# Things I learned from watching TV cop shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [May 9, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820 "2023-05-09T18:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/281 "2023-05-24T13:22:17Z")
> [@Leo\_Krupe](#): > > Got nothin’ else, 'cept I love Remo Williams… It was fun, Fred Ward and especially Joel Grey were wonderful. And the great part is it was titled _Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins!_ Every year since then, I’ve expected to see _Remo Williams: The Adventure Continues._ Probably coming out this summer, so I’m not going anywhere just in case. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/282 "2023-05-24T14:47:00Z")
There was a TV movie that aired once in 1888, then was never seen again until 2009 > **[Remo Williams: The Prophecy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remo_Williams:_The_Prophecy)** > > Remo Williams: The Prophecy is an American action-adventure television pilot from 1988. It is based on The Destroyer pulp paperback series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, and is a spin-off of the 1985 movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and incorporates footage from the movie in the opening credits. It stars Jeffrey Meek as Remo Williams, and Roddy McDowall as Chiun. It is loosely based on the 1983 novella "The Day Remo Died". It was directed by Christian I. Nyby II and the telepl Set o... Supposedly, Sony Pictures is developing a TV series based on the novels. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/283 "2023-05-24T14:50:31Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > There was a TV movie that aired once in **1888** , then was never seen again until 2009 That’s one **old** TV movie! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/284 "2023-05-24T15:47:51Z")
> [@digs](#): > > It was fun, Fred Ward and especially Joel Grey were wonderful. And the great part is it was titled _Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins!_ Yeah; I don’t know if I’d call it a great movie, but it’s so much better than it could have been. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/285 "2023-05-24T15:58:32Z")
But not nearly as great as it should have been. The books are wonderfully pulpy. The movie should have been pulpy as well. Plus, you know, maybe having a Korean actor play Chiun. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/286 "2023-05-25T13:43:48Z")
They certainly averted the trope that “getting shot in bullet proof vest doesn’t hurt” in _Robocop_. In the shoot out scene where Murphy ultimately dies he is shot multiple times in his vest and is screaming horribly. He is eventually killed with a direct shot to the head. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/287 "2023-05-25T14:06:49Z")
There’s a movie called [2nd Chance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16282914/) that covers more than you want to know about getting shot while wearing bullet proof armor. The movie is about the life of Richard Davis, inventor of the modern bulletproof vest, who claims to have shot himself 192 times. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/288 "2023-05-25T14:08:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There’s a movie called [2nd Chance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16282914/) that covers more than you want to know about getting shot while wearing bullet proof armor. The movie is about the life of Richard Davis, inventor of the modern bulletproof vest, who claims to have shot himself 192 times. I don’t get not calling it **192nd Chance**. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/289 "2023-05-25T14:44:58Z")
If you watch it you’ll probably think of a few other things to call it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/290 "2023-05-25T19:51:42Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > They certainly averted the trope that “getting shot in bullet proof vest doesn’t hurt” in _Robocop_. I just saw an episode of _Rizzoli & Isles_ where someone got shot multiple times. His vest stopped the bullets, but there were sufficient internal injuries to be life-threatening. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/291 "2023-05-25T23:12:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > There’s a movie called [2nd Chance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16282914/) that covers more than you want to know about getting shot while wearing bullet proof armor. The movie is about the life of Richard Davis, inventor of the modern bulletproof vest, who claims to have shot himself 192 times. > > I don’t get not calling it **192nd Chance**. That certainly has more pizzazz. Second Chance is the name of the body armor company he founded. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/292 "2023-05-25T23:36:22Z")
Hell, Jack Bauer could be bashed in the head, stabbed in the gut, shot in the shoulder with a .45, and take a round from a Kalashnikov in the chest, all while making it through the night on a cup of black coffee and not pausing once to take a whiz or a dump! ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/293 "2023-05-26T03:29:13Z")
If you’re searching an apparently empty house for the prime suspect and all that’s left is the dark basement, don’t bother turning on the lights. Just shine a flashlight with your less dominant hand supporting your dominant hand with your pistol. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/294 "2023-05-26T04:30:03Z")
And it’s best if you do this alone without calling for backup. ---
**Author:** ![Celtic\_Kitsune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celtic_kitsune/32/12086_2.png) [@Celtic\_Kitsune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celtic_Kitsune)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/295 "2023-05-26T19:45:11Z")
You need one of those special-issue torches which casts a thin but very bright beam and illuminates pretty much nothing except what you’re point at as well. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/296 "2023-05-26T19:54:41Z")
In the Rookie I learned that Ghost Guns are made of plastic, and yes you can make an operational 9mm semiauto and a AR15 close from plastic. (For those confused- a “ghost gun” is made of of metal, the exact same metal as the original. Just that the receiver is bought unfinished , and the parts you can buy on-line. With some skill and a modest garage level machine shop, you can assemble a real, operational pistol with no serial number and untraceable. So far, these have not seen that much use in crime, but who knows? Somebody did make a one shot gun out of plastic to show it could be done. More of less kinda like the one shot Liberator of WW2) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/297 "2023-05-26T23:36:44Z")
When searching for forensic evidence, never turn on the lights. The darker the better. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/298 "2023-05-27T01:22:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Somebody did make a one shot gun out of plastic to show it could be done. More of less kinda like the one shot Liberator of WW2) And that man was John Malkovich ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/299 "2023-05-27T20:07:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > When searching for forensic evidence, never turn on the lights. The darker the better. As in the most recent Batman film. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/300 "2023-05-28T20:21:25Z")
Or even that battle scene in the last season of GoT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=16)