# Point out logic/plausibility flaws in classic movies and TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855 "2014-01-27T16:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/101 "2014-01-29T21:49:25Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Too late. Headcanon accepted. That would be the Arcturians, I imagine. The whole race looks like that. Hence, “It don’t matter if it’s Arcturian, baby.” ---
**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:** [January 29, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/102 "2014-01-29T21:56:42Z")
Brady Bunch. Nine people. One bathroom. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/103 "2014-01-29T21:57:27Z")
Stepford Wives: Nobody notices the wives have been replaced with robots? Mothers, fathers, siblings, children? Rosemary’s Baby: A woman nine month’s pregnant with the devil’s child is walking around NYC. What if she goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital? Sheesh. The doctor/cult member would have put her on bed rest at home from month seven till she delivered. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/104 "2014-01-29T22:10:34Z")
The classic flaw, that’s been debated for over 60 years, is _ **"What did Ozzie Nelson do for a living?"** _ When the radio show “_ **The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet** _” moved to TV, Ozzie was still in his 40s, too young to be retired. Ozzie basically spent his time meddling in people’s lives for 14 years. When I watched the show in the early 60s, as a kid, it didn’t really bother me. But when I watched the reruns in the mid-80s (on Nick, I, think) Ozzie’s lack of employment really bothered me. Why didn’t they even come up with something even semi-plausible; full mental disability, inherited wealth, welfare cheat, living off of investments. But not a mention how he put two kids through USC and through law school. I know, in real life, he was a retired band leader, so why not use that as part of his background on the show? ---
**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:** [January 29, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/105 "2014-01-29T22:12:03Z")
Surprised nobody has mentioned _House_. How did that man and his team stay out of prison? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/106 "2014-01-29T22:17:11Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Brady Bunch. Nine people. One bathroom. More like six people, one bathroom. We never see Alice using the kids’ bathroom, and more than once we see Carol or Mike coming out of a bathroom attached to the master bedroom. Anyway, I came from a big family,a nd we had one full bath and one half bath attached to the master bedroom. It was doable. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/107 "2014-01-29T22:18:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Surprised nobody has mentioned _House_. How did that man and his team stay out of prison? Didn’t he eventually go to prison, between the next-to-last and last seasons? ---
**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 29, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/108 "2014-01-29T23:08:52Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > The classic flaw, that’s been debated for over 60 years, is _ **“What did Ozzie Nelson do for a living?”** _ IIRC, he was asked the same question once on _ **The Tonight Show** _ with Johnny Carson. His reply? “I don’t know; they never told me!” ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/109 "2014-01-29T23:34:47Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Brady Bunch. Nine people. One bathroom. I grew up in a family of nine. One bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/110 "2014-01-30T00:23:23Z")
**Superman: The Movie** - The infamous time reversal scene. While emotional and epic in scope, this ending has never made any sense. From Superman letting the missile go off a second time (evidenced by Jimmy), to the crevice not opening under Lois’s car like before. Plus, wouldn’t reversing time mean that California had to be saved all over again? It’s all implausible. **The Dark Knight** - The Joker blows up an entire police station, yet he and Lao were the only ones unharmed. Worse yet, The Joker was within the bomb’s immediate blast radius. At the very least, he’d be knocked down by the shock wave. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/111 "2014-01-30T00:30:51Z")
> [@Roundabout](#): > > **Superman: The Movie** - The infamous time reversal scene. While emotional and epic in scope, this ending has never made any sense. From Superman letting the missile go off a second time (evidenced by Jimmy), to the crevice not opening under Lois’s car like before. Plus, wouldn’t reversing time mean that California had to be saved all over again? It’s all implausible. > > **The Dark Knight** - The Joker blows up an entire police station, yet he and Lao were the only ones unharmed. Worse yet, The Joker was within the bomb’s immediate blast radius. At the very least, he’d be knocked down by the shock wave. Speaking of Superman…I believe the bomb was a 100 (!!!) megaton bomb. The largest nuclear weapon ever exploded was only 58 MT. A 100 MT bomb would (and did I suppose since Supes didn’t stop it) have catastrophic effects on all the beachfront Nevada property Lex bought. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/112 "2014-01-30T00:52:07Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > I love _The Warriors_ so I try very hard when I watch it not to think about the premise. “Every gang in NYC is looking for us, so we have to bop our way on foot and by subway all the way back from Brooklyn to Coney wearing our colors.” From the Bronx. Coney Island is in Brooklyn. My favorite part was near the beginning, where they showed each Warrior en route to the powwow dutifully pay his subway fare before boarding the system. I was a young teen when the movie came out, and I remember hearing (false, I assume) rumors of stabbings and such occurring in theatres where the movie played. I was surprised when I finally saw it and how silly it all was. ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/113 "2014-01-30T00:55:05Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Speaking of Superman…I believe the bomb was a 100 (!!!) megaton bomb. The largest nuclear weapon ever exploded was only 58 MT. > > A 100 MT bomb would (and did I suppose since Supes didn’t stop it) have catastrophic effects on all the beachfront Nevada property Lex bought. I let a lot of these implausibilities slide because the movie never takes itself too seriously anyway, but that is a ridiculously high megaton count. