# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/81 "2009-04-21T19:29:19Z")
The Location/time/date stamps on Law and Order are often accurate, but in almost all cases they ignore holidays. It bugs me when the I see a date stamp such as Thursday, November 25 and court is in session or the detectives are at a office location. That’s Thanksgiving Day!! There is a big fricking parade in NYC on that day. Most non-essential offices are closed. Sometimes, they will have a November stamp and the trees are full of leaves. They also have inappropriate clothing (heavy winter overcoat) for a September stamp. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/82 "2009-04-21T19:39:05Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > “Why are Armenians eating lasagna?!” “Why would a company named ‘Franco-American’ …make _Italian_ food?” - The Alchemist, _The Venture Bros_ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/83 "2009-04-21T19:44:32Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Another thing I hate is few TV shows have any idea what winter is like. Perhaps this is why it’s easier to set a show in LA. The most ridiculous was Bewitched. It took place in suburban New York City and even at Christmas, it looked like Summer. My favorite was _Little House on the Prairie_. It was set in Minnesota where in 10 years it snowed one time. Off topic- but my biggest irritant on the “forgetting there are people who don’t live in EST” is New Year’s Eve. In CST you have Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, and other big cities known for partying; moving west to Mountain Standard Time you have Denver, Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, then in Pacific you have LA, Vegas, Seattle, San Fran, etc.. And what’s shown on TV in these cities at midnight? 1, 2, or 3 hours old replays of the ball dropping in Time’s Square. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/84 "2009-04-21T19:47:47Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I think Michael Bay just had both inspiration and an erection. > > Just remember, July 2011, YOU are to blame. > > -Joe Is he remaking Cleopatra? Great link with a [profane word in the title but otherwise work-safe link.](http://www.theonion.com/content/news/michael_bay_signs_50m_deal_to_fuck?utm_source=c-section) ---
**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 21, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/85 "2009-04-21T20:10:26Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > It bugs me when the I see a date stamp such as Thursday, November 25 and court is in session or the detectives are at a office location. That’s Thanksgiving Day!! I get what you’re saying, but just to be sure, you do know that Thanksgiving doesn’t have a set date, right? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/86 "2009-04-21T20:26:19Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I get what you’re saying, but just to be sure, you do know that Thanksgiving doesn’t have a set date, right? While this is true, there’s no way for Thursday, November 25 to _not_ be Thanksgiving. That is to say, November 25 may not be Thanksgiving, but if it’s a Thursday, it is. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/87 "2009-04-21T20:45:49Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Regarding Kenneth: But then his (normal) accent wouldn’t be right. Would you prefer he were from some part of the deep pinewoods and pretend that New Yorkers understand him? 😉 Actually there was an episode recently where he regressed into his “normal” accent. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/88 "2009-04-21T20:47:00Z")
Well you guys can probably relate to mine as I relate to the medical things listed. IOW, I’m not in that profession, so thy really don’t bother me. That begin said, I’m database guy in real life. On the side, I’m also a sports official from NCAA down to you 10 & Under youth ball. I’m sure you can guess what I hate… I can’t stand it when they show baseball umpires not wearing their equipment correctly. We don’t use the external balloon type of chest protectors anymore. We don’t wear out hats backwards when wearing our masks (at least the serious professional umpires don’t). We don’t wear shin guards on the outside of our trousers. For the other half of my life… I can’t just type in a couple of quick commands and jump right into a super high secret database. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/89 "2009-04-21T20:58:35Z")
