History Main / SchizoContinuity

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has had crossovers with ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' ({{downplayed|Trope}} in that the only elements from that show to appear are Jay Sherman himself -- whose character design was tweaked to fit in with ''The Simpsons'' -- and ''[[ShowWithinAShow Coming Attractions]]''), ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (which poked fun at their different art styles a few times), and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' (which [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom ignored the obvious skin color differences despite the two shows having the same art style]]), but since the show mostly runs on NegativeContinuity, they leave little impact on the show itself (with the notable exception of a deactivated Bender appearing briefly in "Cue Detective"). Notably, characters from both shows made a few cameo appearances in each other before their crossover episode, but they're just in the service of throwaway gags, and the crossover episode itself depicts them as never having met before. There was also an episode of ''Futurama'' when the team found a Bart Simpson toy on a garbage asteroid.

* ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries'': In the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths behind the scenes feature, ''After Crisis'' WordOfGod affirmed that Film/Batman1989'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns'' take place on Earth-89 while ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' take place on Earth-97, however, by the way it was said it is implied that it was just a joke about the films release dates plus the own films seems to imply otherwise: In ''Film/BatmanForever'' Chase Meridian asked Batman if she needed "[[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} skin-tight vinyl and a whip]]" to get his attention, suggesting that at least the events of the first two movies happened on the hypothetical Earth-97, but the events of the second two did not happen on Earth-89. However, ''ComicBook/Batman89'' rolls with it an presents a version of Two Face incompatible with the 3rd film but compatible with Harvey Dent's brief cameo in Batman(1989). However, comic book solicitations for Dark Crisis imply that the Batman '89 universe is making an appearance in the event. In the actual event Main!Batman from the comics travels across the DC Megaverse to the Live-Action DC Multiverse were he encounters Movie!Batman and they make a ContinuityNod to the Arrowverse depiction of Earth-89. Another comic that includes a map of the multiverse by Comic!BarryAllen suggest that instead the Batman '89 and Superman '78 series of comic books both take place in an Earth called 'Earth-789. Film/The Flash again presents a version of Earth-89 as the Flashpoint timeline of the DCEU, however since the DCEU was established as being part of the same Live Action Multiverse as the Arrowverse and the movie shows a cameo of the Earth's of the multiverse colliding is implied rather strongly that the 'Flashpoint Earth-89' is a temporal merge of the DCEU and the real 'Earth-89' (Still only the 2 first films get referenced, except in the final Post-Flashpoint scene, were is implied Earth-97 fused this time with the DCEU). So at the end it doesn't matter if you are in Earth 89, 97, 789 or the DCEU, or if you are in the comic or live action multiverse the only firmly canon movies are always the first two.

* ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries'': In the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths behind the scenes feature, ''After Crisis'' WordOfGod affirmed that Film/Batman1989'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns'' take place on Earth-89 while ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' take place on Earth-97, however, by the way it was said it is implied that it was just a joke about the films release dates plus the own films seems to imply otherwise: In ''Film/BatmanForever'' Chase Meridian asked Batman if she needed "[[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} skin-tight vinyl and a whip]]" to get his attention, suggesting that at least the events of the first two movies happened on the hypothetical Earth-97, but the events of the second two did not happen on Earth-89. However, ComicBook/Batman '89 rolls with it an presents a version of Two Face incompatible with the 3rd film but compatible with Harvey Dent's brief cameo in Batman(1989). However, comic book solicitations for Dark Crisis imply that the Batman '89 universe is making an appearance in the event. In the actual event Main!Batman from the comics travels across the DC Megaverse to the Live-Action DC Multiverse were he encounters Movie!Batman and they make a ContinuityNod to the Arrowverse depiction of Earth-89. Another comic that includes a map of the multiverse by Comic!BarryAllen suggest that instead the Batman '89 and Superman '78 series of comic books both take place in an Earth called 'Earth-789. Film/The Flash again presents a version of Earth-89 as the Flashpoint timeline of the DCEU, however since the DCEU was established as being part of the same Live Action Multiverse as the Arrowverse and the movie shows a cameo of the Earth's of the multiverse colliding is implied rather strongly that the 'Flashpoint Earth-89' is a temporal merge of the DCEU and the real 'Earth-89' (Still only the 2 first films get referenced, except in the final Post-Flashpoint scene, were is implied Earth-97 fused this time with the DCEU). So at the end it doesn't matter if you are in Earth 89, 97, 789 or the DCEU, or if you are in the comic or live action multiverse the only firmly canon movies are always the first two.

