# Things you want to know about TV and movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548 "2013-06-09T14:17:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/21 "2013-06-09T20:48:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In _NCIS_ the agency is chockfull of cutting-edge technology. Why do agents still have CRT monitors on their desks? Possibly the showrunners felt that the folks watching at home would feel more positively toward the NCIS characters–who, as shown by their office equipment, are just Regular Joes, not fancy-pants rich guys like your boss who looks down his nose at you. (Or something like that.) > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In _Star Trek_, why did the computer have a monotone voice? Sure, they couldn’t have predicted the advances in computer technology, but when _2001: A Space Odyssey_ was filmed at the end of _Star Trek_’s run, HAL had a ‘normal’ voice. And what was up with all of the clacking relays when the ship’s computer (on _Star Trek_) was searching its database? Voice a monotone: clearly, to disguise the fact that the producer was double-dipping by giving his wife the role (in addition to her other roles). If Majel could have done accents, the computer might have had an _expressive_ voice–in a nice Irish brogue, perhaps. The clacking: it was reassuring to audiences who were a bit uneasy about computers. Silent operation = ominous plotting by the evil mechanical intelligence! > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We all like a bit of grave-robbing, and in Mary Shelley’s time it was a good way to show the ethics of certain people. But in _Frankenstein_, why bother gathering a collection of parts and sew them together? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to find a suitable intact body, and only replace the parts that needed replacing? Yeah, but then you’d have the phenomenon of a recently-deceased person being _recognized_, walking around. Whereas if it’s Paulo’s face on Bela’s body, someone might say _'you know that seven-foot man shambling about the countryside looks something like Paulo, but it can’t be Paulo seeing as he was barely five foot six…must be a cousin from another town or such…_’ ---
**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:** [June 9, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/22 "2013-06-09T20:56:38Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Voice a monotone: clearly, to disguise the fact that the producer was double-dipping by giving his wife the role (in addition to her other roles). If Majel could have done accents, the computer might have had an _expressive_ voice–in a nice Irish brogue, perhaps. Did Majel do the voice in TOS? If she did, it was heavily altered electronically, whereas in the other series (_Voyager_ in particular) it was clearly her real voice. Come to think of it, I don’t remember what the computer sounded like in _any_ of the other series _except_ _Voyager_. That must be the only one in which I found it distinctive. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/23 "2013-06-09T21:00:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did Majel do the voice in TOS? If she did, it was heavily altered electronically, whereas in the other series (_Voyager_ in particular) it was clearly her real voice. > > Come to think of it, I don’t remember what the computer sounded like in _any_ of the other series _except_ _Voyager_. That must be the only one in which I found it distinctive. Yes, the voice in the original series was much more ‘tinny’ sounding. But if wikipedia’s entry is to be believed, that was Majel, too: > [@](#): > > She provided the regular voice of the onboard computers of Federation starships for Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and most of the Star Trek movies. She reprised her role as a shipboard computer’s voice in two episodes of the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise. > **[Majel Barrett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majel_Barrett)** > > Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (/ˈmeɪdʒəl/ MAY-jəl; born Majel Leigh Hudec; February 23, 1932 – December 18, 2008) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as various characters in the Star Trek franchise: Nurse Christine Chapel (in the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and two films of the franchise), Number One (also in the original series), Lwaxana Troi (on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and the voice of most onboard comp ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/24 "2013-06-09T22:47:10Z")
The Star Trek computer voice was just a dramaturgical/practical choice. Audiences of the 60s needed something more than silence to indicate that even an advanced computer was “working” and clicking relays, although rather ridiculous sounding now, worked perfectly at the time. Majel Barret’s voice wasn’t overly processed in TOS, she just performed it with a deliberate monotone to emphasize that the Enterprise’s computer system, while highly advanced and capable of both speech recognition & pronunciation, was \*NOT \*a sentient being, it was still just a machine and had no need for emotionality. They actually made fun of this in _Tomorrow is Yesterday_ where the computer briefly had a sultry, sexy voice (much to Spock & Kirk’s dismay). Sentient machines were always villains on TOS (like Nomad and even more the Federation made M5). BTW, Barret is the only actor to be featured _in every single incarnation_ of Star Trek, including The Animated Series and the 2009 reboot film (again as the computer voice). But by the time TNG came about attitudes about technology had changed drastically so it was perfectly acceptable for Majel Barret’s computer voice, while still rather unemotional, to not be cold and robotic sounding. And of course for Data, a fully-fledged sentient android, to be a crew member. As to why 2001’s HAL was different, well again he wasn’t just a computer, he was a fully sentient machine and an integral part of the overall plot & meaning of the film (and because Kubrick was an unqualified genius!) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/25 "2013-06-09T22:59:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > BTW, Barret is the only actor to be featured _in every single incarnation_ of Star Trek, including The Animated Series and the 2009 reboot film (again as the computer voice). You sure about that? She died in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/26 "2013-06-09T23:59:21Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You sure about that? She died in 2008. Wiki says that she [completed the voice over recordings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majel_Barrett#Star_Trek) before she died. I haven’t seen or read too much about the latest film (spoilers) so I don’t know if they somehow recycled material and/or computer generated her voice for it, or hired a sound-a-like, or just skipped over it entirely… ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/27 "2013-06-10T00:19:22Z")
I’m always impressed with how people in movies can hang from a rope or railing or windowsill by one hand for several minutes. Next time you go by a playground, grab a horizontal bar with one hand, lift your feet off the ground, and see how long you can hang on. And you didn’t even have to catch yourself after falling several feet, like most of the movie people did. Even with both hands, if you’re over 30 and not a former gymnast, see how easily you can go from a dead hang to getting your center of mass over the top of the bar, which is always trivial in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/28 "2013-06-10T00:59:29Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I want to know why actors playing paramedics (or other emergency personnel) will be in out on a call and they will be asked by a dispatcher, > > “What is your ETA?” > > And the actor will look at his watch and say something like 10 minutes. What difference does it make on what time actually is? > > People will do it real life as well. Like you are work first thing in the morning and someone asks you what time you want to meet for lunch. People always look at the time before answering as if 8 o’clock would be different than 9 o’clock. It’s ingrained. I’m an EMT (been certified for 6 years), and I can tell you that it’s just natural. I’ve had people ask via the radio what my ETA is for a scene, and I can tell you that I can’t think of any time that I haven’t glanced at my watch or the clock in the squad. That’s not to say that I’m claiming that I look every time. Just that I think it’s a natural reaction to look at a clock/watch when a question like that is asked. I can’t speak for any other EMT/paramedic, but I’d imagine they do it with stunning frequency, also. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/29 "2013-06-10T02:05:06Z")
Frankly, that seems like a strange complaint to me. I live in a big city and the time it is now influences how long I think a given trip will take and likewise, if someone asks me when I want to have lunch, if I’m starving and it’s 9, I will say 11. If I’m starving and it’s 10, I might go with 12. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/30 "2013-06-10T09:12:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And what was up with all of the clacking relays when the ship’s computer (on _Star Trek_) was searching its database? Yes, having a clacking noise just to indicate that your computer was working on something is ridiculous. Everyone knows you use a little animated icon for that. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/31 "2013-06-10T09:20:18Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > In movies, they have bouncers/bodyguards who weigh 350 pounds or more and are not exactly fit as an NFL player. > > A nine year old could trip them and it would take them five minutes to stand up again, and an old woman on an electric scooter could out pace them. If I were going to have a bodyguard/bouncer, I think I would rather have someone who can perhaps run 30 feet without getting winded and have to take a break to eat a sandwich. My friend was a bar bouncer, and this is very much truth. My friend was a very fat, large black man who looked intimidating unless you knew him. He was the poster movie bouncer. They just want guys who LOOK scary, they don’t care too much if they could actually handle a fight. After all, Jackie Chan could probably kick your ass, but if he came over and told you to take it outside the first reaction is “… you and what army?” The ideal would probably be people like my other friend who’s like 6’2, 220 pounds of almost pure muscle, and done karate all their life, but those people usually have better things to do than be a bar bouncer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/32 "2013-06-10T11:40:09Z")
Why do people meet at a cafe or restaurant, order food and/or drinks, then leave without consuming them - or worse (and quite often) _leave before their order even arrives_ ? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/33 "2013-06-10T13:21:02Z")
Why would you built a self destruct capability in a spaceship, and have a point in the countdown where it becomes irrevocable? Okay, maybe you want to have a way to ensure that other crews won’t enter a ship and be overcome by hostile aliens or infected with parasites, but why make it so someone could be on a ship and unable to rescind a self destruct order? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/34 "2013-06-10T13:28:32Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why would you built a self destruct capability in a spaceship, and have a point in the countdown where it becomes irrevocable? Okay, maybe you want to have a way to ensure that other crews won’t enter a ship and be overcome by hostile aliens or infected with parasites, but why make it so someone could be on a ship and unable to rescind a self destruct order? Because it’s built to code. It’s clearly stated in the Mad Scientist’s Guide to Overthrowing the University, Page 19, Section 4, Line 6 (or Page 20, Section 5, Line 11 in the new revision), that: “In order to maintain a balance in the universe, your awesome and obviously superiors designs must have an easily detectable flaw, or where would be the challenge?” It’s also why Luke could blow up the Death Star. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/35 "2013-06-10T13:39:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why would you built a self destruct capability in a spaceship, and have a point in the countdown where it becomes irrevocable? Okay, maybe you want to have a way to ensure that other crews won’t enter a ship and be overcome by hostile aliens or infected with parasites, but why make it so someone could be on a ship and unable to rescind a self destruct order? Because once the captain is possessed by the brain spiders, they can make him issue the cancel command - but not if there is a point of no return. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/36 "2013-06-10T14:23:49Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Why do expert computer hackers in the movies type like crazy and never use the mouse? Trust me, it’s pretty hard writing code while typing 160 words per minute without even using a mouse. Not an Emacs or Vi user, I take it. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/37 "2013-06-10T14:28:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Because once the captain is possessed by the brain spiders, they can make him issue the cancel command - but not if there is a point of no return. Also, the actual physical process involved in self-destruction may reach a point of no return - for instance, the antimatter reactor may reach critical mass, but there will still be a few minutes before the containment fields fail and the ship explodes. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/38 "2013-06-10T14:37:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Also, the actual physical process involved in self-destruction may reach a point of no return - for instance, the antimatter reactor may reach critical mass, but there will still be a few minutes before the containment fields fail and the ship explodes. I could buy something like this, but they never go into this detail. It’s always an unemotional female computer voice saying something like “self destruct sequence cannot be terminated in… 15 seconds.” A plausible physical explanation would go a long way toward credibility. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/39 "2013-06-10T15:24:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Why do people meet at a cafe or restaurant, order food and/or drinks, then leave without consuming them - or worse (and quite often) _leave before their order even arrives_ ? I wonder that too. They order a beer, take one sip and leave. Why do phone conversations never end with “goodbye” or “bye”? ---
**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:** [June 10, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548/40 "2013-06-10T16:09:22Z")
How can average person search a very obscure subject and get the right webpage in five seconds. They must have better google-fu than I do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-to-know-about-tv-and-movies/660548.md?page=3)