2. The Suddenly (and Briefly) Relevant Character Point
Once more, this comes down to lazy writing, and most commonly occurs in sit-coms. It goes something like this:
Generic Sitcom Character A: Hey, good thing you joined us. Were helping Sitcom Character C overcome his crippling phobia of Ice Cream.Generic Sitcom Character B: Wasnt he just seen eating an ice cream normally last week?Generic Sitcom Character A: Exposure therapy. Anyway, its had a major impact on all of our lives during the last few years, as Im sure you can imagine.Generic Sitcom Character B: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Sadly I cant help, as my estranged brother is visiting. I would have mentioned him earlier, but we feuded. Dont worry about learning his name, though after we resolve our argument this episode, hell leave and I wont ever mention him again.Generic Sitcom Character A: Thats how my family deals with things. Such one episode plots are all too common, and there are countless examples of the events of an episode never having long term consequences within the series. Who can forget the Christmas Episode of
Saved by the Bell in which Zack generously invites a homeless family to live with him, only for them never to be seen again once the episode ends?
How to Fix It: Again, this boils down to planning. Major events or character points should be foreshadowed, not conveniently raised as needed and discarded directly afterwards.