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GrumpyGhostOwl
Master Boardie
I am an Owl.
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Registration Date: 04-12-2016
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BotP - One of our Adjectives is Missing
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I am yet to trawl through all the episodes (and at least one of the discs needs to be retrieved from the Broken Desk Drawer of Obscurity) but I've noticed a funny thing about the BotP dialogue.
The Ee-ville Planet Spectra is called "Spectra." That's cool. Noun. Proper noun, even.
For native speakers of English, it is natural then, for the brain to add an 'n' on the end to denote the adjective when referring to things that are from, of or relating to "Spectra," to wit, "Spectran."
It's generally-accepted fanon that this is the case.
In canon, however, most of the characters use the proper noun in place of the adjective. Instead of "Spectran base," or "Spectran ship," or "Ee-ville Spectran plot," we have "Spectra base," "Spectra ship," and so on.
As said, I'm yet to trawl through all the epidoses in my search for the missing adjective, but has anyone else noticed this little quirk? And has anyone found the MacGuffin - sorry - adjective?
Can anyone point me at instances where the characters (even Zark will do) use the word, "Spectran"?
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This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by GrumpyGhostOwl on 10-02-2017 at 23:29.
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10-02-2017 23:11
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The Other Jason
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RE: BotP - One of our Adjectives is Missing
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Hi, uhh.... Grumpy? :-)
| quote: | Originally posted by GrumpyGhostOwl
I am yet to trawl through all the episodes (and at least one of the discs needs to be retrieved from the Broken Desk Drawer of Obscurity) but I've noticed a funny thing about the BotP dialogue.
In canon, however, most of the characters use the proper noun in place of the adjective. Instead of "Spectran base," or "Spectran ship," or "Ee-ville Spectran plot," we have "Spectra base," "Spectra ship," and so on.
As said, I'm yet to trawl through all the epidoses in my search for the missing adjective, but has anyone else noticed this little quirk? And has anyone found the MacGuffin - sorry - adjective?
Can anyone point me at instances where the characters (even Zark will do) use the word, "Spectran"? |
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For the most part, it seemed they did stay away from "Spectran" and derivatives. So much so, I wonder if it wasn't one of Jameson Brewer's writer's bible instructions. Or at least a preference of his.
I *thought* I remembered an instance of it happening in "Vacation on Venus ," so I pulled it out to have a listen. But no, Zoltar yelled "...Spectra soldier..." in the line I was wondering about.
However, since it was bothering me I grabbed the broadcast script, and what do you know?
This was what I remembered, darn it. Considering this was an episode written by Sid Morse and not Jameson Brewer, that may explain why the word "Spectran" appeared.
It must have been changed when Brewer got around to the touch-up for the final recording script.
My suggestion would be to check the episodes Brewer didn't write initially. He had a hand in every one but didn't write the first drafts of many. A "Spectran" or two may have slipped through to the final recording in some of them. I have a handy list of those episodes right here. Happy hunting!
The Other Jason
www.battleoftheplanets.info
This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by The Other Jason on 11-02-2017 at 08:56.
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11-02-2017 08:33
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ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
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| quote: | Originally posted by GrumpyGhostOwl
I wouldn't mind except that BotP was advertised as being 'educational.' I get that the educational component was some very basic sciencey-wiency stuff, but plurals are pretty basic too. |
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I've had to exert some serious effort to keep from gnawing off a limb or two when it comes to the "educational" part, especially when BotP's educational value is compared to other US-produced shows of the time! Sesame Street proved that children's programming could educate as well as entertain, so the FCC started enacting regulations requiring the producers of children's programming explain how each show was educational. Thanks to the tiniest bit of BS, The Flintstones and The Jetsons were classified as educational programming! The Flintstones, it was claimed, encouraged interest in archeology and The Jetsons "encouraged interest in science in order to produce the wonders of the future." (And, yes, those were the actual words used to explain the educational value of The Jetsons !)
At least BotP used some actual scientific theory! (True, it didn't all hold up over time, but at least there weren't any pterodactyls doubling as record players!)
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11-02-2017 15:04
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