Tuesday, August 21, 2007

How Not to Write Dialog

From Episode 2 of Sci-Fi Channel's Flash Gordon:

DALE
Don't worry, I'm going to kill the story. But listen to this: "Blah, blah, blah. The ranger says the woman has the ability to make herself invisible."

I've heard "blah, blah, blah" in the middle of a quote—a sort of spoken ellipsis—but here it sounds as if Dale is calling Flash's attention to information she still has to locate herself. Shouldn't she have found it before calling Flash's attention?

I like the semi-comic tone the show is trying to establish, but after two episodes, not enough has happened. Contrast this with Burn Notice, where Michael Westen gains real ground each week.

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