# 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:** 226
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4507 "2024-12-29T20:04:13Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Heh, I dunno, in real life I told an acquaintance of mine “As your non-lawyer, I advise you to shut up” Yep, a LOT of criminals are stupid. But in L&O CI, Goren is usually dealing with wealthy upper class smart people. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4508 "2024-12-29T20:28:16Z")
Wealthy doesn’t always equate to smart, and smart doesn’t always equate to common sense. Also, rich people can be handicapped by thinking they will be immune to the law ---
**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:** [December 29, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4509 "2024-12-29T20:42:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@scabpicker](#): > > > > Heh, I dunno, in real life I told an acquaintance of mine “As your non-lawyer, I advise you to shut up” > > Yep, a LOT of criminals are stupid. But in L&O CI, Goren is usually dealing with wealthy upper class smart people. And it’s mostly people who planned. Most real life crimes aren’t well planned. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4510 "2024-12-30T05:16:14Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Wealthy doesn’t always equate to smart, and smart doesn’t always equate to common sense. But wealthy people have lawyers. > [@Loach](#): > > And it’s mostly people who planned. Most real life crimes aren’t well planned. Yep, or at least not planned well. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2025, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4511 "2025-01-01T01:21:45Z")
I don’t think this quite fits as “almost never happens in real life” but it certainly doesn’t happen with the frequency it does in TV. Whenever someone goes into labor their water breaks and they leave a giant puddle on the floor. 100% guaranteed. Although that much liquid is possible it’s usually not anything like that and might not even be noticeable at all. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4512 "2025-01-02T13:17:41Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t think this quite fits as “almost never happens in real life” but it certainly doesn’t happen with the frequency it does in TV. Whenever someone goes into labor their water breaks and they leave a giant puddle on the floor. 100% guaranteed. Good one. That always bugs my wife, who gave birth twice-- “_it doesn’t happen that way!!_” ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4513 "2025-01-02T16:20:18Z")
This one is fairly minor but bugged the heck out of me. I recently watched a TV show in which _every single time_ any two characters talked on the phone, even ones that didn’t know each other well, it was a video call. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could count the times I’ve ever used Face Time on one hand and have fingers left over. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4514 "2025-01-02T19:52:41Z")
I love John Mulaney ---
**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:** [January 2, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4515 "2025-01-02T20:12:42Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > This one is fairly minor but bugged the heck out of me. > > I recently watched a TV show in which _every single time_ any two characters talked on the phone, even ones that didn’t know each other well, it was a video call. > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could count the times I’ve ever used Face Time on one hand and have fingers left over. FaceTime is for basically two things. Calling little kids in the family that you don’t get to see often. Calling a distant family member from a family gathering so they can wave to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4516 "2025-01-02T21:25:28Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could count the times I’ve ever used Face Time on one hand and have fingers left over. It was very common on one job I had. Other than that- for personal use? Never. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4517 "2025-01-02T21:52:53Z")
I worked with some people who just had to use video on phone calls because they could. Very annoying. If I liked looking at you I would have come to the office more often. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4518 "2025-01-03T00:59:17Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could count the times I’ve ever used Face Time on one hand and have fingers left over. Probably this does count as “almost never”, but I recently was with a group of people I rarely hang out with, and they were making video calls. I think they were Millennial or Z ages, and completely counter to the stereo type, they were using FaceTime for things that could have been text (or probably WhatsApp) messages. This was things like a quick video call to a spouse to check-in about dinner plans, or letting someone in a different part of the building know where we were. So the annoyance factor of making calls on speakerphone, leveled up by knowing that not only can you (a bystander) hear both sides of the conversation, but the person on the other end can see you. > [@DrDeth](#): > > It was very common on one job I had I worked with someone that really preferred video calls. Fortunately I didn’t report to him, because those that did had to keep Zoom running all of the time in case he wanted to talk. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4519 "2025-01-06T17:52:37Z")
I use video calls with Deaf friends. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4520 "2025-01-14T08:46:41Z")
The hero and the bad guys are having a shoot out in a public place. Hero pulls his gun in a grocery store and says FREEZE to some terrorists. Terrorists respond by pulling their own guns and opening fire. Civilians in the immediate vicinity immediately start screaming and run away from the gunfire realistically. Then the hero chases the terrorists to the meat section and there’s a bunch of people standing around like they didn’t hear the gunshots from 20 feet away and THEN start running when they see the hero start shooting at the terrorists again. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4521 "2025-01-14T18:39:58Z")
In every big city hospital family and friends just seem to be able to wander in and out of the ER without ever having to go through security. They are able to stand around and watch during codes and emergency surgeries. Everything is also on display to everyone with great big windows and no curtains. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4522 "2025-01-14T19:14:37Z")
That’s something that has particularly struck me about _House_. What’s with all the patio doors (sorry not sure they’re called that in the US!) ?! ---
**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:** [January 14, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4523 "2025-01-14T19:16:03Z")
When my dad was in the ICU with COVID, all the rooms had glass sliding doors. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4524 "2025-01-14T19:19:24Z")
Glass doors are common. So are privacy curtains. Being displayed like a window at Saks Fifth Ave at Christmas is not common. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4525 "2025-01-14T20:10:39Z")
I’ve seen glass sliding doors in hospitals but not to patient rooms or offices like on _House_ ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4526 "2025-01-14T20:13:56Z")
Nobody on tv ever takes their shoes or boots off before they get into bed. That’s just what everyone wants, their dirty ass boots on their clean bed. Maybe there is some aversion to showing actors in socks… Ruins the illusion or something? Ridiculous. [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=225) [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=227)