# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/121 "2014-03-31T18:13:53Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > 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. You must be remembering this one from Roger Ebert’s Compendium of Movie Cliches! I love that thing. That’s where I first saw this cliché pointed out, and it bothers the heck out of me every time I see it. And I, too, always think of Sheena and a reporter. > [@](#): > > **Hand-in-Hand Rule** > In many Hollywood action pictures, the woman characters are incapable of fleeing from danger unless dragged by a strong man, who takes the woman’s hand and pulls her along meekly behind him. This convention is so strong it appears even in films where it makes no sense, such as SHEENA, in which a jungle-woman who has ruled the savage beasts since infancy is pulled along by a TV anchorman fresh off the plane. I found a PDF of the abridged list. I can’t seem to get a link to work properly so try googling “Roger Ebert’s Glossary of Movie Terms (Abridged).” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/122 "2014-03-31T18:24:52Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Defendants taking the stand\*\* - Unfortunately, one the greatest weaknesses of the L&O original series is defendants taking the stand during a trial, even when the prosecution has a **weak** case. Not only is this not going to happen, the defendant should sue his/her attorney for malpractice if it does. Two problems with the absolute statement you offer here. 1. Sometime it makes sense for a defendant to testify. If your guy has a good story to tell and the impeachment opportunities are limited, it can certainly make sense to advise him to testify. 2. Admittedly that’s rare in criminal defense. But what’s not rare is the accused demanding his right to testify, against the advice of his lawyer. This happens fairly frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/123 "2014-03-31T18:27:52Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Not always. Sometimes, it is helpful for a defendant to testify, particularly if he’s claiming self defense. Also, there is nothing an attorney can do to prevent a defendant from taking the stand if the defendant wants to testify. You can advise against it, and possibly even make a record of you advising against it, but you can’t stop it from happening. Bingo. Making a record is a good way to insulate yourself against malpractice suits and Strickland appeals. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/124 "2014-03-31T18:56:15Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > How about when people in a phone call get cut off, and then they hammer the hook flash as if that might actually magically make the connection come back, instead of guaranteeing that the connection is completely broken. In the old days, this would alert the operator that the connection was lost. (According to my mother, who worked as a telephone operator in the 40s.) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/125 "2014-03-31T19:24:30Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > 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. THANK YOU. I rant about this all the time when I see it. Why are you still tending your herb garden? If LE came to me to question me about someone’s murder, even if I didn’t know the person very well, my first response would be “WTF, that nice clerk at the hardware store was murdered? WHAT HAPPENED? OMG! Are you SERIOUS? WOW! I can’t believe it!” Granted, not everyone is as excitable as I am, but murder, that’s a pretty big deal. I would also need to take a few moments to absorb the news before I started saying things like “why yes, I was in the hardware store buying a hinge last Tuesday, and I did notice the clerk having a heated discussion with another man, wearing a dark jacket with a baseball cap pulled over his face.” Actually, I would never say that, in addition to being excitable, I am not every observant, so I’d never have any information. But I understand why they don’t need to show that on TV. Another thing that drives me nuts, related to my own field, is stuff about colleges and universities (I’ll limit this to the US). A LOT of things that happen on a college campus are mandated by law, and things that the college does, or doesn’t do, aren’t dictated by an Evil Dean who is doing them on purpose to target a specific student. Also, the times when a donor or alum makes a big stink about something, and the college changes their policy or approach to the situation … these are few and far between in the real world. Yes, I know everyone has a good story about something that happened at their college because of a crazy donor, but there’s a big element of urban legend going on. These days, there are too many liability and compliance issues at stake to risk trying to appease weird demands from a donor. I loved _Veronica Mars_, but had to willfully ignore anything happening with the dean and/or administration during the season at college. Of course, I realize that for the purpose of the shows, they are just trying to move the plot along and this is an easy way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/126 "2014-03-31T19:28:42Z")
Similar to the chess one is poker. If you want to show that a guy in a movie is a good poker player, he always wins the hand, and with a royal flush. First off, royal flushes are incredibly rare: You’re much more likely to win a hand with something modest like a high pair. Second, getting a good hand has almost nothing to do with skill. And third, being a good poker player doesn’t mean that you win every hand; it means that you still get wins and losses, but usually tend to make your wins big and your losses small. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/127 "2014-03-31T20:08:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Similar to the chess one is poker. If you want to show that a guy in a movie is a good poker player, he always wins the hand, and with a royal flush. First off, royal flushes are incredibly rare: You’re much more likely to win a hand with something modest like a high pair. Second, getting a good hand has almost nothing to do with skill. And third, being a good poker player doesn’t mean that you win every hand; it means that you still get wins and losses, but usually tend to make your wins big and your losses small. Exactly. Especially older movies that show “great” players playing 5 card draw. There is almost no skill in that game other than bluffing. Winning one hand of 5 card draw is more about luck than anything. Except in [A Big Hand for the Little Lady](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060165/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_39). That was all skill, but of a different sort of course. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/128 "2014-03-31T20:14:18Z")
