# 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:** 268
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5369 "2026-05-21T17:36:37Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Just think how easy it is to identify many cars from behind, without referencing the name badge. That used to be the case for me maybe 40 years ago. Today, cars all look the same to me, and I rarely can identify the manufacturer, let alone the model. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5370 "2026-05-21T17:40:41Z")
I can’t tell them apart from ANY angle! ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5371 "2026-05-21T17:44:52Z")
I can see that different cars have distinctly different shapes. But I have no idea about how this shape = this make and model. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5372 "2026-05-21T17:50:02Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > It is surprisingly easy to identify many handguns even when they are holstered. Not caliber, or model Sure a Glock is easy, but is it a 17, 19, 43, 45, 42, 26, 21, 44, 20? While it is holstered. From a distance. There are a number of copies of guns. Can you identify which brand a holstered 1911 copy is? Or even if it is a .22 plinker copy? When cops on TV shows do that, they are aided by the writers. Like cops (or MEs) that look at a bullet wound and say “9mm”. Sure it isn’t a .38? A .357? Or a 10mm? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5373 "2026-05-21T18:53:58Z")
> [@Cachalot](#): > > Whenever there is a scene involving a firearm, sometimes without it even being drawn, but still in its’ holster, the person looking at it is frequently able to identify it as to manufacturer, model and maybe even variant, with only a glance at it. I see this frequently in the Spenser novels of Robert B. Parker. Frequently it is Spenser who does this, but sometimes other characters do so as well. > > I have very little knowledge of firearms, so I wonder - is this realistic? Is, for example, a Smith and Wesson revolver so noticeably different from a Colt or a Ruger? Yeah, you can ID a handgun- sometimes- without a close examination. A glock 17 is considerable different than a 1911. But in one L&O scene the Detective claimed that not only could he ID the gun (which was being tossed in the bay) but also the caliber- Impossible. It is also impossible to ID the caliber on a medium sized bullet hole- .38 special, 357 magnum, 9mm, and .380 (to name the more common calibers) all have nearly identical bullet diameter. Yes, one can often tell a .22 hole vs a .45 hole, sure. > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > It is surprisingly easy to identify many handguns even when they are holstered. Grip shape and angle, type of grip pattern or grip panels, hammer style (or lack of external hammer), type of magazine catch, type of rear sight, slide profile, and other factors are pretty quickly distinguishable. It’s often more difficult to ascertain the caliber, barrel length, and some other aspects. Right. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Like cops (or MEs) that look at a bullet wound and say “9mm”. Sure it isn’t a .38? A .357? Or a 10mm? Exactly. “Appears to be about a 9MM wound” is not bad. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5374 "2026-05-22T16:56:25Z")
I know very little about guns, and am perfectly content to treat them as plot devices in a work of fiction. A character has exactly as much knowledge as the writers want them to have, realistic or not. If a gun is fired with the slide back (or whatever it is people on this board or elsewhere love to harp on), I couldn’t care less. Person has gun =\> person shoots gun =\> get on with the story. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5375 "2026-05-22T17:06:09Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > If a gun is fired with the slide back (or whatever it is people on this board or elsewhere love to harp on), I couldn’t care less. Person has gun =\> person shoots gun =\> get on with the story. Yeah, my attitude completely. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5376 "2026-05-22T17:40:10Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > If a gun is fired with the slide back (or whatever it is people on this board or elsewhere love to harp on), I couldn’t care less. Person has gun =\> person shoots gun =\> get on with the story. I know very little about guns and feel the same, but I can understand why some gun experts are annoyed by such faults. I’m an IT guy, and most movies and series get how computers work and people work _with_ computers totally wrong, sometimes hilariously so. The common bloke won’t notice, but I cringe every time. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5377 "2026-05-22T17:53:35Z")
