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I thought it was "an installment that has a lot of references to the previous installments" too, but then saw the usage of "Continuity Nods are used for a plot point" part and figured that it meant "this plot point is built off a series of bits of continuity that doesn't make this part standalone"
Edited by taotruths on Nov 15th 2024 at 8:10:50 AM
Yeah, "Continuity Nod but it's a plot point" doesn't really work as a distinguishing feature, any more than "Shout-Out but it's a plot point" or "Mythology Gag but it's a plot point." There isn't anything really preventing it from being a plot point to begin with, as many examples are as a simple as "After X happened we started making Crazy-Prepared plans." Call-Back is more or less the same trope but with a higher percentage of "This is almost a Sequel Episode to that event."
As mentioned, Continuity Porn is generally used as a high density of references, often to the result of Continuity Lock-Out because to non-fans it comes across like Mad Libs. Continuity Cavalcade is perhaps stronger because the focus is on a specific sequence dedicated to as many continuity reference they can squeeze in, like a superhero Trophy Room.
Edited by EmeraldSource on Nov 15th 2024 at 10:23:05 AM
Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.Yeah the description is way too YMMV, and it seems more focused on describing whether the trope is good or bad than describing what the trope even is in the first place. I agree that the definition should probably be "Continuity Cavalcade but for whole installments instead of just specific scenes", although I don't think that it creating a Continuity Lock-Out should be an important part of the trope.
"This forum signature likes to refer to itself, as well as to the fact that it likes to refer to itself"Wait wouldn't a definition change require TRS? Would TRS be needed here?
Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallIf the description is changed instead of cleared up, but that requires a good understanding what the definition is, which may also have to be at TRS.
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for reference. Note that it has always claimed to be a term originating from comic-book fandom, implying it's pre-existing Fan Speak.
My understanding of any trope with "porn" in the name is that it's something gratuitous that exists for its own sake of pleasing some part of the audience. So on that basis I would expect that plot-relevant call-backs should not qualify. But that's clearly not what the examples are going by.
Looking over the examples, a lot of them seem to be Continuity Lock-Out instead: if a show builds on its own previous episodes, that means it has its own overarching plot. I would limit examples, at the very least, to when references are made to stories that were stand-alone at the time and there's a large gap until they are referenced.
A recurring theme is a single episode or a short run of them devoted to explaining away plot holes from way back that had been ignored until then. This could be made into its own trope.
Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years."Porn" is not listed on Loaded Trope Word, and when I do a search for "porn" on the sitenote the first page that comes up with "porn" in the name is Competence Porn, which also claims to be a pre-existing term. I think a common thread through both varieties of Continuity Porn, as framed by the description, is that of "something gratuitous that exists for its own sake of pleasing" the writer.

Right of the bat, the trope description is split into two polar opposite directions
"Drawing the line between good and bad continuity is pretty subjective for either type, though, since fans have different expectations of exactly how much continuity is a good thing for the series." sounds like Audience Reactions.
So which is it? I've thought it's "an installment that has a lot of references to the previous installments", but the description is overly negative and indecisive.
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