# Name your TV/movie pet peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674 "2012-05-02T19:04:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/162 "2012-05-10T21:08:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > “Previously, on…” I agree, sometimes those “previouslies” do some fancy slight of hand to make a specific predecessor point, even if they gloss over or kinda contradict what the reality of that previous event was. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/163 "2012-05-13T23:20:40Z")
Another hater of shaky camera here. Also really really, hate a current trend in documentaries where they use silly camera tricks and trick editing to make the subject “more interesting”. i.e Suddenly zooming in or out for no apparent reason. Going black and white for a few seconds . Doing close ups of the bottom left hand corner, or whatever of the subject for no reason so that you can’t see what you’re looking at. Going grainy, and making the colours go weird, usually to make shots of reenactors look like actual archive film. (Yeah in their dreams) Cutting away from a shot whithin seconds, so once again you don’t get a good look at what they’re talking about. In movies it bugs me that people can talk to each other while free falling. Get up uninjured, and unwinded after taking a heavy fall, say from a window. Go through a plate glass window without being slashed to ribbons, let alone dying. Get thrown backwards when shot,in reality a person sort of goes floppy like a puppet with its strings cut when shot dead. All explosions/artillery strikes are incendary. If someones blown up they fly across the road twenty feet and then get up shaken and dishevelled but otherwise ok. People just get up for work and leave the apartment without so much as a wash, let alone a shower. People menace someone with a weapon, but stand so close to them their old granny could take it off of them. Soldiers in historical/ww2 movies who have been fighting for some time, weeks or months, wearing clean, unfaded, unwrinkled uniforms. Neighbours or even complete strangers wander into peoples house and then start casually talking to them, asking a favour etc. If the houseowner looks at them slightly quizically when they do this, they say oh the door was open, and then both of them forget about it as that makes it ok. People on horseback almost continually gallop their horses whereever they’re going, whatever they’re doing. The horse would be knackered in no time. And recently watching a tv mini series about Marco Polo,made on location in China, M.P. is naturally played by a Caucasian, everyone else are played by native Chinese except for the Kublai Khan who is a Caucasian, and he just looks so bloody stupid. (He doesn’t even try to sound like one of the locals) And thats my rant over. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/164 "2012-05-14T03:30:45Z")
I’ll add my voice to disliking the “Characters We Like Get Humiliated” scenes. It’s usually played for a cheap, cliched, unfunny laugh, and I very very seldom get any sort of enjoyment from it. One example would be from Big Bang Theory. I don’t remember the exact episode, but the plot included a bully from Leonard’s past getting drunk and apologizing, and then sobering up and being a bully again. It was supposed to be funny. The final “joke” was two of the guys running away from him. What a waste of film, etc. I also dislike “annoying characters” being played for laughs. George from Seinfeld, not to mention George’s parents and Jerry’s parents, are all just annoying to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/165 "2012-05-14T06:31:36Z")
'nother one… TV shows that are done in live action, when for setting or subject reasons, really would have been better done in animation. Superhero and science-fiction stories come to mind immediately—when for example, a character’s superpowers not only look lousy in live action because they’re difficult to accomplish onscreen, but have to be _limited in how much they’re used_ because they’re so expensive. Now, I understand the reasons behind this—animation is more expensive on average than live-action (although an episode with mind-blowing settings and effects isn’t going to be more expensive than one set in a coffee shop), and in the west, there’s still a real bias against animated shows (non-comedies, anyway) as being “just for kids,” making it more difficult to attract funding, a studio willing to produce it as a non-kids show, _or_ a wide audience. Modern visual effects have been making this less of a problem, thankfully. But it still bugs me, and it’s still a damn sad waste of an entire medium. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/166 "2012-05-14T06:50:14Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > They admit in show that it is illegal and immoral and that they shouldn’t be doing it and that they could go to jail for it. > > But I’ll accept the complaint about the gowns and especially masks. I have had more than one non American ask me if doctors in the USA actually do that, when I say no of course not they say well why put it in the show then. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/167 "2012-05-14T13:33:50Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > \ > > Neighbours or even complete strangers wander into peoples house and then start casually talking to them, asking a favour etc. > If the houseowner looks at them slightly quizically when they do this, they say oh the door was open, and then both of them forget about it as that makes it ok.\ That’s one of my peeves, too - there apparently are no locked doors in TVLand, and no one ever needs to knock when they go visiting. “Friends” actually riffed on this once - something about how a character needed to get into the big, main apartment, and for once the door was actually locked. In a related rant, it drives me crazy when people come in and don’t close the door. Shut the damned door! What, were you born in a barn? ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/168 "2012-05-14T14:13:13Z")
Holding a baby. Especially passing a baby from one person to another. I know that infant actors are limited to very short amounts of time to be “acting” and that dolls or wads of blankets replace them. But the adult actors holding the “baby” are so unconvincing in how they handle the actual baby as contrasted with the fake baby. Also, drinking anything out of a cup. The actor grabs the cup and puts it to his mouth in such a way that we can all tell that it’s obviously empty (especially grating when it’s supposed to be hot coffee). ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/169 "2012-05-14T15:41:02Z")
People brushing their teeth and it’s blatantly obvious there’s no toothpaste on the toothbrush. Toothpaste commercials used to annoy me when I was little - the fun of brushing your teeth is making all the toothpaste foam and then spitting it out! ---
