Stupid question...

[helen_c]

When an OC episode first airs in, say, March, do we assume that the events taking place in the episode also happen in March?

In this case, back in season 1, did the gang go to LA in March? It seems to fit, but I just want to be sure. ;)

Comments

[mel39]

I've always thought that. The Valentines epi is always mid February. Chrismukkah is always in mid December...

[helen_c]

I guess so--I just wonder, because sometimes, some episodes start a few hours after the previous ones--so, even though a week has gone by between the two eps, only a few hours have passed on the show. Did that make sense?

[millstone1005]

And even worse is when the show has a "hiatus" and is off for 2-4 weeks, and the episode shown after the hiatus takes place immediately after, a few hours after, or the next day after the episode shown before the hiatus (e.g. between eps 1.7 and 1.8, or 1.17 and 1.18).

And conversely, there's the ones where they jump ahead within the show when there is no hiatus, the most glaring example of course being where 1.9 takes place the first week of school (the first week of September), then there's just one episode in between 1.10, then all of a sudden in 1.11 it is Thanksgiving (the last week of November).

[helen_c]

See? This is why I'm so bloody confused about the whole thing... :D

[anne35]

I think so too. I believe that they showed the episode with Ryan's birthday right around the middle of March if I remember right. The only time I can think of is Season 2 premiere. The boys should have already been in school when the show aired.

[helen_c]

Yep, that too--and the end of the school year, which should happen in June, usually airs in May. And they wonder why I'm confused? :D

Thanks!

[black_eyedgirl]

Generally I assume TV eps happen at around the time they should have unless there's contrary indication. Like the person above said, Christmas eps air in the US at Christmas time (though at very strange times here in the UK). Granted, this doesn't always work, especially in TWW where their loss of nearly a year did *very* strange things to the timing. But in the OC where we lost most of the summer in both season breaks, I think it's a fair enough assumption!

[helen_c]

though at very strange times here in the UK
Ah, the beauty that is life in Europe (and getting Christmas episodes in July) :D

Granted, this doesn't always work, especially in TWW where their loss of nearly a year did *very* strange things to the timing.
I had already stopped watching by then, but that must have been puzzling... Was it done on purpose or was it a mistake that TPTB just never corrected?

[black_eyedgirl]

http://westwing.bewarne.com/whowhatwhere/when.html :D

On purpose (I hope) to line up the end of Season 7 with the end of the show. So we got the Inauguration, supposedly in January, at the end of the season. Otherwise, with the show beginning in the middle of year 1, it would have run a little over 7 seasons. But yeah, there's a missing Christmas, and missing midterms, and a State of the Union that might be 6 and might be 7. It's a whole thing... TWW timelines are awful to try and figure out actually. Hence my "everything happens whenever the episode aired" principle. Unless it's a spring election!

[muchtvs]

Yep.

At least that's the way I have always interpreted it.

[helen_c]

Thanks (love your icon, heeee)

[millstone1005]

Contrary to everyone else, apparently. I think "no". In some cases, there are specific episodes that you know must take place at a specific time of year, like the episodes for the beginning of school, or Valentine's Day, or Christmas. For those, you know when they take place. Which may not correspond to when they are aired, such as episodes 1.8-9/2.1-3 which were the beginning of school, but aired in November. And the ones at the end of each season, which all aired in May, but were clearly supposed to be the end of the school year (i.e. June

[helen_c]

So I say that The L.A. takes place Apr 1-3.
That's pretty mcuh what I'd figured, based on the date it aired--I was thinking last days of March actually, but I think I'll go with April, cause it fits my timeline better ;)

Thanks for doing the math! I was just writing a fic, and I kept writing, "Three months later," and "two weeks after that," and at some point, 3 chapters later, I thought, huh, wait, is this the beginning of the school year? Is it still summer? :-/ The things we worry about... :D