# Stupid/small factual inaccuracies in tv shows that annoy you. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743 "2009-04-20T16:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/21 "2009-04-20T20:47:26Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Heck yeah. > > No soluting indoors unless you’re reporting to an officer. > No soluting if you’re carrying a weapon. > No soluting if you are a prisoner – I’m looking at you A Few Good Men. > Unless you’re John Wayne, no sloppy salutes where you kind of casually flop the arm up with curled fingers. > Civilians soluting anything looks like a lame cliche to me, I can’t think of any instances offhand where it doesn’t. Writers, you can stop using this now, mmkay? The quintessential one for me is when Radar is leaving MASH. No one comes to his going away party because casualties come in. He says goodbye to Hawkeye through the glass in the OR door, and Hawkeye salutes him. Radar does some Walk Like an Egyptian thing with his hand over his eyebrow…damn, that bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/22 "2009-04-20T20:53:12Z")
I have this thing about biology. When a New World plant is shown in an Old World setting, or when people think that tigers come from Africa… I just can’t deal. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/23 "2009-04-20T21:09:19Z")
My grad student friends and I derive a lot of entertainment out of pointing out bad molecular biology and/or chemistry, something that happens a lot more often than you might think. They range from the inaccurate-but-forgivable (electrophoresis gels magically running in about five seconds in Ang Lee’s “The Hulk”) to the hilariously stupid (“It’s the dopamines and tyrosines!” - thank you, _Heroes_). We’ve learned to just ignore things like “mutations inevitably lead to superpowers” and “mixing DNA from two species leads to giant monsters that hunger for human flesh.” They are the “sound in space” of biology - just accept it as a genre trope and move on. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/24 "2009-04-20T21:21:56Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yeah, I’ve mentioned this before. The Office does this a lot too. The Office does a suprisingly good job (even refering to actual local businesses). AFAIK they haven’t even made the mistake of having someone buy wine or beet at the supermarket. That’s an easy mistake for writers or set decorators in CA to make. Granted the it’s usually way too warm and sunny to be Scranton. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/25 "2009-04-20T21:27:08Z")
This is interesting, cause as a NZer (& non gun enthusiast) a lot of this stuff sales right past me. But I’m watching Australian show Underbelly 2. Its about the Mr Asia drug ring, which was active in the 1970s & 80s. Now I can’t find the quote but I remember an underworld figure of the time has been quoted as saying, “the only thing they have got right are the names!” so this may seem a small thing. But the actor playing New Zealander Terry Clark calls his father a freezer worker. Its freezing worker. Took me right out of the programme! & there are a lot of kiwi actors in the show, so I would have thought there would be plenty amongst the crew. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/26 "2009-04-20T21:39:11Z")
Per ER, Elizabeth Corday-Greene, MB(Medicinae Baccalaureus), BCh(Baccalaureus Chirurgiae), FRCS(Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons) - Female. _She_ visited Belfast, unless there was some sort of SRS subplot that I missed. JAG also was ridiculous with its errors, especially the impossible career tracks of its leading characters. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/27 "2009-04-20T21:41:18Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The Office does a suprisingly good job (even refering to actual local businesses). AFAIK they haven’t even made the mistake of having someone buy wine or beet at the supermarket. That’s an easy mistake for writers or set decorators in CA to make. Granted the it’s usually way too warm and sunny to be Scranton. Right. Most externals, at least those that take place outside of the parking lot, show California flora pretty distinctly. And the streets are wider, and the light is definitely different. The Rabies Fun Run episode was definitely in LA. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/28 "2009-04-20T21:55:47Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > Per ER, Elizabeth Corday-Greene, MB(Medicinae Baccalaureus), BCh(Baccalaureus Chirurgiae), FRCS(Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons) - Female. _She_ visited Belfast, unless there was some sort of SRS subplot that I missed. > > JAG also was ridiculous with its errors, especially the impossible career tracks of its leading characters. Oh yeah, plus their action sequences often looked exactly like the action sequences of movies such as Top Gun and Clear and Present Danger. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/29 "2009-04-20T22:03:30Z")
[Why is Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson on _The Closer_ involved in plea negotiations with suspects, when that’s the DAs’ business?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=513414) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/30 "2009-04-20T22:04:52Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Right. Most externals, at least those that take place outside of the parking lot, show California flora pretty distinctly. And the streets are wider, and the light is definitely different. The Rabies Fun Run episode was definitely in LA. It’s called [California Doubling.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaliforniaDoubling) ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/31 "2009-04-20T22:06:13Z")
Bullets fired from handguns usually don’t make sparks, do they? ---
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/32 "2009-04-20T22:08:53Z")
