# Stupid errors that crop up repeatedly in TV shows and movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866 "2014-03-29T23:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/361 "2014-06-25T16:30:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But what the complaint was about, was, for the composition of the actor seeing “himself”, the actor must see the camera, not himself. Unless you’re gong for the _Truman Show_, where the camera looks through the mirror, or digitally removing the camera (like in _Contact_) you can’t get a shot of the actor looking into his own eyes without seeing the camera. I think you’re overstating it. If someone is really looking at themselves in a mirror, there are all kinds of angles a camera could take to show that reflection without appearing in it. If the camera is directly behind the person, then yes, it would appear in the reflection, but there’s 180 degrees to play with, and I’d bet only 60 to 80 of those result in the camera filming itself. Now if the actor’s reflection looks at the audience, then the actor is obviously looking at the camera in the mirror, but then he’s not looking into his own eyes. ---
**Author:** ![TheseGoToEleven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@TheseGoToEleven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheseGoToEleven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/362 "2014-06-25T17:30:40Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There’s a countdown to something horrible, and the characters are frantically working to stop it from happening. And they succeed IN THE LAST SECOND. IIRC, “Galaxy Quest” uses this meme well, for both dramatic and comedic effect… ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/363 "2014-06-25T17:36:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But what the complaint was about, was, for the composition of the actor seeing “himself”, the actor must see the camera, not himself. Unless you’re gong for the _Truman Show_, where the camera looks through the mirror, or digitally removing the camera (like in _Contact_) you can’t get a shot of the actor looking into his own eyes without seeing the camera. > [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I think you’re overstating it. If someone is really looking at themselves in a mirror, there are all kinds of angles a camera could take to show that reflection without appearing in it. If the camera is directly behind the person, then yes, it would appear in the reflection, but there’s 180 degrees to play with, and I’d bet only 60 to 80 of those result in the camera filming itself. > > Now if the actor’s reflection looks at the audience, then the actor is obviously looking at the camera in the mirror, but then he’s not looking into his own eyes. [Man looking at himself in mirror.](http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/tensed-young-man-looking-self-bathroom-mirror-rear-view-35033063.jpg) No camera visible in shot. [Another](http://sunandshield.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/man-admires-himself.jpg) [And a woman](http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/021/149/i02/woman-mirror-111020.jpg?1319153676) It’s just a matter of positioning the camera a little to the side. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/364 "2014-06-25T20:44:37Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > It’s just a matter of positioning the camera a little to the side. But in most cases the person is facing the mirror at an angle so they are staring straight at the camera while combing their hair or whatever. That doesn’t happen in real life. It’s even more absurd when the actor draws something on the mirror framing their face. E.g., a beard made of shaving cream. A related peeve: This one crops up a _lot_ on _The Big Bang Theory_. One person is video chatting with another. The remote person will look [well off to the side](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3I3fSpjwws), etc. to see someone who is off center locally. No, you look at the screen as usual. Why would someone look away from the screen? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/365 "2014-06-26T07:45:33Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Next to putting your finger on the trigger this is one of the most egregious gun-related errors shown on television or in films. Putting your finger on the trigger is an error? > [@JohnT](#): > > Not to go off-topic or anything, but a car manufacturer who designs a car that CANNOT be opened from the inside needs to be sued, sued often, and sued loudly. The idea seems to be some sort of theft deterrent. I’m not sure how someone breaking in to your car to steal it can then get trapped inside your car. ---
**Author:** ![orangeapples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@orangeapples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orangeapples)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/366 "2014-06-26T07:50:02Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Putting your finger on the trigger is an error? The finger stays on the trigger guard until you’re actually going to fire. Less risk of accidental discharge that way. Or so I’ve been told, anyway. Not terribly conversant with guns or gun safety, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Scantzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scantzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scantzen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/367 "2014-06-26T16:35:32Z")
I didn’t have time to read the whole thread, so I don’t know if it was mentioned (apologies, if so), but apparently, when a train plows through a vehicle on the track, it never stops! Like the end of Back to the Future III. Marty McFly stands next to the wreckage of the DeLorean, and the train just sails off down the track. The only time a train stops is if it derails, in spectacular fashion. Oh, and “sorry” if I spoiled the end of that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/368 "2014-06-26T17:36:45Z")
> [@Scantzen](#): > > Marty McFly stands next to the wreckage of the DeLorean, and the train just sails off down the track. I wouldn’t stop for a DeLorean, either. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/369 "2014-06-26T17:40:39Z")
