Talk:Biggles

Years pass!!

Any real first world war fighter pilot on Sopwith Camels you can think of who was still doing exactly the same job more than twenty years later, only on Spitfires? Often in basically the same words, as stories were "adapted" to get them out quickly! Is it really OR to state that a fictional character who does this (and, what's more, is STILL an active pilot and doing other "young man" things after another twenty years again) is part of a somewhat irregular chronology? This is not "judgement" or POV - the fellow is fictional, after all, and can do anything his author writes him as doing - on the other hand one can surely make the observation, and it is worth making. Anyone who wants to "improve" this section by adding stupid "cn" tags would be SO much better employed finding the odd "book example" - such as "in (such-an-such a book) and (such another one) Biggles (does whatever) whereas he is still doing the same thing, by now grossly inappropriate for his age in (yet another book) set forty years later". Personally I think this is not really necessary (at least I can't be bothered) but if people feel strongly enough about so-called OR to stick in "cn" tags then I wouldn't sneeze at some specific "book" examples. -Soundofmusicals (talk) 22:39, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

Well meant "character" edits.

The arch-villain Erich Stalhein holds various ranks and positions (civilian/criminal as well as military) - this seems to be why we never specified one in particular. "Major Raymond" first appears with that rank - he is not really "Biggles' commanding officer" at squadron, wing, or group level - although Biggles is from time to time involved with operations he organises (including post WWII (civilian?) police work. Not sure about the Christian name - although I'll take your word for it for the moment. Incidentally - we currently duplicate material between the plot description and discussion of characters - this could probably be improved but integrating the two? Not going to attack this at the moment, but it might be worth doing. --Soundofmusicals (talk) 02:16, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

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Chronological Criticism

The following is in the criticism section. I'm lost as to what it means. Can anyone explain?

"Even within a group of stories set in the same time frame there are some chronological inconsistencies: Algy, for instance, seems to be younger than Biggles to a degree that is impossible, at least by the ordinary calendar."

--LÒÓkingYourBest^(Talk|Edits) 11:55, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

Biggles was born in 1899 or 1900 (depending in which of the WWI stories you take as the "anchor" date) - he is barely 18 at the end of the war. Algy seems to enter the story in late 1917 when Biggles himself is barely 17, having "lost" his birth certificate to sneak into the service himself in 1916 (he reaches his first operational squadron in March or April 1917 - his training, however poor and truncated, would have taken at least six months. Algy arrives in France in time to be in most of the WWI Biggles stories - even if he did a similar trick with a 'lost" or forged birth certificate he can hardly be more than a year or so younger (by the calendar) than Biggles. At least I think this is what the original author intended to convey. Hope this explains "what it means" - by all means cut the "Algy" sentence if you find it cryptic - or substitute something equally succinct that conveys the same meaning? --Soundofmusicals (talk) 13:59, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

Tolkien

People have sometimes got hot under the collar because we mention that the Biggles books are chronologically very inconsistent. I think Tolkien got into the question here as an example of someone who really went flat out for consistency in place, time and character. It is certainly worth pointing out that Johns made almost no attempt to do anything of the sort. --Soundofmusicals (talk) 06:23, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

Maybe, but it almost gives the impression they're in some sort of competition though. There's no reason for a specific comparison, especially one in such a wildly different genre. Parryometric (talk) 11:31, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

Fair enough. -Soundofmusicals (talk) 08:38, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Delete the chronological critism

Its original research, its too detailed. I suggest its deletion. Creuzbourg (talk) 12:57, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Don't agree at all! - but see next thread! --Soundofmusicals (talk) 08:35, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Time ("Years pass!" revisited)

The "time" section here is really pretty straightforwardly descriptive rather than "value judged" - any reader who is familiar with the "canon" will have surely have noticed for him/her self exactly what we are talking about. I am mellowing considerably, however, in my view about adding a little more detail (not too much!) - in particular more of the kind of reference to particular books/stories that we already have, rather than formal citations. So although I have cut the "OR" template as a bit over the top in this context - an editor of the article with a few Biggles books on his shelf and a desire to improve the article at this point could certainly do worse than hunt up a few (more) examples! I happen to have a more or less complete "WWI" collection (acquired as an adult) but my copies of volumes set in later days have long gone the way of other boyhood possessions. So no, not me in this instance. --Soundofmusicals (talk) 08:32, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Mind you - if anyone could find a 'real" cite! --Soundofmusicals (talk) 08:33, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Reference in The Thin Blue Line

Should we mention (perhaps in an 'In Popular Media' section) that the Biggles books are referred to in The Thin Blue Line (BBC TV series) as being a favourite of Inspector Fowler's? sydbarrett74 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 02:36, 6 June 2023 (UTC)