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Plot Archaeology: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
A plot arc that was incomplete and forgotten, and then suddenly brought back out of the blue to continue the plot arc itself. This is distinct from the [[Continuity Cavalcade]] and [[Continuity Porn]] tropes in that it's not just a [[Shout-Out]] type situation - the plot arc is resumed, essentially where it left off.
In short, what distinguishes
▲In short, what distinguishes [[Plot Archaeology]] from similar tropes is that it's not just a one-episode reappearance as a [[Shout-Out]].
{{examples}}
* In ''[[Durarara!!]]'', the slasher is mentioned early on a couple times but not addressed until much later.▼
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* In the ''[[Anita Blake]]'' series, the events of book 11 resulted in the vampire serial killing group Anita was after not actually getting caught. Fans bitched and complained when the next few books didn't mention it at all, and then in Book 17 LKH went back to it and we finally get to confront the [[Big Bad]]. A few other loose threads from that were also left hanging in that book and the one right after it are still waiting to be picked back up though.
== [[Live
* In the first season of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', Hiro falls in love with a waitress named Charlie. It turns out she has a brain tumor and is going to die. Hiro {{spoiler|accepts that he can't save her, gets some [[Character Development]], and the plot moves on. Several seasons later, Hiro regrets that he didn't save her, and the arc focuses on her again as Hiro goes back in time to try and save her, but she gets kidnapped and held hostage by the [[Big Bad]].}}
* ''[[News Radio]]'' had a storyline where Lisa decided she wanted to have a baby with Dave. This went on for a few episodes, then was quietly dropped. In a later episode the same season, there is a brief conversation about how the moment had passed. The writers hated continuing story lines, which the network continually tried to force on the show.
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* ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'': Stardrives were mentioned very briefly in an early episode and didn't become massively important until the finale three seasons later.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' introduced River Song in "Silence of the Library" but was otherwise quickly dropped, then brought back with the Eleventh Doctor.
** It's a habit. [[Arc Words]] sometimes get planted before they're even used in a this-is-leading-up-to-something fashion. We get a briefly-seen newspaper mention of "Saxon" being ahead in the polls midway through new series season two. Nothing is said of it until "Mister Saxon" becomes a mystery figure of season three.
* In ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', Wesley Crusher is built up as being a very special person, and it is suggested that he would do something remarkable, eventually. Then he was phased out of the show, and was gone for something like three seasons. Come the final season, the [[Creator's Pet]] returns, and the plot arc completes itself.
* At one point, ''[[Ugly Betty]]'' had a plot arc about Amanda trying to discover the identity of her biological father. After a few episode, the plot disappeared with no resolution. In the show's [[Grand Finale]], Amanda finds her father, out of the blue and completely by accident.
* In ''[[Sliders]],'' the Kromaggs were a season two [[Monster of the Week]] who got one mention in season three. Then comes a [[Channel Hop]]... and their return as the franchise [[Big Bad]].
* On ''[[The Wire]]'', McNulty's FBI buddy gives him the results of an unfinished investigation that showed Lt. Daniels was dirty when he was on the Narcotics task force. McNulty doesn't trust him for most of the first season, but eventually the men grow to respect each other. This is not mentioned again until the series finale, when now-Commissioner Daniels is forced to resign rather than be manipulated by the threat of revealing that very same investigation.
▲== [[Manga]] & [[Anime]] ==
▲* In ''[[Durarara]]'', the slasher is mentioned early on a couple times but not addressed until much later.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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