# Common Gaffes in Movies and TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194 "2020-01-29T22:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/101 "2020-01-31T00:33:49Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > there are always open parking spots right in front of where they want to go , even in a place like NYC From _The Catalog of Cool_ (Warner Books, 1982), ed. by Gene Sculatti, pg. 214: “(to) Kojack (verb): To find a usually unavailable parking space. ‘I can’t believe it; a spot right in front of the hotel. I Kojacked!’” ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/102 "2020-01-31T01:06:08Z")
When a person is shown talking on the (non-smart) phone and the other person hangs up on this one, this one looks into the phone, every time. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/103 "2020-01-31T01:10:32Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > This is not at all uncommon in the PNW. 😛 Or in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/104 "2020-01-31T01:25:41Z")
> [@icantdraw](#): > > Looking through a set of binoculars do not produce a scene with a pair of magnified round images. > > A crappy description, no doubt, but those of who who are annoyed by this will know what I mean. No, that’s a perfect description. Similar to seeing the magnified image letterboxed by a crude binoculars shape silhouette. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/105 "2020-01-31T01:34:39Z")
In an action film, our hero sneaks up on one of the henchmen, usually the furthest from the action. Knocks him out, maybe immediately, maybe after some hand-to-hand combat, takes his weapon and whatever else might be useful, and now he’s in the game. So why doesn’t that first guy ever call for backup? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/106 "2020-01-31T01:55:02Z")
And thus the [Evil Overlord List](http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html) was born. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/107 "2020-01-31T02:11:45Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > 1. There is no precipitation at all. Then you hear a crack of thunder, and 10 seconds later, it’s pouring. Honest to god, I want to make a movie just so I can have a smattering of rain turn into a steady rain and gradually into a downpour, with no thunder at all. Similarly, if its at night in a city, it’s always just rained, regardless of location or time of year, so you can get all the cool reflections from the streetlights and neon signs in the puddles. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/108 "2020-01-31T02:31:23Z")
Racking a pump shotgun or rifle . Excellent articled titled: [Guns for Beginners: Don’t Rack a Shotgun to Ward-Off Bad Guys](https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/dont-rack-a-shotgun-to-ward-off-bad-guys-guns-for-beginners/) These are related to the giving my position away to the bad guy mentioned the link above. Grenades making a hissing sound or emitting smoke when thrown, people standing outside a door or doorway then racking the slide on an automatic or pulling back the hammer of a revolver. Cocking the hammer on a double action revolver or pistol. Yes, it will make the first shot easier fractionally quicker since the trigger pull will be lighter, but may throw off the second shot since more trigger force is required. Lasers making any type of sound. Explosions in space not only making noise, but ignoring the fact that you better be far, far, far away since with in a vacuum, those flying bits of the other spacecraft will keep going with the same velocity it started with for a long, long, long time/distance. Sticking the barrel of your gun into the doorway so the other person can grab it, knock it out of your hands. The sound of a bullet ricocheting off almost any surface or causing a spark on metal. Unless itʻs steel jacketed, a copper alloy jacketed or full lead bullet wonʻt make a sound, only deform and a lead bullet definitely wonʻt spark. Hats, boxes, papers flying when hit bullet. The flying hat was tested on Mythbusters and busted. Even the infamous .50 caliber is still only 1/2" compared to a much, much larger surface area. Another Mythbusters episode busted the violently flying backwards when shot. Turns [out] the old time Westerns where people just dropped straight down where they were was closer to the truth. Iʻve always wondered about this one. On police shows, when someone is shot, they quickly announce “Heʻs dead” or just shake their head. Seems to me youʻd ALWAYS immediately call for an ambulance since people have recovered from supposedly fatal injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/109 "2020-01-31T02:43:38Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That’s not far fetched. If there is a dedicated ESU team it’s unlikely that the detectives will get dressed up in tactical gear. Or even that they have tactical gear. But most likely they will not be near the action and will be called in after the team has secured the scene. They won’t be the first or second guys through the door. I once was watching an episode of Agents of SHIELD where a SWAT team is preparing to breach a door where on the other side armed bad guys are waiting. They breach the door and fan out, only for the heroes in ordinary clothes to run ahead of them and start engaging the armed bad guys in hand-to-hand combat. What was the point of the SWAT team anyway? ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/110 "2020-01-31T02:51:42Z")
Images on the computer taking forever to delete with the images shown slowly being broken up or fading away. Hackers ALWAYS leaving a message saying “Youʻve been hacked!”. Yes, ransomware does it, but most viruses and especially malware doesnʻt what you to know theyʻre there. Live video streams being impossible to trace because theyʻre routed through multiple proxies and/or VPNs. Yep, no lag at all when sending data through multiple (usually overseas) servers! Every gunshot sounding the same. At least Dirty Harryʻs magnums had a distinctive sound. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/111 "2020-01-31T02:56:05Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I once was watching an episode of Agents of SHIELD where a SWAT team is preparing to breach a door where on the other side armed bad guys are waiting. They breach the door and fan out, only for the heroes in ordinary clothes to run ahead of them and start engaging the armed bad guys in hand-to-hand combat. What was the point of the SWAT team anyway? I see this a lot on the shows like \*Law and Order SVU \*and _Criminal Minds_. The SWAT team is fully suited up and the detectives are just wearing bulletproof vests and theyʻre always in the front when it comes to the showdown. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/112 "2020-01-31T03:16:08Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Or in Texas. Or in Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/113 "2020-01-31T03:19:40Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Similarly, if its at night in a city, it’s always just rained, regardless of location or time of year, so you can get all the cool reflections from the streetlights and neon signs in the puddles. Provided courtesy of the “Making Streets Look Like It Just Rained Company.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/114 "2020-01-31T03:54:25Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > The sound of a bullet ricocheting off almost any surface or causing a spark on metal. Unless itʻs steel jacketed, a copper alloy jacketed or full lead bullet wonʻt make a sound, only deform and a lead bullet definitely wonʻt spark. > > Hats, boxes, papers flying when hit bullet. The flying hat was tested on Mythbusters and busted. Even the infamous .50 caliber is still only 1/2" compared to a much, much larger surface area. > > Another Mythbusters episode busted the violently flying backwards when shot. Turns [out] the old time Westerns where people just dropped straight down where they were was closer to the truth. I was present at the storming of the Russian White House in 1993. I can assure you that rounds fired from AK-47s do indeed make a “BEOWWWWWW!” sound when they ricochet. They also make a “SHWOOOP!” noise when they pass overhead. You can hear them spinning from the rifling in the gun barrel. I think you underestimate the power of a .50 caliber round. An M2 machine gun is a virtual autocannon that can demolish aircraft and light armored vehicles. I can also testify to people who are shot dropping like a puppet whose strings are cut. I saw someone sniped in 1993, and that’s exactly what happened. As an aside, I was amazed when Jean-Luc was knocked backward from that huge explosion in the pilot episode of \*\*\*Picard \*\*\*and survived. The shock wave from a blast like that at close range would turn your insides into jelly. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/115 "2020-01-31T04:15:00Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Scout, Tornado, I don’t know, I don’t know. And I used to watch all four shows religiously. > > Now I have to look up Cisco and Pancho’s horses. In the meantime, for those like me who watched Cisco when it was first run… does anyone else remember what product sponsored it? > I _think_ I remember “the product’s” logo being shown over a still shot of saguaro cactus, with a jingle: (female voices singing) “Everybody loves good \_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_” A search turned up these sponsors: \*In all his incarnations, The Cisco Kid engendered a lot of collectible memorabilia, though much of it dates to the 1950s. Much of it bore the name of various sponsors, such as Tip-Top Bread paper masks and puzzles, Wrigley’s Cisco Kid Signal Arrowhead, Eddy’s Bread Humming Lariat, Arden Milk black bandana, Dolly Madison Ice Cream plastic reflective mask, Kern’s Bread ‘Triple S Club’ clothing transfer, Butter-Nut Bread portrait photos, Leatherwood Dairy plastic tumblers, Nolde’s Bread store posters, Dr. Swetts Cardboard Clicker Gun, and many other similar products. \* I too was born too late to have seen the Kid and Pancho in their original run. ☹ It was many years before I understood the “Oho, Pancho!”/“Oho, Cisco!” reference at the end of a _ **Rocky & Bullwinkle** _ adventure. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/116 "2020-01-31T04:21:16Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Military uniforms. Most civilians don’t notice or care, but active duty and vets absolutely do, and it’s generally fairly obvious when they mess it up, which they almost always do. The dramatic reenactments in documentaries like the ones they show on the History and H2 channels are the worst offenders. I would be a better technical advisor than the ones they have now. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/117 "2020-01-31T04:26:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’ve mentioned this before in similar threads. Often on cop shows they will come to the realization who the bad guy is and that the victim is about to be murdered. They race across town and barely save the victim in the nick of time. This will be in a city like NYC. They would have to go to the elevator, go down to the street, find their car, go through city traffic (lights and sirens don’t move double parked cars or help in gridlock), make it to the building, park, go up to the right floor, and find the killer. > > Or they could pick up the phone or use the radio to send one of the other 40,000 cops who are probably much closer to go stop the murder. Roughly the same scenario was played out on _ **Doc Martin** _ the other night. The Doc had to stop Louisa from getting on a plane before a blood vessel broke in her brain, so he got the local police officer to drive him to the airport. The whole time I was yelling “YOU HAVE A MOBILE! JUST PHONE THE AIRPORT POLICE AND HAVE THEM DETAIN HER!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/118 "2020-01-31T04:32:49Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I once took my D&D group to an SCA fighter practice - that ended stupid comments like my knight [in full plate armor] sneaks … =) I was once in the SCA, and armor does indeed make a lot of noise when the wearer moves. Modern soldiers, however, do not. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/119 "2020-01-31T04:46:36Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Car pulls up in front of a house, two cops get out, and one says to the other, “This is [suspect]'s last known address.” Didn’t the other cop ask where they were going at any point during the drive? Did the first cop say, “I got a lead, but I’m not going to tell you what it is until we get there. Get in the car and don’t ask me any questions”? **COROLLARY:** A bunch of astronauts has landed on the Moon or another planet. At some point, we’re bound to hear something like “Night up here is two weeks long!”/“The atmosphere outside is poisonous!”/“The surface temperature is cold/hot enough to freeze/melt \_\_\_\_!”/ and so on. Then everybody frowns and nods thoughtfully. Just once, I’d like someone to say “What?!? Forget that I’m a trained professional with a PhD!!! Why the hell did nobody tell me that before I volunteered for this mission?!?” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194/120 "2020-01-31T05:27:16Z")
> [@pmwgreen](#): > > A story I heard about Mr Foley. Kubrick was disgusted with the sound of a marching legion in the film “Sparticus”. Foley produced a key-ring full of keys, shaking them to make the sound that Kubrick wanted. > > This is why I never really feel good about surround sound. It’s all fake anyway. In the SCA, I heard a fighter trotting in full scale mail. It sounded like a canning factory in full operation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-gaffes-in-movies-and-tv/847194.md?page=7)