# What are the most/least accurate shows about your profession? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397 "2008-04-15T03:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/61 "2008-04-17T00:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] IRL no one in their right mind would consider making whoopee on a morgue table (St. Elsewhere). . [/QUOTE] Well, in fairness, the pathologist in _St Elsewhere_ **wasn’t** in her right mind. ---
**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/62 "2008-04-17T03:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=NajaNivea] 😃 I work in animal research and been in a lot of research laboratories–I’ve yet to ever see a depiction in popular culture that even vaguely resembles a real lab where live vertebrates are involved, particularly when it comes to the caging and equipment used. [/QUOTE] Wait that doesn’t make sense! How would they plot to take over the world if they weren’t in the middle of the lab where all the cool stuff is? Narf ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/63 "2008-04-17T03:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] While I still haven’t thought of a movie that does portray journalism life accurately, I’ll make this obvious point: usually when TV news shows up in a movie it’s just to advance the plot. The result is the anchor/reporter character saying things journalists would never say, in a way they would never say them. [/QUOTE] What about the TV show **The Wire**? Everyone raves about how realistic it is, and they had a journalistic sub-plot running through season five. The head writer even used to be a journalist. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/64 "2008-04-20T09:58:25Z")
A TV movie by Alan Parker “Contact” About an elite Brit. army unit in Ulster during the troubles. Chillingly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/65 "2008-04-20T13:48:25Z")
Nothing to do with my profession, but it seems relevant to mention that the mockup B-52 interior constructed for Dr. Strangelove was, apparently, so close to the real (classified) thing that the Air Force freaked out thinking that there had been an intelligence leak. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/66 "2008-04-20T22:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=Student Driver] For low-level food service, Waiting… is top-notch. [/QUOTE] I worked in a fancy-pants restaurant for a while, its the same in ALL restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/67 "2008-04-20T23:25:20Z")
There are no accurate shows that describe chemistry or physics research. In the movies, a new discovery is made then realized in a week or so. In reality, it takes years and is quite tedious. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/68 "2008-04-20T23:36:58Z")
I love the scene in Kindergarten Cop when Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has dealt with all the worst elements of society, has to admit about dealing with six year-olds: “They’re pushing me around!” Of course that scene where he starts screaming “SHUT UP!”—well I’ve only said that once, but I’ve thought it many, many times. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/69 "2008-04-20T23:51:19Z")
On the whole, film and TV do not get “English professor” right. At all. I think the closest I’ve seen is “The ‘L’ Word” and Bette’s job as a dean. In print, Richard Russo gets it right (he’s an English prof). ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397/70 "2008-04-21T01:35:11Z")
It is not nearly as hard to bypass alarm systems as movies would lead you to believe. The fire sprinkler systems in office buildings are almost never connected to the fire alarm manual pull stations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-least-accurate-shows-about-your-profession/445397.md?page=3)