"Monk" TV show, goldfish episode....another myth

[Mmathis]

Any "Monk" fans out there? If you recall, Natalie's husband had disappeared when daughter, Julie, was very young.

In this episode, the side-story was that Julie, now in high school, entered a science fair [I think it was] with her pet goldfish. The significance was that her Dad had given the goldfish to her, which meant that the fish was, like 10+ years old....... The science teacher "failed" Julie's project, and I think it was because he accused her of lying & fraud -- "goldfish only live for a year, so there's no WAY this fish was that old." In the end, Natalie admitted that she replaced the goldfish on a yearly basis [Julie didn't know this and thought the fish was the same one that her Dad gave to her] -- she wanted for Julie to have that connection with her Dad.

Back when I saw that episode, I didn't know any better myself, and believed that goldfish only live a year.....

 

[bettasngoldfish]

sadly many goldfish die before a year is even up due to lack of proper space and care. They are considered disposable pets to many people.....

 

[Dave 54]

Maggie goldfish propperly looked after will live up to 40+ years and koi 8-+ years so the acctual scropt writer on Monk hadn't donr his homework , its a bit like goldfish have a three minute memory you yourself know thats not true
Maria half the problem is un educated goldfish and koi keepers there is no law that says you must buy then read the book when you buy one

Dave

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Maggie goldfish propperly looked after will live up to 40+ years and koi 8-+ years so the acctual scropt writer on Monk hadn't donr his homework , its a bit like goldfish have a three minute memory you yourself know thats not true
Maria half the problem is un educated goldfish and koi keepers there is no law that says you must buy then read the book when you buy one

Dave

Yea, I know that's part of it.....There are also the people who feel because the fish was so inexpensive that they are not going to spend a lot of money on the proper equipment too.

 

[Dave 54]

Yea, I know that's part of it.....There are also the people who feel because the fish was so inexpensive that they are not going to spend a lot of money on the proper equipment too.

So very true Maria

Dave

 

[HARO]

As for the three-minute memory, I can prove that's BS! I've been back for three DAYS, with no heron visits, and my fish STILL don't trust anything moving near the pond!
John

 

[Mmathis]

I guess my point in posting this....

Back when I watched that show, I felt angry with the teacher for assuming Julie had cheated with her project -- or, maybe angry at.....I don't know....Natalie, the Mom for not just telling Julie that the original fish died....

But back then I, too, thought GF were short-lived.

Now it upsets me to know that (OK, I know it's a TV show....) the teacher didn't know any better himself, which translates to the show's writers doing a poor job.

 

[Litzi1964]

Yes, the writer should have done their homework. And in my opinion no animal should be considered disposable whether it cost 10 cents or $10,000, but unfortunately the inexpensive ones will be considered disposable.

The goldfish dying would have been a good opportunity for the mother to have a discussion with the daughter about death, which we are all going to experience at some point. It's easier for everyone if that first talk is about a pet versus a grandparent.

I have to wonder about the quality of the relationship between the mother and daughter, and about the mother's communication skills. If the mother can't bring herself to have a conversation with her daughter about a dead goldfish, then what about the really big issues, like uncle Bill has cancer, or there's a new man in mom's life, or mom had a pay cut at work and they have to move?

Worse still, this mother did significant damage to her daughter's trust (which, after dad's abandonment is probably in short supply to begin with), and her own credibility. The daughter would be completely justified asking her mother "so Mom, what other lies have you told me and what else have you kept from me?" Deception, lies and secrets are almost always a bad idea. Because sooner or later, the truth will come out, and once it does, the relationship may be irreparably damaged.

Sorry if I sound like a psychotherapist. It's an occupational hazard.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

LOL, it's bad enough trying to psychoanalyze and rationalize the things people do in real life, trying to do it with TV shows characters is hopeless.

Here's a real life scenario where I saved the lives of many goldfish.
About 8 years ago now some friends of ours daughter was going to get married, and the mom was planning the wedding reception. She had this great idea for place settings at the dinner and among other things she planned to have wine glasses or bowls at each setting with goldfish in each one. I can't remember how many guests there was, but I'm pretty sure it was well over 100. I asked her what she was going to do with all the goldfish after the reception and she said flush them down the toilet. At that point I knew there was no point in appealing to her conscious not to treat the live's of the goldfish so worthlessly, so instead I appealed to her vanity. I told her that very likely with so many fish in small bowls there would be a good chance some would die during the course of the meal, and that there was even a chance they all might die. Then I asked her how appealing or appetizing did she think it would be for her guests to have a dead fish in a bowl or glass at each of their table settings, and what sort of highlight memories did she want her daughter to have of her wedding night.
Needless to say she thought better of the idea.

 

[tengbells]

Maggie goldfish propperly looked after will live up to 40+ years and koi 8-+ years so the acctual scropt writer on Monk hadn't donr his homework , its a bit like goldfish have a three minute memory you yourself know thats not true
Maria half the problem is un educated goldfish and koi keepers there is no law that says you must buy then read the book when you buy one

Dave

Dave, I'm confused, didn't you just lose a koi that was 27 years old? Is 8+ years really the life span of a koi?

 

[Dave 54]

Dave, I'm confused, didn't you just lose a koi that was 27 years old? Is 8+ years really the life span of a koi?

Oops should have read 80+ years sorry the zero must have popped

Dave

 

[Shdwdrgn]

This goes right along with stores like walmart perpetuating that bettas prefer to live in extremely cramped, uncirculated bowls. Bettas and comets are practically synonymous with "throw some water in a glass and feed it once a week" in our society. It's just disgusting.