# What is extremely common in TV or movies but almost never happens in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311 "2021-02-06T04:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/281 "2021-02-08T20:53:45Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > If it was a boy you name him Christopher and Plummer as the middle name. Depending on the parents’ political persuasion the first name could be “Joda” if female or “Joe’Da” if male. Middle name “Plummer” or “Plumber”. > **[Joe the Plumber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_the_Plumber)** > > Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (/ˈwɜːrzəlbɑːkər/ WUR-zəl-bah-kər; December 3, 1973 – August 27, 2023), commonly known as "Joe the Plumber", was an American conservative activist and commentator. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign season when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by Democratic nominee Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher raised concerns that Obama's tax policy would increase taxes on small business owners. Wurzelbacher was a member of the Republican P... ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/282 "2021-02-08T21:41:35Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > It’s also pretty common in action movies. The SWAT or Special Forces squad members would all being helmets and face shields but the main characters in charge wouldn’t. Not going to pay some A List actor millions of dollars to be in film and then cover his face I guess. It’s also very common in historical or sword and sorcery movies for the lead characters not only to not wear a helmet while all the grunts around them are wearing theirs, but actually _take it off_ in the heat of battle. Of course it’s so you can see the face of the highly paid stars but it always bugs me. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/283 "2021-02-08T21:55:19Z")
If a person is dying for any reason, they’ll be OK as long as you can get them over the threshold of the hospital. f they’re dying of poisoning, there’s will be an antidote, and it will be just as effective if taken in the 59th minute of poisoning as it would if they took it in the first minute, however, if there is a delay until the 60th minute, they’re a goner for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/284 "2021-02-08T22:06:36Z")
When the detectives at _NYPD Blue_ go to a place of business to discuss a murder with someone, the person they are there to see acts surprised to see them. As mentioned earlier, they often won’t even stop whatever they’re doing to directly address the officer. But it’s the attitude about the victim that always surprises me. Detective: We want to ask you some questions about Joe Deadguy. Suspect: Joe was a real sonofabitch. I couldn’t stand the guy. Detective: Well, he’s dead. Suspect: Well, good riddance. They never totally switch gears. Suspect: He’s dead? Oh no! My heart is broken. I loved him like a brother. Detective: We heard he was sleeping with your wife. Suspect: Yeah, he was such a great guy, we shared everything. Totally never bothered me. Detective: He had information that was going to ruin your business. Suspect: Ummmm… That’s an exaggeration. Every restaurant in NYC has rats in the kitchen. It’s not like we served them up in the entrees… well, except for that one time. Totally water under the bridge. Nope, the suspects always totally dig themselves a hole, revealing how much they didn’t like the dead guy and that they had every possible motive to off the guy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/285 "2021-02-08T22:15:03Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > Nope, the suspects always totally dig themselves a hole, revealing how much they didn’t like the dead guy and that they had every possible motive to off the guy. Remember the audience. They have to make the show understandable to the average American viewer. You know: a drooling moron. You might pick up the subtle clue about motive in the suspect’s first reply to the detective. Cletus won’t. So they lay it on thick; real thick 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/286 "2021-02-08T22:27:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Cop and medical shows/movies seem to have the most ridiculous tropes. ISTM that there are two types of movies/TV shows, which differ in this regard. On the one hand, you have shows which purport to depict aspects of regular life but in a touching or poignant manner. E.g. about romantic relationships or other forms of human interaction. Then on the other hand, you have shows which depict dramatic and exotic parts of life, e.g. cop and medical shows. The difference is that when it comes to “ordinary life” shows, the writers have an interest in making it come off as true-to-life as possible, since 1) the viewers will recognize it if it’s not true-to-life, and 2) the whole point is for it to be true-to-life since the idea is that the audience will empathize. OTOH, the exotic/dramatic shows are the opposite - 1) the audience generally won’t recognize (that much, anyway) if the scenes are not true-to-life, since they’re unfamiliar with the subjects, and 2) even to the extent that they’re not true-to-life the story won’t suffer much since what’s being sold is drama and action and the life and not emotional connection. It’s possible that cop shows and medical shows are simply some of the most common of the second type of shows. