In real life. The creation of Bob was sort of a smartass student's way of tweaking his college writing teacher and her advice to not have "talking heads" spouting facts.
It's often a sign of lazy writing to have a character tell everything instead of showing it develop within the storyline. ::cough::Stargate::cough::
So of course Jim gets it in his brain to write a character that's literally a talking head, designed to do nothing but dole out information.
My memory is often a sieve on details, but sometimes discussion will spark a thought where I can recall something I'd forgotten, or see things in a different light. It's one reason I like to read other's reviews of tv shows -- they probably saw something I missed, or remembered something from a previous episode I'd forgotten.
It's rare that an author can create a talking head that works, but to make one that's a fan favorite is probably icing on a certain writing student's cake. *g*
no subject
Date: 2009-04-17 05:03 am (UTC)He succeeds in shaking things up and mixing the characters around. And it does keep the books from getting boring and completely formulaic.
I'll have to reread for the hints in backstory, though. My memory is a sieve.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-17 05:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-19 02:19 am (UTC)It's often a sign of lazy writing to have a character tell everything instead of showing it develop within the storyline. ::cough::Stargate::cough::
So of course Jim gets it in his brain to write a character that's literally a talking head, designed to do nothing but dole out information.
My memory is often a sieve on details, but sometimes discussion will spark a thought where I can recall something I'd forgotten, or see things in a different light. It's one reason I like to read other's reviews of tv shows -- they probably saw something I missed, or remembered something from a previous episode I'd forgotten.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-19 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-19 03:33 am (UTC)