# Is It Just Me, Or Are All Coffee Cups Empty in Movies and TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [September 5, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216 "2008-09-05T18:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/21 "2008-09-06T18:40:52Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > If you’re kind of shocky, sipping some coffee or tea helps for some reason. I think It’s mostly psychological but it does work. One of my co-workers got tagged with 110-v 400-Hz one afternoon. No real injury but, boy, does it sting. He stood there blinking for a moment until I said, “Siddown before you fall over.” Then I fetched a cup of coffee and he drank about an ounce of it over the half-hour or so it took him to recover. Same thing with a blanket. It’s very comforting. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/22 "2008-09-06T19:58:43Z")
If someone is in danger of going into shock, keeping them warm is part of the treatment. Hence, a blanket and warm liquids. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/23 "2008-09-06T21:51:58Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > One of the worst offenders in this category is _The West Wing_. During any infamous walk-and-talk scene, one or more characters will be holding a styrofoam coffee cup. And you can always tell that it’s completely empty, because their arms swing as if they were holding nothing. > > And then they’ll take a drink by tipping the cup past the horizontal, like they were chugging beer. IT’S FUCKING COFFEE, YOU NUMBNUTS, YOU JUST BURNED YOUR THROAT! TAKE A SIP! > > /rant. Heh, when I get a cup of coffee, I let it sit until it’s cool enough to where I can take chugs of it. When I worked in an office that had me running errands all the time, I just got used to the fact that my coffee was completely cooled by the time I got to drink any of it 90% of the time. Just saying, not everyone drinks their coffee scalding hot. So, that’s not something I’ve noticed, but it’s something I’ll look for. Again with the B5 references, in the commentary for the pilot episode, they point out a scene that ends with Nathon Fillion taking a bite out of a slice of tomato he has in his chopsticks, and mentioned how he had to take a bite out of a slice of a tomato numerous times because they had to keep reshooting the scene. On Deep Space Nine, the Cardassians are shown to drink this thick goopy beverage, which the actors had to actually drink since it was always in a clear glass. From what I understand, it was nasty stuff. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/24 "2008-09-06T23:55:52Z")
Suitcases, which are supposedly packed, always look empty, to me, the way actors handle them. Reminds me of the “Seinfeld” episode where they are looking for their lost car in a parking garage. Michael Richards insisted that the box he had to carry throughout the episode contain an actual air conditioner so he could juggle its weight to comedic effect. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/25 "2008-09-07T00:26:59Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > This reminds me of one of my favorite movie cliches; how you know the movie is about to end when the main characters are sitting next to a police car, with a blanket over their shoulders, drinking coffee. I’ve always wondered; are police cruisers stocked with extra blankets and a coffee-maker for such occasions? Are victims of traumatic experiences always automatically cold and thirsty afterwards? Anyway, I’ve always loved that little bit of cinematic shorthand. Most fire and police departments have what is called a Rehab Unit, which will respond to major events like long hostage situations, large fires or anything else where food and bathrooms will be needed by the responders. The one in my department has a bus with seats for about 15 people, and is heated or cooled, depending on the weather, so you can get out of the elements. It also has two small potties in the back. Then there’s also the coffee wagon, which will show up with drinks (coffee, soda, juice and water) and simple food (pre-packaged snacks, donuts, hot dogs and burgers). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/26 "2008-09-07T04:40:50Z")
I was an extra in a crowd scene in the (not very good) Zack Braff movie _The Last Kiss_. Our drinks were all real, which is good because we were sitting in the sun for hours. We were instructed to pay attention to our drink levels and refill between takes for continuity, although I don’t remember anyone on the production staff checking to make sure that we did. Having seen how many takes go into a few minutes of screen time, I can understand why it might sometimes be preferable to just have the lead actors pretending with an empty or underfilled cup. They don’t just have to pick it up and set it down once without spilling, they may have to do it a dozen or more times. One splash and shooting probably has to stop so the costume can be rinsed and dried. Really drinking also puts the actor in danger of having the liquid “go down the wrong pipe”, then everything has to stop while he coughs, gets all red in the face, and finally recovers. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/27 "2008-09-07T18:19:08Z")
Actresses always seem to me to be handling purses as if they have never seen a purse before, and the purses always seem empty. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216/28 "2008-09-07T23:16:47Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > If it is the case – and it’s plausibly so – then remember that they usually do multiple takes per scene. A hot liquid would cool and get nasty, and water might be seen and ruin the effect of drinking coffee. Any liquid in general might splash on clothing; not that the actors are lunkheads, but accidents can happen. Leaving out the liquid makes it a lot easier to ‘reset’ a scene for another take, lowers the risk of accidents, and actually does preserve the illusion (seeing water kills the illusion faster than seeing nothing). > > I’m not necessarily saying these are the reasons, and I’m sure someone with more experience can weigh in, but these are the rationalizations I can think of off the top of my head. Against them, having the actor pretend that a cup is full is pretty trivial. That’s pretty much it. It’s quicker and easier to prop the actors and extras with empty cups. A TV show will typically have 2 prop guys and one set dresser, with an extra prop guy specifically for firearms if those are a big part of the show (eg, any cop show). So three people hand out and retrieve props for every scene. Briefcases, files, newspapers, police and military gear, dishes, utensils, not to mention jewelry and watches. They hand it all out, quickly and correctly, and they have to get it all back. Anything that makes the process quicker, and simpler to keep track of is preferred, unless somebody important makes an issue of it. So if the showrunner (head writer-producer), episode director, or the actor himself, insists on having full cups, he will most certainly get them. On a show like Cheers, set in a bar, having the actors drink something which looked like beer was essential to the world of the show, so no empty glasses there. As Lamia noted, keeping track of liquid levels can be a problem. The actors themselves, along with the prop people, the script supervisor, and director should all be paying attention if drinks are essential to the story. Details like empty cups and drink levels are generally less important in TV than in film. TV is viewed on a much smaller screen, and often in a distracted context so viewers are less likely to notice or care about minor discrepancies. On feature films, there are usually more prop people, and more time to get the details right, but the prop people will still aim to for the most efficient approach. A prop man who makes anybody wait while he tries to get the levels right could find himself out of a job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-are-all-coffee-cups-empty-in-movies-and-tv/462216.md?page=1)