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07/29/2006: Please Don't Pet the Peeves!


You know what always bugged me on Cheers? When Diane would say something like this (hypothetical line):

DIANE
Nothing could be more delightful for Sam and I.

Or "… Sam and myself." Both of these are wrong. Only "Sam and me" is technically correct, although the others are commonly used. I suspect the scripts were correct, and the actor was being imprecise. But Diane was supposed to be educated. And persnickety, at that! She should have gotten something like this right.

Letting uneducated characters speak in their own style requires some thought, if you don't speak their variety of English. But getting educated ones to speak the way *they* would is also worthy of some effort, and yet it's not often talked about.

Not sure if you've got it exactly right? Check with your aunt, teacher, librarian... find someone who knows the rules. Don't assume that just because it sounds awkward it must be right!

Professor McCubbin, the Oxford-trained medievalist character now working for the CIA in your spec pilot, knows when to use "that" vs. "which." Before you write his lines, make sure you do too.

In other news: Guess who's talking about Yours Sincerely? Ron Moore, that's who. If you want to make me blush, check out the wonderful things he says about me at: blog.scifi.com/battlestar.

Lunch: gyros, hummus… Greek delights!