These shows would be entirely different if mobile phones have existed

14/05/2020

Many shows take place at a time when mobile phones didn't exist yet, and when technology was pretty archaïc. What if the characters of 6 of these shows have had a mobile phone? You have to admit, things would be pretty different!

Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones

Ravens and written notes are fun and all, but could you imagine how many wars and deaths could have been avoided if their characters had cell phones. A quick call or a text to King's Landing would have saved Ned Stark's head in the first seasons. And the Stark kids would have easily reached out to each other. Even though we all know that in the WhatsApp group, Bran wouldn't have been super chatty...

Friends
Friends

What if the love life of the 6 characters happened on Tinder or any other hookup app? Ross might have become a womanizer and Chandler would have overcome his shyness, and chat groups  would have helped avoiding awkward dates.  And maybe if he had a cell phone, Joey wouldn't have missed so many auditions and his career would have been completely different! But all of those speculations would take away all the iconic and hilarious moments of the show.

The Americans
The Americans

The spy show takes place in the 80s, in the middle of the Cold War between the US and Russia, and of course cell phones were not created yet. Actually,  Joe Weisberg, creator of The Americans, didn't want any tech for his show "Philip can't just get his phone and call Elizabeth to tell her to get out of there!" because it would obviously spoil all the tension.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

All the fans know about the iconic Buffy quote "if the Apocalypse comes, beep me". But wouldn't it be more efficient with a text? Obviously, the Slayer didn't need any phone to save the world a couple of times, but with it, the Scooby-gang may have avoided hard situations. What if Willow managed to create an app to locate her friends within seconds! Demons kidnap Alex and Giles? No problem, we know where they are!

The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead survivors evolve in a world where cell phones exist (or existed at some point), but the zombie apocalypse has completely destroyed society as they knew it and so phone line don't work anymore. But if you think about it, it definitely would have been easier for Rick, Daryl and the rest of the group to communicate and establish functioning communities, get better defense, and find more secure locations!

Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey

Many dramas could have been avoided, which Violet Crawley (played by Maggie Smith) would have loved. No, phones aren't used for torture, despite what she thinks. In Downton Abbey, the viewers witness the rise of phone tech, wired of course, but maybe if they had smartphones at the time, the young women of the show would have freed themselves from rules or found husbands more easily. Wars would have been easier on the characters since it'd be easier to hear from soldiers. But of course, this wouldn't have been a very different show.

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