MovieChat Forums > Hill Street Blues (1981) Discussion > Opening Credits Plot Hole

Opening Credits Plot Hole

posted 7 months ago by FootOfDavros (8253)
6 replies | jump to latest

It's annoying me every time I see it now since I first noticed it:-

Three squad cars exit from the police station, yet as two of them start turning left it cuts to a different angle and suddenly the third squad car has magically disappeared! We clearly see the two cars which were turning left continue on their journey, yet the third one is nowhere to be seen!

How could such a massive mistake have been allowed to happen in pretty much the first thing you see in the credits?

They weren't very careful out there...

[–] millsey72 (10372) 13 days ago

Can you have a plot hole in an opening credit sequence? There is no plot in the opening credits

[–] FootOfDavros (8253) 13 days ago

I just looked up Wikipedia, which as everyone knows is the foremost authority on everything, and it says:-

In fiction, a plot hole, plothole, or plot error is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot.

So it could be argued that within the storyline of the opening credits we are following the journey of three police cars.

"Where will these cars go?" we all excitedly ask! But suddenly there are only two of them... Eh? Where did the third car go?

So I think we can safely conclude that it must considered a plot hole...

[–] millsey72 (10372) 13 days ago

Before I call it a plot hole, I need to know what the plot is. And since there are no plot details in the opening credits, it cannot be a plot hole. The goof in question is considered a continuity error

[–] FootOfDavros (8253) 13 days ago

I can only reiterate the quote I gave above:- "...is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot".
That "gap or inconsistency" in the story of the cars journey is certainly there. But I think you have to go with the more nuanced understand that a plot hole, by definition, is slightly broader than we may expect...

[–] millsey72 (10372) 13 days ago

Again, there was no plot or storyline details given in the opening credits. Its called a continuity error when things like this happens.

[–] FootOfDavros (8253) 13 days ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_hole

Types:-
... Continuity errors
Events in the story which contradict those established earlier.

https://www.writingmastery.com/blog/navigating-plot-holes-how-to-find-and-fix-plot-holes-in-your-story#:~:text=Plot%20holes%20come%20in%20various,or%20the%20timeline%20of%20events.

Plot holes come in various forms, but some of the most common types include continuity errors, character inconsistencies, and logical inconsistencies. Continuity errors involve discrepancies in details...

So, as I was saying, I think the problem is that the definition of plot holes is slightly wider than our expectations. But, in conclusion, continuity errors are indeed a type of plot hole according to sources which are not me.