# Funny/Silly Things In Background Shots Of Movies/TV Shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962 "2012-12-13T21:21:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/41 "2012-12-15T17:19:12Z")
Also on _Community_, there was sometimes something funny written on the whiteboard in the background of the study room. Not really funny, but on _Glee_ I’ve always liked that all the characters’ lockers are decorated inside with notes, pictures, and collages, just like real teen lockers. This is sometimes of minor significance to the plot, as the characters tend to put up photos of their crush or bf/gf. There was a sight gag recently where the character played by Chord Overstreet (who has quite full lips) opened his locker and you could see that he had a bunch of Chapstick inside. In a much earlier episode he’d mentioned that all he wanted for Christmas was Chapstick. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/42 "2012-12-15T19:00:05Z")
I was just watching Gremlins and was amused that there’s a scene where the father is at an inventor’s convention on the phone talking about how he’s a little outclassed. In the background someone is sitting in the Victorian “Time Machine” from the George Pal version of the movie. They cut away and when they cut back a couple people are just looking at an empty platform with a scorch mark. There was really a lot going on in the background of the film but I didn’t take time to mentally catalog it all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/43 "2012-12-15T19:45:34Z")
I just saw the DVD of Men in Black 3 and noticed both in that movie and the earlier ones, there are screens in the background of the headquarters building that show the aliens who are being tracked on Earth. The gag is that some of these aliens are celebrities. In MIB3, they include Bill Gates and Lady Gaga, and in the first movie they include Newt Gingrich and Anthony Robbins. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/44 "2012-12-16T22:01:15Z")
During the season five episode of Reba’s first sitcom when Reba walks into the house that Van is showing to a set of people who are looking for one to buy, them people steal everything from the home’s living room while Reba is privately telling Van in another room of the house that he is blowing what is really supposed to be her responsibility. 😃 😃 😃 God bless you always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly P.S. If you’ve never seen this episode, Van was wanting a chance to show that he had the ability to sell a house just like Reba could and I believe that if she had NOT shown up at that house that he was showing, he very well could have gotten it sold all on his own. After all, he was able to get one sold all on his own at the end of season four. 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/45 "2012-12-16T22:59:58Z")
At the end of _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,_ Harry and somebody (Mr. Weasley?) have a conversation out on the street in front of a pillar; attached to the pillar is a poster with an animation of Professor Lockhart looking confused and amnesiac, with the caption “Do You Know This Man?” ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/46 "2012-12-17T00:54:34Z")
Another one from the Simpsons is the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/47 "2012-12-17T00:57:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I just saw the DVD of Men in Black 3 and noticed both in that movie and the earlier ones, there are screens in the background of the headquarters building that show the aliens who are being tracked on Earth. The gag is that some of these aliens are celebrities. In MIB3, they include Bill Gates and Lady Gaga, and in the first movie they include Newt Gingrich and Anthony Robbins. Also when they go back to July 15, 1969, Mr. Richard M. Nixon ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/48 "2012-12-17T01:58:03Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Also, isn’t there a Han Solo figurine hidden in many _Firefly_ episodes? [Apparently there is.](http://geekfemme.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/han-solos-in-firefly.html) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/49 "2012-12-17T15:55:59Z")
Also the “you-get-it-or-you-don’t” Simpson’s sign: Sneed’s Feed & Seed (Formerly Chuck’s) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/50 "2012-12-17T16:37:28Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Also the “you-get-it-or-you-don’t” Simpson’s sign: > > Sneed’s Feed & Seed > (Formerly Chuck’s) Not a background shot. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/51 "2012-12-18T17:00:02Z")
Lots of funny stuff happens in the background of **BASEketball** , the movie by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of **South Park** fame. For example, during the “Unsolved Mysteries” segment, all of the computers behind Robert Stack are being used to play solitaire. One of my favorites: during one game we’re told that it’s “Free-Range Chicken Night” and everyone in the crowd gets a free chicken. After the game, the main characters are having a conversation in the foreground, while in the background, you can see a janitor walking around with a giant vacuum, sucking up loose chickens. As I recall, there’s even a “squawk!” and a burst of feathers every time one gets vacuumed up. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/52 "2012-12-18T17:06:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > About a year ago I was watching an episode of Malcolm in the Middle for what was probably the 10th time and I just happened to notice a cockroach crawl across the wall in the background. No attention was called to it, it wasn’t an episode based around how dirty they or their house was and yet someone had to bring in a cockroach, put it on the wall, get it to crawl up through the frame and get the actors to do the scene on cue with the roach just for the handful of people that might notice it. You know, sometimes a cockroach is just a cockroach. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/53 "2012-12-18T17:30:50Z")
