Continuity Errors in Soaps

[FrenchBug82]

Does this really count as a continuity error? It certainly is one of the most famous "haircut without permission" but while I obviously wasn't watching at the time, watching these scenes now in isolation feels like it was well-explained and her character's motives seemed like they made sense. I dunno what the overall context and storyline was obviously but it looks like the writing clean-up did a decent job at explaining it, no?

 

Thank you! I actually love the short hair on her - better than on Rena.

Edited September 26, 2021 by FrenchBug82

[carolineg]

Well, Vanessa is gorgeous so nothing would look bad on her.  Rena is gorgeous too but I like her with longer hair.  I think it was a situation where Vanessa pushed too much as a first contract player and TPTB were mad.  I don't think the show was that convinced on Brenda until she blew up with Sonny.  Again I think S&B were a really happy accident.  

[te.]

Yup. I was watching this last year and I thought they did a fine job with explaining it as a part of Allison's character and storyline. She was wearing a wig for a bit though.

[will81]

Y&R often had issue remembering what time of day it was. Some scenes in the same episode would take place at different times of the day/night. This was supposedly only an issue in the 90's but I am sure I remembering it hapening in the 80's eps as well. 

[AbcNbc247]

Ben's tattoo

During RSW's first run, he didn't have that tattoo on his shoulder. Once he came back, he did. And it doesn't seem likely that Bayview has a tattoo artist on staff 

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[Broderick]

Yep, always!   And time would move at different speeds for different storylines.   Lorie and Lance might have a candlelight dinner in the Allegro.  Meanwhile, Kay Chancellor might ask her attorney to mail her a transcript from court.   In the next episode, Kay would be opening her mail and finding the transcript -- indicating an entire day has passed at her house -- but Lorie and Lance are still having their same conversation, in their same clothes, in the same restaurant -- indicating time stood still for them.  lol.    

[YRfan23]

That’s always my biggest complaint about Bill Bell. I guess he obviously wasn’t afraid of negative feedback from Viewers or the audience about the whole “time of day” thing but I just can’t help but me distracted from it. Especially since that’s actually one thing that’s maybe better on the current show. 
 

 

I just want to know what the scripts said to indicate the time? Did they just right down “we are ignoring the time it can be any day for the characters??” Haha 

[Broderick]

Years ago, on some message board, we were writing parody scripts for Y&R.  My "contribution" was an episode in which Kay Chancellor threw an elaborate, impromptu, late-night costume ball.  Everyone dressed spontaneously and appeared in full regalia -- except Sharon and Nick, who were feeding Cassie breakfast and helping her get ready for the school bus.  lol.  It was the only way I knew to parody those strange Time Warps that permeated Bell's scripts.  

[will81]

I wonder if this is why he kept characters isolated, as none of the stories were happening at the same time, haha. I know that isn't the case, but would be pretty awesome if Y&R was full of alternate and parallel timelines during the Bell era. 

[YRfan23]

I'm almost convinced it was! LOL, I guess except for wedding, parties and of course the Masquerade Ball. 

[Fevuh]

I swear I remember instances of the time differences happening on ATWT.  I remember people being at the office late working and in other places it was mid-day at the Snyder farm with people milling about or at Fashions talking about going to lunch or something.

[SoapDope]

On Dallas, Pam leaves Bobby to get away from Southfork when Cliff is accused of killing Julie, she has her long hair she wore most of the season. The next episode she has that 1979 awful Jhirmack shag without explanation. Her hair looked so good before. It proceeded to get worse as the years went on with weird hairstyles and dye jobs. Remember her 1981 Rick James do ? It was a don't !

[Liberty City]

I wouldn't necessarily call a change between episodes, unless it was meant to be a same day type of situation, a continuity error.

[Gray Bunny]

I mostly didn't watch the final 2 years of Guiding Light, but wasn't the Peapack era riddled with continuity errors, left and right?  Certainly, the weather was the biggest factor. I think I tuned in for the episode when Olivia came out to Natalia where they were outside in the snow on a cloudy day, and in another outdoor scene across town there's zero snow on the ground and it's sunny. 

[AbcNbc247]

On Beyond Salem, Will and Sonny lived in an apartment with a small, kind of ugly kitchen, but on the main show when Johnny was video chatting with Will, Will was talking from a very large, nicely decorated kitchen.