View source for Bellisario's Maxim

{{Useful Notes}}
{{quote|''Don't examine this too closely.''<ref>You don't listen very well, do you?</ref>}}

Said by [[Producers|producer]] [[Donald P. Bellisario]] on March 17, 1990 at an SF convention in response to a persistent fan with very specific questions about the way things worked on Bellisario's series ''[[Quantum Leap]]''. An unashamed admission of [[Hand Wave|handwaving]] details unnecessary to the enjoyment of a show, and an exhortation to not let the obsession with those details get in the way of the story. Implicit in the Maxim is a request to understand that the story is being told by a small production team that (due to the limitations of the medium) has to work quickly, with limited budget and tight deadlines, and has to dodge [[Executive Meddling]], all while trying to turn out the best product it can.

Frequently quoted in various fan communities in response to excessive [[Fan Wank]] and [[Did Not Do the Research]], and to arguments about [[Canon]], [[Fanon]] and the [[Word of God]].

See also [[MST3K Mantra]], [[Rule of Cool]], [[A Wizard Did It]], and [[Anthropic Principle]]. Contrast [[Moff's Law]].

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[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
[[Category:Artistic License]]
[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]
[[Category:Audience Reactions]]
[[Category:Bellisario's Maxim]]