> [@Big\_Norse](#): > > Bombs with countdown clocks. And people who can diffuse bombs without seeing them (eg. they give directions over the phone: “Cut the blue wire.”) > > I’m not a bomb maker myself, but I find it very hard to believe that all people who want to blow up the good guys use the same wire color scheme. I’ve heard that this is a holdover from WWII, of all things. German bombs were mass-produced, down to the colors of the wires inside the case, so if you were attempting to disarm an unexploded German bomb, the whole “cut the blue wire” actually worked. But, of course, unless you’re dealing with an unexploded German WWII bomb, the whole thing is nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/129 "2014-03-31T20:16:43Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > A friend of mine, a doctor, notes that stethoscopes are often worn backward around the actor’s neck. The little earpieces should point forward, not backward. That’s counter-intuitive to people who don’t use them and aren’t familiar with the actual anatomy of the human ear canal. > > (Another example of profession-specific knowledge; most of the rest of us simply wouldn’t notice.) Damn. Now I will. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/130 "2014-03-31T20:21:26Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Microscope pics aplenty. > > [A.O. microscopes - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=A.O.+microscopes&client=firefox-a&hs=qvU&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CuY4U6_IFuLLsATnmYDQBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=910#channel=sb&q=microscopes+labeled&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch) > > Some have the eyepiece on a straight tube. These can be used with the arm towards or away from the user, although many have a pivot for tilting. If one tilts the scope, it will be with the arm towards the user. Many scopes have turret-mounted tilted eyepieces that can be rotated for use with the arm towards or away from the user, while some have the eyepiece(s) fixed in a tilt for use with the arm away from the user. > > I never found which way the arm was (on those scopes with a choice) made much difference in ease of use. However, most of the scopes I had access to were of the type with a single fixed ocular pointed towards the arm, so it can become a habit to use a scope with the arm towards oneself. Binocular light microscopes, which are often shown in TV and movies, are used with the arm way so you can more easily control the focus knobs. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Optical\_microscope\_nikon\_alphaphot\_%2B.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Optical_microscope_nikon_alphaphot_%2B.jpg) The eye pieces can be rotated around ( not talking about the objective lenses near where the slide goes) to make the shape more “rectangular” for storage and shipping. They really should not be used that way, as your arms will scrunch up close to your body in an awkward posture. Here is picture of it “backwards”. [http://2.imimg.com/data2/UP/XJ/MY-1597769/binacular-microscope-250x250.jpg](http://2.imimg.com/data2/UP/XJ/MY-1597769/binacular-microscope-250x250.jpg) 10+ years teaching intro and advanced microscopy to poor undergrads and graduate students. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/131 "2014-03-31T20:24:04Z")
> [@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. No, the point is that if you can give approximate time in different ways depending on the situation. That difference in approximating can easily account for a pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/132 "2014-03-31T21:46:05Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Taking your kid to see Doctor House is a conundrum. No it’s not. He has every right to feel self-righteous and superior to everyone else because he’s a genius and probably the most respected doctor on the planet and he solves the problem 99.99% of the time. But there’s no way in hell I’m gonna let him dump a wheelbarrow full of 'You are such an idiot…" on me (or my kid). –G!☹ ---
**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, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/133 "2014-03-31T21:48:39Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Two problems with the absolute statement you offer here. > > 1. Sometime it makes sense for a defendant to testify. If your guy has a good story to tell and the impeachment opportunities are limited, it can certainly make sense to advise him to testify. > > 2. Admittedly that’s rare in criminal defense. But what’s not rare is the accused demanding his right to testify, against the advice of his lawyer. This happens fairly frequently. The prosecution on most shows really have weak cases. Most of them are circumstantial and they heavily depend upon the defendant taking the stand and then shredding his/her credibility thus convincing the jury to vote to convict. **An example** : An older L&O episode showed a Canadian woman who was a serial killer by proxy. They had limited direct evidence that she had the people killed and, in one instance, she committed a murder that wasn’t even in their jurisdiction and for which they really had no proof. Had she not testified, there’s a strong