I’m currently binge watching Law & Order so many of these gaffes apply to that show.
But I’d like to know if any of you know of other common gaffes that seem to have been present ever since movies and TV shows were first produced. I will list three of my favorites and maybe some of you will know some others?
When someone is asked something like, “Where were you last Thursday at 8PM?”, they always seem to know immediately and are able to just rattle it off the top of their head. I know that when I have to find out where I was and what I was doing on any day before yesterday, I always have to consult my calendar. In general, I can’t remember where I was on some evening more than two days ago. Are you able to easily answer a question like that from two days ago or more?
Whenever someone is shown drinking a cup of coffee or similar hot beverage, they seem to take the cup and move it instantly to their lips and then tilt it up quickly to simulate drinking and then quickly put it down. Anytime I see someone doing that for real, they move very slowly. They don’t want to burn themselves so they take their time in drinking a hot beverage. I always figured this was done because, “time is money” and the producers didn’t want to waste time showing people drinking like they really do and they just accept this gaffe. This is something that has been going on ever since movies and TV shows were first made and I’ve never before seen anyone point it out as a gaffe.
Whenever someone is shown dropping or throwing a handgun that lands on a hard surface, the sound played is the same as an empty soup can landing on a hard surface. Handguns are heavy and solid and made of steel. When one lands on a hard floor, it makes a loud and deep sound - almost like a large bowling ball falling on the floor. I don’t know why producers have done this ever since the beginning of movies and TV. Sound engineers must surely know the real sound these things make. Why do they use such lightweight or tinny sounds when the real thing sounds so much different?
Those are not gaffes. The first two are simply dramatic license. Trying to do what you suggest would be incredibly boring and wouldn’t add anything to the story other than to avoid the most trivial of nitpicks.
This past weekend, we were watching The Lone Ranger (Don’t judge!), and there was the part where the Lone Ranger called Trigger, and told him to untie his hands, which were tied behind his back. Trigger, being the WonderHorse that he was, did untie him. The Lone Ranger also dropped a sugar cube (That the audience wasn’t supposed to see), or some sort of treat, that Trigger was getting, after he did the trick of freeing the Lone Ranger. They should have edited that out, but, they left it in there for all to see.
I won’t judge you for watching The Lone Ranger, but misidentifying his horse is inexcusable given the well-known catchphrase “Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!” Trigger was the horse of Roy Rogers.
Oooo! I was WAY wrong, wasn’t I?! Good grief. I obviously was NOT thinking. I’m ready to become nursing home fodder, apparently. My apologies to all! Good grief, though…
Anytime the cops go to question someone about a murder/rape/heinous crime, the person being questioned will continue gardening, stocking shelves, batting practice or whatever they were doing when the cops showed up. “Oh, you want to know about the details of my boss’s murder? I guess I can humor you while I paint this railing…”
It’s not even that they’re being pissy at the cops about it and the person usually isn’t a final suspect, they just really give more shits about chopping firewood than giving their attention to a murder investigation for ten minutes. I wouldn’t even call it “dramatic license” since it’d be just as dramatic to have them say “Oh, shit, let me tell you what I know and be as helpful as possible!” instead of dramatically watching them lay brick pavers while they talk.
Since lots of TV shows are set in California or New York City, shows set in those locations have guns that are always either WAY too easy to get legally (in contrast to actual California or New York City laws) or because the writers are from those areas, you see people needing permits to own guns in places like Texas.
I see this all the time, The Last Stand starring Arnold set in Arizona has him asking to see Johnny Knoxville’s permit to own a magnum revolver, which actually you wouldn’t even need a permit for in California itself.
One shooting gaffe that I always notice is when a bad guys shoot at the hero and miss, dust kicks up at the good guy’s feet. No. Way. When you shoot at someone you aim at the center. It is far more likely that if you miss it will be to one side and the bullet will strike way behind the target. If you are fairly close the bullet will hit a hundred back.
If you shoot at someone more distant and the bullet strikes at their feet it means you have underestimated the distance by hundreds of feet at least.
The most annoying is the swishing sound of metal on metal when someone slices another one’s throat (or another body part) with a sword. Every fucking time…
