by a writer who really grills her into revealing secrets involving Lou and the WJM newsroom. Knowing his reputation, she dresses in a manly-looking pantsuit for the luncheon interview. Murray tells her that his son has a jacket just like hers. This in and of itself is nothing unusual, however it becomes a big-time inconsistency two seasons later when Murray laments the fact that he has three daughters and really wants a son. Understandably, Marie does not want to have another baby, so they eventually adopt Lee Chin, giving Murray the son he had always wanted.