Should normal life changes be considered errors?

[DTF955]

This poll didn't have many takers in the general forum, but I've seen enough complaints on here I thought this would be the place for it.

I've occasionally seen people question things as "errors" that should be expected of people over a normal 5-10 year stretch in a longer running sitcom. People get new cars, for instance. Growing children learn to like new foods (D.J. from season 1 to season 4), and even adults can overcome queasiness. Pets die and new ones are bought. (The Kimmy's dog example)And so on.

The question, related, but not the same as, one of my earliest queries , is this: Should such things be allowed to be writen into scripts with no explanation, and without being seen as "errors"? After all, they happen to all of us.

As examples:
Prop department has different car for character, or a different one is alluded to; child of character has new food they learned to like at some point in last 3 years.

Examples 1 and 2 are pretty obvious; option 2 means that the kid can't like a new favorite every 6 months and characters can't have a different dog every year (unless they're really rich), but you gloss over it if there's a difference and it's not mentioned.

I'll add that #2 is also the best choice if you wouldn't be bothered by one *but for* bigger errors. For instance, if you'd say, "You know, if "Full House" didn't have all the bigger goofs, I'd accept that Kimmy'd other dog died with no problem."

Option 3 is for if you think there should be some mention if feasible; but it doesn't have to be right away. Maybe more with the dog than with the food; throwaway line like, "I got her at the kennel a year ago" is easier than the familyy reminiscing about where the child learned to like chicken parmesan for the first time.

Option 4 is just like 3, except that it demands that it be alluded to the first time a change is mentioned, not just later in the series; again, though, it accepts that sometimes it won't be plausible without making the line more jarring than the change, because scripts still require poeple to talk like normal people.

#5 is a little less accepting, but changes the reason a bit. People do sometimes see the characters on sitcoms as friends, and what friends would likely want to know should be explained to the viewer. Of course, that can vary.

P.S.: With this one, feel free to throw my line back at me about the TV pen pal. Yes, I have compared a TV show to what a pen pal writes to you, telling of one situation in their life but not telling every detail of their lives, and said that a pen pal can joke around or be teasing. And, yes, I can see where you might expect your pen pal to tell you right away if they got a new car or a new dog, or learned to like a new favorite food.

#6 is kind of stifling to normal character growth and development, but not as much as number 7, because at least number six allows for some change, it just demands very strict control on things, and accepts that sometimes, you have to word things very awkwardly to have changes explained.