# Things in fiction that annoy you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 21, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932 "2021-07-21T01:34:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/61 "2021-07-23T07:27:05Z")
When the police don’t even have cuffs on and they’re blathering the Miranda Warning. It’s so cliche’ and it’s not done that way. When someone hangs up a pay phone and there is no coin drop sound or no coin return if there was no answer. When someone zaps somebody else with a hand held stun gun and they go unconscious. That’s complete opposite of what happens. It’s an electric shock and it hurts like a sonovabitch. Most people yell and flinch back. When the good guy victim decides to get a gun they go to some seedy black market dealer in his basement or run down apartment rather than just going to a gun shop or sporting goods store. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/62 "2021-07-23T12:28:36Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > When the good guy victim decides to get a gun they go to some seedy black market dealer in his basement or run down apartment rather than just going to a gun shop or sporting goods store. Isn’t that because there’s a waiting period, and they need the gun _ **now** _, because reasons? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Riig_IbigE) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/63 "2021-07-23T12:58:44Z")
No. First of all only nine states and DC have waiting periods, secondly the time it takes them to find and hook up with the low life black market guy is longer than most states waiting period. I think the reason they do it is to make getting a gun look seedy and sinister even if you’re the good guy or a victim wanting to protect yourself. Or maybe the writers just don’t know how the real world works. They are fiction writers, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/64 "2021-07-23T13:01:08Z")
They do it because it’s more interesting, not some nefarious conspiracy or because they’re too stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/65 "2021-07-23T13:56:35Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Like defusing a bomb as the timer counts down, and cutting the correct wire when the timer reaches 2, or any number of variations on that theme… Similar to how Game of Thrones defied convention by killing off Neddard Stark, it would be nice to see a movie show a technician spending minutes frantically trying to defuse a bomb, and it…bang, goes off anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/66 "2021-07-23T13:58:00Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > From films ad nauseam. > > In a protracted fight involving 5 villains versus 1 hero I am constantly impressed by the politeness in evidence from the villains, whereby they confront the hero one by one instead of leaping upon him en masse and curtailing the fight scene to about 5 seconds. This is so well it actually has a name, it’s called “inverse law of ninjas” (you can google), basically, the more enemies, the less effective each one is, so if you fight only one enemy he’s a very tough guy but if you fight 9 of them, each one is only 1/9 as strong and they usually come one by one. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/67 "2021-07-23T14:23:23Z")
There are several movies that do go out of their way to kill a/the bomb tech. _The Hurt Locker_ and _Juggernaut_ are ones that immediately come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/68 "2021-07-23T15:13:53Z")
It’s mainly a comic book trope, but I hate the way that a costume arbitrarily makes a character a better combatant. If Commissioner Gordon says “Be careful, Batman, Don Vito is guarded by a dozen ex-navy SEALs with state of the art body armor and assault rifles!” We probably won’t even see the fight, just the unconscious bodies. If Gordon says “Be careful, Batman, Don Vito is guarded by Chillblaze, an ex-security guard who became a costumed mercenary after stealing an experimental gun that can shoot thirty icicles a minute!” We will have a suspenseful fight, even though he’s facing an opponent that is less dangerous than a random guy with a glock. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/69 "2021-07-23T15:39:22Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > There are several movies that do go out of their way to kill a/the bomb tech. _The Hurt Locker_ and _Juggernaut_ are ones that immediately come to mind. I almost mentioned _Juggernaut_ for this trope. I hate the end of that movie; if I were one of the guys on Richard Harris’s team I’d have punched him in the mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/70 "2021-07-23T18:24:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > No. First of all only nine states and DC have waiting periods, secondly the time it takes them to find and hook up with the low life black market guy is longer than most states waiting period. > > I think the reason they do it is to make getting a gun look seedy and sinister even if you’re the good guy or a victim wanting to protect yourself. Or maybe the writers just don’t know how the real world works. They are fiction writers, after all. No, I think they usually do it because the character doesn’t want a paper trail leading back to them showing that they bought the gun that was then used for whatever nefarious purposes. Also, those states that have waiting periods or where you need a permit include CA & NY, which are where a majority of crime films are set. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/71 "2021-07-23T19:41:25Z")