likelihood that she wouldn’t have been convicted with the evidence arrayed against her. Instead her attorney put her on the stand where she completely devolved and showed herself to be a petty and vindictive person who the jury could easily imagine had three people killed and killed a fourth herself. This was so transparent that it really weakened the narrative and strained credibility. Most defendants (especially guilty ones) don’t testify in criminal trials. They certainly don’t testify when its clear to their attorney that they would make an unlikeable defendant or they would be savaged by the prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/134 "2014-03-31T21:52:08Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > He has every right to feel self-righteous and superior to everyone else because he’s a genius and probably the most respected doctor on the planet and he solves the problem 99.99% of the time. Yes, it almost always works out in the end, but first he nearly kills you. For all we know the TV shows that are aired are only about the patients that live, there could be huge pile of unused scripts or ‘lost episodes’ where the patient dies. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/135 "2014-03-31T21:52:35Z")
Someone who does not want to get caught smoking is sneaking a cigarette in the basement or bathroom. They hear someone coming, put out the cigarette, open a widow and wave their hands a little to disperse the smoke. The other person comes in and has no idea the smoker was smoking. Wrong. it takes quite a while for the smoke smell to disappear from the air and from the smokers hands, hair and breath. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/136 "2014-03-31T22:12:17Z")
> [@Stealth\_Bragg](#): > > How about rats or other rodents that squeak continually? I’ve had many pet rats and they hardly ever squeak, sometimes a quick bark when they are fighting or a quiet noise when they are frightened, but that’s it. Drives me mad when they squeak all the time on films or TV :dubious: And porn where the woman moans persistently even when nothing is happening, or when she’s the one making someone else happy. Hint: Knock that shit off while you’re only sitting down on the couch, pulling off your panties or giving a handjob. You’re just being stupid and annoying, and I’m turning off the sound. And for animal noises, the infamous Wolf howl. I’ve spent a bit of time in areas populated by actual wolves. I’ve never heard that noise in real life. Well, perhaps in town from someone’s dog… I can only imagine what silly assed noise would be played repetitively on screen in a film made by aliens - to signify Humans were around. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/137 "2014-03-31T22:22:52Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Someone who does not want to get caught smoking is sneaking a cigarette in the basement or bathroom. They hear someone coming, put out the cigarette, open a widow and wave their hands a little to disperse the smoke. The other person comes in and has no idea the smoker was smoking. > > Wrong. it takes quite a while for the smoke smell to disappear from the air and from the smokers hands, hair and breath. My kid went through the DARE program and became fanatically anti-smoking. Demanded I stop smoking. I snuck upstairs to the half-bath on a rip-roaringly windy day to sneak a cigarette, standing at the window, like a 12 year old! No problem! ? Well, she was standing outside the door and said in a voice dripping with bitterness: “you aren’t fooling me. I know what you’re doing in there.” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/138 "2014-03-31T22:26:44Z")
The incredible amount of physical abuse some folks can withstand during a fight or after an explosion or when they are in a car crash. James Bond [surviving in his Aston Martin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-EMHBN-4nA) in _Casino Royale_, or when Tom Cruise [gets slammed into a car and gets right back up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l4qdf_1nGM) in _Mission Impossible: III_. I love [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNZZhTXw72M) from _The Other Guys_. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/139 "2014-03-31T22:27:57Z")
> [@steveroo](#): > > 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. > [@Zsofia](#): > > Not true post-Patriot Act. > > Of course, that’s why we no longer keep your circulation records. > > And of course now you freaking _complain about it!_ So our new ILS lets you opt in. Okay, so I gotta ask this one 'cause it’s been bugging me for almost 20 years: In 1995 (pre-Patriot Act) the movie Seven came out. One of the key plot points was that Morgan Freeman’s character pays his librarian friend to do a search of secret librarian records to find out who’s been borrowing books with biblical themes (or something like that) and gets a list of people to start questioning. So that kind of _list borrowers by key words_ ability actually existed? –G? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866/140 "2014-03-31T22:29:04Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And for animal noises, the infamous Wolf howl. I’ve spent a bit of time in areas populated by actual wolves. I’ve never heard that noise in real life. Well, perhaps in town from someone’s dog… The zoo here borders downtown, and so fire stations and a hospital. One can walk through the zoo on a kind of boardwalk, looking down. The wolves are in their own big wooded habitat, and every time an ambulance or fire truck goes by on the main street nearby, there is a ghostly, eerie chorus of “…woooooOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo” coming from the wolves. There are a few flamingoes here, too, on temporary loan. Whenever a low flying plane goes overhead, they all look up in a group and watch it go by, their little heads turning, all leaning to the side as it disappears out of sight 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-errors-that-crop-up-repeatedly-in-tv-shows-and-movies/684866.md?page=8)