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/114 "2014-01-30T01:19:13Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > From the Bronx. Coney Island is in Brooklyn. > > My favorite part was near the beginning, where they showed each Warrior en route to the powwow dutifully pay his subway fare before boarding the system. I was a young teen when the movie came out, and I remember hearing (false, I assume) rumors of stabbings and such occurring in theatres where the movie played. I was surprised when I finally saw it and how silly it all was. Actually, the gang meeting was in Central Park in Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/115 "2014-01-30T01:28:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A “governmental body (that) investigates space-related mishaps” assumes facts not in evidence. > > If you assume the Marines represent some government, I’ll be glad to grant that while noting that W-Y _still_ sent a company representative who had a form of operational control. > > I think it’s easier to swallow the events of the movie if you assume that W-Y is a major power in this civilization, at least as influential than any single government, and that they are still wanting the alien for their weapons division. For whatever reason they still couldn’t brazenly march in and get the alien, but why not spend $ on a “multi-million dollar facility”, knowing that you can then “discover” the alien by accident and con the government (if it exists) into providing a troop of marines for support? If there’s no governmental body and they DO know that Ripley isn’t lying about the events aboard _ **The Nostromo** _, why bother having a board meeting? Pay her off (or dispose of her) and then get back to the business of getting a Xenamorph for the “bio-weapons division.” If there’s no concern that any entity outside of the (e.g. a governmental body) is in existence, then why bother with the niceties? And why use “ **Colonial Marines** ” instead of mercenaries or private military contractors unless there IS some form of functioning government? Finally, there obviously IS a functioning government in the Aliens universe as Hicks plans on “nuking the site from orbit” after Ripley reminds him that he is now in command and that this was a military mission. If Burke was there in anything other than an advisory capacity, then he would have nixed that move ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/116 "2014-01-30T01:38:47Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Actually, the gang meeting was in Central Park in Manhattan. I beg to differ. Both in the book and the movie the conclave was in the Bronx. It’s spelled out fairly explicitly a couple of different times in the movie, from Rembrandt tracing the subway map all the way up, to Swan saying, “We ain’t even been to the Bronx before.” Although, if I remember correctly, the scene was shot in Manhattan, but in Riverside Park (I could be wrong about that one). ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/117 "2014-01-30T01:44:12Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Because, for whatever reason, they were being paid to do so. It isn’t played up much in the movies, but it seems Earth is not a very nice place anymore in the setting. It’s apparently not a total crapsack–Ripley can at least find private lodging even with her low-end job–but enough people want to move away that they’re establishing colonies. So, Weyland-Yutani got into the real estate business, terraforming other worlds for those people to move to. Finding valuable stuff on those worlds is a bonus. > This is a corporate culture that thinks nothing of sacrificing human lives on the off chance of increasing their profits. How much do you think they care about native life on any given rock they decide to set up shop on? The Marines’ derisive “bug hunt” comments bear this out–clearly, it’s a common practice to simply eliminate alien life forms that present a problem. > > Between the fact that there was no native life on LV-426, the derelict’s beacon being offline, and a cursory survey aimed mainly at picking a good place to set up the processing plant, it’s not that surprising they thought it was completely lifeless. Even if it hadn’t been, however, it’s unlikely that W-Y would have cared. Regardless of what W-Y thought of HUMAN life, it is clear that sentient life exists elsewhere in the galaxy. By not bothering to ascertain that it doesn’t exist on a moon which you are terraforming, you risk the race destroying your (according to the film) 42 million dollar facility at best; and starting an interstellar conflict at worst. Also, there’s the pesky fact that another space-faring race might have a claim upon the moon and have placed something to signify that fact. Without performing a survey of the entire body (which also points out the fact that colonists didn’t have a satellite or satellites and that in the _Alien_ universe communications must be able to travel at speeds greater than light) then your terraforming could be for naught as the race with the claim would be a tad peeved to discover that you are trespassing on THIER moon. Finally, without a survey of the entire body how would the company know that the terraforming would “take?” While W-Y doesn’t seem to be the brightest company in film universe (after all, wouldn’t simply sending a robotic ship have provided them with the life form which they were seeking without leaving any potential witnesses in the first film?) they do seem to be interested in maximizing their returns. Attempting to terraform a moon which may have issues elsewhere upon its surface which might interfere with your end goal seems to be a recipe for plenty of wasted capital. Again, a football stadium-sized ship full alien life would have been detected during the survey that would have to be performed prior to any terraforming efforts. And since the film forget to show that the colonists had spaceships or even aircraft available (if they did then they could have flow away from the eventual facility blast), the ship also had to be in relatively close proximity to the terraforming station. yep…plot hole. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/118 "2014-01-30T01:48:14Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I beg to differ. Both in the book and the movie the conclave was in the Bronx. It’s spelled out fairly explicitly a couple of different times in the movie, from Rembrandt tracing the subway map all the way up, to Swan saying, “We ain’t even been to the Bronx before.” > > Although, if I remember correctly, the scene was shot in Manhattan, but in Riverside Park (I could be wrong about that one). I stand corrected. It was in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx > **[The Warriors (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warriors_(film))** > > The Warriors is a 1979 American action thriller film directed by Walter Hill. Based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, the film centers on a fictitious New York City street gang who must travel 30 miles (48 km) from the north end of the Bronx to their home turf on Coney Island in southern Brooklyn after they are framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 9, 1979, by Paramount Pictures. > After reports of vandal... ---
**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:** [January 30, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/119 "2014-01-30T12:40:03Z")
> [@Roundabout](#): > > **The Dark Knight** - The Joker blows up an entire police station, yet he and Lao were the only ones unharmed. Worse yet, The Joker was within the bomb’s immediate blast radius. At the very least, he’d be knocked down by the shock wave. Lau and The Joker were both in the secure wing, away from the bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855/120 "2014-01-30T13:13:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Lau and The Joker were both in the secure wing, away from the bomb. The first part of your sentence is true. The second is where the problem emerges, as in both rooms (one with Lao, one with The Joker) all other people inside were either killed or knocked out. So they had to be within a close proximity to the bomb. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/point-out-logic-plausibility-flaws-in-classic-movies-and-tv-shows/679855.md?page=7)