Summary Bug

About

Summary Bug is a single topic blog featuring odd instances of plot summaries for various films and TV shows available on Netflix that are drawn from two different text sources due to a glitch in the streaming application. More specifically, the bug combines the first four lines of a title synopsis with the last line taken from another title, often yielding an absurd and genre-bending premise for a story that has yet to be written.

Origin

On May 17th, 2014, American software developer Bob Lannon launched @SummaryBug, a blog devoted to highlighting incoherent synopses that had been accidentally spliced together, on Twitter^[1] and Tumblr.^[2] Within two weeks of launch, @SummaryBug has posted over 110 instances of summary bugs and garnered more than 8,590 followers.

Spread

On May 19th, Detroit-based author Saladin Ahmed^[3] tweeted one of the bugged summaries based on the synopsis for Star Trek: The Next Generation:https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/star-trek-the-next-generation-parodies (shown below). Later that same day, Ahmed's tweet was picked up by Laughing Squid^[4] in a compilation article.

On May 21st, Netflix^[5] announced that the glitch had been fixed via its official Twitter account:

On May 22nd, the glitch was reported on by numerous internet culture news sites, including BuzzFeed, Slate, Gizmodo and Uproxx, followed by another round of coverage on May 27th from The Mary Sue, Geekosystem and The Escapist.

Various Examples

Note: Click on each thumbnail for the sources of the title synopses.

Search Interest

External References