# 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:** 193
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3847 "2024-06-19T16:53:39Z")
If anyone is interested in a particularly nasty kidnapping, read about the Marion Parker kidnapping (1927 Los Angeles). An additional creepy part was that Marion had a twin that the kidnapper knew nothing about. It was completely bad luck that Marion was the victim. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3848 "2024-06-19T19:20:59Z")
Probably already said but I literally just saw this in a movie and it pissed me off so much. Hero kills like 30 mercenaries to get to the big bad. Gets to big bad and has him at gun point “…No, I won’t kill you, it will make me just as bad as you” Dude what about all the dudes you just killed who were just doing it for a paycheck?!? And did the guys who kill Ghadaffi have the same moral quandary too? ---
**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:** [June 19, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3849 "2024-06-19T19:24:34Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Probably already said but I literally just saw this in a movie and it pissed me off so much. > > Hero kills like 30 mercenaries to get to the big bad. > > Gets to big bad and has him at gun point > > “…No, I won’t kill you, it will make me just as bad as you” > > Dude what about all the dudes you just killed who were just doing it for a paycheck?!? > > And did the guys who kill Ghadaffi have the same moral quandary too? But then the bad guy grabs a gun or tries to kill a kid/dog so the hero can kill him with no moral issues. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3850 "2024-06-19T19:41:42Z")
Bad guy lunges at hero with a knife, hero ducks and bad guy falls down conveniently placed moral savior cliff. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3851 "2024-06-19T19:44:25Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Dude what about all the dudes you just killed who were just doing it for a paycheck?!? The henchmen just can’t win. In the K-drama **Moving** there’s a sequence where a flying super agent goes to assassinate a North Korean official. He wounds 20-some guards to get to the guy, who’s on his deathbed, so he just leaves. His next mission to NK he’s captured and the sole survivor of his last mission explains everyone else was executed for not stopping him last time. Plus, hundreds were killed in a new program to find their _own_ flying super agent… by forcing random people to leap to their deaths. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3852 "2024-06-19T19:50:26Z")
That sounds like something that deserves its own topic. Probably in GD. But not here. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3853 "2024-06-20T03:17:19Z")
´police officers spending their nights in a car waiting for a suspect to drive some place … (I always have to think: what if he just drives to the 7-11 instead of to his rich lover, who happens to be the widow or some other stupid plot) ---
**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 20, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3854 "2024-06-20T03:58:14Z")
I’ve always wondered how cops on a stakeout can sit in a parked car for hours and not be made by the bad guys. On the rare occasions where they are spotted, one of the baddies will invariably bring them coffee, just to let them know they’re no longer incognito. There’s an episode of _ **The Sopranos** _ where Tony meets a guy who’s really a CI while two Feds sit in a car outside, listening to the conversation through his wire. It’s pouring rain, and a cop passing by rolls down his window to ask if everything’s okay. They tell him it is, and he keeps on going. But he also notes the tags on the two guys’ car. Of course, the cop is crooked and informs the DiMeo family that two agents were parked outside the diner where Tony was having coffee with the CI. You can guess what happened after that. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3855 "2024-06-20T04:46:01Z")
nm nm ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3856 "2024-06-20T05:29:54Z")
Yeah and the cops park directly across the street from their target and somehow nobody notices them. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3857 "2024-06-20T16:24:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’ve always wondered how cops on a stakeout can sit in a parked car for hours and not be made by the bad guys. On the rare occasions where they are spotted, one of the baddies will invariably bring them coffee, just to let them know they’re no longer incognito. > > There’s an episode of _ **The Sopranos** _ where Tony meets a guy who’s really a CI while two Feds sit in a car outside, listening to the conversation through his wire. It’s pouring rain, and a cop passing by rolls down his window to ask if everything’s okay. They tell him it is, and he keeps on going. But he also notes the tags on the two guys’ car. > > Of course, the cop is crooked and informs the DiMeo family that two agents were parked outside the diner where Tony was having coffee with the CI. You can guess what happened after that. I can tell you from experience, it’s really fucking difficult. Really impossible with just one car. Much easier in a busy city where people just zone out the foot traffic and cars. ETA: I’m saying impossible because most places don’t have a clear line of sight where you can see the entire location while being far enough away to not be seen. Much easier if all you care about is the car. If you are worried about someone walking away you really need a team to cover everything. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3858 "2024-06-20T17:16:41Z")
That or cops on stakeout protecting some important witness by parking in front of a house and then they get killed somehow without the people inside the house noticing. Like in Eraser when the FBI agents protecting the house are all killed, except they have bullet holes ALL OVER their car and nobody notices. Even if they have suppressed guns, I think SOMEBODY in a neighborhood is going to hear the sounds of a bunch of bullets hitting glass and metal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3859 "2024-06-21T19:22:46Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Has anyone, ever, slipped on a banana peel? The film trope for this was covered in 'When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth" by David Feldman. Hal Roach explained than many were paid back in the old days on set with $1, and a lunch with two sandwiches and a banana. He suggested that in the Mack Sennett comedies, the banana should be used as of course there were lots of free ones right there on set. Bingo! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3860 "2024-06-23T12:12:10Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > ´police officers spending their nights in a car waiting for a suspect to drive some place … > > (I always have to think: what if he just drives to the 7-11 instead of to his rich lover, who happens to be the widow or some other stupid plot) I may have mentioned it earlier in the thread (I’m too lazy to look it up). But why wait for the suspect to drive past when the police can just go to whatever bar, nightclub or strip club he apparently holds court in 24-7? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3861 "2024-06-23T12:14:49Z")
I also suspect that cops go to question dangerous criminals or even entire gangs who are suspected to be involved in a violent crime by themselves (maybe with just their partner) with no backup a lot more in TV and movies than in real life. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3862 "2024-06-23T19:14:34Z")
This is one of the many reasons why Silence of the Lambs was a poorly made picture. There is never **one** FBI Agent knocking at your door. And yeah, there are whole neighborhoods cops dont go in without backup. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3863 "2024-06-23T21:04:55Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yeah and the cops park directly across the street from their target and somehow nobody notices them. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/W_HSNMLfhFM/hqdefault.jpg "Flowers By Irene (The Simpsons)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_HSNMLfhFM&t=16s) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3864 "2024-06-24T19:27:32Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yeah and the cops park directly across the street from their target and somehow nobody notices them. We lampshaded this in a recent superheroes game- “Hey that flower van has been sitting there for several days now…” ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3865 "2024-06-25T01:26:48Z")
Do people in real life scream hysterically when encountering a dead body, like in TV shows and movies? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3866 "2024-06-27T06:08:46Z")
Scene: A person taking a shower. For whatever reasons they find themselves in physical distress. They collapse, and in an effort to remain upright, grab onto the shower curtain. This doesn’t work, and they drag the shower curtain to the floor with them. The curtain rings part, one by one and come down with the wreckage. Inexplicably, the rod remains in place. That’s not something that I’ve ever seen as being plausible with any shower curtain rod I’ve ever encountered. [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=192) [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=194)