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| Somewhat noticeable damage. |
I think it's a goof, at least a distracting detail.
I noticed it when rewatching The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV episode The Four-Steps Affair. One night a wounded U.N.C.L.E. agent (one of the good guys for those not aware) seeks help at a secluded home in the countryside owned by the seductive Angela who is really a Thrush agent (one of the bad girls.)
Angela has a portrait studio on the second floor with a large sliding window. Angela lures the U.N.C.L.E. agent in front of the window, urging him to sneak away on the roof. As soon as he slides open the window bright studio lights snap on, silhouetting him, the perfect target.
A Thrush agent waiting outside opens fire with his automatic weapon, bullets drilling into the doomed U.N.C.L.E. agent and everything behind him. An array of large holes erupts in the wall. Shelf splinters. Cups shatter. Water sprays. Palette suffers a few flesh wounds.
Top U.N.C.L.E. agent Napoleon Solo drives out from New York City into the Hamptons looking for the missing agent. I don't know how long it takes before he appears on the scene. According to Google travel time from the Big Apple to the Hamptons is about two hours. I'm assuming that along the way Napoleon stepped on the gas to get there sooner. Traffic would be lighter late at night. But let's say it takes him two and a half hours before he meets Angela.
She tries the same window trick with Napoleon, this time pointing to a shadowy figure outside that she claims is the missing agent. Of course the second time ain't a charm and she ends up being swiss-cheesed.
I have a problem after Napoleon enters the room. What happened to all of the bullet holes from the previous scene? He doesn't notice anything out of place?
OK, maybe there was enough time to fix the intense damage. The Thrush Clean-Up and Repair Rapid Response Team did the job in record time. Including scrubbing the floor to erase any evidence of major U.N.C.L.E. agent bleeding
But didn't Napoleon notice the shiny new plaster, the smell of fresh paint, the immaculate condition of the floor? Sherlock Holmes would and he ain't any superspy.
It's impossible to suspend disbelief when it tries to suspend you like a noose around your neck.
I still enjoy the first season of U.N.C.L.E., owning a DVD set. But that doesn't stop me from saying "Oh, c'mon!"
For example in the first episode Thrush knows that a tailor shop serves as a secret entrance into U.N.C.L.E. HQ. Thrushies penetrate the HQ in an attempt to kill the director.
So if that front is no longer a secret why do U.N.C.L.E agents still go through the routine of entering through a hidden door in the tailor shop's dressing room? Trying to dodge bill collectors?
2 comments:
You know, I've stopped looking for continuity errors in movies and tv shows. Takes all the fun out of it. Since it's all fiction in the first place, I have to suspend my disbelief from the outset.
There's suspension of disbelief and then there's suspension beyond reason, finding yourself hanging by the noose of credulity. When lazy writing starts wrapping itself around my neck I cut the rope. I appreciate writing that doesn't insult my intelligence. Good logical writing in fiction isn't that hard to accomplish. It just takes some extra thought.
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