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/287 "2021-02-08T22:30:53Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Hollywood typically has the CO and high-level commanders on away missions. To my knowledge, this never happens. Now, I can’t speak for the Navy or Coast Guard, If you are on one of those little river patrol boats with a small crew, sure. Like on Apocalypse now. but not even on something as small as a destroyer. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/288 "2021-02-08T22:48:21Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Hollywood typically has the CO and high-level commanders on away missions. To my knowledge, this never happens. Now, I can’t speak for the Navy or Coast Guard, but I’m going to put dollars to donuts, that the Captain is a little too busy overseeing the strategic/operational mission and running the ship, to be meddling in a tactical field trip. You’d have experienced NCOs, and _maybe_ a junior CGO on an away team or patrol. But not the full Command Staff. That’s true of just about EVERY show that has high-ish ranking people as main cast members. A ST:TNG episode where the away team beams down and does their thing, while Picard and Riker eat lunch and follow up with department heads would be totally dull. So they send Riker and 2-3 other senior officers for drama’s sake. I’ve long thought that shows like the various Star Trek ones ought to maybe have parallel casts- maybe the captain and the first officer, and guest star department heads, and then a junior cast of junior officers and enlisted. It would point up the different sort of work they do, as well as allow for some tension/character development there- for example Worf could be a great character from the senior officer perspective, but something of a hard-assed dick from the perspective of the junior personnel. Interestingly enough, SEAL Team on CBS gets it mostly right in that from what I can tell; all the main characters are various enlisted ranks with the team leader being an Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9), and the unit commander (a LCDR) is just a recurring guest star. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/289 "2021-02-08T23:17:50Z")
I don’t remember what the show was, but the plot was that someone needed an antidote within an hour of ingesting a poison, and they played it out in real time, with a clock in the corner of the TV screen-- got the antidote with something like 3 minutes to spare, and the victim was fine within _seconds_ of taking it. That’s some alimentary system he’s got. Maybe it was absorbed from his stomach right into his bloodstream. I guess it didn’t occur to anyone on the writing staff that it would have been slightly more believable if someone had injected it, or hurriedly jammed an IV into the guy, but oh well. My husband thinks I’m stupid for some of the shows I watch; he doesn’t get that I find the bad science _hilarious_. BTW: has anyone mentioned cars that explode on impact? Apparently it’s an actual problem that bystanders pull victims out of cars after crashes, because they think the car can explode at any moment, and have paralyzed people, who have spinal injuries. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/290 "2021-02-08T23:48:52Z")
I remember a Simpsons episode parodying the cars exploding trope by having a wagon pulled by horses fall over and explode!!! ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/291 "2021-02-09T00:05:58Z")
Don’t forget that scene in **Top Secret** where one car barely touches another’s bumper and the car explodes. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/292 "2021-02-09T00:24:23Z")
There’s a more subtle joke there which is probably lost on younger people today. The car that was rear-ended in that scene was a Ford Pinto. At the time that car was rather infamous for a design flaw that led to a number of fires after rear-end collisions, and eventually the largest automotive recall in history. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/293 "2021-02-09T00:24:34Z")
People getting into gunfights in an enclosed space (house, apartment, etc.) and being able to hear normally afterwards. Even a few minutes on an _outdoor_ shooting range w/o hearing protection can damage your hearing. Averted (mostly) on Archer. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/294 "2021-02-09T00:29:05Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I don’t remember what the show was, but the plot was that someone needed an antidote within an hour of ingesting a poison, and they played it out in real time, with a clock in the corner of the TV screen-- got the antidote with something like 3 minutes to spare, and the victim was fine within _seconds_ of taking it. That’s some alimentary system he’s got. Maybe it was absorbed from his stomach right into his bloodstream. I guess it didn’t occur to anyone on the writing staff that it would have been slightly more believable if someone had injected it, or hurriedly jammed an IV into the guy, but oh well. Yeah, I think I might have seen exactly that one. There was an episode of