oh, Mentalist, you have failed me

[sid]

I've really been enjoying The Mentalist. Simon Baker is nice to look at and his character is complex like woah. (yeah, have you seen where he sleeps?)

But after last night I can't trust this show.

The wolf is not the bassoon. Peter's grandfather is the bassoon.

I guarantee you that there are five-year-old children who know this. Maybe not many, but they're out there.

Yet obviously "Patrick Jane", Simon Baker, the rest of the cast, the guest stars, the writers, the producers, the camera crew, the director, the lighting people, the grips and the gaffers and the best boys, and WHOEVER THE HELL ELSE was involved in the making of this episode DID NOT KNOW.

And this was not a throwaway line situation - a plot point hinged on Patrick's knowledge of "Peter and the Wolf".

The writer got it wrong, and no one else suspected or tried to verify the information. /o\

And as a bassoon player, I am enraged.  Enraged, I tell you!

Introduction to Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie
 

Comments

[sg1danny.livejournal.com]

*blinks* butbutbutbut...it's COMMON knowledge that the bassoon represents the Grandfather!!!!! My 10 year old nephew knows that *sputters*

[sid]

I have known this forever. I had two different LPs of Peter and the Wolf that I played over and over throughout my childhood.

It's so hard to conceive of an entire roomful of adults who didn't know, didn't question, didn't smack the writer upside the head. *tsks*

[stagnation13.livejournal.com]

It was at that point during the show (and I only watched it because was too lazy to move after NCIS) that my jaw dropped to the ground. Seriously? Seriously.

*shakes head* And I wonder why I don't write for these shows. SHEESH!

[sid]

Come to think of it, they set it up as being arcane knowledge. If not knowing the answer proved that you hadn't attended the concert, then presumably knowing the answer would prove that you had?

I could have been guilty as sin and been nowhere near that concert and still replied, "You're mixing up your double reeds. The duck is the oboe, not the bassoon."

SHEESH indeed!

[stagnation13.livejournal.com]

"You're mixing up your double reeds. The duck is the oboe, not the bassoon."

I am musically inclined, so I don't know if I can say this properly, but there is no way in hell a duck sounds like a bassoon. At all. An oboe fer sure, a clarinet (we're talking single reeds now) does, that's how I remember my brother sounding when he played.

[sid]

Oh, well, that was when he was trying to trick the woman - he never actually believed that the duck was the bassoon.

Because he was convinced it was the WOLF. *snarls*

[stagnation13.livejournal.com]

The wolf.

*headdesk*

*sigh*

Ignorance...makes me...cringe.

[cleothemuse.livejournal.com]

I haven't listened to OR played that in years, and I can remember that the slow, ponderous bassoon was the elderly grandfather, not the sneaky wolf (which I think was a French horn)!

Of course, as a cat lover and a clarinetist, I was perfectly content with my lot.

[sid]

I never did play it. That would've been fun.

My favorite part really is Peter - such a great melody the strings get to play. :-)

[chattycatsmeow.livejournal.com]

Damn. And all this time, I thought his Grandfather was a buffoon. Oh wait - that's MY family.

Never mind. :)

Okay, more seriously, I understand exactly what you mean. There's a difference between willing suspension of disbelief and needing a lobotomy to enjoy a show. Something like that takes me completely out of the moment and leaves me spluttering in outrage and indignation. NOT how I usually like to spend my evenings.

[sid]

It just ruined the show for me, and possibly future episodes as well.

And it's appalling to think of all those ignorant people who let the mistake happen. *shakes head sorrowfully*

[lunachickk.livejournal.com]

*hangs head in shame*
I didn't remember.

[sid]

I forgive you, baby. :-)

Just never forget again. Bassoon = Peter's Grandfather.

There may be a quiz later. LOL

[lunachickk.livejournal.com]

*commits it to memory*

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

This goes back to the problem of tv/movies portraying geniuses--who aren't written by geniuses. About the best workaround so far is Rodney saying, "Of course! We'll just ... *fingersnap* *fingersnap*" And Zelenka butts in with, "But what about the--" And Rodney interrupts with, "Right, right ..." And they trail off down the hallway.

If your characters/plot actually require real information? Get it fucking fact-checked! Hell, look it up on Wikipedia!

[sid]

Yes, even if the writers were actual geniuses there would be no point to actually writing Rodney/Zelenka dialogue at a point like that. It would just confuse the audience. ;-)