When writing a long running series, keeping track of continuity can get complicated. Writers and showrunners come in and out, and even we the fans have to admit that it’s unreasonable to expect every new staff writer to be perfectly versed on the entire history of the show (and that’s especially true for shows prior to the Internet). Inevitably, that means continuity issues crop up, but they’re not always a mistake, and it’s not always the writers who are solely responsible for continuity mistakes. Sometimes, to get things back on track–and more in line with the modern incarnation of the franchise–changes will have to be made, retroactively, to what had been previously established. Sometimes these are fairly small, like adjusting dates, but sometimes they’re so huge it’s impossible to ignore them. For better or worse, here are 4 of the biggest retcons in sci-fi franchise history.

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Skye’s crazy dad puts together a supervillain team who are a little lacking in the “super” department, and my theory from last week was confirmed (well, halfway, anyway). On to the review!

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As we return to the Subjectively Obscure Sci-Fi Primer, we hit upon possibly the most obscure show yet: little known 90’s show and companion to The X-Files, VR.5. Debuting in 1995 and set in 1995, it’s about as “near future” as sci-fi can get. It lasted for one 13-episode season, although several of those never even aired, since it was yet another victim of Fox and the Friday Night Death Slot. As you might guess from the title, this cyberpunk show deals with the concept of Virtual Reality–specifically a multitude of different levels of virtual reality, with the eponymous 5th level referring to perfect immersion, indistinguishable from reality. Or almost, anyway, as we’ll see in a moment.

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So if you’ve got your main characters, and they’re the heroes. Once in a while, they’ll end up fighting against people who aren’t so bad, and maybe are even heroes themselves. That doesn’t mean they stop being heroes, though, right? But just as there are honorable or well-intentioned villains, there can be heroes who do things that will even cause the villains to stare on in shock. The heroes perform actions that are almost (or sometimes are) unjustifiable, and they don’t always see the problem with that. So, here are 4 of the worst, most questionable actions done by sci-fi “heroes.”

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At long last, an episode with a lot of answers! Finally! And on top of that, we got Lady Sif guest starring and a few superpowered fights. Also, this is the 100th post on this site. Yay!

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This week in sci-fi, we’ve got a surprising lack of franchise stuff for once. Original stories? Awesome! Also, Harrison Ford scared everyone by crashing a small plane on a golf course, but he seems to be doing okay now.

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When making TV shows, there are a lot of people involved in the process. Writers, actors, directors, producers… the list goes on. And often times relationships and life events (or sometimes even global events) that either develop during the course of the show, or those that the creators bring with them, will turn out to have an effect on the show itself. Sometimes this is a fairly simple, small thing, like Riker’s trombone playing in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jonathan Frakes played trombone, and they worked it into his character. Other times, it ends up having a big effect on the show, altering the course of the plot and forever changing the characters. Knowing this real life context can make these moments more hilarious, more poignant, or just more interesting. So here are 4 moments improved by reality.

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We’re back at last to Agents of SHIELD, picking up after the epic December finale. I’m going to try to change this up some and have the review be more “review” and less “Recap.” What this really means is they might be shorter, but they’ll have more of (what I hope) is the important part. Let’s get going!

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It’s a sad weekend for sci-fi fans. Leonard Nimoy has passed away, making him the third member of the Star Trek TOS cast to be lost after DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. His character of Spock has meant a great deal to me, and likely to you as well. He’s become a pop culture icon, one of the few figures to transcend genre and possess an almost universal popularity, due in no small part to Nimoy’s talents and contributions. And as we the fans mourn, let’s not forget the loved ones he left behind.

Still, there’s other news out there. So let’s continue on, heavy hearts or otherwise.

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In the days of episodic television, there were always villains of the week, showing up just in time for the next episode and being dispatched within the hour. Usually, they had little explanation and even less characterization, and that was okay because no one really cared about the background of this one episode bad guy. Once in a while, though, a villain would appear on the scene who warranted more. He was skilled, not just another in an endless line of mooks. He had a code of honor. He had things he believed in and fought for, and just as often, died for. And for once, we in the audience were forced to stop and rethink the position of our heroes. These 4 bad guys below were doing their jobs, exactly as the heroes do, and from another perspective, they might even be a hero.

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