**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:** [May 14, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/170 "2012-05-14T15:42:07Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I have had more than one non American ask me if doctors in the USA actually do that, when I say no of course not they say well why put it in the show then. So they don’t have to jump from close-up to close-up for every line so we can tell who’s talking. They want to do a long shot of the action, but if you’ve got a bunch of people standing around with masks on, you can’t tell who’s talking. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/171 "2012-05-16T14:21:52Z")
> [@Albert\_Rose](#): > > I’ll add my voice to disliking the “Characters We Like Get Humiliated” scenes. It’s usually played for a cheap, cliched, unfunny laugh, and I very very seldom get any sort of enjoyment from it. > > One example would be from Big Bang Theory. I don’t remember the exact episode, but the plot included a bully from Leonard’s past getting drunk and apologizing, and then sobering up and being a bully again. It was supposed to be funny. The final “joke” was two of the guys running away from him. What a waste of film, etc. > > I also dislike “annoying characters” being played for laughs. George from Seinfeld, not to mention George’s parents and Jerry’s parents, are all just annoying to me. I must admit that I didn’t like that episode either, there was also an episode on Family Guy where Quagmire told Brian in great detail why he didn’t like him, and it was almost disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/172 "2012-05-16T16:23:08Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I have had more than one non American ask me if doctors in the USA actually do that, when I say no of course not they say well why put it in the show then. Because it’s _fiction_. They have set a premise that House is a genius, but in order for his genius to be effective, he needs all the information. Not just some of the information, all of it. And his operating principle is “everyone lies”, so you can’t trust people to tell you all the relevant bits, or to not hide something. Ergo, House does or has his helpers do all sorts of things that no one can get away with in reality. Like breaking in to the patients’ houses to look for potential causes. Or trying risky, experimental, non-approved methods to cure things. Or confirming diagnosis by treatment instead of tests. Your non-Americans asking you that question don’t seem to actually watch the show, or at least not regularly. Or else not remember the scenes where, in show, they actually discuss the illegality and the risks of breaking in. Like the one where one of the team was arrested. Or any episode where they get a new team member and do the “wait, you’re going to break in? You can’t do that” scene. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/173 "2012-05-16T20:54:23Z")
Why not just point out that _House_ is simply Sherlock Holmes with a medical degree? ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/174 "2012-05-17T14:50:10Z")
When a wedding or something is planned for a couple then at the last minute they make it all about a different couple. Case in point: Grey’s Anatomy, when Derek & Meredith decided to make their wedding be for Izzie & Alex instead. What about their guests? Who the hell wants to watch strangers get married? Wouldn’t Izzie & Alex rather have THEIR OWN family and friends at THEIR OWN wedding? Second case in point: Rescue Me, when Black Shawn and Colleen got married but at the reception they got Tommy & Janet to renew their vows. You get one day where it’s all about you - why make it about someone else too? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674/175 "2012-05-17T16:57:41Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > Cops, teachers, office secretaries - people with general middle-to-low-end-of-the-road salaries - who live in huge, tastefully professionally decorated apartments. Especially in big cities like New York or Chicago where such an apartment would cost an arm and a leg and then some, JUST for the rent, nevermind the furnishing. > > Drives me up the wall! I agree about the rent, but nonrich nonprofessionals _can_ have excellent taste on a limited budget. Anybody can buy architecture digest and emulate a professional decoration job. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Someone makes someone else a delicious meal but the other person takes off without even having a bite. I always think “You selfish prick! Look at all the food you just wasted!!” Not just wasting the food, but the insult in ignoring a lovely meal prepared for you by someone. At least take a bite and say thanks … > [@VarlosZ](#): > > Reliably knocking someone unconscious (safely, and for however long the plot demands) by hitting them on the head. Head wounds just don’t work that way! > > For a while I’ve had a fantasy of making a movie that starts out as a sort of typical college/frat house comedy. Once the characters and setting are established, our heroes sneak out in the middle of the night to steal the MacGuffin from a rival frat. They get to their destination, sneak up behind the security guard, and whack him in the back of the head with a fallen branch. **thwock! sound effect, slide whistle, comedy-caper music** The guard falls over unconscious, and the frat boys go on to complete the theft. > > The next morning, they walk by the scene of the crime and slyly smile as they approach the crowd milling around outside. Putting on his best Who-Me? innocent face, one of the guy goes up to a girl in the back of the crowd and asks: > > Protagonist: “Gee, what’s all this about?” > Girl [distraught]: “Somebody \*murdered \*the security guard!” > Protagonist: “_What?!!_” > Girl: “They caved his skull in with a fucking log! Jesus! Who would do something like this?!” > > After that it becomes a rather different kind of movie. I think that would be excellent. I always had this fantasy of making a movie where the characters argued back at the writer and director - my favorite peeve about Halloween is Jaime Lee Curtis running through the kitchen with all the lovely knives to go up stairs and hide in a closet with a freaking wire hanger:smack: In my dream movie the character would stop as she got in the closet and say something like “Really, I would run past the knives to hide in a closet with a wire hanger? Be real. I want that knife.” > [@Maiira](#): > > Heh, I remember reading a forensic science book written by a medical examiner, and he said that whenever they’d have a particularly gross body and there were cops looking on, it was usually the dudes who freaked out and the women who stayed cool. 😃 Meh, men are the weaker sex. We have to deal with a body that _bleeds_ every month. We have to deal with it for most of our lives. Not to mention the cramps, the bloating, the back aches, the _mess_, and then pregnancy, with the vomiting and mess and wadling with our pelvis pretty much disjointing, then pushing the little bundle of vermix coated squalling rugrat out through a tiny hole along with an internal organ [placenta] and then have to deal with milk seeping out of our nipples, nursing, diapering, burping and cleaning up baby crap, pee and vomit, and de-snotting noses. No wonder men used to kip off to war, they wanted to get away from the little biowaste generators they sired. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-tv-movie-pet-peeves/620674.md?page=8)