# 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:** 205
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4087 "2024-07-31T19:48:18Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > Very few people use blanks as opposed to live ammunition. I didn’t realize we were playing The Match Game. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4088 "2024-07-31T22:59:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What if they just keep squeezing the trigger when they see you weren’t hit the first time? no, I can absolutely positively confirm that the person then will **throw** the gun at you … you just need to be prepared to duck … ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4089 "2024-08-06T15:49:38Z")
I’ve never seen a drunk person stare into a mirror, then throw their glass at the mirror causing it to shatter. Probably would look weirder because IRL you’re not seeing it from the mirror’s point of view. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4090 "2024-08-06T16:24:40Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > I’ve never seen a drunk person stare into a mirror, then throw their glass at the mirror causing it to shatter. I’ve also never seen a person shoot a gun at their TV. (though I sometimes have the urge, but I don’t own a gun) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4091 "2024-08-06T16:31:36Z")
Isn’t Elvis known for shooting up his TV whenever he saw something he didn’t like on it? That’s what I heard when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4092 "2024-08-06T16:35:35Z")
Oh yes, I heard that too, maybe I confused that story with a movie/TV meme. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4093 "2024-08-06T16:37:03Z")
To be fair, it’s hard to know what to believe about Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4094 "2024-08-06T17:09:15Z")
_So I bought a .44 magnum it was solid steel cast_ _And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast_ _‘Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet_ _And they busted me for disturbin’ the almighty peace_ _Judge said “What you got in your defense son?”_ _“Fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on”_ -B. Springsteen ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4095 "2024-08-06T18:10:38Z")
How dated… "During our August Dog Days Sale, you can get _two hundred fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on."_ There seem to be so many alcohol-related clichés that only happen on-screen. Not the least: “Gimme a whiskey. Leave the bottle.” Corollary: Friend/relative/fellow cop walks into dive bar, finds the disillusioned drinker with the almost-empty bottle and a half-dozen empty shot glasses on the bar. What is that? “Gimme da bottle… but I’m going to use a clean glass every swallow. I do have standards…” ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4096 "2024-08-06T19:09:41Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Isn’t Elvis known for shooting up his TV whenever he saw something he didn’t like on it? That’s what I heard when I was a kid. Ah! So that’s where they got that from when Bart and Lisa wrote the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4097 "2024-08-06T19:42:38Z")
Robert Goulet was on the tv that Elvis shot, although there’s no reports that Elvis disliked him. However, Frank Sinatra was said to have pulled off the road, removed his shoe and used it to smash his car radio when “Light My Fire” (The Doors version, not José Feliciano‘s cover) came over the air. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4098 "2024-08-06T19:59:22Z")
Along with his snarling baritone and swiveling hips, Elvis Presley apparently was known for his gunslinging. The story goes that as he watched singer Robert Goulet performing on television one night, he shot out the screen of his 25-inch RCA TV. “There was nothing Elvis had against Robert Goulet. They were friends,” Kevin Kern, a spokesman for Presley’s home and museum Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, told the Associated Press in 2006. “But Elvis just shot out things on a random basis.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4099 "2024-08-06T20:27:47Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Ah! So that’s where they got that from when Bart and Lisa wrote the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon! “Clancy, use the remote!” ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4100 "2024-08-06T22:31:16Z")
This is more “The writers are ignorant or haven’t left the 1980s” but any movie/show where a serial killer/monster/alien is on the loose, a group of people decide to arm themselves and go find it or hunker down, and for some reason a bunch of the posse are all armed with scoped bolt action hunting rifles. Now there’s DEFINITELY a time and a place for a classic hunting rifle, but almost every time I see this it’s people using them like pistols, only shooting them or holding somebody up from 2 feet away within easy “push away” distance. Nowadays if you look at what most guns people own it’s almost entirely handguns, and those with hunting rifles would probably also own a shotgun a weapon far superior to the close range engagements in these works. But no I gotta see yet again a killer grab somebodys hunting rifle away and then stab them because the person with the gun was standing within punching distance with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4101 "2024-08-06T22:56:11Z")
Secret passages/rooms are a thing in some ancient English country houses, where they were Catholics and were harbouring Catholic priests. Some of these hiding places were so well constructed they were not found until the 20th c., although they were known to be somewhere in the house. > **[Places with priest holes](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/houses-buildings/places-to-find-priest-holes)** > > Discover the Tudor places in our care where you'll find hidden priest holes – spaces where priests could hide and stay safe during times of persecution. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4102 "2024-08-07T16:56:12Z")
This happens in every episode of “Criminal Minds” and probably a lot of other crime shows: The investigators have assembled the local police force and are giving a briefing of suspect. Everyone on the team says one or two random sentences about the suspect and then the lead guy dismisses everyone. No questions. No paper handouts. Just remember what we said. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4103 "2024-08-07T16:57:21Z")
“How will we identify the serial killer?” “It’s simple, you saw him introduced at the beginning of the episode” ---
**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:** [August 7, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4104 "2024-08-07T20:16:33Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > This happens in every episode of “Criminal Minds” and probably a lot of other crime shows: The investigators have assembled the local police force and are giving a briefing of suspect. Everyone on the team says one or two random sentences about the suspect and then the lead guy dismisses everyone. No questions. No paper handouts. Just remember what we said. And everyone automatically knows which too sentences to say without a script. And they speak to this room of people without any introductions or reasons why anyone should listen to them. I’ll give _Criminal Minds_ a pass because I saw Matthew Gray Gubler walking through Greenwich Village once and he seemed like a genuinely friendly and happy guy. I didn’t talk to him but he didn’t mind having little interactions with fans. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4105 "2024-08-07T20:41:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And they speak to this room of people without any introductions or reasons why anyone should listen to them. I just call that “TV Shorthand”. Things I just assume are done, and we never need to see them. It’s boring enough in real life to go to a meeting like that, get your coffee, complain the feebs didn’t buy donuts…again…they never buy, find a seat, have the boring introductions of people you’ll never see again and probably don’t like cause they’re Feds, all to get the handouts that they could have just left on the table - do we need to take up twenty minutes of the show for it. 🙂 Besides, if you introduce the bit payers, that means their characters have names and possibly lines, and that means they get paid more. We gotta budget, donchya know? ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4106 "2024-08-07T21:14:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Things I just assume are done, and we never need to see them. It’s boring enough in real life to go to a meeting like that, get your coffee, complain the feebs didn’t buy donuts…again…they never buy, find a seat, have the boring introductions of people you’ll never see again and probably don’t like cause they’re Feds, all to get the handouts that they could have just left on the table - do we need to take up twenty minutes of the show for it. 🙂 At least they could do an icebreaker exercise [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=204) [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=206)