I recently re-watched “Prometheus“, the movie. It was a “non-prequel” to the hit “Alien” movie franchise. Like many, (humourously here with adult language) I was left with more questions than answers. Sadly, some of those questions appear to concern plot-holes, or at least plot-weaknesses. However, I will suspend judgement until I see the sequel to the non-prequel and hope all will become clear.

Perhaps, in trying to make my own writing plot-hole free, I am over-judgmental. But it did start me asking a few more “Why?” questions. Not the big ones – “why are we here”, “why death”, “why torn menisci in the knee”, “why does [substitute your own candidate] still breathe” – but the little ones that niggle every day, like these…

1. Why do I have to push the gear-stick forward to go backwards in an automatic car?
2. Why did I buy a VW Golf just before the emissions scandal broke?
3. Why is every household appliance now so complicated it needs an inch-thick user manual?
4. Why, as “Plug-and-Play” was introduced commercially by Microsoft in 1995, does nothing actually plug-and-play 20 years later?
5. Why are there so many sink-holes suddenly appearing globally in recent years? What are “THEY” not telling us?
6. Why not shoot first? (Star wars reference)
7. Why, if the One Ring makes Sauron invincible, does a man with a sword defeat him and steal/capture/liberate the Ring for Smeagol to find?
8. Why does every successful TV sci-fi series start with (mostly) one-off episodes, then build a vast conspiracy theme for the second or third series and get immediately cancelled?
9. Why don’t TV sci-fi writers learn (see above)?
10. Why does a USB plug never fit first time or (after turning over) on the second attempt, but it DOES work after turning it over again and re-inserting as per the first attempt?

I could go on.

Of course, the worst “Why?” is the one from a child. Intuitive Zen Masters at birth, the question “Why is blue?” is a killer. Forget wavelengths and optics, that question is an existentialist nightmare.

To sign off, here’s a site (with adult language) that tries to explain all the “Prometheus” whys.

What are your most niggling “whys”?