# Things script writers get wrong every time. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999 "2017-02-04T18:48:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/21 "2017-02-05T19:24:51Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Patient has AB+ blood. Patient needs a transfusion. The hunt is on for a donor with AB+ blood. No other type will be suitable. And AB+ blood is so super-rare that it’s almost impossible to find a donor. > > (In real life, AB+ is called the universal recipient. It can receive blood from A, B, AB or O, and either rhesus positive or negative. And AB+ blood isn’t as rare as all that anyway.) Is there some specific movie or TV show you’re thinking of here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this particular mistake, and while that doesn’t mean it’s never happened I don’t believe it’s a common error. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/22 "2017-02-06T02:52:45Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Every reprobate, no matter how down and out they are, has perfect Hollywood teeth. Even immigrants, from countries where dentistry is virtually unknown. That one always drives me nuts. Anyone that’s either homeless, drug addict or has been working a hard job their entire life (assuming they’re not an extra), when they look at the camera has bright white teeth and/or piercing blue eyes. It’s confirmation bias, I know, but when you see it, it’s distracting. They spent all this money on the movie and can darken the actor’s teeth with a grease pencil or something. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/23 "2017-02-06T03:11:06Z")
Scriptwriters and movie makers who live in Los Angeles making movies/tv shows that are supposed to be set in a cold place always drives me a little bit crazy - those of us who live in cold places can always tell when they’re faking a “cold” place. You cant see the actors’ breath, nothing warm outside is steaming, the snow doesn’t sound right, the snow doesn’t melt when it hits a warm human or when they come inside - the list just goes on and on. The movie “Fargo” got it the closest to right, but they still have a big flub when they had William Macy’s character scrape his car before he started it - I and no one I know would ever do it in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/24 "2017-02-06T03:14:49Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Scriptwriters and movie makers who live in Los Angeles making movies/tv shows that are supposed to be set in a cold place always drives me a little bit crazy - those of us who live in cold places can always tell when they’re faking a “cold” place. You cant see the actors’ breath, nothing warm outside is steaming, the snow doesn’t sound right, the snow doesn’t melt when it hits a warm human or when they come inside - the list just goes on and on. The movie “Fargo” got it the closest to right, but they still have a big flub when they had William Macy’s character scrape his car before he started it - I and no one I know would ever do it in that order. Maybe his heater is broken like in my car. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/25 "2017-02-06T03:40:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Translation? Never come across the term “Missileer” and don’t know what “guns on alert” are… Missileers are the crew in the control room of a missile launch center. During the Cold War, they were in a constant state of alert. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush had them stand down from that state. Missile officers were formerly required to carry sidearms during a state of high alert. They were no longer required to carry after Bush’s orders to stand down. Presumably, some movies set in the present still depict missileers wearing weapons while on duty. [http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/30/us/bush-s-arms-plan-the-gun-uncocked-at-bases.html](http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/30/us/bush-s-arms-plan-the-gun-uncocked-at-bases.html) ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/26 "2017-02-06T03:47:59Z")
Not sure it’s a scriptwriting thing, because I understand the motivation behind it, but the latest trailer for the new King Kong movie shows the giant ape knocking helicopters out of the air left and right. Admittedly, I’m not a combat pilot, but I’m pretty sure that if I were piloting a craft armed with rockets and cannon capable of reaching out and touching someone from hundreds of yards away, well…that’s where I’d be. I can’t think of any reason why you’d ever fly that close to your target, whether it’s an enemy emplacement or a 100 foot tall ape. Yet in virtually every “giant creature vs modern flying death machine”, the giant creature takes down the aircraft with the greatest of ease. (This is also true for any superhero vs aircraft – instead of hovering safely out of range, your average hoverjet pilot will position himself in a perfect position for, say, Captain America to knock him out of the sky with a motorcycle and a Vibranium manhole cover.) ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/27 "2017-02-06T03:57:30Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Every reprobate, no matter how down and out they are, has perfect Hollywood teeth. Even immigrants, from countries where dentistry is virtually unknown. IIRC, they handled this pretty well in _The Wire_, where characters like Bubbles had awful teeth. Also, in the brilliant and disturbing _Monster_, professional beautiful person Charlize Theron sports some discolored, protruding prosthetic teeth. Those are the only examples I can think of offhand. Usually, you’re right, every medieval peasant has lovely teeth. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/28 "2017-02-06T04:20:05Z")