I’m pretty sure that, for instance, a steam-operated train (as in your example) travelling at full speed would require quite a substantial amount of time and distance to stop. According to [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_brake#Later_British_practice), > [@](#): > > under normal conditions it required a distance of 800 to 1200 yards to bring a train to rest when travelling at 451⁄2 to 481⁄2 mph, this being much below the ordinary travelling speed of the fastest express trains. Railway officials were not prepared for this result and the necessity for a great deal more brake power was at once admitted[1] . I’m not sure what the total stopping distance would be for a train travelling at full speed. ETA: The above quote is in reference to [the Abbots Ripton rail accident](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbots_Ripton_rail_accident) of 1876. ---
**Author:** ![Scantzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scantzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scantzen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/370 "2014-06-26T18:01:19Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’m pretty sure that, for instance, a steam-operated train (as in your example) travelling at full speed would require quite a substantial amount of time and distance to stop. Well, the train in the movie is a modern one, but shouldn’t we at least hear the squeal of the brakes? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/371 "2014-06-26T18:14:45Z")
I confess I never saw the third film, but I know it takes place largely in the “Wild West.” That’s what I was basing this off of. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/372 "2014-06-26T18:41:00Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I saw a nun in a habit just today. She was in public, walking along the sidewalk. A very pretty brown robe with a belt and a dangling knot thing – like a Dominican? Or Franciscan? And a brown wimple with a white lining. Actually a very attractive ensemble. > > [Here is an image of something much like it.](http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7382/708/1600/981693/nuns_01.jpg) The figure in the center is very close to what I saw, although without quite so much of a white shoulder piece. Mostly all brown. > > Anyway…some nuns still wear habits! Sounds like a Franciscan habit. The ones I knew wore a cross pendant made of large “cut nails” also ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/373 "2014-06-26T19:18:49Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > They shot the Moon landings in far west Texas. South-east Idaho, actually. Or rather the occurrences that started the story. At - duh - Craters of the Moon National Monument. It was used for some of the mock-up training for the Apollo missions. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/374 "2014-06-26T19:36:58Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I was under the impression that the region in which the Hunger Games was set was the Appalachian region where the accent has been pretty steady over the last hundred or so years. > > Good lord, remind me not to disparage the YA flavor-of-the-month novel-turned-movie on this board again. There are pronounced (Sorry! NOT!) regional differences. Eastern TN says 10 as Sn. North Carolina pronounces 2+2 with two syllables. South Carolina pronounces the cement pond like something you try to avoid stepping in. The “Dixie Dipthong” gets stronger the further south you go (except in Florida). And so on. But to Hollywood, at that distance, it’s all (To quote Jimmy Buffett) ♫ I can’t pronounce m’ "R"s an’ "G"s / When I’m speakin’ Southernese. ♫ ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/375 "2014-06-26T21:02:25Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’m pretty sure that, for instance, a steam-operated train (as in your example) travelling at full speed would require quite a substantial amount of time and distance to stop. According to [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_brake#Later_British_practice), . > I’m not sure what the total stopping distance would be for a train travelling at full speed… I remember a train engineer that visited my driver’s ed class saying that it takes up to a mile for a modern freight train to stop. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/376 "2014-06-26T21:04:53Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > sorry…had to make a seriously needed edit Thanks for the edit. I read your sentence over and over, trying to figure out why I couldn’t quite understand it. Much better now. As for my pet peeve: The way they ride horses. Don’t get me started. And that stupid neigh in the soundtrack when they show a horse so you’ll know that, you know, there’s a horse! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/377 "2014-06-26T21:49:08Z")
> [@jayrey](#): > > And that stupid neigh in the soundtrack when they show a horse so you’ll know that, you know, there’s a horse! Or Frau Blucher is just off camera. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/378 "2014-06-27T00:29:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Speaking of stupid designs, here’s one that I mention at times: > > [The “Spoiler” of “Spoiler”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gX0_cwbuA8&feature=related), from **Gattaca**. Don’t click if you don’t want to be spoiled. > > So, he gets in this in-home incinerator, closes the door, then _reaches over and turns it on from the inside_. Either the government has given up all pretense of regulation, or the incinerator manufacturer is sitting on such oodles of cash, those pesky product liability lawsuits are of no worry whatsoever. Now I Hate you! 😃 I’ve always found this to be a “smart” movie (overlooking the silliness of using regular bloodtests for ID purposes). Certainly much smarter than “Minority Report”. Now I’ll think it’s sillly from now on. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/379 "2014-06-27T00:47:55Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > South-east Idaho, actually. Or rather the occurrences that started the story. At - duh - Craters of the Moon National Monument. > > It was used for some of the mock-up training for the Apollo missions. I was channeling Capricorn One. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/380 "2014-06-27T00:51:07Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I was channeling Capricorn One. 😉 Which was Mars [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=20)