In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« NCIS
huge plot flaw
My wife is the NCIS fan in our family, but I was home last night and ended up watching the episode where someone is killing characters from one of the NCIS team's novel. The plot turns on the killer finding the writer's typewriter ribbon in the trash and being able to read the second book as it's being written. The writers of the show are obviously too young to have ever used a manual typewriter. When the ribbon gets to the end, it reverses itself and runs back the other way. It does this over and over until the ink is used up and the letters begin to appear faded on the page. Only then does the user replace the ribbon. It would be so typed over that no one could decipher it. Maybe the writers can use the time they're on strike to come up with some believable plot devices.
|
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2007 10:14 AM
|
|
most people today don't even know what a typewriter is, never mind a typewriter ribbon. we're talking about a fictional television show, just like politics, facts are not required when telling a story. (Just ask Al Gore)
|
|
Dec 27, 2007 9:47 AM
|
|
Not all manual typewriters reversed the ribbon automatically. Our antique one didn't. We had to remove the cloth ribbon and rewind it ourselves if we wanted to use the ribbon again.
|
|
Jan 4, 2008 2:28 AM
|
|
Sorry but the typewriter ribbon theme has been used on several older shows and as stated above, not all typewriters rewind the ribbon. Some had to be rewound by hand and others were not rewindeable. Donald Belasario who produces NCIS would never let a plot hole like you described happen. This is one of the tightest written shows on TV today. We see things now that will come back to play in the future. I am waiting for The Frog's body to finally be found!
|
|
Jan 4, 2008 2:48 PM
|
I remember a Colombo show where the typewriter ribbon "thing" came into play.
Also 'ribbon' is common for cartridge now. Cartridge type typewrites don't reverse when at the end. Cloth type typewriters did to transfer the ink and cloth ribbons lasted longer.
|
|
Jan 6, 2008 7:15 PM
|
|
One other thing to consider is that many typewriter cartridges - especially for late model IMB Selectrics (IIRC) use extra wide ribbons (usually between 3/4" and 1" wide) which allow the cartridges to last longer. What happens is that the first time the cartridge is used, the very bottom edge - equaling about 1/4 of the width of the ribbon - is used. When it gets to the end of the length of ribbon, it then reverses itself and uses the next 1/4 of the ribbon's width. When it gets back to the beginning, it reverses again and uses the next 1/4 of the width, then reverses one last time, using the top 1/4 of the ribbon. Since it's typing on a fresh part of the ribbon each time, you get four lines of text for the entire width of the ribbon, and each of those lines can be read distinctly.
|
|
Jan 9, 2008 2:14 PM
|
He's using an old, OLD model. I've used typewriters from that period and they don't autmatically reverse. You have to take them out and either rewind them by hand, or swap the spools around.
McGee said he always uses a fresh ribbon.
Even if he doesn't,the spools are only good for two-three uses. Because the ribbon is hand threaded, each layer of characters strikes in a slightly different alignment. It's actually pretty easy to decipher what's been typed. (I know, I've done it.)
|
|
Jan 21, 2008 12:06 PM
|
|
|