Another one: I’ve seen movies (Fried Green Tomatoes is one I believe) in which a small town southern Protestant pastor wears a clerical collar. This is almost unheard of/unworn outside of Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches, and this church was presumably Baptist. (Lutherans and Episcopals aren’t unheard of but they’re in the minority; Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians are far more numerous.) Speaking of collar wearing ministers, there was an episode of _Little House on the Prairie_ in which Mrs. Oleson (a great-great-great-grandmother of Kyle’s mom) raised hell because Reverend Alden got married and actually had him discharged. (A deleted scene of Laura leading Miss Beatle’s cass in a rousing rendition of “Well… Nellie’s mom is a bitch, she’s a big fat bitch, she’s the biggest bitch in the whole Midwest!”.) While he wore clerical collar his denomination was never given (it being Minnesota I’d presume Lutheran but then this is a Minnesota where it never snowed and there were no lakes), but he certainly wasn’t Catholic and NO Protestant denominations that I know of forbid a minister to marry and in fact it’s probably looked on as a stranger thing if they haven’t been. My mother told me about a triangle war between the Lutherans/Methodists/Baptists in her hometown: the Lutherans were the tiniest congregation until they got air conditioning [ca. 1950], to which the Baptists responded by building a swimming pool [for baptisms, but congregation members could use it at other times] which brought their strayed members back, then the Methodist church [which had lost members to the Lutheran AC and the Baptist pool] replaced their minister who had retired with a young “fresh out of seminary” good looking bachelor, which brought pretty much all of the Lutherans and Baptists with single daughters to the fold. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/90 "2009-04-21T21:02:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > My mother told me about a triangle war between the Lutherans/Methodists/Baptists in her hometown: the Lutherans were the tiniest congregation until they got air conditioning [ca. 1950], to which the Baptists responded by building a swimming pool [for baptisms, but congregation members could use it at other times] which brought their strayed members back, then the Methodist church [which had lost members to the Lutheran AC and the Baptist pool] replaced their minister who had retired with a young “fresh out of seminary” good looking bachelor, which brought pretty much all of the Lutherans and Baptists with single daughters to the fold. Can I steal this for a story? ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/91 "2009-04-21T21:48:02Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > My favorite was _Little House on the Prairie_. It was set in Minnesota where in 10 years it snowed one time. What about _Hogan’s Heroes_? Snow on the ground year round. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/92 "2009-04-21T21:59:57Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > While this is true, there’s no way for Thursday, November 25 to _not_ be Thanksgiving. > > That is to say, November 25 may not be Thanksgiving, but if it’s a Thursday, it is. Thank you. Maybe I should not have used **Thursday** , November 25th as the example. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/93 "2009-04-21T22:33:56Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > THe one that I always wonder about is the tyre / track / wheelbase thingy in the CSI style shows. > > This track is XYZ tyre - that means it comes from ABC car - don’t people EVER change their factory tyres in the US? The same model car as mine here could be using any one of about 30 different tyres - including different rim combinations eg: factory size is 15 / 185 / 65, I am currently running 17 / 215 / 55, I could also have fitted 16’ rims, or gone for 225 / 50s for my 17", I had the choice of at least four different brands for my current rims, and lets not talk the different tyres within each brand. > > The other thing that bugs me - car track is whateverity inches - must mean its a _name specific model_ of all the thousands of car models in the world, no two have the same track? Squeeling tires! Screeching tires! On wet roads? On dirt roads? Every time are car moves on a crime show the tires make noise. 5 mile per hour corner..screech! ---
**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:** [April 21, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/94 "2009-04-21T23:19:41Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Speaking of collar wearing ministers, there was an episode of _Little House on the Prairie_ in which Mrs. Oleson (a great-great-great-grandmother of Kyle’s mom) raised hell because Reverend Alden got married and actually had him discharged. (A deleted scene of Laura leading Miss Beatle’s cass in a rousing rendition of “Well… Nellie’s mom is a bitch, she’s a big fat bitch, she’s the biggest bitch in the whole Midwest!”