"Retcon" = "retroactive continuity" (another term I've picked up from the _Buffy_ and _Angel_ newsgroups). Here's the entry from "The Jargon Dictionary" (http://info.astrian.net/jargon/terms/r/retcon.html):
[begin def] 1. n. The common situation in pulp fiction (esp. comics or soap operas) where a new story 'reveals' things about events in previous stories, usually leaving the 'facts' the same (thus preserving continuity) while completely changing their interpretation. For example, revealing that a whole season of "Dallas" was a dream was a retcon. 2. vt. To write such a story about a character or fictitious object. "Byrne has retconned Superman's cape so that it is no longer unbreakable." "Marvelman's old adventures were retconned into synthetic dreams." "Swamp Thing was retconned from a transformed person into a sentient vegetable." "Darth Vader was retconned into Luke Skywalker's father in "The Empire Strikes Back". [end def]
There are some definite examples of this device in _Friends_, and I've been thinking about their effect on the show. Are there any that you wish they hadn't done? I have some examples:
"The Truth About London"
Although this one was well executed, I wish the writers had not done this. Before the episode aired, I'd had the impression that Chandler moves seamlessly from consoling Monica at the reception hall to consoling her further in the hotel room. I hate that this was retconned so that Monica was seeking Joey and that encountering Chandler instead was a (happy) accident.
"TOA the Beach"
As much as I like Teri Garr and enjoy her depiction of Phoebe Sr., I wish the writers had left Lily as Phoebe and Ursula's birth mom. The poor woman took her own life, and the writers took away her biological motherhood, too. The retcon also renders problematic Phoebe's grandmother characterizing Frank Sr. as "the irresponsible creep who knocked up your mom and stole her Gremlin." Sure, one could explain this away. Maybe the grandmother was being dishonest about the pregnancy. Or maybe Lily was not in her life when the girls were born, and she lied to her mother. But that's not what the writers intended in TOW Phoebe's Dad--it would all be retrofitting. Again, I wish Lily could simply have been left as the biological mom.
There are others, but these are the two I really wish they hadn't done. Anyone else?
These also make me wary of flashbacks in general. I sort of hope they don't do any more, unless they don't do this kind of retconning.
Belphoebe