# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/81 "2014-03-30T17:59:32Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > News to me, and most of the people I work with. The arm of the scope is away from me. Perhaps this is something that varies by industry/use/preference? > > I think I’ve seen it both ways, and the ones were the arm of the scope is towards the user tend to be the ones that are for teaching purposes or not frequently used/used as a job component. > > So either way is fine. The way they use it is the way most microscopes you see is high schools are set up, although I have no idea why they are (I worked in a high school for a while, though). I would guess that the last time any props master, or actor used a microscope was in high school, not to mention most viewers. If the medical adviser does say “turn it around,” all the techies and other actors say it looks odd, and they want it to look normal to the majority of viewers who don’t work in a lab. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/82 "2014-03-30T18:01:16Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Also—when the good guys are a couple (male/female), they _hold hands_ while they are running away from the bad guy. And the male pulls the female along, even if she’s Sheena the jungle woman, and he’s a newspaper reporter who hasn’t run since the last time the bullies chased him in junior high. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/83 "2014-03-30T18:02:35Z")
Science. What, you want more specific? I could go on all day, but: -you can’t see a virus with a light microscope -if you could, you wouldn’t bother, because that doesn’t tell you a whole lot of importance -if you have a light microscope hooked up to a monitor showing electron micrographs, you’re an idiot -“If they had the poison, the antidote must be around here somewhere!” Uh…no. -Most generally, it’s DNA. It’s a chemical. It’s not MAGIC. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/84 "2014-03-30T18:09:00Z")
Paper coffee cups. At least put some water in them. It drives me nuts when they are so obviously empty. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/85 "2014-03-30T19:01:12Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > The OP doesn’t seem that bad. I would describe myself in casual conversation as 55 even though I’ll be 56 in a week. If you ask me when I left Germany I’d say 15 years ago when it is actually fourteen years and ten months. Right, you’d say 15 years ago, not 14, because it’s a lot closer to 15 years ago. TV writers would say 14. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/86 "2014-03-30T19:08:14Z")
Guns have been mentioned many times already, but the one that gets me every time is the unnecessary cocking of a gun which should already be ready to fire. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/87 "2014-03-30T20:05:17Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Right, you’d say 15 years ago, not 14, because it’s a lot closer to 15 years ago. TV writers would say 14. In real life people often round off to the nearest 5 or 10 years, even if it’s not actually closer. Of course, this would only apply to cases where a character says something like “I left town ten years ago” and not where “10 years ago…” or “10 years later…” appears on the screen. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/88 "2014-03-30T20:07:15Z")
Somebody sees some breaking news on the TV and calls his buddy, saying “Quick! Turn on channel 4!” So his buddy turns on channel 4 and sees the news story _from the beginning_, rather than catching the last five seconds before they cut to an Ex-Lax commercial. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/89 "2014-03-30T20:26:24Z")
1. **Bullying or harassment that crosses into assault or attempted murder and the police not getting involved** - Probably the most egregious instance of this was Goonies where the guys in the convertible attempt to murder Josh Brolin riding on his sister’s bike by pulling him along in their vehicle while driving around 50-60 mph and then releasing him to fly over a cliff. WTF? 1. \*\*Everything that need to be done when working on cars either requires the hood to be up or that the person lay underneath the car \*\*- Apparently vehicle maintenance can only be performed in those two positions. 2. \*\*“Quirky” loners \*\*- Most people who are true loners are probably not that “quirky”, nor do they need to be. Many people who are loners are anti-social and moody. Yet television and films requires that loners be harmless and misunderstood. 3. **Stupid rural people** - While many rural people don’t have the same education as urban or suburban people, there are many who have degrees or who are highly skilled professionals. With the Internet, people in many areas can instantly aware of ideas and concepts which are both subtle and insightful. Also, at least inside the US, all except the smallest of towns have libraries filled with all of the major literary classics. And few are more than several hours at most from either a community college or a four-year university. Slack jawed yokels are actually _ **uncommon** _ these days. 1. **Previously running vehicles not starting/People on foot catching up to motorized vehicles** - A two-fer in horror films and television. A vehicle which was running perfectly fine suddenly stops. Or it cannot be started when the character needs to start it. Huh? Why not simply have the tires slashed? You aren’t going too far then. And it’s irritating to know that if you drive away from a scene and you would (by the passage of time in the film or show) be tens of miles away, that you would again encounter someone who was chasing you. I live roughly an hour from the state line of one state and about 10-15 minutes from another. If I drive for those lengths of time, I’m in another area completely . How are you going to track me then? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/90 "2014-03-30T21:30:54Z")
More common in the 70’s and '80’s but I’m sure it still happens. Anytime an aircraft goes into a dive it starts to [scream like a Stuka](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StukaScream) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/91 "2014-03-30T21:45:13Z")