.) While he wore clerical collar his denomination was never given (it being Minnesota I’d presume Lutheran but then this is a Minnesota where it never snowed and there were no lakes), but he certainly wasn’t Catholic and NO Protestant denominations that I know of forbid a minister to marry and in fact it’s probably looked on as a stranger thing if they haven’t been. In the books, the Ingalls were Congregationalists. Most Southern accents on TV make me cringe. We don’t aaaaawl draaaaawl laaahk thaayut! There is a great deal of difference between a Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee accents. Heck, there’s a great deal of difference between a Western NC accent and an Eastern NC accent, to the point that my family accuses me and my older sister who used to live out here of sounding like hicks. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/95 "2009-04-21T23:22:22Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > There is a great deal of difference between a Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee accents. Nitpick: There is no such thing as a “Tennessee” accent. We speak the language properly. It’s the rest of y’all that’re 'flicted. 😃 The above applies only to Memphis, of course. I refuse to take responsibility, ownership, or blame for the way Knoxvillians speak. Saditty bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/96 "2009-04-22T00:00:20Z")
Recently seen on an episode of “24”, but happens all that time on any TV shows that feature guns: The good guy has the bad guy at gun point, the latter with his hands up. The good guy gets really close to the bad guy and leans down to examine something, giving the bad guy plenty of opportunity to spin kick, punch, karate, tackle, or otherwise knock down and/or disarm the good guy in order to get away. Jeez, does everyone on TV think that handguns have a maximum range of two feet? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/97 "2009-04-22T00:09:21Z")
I was watching a _Golden Girls_ episode recently in which Rose (another great plug for Minnesota:D) has a sleepless night and drives from her home in Miami to Tuscaloosa, AL and back. That’s a round trip of 1,600 miles! (Orlando is believable for a round trip from Miami on a sleepless night- much beyond that, not so much.) As a former hotel desk clerk it always irks me when somebody walks up to a hotel desk, asks “What room is Mr. \_\_\_\_ in?” and the clerk answers “Room 802”. You literally learn on your first day in a hotel that giving out a room number is a BIG no-no. (You direct them to a house phone instead.) A former professor from Milwaukee always loved _Happy Days_ and _Laverne & Shirley_ for portraying Milwaukee as an extension of Little Italy (Fonzie, Chachi, Al, Laverne & her pop, etc.). “They can’t sling a pizza without hitting 5 Italians, but in the whole city there’s not a German, a Pole, a Swede, or an obese person.” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/98 "2009-04-22T00:23:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > A former professor from Milwaukee always loved _Happy Days_ and _Laverne & Shirley_ for portraying Milwaukee as an extension of Little Italy (Fonzie, Chachi, Al, Laverne & her pop, etc.). “They can’t sling a pizza without hitting 5 Italians, but in the whole city there’s not a German, a Pole, a Swede, or an obese person.” My wife is from Milwaukee, and she gets great glee from mocking the accents in those shows. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/99 "2009-04-22T00:38:46Z")
Innacurate maps, or incorrect directions on how to get somewhere, bug me to no end. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743/100 "2009-04-22T00:54:12Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I can’t just type in a couple of quick commands and jump right into a super high secret database. You can’t ? Oh, it’s sooo easy. Go to http.://www.NORAD.gov/backdoor. There’ll be a password prompt taking up your whole screen, but it’s OK : there’s no limit to how many passwords you can try, and a flashing red ACCESS DENIED message is the only trouble you’re likely to face. Try a few random words if you like, but the password is in all caps and directly related to something you learned about the private life a proeminent government official during the course of the movie/episode. Or it might be the name of the guy who designed the system. Don’t worry though : a flashback or inner monologue said out loud will put you on the right track. And once you’re in, well, everything’s in there, really. Secret files and DNA specs on every single detail of every citizen’s life, which are in turn linked to every other computer in the world so if you change a detail, it’s updated everywhere (handy if you want to make believe someone is dead, or hasn’t paid his bills), plans for every secret weapon in the history of mankind, flashing nuclear launch button and a one-click option to transfer a virtually limitless amount of money to and from supersecret CIA black bank accounts. It’s all very simple and intuitive. Thankfully, not many people on the net know about the backdoor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-small-factual-inaccuracies-in-tv-shows-that-annoy-you/493743.md?page=6)