# Things that make you wonder what planet writers live on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115 "2012-01-11T01:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/21 "2012-01-11T23:47:04Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [It was this.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Drew#Death) It was referred to, but I don’t think it was an actual plotline on the show. > > When\*\* MASH\*\* was on the air, the story had not been debunked (and you couldn’t just look it up on the Internet). Many sources repeated the story; the writers were using that information. I was taught that in school. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/22 "2012-01-11T23:52:19Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Recent episode of Once Apon A Time. The Mayor appoints the Sheriff (turns out the “Town Charter” says only appoints a candidate) > > See also “Picket Fences” > > 1. Mayors govern Cities > 2. Sheriff is a County wide position (in most states?), usually elected > 3. Mayors have zero authority over Sheriffs > 4. States differ, but Towns are different than Cities > > Brian …you are applying real world laws to a MAGICALLY CONSTRUCTED TIME LOCKED TOWN. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/23 "2012-01-11T23:57:47Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Recent episode of Once Apon A Time. The Mayor appoints the Sheriff (turns out the “Town Charter” says only appoints a candidate) > > See also “Picket Fences” > > 1. Mayors govern Cities > 2. Sheriff is a County wide position (in most states?), usually elected > 3. Mayors have zero authority over Sheriffs > 4. States differ, but Towns are different than Cities > > Brian I did not know this until a few minutes ago, but truth is sometimes stranger than fiction: [Mayor Bloomberg appoints former Staten Islander Edgar Domenech city sheriff](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/mayor_bloomberg_appoints_forme.html) Apparently, in New York City, the mayor does appoint a sheriff. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/24 "2012-01-12T00:04:46Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Maybe it’s a Swedish thing? but I saw the American _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ and there’s a bit where they have a list of names including Sara and Magda, IIRC, and they say “Oh, these are Old Testament names, these girls must have been Jewish.” > > Wait, what? > > (By the way, the characters _saying_ this are Swedishized Michael and Elizabeth.) I haven’t seen the American movie yet, but that leap would make sense in the context of the book. However, I don’t remember that the women were Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/25 "2012-01-12T00:11:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Nuns haven’t worn floor-length gowns in well over 40 years. But you’d never know that if you got your information from movies and TV. Then I’m a lot older than I thought. I was taught by nuns in full habits well under 40 years ago. I know (youngish) nuns who still wear it, including in Orders that were not instituted till well after Vatican II or the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/26 "2012-01-12T00:26:47Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > In [one “Here’s Lucy” ep](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0600069/), Lucy saves the live of a Chinese chap, played by Keye Luke. As is the Oriental custom, for that, he is foverever grateful, and will be by her side forever to help protect her, as payback for having saved his life. > > Lucy gets tired of him tagging along with her, so she decides how she’ll get rid of him… But he was Number One Son! I’d kill to have a tagalong who is dumber than I and willing to do the obviously-dangerous things, though the “Gee, Pop,” lines would get old. OTOH, I have a Number One Daughter who is, as we speak, buying my Number One Wife new glasses as a Christmas present and saving us money we don’t have. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/27 "2012-01-12T00:33:46Z")
What habits nuns wear depends on the order. Some have specific “uniforms” (which may or may not be the floor-length black robe), some just specify general standards of dress, and some will do either depending on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/28 "2012-01-12T01:47:43Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > … Apparently, in New York City, the mayor does appoint a sheriff. New York City includes five counties – New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens (duh), Bronx (same notation), and Richmond (Staten Island). The five are also organized as boroughs of New York City, and have one set of (generally appointed) county-equivalent officials. Prior to the 1898 consolidation, Manhattan/Bronx and Brooklyn were separate cities (the “twin cities” of Emma Lazarus’ Statue of Liberty poem) and Queens and Richmond had an assortment of smaller municipal entities. But for most the three thousand or so counties/county equivalents in the United States, yeah, the sheriff is an elected county official, commanding either deputies or sheriff’s police, choice usually depending on the size of area where he or she is enforcing the law. