Can you ignore a mistake in a great episode?

[JesterFace]

Can you ignore a blunder or something you might not get your head around in an episode that is just too great to miss? For example 'Redemption' and the tachyon detection grid. I'm not completely sure how it works or how different things people do it affect it. At some point that grid was something that I almost skipped the entire episodes for. ”Just go around the grid.... That graphic of the grid is weird”. Not anymore. I recently watched both episodes and they're just so good the grid doesn't have to work. We know it's there and that's it. Another example could be the antime anomaly from 'All Good Things...'. It has its own thread on this forum, how do the timelines affect each other. That is a perfect ending for the series so I don't let it bug me if there is somekind of twist I don't understand. It just works. Also, Q has something to do with it, Q can do what he wants.

 

[Mage]

Sure. There's no such thing as perfection. My favorite people have flaws. My favorite shows and movies as well.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

Of course. I can forgive almost everything as long as Jean-Luc is there to compensate. He’s why I’m watching the show in the first place anyway.

 

[amp]

Pretty much every episode has some plot holes, retcons and/or flubs. If the story is a good one, I can easily ignore any errors. It's only when the story itself is poor that I focus on the mistakes and goof ups.

 

[Qonundrum]

Easily.

Heck, even some season 1 episodes have major blunders that aren't as bad if the rest of the episode has enough meat to it.

Or what amp said. Not all of us look for perfect canonical tie-ins, but will make more efforts to stitch them in. It's all up to the individual viewer and what they want in a style. (TNG seasons 2-onward even retcon its own beginnings at times too... Kllingons were part of the Federation but later became an alliance. TWOK puts in Chekov. TWOK has its issues but the awesome bits (IMHO) are better than the weak points.)

 

[Xhiandra]

Obviously. If you look hard enough, you can find plot holes in almost any work of fiction, so if you can't ignore some plot holes and look at what's beyond, you're not going to enjoy much fiction.

Sometimes, the holes get either too big or numerous to ignore and suspension of disbelief is broken.

 

[Tosk]

Sometimes I ignore mistakes in great episodes, and sometimes I embrace them. Either way, a little scuff here and there don't ruin something great.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It’s a negative mark but doesn’t ruin an otherwise great episode.

 

[gakelly]

Although honestly it is something you really remember about the episode.
For example, in All Good Things, when Picard has to run over to Worf and ask what the date is. Why wouldn't he just ask the computer. That is one thing I really remember about that episode

 

[Vger23]

I can easily ignore errors in mediocre episodes, so I have absolutely no issue with errors in the great ones.

People whose ability to enjoy a story hinges upon it being error-free generally go through life angry and unentertained.

 

[Mojochi]

Yeah, I don't think this is the show for anyone who can't get past a mistake

 

[Oddish]

You have to let errors pass when they're necessary for the story.
The Inner Light: A civilization that's at about 1950's level technology somehow has the ability to produce a brain hacking device that allows Picard to experience a lifetime in 25 minutes.
Verdict: It's an amazing story. Let it go.

The Next Phase: Why didn't Geordi and Ro expire messily from decompression, since the air on Enterprise was unphased?
Verdict: Meh episode. But still, Ghost had just come out, so Trek did their own version. Rationalize it with technobabble.

Sub Rosa: An alien plasma Candle Ghost has been seducing Beverly's ancestors for 800 years.
Verdict: Declare that it never happened.

 

[tomalak301]

Yeah, All Good Things... and the whole Pasture is not the Enterprise error. I still consider it the best series finale of all of Trek.

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

The Inner Light: A civilization that's at about 1950's level technology somehow has the ability to produce a brain hacking device that allows Picard to experience a lifetime in 25 minutes.
Verdict: It's an amazing story. Let it go.

To expand on that, if you live close to Stanford University or MIT, you're in a scientific hotbed of activity. If you live in a small agricultural town of the 99 or rural Massachusetts, you'r likely to find a vastly different environment. Both can exist on the same planet.
Also, "mistakes" are a personal choice based on individual values and experiences. I tend to defer to the writers' thinking when watching a TV show or movie. It makes it much easier to join in the story and have fun. Speaking strictly as a fan, not as moderator.

 

[BillJ]

If it entertains me, I don't care about mistakes.

 

[JesterFace]

Yeah, All Good Things... and the whole Pasture is not the Enterprise error.

Does Pasteur error mean Data says that it appears all tachyon pulses originate from the Enterprise?

 

[Kor]

It was an egregious mistake for Bones to show up in TMP looking like some kind of disco fiend. But I forgive it.

Generally, mistakes are rather minor and can be handwaved away. I can't think of anything really glaring in TNG episodes.

Kor

 

[tomalak301]

Does Pasteur error mean Data says that it appears all tachyon pulses originate from the Enterprise?

Yes.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I can also ignore mistakes in horrible episodes.

 

[Mudd]

There aren't any to watch, otherwise.

 

[dupersuper]

You have to let errors pass when they're necessary for the story.
The Inner Light: A civilization that's at about 1950's level technology somehow has the ability to produce a brain hacking device that allows Picard to experience a lifetime in 25 minutes.
Verdict: It's an amazing story. Let it go.

The Next Phase: Why didn't Geordi and Ro expire messily from decompression, since the air on Enterprise was unphased?
Verdict: Meh episode. But still, Ghost had just come out, so Trek did their own version. Rationalize it with technobabble.

Sub Rosa: An alien plasma Candle Ghost has been seducing Beverly's ancestors for 800 years.
Verdict: Declare that it never happened.

Peak Performance: Worf can create sens-oar illusions because he's the chief of security on the Enterprise: he has the codes and knows the system. How the Hell did he do it to the Ferengi ship? Why can't they just do that all the time then?