They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

* Remember that time [[House (TV)|House]] could walk for two-and-a-half episodes at the beginning of season 3? And then how it ''never comes up again''?

** To be fair that was forced by a case of [[Real Life Writes the Plot]] as Hugh Laurie was developing serious back problems from using the cane so much and needed time away from it.

** The reveal of the Pegasus (and the subsequent half-season it stayed as part of the fleet) didn't amount to much in terms of plot development or drama. The events of the "Resurrection Ship" two-parter (namely, the Pegasus' actions prior to discovering the fleet) fall by the wayside, and most of the Pegasus crew members become background characters with no opinions or characterization whatsoever. The only real episodes to focus on anything Pegasus-related are "The Captain's Hand" (which had Lee become the ship's new commander) and "Black Market" (which was universally reviled by the fanbase). The [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|absurd]] sequence of events leading to the Pegasus' destruction in the third season also didn't do anything to further the relationship between the Pegasus and Galactica crews, with most of the plotlines devoted to Helo/Athena, Starbuck and Baltar. The only thing of consequence to occur was Peter Laird's (the chief engineer of the Pegasus) {{spoiler|death at the hands of Tom Zarek}} more than two seasons later.

* ''[[Robin Hood (TV)|Robin Hood]]''. How can you go wrong with a story about a loveable [[The Charmer|Charmer]] forming a [[Chaotic Good]] [[Nakama]] in the forest, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and winning back the heart of his [[First Girl Wins|Childhood Sweetheart]]? Well, you could [[Stuffed in The Fridge|stuff Maid Marian in the fridge]], turn your [[The Hero|Hero]] in a complete [[Jerkass]], throw your hunky [[Anti-Hero]] so far over the [[Moral Event Horizon]] that no one but the rabid [[Fan Girl|Fan Girls]] [[Draco in Leather Pants|cares what happens to him]], introduce his interesting sister and then make her a [[Yandere|crazy]] [[Designated Villain]], ignore the whole "rob from the rich" deal in favor of turning [[Demoted to Extra|the outlaws into extras]], introduce a universally reviled [[Jerk Sue]] as Robin's new [[Love Interest]], and then [[Kill'Em All|kill almost everyone else off]].

** Try "The Hula Doll Affair" for a bigger waste of plot. The premise has a pair of rival THRUSH executives in a story involving an explosive (inside the title doll) triggered by rising temperatures; in the right hands this could have been an intriguing blend of power plays and suspense. Unfortunately this was in [[Seasonal Rot|season three]], and the hands in question belong to Stanford Sherman who previously scripted "The Super-Colossal Affair" (of Kuryakin-and-the-skunk-bomb infamy) and "The Suburbia Affair," so comedy is the main priority - as the casting of Pat Harrington and Jan Murray as the executives should attest. Throw into the mix perennial [[Large Ham]] Patsy Kelly as their mother {{spoiler|and their superior officer in THRUSH}} and it's facepalm central.

* In 2009, the producers of ''[[Neighbours]]'' decided it was time to bring the Ramsay family back to Ramsay Street. This would have been a great opportunity to address what had happened to some of the early characters after they'd left, and they had a fair few to choose from (Shane, Danny, Henry and his wife Bronwyn Davies, Gemma and her husband Adam Willis, maybe even Scott and Charlene). Instead, they gave us a blatant and insulting retcon, in which Max Ramsay and Anne Robinson (the wife of Max's best friend who had been dead for years when the show started), had an extramarital affair, producing a daughter who had been given up for adoption. The daughter, Jill, died in a hit and run shortly after being introduced, with her children moving into No. 24. Particularly annoying for fans who knew anything about the Robinson and Ramsay families backstories up until then - Max was infuriated by the discovery that Danny wasn't his son (in the first season of the show), while Jim Robinson almost left Anne when she chose to have a baby (Julie) that was a result of rape. There is ''no way'' this information could have been kept offscreen for 23 years.

** "Big Bang Two" suffered from this as well. The previous episode had ended with entire armies of the Doctor's enemies, many of whom had never been on screen together let alone worked together, ascending on the Earth. Who's the antagonist in the next episode? A weakened stone Dalek.

* ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', "Relics". The Enterprise discovers a Dyson Sphere, a structure containing an area equivalent to hundreds of millions of planets. Inside are untold environments, species, civilizations, and adventures. Instead the Enterprise just flies away. No Star Trek: Sphere. What a waste.