* The creators of the ''Series/TheXFiles'' and ''Series/Millennium1996'' just couldn't seem to decide if the two shows share a universe or not. The first instance of intershow continuity occurred in the Millennium's Season 2 episode, ''Jose Chung's Doomsday Defence'', which featured the author, Jose Chung, who had previously appeared in a Season 3 episode of X-Files. Later episodes of Millennium's Season 2 and Season 3, however, included several references to X-Files suggesting it is a TV show that exists in the Millennium universe, including an X-Files ThemeTuneCameo in one sequence. Then came the FullyAbsorbedFinale of Millennium which took place over the course of an X-Files episode, seeing the main casts of both shows interacting with one another for the first (and last) time.

Well, this isn't always the case. Maybe the writer decided that CanonWelding was a bad idea in retrospect. Or he/she didn't want to feel limited by what happened in another title. As well as the possibility of the writer wanting to take the works in a different direction, or that the writer was afraid being too continuity-heavy would discourage assorted potential readers. Whatever the reason may have been, the writer doesn't really act like the titles currently are in one continuity.

* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' is ''generally'' in One-Sided Continuity with the televised Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}, barring occasional throwaway references (the most prominent being the Eighth Doctor listing all his Big Finish Audio companions in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]]) and the inclusion of concepts in the revival seasons that were first introduced in expanded media (e.g. a TARDIS dying when its pilot does, the Doctor telling the year by smelling the air, the Doctor being able to erase memories, etc.). The relationship of the various spin-off media to ''each other'' is ... confused, often being split not even by series, but by ''author'', so if, for instance, Author A believes that the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' and ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' are in continuity with each other, they would write for ''both'' series accordingly, while if Author B believes they're alternate timelines, they would do likewise. (This does not stop the [=EDAs=] by both authors being in continuity with ''each other'', of course.) The official position of both companies is simply one big ShrugOfGod. Similarly, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip went through a period of being in continuity with the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'', then firmly decided it wasn't. It's also sometimes been in continuity with the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, although that can probably be explained away by the Doctor jumping universes on occasion.

* For the Franchise/{{Gundam}} franchise, only the animated works are considered part of the various continuities, and works such as the novels written by Gundam's creator Yoshiki Tomino are not acknowledged as part of the continuities of the shows (till they get animated, at least). This especially includes ''Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam'', despite it also being written by Tomino.

* The second-edition ''TabletopGame/TrinityContinuum'' settings work this way, because they're six games and counting (seven if you include the corebook setting) set in separate time periods of the same universe, but the decision was made to not have a set future for any individual game. As a result, if you're playing in a chronologically later game, then the earlier games are considered canon, but if you're playing an earlier game, later games are only "possible futures" and nothing is canon past the start date. This also ties into how one of the major superhuman characters of the continuum is said to have traveled many different timelines.

* The second-edition ''[[TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse Trinity Continuum]]'' settings work this way, because they're six games and counting (seven if you include the corebook setting) set in separate time periods of the same universe, but the decision was made to not have a set future for any individual game. As a result, if you're playing in a chronologically later game, then the earlier games are considered canon, but if you're playing an earlier game, later games are only "possible futures" and nothing is canon past the start date. This also ties into how one of the major superhuman characters of the continuum is said to have traveled many different timelines.

** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' became an example of the Alternate Timeline as of its last seasons. Seasons One through Five kept right in line with the MCU right up to ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', with the final episodes explicitly taking place during Thanos' attack in that film. But then the show received a surprise renewal for two more seasons and could not account for the end of ''Infinity War'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (either the staff was not appraised of what was happening in the films, or could not risk the possibility of spoiling ''Endgame''). As a result, the major shift to the status quo at the end of ''Infinity War'' just... never happened; and the staff claimed that the final seasons were being retconned into occurring before ''Infinity War'' (despite the fact that Season Five specifically referenced the events of the film, and that the later seasons included a couple years of {{Time Skip}}s).

* ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries'': In the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths behind the scenes feature, ''After Crisis'' WordOfGod affirmed that Film/Batman1989'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns'' take place on Earth-89 while ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' take place on Earth-97, however, by the way it was said it is implied that it was just a joke about the films release dates plus the own films seems to imply otherwise: In ''Film/BatmanForever'' Chase Meridian asked Batman if she needed "[[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} skin-tight vinyl and a whip]]" to get his attention, suggesting that at least the events of the first two movies happened on the hypothetical Earth-97, but the events of the second two did not happen on Earth-89. However, ComicBook/Batman '89 rolls with it an presents a version of Two Face incompatible with the 3rd film but compatible with Harvey Dent's brief cameo in Batman(1989). However, comic book solicitations for Dark Crisis imply that the Batman '89 universe is making an appearance in the event. In the actual event Main!Batman from the comics travels across the DC Megaverse to the Live-Action DC Multiverse were he encounters Movie!Batman and they make a ContinuityNod to the Arrowverse depiction of Earth-89. Another comic that includes a map of the multiverse by Comic!BarryAllen suggest that instead the Batman '89 and Superman '78 series of comic books both take place in an Earth called 'Earth-789. Film/The Flash again presents a version of Earth-89 as the Flashpoint timeline of the DCEU, however since the DCEU was established as being part of the same Live Action Multiverse as the Arrowverse and the movie shows a cameo of the Earth's of the multiverse colliding is implied rather strongly that the 'Flashpoint Earth-89' is a temporal merge of the DCEU and the real 'Earth-89' (Still only the 2 first films get referenced, except in the final Post-Flashpoint scene, were is implied Earth-97 fused this time with the DCEU). So at the end it doesn't matter if you are in Earth 89, 97, 789 or the DCEU, the only canon movies are always the first two. and if you are in the Comic or Live Action Multiverse

* ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries'': According to WordOfGod, ''Film/Batman1989'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns'' take place on Earth-89 while ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' take place on Earth-97. In ''Film/BatmanForever'' Chase Meridian asked Batman if she needed "[[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} skin-tight vinyl and a whip]]" to get his attention, suggesting that the events of the first two movies happened in Earth-97, but the events of the second two did not happen on Earth-89.

** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' became an example of the Alternate Timeline as of its last seasons. Seasons one through five kept right in line with the MCU right up to ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. But then the show received a surprise renewal for two more seasons and could not account for the end of ''Infinity War'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (either the staff was not appraised of what was happening in the films, or could not risk the possibility of spoiling ''Endgame''). As a result, the end of ''Infinity War'' just... never happened; and the staff claimed that the final seasons were being retconned into occurring before ''Infinity War'' (despite the fact that season five established that it ended as the film began, and that the later seasons included a couple years of {{Time Skip}}s). This isn't as problematic as it could be, however, given that both the movies and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' have featured the concept of the Quantum Realm connecting alternate timelines. Season 5 of ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' opened with the team taking a trip to a BadFuture, so according to the established rules of the MCU multiverse, everything after Season 4 could take place in an alternate continuity.

* [[ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics Disney comics]] in general — BroadStrokes versions of most of the [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Walt Disney Classics]] exist within the comic universe[[note]] Don Rosa's personal views on continuity notwithstanding, of course, since he's a whole other problem.[[/note]], but don't expect to see any anthropomorphic characters in sequels and merchandise for these.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'' and its ExpandedUniverse had this relationship under Creator/GeorgeLucas: the movies and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' were in canon with all books, comics and games, but Lucas refused to acknowledge the opposite and contradicted them on a regular basis (a big one being that most works written prior to the prequel trilogy assumed that the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge had been two separate conflicts that took place about twenty years apart, causing any number of {{Continuity Snarl}}s). In 2014, new owners Creator/{{Disney}} roped off all previous material other than the then-six films and ''The Clone Wars'' as "Franchise/StarWarsLegends", and declared that all subsequent Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse material would be considered official canon, though contradictions have crept in anyway over time.

* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' is ''generally'' in One-Sided Continuity with the televised Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}, barring occasional throwaway references (the most prominent being the Eighth Doctor listing all his Big Finish Audio companions in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]]) and the inclusion of concepts in the revival seasons that were first introduced in expanded media (eg a TARDIS dying when its pilot does, the Doctor telling the year by smelling the air, the Doctor being able to erase memories, etc.). The relationship of the various spin-off media to ''each other'' is ... confused, often being split not even by series, but by ''author'', so if, for instance, Author A believes that the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' and ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' are in continuity with each other, they would write for ''both'' series accordingly, while if Author B believes they're alternate timelines, they would do likewise. (This does not stop the [=EDAs=] by both authors being in continuity with ''each other'', of course.) The official position of both companies is simply one big ShrugOfGod. Similarly, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip went through a period of being in continuity with the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'', then firmly decided it wasn't. It's also sometimes been in continuity with the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, although that can probably be explained away by the Doctor jumping universes on occasion.

* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' is ''generally'' in One-Sided Continuity with the televised Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}, barring occasional throwaway references (the most prominent being the Eighth Doctor listing all his Big Finish companions in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]]) and the inclusion of concepts in the revival seasons that were first introduced in expanded media (eg a TARDIS dying when its pilot does, the Doctor telling the year by smelling the air, the Doctor being able to erase memories, etc.). The relationship of the various spin-off media to ''each other'' is ... confused, often being split not even by series, but by ''author'', so if, for instance, Author A believes that the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' and ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' are in continuity with each other, they would write for ''both'' series accordingly, while if Author B believes they're alternate timelines, they would do likewise. (This does not stop the [=EDAs=] by both authors being in continuity with ''each other'', of course.) The official position of both companies is simply one big ShrugOfGod. Similarly, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip went through a period of being in continuity with the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'', then firmly decided it wasn't. It's also sometimes been in continuity with the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, although that can probably be explained away by the Doctor jumping universes on occasion.

* Arguably the case between ''Series/{{Titans|2018}}'' and ''Series/DoomPatrol2019.'' The Doom Patrol were introduced on ''Titans'' as the group that helped raise Beast Boy. The SpinOff has most of the actors from that episode reprise their roles, but the story presented doesn't really allow for the possibility that Beast Boy was part of the group, along with everyone being [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade angstier than they were before]], and some of the actors and showrunners made statements in interviews that the two shows weren't in continuity with each other. A view of the Multiverse in the Series/{{Arrowverse}} Crisis Crossover ''[[Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019 Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' also gives different universe numbers to the two shows.
* Similarly ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' stars the actors who played those characters in the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, but it quickly becomes clear that this Superman ''doesn't'' have a cousin who provides a tangiable connection to Krypton, and Season 2 outright states that there are no powered heroes except Clark and immediately Clark-adjacent characters, although Sam Lane is aware of alternate universes where this isn't the case. Which doesn't stop them being part of the John Diggle CrossThrough.

** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' became an example of the Alternate Timeline as of its last seasons. Seasons one through five kept right in line with the MCU right up to ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. But then the show received a surprise renewal for two more seasons and could not account for the end of ''Infinity War'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (either the staff was not appraised of what was happening in the films, or could not risk the possibility of spoiling ''Endgame''). As a result, the end of ''Infinity War'' just... never happened; and the staff claimed that the final seasons were being retconned into occurring before ''Infinity War'' (despite the fact that season five established that it ended as the film began, and that the later seasons included a couple years of {{Time Skip}}s). This isn't as problematic as it could be, however, given that both the movies and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' have featured the concept of the Quantum Realm connecting alternate timelines.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has had crossovers with ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' ({{downplayed|Trope}} in that the only elements from that show to appear are Jay Sherman himself -- whose character design was tweaked to fit in with ''The Simpsons'' -- and ''[[ShowWithinAShow Coming Attractions]]''), ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (which poked fun at their different art styles a few times), and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' (which [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom ignored the obvious skin color differences despite the two shows having the same art style]]), but since the show mostly runs on NegativeContinuity, they leave little impact on the show itself (with the notable exception of a deactivated Bender appearing briefly in "Cue Detective"). Notably, characters from both shows made a few cameo appearances in each other before their crossover episode, but they're just in the service of throwaway gags, and the crossover episode itself depicts them as never having met before.

