Continuity Errors: Starts With the House Layout and Just Gets Worse

[Ria]

11 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Sophia and Sal’a Apartment 1954 - Dorothy wants to work part time to earn money so she wants Sophia to watch the kids.  It’s Dorothy’s 10th anniversary. Michael is already old enough to communicate his supposed fear if Stans mother. This is 33 years ago from the film date of the episode- yet Michael is always presented as 29 or younger on the episodes where he visits. 

Michael’s age has always been the show’s biggest and most glaring continuity error because it’s not a one off mistake but is at odds with Dorothy’s whole repeated backstory. That she got pregnant in high school, married Stan and was married for 38 years. And when the show started she had not seen Stan in 2 years. So Michael would be 40 at the start of the series. Or there’s a never mentioned disowned or deceased older child out there since Kate is also too young to be that first child. 

But then at some point in the series Dorothy claims to be 55 which makes her story even more out of whack. Throw in Sophia’s mom who was in her 90s when Dorothy was 6 but was alive to work on Eisenhower’s campaign in the 50s and you have one strange family setup. 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Ria

[mmecorday]

Not to mention that Uncle Angelo shacked up with a woman for over 70 years!

[Ria]

10 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Not to mention that Uncle Angelo shacked up with a woman for over 70 years!

He must never have run into Angela in Sicily. She was living there after her husband died until she moved to Florida. You would think she’d look him up instead of living with a goat. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Ria

[mmecorday]

Frankly, I'd rather live with a goat than Uncle Angelo.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

Frankly, I'd rather live with a goat than Uncle Angelo.

Unless the goat sheds?

[BlancheDevoreaux]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:16 PM, Bastet said:

Unless the goat sheds?

The you choose the Lebanese, of course.

[Woopwoopkitty]

On 6/10/2019 at 10:37 PM, Woopwoopkitty said:

.The calendar page on the swinging kitchen door never changes.

I’m on season 4 and it finally changed the page.  I did see an episode where the kitchen wallpaper was polka dot and the curtains were yellow and frilly where there was a completely different style calendar.  Flashback or a different season?

There was one episode in the middle of season 3, it was about the time of Rose’s Russian dream episode or the one where she’s a sunshine scout where the curtains were a flowery botanical print that matched the tables cloth.  Next episode the green curtains were back.

[mmecorday]

After Rose (and everybody else) found out Miles was in the witness protection program and his real name was Nick, why did they keep calling him Miles?

Miles being in the witness protection program was one of the DUMBEST sitcom plot twists of all time.

[Ria]

I’m wondering how Dorothy can so easily afford a hearing aid. They cost thousands of dollars. I’m mostly deaf in one ear and have never been able to afford one even now when my insurance would pay for most of it. And I’m pretty sure I’m financially better off than Dorothy. Who also never gave any indication she had a hearing problem anyway. 

[mmecorday]

It's mentioned once that Sophia also has a hearing aid, which allows her to sometimes hear birds break wind in Lauderdale.

[Ria]

When Rose has her triple bypass Dorothy mentions Kiersten lives an hour away.  Did she move to Florida? 

She definitely lived in St Olaf when she first appeared. I always thought it would have made more sense for Rose to move to Florida if at least one of her children lived there. I can’t see Rose leaving her kids and grandkids (not to mention her elderly mother who had to take in a drifting ex-con for help since none of her eight kids could be bothered) and moving to Florida by herself. If the memories in the house were too hard she could have just moved to Minneapolis. 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Ria

[Snow Apple]

Rose's family situation never made sense. Her stories make it sound like they're all one big happy family but actions say otherwise. All those children and siblings. So why *did* she move to Florida? Why was she afraid of being homeless when she lost her job or when Blanche was thinking about selling the house?

[BigBingerBro]

7 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Why was she afraid of being homeless when she lost her job or when Blanche was thinking about selling the house?

This always crosses my mind as well. It's a recurring fear of hers as she also was afraid of being poor and homeless when Charlie's pension was cut-off. However,  she is lucky enough to have several grown adult children who would never let that happen.  The fear would be completely plausible if she didn't have any children or close family.