Hitting someone over the head with the butt of a gun to temporarily disable them. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/29 "2017-02-06T04:23:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Scriptwriters and movie makers who live in Los Angeles making movies/tv shows that are supposed to be set in a cold place always drives me a little bit crazy - those of us who live in cold places can always tell when they’re faking a “cold” place. The movie _Frozen_ (not the Disney one) where the kids were stuck on the ski lift drove me nuts. They’re supposedly stuck freezing to death yet none of them are wearing gloves and don’t have the common sense to shove their hands in their pockets or pull them up into their sleeves. One girl even falls asleep with her bare hands on the steel lap bar :rolleyes: and wakes up with them stuck to it. I guess nobody in LA has ever experienced cold hands before. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/30 "2017-02-06T04:39:29Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Scriptwriters and movie makers who live in Los Angeles making movies/tv shows that are supposed to be set in a cold place always drives me a little bit crazy - those of us who live in cold places can always tell when they’re faking a “cold” place. You cant see the actors’ breath, nothing warm outside is steaming, the snow doesn’t sound right, the snow doesn’t melt when it hits a warm human or when they come inside - the list just goes on and on. The movie “Fargo” got it the closest to right, but they still have a big flub when they had William Macy’s character scrape his car before he started it - I and no one I know would ever do it in that order. While I agree with your observations in general, I will say that this very morning I did scrape the car before starting it…there wasn’t much ice, and I was already late for church. A few back-and-forths with the scraper and I was good to go without having to fold my frame into the drivers seat and then back out. Yes, if there’s significant buildup the story is otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/31 "2017-02-06T04:58:43Z")
anything to do with console/pc games … its usually a Xbox controller hooked to a ps2 with Atari packman sounds But the funniest scene ever is in a first season murder she wrote … is angela and claude atkins trying to play the arcade version of spyhunter …the dialogue shows they nor the writers have no idea that for the first 999 seconds is unlimited lives and the car has guns … ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/32 "2017-02-06T05:04:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Back in the 70s, I’d laugh at all the historical characters with perfectly coiffed hair… Women in period pieces always seem to follow grooming practices of then the film/TV series is filmed, rather than when it’s set. Ditto for post-apocalyptic settings; civilization may have collapsed, but all the women are still shaving their legs & armpits. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Scriptwriters and movie makers who live in Los Angeles making movies/tv shows that are supposed to be set in a cold place always drives me a little bit crazy - those of us who live in cold places can always tell when they’re faking a “cold” place. You cant see the actors’ breath, nothing warm outside is steaming, the snow doesn’t sound right, the snow doesn’t melt when it hits a warm human or when they come inside - the list just goes on and on… They also ignore how filthy everyone’s cars get in the winter. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/33 "2017-02-06T07:27:30Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A computer searching for a password one letter at a time. And each letter takes the same amount of time. (_War Games_, for example.)\* > > Something is being decrypted on the screen and individual characters are decoded in random places until they all are. (_Sleepers_, for example.) > > Not sure if all of these can be blamed on the writer. Flunkies in production might cause many of them. > > - This used to happen a lot in real life due to crappy programs. Very rare now but there have been web login exploits that use this. Of course the “ultra-secure password” systems in these movies don’t fall into this category. > [@Trinopus](#): > > This was done right in Terminator 2 (I think?) Young John Connor is breaking a four-digit PIN, and the time per digit decreased; the first digit took some minutes, but the fourth digit snapped past almost instantly. > > (Okay, it still wouldn’t work that way: a real ATM only allows a very small number of attempts before locking down. But, hey, it was a small nod toward a kind of numerical accuracy!) > > One little detail scripts get wrong a lot: reporters and journalists never take the extra moment to ask for the spelling of names. In real life, they must take that effort. Johnson? Johnston? Johnstone? Having it on a little hand-held voice recorder won’t cut the mustard! I don’t recall anyone ever making password cracking believable in a movie script. Only