So, You Were Saying?
A conversation is interrupted by something... that moots out the whole point of the conversation. When one side tells the other to pick up where they left off, it usually goes something like: "So you were saying?" "...Nothing."
A subset of Cannot Spit It Out.
Needs some Wiki Magic.
Examples of So, You Were Saying? include:
Live-Action Television
- Inside Schwartz: Schwartz has just been phoned to tell that he's being approached for an MTV job concerning the Super Bowl. When he decides to tell this news to the Girl of the Week, he finds out she's been approached... and accepted. So Schwartz talks about doing great on a Maxim quiz, before phoning his agent about this later.
- Father Ted: Ted, while explaining how peaceful and quiet the parochial house will be for the recuperation of Chris the burping sheep, is interrupted by Father Jack tumbling down the stairs, swearing loudly and breaking assorted furniture. Once Jack has left, Ted continues by saying "...I think it would be an insult to you if I finished that sentence."
- Not really So You Were Saying, but a historical footnote: The last thing BBC television showed before World War II started was Mickey Mouse. They then went off air for six years. There is a widespread legend that when the war ended, they showed the same cartoon with the line "As we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted..." It's a great story, but in fact the first words spoken were "Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh...?" But indeed, the first full program to air was the same Mickey Mouse cartoon.
- Urban Legend has it that the BBC considered starting the cartoon from the exact point where it was cut off, but instead they screened it in full.
- Scrubs: Happens frequently in the show. For example, when JD is explaining to Elliot's new boyfriend why she shouldn't change hospitals:
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JD: Here in Sacred Heart you get to work with the finest doctors in the country. |
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Western Animation
- Hey Arnold!!
- "Timberly Loves Arnold": Arnold is supposed to talk to Gerald's sister (the titular Timberly) that she should stop hanging out with him... however, right when he's about to get into topic, Lila comes in and thinks of the two as cute. (Tim: "Now, what were you saying?...") This issue isn't resolved till the end of the ep, but that's still better than some of the other examples on the page.
- "Monkey Business": Helga is leading into her personal reveal (her love for Arnold), when Phoebe barges in and explains that the disease she's supposed to be dying from... doesn't exist. You'd think she'd have listened in class when "monkeynucleosis" was cited as an example of a disease that didn't really exist...
- The Weekenders, "Tish's Hair": The expected "reveal" conversation with the others finally telling Tish they do not like Tish's new hairdo... ends up not happening when two kids pass Tish and actually make a positive comment on her hairdo. The ending ends up being a No, Really, It's Okay type of ending.
- John Stewart does this to himself in an episode of Justice League Unlimited where he, Batman, and Wonder Woman have ended up in The Wild West.:
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Ohiyesa Smith: We're getting close. I wanna warn you, there's some downright unusual activity goin' on hereabouts; don't let it throw you. |
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