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/29 "2012-01-12T03:19:55Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > ETA: And if none of them were 18 I’m not sure how they’d be able to legally purchase beer in Canada anyway. More good points. I’ll add that the year in which the episode is set could be important from the Ontario perspective too–if my memory serves me correctly, Ontario raised its drinking age to 19 on January 1, 1979. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/30 "2012-01-12T07:36:13Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Ever see a fictional work that takes place in the real world and has an element so implausible it makes you wonder if the writer is from another planet? > > I’m not talking about Hollywood physics in an action film or things that are openly sci fi/fantasy. > > There was an episode of The Drew Carrey Show back in the mid 90s where Drew’s boss a British citizen is going to be deported, so to prevent this him and Drew enter into a fraudulent gay marriage. They apparently have no trouble getting married, and USA immigration doesn’t bat an eye, however they do send an agent to spy on them who then confronts them in their home and demands they kiss to prove they are a real couple. > > W…T…F…?😕 > > Even in 2012 USA immigration does not allow permanent residency petitions for same sex married couples, and back when the show was made was there a single state in the USA that allowed same sex marriage? Much less Ohio where the show was set. > Not to mention getting married to a USA citizen while already in deportation proceedings is more likely to get you a charge for immigration fraud than to allow you to change status to permanent residency. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Drew Carey Show, but I found that I enjoyed it if I treated it as a fantasy created by the comedian Drew Carey that only occasionallly coincided with our universe. Take these episodes, for example: -Drew wins the Batmobile in a contest and makes love to his girlfriend in it, thus causing it to be repossessed. -Drew starts a rock band and rejects Slash, Dusty Hill, Joey Ramone, and Dave Mustaine as guitarists, but picks this guy named Ed (played by Joe Walsh). -Mimi sends Drew to China as a prank. -Mimi slips thousands of fliers announcing a party at Drew’s house into a newspaper insert. A huge crowd shows up. A bouncer prevents Drew from going upstairs into his own bedroom where Joe Walsh and Little Richard are playing chess. A little woman named Doreen, after seeing “Austin Powers: 2, The Spy Who Shagged Me,” would show up at work dressed exactly like Mimi, down to the exact outfit she wore that day. Mimi took her on as her own personal “Mini-Mimi,” having her help play pranks on Drew. These are only a few examples, but as **silenus** mentioned, the Rule of Funny trumps all. The laughs came out of the extreme situations. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/31 "2012-01-12T08:25:48Z")
I realize its a wacky sitcom, and I wouldn’t expect it to be meticulously accurate. I think what tripped it for me is that it was and continues to be a very controversial issue that is still being fought NOW, and the fact none of the characters mention that or make any jokes on it. They act as if gay marriage and immigration for same sex couples was totally normal, which it wasn’t and any adult alive had to know it was a very big issue. It would be like a south african sitcom made during apartheid featuring a fradulent green card marriage between a white south african and a black brit, and all the characters act like its nothing and nothing is said about it. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/32 "2012-01-12T08:44:07Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > I thought the MASH story was about the guy who figured out how to store the separated blood components? I’ll do some research on that. > > My gripe of “what planet?” is about the show “Jail Break.” The intermingling of the general population in prison with death row inmates on the exercise yard was beyond ridiculous. Add to that the main character’s claim to “fake Diabetes”–I can’t even do an eyeroll for that one, because my eyeballs would pop out of my head. > ~VOW Agreed, though I was fully willing to suspend disbelief for the ab shots. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/33 "2012-01-12T18:09:15Z")
(In reference to Once Apon a Time) > [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …you are applying real world laws to a MAGICALLY CONSTRUCTED TIME LOCKED TOWN. Which is why I included “Picket Fences” as well, which was supposed to be at least somewhat realistic (not icluding compelling the Pope to testify in court, bussing kids from Green Bay, etc) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/34 "2012-01-12T18:26:53Z")