In the Toontown segment of _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ there are several of these. My favorite is the truck with “Acme Overused Gags” on it. Not merely \*Used \* gags, but _Overused_ gags. Later on there’s a wall ad for _Porky’s All-Beef Sausage_, which is pretty grim, when you think about it, like the Chik-fil-A cows advising you to Eat More Chiken. And there’s a sign warning you to _Watch Out for Falling Anvils_. In the background of the school basement in Tobe Hooper’s remake of _Invaders from Mars_ you can see the Martian-in-a-glass-globe from the _original_ version of _Invaders from Mars_. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/54 "2012-12-18T18:03:37Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > About a year ago I was watching an episode of Malcolm in the Middle for what was probably the 10th time and I just happened to notice a cockroach crawl across the wall in the background. No attention was called to it, it wasn’t an episode based around how dirty they or their house was and yet someone had to bring in a cockroach, put it on the wall, get it to crawl up through the frame and get the actors to do the scene on cue with the roach just for the handful of people that might notice it. That would have been the bug wrangler. [Seriously.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrangler_(profession)) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/55 "2012-12-18T18:08:31Z")
More from _Arrested Development_: Rita is sitting on a park bench in Wee Britain, and Wee Britain is stenciled on the bench. Rita is either a very clever spy, or has the mind of a child. The way she’s sitting on the bench, it says Wee Brain. Early in the series, GOB has a boat called the Seaward. Michael tells him to get rid of the Seaward. At that moment, Lucille walks in and says “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.” In the final episode, GOB’s boat is named C-Word. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/56 "2012-12-18T18:37:07Z")
Not in the background but subtle: In Shawshank Redemption, when the warden opens the bible to reveal Andys escape tool, it’s located in the book of Exodus. I’m sure Andy thought that that was quite a nice little touch. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/57 "2012-12-18T18:56:15Z")
There’s an early scene in **Goodfellas** where the guys at the cab stand have ripped off a bunch of yellow golf sweaters. In a later scene everyone hanging around is wearing them. In **Dirty Harry** , when Harry shoots the guys robbing the bank at the beginning, the movie marquee in the background shows **Play Misty For Me**. And of course, [See You Next Wednesday](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_You_Next_Wednesday). ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/58 "2012-12-18T21:32:27Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > That would have been the bug wrangler. [Seriously.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrangler_(profession)) Sorry for the minor hijack…but back in the 1980’s I supplied some frogs for an episode of _Danger Bay_. In the credits I am listed as “Frog Wrangler”. : ) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/59 "2012-12-18T22:22:14Z")
> [@Latimera](#): > > Sorry for the minor hijack…but back in the 1980’s I supplied some frogs for an episode of _Danger Bay_. In the credits I am listed as “Frog Wrangler”. You da man! ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962/60 "2012-12-18T22:33:29Z")
> [@Latimera](#): > > Sorry for the minor hijack…but back in the 1980’s I supplied some frogs for an episode of _Danger Bay_. In the credits I am listed as “Frog Wrangler”. > > : ) See, _that’s_ how you make a resume pop. It’s been decades since I saw _Airplane!_, but I recall that it was stuffed with these sorts of background gags. One in particular that I remember was a “sound gag”, rather than a “sight gag”; two characters are talking outside the entrance to an airport. In the background, you hear two recorded voices, one male and one female, giving loading information, in the hushed neutral tones of automated voice technology: “The Red Zone is for loading and unloading only. Please do not park in the Red Zone. Please park in the White Zone.” “The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. Please do not park in the White Zone. Please park in the Red Zone”. (I’m quoting from memory, so I’m sure I’m not getting it right, but I do remember the gist of the gag). The two voices start competing, and then arguing: “Oh, don’t start that Red Zone shit again!” “Is this because I wanted you to have an abortion?” “I want a divorce!” Pretty funny, if I remember it after 32 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-silly-things-in-background-shots-of-movies-tv-shows/643962.md?page=4)