[Snow Apple]

2 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

This always crosses my mind as well. It's a recurring fear of hers as she also was afraid of being poor and homeless when Charlie's pension was cut-off. However,  she is lucky enough to have several grown adult children who would never let that happen.  The fear would be completely plausible if she didn't have any children or close family.

Right? Kristen can be annoying but they seem to ultimately love each other. Lily seems to have her own home and probably would love to have Rose live with her, especially when she first went blind. She could move in with her mom. 

The show was probably trying to show the problems and fear that older people face, but it didn't work when it comes to Rose.

[Mabinogia]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

The show was probably trying to show the problems and fear that older people face, but it didn't work when it comes to Rose.

It would have been better if one of the women didn't have family. They could have told some strong stories there, being older, not sure who would take care of you when something happens and you can't take care of yourself. Unfortunately, the gave them all families that cared and loved them and would certainly take them in if anything terrible happened. Which was nice for them, but kind of made some of the stories a bit weird because if any of them lost their jobs, or they had to sell the house, or any had to go into care, they all had children who could and would take them in so there wasn't much drama there. 

[Ria]

On 7/6/2019 at 2:34 PM, Mabinogia said:

It would have been better if one of the women didn't have family. They could have told some strong stories there, being older, not sure who would take care of you when something happens and you can't take care of yourself. Unfortunately, the gave them all families that cared and loved them and would certainly take them in if anything terrible happened. Which was nice for them, but kind of made some of the stories a bit weird because if any of them lost their jobs, or they had to sell the house, or any had to go into care, they all had children who could and would take them in so there wasn't much drama there. 

They also had that lifetime supply of soup to fall back on. 😏

[jenniferhartwell]

OT: When it comes to sitcoms joking about dementia for a quick laugh, I'd like them to have to deal with looking after my mother who has vascular dementia. They wouldn't find it so funny then :'(

[MoistestCake]

In the episode when Michael marries Lorraine, Rose uses the phrase "long in the tooth", then in a later episode when Sophia and Blanche are dating Fidel Santiago the phrase is used about Fidel and Rose suddenly doesn't understand the phrase saying, I thought his teeth were fine but I couldn't believe how old he is......

[BookThief]

Random fact you don't care about, my coworker had never heard this phrase (long in the tooth)--she's in her mid-40s, I'm a bit younger than her but we both grew up in the same 20 mile radius. She's not dumb, but somehow this one completely missed her. But I still get your point that it's annoying that Rose knew the phrase in one episode and then forget it in another. Would have been great continuity if the episode where she didn't know it was first and then later we hear her use the phrase.

[MoistestCake]

On 8/8/2019 at 11:22 PM, BookThief said:

But I still get your point that it's annoying that Rose knew the phrase in one episode and then forget it in another 

Exactly. I'm not saying it's impossible that someone won't know a phrase, but suddenly not know it is weird.

There's a similar thing when Rose talks about a lesbian but then later on in another episode doesn't know what that is.

Maybe she has a special type of forgetfulness that is typical of St Olaf? 

[chessiegal]

13 minutes ago, MoistestCake said:

Exactly. I'm not saying it's impossible that someone won't know a phrase, but suddenly not know it is weird.

There's a similar thing when Rose talks about a lesbian but then later on in another episode doesn't know what that is.

Maybe she has a special type of forgetfulness that is typical of St Olaf? 

It's lazy writing.

[Keywestclubkid]

Why if Sophia was born and raised in another country does she speak perfect fluent English but her brother doesn’t? That always bugged me shouldn’t she have an accent? 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Keywestclubkid

[jenniferhartwell]

Melissa should be dressed and made-up a lot more like JonBenet Ramsey if it was a real 1990s child beauty pageant. She should be a lot more "girlied up" as JonBenet was just a couple of years later.

[Ria]

9 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Why if Sophia was born and raised in another country does she speak perfect fluent English but her brother doesn’t? That always bugged me shouldn’t she have an accent? 

Sophia, and likely Angela, came over when they were probably 20ish and then lived here for decades. Angelo was in his 80s when he arrived. 

[Keywestclubkid]

2 hours ago, Ria said:

Sophia, and likely Angela, came over when they were probably 20ish and then lived here for decades. Angelo was in his 80s when he arrived. 

