It has been noted (in Contacting Aliens) that the Tytlal are great fans of The Three Stooges.

A hotter item to them, it seems, than whale songs are to most other galactic races.

What was left out of that short blurb for Terragen Field Agents, may or may not be of high significance.

Whenever there is a production from the later part of The Three Stooges repertoire, the Tytlal invariably turn off the color and watch it in black and white.

Clandestine debate has been going on for years between the various schools of Earthclan's psychologists, sociologists, and extraterrestrial behaviorists.

Is there a deep Tytlal desire for surrealism in this display of violent humor that invariably concludes with a nondestructive result?

Is there merely a need for consistency, and that if all of the material was in color it wouldn't matter to the Tytlal?

Or is it just that black and white is a heck of a lot funnier than color?

The debate rages on.

There is one minority opinion from a single unpublished and untenured first year assistent professor of behavioral studies.

The proposition being:

The Tytlal have been turning off the color in order to do a study on the behavior patterns of Earthclan psychologists, sociologists, and extraterrestrial behaviorists.