When They Found Out That Miles Wasn't His Real Name, Why Did They Still Use It? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 01-21-2009, 09:56 PM

Later on in the show we find out that Rose's lover Miles was in the Witness Protection program and that his real name was Nicholas Carbone.

In subsequent episodes he still is known as Miles. Why? They just didn't feel to change it to Nicholas?

70s show watcher · 01-22-2009, 12:13 AM

i have no idea but ive always wondered the same thing

Marvo301 · 01-22-2009, 02:09 AM

Perhaps they didn't want to blow his cover.

JamesG · 01-22-2009, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvo301

Perhaps they didn't want to blow his cover.

Well he expressed his wanting to leave the program. Especially since the reason why he was in there, The Cheeseman, was arrested.

One would assume he left the program and went back to his old self and let Rose in on who he "really is". That's my thinking but I could be wrong.

Indy788 · 01-23-2009, 02:08 PM

Perhaps Harold Gould's wanting to leave the program is why in The Golden Palace they had Miles cheat on Rose and marry another woman. I always hated how they did that. I loved Miles and Rose.

JL82 · 08-19-2009, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy788

Perhaps Harold Gould's wanting to leave the program is why in The Golden Palace they had Miles cheat on Rose and marry another woman. I always hated how they did that. I loved Miles and Rose.

Agreed! Having set up that whole witness protection program plot, they could have had him have to go back into hiding again. I mean, I would think a gangster like the Cheeseman would have "buddies" out there, still gunning for the witness. That's one possible explanation for his not going back to his Nicholas Carbone identity. (If so, they should have spelled it out.)

I noticed this too - in "Miles to Go" he's so excited to be able to go back to Chicago and be Carbone again - but then Rose comes back from her next date with him, and says they're only going for three months, and everyone goes back to calling him Miles. (One of the few examples of dis-continuity WITHIN and episode.) Then in "Witness" it is as if Professor Miles Webber is the real identity he wants to go back to.

Before the Cheeseman's capture, he says he wants to be with Rose, even it means not being well-hidden. So maybe he's willing to give up his old life, too? Maybe he was shaken by Rose's first reaction, and realized he couldn't have it both ways - both "have his life back" and still have the love he found in his new life? I mean, I usually like him, but the way he says "I have my life back," could well have sounded to her if he doesn't consider his life with Rose his real one.

I wonder sometimes if he's actually living in later episodes as both men. He never seems to be around when anything else big is going on in Rose's life, like her heart surgery, or the marriage of one of her friends, or being harassed by her dentist. Sometimes they explain that he's out of town, sometimes they don't, and even so, he seems to be away a lot. Maybe "cleaning up his affairs" in Chicago like they said they were going to do in "Miles to Go." (Of course, Golden Palace gave us a different reason for his absences.)

And incidentally, they do refer again to the witness protection program in a later episode. In "Pope's Ring" Blanche uses this as justification for being suspicious of him and hiring the detective (even though she says in "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun..." that she realizes Miles is too good for the tricks she plays on men. Yet another continuity thing.)

TheGoldenGirls1 · 08-20-2009, 06:35 PM

I often wondered that too.

TheGoldenGirls1972@gmail.com

JL82 · 08-21-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGoldenGirls1

I often wondered that too.

TheGoldenGirls1972@gmail.com

"that" being....?

It's actually not so much the continued use of the name that seems weird. Because you could see where the ladies would have gotten into that habit, and you could believe that he might put up with it, circumstances being what they were. The bigger problem is that so many plot lines revolve around the idea that he's a college professor: he wants to have cosmetic surgery because being around the students makes him feel old (Pope's Ring); Blanche uses his talking to students to make Rose insecure when he's at Career Day (Portrait of a Woman); and of course, Rose feeling uncomfortable around his college friends. (Dancing in the Dark.) Now, of course, that one comes before the revelations about the Program, but it would still mean he really became a professor, instead of pretending to be one.

Pope's Ring is the weirdest of these, though, because Blanche mentions his having been in the witness protection program to justify her suspicion of him, yet the reasons for his behavior turn on his being a professor...in the same episode. If it weren't for that one reference, we could, in writing fan fic, at least, treat the whole witness protection program thing as a crazy dream Rose had.

They could have had him first witness a crime in "Miles to Go," really being Miles, and have to go into hiding. I don't think that's any more far-fetched than what they did do. And the girls get confronted wtih criminals on several ocassions.

