# 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:** 256
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5129 "2025-07-03T00:47:27Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Murder victim breaks their watch, which stops, thus pinpointing rime of death to exact minute. Has this ever happened in real life? The murder of [John Taylor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Joseph_Smith#/media/File:JohnTaylorPocketWatch.jpg). ---
**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 3, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5130 "2025-07-03T00:51:41Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Clever murderer sets the broken watch to the wrong time, thus establishing an alibi. Happened in a few Columbo episodes. And _The Big Clock_. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5131 "2025-07-03T02:10:06Z")
I vaguely recall a story where the plot hinged on a plan to have ~~Big Ben~~ the Great Westminster Clock in London display the wrong time. Ring any bells? (pun only intended after the fact.) ---
**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 3, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5132 "2025-07-03T02:29:11Z")
_Mary Poppins Returns_? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5133 "2025-07-03T07:28:20Z")
Thunderball? Blofeld demands that Big Ben strike 7 times at 6 PM to signal that the government agree to his demands. They do. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2025, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5134 "2025-07-03T07:37:07Z")
Then there’s second episode of _The Prisoner_, [“The Chimes of Big Ben”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chimes_of_Big_Ben) where the strike matching his borrowed watch’s time makes No. 6 twig he’s still in The Village. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5135 "2025-07-03T11:06:06Z")
The 1978 movie of John Buchan’s _39 Steps_ had a climactic scene where the hero has to stop the clock to prevent a terrorist explosion. > **[The Thirty Nine Steps (1978 film)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty_Nine_Steps_(1978_film))** > > The Thirty Nine Steps is a British 1978 thriller film directed by Don Sharp, with screenplay by British playwright Michael Robson, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. It was the third film version of the 1915 novel. > This version of Buchan's tale stars Robert Powell as Richard Hannay, Karen Dotrice as Alex, John Mills as Colonel Scudder, and a host of other well-known British actors in smaller parts. It is generally regarded as the closest to the novel, being set before th... ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5136 "2025-07-03T13:17:23Z")
This is a long thread, so someone may have mentioned it already, but by far the most annoying trope I find in this category is: two people - usually a man and a woman - having a massive argument that escalates and escalates until - short pause - they launch at each other for furious kissing and (usually) sex, a.k.a [Slap-Slap-Kiss](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SlapSlapKiss). I HATE this beyond any standard of reasonableness. It’s so lazy, so obvious, and maybe happened once in the history of mankind. I actually just saw this recently portrayed in a new play I saw (except it was between two women) and I almost groaned out loud in annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5137 "2025-07-03T13:26:06Z")
**ShadowFacts** , you forgot to mention that this all takes place while the couple is desperately trying to escape something (e.g., burning building, stalking killer, fast zombie) or when they need to get somewhere immediately to save a life. No time like when you really, really need to go fast to resolve a relationship. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5138 "2025-07-03T13:38:29Z")
Yeah, sometimes, but also sometimes it’s just the basic set-up of a rom-com, and/or the culmination of a “will they/won’t they” storyline. I hate it however it appears. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5139 "2025-07-03T13:42:08Z")
Agreed. I’ve never thought to ask my wife if we would have a stronger relationship if I had argued with her and slapped her a few times before we first kissed. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5140 "2025-07-03T15:46:40Z")
MASH had a take on that where Hawkeye and Hot Lips were hiding in an abandoned house being shelled by the North Koreans and in the midst of their yelling for the shelling to stop, they decided that it was a good time for sex. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5141 "2025-07-03T17:09:37Z")
A post was merged into an existing topic: [Walker99 Sock Posts, rapid fired 5 posts and a long OP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walker99-sock-posts-rapid-fired-5-posts-and-a-long-op/1020449/2) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5142 "2025-07-03T18:44:25Z")
People interrupt you in the middle of a sentence to demand you say what you’re already saying. Character 1: “I was just trying to–” Character 2: “What? You were just trying to what?” Characters who have only seconds to explain something run out the clock saying “If you’d just let me explain,” or “But you don’t understand!” instead of just explaining. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5143 "2025-07-03T18:59:47Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > People interrupt you in the middle of a sentence to demand you say what you’re already saying. > Character 1: “I was just trying to–” > Character 2: “What? You were just trying to what?” I’ve been on the receiving end of that many times. The other person doesn’t want to hear it, refuses to discuss, and is deliberately stopping me speaking. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5144 "2025-07-03T20:45:33Z")
I suppose something like this may have happened, but one worn old trope that doesn’t really ring true is when the detective rounds off the plot by explaining the how and who dunnit, and someone (usually the nice-but-dim love interest) says “But there’s one thing I don’t understand - [as it might be] why did Aunt Maud need the wellington boots in the first place?” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5145 "2025-07-03T20:59:56Z")
In real life police detectives only explain things at length to a defendant if they’re trying to get them to incriminate themselves, or convincing them to incriminate accomplices. Narrative exposition isn’t part of the job description. I don’t know whether it happens in real life or not but in American crime drama police and detectives are quick to flatly accuse people of crimes, almost rudely so. Does that ever actually work as an interrogation tactic? ---
**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:** [July 3, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5146 "2025-07-03T22:24:46Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I don’t know whether it happens in real life or not but in American crime drama police and detectives are quick to flatly accuse people of crimes, almost rudely so. Does that ever actually work as an interrogation tactic? At best it’s a last resort. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5147 "2025-07-03T23:10:57Z")
I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, but I say, raise the stakes and have them trying to kill each other! (I admit when you start there it takes longer to get to the kissing part.) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5148 "2025-07-03T23:27:40Z")
Haha, well to each their own, it takes all kinds, etc. etc . 🙂 [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=255) [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=257)