A Proofreader Never Rests


I have always been a proofreader. I can’t seem to not read something without having the typos jump out at me.

If they’re there, I’ll generally find them.

But that usually happens when reading print, not when I’m watching a TV show.

Does anybody here watch the comedy show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist? No, me either. (Or is it “nor do I” or “me neither” or “neither do I”? Perhaps a topic for a future post.)

But, somehow, last year I found myself watching a scene at 14:26 of Episode 5, Season 1 (“Look at you! Power couple alert!”). Did anybody else see the apostrophe catastrophe on the cover of the magazine that Zoey’s mom, Maggie, was holding?

The cover headline, which showed for no more than three or four seconds, was:

“The Clarkes: the future of Northern California”

Apostrophe catastrophe

Catastrophe! Screen capture, Season 1, Episode 5, 14:26 

 

It appears that not even the editorial departments of fake magazines have the time or budget for a good proofreader.

 

Post-post note (14 February 2021):

I wrote the post above shortly after having seen the typo in Season 1.

Then this happened, almost a year later.

Somehow, I found myself watching Episode 3 of Season 2 this morning. Near the start of the episode (5:21), there was a one-second shot – I mean, literally, one second! – of Maggie holding the same copy of MCM before putting it into her bag. Her husband, Mitch, had died towards the end of Season 1, and Maggie was taking the magazine with her to her first foray back into landscaping design consultancy since his death.

And, do you know what?

The headline on that same magazine cover had been corrected!

The Clarkes: the future of Northern California

Apostrophe averted 

Apostrophe averted. Screen capture, Season 2, Episode 3, 5:21.

 

Who cares?

Who noticed?

We’re talking a total of perhaps five seconds of screen time (four seconds of typo, one second of correction) spread across two episodes and separated from each other by a year.

I cared.

I noticed.

It is quite possible that I may have been the only person on Earth to have noticed this very minor, unimportant detail. Not only to have noticed and cared about the typo in the first place, but to have picked up the correction the following season, pushed pause at that point, and written a Reddit post and a blog post in honour of the person on the editorial team of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist who cared enough to rectify the typo and managed to get it on screen.

Someone out there cared enough to make things right.

To some, it doesn’t matter if anybody else notices the correction. For these people, if it’s wrong, it’s worth correcting.

Proofreaders of the world, untie!

 

If you have read this far and still don’t know what all the fuss is about – actually, don't worry about it; I don't think you'll have read this far.

 


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