I’ll never forget the 21 Jump Street episode where the character said “I grew up in Mun-arch-ee, New Jersey.” How did he grow up there and not learn how to pronounce it correctly? It’s MOON-ark-ee, dumb asses. All it would take is a call to the Borough Hall. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/35 "2012-01-13T20:19:42Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Ever see a fictional work that takes place in the real world and has an element so implausible it makes you wonder if the writer is from another planet? > > I’m not talking about Hollywood physics in an action film or things that are openly sci fi/fantasy. > > There was an episode of The Drew Carrey Show back in the mid 90s where Drew’s boss a British citizen is going to be deported, so to prevent this him and Drew enter into a fraudulent gay marriage. They apparently have no trouble getting married, and USA immigration doesn’t bat an eye, however they do send an agent to spy on them who then confronts them in their home and demands they kiss to prove they are a real couple. > > W…T…F…?😕 > > Even in 2012 USA immigration does not allow permanent residency petitions for same sex married couples, and back when the show was made was there a single state in the USA that allowed same sex marriage? Much less Ohio where the show was set. > Not to mention getting married to a USA citizen while already in deportation proceedings is more likely to get you a charge for immigration fraud than to allow you to change status to permanent residency. I scream at the screen as much as any Dopenerd here, yet I actually feel tempted to make allowances for cases like this, because: 1. Writers of any sitcom are under constant pressure to come up with a certain number of script-ideas in a given time period. Seems harsh to expect them to drop a good (defined as funny) one even if a problem like the above were pointed out to them. 2. It’s not _Law & Order,_ for Og’s sake, it’s a freakin’ **sitcom!** ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/36 "2012-01-14T01:24:28Z")
IIRC, Quantum Leap used the same story as MASH in an episode. Anyone know if it was debunked by that point? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/37 "2012-01-14T04:17:16Z")
Swing Vote, the Kevin Costner movie that came out a few years ago, where he plays a guy whose vote doesn’t get counted on election night, because the voting machine was unplugged or some such technical problem. The presidential race ends up being a tie and he winds up getting to cast the deciding vote. Both candidates are, of course, trying everything in their power to sway him. In reality the campaigns would be demanding recounts, filing lawsuits and leveling charges of voter fraud into the next millennium, and the local elections board would probably end up getting sued into oblivion. The Speaker of the House would likely wind up becoming president before either of the candidates (as some suggested would have happened had Gore/Bush not managed to resolve their debacle after the 2000 race). ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/38 "2012-01-14T06:24:35Z")
I quit watching the Drew Carey show before it ended, but did they really go to the gay marriage well twice? In the episode I remember, Drew’s dog needed expensive surgery, and the company gave health benefits to “domestic partners.” So Drew filed a claim for his dog. The company president, being suspicious that Drew had a domestic partner because he’d never indicated having one before, demanded an interview. So Drew brought his friend Oswald, called him by his dog’s name, and they bickered so much in front of the boss she dismissed the interview saying there was no doubt they were partners. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/39 "2012-01-14T08:35:08Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Computers must just be these things that writers use to make Word documents. As a result you get scenes like [this](http://youtu.be/hkDD03yeLnU), in which it’s clear that no one, at any stage of the writing process, filming process, no one on the set, no one anywhere near the camera, no one within a few miles, knew anything about what they were filming. Not only is that completely brilliant, but so are the comments 😃 Fave: “I think I’ll just write into the MSDOS command line “find the murderer” and the PC will do it.” ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115/40 "2012-01-14T09:24:32Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Ever see a fictional work that takes place in the real world and has an element so implausible it makes you wonder if the writer is from another planet? > > I’m not talking about Hollywood physics in an action film or things that are openly sci fi/fantasy. > > There was an episode of The Drew Carrey Show back in the mid 90s where Drew’s boss a British citizen is going to be deported, so to prevent this him and Drew enter into a fraudulent gay marriage. They apparently have no trouble getting married, and USA immigration doesn’t bat an eye, however they do send an agent to spy on them who then confronts them in their home and demands they kiss to prove they are a real couple. > > W…T…F…?😕 > > Even in 2012 USA immigration does not allow permanent residency petitions for same sex married couples, and back when the show was made was there a single state in the USA that allowed same sex marriage? Much less Ohio where the show was set. > Not to mention getting married to a USA citizen while already in deportation proceedings is more likely to get you a charge for immigration fraud than to allow you to change status to permanent residency. Drew and his buddies tamed and rode a fucking _Monkapotamus_, and this is the best you can do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-make-you-wonder-what-planet-writers-live-on/609115.md?page=3)