Angela migrated and lived in the us then moved back to Sicily it wasn't stated how long she lived stateside but still they would both have an accent they wouldn't sound like they were born and raised in NY even if they had migrated when they were younger their formative years (up until early to mid 20s) were in Sicily they would have some kind of accent even if slight... I understand why they didn't give her the accent it just doesn't make sense when you start breaking the show down.... Another thing that bugged me about this show was when Phil died why the hell did they fly his body in and bury him in Miami? wouldn't he have been buried in NY? Miles in witness protection and not being a teacher but an accountant, how the hell was he a professor? how the hell did his daughter come visit him if he was in hiding? there are tons more questions I have about this show and I haven't gone back through the pages and I'm sure they have all been brought up so sorry if I'm repeating things 🙂 Has for Angela being Sophia's only living relative up till that point that isn't true it was mentioned in the ep when she was moving back to the US that Dorthy has cousins alive when Angela was asked to do something for her favorite niece and Angela asked what her cousin so and so had to do with anything and with Sophia having shared a bed with her brothers and sisters and family and was engaged to one of her brothers for a short period of time she would have other living relatives just not in America  .....

Edited August 13, 2019 by Keywestclubkid

[Snow Apple]

I think Sophia said that she and Angela were the only original family left; not that there were zero family. At their age, it's not surprising. They hadn't counted on writing in Angelo.

[Keywestclubkid]

24 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I think Sophia said that she and Angela were the only original family left; not that there were zero family. At their age, it's not surprising. They hadn't counted on writing in Angelo.

I wonder if Angela is still wearing that pearl necklace to cover up that wart 🙂

[BigBingerBro]

8 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Angela migrated and lived in the us then moved back to Sicily it wasn't stated how long she lived stateside 

Miles in witness protection and not being a teacher but an accountant, how the hell was he a professor? 

I'm pretty sure Sophia says "You had lived in this country for over 30 years" when Angela says she didn't want to pick up and move to a foreign country.

Regarding Miles, the way I worked it out in my head was that perhaps he did study English Literature but somehow went into accounting instead and then when he got put into the witness protection program, since he had the qualifications to teach, that's the new career they gave him.  It's a stretch, I know, but possible.  The writers obviously didn't plan the twist to his story line when they first introduced him.

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

I'm pretty sure Sophia says "You had lived in this country for over 30 years" when Angela says she didn't want to pick up and move to a foreign country.

Yep, 30 years:

"I'm too old to move to a strange country."
"What?  Before your husband died, you lived here for 30 years."

In Angela's original episode, we learn she returned to Sicily 30 years ago.  So she came to the U.S. in the mid '20s and left in the mid '50s (1956, per her story of finding a dead man in her suitcase as a young widow sailing back to Sicily). 

[Sari]

On 3/6/2017 at 3:12 PM, camom said:

One of the strangest things to me was Phil's funeral being in Florida.  He didn't live there, none of his many children were there.  I can usually suspend reality quite a bit, but that was a real head scratcher.

On 3/6/2017 at 3:12 PM, camom said:

One of the strangest things to me was Phil's funeral being in Florida.  He didn't live there, none of his many children were there.  I can usually suspend reality quite a bit, but that was a real head scratcher.

I thought it was odd, too, especially when Sophia said that Angela (Phil’s wife) had agreed to let him be buried in the family plot. I never understood why the family plot was in Miami. 

[Sari]

On 7/7/2014 at 3:08 PM, MrMattyMatt said:

Also, in addition to Dorothy's "Shady Pines" threats, there was the episode where Dorothy put Sophia in the adult daycare, when Sophia thought it was her job to be the entertainment director.  This makes the viewer assume that Sophia can no control over her finances.

It makes me wonder how much Blanches was charging them all...  She was either just asking for what she needed or makng a killing.  It was a nice house, but not a mansion.  I can't think that the mortgage payments were astronomical. 

It was a 4 bedroom, 3 or 4 bathroom home on or near the ocean. (When the lanai was shown, we could see the ocean in the background.) So, a house that close to the water in Miami would be very expensive, even in the 1980s. 

[Ria]

I can never understand how you get to the garage going left out of the kitchen. That would put the garage in the same place as the bedrooms. Not to mention the girls look to the left out of the front door to see the driveway. The door to the garage should be on the wall where the refrigerator is. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by Ria

[mmecorday]

This is why HGTV will probably never do "A Very Golden Girls Renovation."

