Previously on...

expectationlost

ya know how on programs like the good wife and battle star galactica they get hte stars of the show to say "previous on X"


does this break the fourth wall every week for anyone?

i think adama one irked me the most, its liked he's taken the cctv footage from the ship and spends all his time editing a tv show he can watch to pass the time as they drift in space.

_Whimsical_

I don't mind it to much but I know what you mean. It is a bit like announcing "what follows is entirely fictional". The worst I've ever seen was on Neighbours where for a while they took to starting Mondays shows with "To come this week on Neighbours..." and then played clips of the yet unseen highlights from the week ahead.

KKkitty

I don't mind it all that much. It does kinda help if you missed the previous episode though.

expectationlost

wells it using the actors to voice the 'previously on' not the recap that bothers me, some shows just use a voiceover person, which is betters

KKkitty

expectationlost wrote: »

well it using the actors to voice the 'previously on' not the recap taht bothers me, some shows just use a voiceover person, which is betters

I suppose it can be corny to use an actual character to voice that but they hold more of a connection to the show.

Skerries

BSG showing what was coming up in the show annoyed me and I would close my eyes
also shows that spend the first 3 minutes of the program showing you what happened previously and the opening credits annoy me I'm looking at you Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, I have to skip to the actual show

ixoy

When 'Previously On..." show characters or events from an episode that took place a while ago: Obviously then you've just gone and spoilt elements for me because I now know Person X is about to make a "surprise" come back.

roanoke

I just FF through it. I save about 3mins per ep on Dexter by FF-ing thru recap and credits for instance.

Plus I find these recaps are designed primarily for people who've never seen the previous eps, not (as it may seem) for people who have seen and just forgot. Generally anything needing recapping will be described in the ep itself so there should be no need to watch them for a viewer of all eps.

As someone has pointed out also they actually act as pseudo-spoilers because they tell you which way a plot is going to go or hint at the return of a recurring character etc.

phasers

I hate this! I thought I was the only one so I never said anything

It's exactly like you say, it makes it seem like the characters know they're on TV and it really annoys me

flazio

Avatar, the Last Airbender used to use the 'Previously' recap on every episode, reminding viewers about what elements of the story were going to be developed in the upcoming episode.
The sequel The Legend of Korra did the same but did it differently, they presented the recap as an American news reel in Sepia footage and a reporter style voice over describing the 'action'

764dak

Previously on this thread:

phasers wrote: »

I hate this! I thought I was the only one so I never said anything

It's exactly like you say, it makes it seem like the characters know they're on TV and it really annoys me

And now the conclusion...

What if it's a case where the character's future self or ghost is narrating the story and uses his or her present voice? Could this be an explanation?

expectationlost

764dak wrote: »

Previously on this thread:

And now the conclusion...

What if it's a case where the character's future self or ghost is narrating the story and uses his or her present voice? Could this be an explanation?

well do they ever use the voice of actor who isn't in that ep, not around for those events, probably not...