Isn't that convenient

[AndyC]

Isn't it great when characters find exactly what they need, no matter how unlikely. It's kind of like the A-Team always being held prisoner in a shed full of welding equipment.

Remember the scene at the dance in War of the Worlds? It's been a while, so I'm fuzzy on the circumstances, but in order to determine that magnetism is at work, the hero asks for a compass. A guy standing right next to him whips one out of his pocket. Who brings a compass to a dance?

What other examples are there?

[Fearless Freep]

The Holocaust Clock in "The Princess Bride" :)

[J.R.]

I always found it a bit hard to swallow that after that long chase at the end of Terminator 2 they just happend to crash into a factory containing the only substance that could kill the T-1000.

Coincidences in screenplays have always irked me. The plot to the upcoming Star Trek Nemesis is just one gigantic collection of coincidences.

[Squishy]

The robot in "Red Planet" comes with a "military" program that kicks in when you tap it too hard. The author obviously thought this was a great way of getting around the "robot just goes crazy-ape bonkers with his drill and sex," but given that programming can be uninstalled and reinstalled with a minimum of trouble (in the future, after Bill Gates' execution and the outlawing of Windows), it makes even less sense than ever to leave in a program that sets "kill everyone" as its default setting.

Hammer's "Dracula" series: no one would expect him to have enough forsight to put up a lightning rod, but if I were the Count, I would've had my underlings seal up those windows, drain the useless moat, and do some weeding around the castle.

[Flangepart]

How about one size fits all gadgets? Dr. Who's Sonic Screwdriver could fit in that pocket. Where did he get his coats from, Harpo marx?

[Cullen]

Flangepart wrote:
 
"How about one size fits all gadgets? Dr. Who's Sonic Screwdriver could fit in that pocket. Where did he get his coats from, Harpo marx?"

No doubt.
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[J.R.]

Or how about when the hero knocks a guy out and steals his clothes, and they fit perfectly?  Or when the object of desire is kicked out of the villain's hand, and another good guy just happens to be in the perfect spot to catch it?

[ErikJ]

J.R. wrote:
>
> Or how about when the hero knocks a guy out and steals his
> clothes, and they fit perfectly?  Or when the object of
> desire is kicked out of the villain's hand, and another good
> guy just happens to be in the perfect spot to catch it?
>


what I remember is in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy comes ashore with the u-boat. He jumed the first gaurd he could and took his uniform and it ws too small. When the superior officer (Rank escapes me at the moment) comes up he hits him and find his hat fits perfectly.
Never fails to amuse me

[Ash]

Or how about the Law & Order tv shows.  The police always seem to get that one important phone call with the new evidence right when it seems that they've hit a dead end.  You'll see this in almost every episode.

[Fearless Freep]

Or how about the Law & Order tv shows. The police always seem to get that one important phone call with the new evidence right when it seems that they've hit a dead end. You'll see this in almost every episode.

That happens a lot in B Movies, too.  Usually it's the radio or T.V. that has a news bulletin at just the right moment to give the hero a valuable clue to what's actually going on.

And in Deep Space, you had the psychic woman calling every few minutes with new clues

[AndyC]

There are quite a few monster movies in which the hero, or a scientist acquaintance, just happens to be working on an invention that will kill, contain or otherwise incapacitate the monster. They don't usually realize this until late in the movie though.

[raj]

Fearless Freep wrote:
>
> Or how about the Law & Order tv shows. The police always
> seem to get that one important phone call with the new
> evidence right when it seems that they've hit a dead end.
> You'll see this in almost every episode.
>
> That happens a lot in B Movies, too.  Usually it's the radio
> or T.V. that has a news bulletin at just the right moment to
> give the hero a valuable clue to what's actually going on.
 
Watching the Tex Avery show, et al., on Sunday night  cartoon network, you'll see it a lot, though they do it tongue in cheek.

[J.R.]

One of the biggest coincidences ever was used not once, but twice, by the same filmmakers. In both Independence Day and Godzilla the only person who knows the true nature of the threat happens to have an old flame working with the president or mayor!