# Nice little touches in TV shows/films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164 "2009-08-29T16:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/41 "2009-09-01T07:05:28Z")
This is going to an HBO thread for me. True Blood Some vampires like puns a lot more, since that is the humor from the time they came from. Also they look older than their human age, because the times were more rough. Deadwood When they fight, it seems real. Not the usual 100 hard, fast punches to each other. The Wire Many things. What springs to mind is the main characters apartment, which is totally bare, just a bed and some clothes. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/42 "2009-09-02T01:32:16Z")
I just learned that in the second episode of **Carnivale** (set in the 1930s), the Vitalis that Brother Justin puts on his hair is genuine, 70-year-old Vitalis, and that the bottle was a genuine, sealed bottle opened just for the filming of that scene. I think that’s a neat little touch that shows how conscientious the art designers were about setting the atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/43 "2009-09-02T02:18:48Z")
I always liked the police station on NYPD Blue. I liked that they had knick-knacks on their desks and that they did their interviews and interrogations all over the place, not just in fancy interrogation rooms. I especially liked the bulletin boards full of old-looking haphazrdly-placed papers and the signs all over the place- stuff like “please clean up after yourself” over the coffee maker or “warning! This bathroom is unisex! Please knock before entering!” on the bathroom door (none of those are ver batim… the jerks on TNT stopped airing NYPD Blue a while ago and I did not memorize the signs before it went away.). ---
**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:** [September 2, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/44 "2009-09-02T02:44:58Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I liked that Adam West’s Batmobile had an afterburner, and that he was a stickler for seat belts. The former distracted form the fact that it could only go about 15 mph. Speaking of Adam West’s Batman, I just watched the movie, and was absolutely killed by the scene where he’s at a fancy restaurant, with a beautiful woman, holding a giant brandy snifter filled with milk. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/45 "2009-09-02T18:56:04Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Heh. I think Monk did this, too–isn’t there a bit in the opening credits where you see all his identical shirts in the closet? Speaking of OCD, I loved when they are showing Jack Nicholson’s kitchen area in As Good As It gets, and he has a separate glass canister for each color M&M. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/46 "2009-09-02T19:23:49Z")
Another thing I’ve found about Deadwood, is that an overriding theme is the onrush of ‘civilization’. Telegraph lines, stagecoaches and more and more permanent buildings populate the town as the series went on. Very cool to see. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/47 "2009-09-02T21:43:07Z")
_Freaks and Geeks_ was another show that was really good with repeating clothes in the actors wardrobe, especially the “poorer” characters like Kelly. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/48 "2009-09-02T21:46:40Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > _Freaks and Geeks_ was another show that was really good with repeating clothes in the actors wardrobe, especially the “poorer” characters like Kelly. Noted. 🙂 > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I like when characters wear the same clothes over again on TV shows. It makes it seem like the characters are real, like they have a closet, not like they’re wearing the trendy clothes to impress the viewers at home. Freaks and Geeks did this a lot and so did My So Called Life. It felt really authentic. Dawson’s Creek, on the other hand, had Joey Potter, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, on scholarship, sporting three different coats in one season. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/49 "2009-09-02T22:44:29Z")
I loved the way they used props in Julie and Julia to tie the two characters’ stories together. I think the best was when Julie was making bourguignon in her orange Le Creuset pot and it then transitioned to Julia wrapping up her identical pot in preparation for a move. There are lots of similar juxtapositions if you look for them. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/50 "2009-09-03T01:49:06Z")
In _Dangerous Liaisons_, the duel between Malkovich and Reeves was an exhausting, drawn-out affair. Excellently done. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/51 "2009-09-03T02:05:58Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > (I realise that Brundle wasn’t really as clever as Einstein, if only because Brundle turned into a fly whereas Einstein didn’t.) Well, to be fair, Brundle actually figured out a way to teleport matter from one place to another. That’s arguably more clever than Einstein. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/52 "2009-09-03T15:23:25Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > In _Dangerous Liaisons_, the duel between Malkovich and Reeves was an exhausting, drawn-out affair. Excellently done. Also in **McCabe and Mrs. Miller** , the gunfight is nothing like the stereotypical meet in the middle of main street fight. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/53 "2009-09-04T02:11:23Z")
An older one: on _Friends,_ in the boys’ apartment there was a Magnadoodle (or something like it) on the front door. There was something different drawn on it in every episode. I remember in the commentary on one of the DVD sets, the producers said that there was a crew member who was tasked with doing a new drawing for each ep. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/54 "2009-09-04T06:03:32Z")
In the _Pushing Daisies_ episode, “The Legend of Merle McQuoddy”, Olive buys raincoats for herself and Emerson Cod. Both raincoats are clear plastic, with patterns on them: Olive’s coat is covered with olives, while Emerson’s is covered with cod. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/55 "2009-09-04T06:24:44Z")
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: When Spicoli has the pizza delivered to him in the classroom, he pulls cash out of his pocket, and picks out the lint. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/56 "2009-09-07T07:29:44Z")
**Freudian Slit** said: > [@](#): > > Well, I just mean that I never go to a stylist or anything and I usually manage to do a good job on my hair on my own. No hair dryers. Did you get that part? Plus, expectations were for elaborate hair dos. My mom had a set of curlers she used until the '80s, when perms became more affordable. She was a teen in the '50s. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/57 "2009-09-07T12:17:26Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > I loved the way they used props in Julie and Julia to tie the two characters’ stories together. I think the best was when Julie was making bourguignon in her orange Le Creuset pot and it then transitioned to Julia wrapping up her identical pot in preparation for a move. > > There are lots of similar juxtapositions if you look for them. Reminds me of a couple of similar cuts: (1) **Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:** Luna is tossing food the the scary-looking thestrals, who snarf it up rather messily and noisily. Cut to Ron at lunch gnawing on a sausage. (2) **About a Boy:** After Will’s girlfriend dumps him in the restaurant, he makes the “check please” gesture (as if writing) to the waiter. Cut to Will making almost the exact same movement while feeding his fish. (3) **Jeeves & Wooster, first episode:** Jeeves is ironing Bertie’s pants, with lots of steam. Cut to the train station, with lots of either fog or steam from the train. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/58 "2009-09-07T12:58:09Z")
\*Firefly \*is (well, was, sadly) the one space show where space is actually silent. Spaceship engines, guns, astronauts walking around etc… don’t make a sound. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164/59 "2009-09-09T22:23:05Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > I always liked the police station on NYPD Blue. I liked that they had knick-knacks on their desks and that they did their interviews and interrogations all over the place, not just in fancy interrogation rooms. I especially liked the bulletin boards full of old-looking haphazrdly-placed papers and the signs all over the place- stuff like “please clean up after yourself” over the coffee maker or “warning! This bathroom is unisex! Please knock before entering!” on the bathroom door (none of those are ver batim… the jerks on TNT stopped airing NYPD Blue a while ago and I did not memorize the signs before it went away.). I always remember one episode of NYPD Blue where one of the female regulars quickly checked an empty coffee mug in the interview room to see if it was dirty before she risked using it. The commentary track on the DVD explained that the actress had slipped in this tiny action herself because her character wouldn’t have trusted the male cops she worked with to give the mug more than a quick rinse before putting it back on the shelf. That seemed very real to me, and just the kind of habit any woman working in a mostly male office would develop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-little-touches-in-tv-shows-films/508164.md?page=2)