some series (again, I forget the details) where the protagonists were trying to protect some ex-criminal so he could testify, except the guy got shot in the abdomen. A handy nearby doctor said the guy would bleed to death in an hour, but it was OK, because they managed to get him to the door of the hospital in about 58 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/295 "2021-02-09T01:09:34Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > There’s a more subtle joke there which is probably lost on younger people today. The car that was rear-ended in that scene was a Ford Pinto. At the time that car was rather infamous for a design flaw that led to a number of fires after rear-end collisions, and eventually the largest automotive recall in history. I thought that scene was great, but I used to own a Pinto. Great car - no one ever tailgated me. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/296 "2021-02-09T01:24:29Z")
> [@bump](#): > > > [@Tripler](#): > > > > Hollywood typically has the CO and high-level commanders on away missions. To my knowledge, this never happens. Now, I can’t speak for the Navy or Coast Guard, but I’m going to put dollars to donuts, that the Captain is a little too busy overseeing the strategic/operational mission and running the ship, to be meddling in a tactical field trip. You’d have experienced NCOs, and _maybe_ a junior CGO on an away team or patrol. But not the full Command Staff. > > That’s true of just about EVERY show that has high-ish ranking people as main cast members. A ST:TNG episode where the away team beams down and does their thing, while Picard and Riker eat lunch and follow up with department heads would be totally dull. So they send Riker and 2-3 other senior officers for drama’s sake. I’ve long thought that shows like the various Star Trek ones ought to maybe have parallel casts- maybe the captain and the first officer, and guest star department heads, and then a junior cast of junior officers and enlisted. It would point up the different sort of work they do, as well as allow for some tension/character development there- for example Worf could be a great character from the senior officer perspective, but something of a hard-assed dick from the perspective of the junior personnel. > > Interestingly enough, SEAL Team on CBS gets it mostly right in that from what I can tell; all the main characters are various enlisted ranks with the team leader being an Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9), and the unit commander (a LCDR) is just a recurring guest star If I remember rightly, there was a _Star Trek: Next Generation_ episode that was exactly this - the story focussed on a group of ensigns and lieutenants assigned a mission by the higher ups. Picard, Riker, Data and Worf disappeared into Picard’s ready room, then came out and gave the grunts their orders. There was some drama around two of them being considered for the same promotion, and the various characters are shown interacting with their superiors (the main cast). The episode ended with Riker sitting in on the junior officers’ poker game. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/297 "2021-02-09T02:00:31Z")
You are a cop and you are involved in a shooting. Maybe it is a real firefight. Hundreds of rounds fired. Then you just go back to work, on the same day, and come back tomorrow. No, no, no! You are suspended for several days, or weeks, some times with pay, sometimes not. Every time a police officer even draws his weapon is a big deal. If he/she actually fires it, it is a much bigger deal. Draw that weapon, fire that weapon, and die under the paper work. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/298 "2021-02-09T02:51:23Z")
Yeah, ST:TNG did one, as did Babylon 5 if I remember right. But it was as a sort of one-time thing. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/299 "2021-02-09T03:37:53Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > You are a cop and you are involved in a shooting. Maybe it is a real firefight. Hundreds of rounds fired. > > Then you just go back to work, on the same day, and come back tomorrow. No, no, no! > > You are suspended for several days, or weeks, some times with pay, sometimes not. Every time a police officer even draws his weapon is a big deal. If he/she actually fires it, it is a much bigger deal. Draw that weapon, fire that weapon, and die under the paper work. If you are Danny Reagan you are involved in every shooting but they can’t afford to let him sit. He has every important case in NYC to solve. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/300 "2021-02-09T03:51:51Z")
> [@bump](#): > > A ST:TNG episode where the away team beams down and does their thing, while Picard and Riker eat lunch and follow up with department heads would be totally dull. So they send Riker and 2-3 other senior officers for drama’s sake. IMO the most egregious example of this, and one that always gives me a good snicker, is the last scene of the episode “Time’s Arrow”, where 5 of the 7 senior officers walk through a time vortex to travel to 19th century San Francisco. Since Data was already trapped over there, poor Worf is left as the sole senior officer watching over the _Enterprise_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=16)