a horrible password verification system would tell you which characters you’ve successfully guessed. Since the programmer would have to go to extra effort to report that back to you\*, anyone writing such a thing would quickly realize “Why I am I helping these assholes guess passwords?” Nope, externally brute forcing passwords is thousands/millions of “nope, nope, nope” answers until you brute force exactly the right one completely by virtue of the vast number of combinations you’ve tried, then you get a yes. You don’t know you’ve got the first digit right until you know you’ve gotten all of them right. I understand that “ok, I’ll run this script and we’ll check back in a week” doesn’t really build suspense in the same way, so I accept it. But brute forcing passwords simply doesn’t work that way, and I’ve never seen a system written to assist the person guessing the password. But even though I accept it. I wish they would stop. Find some other way to build suspense, pretty please. \*And in the modern era of passwords stored in a one-way hash, it’s effectively impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/34 "2017-02-06T09:06:50Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Every reprobate, no matter how down and out they are, has perfect Hollywood teeth. Even immigrants, from countries where dentistry is virtually unknown. And people in Ancient Rome. There’s only two blood types: the aforementioned AB+, and O-. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/35 "2017-02-06T09:43:50Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I don’t recall anyone ever making password cracking believable in a movie script. Only a horrible password verification system would tell you which characters you’ve successfully guessed. Since the programmer would have to go to extra effort to report that back to you\*, anyone writing such a thing would quickly realize “Why I am I helping these assholes guess passwords?” > > Nope, externally brute forcing passwords is thousands/millions of “nope, nope, nope” answers until you brute force exactly the right one completely by virtue of the vast number of combinations you’ve tried, then you get a yes. You don’t know you’ve got the first digit right until you know you’ve gotten all of them right. Thank you. 🙂 The “one character is decoded, now the next . . .they’ll have the password inside a minute at this rate!” thing drives me insane. Either you have the whole password, or you have no idea how close you are to guessing the password. As you said, the programmers don’t HELP people guess the password. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/36 "2017-02-06T10:39:11Z")
The hacker types quickly on a computer keyboard. Every single key press makes a small beep sound. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/37 "2017-02-06T11:36:14Z")
Apparently, every hospital in the world has a “Dr. Blair” and a “Dr. J Hamilton” that works there. This can be gleaned by listening to the lady in the background on the hospital intercom… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Pork-Chop_Express)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/38 "2017-02-06T12:10:17Z")
You see this one a lot in medieval/fantasy tv shows and movies: people stabbing their swords into the ground, either as some kind of statement or because they have nowhere else to put it. Would never happen. It would take a lot of time and effort to keep the point of a sword sharp, so voluntarily reducing its effectiveness would be crazy. “Hey, I’m gonna fuck up my sword so it’s worse at killing folk, but I sure look cool!” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Pork-Chop_Express)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/39 "2017-02-06T12:13:39Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Hitting someone over the head with the butt of a gun to temporarily disable them. On a related note: people getting knocked out and waking up hours later. If you’re knocked out for more than a minute or two, you’ve incurred a serious, permanent brain injury. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999/40 "2017-02-06T12:55:57Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Hitting someone over the head with the butt of a gun to temporarily disable them. yes. I’ll even extend it; any time the protagonist gets hit on the head, knocked out, then wakes up hours later and immediately starts looking for evidence/an escape/whatever. Um, no. if you get hit on the head and lose consciousness for more than about a minute, you likely have a concussion and need medical attention. you’re not just going to pick up where your cunning plan left off. **edit** : sort-of-ninja’d. I think what really irritates me the most is what TV Tropes calls [SoCalization.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoCalization) Meaning, pretending things are the same everywhere else in the country as they are in SoCal. The worst offender in recent history was the TV show [Detroit 1-8-7.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_1-8-7) Section 187 is the _ **California** _ penal code for murder and bears no resemblance to the numbering used in the Michigan Compiled Laws. I will admit that “Detroit 750.316” doesn’t exactly roll off of the tongue, but they should have just come up with a different title entirely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-script-writers-get-wrong-every-time/778999.md?page=3)