# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/661 "2021-02-25T00:14:44Z")
Well, IIRC, Mythbusters has shown that it is not impossible to do if you have guidance from an experienced controller/pilot on the radio. And modern jets can nearly land themselves these days, given the correct inputs to the computer. Still, wouldn’t care to try it. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/662 "2021-02-25T17:34:30Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > you are _ **not** _ stepping up to the flight deck to safely land a jumbo jet when the pilot & co-pilot are incapacitated. My stepfather is 22-years retired from a 40-year career as a US Navy pilot, who flew two tours in Vietnam. He has flown two-man bombers (Vietnam), and large transport/cargo planes (toward the end of his career). He _so_ laughs at this one. He says if _he_ were on a transcontinental jet, and they called for a pilot over the intercom, because they needed someone to emergency-land the plane-- WITH instructions from ground control-- he isn’t sure HE could do it. Apparently, it would be something like asking Meryl Streep to step in at the last minute for the lead actress in a play she’d never seen, _in Chinese_, even if they fed her lines through an earpiece. You might get a different ending than you’d hoped. ETA: I suppose my stepfather might make better guesses than a non-pilot, and Streep would at least not speak in a wooden monotone. Still, you only need one small mistake for everything to derail. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/663 "2021-02-25T20:55:39Z")
During the war, my Dad was asked to step over and take controls of a C47 for a while, while the pilot napped and the co did some paperwork. But that was a gooneybird, not a 747, and he wasnt asked to land it. He _had_ been trained on a B17, working for Boeing before the war, mostly as a flight engineer. So, on a simple plane, anyone with some training can keep it in the air and level. But landing? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/664 "2021-02-25T22:58:51Z")
Even on a simple aircraft landing is the quintessential tricky bit. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/665 "2021-02-25T23:58:04Z")
Add to that the total panic of the new “pilot” and it seems pretty impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/666 "2021-02-26T00:00:19Z")
In 2009, a Louisiana man named Doug White took over the controls of a chartered King Air 200 dual-engine turboprop, when the pilot died in midair. ATC kept him up while they brought in a King Air pilot who was able to talk him down to a safe landing in Fort Myers, Florida. White _had_ had three months of flight lessons, but only on a single-engine prop plane; and he said it was like stepping up from a Volkswagen to a race car. Landing a commercial airliner would be akin to going from that VW up to a three-trailer semi. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/667 "2021-02-26T03:45:41Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > anding a commercial airliner would be akin to going from that VW up to a three-trailer semi. And, as it happens, they are now selling “autopilot” stuff for 3-trailer semi’s, to reduce the value of skill. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/668 "2021-02-26T18:47:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Are you suggesting that _ **Batman** _ wasn’t a 100% scientifically accurate, true-to-life depiction of crimefighting?!? :: 😮 🤨 Holy Disillusionment! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/669 "2021-02-26T18:55:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Or every town in the UK if you go by British crime shows. Sleepy little Oxfordshire is awash with blood every week. > > Midsomer Murders get away from this by mostly having each episode in a different small village. And in the earlier seasons it was often in a village where Joyce and/or Cully Barnaby had taken up some interest or hobby. If you wanted the reduce the murder rate in Midsomer County, the most cost-efficient way would be to keep Joyce Barnaby at home. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/670 "2021-02-26T19:54:00Z")
Blasphemy! ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/671 "2021-02-26T20:01:23Z")
Criminals somehow never realize they’re being tailed by cops, no matter how obvious it is they’re being followed across town. (Of course, they invariably lead the cops to someplace absolutely incriminating.) Neither do they ever notice the plainclothes officers parked on stakeout across the street, not even when the detectives are watching them through binoculars or snapping photos with the car windows wide open. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/672 "2021-02-26T20:18:13Z")
… unless the plot would be advanced by the bad guys seeing the stakeout then hightailing it out the back door, or sniping the snooping officers, or … Spotting the tail is a great way for the screenwriters to trigger a gratuitous 5-minute insane car chase for extra ratings points. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/673 "2021-02-26T22:34:07Z")
Anyone who makes friends with Jessica Fletcher (_Murder She Wrote_) gets murdered, framed for murder, or put on trial for murder. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/674 "2021-02-26T22:43:24Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > As seen in films like The Crazies (original and remake), The Andromeda Strain, Outbreak, 28 Weeks Later, The Stand, and various others, was there a point where COVID-19 could have been contained by thousands of soldiers in MOPP4 gear, flamethrowers, fuel-air bombs and possibly a nuclear weapon? Can’t speak for the others, but The Andromeda Strain was a bacteria, not a virus. Much easier tio kill (considering the verdict is out whether viruses are even “alive”.) It was stopped by something as simple as too high and too low blood ph. OTOH it could covert energy to matter directly, so nuclear weapons are contraindicated. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/675 "2021-02-27T00:31:11Z")
And anyone arrested before the first commercial did not do it, guaranteed. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/676 "2021-02-27T00:33:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It was stopped by something as simple as too high and too low blood ph. Really? Because a blood pH that varies more than about .1 from 7.4 will kill _you_. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/677 "2021-02-27T00:46:37Z")
The murderer turns out to be the first suspect they interviewed but discarded. This happens so many times on _ **NCIS** _ that each episode could be shortened by three-quarters. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/678 "2021-02-27T00:55:34Z")
Also, the likelihood that a suspect is guilty is in inverse proportion to the degree to which the police abuse him during his initial interview. AKA, “The Elliot Stabler Rule of the Angry Cop.” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/679 "2021-02-27T01:06:24Z")
Yep. [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EAlKy4mW4AA4q2e.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EAlKy4mW4AA4q2e.jpg) ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/680 "2021-02-27T02:08:55Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > And anyone arrested before the first commercial did not do it, guaranteed. Wife and I will look over at the clock… “It’s only twenty of the hour.” “Oops, not the real killer.” [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=33) [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=35)