My wife’s an echocardiographer. Regarding House, she tells me you’ll _never_ see that many doctors in a lab at one time. And, in fact, most techs (like herself) wouldn’t let them near their equipment either. Worse than this, though, is that my wife knows her ultrasound equipment. And I don’t think there’s been a single program yet to get things right. Really obscure errors for her are heart scans that don’t show what they say they do, like a doctor pointing at a perfectly normal heart and saying there’s a defect. Minor errors include screen images that don’t match what someone is scanning for (like a heart when they’re talking kidneys), or still pictures when the test they’re doing would show a moving picture. But the big ones? Probes. With your ultrasound machine are a variety of probes for pretty much every task you can think of. Depending on what you wish to scan for, probes come in all shapes and sizes. Most programs go for the big, easy to see on screen probes - which are usually the prenatal ones (large, rectangular heads). My wife has spotted all kinds of probes on screen, which I’ve gotta say is pretty distracting for me as when we’re watching ER or House, and the doctor’s being all serious about, “there’s very little chance that Bobby will survive this one,” my wife is giggling to herself. When I shift my view askance she says, “they’re looking at his heart with a liver probe!” :smack: Don’t get me started on medial people and dinner conversations. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/33 "2009-04-20T22:10:53Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I have this thing about biology. When a New World plant is shown in an Old World setting, or when people think that tigers come from Africa… I just can’t deal. Comes under the general heading of [You Fail Biology Forever,](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouFailBiologyForever) a subtrope of [Hollywood Science](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodScience). ---
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/34 "2009-04-20T22:12:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It’s called [California Doubling.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaliforniaDoubling) Oh, yes…that reminds me of my favorite: Mountains in Dallas! It’s not often, but I recall one episode of NCIS with characters supposedly visiting Dallas for some reason, and an outdoor shot revealed mountains off in the distance. Sorry, folks. It’s pretty flat around here. Although, the scruby nature around LA isn’t a bad match for bits of North Texas. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/35 "2009-04-20T22:20:34Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I hate that they get back DNA reports in _hours_, not weeks. Well if The Simpsons “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” two-parter ep taught me anything is that you can give the tech a carton of cigarettes to get DNA reports in a couple seconds rather than a couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/36 "2009-04-20T22:22:22Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I have this thing about biology. When a New World plant is shown in an Old World setting, or when people think that tigers come from Africa… I just can’t deal. Any science fiction show in which altering the DNA of a grown man (or Vulcan, or whatever) results in magically changing his gross anatomy makes me want to throw a shoe at the screen. The Star Trek TNG episode that had everyone reverting to evolutionary ancestors compounded this idiocy by implying that humans are somehow descended from spiders. Worst. Pseudoscience. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/37 "2009-04-20T22:28:01Z")
In the vein of the point-gun-then-cock-it-for-emphasis, the near-constant racking and re-racking of semi-automatic handgun slides. Unless I’m very much mistaken, doing this more than once should result in the ejection of a round. The same ssssssssss_ching!_ sound every blade makes when being taken out to be used, regardless of what kind of blade it is\* and what it’s being taken out of. Broadsword from a scabbard? Ssssssssss_ching!_ Foil from a velvet case? Ssssssssss_ching!_ Wolverine claws from your forearms? Ssssssssss_ching!_ Scalpel from the tray? Ssssssssss_ching!_ Butterknife from a hot biscuit? Ssssssssss_ching!_ - Universal exception: switchblades ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/38 "2009-04-20T23:35:28Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Any science fiction show in which altering the DNA of a grown man (or Vulcan, or whatever) results in magically changing his gross anatomy makes me want to throw a shoe at the screen. The Star Trek TNG episode that had everyone reverting to evolutionary ancestors compounded this idiocy by implying that humans are somehow descended from spiders. > > Worst. Pseudoscience. Ever. In their defense, that was Work that was turning into a spider. I loved the look on Picard’s face when Data told him he was devolving into a lemur, or perhaps a pygmy marmoset. You could tell Patrick Stuart was thinking about kicking the writers in the nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/39 "2009-04-20T23:36:05Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The Office does a suprisingly good job (even refering to actual local businesses). AFAIK they haven’t even made the mistake of having someone buy wine or beet at the supermarket. True. Very few people outside Scrantom know of the local ordinance that makes selling beets punishable by exorcism. The real irony is that references to writing and publishing on tv are always wrong. A character writes something, sends it off, has it accepted, and holds it in his or her hand by the end of the episode. In real life it often takes years. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/40 "2009-04-20T23:41:45Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Wolverine claws from your forearms? Ssssssssss_ching!_ Counter-nitpick! Wolverine’s adamantium claws could be scraping against his adamantium knucklebones, thus making this potentially plausible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743.md?page=3)