# Protagonists that would be in a lot of Legal Trouble **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [January 15, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280 "2023-01-15T21:01:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/81 "2023-01-16T21:07:50Z")
I never noticed it. I’ve jokingly speculated that the show is called “House” because the bill the patient gets for all those medical miracles results in _losing_ their house. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/82 "2023-01-16T21:35:17Z")
Joe Frady in _The Parallax View_ didn’t face any legal consequences for crashing a stolen car into a supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/83 "2023-01-16T21:56:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Burns, though, kept on destroying valuable military equipment because he kept on wanting to play with weapons as toys, and was an utterly incompetent surgeon to boot. Burns’ competence was somewhat variable - sometimes he’s a decent surgeon who just doesn’t care as much as more dedicated doctors do, and sometimes he’s barely able to tie his shoes. A common dig against all surgeons is that they care a lot more about technical capabilities than about patients as people (“The operation was a success, but the patient died”); Burns, apparently not caring all that much about technical capabilities beyond the bare minimum would seem bizarrely incompetent to a stereotypical surgeon. (/MASH nitpicking complete). > [@Riemann](#): > > I was looking for a list of all the crimes committed by Greg House Prescription fraud, assault, reckless endangerment, and habitual conspiracy to commit breaking and entering ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/84 "2023-01-16T22:04:23Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Seems like the Prime Directive was made up on purpose for them to break. Didn’t Gene Roddenberry outright say that it was? > [@Riemann](#): > > Homer Simpson would not fare well in real life. And at the very least, Mr. Burns is going down for a ton of OSHA violations at the power plant… ok, he’d probably throw Smithers under the bus. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/85 "2023-01-16T22:17:20Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Speaking of 80s comedies-- the teens in Porky’s would be facing numerous charges particularly when they pulled down down the Porky’s bar into the swamp True, but iirc they maintained a minimum of plausible deniability (“who, us?”); and as the plaintiff in the case was the proprietor of an infamously shady roadhouse thought to have broken and skirted any number of laws, Porky didn’t have many friends in the legal system. That’s more or less shown when the chase comes to a grinding halt at the county line and the sheriff basically tells Porky “tough s\*\*\*”. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/86 "2023-01-16T22:22:48Z")
I’ve always had the fan theory that the reason why Homer is safety inspector despite not having a college degree is because he was always supposed to be the fall guy. Anyone competent would have reported the horrible conditions at the planet ages ago, but not only is Homer blissfully unaware he’s also perfectly set in place to be the guy who Burns can blame for anything going wrong. Also Homer literally assaulted the Japanese Emperor iirc in one episode that seems like a death penalty offense. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/87 "2023-01-16T22:24:51Z")
Porky had lots of friends in the legal system—in his own county. The teens lived in another county. That was one of the weirder scenes in the movie: the corrupt sheriff of one county versus the slightly-less-corrupt sheriff of another county. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/88 "2023-01-16T23:50:19Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I’ve always had the fan theory that the reason why Homer is safety inspector despite not having a college degree is because he was always supposed to be the fall guy. Anyone competent would have reported the horrible conditions at the planet ages ago, but not only is Homer blissfully unaware he’s also perfectly set in place to be the guy who Burns can blame for anything going wrong. Burns explicitly puts Homer in the patsy position in at least one episode ([C.E. D'oh | Simpsons Wiki | Fandom](https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/C.E._D%27oh)) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/89 "2023-01-17T00:02:52Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > If anyone is guilty of a crime in Home Alone (other than the Wet Bandits of course), then it’s Kevin’s idiotic parents, for neglect. And he mentioned the parents first off. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/90 "2023-01-17T01:24:34Z")
The Duke boys weren’t allowed to carry guns because they were on probation. But they always had easy access to bows and dynamite arrows. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/91 "2023-01-17T01:27:26Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And at the very least, Mr. Burns is going down for a ton of OSHA violations at the power plant… ok, he’d probably throw Smithers under the bus. Right, but Burns is an antagonist in that show, so he’s expected to be naughty. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/92 "2023-01-17T01:52:48Z")
Also, it allows Burns to check off the “safety inspector on the job” box without any pesky requirements to meet actual safety standards. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/93 "2023-01-17T04:11:34Z")
There’s a couple of Harold Lloyd movies in which he races across the city using any wheeled conveyance he can get his hands on, plus horses. Stealing a trolley, and then abandoning it to crash who knows where was one of his worst. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/94 "2023-01-17T05:07:27Z")
actually a license to kill usually says something like “as an agent of the state you have the right to defend yourself from any real or implied threat using whatever means at your disposal while carrying out said duties” Although I’m told in real life there’s an unwritten agreement between most nations’ intelligence agencies that they don’t kill each other because they don’t want a secret assassination war to break out ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/95 "2023-01-17T06:42:10Z")
Whoops! That’ll teach me not to read properly. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/96 "2023-01-17T07:46:21Z")
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, John Matrix, in Commando. He burglarizes an Army surplus store, stealing numerous automatic weapons, grenades, claymores and a rocket launcher, escapes police custody with the help of said-rocket launcher after he gets caught, and then steals an airplane to reach Arius’ lair. He also dropped a guy off a cliff after promising to kill him last. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/97 "2023-01-17T12:54:43Z")
He lied. 🙂 But that is a very good one. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/98 "2023-01-17T14:14:39Z")
This talk of Porky’s disturbs me. I don’t remember anything about the roadhouse being destroyed or the police chase. Of course, i hated that movie, and got drug to it by my so-called fiends, and then the theater was so crowded I had to sit by myself, so I had no one to grumble to. Yeah, _that part_ I remember. And Mike Hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/99 "2023-01-17T19:59:06Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > It is quite common in movies for the protagonist to do things, and then by the end of the movie they win and ride off into the sunset (not literally) to a wonderful life. But in reality, you cannot just do anything you want and get away with it because you were right. In the legal system, the ends do not justify the means. This is, of course, the premise which kicks off the first _Incredibles_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280/100 "2023-01-17T20:10:30Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > This is, of course, the premise which kicks off the first _Incredibles_ movie. Right. Any Superhero that could would decoy the Villain into open ground, not a city. But it is very cinematic to throw a super bad guy thru a skyscraper or two. However, of course the bad guys dont attack cornfields… usually. This is why, when In the MCU film, Civil War, when they were castigating the Avengers for damage done, such as in when Loki invaded NYC- why didn’t the Avengers defend themselves? I mean sure NYC took quite a lot of damage from the Avengers, but it would have been leveled, and everyone dead _witho_ut the Avengers. Even when Wanda moves the bomb in Lagos- if it had gone off where it was planted, the damage and death toll would have been worse. When the Fire Dept destroys doors and walls to save victims, no one bitches about that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protagonists-that-would-be-in-a-lot-of-legal-trouble/978280.md?page=6)