# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/41 "2009-08-29T21:02:09Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > What’s even more odd is when a character is shown cooking something in a two-quart saucepan that’s supposed by dinner for five or six people. > > _The Cosby Show_ was especially bad with this. There are times, when it’s known that there are at least eight people in the house, there are two sauce pans on the stove as they’re cooking (not steaming by the way), and no indication there’s at least other stuff coming from the oven. I love the fact that Cliff wore his $500 sweater while cooking. OTOH I always wondered why Alice wore a maid’s uniform everyday when she lived there- was she afraid one of the kids would forget she worked for them? ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/42 "2009-08-29T21:03:55Z")
Kitchen doors. I mean between the kitchen and the rest of the house. Vastly spacious children’s rooms in middle-class households. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/43 "2009-08-29T21:07:07Z")
Backstairs. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/44 "2009-08-29T21:15:27Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Apple Mac computer are much more common on TV or in movies as household items than IRL. I thought I was the only one who noticed this! If you watch TV or movies these days, you’d think Macs were the everyday standard, not Microsoft. Macs even show up in the workplace, when most offices almost exclusively use Windows. It really sticks out like a sore thumb when they show a 13 year old girl at home with a Mac. How many parents are going to buy their kids a much more expensive Mac, when PCs are easier to find service for, replace, and buy accessories for. Kids are notorious for destroying things. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/45 "2009-08-29T21:16:13Z")
The Bradys didn’t have big rooms for kids, they had 2 rooms for 6 kids. Guess they could not afford a bigger house since they had to pay Alice as a full time live in maid. BTW, I grew up in a house where the kitchen had 2 doors leading to it although they were rarely closed. It is very uncommon to see that. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/46 "2009-08-29T21:30:15Z")
I grew up in two houses with kitchen doors. One was a modest 1940s house and has doors on either end of the kitchen. One was somewhat larger and more pretentious, built in the '70s and has a door between the kitchen and the formal dining room but not between the kitchen and the “family area.” I suspect kitchen doors are more common in homes that were built when the etiquette of entertaining was more formal. Why would you want guests watching you (or better yet, the servants) prepare the meal? Today it’s often considered desirable to have guests wander in it out of the kitchen, helping themselves to drink, rinsing their own dishes, or just socializing with the cook. ETA: Didn’t the six Brady kids also share a single bathroom? (It’s sometimes said they had no toilet, but that makes as much sense as complaining that it had only three walls.) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/47 "2009-08-29T21:32:04Z")
Teenagers with flawless skin. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/48 "2009-08-29T21:46:06Z")
Friends showing up at your place unexpected and unannounced, only to be met with delight and surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/49 "2009-08-29T21:51:16Z")
Friends and neighbors walking in without knocking. (I don’t care how much I like you… _don’t do that_.) People who own dishwashers (you can see it there in the kitchen) hand drying dishes. Re: Carol Brady- a guy marries her, immediately adopts and agrees to support her AND her three girls AND pay for a full-time live-in maid even though Carol is a stay-at-home mom… she must have been the best lay since Cleopatra. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/50 "2009-08-29T22:03:45Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > EHowever I never recall seeing the Flock of Seagulls haircut. > On sitcoms and in movie comedies however if there’s an 80s scene you can rest assured that some guy will have the Flock of Seagulls do. Seems like there were many guys and girls that I knew that had Flock of Seagulls hair. It was pretty popular in my high school. The things that always drives me crazy is when someone is left at the altar. I’ve certainly never witnessed such a thing, and don’t know anyone who has. It must happen, but definitely not with the frequency it happens on TV. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/51 "2009-08-29T22:06:32Z")
The actors who play Mark and Jeremy on Peep Show said that the show creators deliberately gave Mark a PC because, although Macs are prettier, they wanted to buck the unrealistic trend of every tv character having one for that reason. Another stupid TV cliche: the inability to interrupt someone if they’re babbling on and you’ve got really important news. John: Jane, I have something really important to tell you. It’s about your father. Jane: WAIT! I also have something really important to say! I must talk about it ad infinitum whilst you stand there mute! etc etc etc, blah…So what did you want to say? John: Nothing. Jane, strangely, is not curious at all and doesn’t press him on the point. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/52 "2009-08-29T22:08:36Z")
Gangs of bad guys attack the heroes and take enormous casualties. Yet they keep on coming into the gunfire until they get in.After a gunfight, there are no bodies. 50 bikers got killed and they evaporate. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/53 "2009-08-29T22:12:14Z")
Cars going off cliffs and bursting into flames in mid air apparently just because they went off a cliff. I have long been trying to understand the concept of wheels not being on a hard surface causing a car to explode. I’m sure there is a scientific principle behind it. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/54 "2009-08-29T22:15:31Z")
People who start out hating each other ending up in the sack. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/55 "2009-08-29T22:19:15Z")
Finding a parking space directly in front of whatever building you’re visiting – especially in densely crowded areas like downtown Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/56 "2009-08-29T22:20:04Z")
Guys get slapped by their dates/girlfriends/wives on TV all the time - I have seen that happen exactly once in real life. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/57 "2009-08-29T22:36:49Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Guys get slapped by their dates/girlfriends/wives on TV all the time - I have seen that happen exactly once in real life. I had it happen to me when I was in college. Ex-girlfriend though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/58 "2009-08-29T22:40:39Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Gangs of bad guys attack the heroes and take enormous casualties. Yet they keep on coming into the gunfire until they get in.After a gunfight, there are no bodies. 50 bikers got killed and they evaporate. Yeah, that bugs the hell out of me, too. Unless you’re talking about someone who either has to fight or be killed by their superiors, like the Chinese in Korea or the Soviets in WWII, or people who really have nothing to lose, like the Somalis in the Blackhawk Down incident, no one is going to keep rushing in when half their number has already been killed. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/59 "2009-08-29T22:46:29Z")
> [@GardeningSpirit](#): > > I’ve mentioned this before: a man walks into a bar and when asked what he wants, he replies, “Give me a beer.” No one ever seems to say what brand of beer they want. This has happened to me in real life. I tend bar a few nights a week, and there are actually people who will order “a beer” when asked what they’d like to drink. I always say, “This isn’t a movie…you have to tell me what kind.” Not in a snarky way, just a light joking way. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/60 "2009-08-29T22:59:05Z")
Hair cuts. A movie might cover a span of several weeks, but the actors’ hair never grows. Or roots showing. Or beard stubble. And do I have the only kitchen with inadequate counter space? I see people preparing meals with each course taking up it own individual counter space. And fireplaces. You rarely see a fireplace without a fire burning in it. My house has two fireplaces; I rarely use one, and never use the other. And nobody ever gets food on themselves when they eat . . . unless it’s for comedic effect. [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=2) [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=4)