Plot Archaeology: Difference between revisions

 

In short, what distinguishes '''Plot Archaeology''' from similar tropes is that it's not just a one-episode reappearance as a [[Shout-Out]].

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== [[Comic Books]] ==

* 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.

 

* 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.

* 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.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==