I’ve mentioned this before and while I don’t know that you could objectively say it’s “wrong”, it sticks out at me every time: When the police or FBI or whoever comes to question someone about a heinous crime, that person will invariably have exactly zero shits to give about the situation. Throughout the questioning, they’ll keep painting the garage or stocking the shelf or washing their dog or whatever they were doing before law enforcement so rudely interrupted their day. And these aren’t the actual ‘bad guys’ who might understandably be obstructive but rather the innocent first round of people questioned in these shows. Maybe I’m unique but if a couple FBI agents arrived at my home, flashed a badge and said “We need to talk to you about a double homicide of your boss and his wife”, that would immediately get my complete attention. I would actually stop weeding the garden for the time while they’re asking me stuff. Even if I wasn’t overly fond of my boss, I wouldn’t project this on the federal agents asking me about his death by barely looking up from my labors as they asked me if I knew who might want him dead. But in each show it seems the standard way of thinking is “Ok, a couple of officers are here asking me about the rape-murder of the woman I just bought concert tickets from on Craigslist but then painting my deck is pretty important, too.” ---
**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:** [March 30, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/92 "2014-03-30T22:25:11Z")
The ridiculous overabundance of beautiful people. And…dramatic…pauses…and then gravelly-throated responses. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/93 "2014-03-30T23:07:49Z")
1. Chopsticks. In"the Big Bang Theory" we see sheldon holding chopstick every third episode, but it’s evident that Jim Parson doesn’t know how to use them. He holds them together and moves food around most of the time. And when he actually gets food in his mouth, it’s done like a person who’s never held chopsticks before. 2. Spanish. Is it that difficult to get first-language Spanish-speakers to play the role of native speakers? Simply because she is “Angela Gutierrez” it doesn’t mean she speaks good Spanish. For “us” it’s simply painful. Double points if the four siblings have different accents (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Peruvian). 3. Laser/Ray/Phase guns that don’t do damage to objects except when it’s plot-needed. 4. Cameras. -Taking pictures too close, even with the kit lens which, apparently is a 5-500 f1.0 and the size of the 18-55 on a APS-C. - Using direct flash for everything, never bounce. - Autofocus that is solwer than a cellphone’s. - Perfect handholding on very long lenses that’d put a tripod to shame. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/94 "2014-03-30T23:09:51Z")
In an otherwise well-written TV show, somebody was murdered with a TASER, and they had no way of finding the culprit. IRL every TASER shot also fires micro-confetti printed with a serial number, which can be traced to the person who purchased and fired it. What cop doesn’t know that? Somebody else mentioned it, but how many times have we seen a hero slay 2 or 3 villains with lots of rounds left in their magazines, but fails to take any of those guns with him, and his own gun runs out a minute later. Don’t they learn that in hero school? ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/95 "2014-03-30T23:16:25Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > 1. Spanish. Is it that difficult to get first-language Spanish-speakers to play the role of native speakers? Simply because she is “Angela Gutierrez” it doesn’t mean she speaks good Spanish. For “us” it’s simply painful. > Double points if the four siblings have different accents (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Peruvian). > > . This was especially embarrassing in Breaking Bad where they used: 1. A biracial African- European actor as an Afro-Chilean who could not pronounce Spanish very well and did so with a noticeable American accent. 2. A Cuban American as a Mexican drug lord who kept slipping in and out of a Mexican accent. 3. Mexican American actors who could clearly not speak Spanish that well and were actually pronouncing words phonetically 4. A Jewish actor (Mark Margolis) as a Mexican character (hector Salamanca) who barely spoke Spanish and did so with an unknown accent the few times that he did. ---
**Author:** ![chinchalinchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@chinchalinchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chinchalinchin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/96 "2014-03-30T23:34:50Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > 1. A Jewish actor (Mark Margolis) as a Mexican character (hector Salamanca) who barely spoke Spanish and did so with an unknown accent the few times that he did. You’re right. The bell he rang to communicate didn’t have an authentic Mexican accent! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/97 "2014-03-30T23:37:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And when you bonk them, take care never to tie them up or immobilize them in any way so that they can start running after you again a few seconds later! > > What I’m waiting for is for some supposedly smart, tough, ruthless hero to simply get a bad guy down and then break his leg to eliminate him as a threat. I keep waiting for the campers to decapitate Jason, and maybe dismember him for good measure, but it’ll never happen. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/98 "2014-03-31T02:47:51Z")
There are plenty of high school lab-grade microscopes that must be used with the arm towards the user, as that is the way they are built. The thing about scopes I always catch is that they are way out of focus. A scope is way out of focus if the objective is an inch above the slide! ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/99 "2014-03-31T03:18:16Z")
> [@chinchalinchin](#): > > You’re right. The bell he rang to communicate didn’t have an authentic Mexican accent! 😛 Cute. He spoke Spanish when Don Eladio teaches Gus Fring his “lesson.” ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/100 "2014-03-31T03:37:22Z")
I hate it when movie/TV detectives march into libraries and demand to know who checked out what book, or what books a person of interest borrowed, and the helpful librarian happily gives them that information. I was a librarian for 30 years and one of the first things you learn is that **circulation records are confidential** and you absolutely DO NOT give up that information without a subpoena or search warrant. I can forgive most of the library cliches that you see in movies and TV (mousy librarians, shushing, rubber-stamping books, etc.) but that one just drives me bananas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=6)