And it’s SO fun watching TV with people who can point out every little mistake (I have GOT to get some less-than-genius friends). I’ve recommended _The Pitt_ to people with the line “You know Jazzy. Well, this is the only medical show that she doesn’t snort at, with ‘Yeah, right, there’s _no_ way they’d give the patient that. And that equipment in the background? At least twenty years out of date! Are they _trying_ to kill people?’” ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5378 "2026-05-22T18:10:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I know very little about guns and feel the same, but I can understand why some gun experts are annoyed by such faults. I’m an IT guy, and most movies and series get how computers work and people work _with_ computers totally wrong, sometimes hilariously so. The common bloke won’t notice, but I cringe every time With the IT stuff (and I’m sure with gun stuff, if I knew more about it), I completely don’t mind a bit of simplification or shorthand when being completely realistic would waste time or get in the way. However, so often something is done wrong when it could just as easily have been done right. > [@digs](#): > > I’ve recommended _The Pitt_ to people _The Pitt_ is a great example of a show doing it right. They frequently have lines where they are calling out the drugs to give to a patient. They could just do “give him _medical babble_ of _medical babble_” and many people would be fine with it. The line has to be something, so instead they consult with an expert to fill in the right dose and medication for the situation. Now, a throw away line makes every nurse, doctor, and pharmacist feel seen. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5379 "2026-05-22T19:58:23Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > However, so often something is done wrong when it could just as easily have been done right. That’s exactly right. It’s just lazy. In years past you might have needed to hire a consultant. Now most of the mistakes can be cleared up with google. I hate lazy writing. Except when I don’t. I can be like that sometimes. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5380 "2026-05-24T18:06:47Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > If a gun is fired with the slide back … I couldn’t care less. Of course you couldn’t. It’s impossible. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5381 "2026-05-24T19:18:58Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I know very little about guns and feel the same, but I can understand why some gun experts are annoyed by such faults. I’m an IT guy, and most movies and series get how computers work and people work _with_ computers totally wrong, sometimes hilariously so. The common bloke won’t notice, but I cringe every time. Or cars, they get cars wrong and car enthusiasts are bothered. Or many other things. Now sure, tiny things only an expert should notice is one thing- but huge errors that anyone who has ever shot a gun are quite another. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5382 "2026-05-24T19:28:55Z")
For me it isn’t so much the error, it’s that the people responsible for said error never bother to do 5 minutes of checking their facts. Some things can be over-looked as Rule of Cool, but there is a limit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5383 "2026-05-24T19:34:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > For me it isn’t so much the error, it’s that the people responsible for said error never bother to do 5 minutes of checking their facts. Some things can be over-looked as ule of Cool, but there is a limit. Good points, I concur. I mean in a police show, they should have a technical advisor- a retired cop or someone. Such as for Blue Bloods they had _James Nuciforo_ a former Detective in the City of New York Police Department. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5384 "2026-05-25T01:04:08Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > . A character has exactly as much knowledge as the writers want them to have, realistic or not. Yes, but “cocking the gun _after_ using it as a threat” loses me. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5385 "2026-05-25T01:21:29Z")
One of the _Simpsons_ writers pointed out that guns in cartoons somehow become scarier the more you cock them. > MAFIA DON: Do for me my favorite trick… where you ride the little bike through the loop, and I will let you live. > > HOMER But I’ve never been able to do that- [_don cocks gun_] How about if I just squirt you in the face with my boutonniere? [_don cocks gun again_] Okay. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5386 "2026-05-25T02:00:32Z")
Depending on the model of pistol, some have hammers that _can_ be set first to a half-cock and then a full cock position; so twice is possible. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5387 "2026-05-25T14:47:32Z")
Just saw one we’ve all seen a kajillion times in movies and TV (also video games): sneaking around by crawling through ventilation ducts. Has this ever really been done in the history of the world? Do any commercial buildings even have ventilation ducts large enough for an adult human to crawl through? Such a lazy trope. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5388 "2026-05-25T15:33:27Z")
I have seen ducts large enough for someone to crawl through. But they are still made of sheet metal. Your weight would cause the metal to flex, It would make a loud noise, and the noise would echo throughout the air conditioning system.. Back in the days of yore, theater companies would rattle a sheet of metal to simulate the sound of thunder. _Mythbusters_ did this on one episode. Adam Savage’s conclusion: “We are being infiltrated by Thor, the God of Thunder!” [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=267) [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=269)