# 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:** 19
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/361 "2023-06-07T17:40:40Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > This is why I could never understand why everybody didn’t realize immediately what was in the box in _Se7en_. I knew it from the first seconds when we met Gwynnie how she’d end up. Yeah. Hard to believe. Did he think someone send him a basketball as a birthday present? Who would open that freaking box? ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/362 "2023-06-07T17:43:24Z")
Probably true. That stuff couldn’t be real because nothing rhymes with ‘uh-eh-nn’ and an elbow poke. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/363 "2023-06-07T18:05:14Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > If you’re ‘by the book’ you MUST be assigned with a ‘loose cannon’ partner. It’s in their HR hiring handbook. ALSO: _“I can’t believe you eat that stuff.”_ ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/364 "2023-06-07T18:12:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And no matter the traffic situation, the cop always finds a place to park right in front of the destination. Hehe, we call the parking place nearest the door the “Kojak spot”. That guy could go to a pro sports game and get the parking space nearest the door. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/365 "2023-06-07T18:25:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Catholic services are never conducted out of a Bible. The priest will use the [Roman Missal.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Missal) OT, but I looked it up, because I was going to anyway – they use the Missal for wedding vows. I was wondering what they used, because I didn’t think it was in the bible. Cool! I learned something today! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/366 "2023-06-07T18:49:33Z")
Captains always keep a bottle of booze in their lower right hand desk drawer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/367 "2023-06-07T18:54:00Z")
Back in the 1950’s- likely yes. Today? Not so much. Likely against regulations. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/368 "2023-06-07T18:56:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > > Kenneth Branagh is the only Brit who can do an American accent _at all_. > > I have a theory abut why that is-- since we Americans don’t actually _ **have** _ an accent, Brits just need to turn their accent off 😏 I’ve never understood why American’s say this, for anyone from outside the USA your accent\* is quite distinct. \*well accents… ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/369 "2023-06-07T19:18:17Z")
It was a joke. Did you not see the smirk emoji?!? Of course we Americans all have accents. I actually have a non-jokey theory as to why I think Brit actors are better at American accents (in general) than American actors are at Brit accents: Britain has so many diverse regional accents in a relatively small area that Brits are used to hearing a wide variety of subtle or not so subtle variations on their own accent every day; whereas Americans can go for long periods of time without hearing accent variations other than their own regional accent, besides TV or movies. I think that generally gives Brits a better ear for accent variations. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/370 "2023-06-07T19:31:10Z")
Reasonable theory. What’s the explanation for so many accents in such a small space? Is it the snake swallowing it’s tail? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/371 "2023-06-07T19:33:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Did he think someone send him a basketball as a birthday present? Who would open that freaking box? Perhaps he thought Gwynnie sent him a prototype vagina steamer. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/372 "2023-06-07T19:43:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > It was a joke. Did you not see the smirk emoji?!? Of course we Americans all have accents. Sorry, I’ve just had that actual conversation so often I missed that you were joking. I have American relatives and one once declared that she had no accent in a broad Noo Yoik twang, and she _wasn’t_ kidding. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/373 "2023-06-07T19:53:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not just cop. Nearly All TV romances. In medical dramas, it’ll be slowly revealed that the love interest has a terminal disease and will either die in the doctor’s arms or leave town forever to spare him the agony of watching her die. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/374 "2023-06-07T19:58:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Reasonable theory. What’s the explanation for so many accents in such a small space? Seems to have to do with Britain being an ancient country with many regions that existed in relative isolation prior to the early 20th century. > **[Why does the UK have so many accents?](https://theconversation.com/why-does-the-uk-have-so-many-accents-88434)** > > The world is becoming increasingly connected, but local accents still define who we are. > [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > Sorry, I’ve just had that actual conversation so often I missed that you were joking. I have American relatives and one once declared that she had no accent in a broad Noo Yoik twang, and she _wasn’t_ kidding. No problem. Not everybody gets my ~~lack of humor~~ subtle irony…I was being ironic in reference to that very idea, that many people (probably not just limited to Americans) always think _ **they** _ speak without an accent and everyone else does. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/375 "2023-06-07T20:04:54Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Seems to have to do with Britain being an ancient country with many regions that existed in relative isolation prior to the early 20th century. Not so sure that resolves the matter. How would that or any other theory explain the existence of Mancunian? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/376 "2023-06-07T20:13:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Not so sure that resolves the matter. How would that or any other theory explain the existence of Mancunian? Ah, taking the piss, are we? Having a laugh? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/377 "2023-06-07T20:16:11Z")
> [@solost](#): > > many people (probably not just limited to Americans) always think _ **they** _ speak without an accent and everyone else does. An accent is what people who are not from where you are from talk with. I’m from southern MN, and would have sworn I had no accent (and certainly not the Sarah Palin/_Fargo_ one. When I moved to Missouri, I was immediately tagged as a Minnesotan by a coworker who vacationed up there (apparently I said “about” like a Canadian who had been out of Canada for quite a while). When I visited home, I could now hear it (and could even hear it coming back I my spoken language). ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/378 "2023-06-07T20:16:21Z")
Saying “I’m not a cop tonight,” makes whatever you do on your roaring rampage of revenge legal(as opposed to even more illegal). ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/379 "2023-06-07T20:17:34Z")
Everybody knows that when you take off your badge it’s okay at that point to be a vigilante! ---
**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:** [June 7, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/380 "2023-06-07T20:23:34Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I was being ironic in reference to that very idea, that many people (probably not just limited to Americans) always think _ **they** _ speak without an accent and everyone else does. People don’t _hear_ their own accents because their speech habits have been internalized. Up until the age of four, kids can hear and mimic every sound in every language perfectly. After four, they gradually lose that ability until it’s gone entirely. This is why it’s so difficult to learn a foreign language in high school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=20)