[BookThief]

4 hours ago, mmecorday said:

This is why HGTV will probably never do "A Very Golden Girls Renovation."

Curses!

[rubaco]

On 9/24/2019 at 3:46 PM, mmecorday said:

This is why HGTV will probably never do "A Very Golden Girls Renovation."

Don't be so sure!

[chessiegal]

The thing about the Brady Bunch renovation is they brought back the original actors. What are they going to do with GG? Have Betty White wander around the house by herself?

[mmecorday]

Just thinking about that, chessiegal, makes my heart hurt.

[Snow Apple]

Does the Property Brothers read this board? I just read an article that they want to do the GG house next.

The house isn't on sale though so it's probably just a wishlist.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Snow Apple

[mmecorday]

Tank sweat wouldn't be their biggest problem with that reno.

[Ria]

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Tank sweat wouldn't be their biggest problem with that reno.

Their heads would explode before they finished one room. I’d like to see them figuring out how Dorothy’s room is the first door on the right yet her bed is against the wall of the big bathroom while also being next to Blanche but having windows on the left as you walk in from the hall as if she has a room at the end of the hallway.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Ria

[Snow Apple]

What about the big ass bathroom? They'll need to sacrifice a bedroom to recreate that.

[BigBingerBro]

5 hours ago, Ria said:

 Dorothy’s room is the first door on the right ...

I always thought it went like this:

1st door on right - Sophia 

2nd door on right - Dorothy

Door at end of hall - Blanche

Furthest door on left - Rose

Now how those rooms and bathrooms all fit it the mystery!

If you watch closely, they usually head to the appropriate rooms, but occasionally they will just turn left once they go into the hallway.

[Hiyo]

Quote

I always thought it went like this:

1st door on right - Sophia 

2nd door on right - Dorothy

Door at end of hall - Blanche

Furthest door on left - Rose

Me too.

Granted, that doesn't explain where the giant bathroom was, but that's how I also thought the bedroom for each of them were.

[Giuseppe]

Unless they figure out some quantum physics method to fold space into itself, they ain't gonna be able to pull that off. I mean, the door to the 'garage' leads into the hallway with a couple bedrooms in-between. Plus you can apparently see the street and the backyard from the kitchen window. Not to mention all the other stuff y'all just mentioned. I don't think even the smartest Hogwarts student could pull off that kind of magic, lol.

[BigBingerBro]

I kinda of wished that they kept Blanche's bedroom in the location it was during the pilot - off the lanai hallway.  I wonder if they changed it so that they could do the "noise from your bedroom" jokes.

Side note: notice in the pilot that the lanai layout is reversed from how it is in subsequent episodes.

[Snow Apple]

Huh. How did I never notice there's a fireplace behind the sofa?

[Ria]

5 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Huh. How did I never notice there's a fireplace behind the sofa?

There’s a whole unused half a room behind the sofa. The only time I remember them ever using the back half of the living room (other than people walking through) is when Sophia was tied to a chair back there by Merrill. 

[schnauzergirl]

Lots of inconsistencies, but to me the major one involves Dorothy's relationship with Gloria.  Gloria #1 was welcomed by Dorothy, there was sister-to-sister banter and reminiscing, and generally a sense of a normal sibling relationship.  With Gloria #2 it was anger, animosity, jealousy, etc. from the get-go.  Either the writers didn't know, didn't care, or didn't imagine viewers would catch the incongruity.  I like both episodes and both of the actresses who play Gloria, but this is at the top of my continuity error list.

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, schnauzergirl said:

Dorothy's relationship with Gloria. 

I wonder if that had more to do with the change in actress and Bea's chemistry with her.  I just don't think Gloria #2 meshed well with Dorothy (Bea).   Also, I just can't imagine Gloria #1 sleeping with Stan.

[schnauzergirl]

9 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I wonder if that had more to do with the change in actress and Bea's chemistry with her.  I just don't think Gloria #2 meshed well with Dorothy (Bea).   Also, I just can't imagine Gloria #1 sleeping with Stan.

Interesting thought, but I believe it's more than that.  The whole dynamic of the relationship changed and that would have happened before an actress was cast as Gloria #2.