JL82 · 09-26-2009, 10:10 PM

And then, "Witness" ends in Hollywood-happily-ever-after-mode: the bad guy is caught, so the lovers can be together, and Rose declares that being with Miles is "all [she's] ever wanted." But by the next Season, if not sooner, she's complaining once again about his cheapness (Ro$e Love$ Mile$) and is afraid of commitment (Where's Charlie.) While those are certainly issues that do come up in relationships, it seems funny that they continued to care about those things after they were almost broken up in such a dramatic way, yet mysteries about Miles' past are never an issue again.

bandonurse · 02-19-2016, 05:15 PM

I think the frequent changeover in writers probably accounts a lot for the lack of cohesive storylines. In Rue's autobiography, she mentions that they had several different writers throughout the 7 years the show ran.

The numerous plot holes we all know exist tells me that each new writer probably didn't take the time to watch previous episodes, to assure they did a good job of picking up where the old writers left off.

:

tlc38tlc38 · 02-19-2016, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy788

Perhaps Harold Gould's wanting to leave the program is why in The Golden Palace they had Miles cheat on Rose and marry another woman. I always hated how they did that. I loved Miles and Rose.

The Golden Palace stunk up the whole legacy of the original show.

bandonurse · 02-19-2016, 08:28 PM

Geesh! Kind of harsh, aren't you?

I personally enjoyed it, because it was unique and different, and we got to see them interact with new people, like Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin. It was disappointing to see the original show gone, but I loved Golden Palace for what it was. A follow-up continuation story of what happened to the girls after they left Blanche's house and moved on.

01-21-2009, 09:56 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,127	When They Found Out That Miles Wasn't His Real Name, Why Did They Still Use It? Later on in the show we find out that Rose's lover Miles was in the Witness Protection program and that his real name was Nicholas Carbone. In subsequent episodes he still is known as Miles. Why? They just didn't feel to change it to Nicholas?

01-22-2009, 02:09 AM	#3
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,456	Perhaps they didn't want to blow his cover.
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

01-23-2009, 02:08 PM	#5
Indy788 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 02, 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 109	Perhaps Harold Gould's wanting to leave the program is why in The Golden Palace they had Miles cheat on Rose and marry another woman. I always hated how they did that. I loved Miles and Rose.
	__________________ http://youtube.com/user/Indy7888

08-20-2009, 06:35 PM	#7
TheGoldenGirls1 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 13, 2009 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 45	I often wondered that too. TheGoldenGirls1972@gmail.com
	__________________ Juliet TheGoldenGirls@live.com http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheGoldenGirls2009/

09-26-2009, 10:10 PM	#9
JL82 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 14, 2009 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 189	And then, "Witness" ends in Hollywood-happily-ever-after-mode: the bad guy is caught, so the lovers can be together, and Rose declares that being with Miles is "all [she's] ever wanted." But by the next Season, if not sooner, she's complaining once again about his cheapness (Ro$e Love$ Mile$) and is afraid of commitment (Where's Charlie.) While those are certainly issues that do come up in relationships, it seems funny that they continued to care about those things after they were almost broken up in such a dramatic way, yet mysteries about Miles' past are never an issue again.
	Last edited by JL82; 10-09-2009 at 08:10 PM.

01-22-2009, 12:13 AM	#2
70s show watcher Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: between point place and studio 8 h Posts: 4,549	i have no idea but ive always wondered the same thing

02-19-2016, 05:15 PM	#10
bandonurse Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2015 Location: Mentor, Ohio Posts: 1,082	I think the frequent changeover in writers probably accounts a lot for the lack of cohesive storylines. In Rue's autobiography, she mentions that they had several different writers throughout the 7 years the show ran. The numerous plot holes we all know exist tells me that each new writer probably didn't take the time to watch previous episodes, to assure they did a good job of picking up where the old writers left off. :

02-19-2016, 08:28 PM	#12
bandonurse Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2015 Location: Mentor, Ohio Posts: 1,082	Geesh! Kind of harsh, aren't you? I personally enjoyed it, because it was unique and different, and we got to see them interact with new people, like Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin. It was disappointing to see the original show gone, but I loved Golden Palace for what it was. A follow-up continuation story of what happened to the girls after they left Blanche's house and moved on.