> [@JohnnyEcks](#): > > We will have a suspenseful fight, even though he’s facing an opponent that is less dangerous than a random guy with a glock. Yeah, and DC forgets that Harley Quinn isn’t a super. She is just crazy. She’d be _less_ dangerous with a gun or baseball bat that some veteran or slugger. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/72 "2021-07-23T20:29:14Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Okay, so apparently there _are_ some people who sweat when nervous. I still don’t think it’s as common as some writers would have you believe. Okay, maybe they only sweat as much as [an average Cathy comic panel …](https://images.thestar.com/fH52tQIBfWB6G00ZD_pYmRE2toc=/1086x355/smart/filters:cb(2700061000)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/2010/10/04/cathys_clowns_a_comic_farewell/wintersrgbjpg.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/73 "2021-07-23T20:34:58Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Wait–do you think all foreign people write in English? No, but I’m talking about fictional universes where everyone hears their own language as English. > [@Jasmine](#): > > In the movie, [**Christine**](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085333/), the car of that name was running down one its enemies in an underpass. All the guy had to do was dart between the support pillars to the other side of the underpass, and Christine would have had to drive all the way through and make a U-turn to come back on the other side to chase him. He could have repeated the process over and over until the machine literally ran out of gas. Nope, he conveniently ran straight down the road and got himself squished! LOL Can it really be a horror movie if the characters aren’t stupid, though? > [@Chingon](#): > > I doubt the book said that. What was the title? It was probably talking about the rules of its own fictional universe.[quote=“pkbites, post:61, topic:946932”] When someone zaps somebody else with a hand held stun gun and they go unconscious. That’s complete opposite of what happens. It’s an electric shock and it hurts like a sonovabitch. Most people yell and flinch back. [/quote] Huh. I never knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/74 "2021-07-24T19:13:05Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > When the good guy victim decides to get a gun they go to some seedy black market dealer in his basement or run down apartment rather than just going to a gun shop or sporting goods store. What annoys me about this is no matter how upright and law-abiding the victim may be, he somehow _knows_ where to find a black-market dealer. I see slimeballs around me all the time, but I would not know how to find a black-market gun dealer. They must hang out at the same bar with all those hit men that characters seem to find at a moment’s notice. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/75 "2021-07-24T19:28:12Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > Two bathroom-related things: > > 1. People get in the shower (nude, standing right under the showerhead), turn on the water, and take a shower. It comes out at exactly the right temperature from the moment they turn it on. As far as I know, EVERYONE in the real world turns on the water first, gets it right, and THEN gets in. I agree that the temperature part is weird. Even in college, where the hot water was instant and unlimited, there was at least a slight spray of cold. That said, here at home, I do tend to get in the shower first. That way I can close the curtain while I turn on the water, and keep any water from spraying out. I turn on the water, but I don’t stand under it until it gets up to temp. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/76 "2021-07-29T05:18:07Z")
I know it’s not unrealistic (hell, I used to have a friend who did it to me), but here’s one that irritates me. When a character always goes by a name other than their regular first name- whether it be a nickname or a last name or whatever- and then, when they have a serious moment and someone is trying to be sincere and they drop the nickname and call them by their given name. I do get how on one hand, if the nickname is silly, then you wouldn’t want to be all “Spaghetti Legs, listen to me. The abuse you suffered as a child wasn’t your fault.” But at the same time, there’s intimacy in a nickname (especially if not everyone calls you that) and if that’s what you ALWAYS call someone, switching to formal is just weird and jarring and sounds LESS sincere. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/77 "2021-07-29T11:43:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > DC forgets that Harley Quinn isn’t a super She sometimes is serum-enhanced via her girlfriend’s potions, I don’t know if the current incarnation is. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/78 "2021-07-29T13:57:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > This is so well it actually has a name, it’s called “inverse law of ninjas” (you can google), basically, the more enemies, the less effective each one is, so if you fight only one enemy he’s a very tough guy but if you fight 9 of them, each one is only 1/9 as strong and they usually come one by one. I’ve heard it referred to as “the Law of Conservation of Ninjutsu” - each side in a fight has a certain set amount of ninjutsu available, divided between the total number of ninjas. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/79 "2021-07-29T14:26:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Famously on the original Hawaii 5-0. I’ve mentioned these before, but they’re worth repeating now: Five-O and the bad guys get into a firefight with snub-nose .38s at a distance of, say, 150 feet. The bad guys’ bullets always miss, the cops’ never miss. Danno and Steve are talking on the radio while one is in a helicopter. They use a handheld microphone and never wear a headset. No way they could have a conversation with all that noise going on. They seldom use the right sound effect for the helicopter either. Jet turbine engines sound exactly like old piston ones. Why the hell does McGarrett insert himself into every investigation and do dangerous stunts himself? He has his own team of professionals and all the resources of HPD a phone call away. Doesn’t he have more important things to take care of without even leaving his office?\* \*Of course, the same might be said of Captain Kirk and a lot of other series’ heroes… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932/80 "2021-07-29T14:50:40Z")
Post-coital modesty. The sex is over, it’s still just the two of us here, but we have to cover up immediately! When racing or chasing, somehow there’s _always_ another gear. All of those cars in the **Fast & Furious** series appear to have truck transmissions, because they’ll shift up like 20 times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-fiction-that-annoy-you/946932.md?page=5)