** The connection with Film/SonysSpiderManUniverse was a case of this for a few years. Sony owns the rights to ComicBook/SpiderMan characters, but made the MCU films ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' in conjunction with Marvel Studios. While Marvel has specifically stated that ''Film/Venom2018'', starring a [[Comicbook/{{Venom}} popular Spider-Man opponent]], is not in continuity with their shared universe, Sony has made comments implying that they are. (Or at least, in continuity with ''Homecoming'', which is too connected to other MCU films to easily write them off.) The third MCU film, ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', finally solidified that the MCU and SSU are separate continuities, but that they are connected with each other (along with the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'') as different universes in a shared multiverse.

** In a rare example of one-sided continuity where the ''original'' media is the one that maintains it, Creator/MarvelComics considers all Marvel media to be part of the same Multiverse, with the MCU being Earth-1999999. The MCU disagrees, numbering the Sacred Timeline as Earth-616 of its own multiverse, introducing their own version of the Time Variance Authority (who are supposed to be pan-universal) in ''Series/{{Loki|2021}}'', and claiming that their Comicbook/AmericaChavez has ''no'' [[AlternateSelf Alternate Selves]] in ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness''.
* In a similar manner, for the Franchise/{{Gundam}} franchise only the animated works are considered part of the various continuities, and works such as the novels written by Gundam's creator Yoshiki Tomino are not acknowledged as part of the continuities of the shows (till they get animated, at least). This especially includes ''Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam'', despite it also being written by Tomino.

* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' is ''generally'' in One-Sided Continuity with the televised Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}, barring occasional throwaway references (the most prominent being the Eighth Doctor listing all his Big Finish companions in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]]) and the inclusion of concepts in the revival seasons that were first introduced in expanded media (eg a TARDIS dying when its pilot does, the Doctor telling the year by smelling the air, the Doctor being able to erase memories, etc.). The relationship of the various spin-off media to ''each other'' is ... confused, often being split not even by series, but by ''author'', so if, for instance, Author A believes that the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' and ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' are in continuity with each other, they would write for ''both'' series accordingly, while if Author B believes they're alternate timelines, they would do likewise. (This does not stop the [=EDAs=] by both authors being in continuity with ''each other'', of course.) The official position of both companies is simply one big ShrugOfGod.

* Similarly ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' stars the actors who played those characters in the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, but it quickly becomes clear that this Superman ''doesn't'' have a cousin who provides a tangiable connection to Krypton, and Season 2 outright states that there are no powered heroes except Clark and immediately Clark-adjacent characters, although Sam Lane is aware of alternate universes where this isn't the case.

* Similarly ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' stars the actors who played those characters in the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, but it quickly becomes clear that this Superman ''doesn't'' have a cousin who provides a tangiable connection to Krypton, and Season 2 outright states that there are no costumed heroes except Clark and immediately Clark-adjacent characters, although Sam Lane is aware of alternate universes where this isn't the case.

* Similarly ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' stars the actors who played those characters in the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, but it quickly becomes clear that this Superman ''doesn't'' have a cousin who provides a tangiable connection to Krypton, and Season 2 outright states that there are no costumed heroes except Clark and immediately Clark-adjacent characters.

* The ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'' outright states (in the sidebar "Officially Unofficial") that it is written to at least not contradict anything in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}} novels, but the books were under no compunction to be in continuity with the game. (The second edition had to tweak a few things based on later novels, most notably that the adventure "Full Court Press" made some assumptions about how refuse collection in Ankh-Morpork worked that were completely contradicted by the introduction of Harry King.)