# Things that are extremely common in TV shows/movies that you've rarely seen in real life **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161 "2009-08-29T16:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/403 "2009-09-08T23:35:56Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > If you were a doctor, you’d say defibrillating, not “defribillating.” Just move the r two spaces to the right. Still, you probably shouldn’t defribillate asystole either. Plus, defribillating sounds a lot funnier. On a pertinent note- Weddings: TV weddings have the wedding march\*. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the wedding march at a real life wedding. \*DAAA dum dadum dum dum dum dum da da dadum da DAAAA dum ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/404 "2009-09-09T01:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > If I were a paramedic, for me the solution to every problem would be Ringer’s Lactate, whatever that is. It’s basically saline solution, with the same concentration as blood, and is used in an IV to treat dehydration or blood loss (at least, until you can get to a supply of real blood). Since I imagine a lot of the situations you see paramedics in on TV involve blood loss, that’s probably a realistic response. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/405 "2009-09-09T04:15:36Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > defribillating sounds a lot funnier. Doesn’t it? It’s the kind of word Opus used to say in _Bloom County_ when he got all crosswise of what he was talking about. (_Renooberating_ was one example.) ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/406 "2009-09-09T10:52:22Z")
I’ve never been a suspect or a potential witness in a murder enquiry but I doubt I’d be able to keep shelving books, bagging groceries or answering the phone the way those questioned on L & O do when the cops are questioning them. I also doubt I’d be able to claim an important meeting and flag a cab and just leave. Something else which I’ve seen many times on TV shows which has struck me as highly improbable is the man standing at a bar, with a brand new, untouched beer in front of him. He gets called away (either by phone or in person) and he leaves. Without taking even one gulp. I’m not a drinker but the beer drinkers in my family wouldn’t behave thus. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/407 "2009-09-09T12:59:02Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > If you were a doctor, you’d say defibrillating, not “defribillating.” Just move the r two spaces to the right. You have no idea how long I tried to get that right. And I still got it wrong. This is why I am not a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/408 "2009-09-09T13:36:44Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > Something else which I’ve seen many times on TV shows which has struck me as highly improbable is the man standing at a bar, with a brand new, untouched beer in front of him. He gets called away (either by phone or in person) and he leaves. Without taking even one gulp. I’m not a drinker but the beer drinkers in my family wouldn’t behave thus. That’s because it’s not actually beer. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/409 "2009-09-09T15:44:34Z")
The Wedding March is to a wedding on TV as a loaf of French bread/stalk of celery is to a bag of groceries on TV. If this was mentioned, I’m sorry, but - you’re eating in a restaurant, you take one bite, then your presence is urgently required elsewhere, you throw down money and leave. _I_ would insist on at least finishing the steak! How long could it take to chew a few bites, 5 minutes? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/410 "2009-09-09T16:36:18Z")
Chewing? Who said anyhing about chewing? You take 20 seconds to stuff the steak in your mouth, and chew in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/411 "2009-09-09T16:51:20Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > That’s because it’s not actually beer. Actually, it probably is. I’ve read elsewhere that when beer is shown onscreen it’s almost always real beer because nothing else looks quite right. Thus, Norm and Cliff on _Cheers!_ were regularly pretty buzzed during filming 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/412 "2009-09-09T16:52:34Z")
Re: the untouched beer, my friend and I always hated how in Home Alone, when Kevin makes a macaroni dinner and blesses it, he doesn’t eat it! Sure, it’s nine o clock (when Marv and Harry are set to arrive) but you think he’d stuff a few bites into his mouth. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/413 "2009-09-09T18:03:06Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Turning on the TV at the exact moment a news story relevant to the plot comes on. I came here to post that, more specifically being able to say “You gotta see this!” and the person walking into the room after a few seconds and seeing the entire TV news story from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/414 "2009-09-09T20:17:11Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I came here to post that, more specifically being able to say “You gotta see this!” and the person walking into the room after a few seconds and seeing the entire TV news story from the beginning. Except that they wouldn’t watch the entire news story (let alone the entire newscast)—they’d see the Shocking Revelation and then turn the TV set off. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/415 "2009-09-10T14:49:56Z")
I caught a few minutes of _shudder_ Ghost Rider last night and stumbled over another one. When our - always innocent - hero is brought to the holding cell, it’s full of the biggest ugliest most tattooed criminals: Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers! In real life a holding cell is full of drunks, failed 7-11 thieves, flashers, speeders, and Barney Miller guest stars. They couldn’t menace a health care bill town hall. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/416 "2009-09-10T15:12:10Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Except that they wouldn’t watch the entire news story (let alone the entire newscast)—they’d see the Shocking Revelation and then turn the TV set off. I remember one show (I think it was _Family Matters_) solving this by a character (Carl?) saying something like “The news(person, or director) told me this segment would be on at such-and-such time.” This is actually plausible because a couple of stations in the New York area does that and lists the times in the lead-in to commercials. Except that, at the time he would have been told that, the producers probably hadn’t finished putting together that night’s broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/417 "2009-09-10T15:48:52Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m also astounded by how many TV/Movies have houses with windows that completely lack screens. Sure makes it easy for the teen children to sneak out at night, but I bet the houses are just filled with bugs and other nasties. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house in my life that had a screenless window, unless the window didn’t open or the screen was damaged or something. My house had no screens on any of the windows when I bought it. I couldn’t figure out how the previous owners had managed to live in the house without ever opening any windows. Were they allergic to fresh air or something? :dubious: It was the first exterior modification I made, having screens put on all the windows. The house is a Florida Cracker-style cottage, built in 1942. Apparently, the first screens went on in 2003, when I bought the place. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/418 "2009-09-10T18:50:45Z")
One that I’ve noticed in teen/frat movies is that whenever there’s a party at which (gasp!) BEER might be drunk, the characters will always drink it from those itty-bitty brightly coloured [plastic cups](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2009/08/016-oz-red-plastic-cup-1000-cs-1.jpg). I’ve never seen anyone do that in real life. They either drink from the bottle/can or pour it into a clear pint glass. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/419 "2009-09-10T18:53:00Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > One that I’ve noticed in teen/frat movies is that whenever there’s a party at which (gasp!) BEER might be drunk, the characters will always drink it from those itty-bitty brightly coloured [plastic cups](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2009/08/016-oz-red-plastic-cup-1000-cs-1.jpg). I’ve never seen anyone do that in real life. They either drink from the bottle/can or pour it into a clear pint glass. Those cups are fairly common at parties here in the Eastern USA. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/420 "2009-09-10T19:28:44Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Those cups are fairly common at parties here in the Eastern USA. Likewise for parties and BBQs here in the Pacific Northwest. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/421 "2009-09-10T19:42:46Z")
People often get kegs for big parties. If you get a keg, you need to pour the beer into something. If there are a lot of people there, it’s going to be impossible to have an actual glass for everyone. Hence, those plastic cups are very common. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/422 "2009-09-10T20:10:25Z")
Hmm, maybe that’s just a US v UK thing then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161.md?page=22)