1

I mean, I know my question was one of two that just got migrated but there was no explanation or suggestion, it just went.

So I have two questions:

  1. Why was it migrated?
  2. What about all the other tv and movie questions? Are we going to migrate the Star Wars and Star Trek questions as well?

Update: I managed to get the original question and found out it was done by @Keen so maybe he can answer?

20
  • 1
    The discussion here seems to cover it: meta.scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/1028/…
    – Ward - Reinstate Monica
    May 2, 2012 at 18:14
  • 1
    More specifically, Are children's literature and cartoons for children on-topic? is appropriate.
    – Ian Pugsley
    May 2, 2012 at 18:19
  • 2
    Why is this getting downvoted? It's a legitimate question about an unresolved issue which I have also recently questioned. It's still not clear what is and what isn't on-topic here!
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 18:50
  • @AndresF. Thanks, there are also a few unexplained down votes on the answers as well.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 18:53
  • 1
    Downvotes on meta sites don't mean the same thing as on main sites. Roughly, they mean "I disagree."
    – Ward - Reinstate Monica
    May 2, 2012 at 19:08
  • 1
    @Ward: what's there to disagree with?! I'm not making a suggestion, I'm asking what happened.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 19:09
  • 1
    Your question sounds like you don't think it should've been migrated. Even if that's not what you meant or if there's another reason people are downvoting, don't worry about it because downvotes here don't mean anything on the main site.
    – Ward - Reinstate Monica
    May 2, 2012 at 19:12
  • 1
    @Ward: thx, and you're right, I don't think it should have been migrated. I think we are being inconsistent, especially since one of the questions was around here for months.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 19:15
  • 2
    I did not downvote your question (I generally don't downvote meta questions), but I suspect you may have gotten downvotes for suggesting that every other question that deals with a tv show and/or movie should be migrated as well.
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:17
  • @Beofett: thank you. That, together with the upvotes on your comment, is an answer to the question on the downvotes I had. The point I was trying to make is where do you draw the line? I think we're getting closer but I don't think we've got a perfect solution yet (if that is even possible).
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 19:38
  • 1
    I plan on watching an episode or two of Teletubbies tonight before posting a response, but my understanding was that the show was pretty superficial, given its pre-school target audience. The two Teletubbies questions were flagged, and the Movies&TV.SE mods were happy to have them. Given the lack of a substantial sci-fi or fantasy world in the show, I figured it was more appropriate for them to reside there, an option that wasn't present when you asked your question, as Movies.SE didn't have TV as part of its scope.
    – user1027
    May 2, 2012 at 19:56
  • @Keen: thanks for replying. But to quote Gilles, "If the question is specifically about an sf-nal element, even if it's only a minor part of the work, it's on-topic." So, I suggest the questions are on topic (cyborgs are part of sci-fi) and would really like consistency. But I'm not going to go on about this... life's too short! :)
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 20:01
  • It seems to me that many of the points raised here assert, Teletubbies is not Sci-fi. Agreed. However, my question was certainly Sci-Fi in nature: are they cyborgs?
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    May 2, 2012 at 21:00
  • 1
    @Wikis - Agreed. Questions about the sci-fi aspects of a non-sci-fi show are definitely on topic.
    – Valorum
    Sep 25, 2014 at 12:06
  • 1
    @Richard: thanks, but apparently we are in the minority.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Sep 25, 2014 at 13:12

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

Shamelessly borrowing from Mark Beadles' answer on another question:

While the show might have a cult following outside its intended age group, the universe setting is barely developed and highly repetitive.

One might say it has "fantasy" elements, but only in the sense that fantasy can mean "imagination". The show has imagination, but not speculation.

Plot elements are primitive to the point of non-existence.

7
  • I agree the Teletubbies match this criteria and should be excluded (thank god! we can agree on something). Can you tell me if you think MLP escapes it, and if so, how? With evidence, please :)
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 19:31
  • while you are at it, can you tell me whether this set of rules discriminates against the Smurfs? The Smurfs have plots, are some sort of fantasy goblins/elfs, and have an evil warlock as their enemy. Yet someone else (not you) argued they are off-topic here.
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 19:33
  • 2
    I do think MLP does not fit this description (nor, for that matter, the Smurfs). Evidence: Plot summary for Episode 2 of Teletubbies: "The Teletubbies jump around and watch a movie about a kid and his pig Winnie."
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:37
  • 3
    Plot summary for Episode 2 of Friendship is Magic: "After Nightmare Moon's prevail of eternal night, Twilight Sparkle, with the addition of her new friends, sets out to find the Elements of Harmony in order to defeat Nightmare Moon. Twilight also learns an important message of friendship in the process." The Smurfs actually has several movies, comics, and specials, so presumably there's more plot than "the smurfs jump around and watch a movie".
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:38
  • Good explanation! I think it should be part of your answer.
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 19:39
  • 1
    Fair enough. Edited to include the Teletubbies episode guide (remind me to make sure my kid never watches this!).
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:41
  • 1
    Have you no shame, Beofett!?! Oh, wait, I see you said you don't. Carry on then.
    – Mark Beadles
    May 2, 2012 at 20:45
-1

This older question on "what are the boundaries of scifi.se" got a lot of activity yesterday, discussing what makes My Little Pony Friendship is Magic on-topic vs. other kid's shows that might or might not be. As you can see, there is some sentiment that kid's shows aren't on topic and FIM may be an exception.

In any case, with the topic fresh in peoples' minds, both Teletubbies questions were probably flagged as being off-topic and Keen responded to those.

3
  • 1
    The age range doesn't have anything to do with the general consensus of that discussion. I don't think anyone is seriously arguing that an intended audience makes something scifi/fantasy.
    – Gabe Willard
    May 2, 2012 at 19:07
  • ??I'm not sure what the comment has to do with my answer... I didn't say anything about "age range"
    – Ward - Reinstate Monica
    May 2, 2012 at 19:52
  • 2
    @Ward Your answer mentions the age range explicitly with: kid's shows aren't on topic.
    – user1027
    May 2, 2012 at 19:58
-2

Short answer; We must accept the Teletubbies if and only if we accept My Little Pony.

I don't lean either way, but the community appears to accept MLP, so the answer is, Teletubbies should stay here, too.

5
  • 1
    I'd rather reject both, but if MLP stays, then the Teletubbies must stay as well. And also the Smurfs, I find this justification of why they shouldn't rather bizarre. It doesn't get any more fantastical than the Smurfs; I'd love to see an explanation that rejects the Smurfs but accepts My Little Pony!
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 18:41
  • 1
    This answer has a great explanation for why Teletubbies does not qualify as on topic. The whole "if a is accepted, then b needs to be accepted" is not really valid when the difference between a and b is so vast.
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:03
  • 4
    This is a fallacy of false cause. You're asserting that there is no causation for MLP being on topic and Teletubbies being off.
    – Gabe Willard
    May 2, 2012 at 19:04
  • 1
    @Beofett (I'm not stalking you, I swear :P) Unfortunately, I don't agree with the answer you quoted; or rather, I disagree it successfully discriminates between TT and MLP. MLP is a show, with kid's themes, aimed at kids, where the "fantastical" element is probably just typical of cartoons for kids. Whether it has some adult fan base or not is as irrelevant as for the TT (IMO)
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 19:22
  • @AndresF. My last thwap on the corpse of this equine: the fan base quite explicitly called out as irrelevant in the answer I quoted, so I'm not sure which answer you were reading. If you disagree, feel free to downvote my answer on this question above.
    – Beofett
    May 2, 2012 at 19:25

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .