# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/61 "2021-02-06T16:11:14Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > And surprise rattlesnakes You must not hike much. Over 40 years or so of hiking I’ve been surprised by rattlesnakes twice. (In the sense of hear the rattle before seeing the snake). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/62 "2021-02-06T16:13:32Z")
> [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > You must not hike much. Over 40 years or so of hiking I’ve been surprised by rattlesnakes twice. (In the sense of hear the rattle before seeing the snake). That would seem to confirm it doesn’t happen very often. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/63 "2021-02-06T16:23:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@bump](#): > > > > Shootouts. Specifically cop/criminal shootouts. I know that most cop shows would be pretty dull if there wasn’t a fair amount of fisticuffs and gunplay, but from what I understand, your average season of a cop show far outstrips your average cop’s use of his gun in his _entire_ career, much less a year or two of it. > > Yep, my cop buddies used to say that Barney Miller was the most realistic cop show. > > The average cop shoots someone or gets in a gunfight about once every 8 years, not once every 8 minutes. It’s actually lower than that. Three quarters of police officers never fire their gun outside of training in their entire career. [cite](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/08/a-closer-look-at-police-officers-who-have-fired-their-weapon-on-duty/) And that’s the statistic for just firing a gun not for shooting somebody or being in a gun fight. Anecdotally, in my twenty-seven year career I knew a total of one officer who had shot somebody. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/64 "2021-02-06T16:26:55Z")
Ok, I just skimmed through this thread and I’m surprised I didn’t see this one, but maybe I missed it: Nobody who talks on the phone never ever, in any show or movie I’ve seen, says goodbye before they end the call, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/65 "2021-02-06T16:29:06Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Just once, I’d like to see the following scene: > > Boss: I need you to decrypt these files. > IT guy: OK. What’s the password? > Boss: I don’t know the password. > IT guy: Come back when you do. > > Alternate ending. > IT guy: When come back, bring password. To be fair, IT guys are always talking about how easy it is for somebody to figure out a password unless you go to ridiculous lengths to secure them. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/66 "2021-02-06T16:29:32Z")
_Digital C wrote: That’s one thing I liked about The Sopranos . They acknowledged that a lot of Italian guys are named Tony, and had two major characters with that name (Tony Soprano and his cousin Tony Blundetto. Tony’s son was also Anthony but went by A.J.)_ I think that was remarked upon in the movie “Married to the Mob”. To paraphrase, “all the men were named Tony or Paulie, all the women were named Mary.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/67 "2021-02-06T16:31:38Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > _Digital C wrote: That’s one thing I liked about The Sopranos . They acknowledged that a lot of Italian guys are named Tony, and had two major characters with that name (Tony Soprano and his cousin Tony Blundetto. Tony’s son was also Anthony but went by A.J.)_ > > I think that was remarked upon in the movie “Married to the Mob”. To paraphrase, “all the men were named Tony or Paulie, all the women were named Mary.” That was my post, not DigitalC’s. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/68 "2021-02-06T16:32:46Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ok, I just skimmed through this thread and I’m surprised I didn’t see this one, but maybe I missed it: > Nobody who talks on the phone never ever, in any show or movie I’ve seen, says goodbye before they end the call, for some reason. Unless they’re talking to their boyfriend/girlfriend in the presence of other people in which case they will linger at the end of the call, saying good bye, telling each other they love them, and trying to convince the other person to hang up first - all to the expressed disgust/amusement of the people who are there listening. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/69 "2021-02-06T16:39:03Z")
> [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > > [@GuanoLad](#): > > > > And surprise rattlesnakes > > You must not hike much. Over 40 years or so of hiking I’ve been surprised by rattlesnakes twice. (In the sense of hear the rattle before seeing the snake). A little off topic but [Rattlesnakes evolving, losing their rattles, expert says](https://www.nbc26.com/news/national/rattlesnakes-evolving-losing-their-rattles-expert-says) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/70 "2021-02-06T16:41:55Z")
Sorry, my mistake. Apologies to everyone. I’m still trying to learn the quoting feature. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/71 "2021-02-06T16:43:39Z")
" For Several Decades Quicksand Was the Most Dangerous Thing on TV and Movie Screens…and Exactly Nowhere Else" > **[For Several Decades Quicksand Was the Most Dangerous Thing on TV and Movie...](https://christandpopculture.com/for-several-decades-quicksand-was-the-most-dangerous-thing-on-tv-and-movie-screens-and-exactly-nowhere-else/)** > > If quicksand is really so dull, though, how did it become such a popular trope in cinema? And how did it disappear just as quickly? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/72 "2021-02-06T16:56:00Z")
Or even just showing up at someone’s house or apartment unannounced. When was the last time you drove across town and rang your friends doorbell without first phoning? ---
**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 6, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/73 "2021-02-06T17:03:31Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > I think that was remarked upon in the movie “Married to the Mob”. To paraphrase, “all the men were named Tony or Paulie, all the women were named Mary.” My Italian-American husband has no less than eight people in his family with the same first and last name. There are also an additional eight women named after his grandmother. It sure made international travel a challenge! Customs did not love us. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/74 "2021-02-06T17:05:15Z")
So way, way back in the prehistoric days before cell phones, it was not unreasonable to stop in without first phoning because you were “in the neighborhood”. I had done this a number of times. I may have ended up in some part of town that I hadn’t intended (like looking for something), and realized I was in some friend’s area. Calling ahead would have required finding a payphone somewhere, knowing the friend’s number (although I had a lot more of those committed to memory back then), etc… ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/75 "2021-02-06T17:06:51Z")
How about the phrase “And that’s an order!”? I’ve never been in the military, but it seems to me that if a superior in your chain of commands asks you to do something, that’s pretty much an order. While I’ve not been in the military, I have been a middle school teacher. When I tell a kid to do something, I mean for him/her to do it. Sure, we can have a discussion if the student has a question, but if it’s “Get out your pencils”, that’s not a suggestion. Surely the military is the same way. General Drum\_God does not like to repeat his instructions. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/76 "2021-02-06T17:10:39Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Not so much nowadays, but neighbours just walking in to the house, unannounced, used to be common on TV. Howard Borden would walk into Bob Newhart’s apartment; Marcy and Steve or Jefferson would walk into the Bundy family home on “Married with Children”; and Larry would walk into Jack, Janet, and Chrissy’s (or whoever replaced her) apartment on “Three’s Company.” Nobody knocked or rang the bell, and the door was always unlocked. > > No matter how urgent, or non-urgent, the matter is, my neighbours have never tried to just walk into my house or apartment. My wife used to do this when we were still just friends back in college. We lived in the same residence hall, and she would walk into my dorm room unannounced. After a while, I learned to lock the door if I was doing anything untoward. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/77 "2021-02-06T17:26:30Z")
> [@Lurking\_Quahog](#): > > Cars that peel out on dirt roads but the tires screech as if they were on asphalt. … > Post-coitus bedroom scenes were the woman is still wearing her bra. I mean, I _guess_ it happens, but don’t people usually get naked? I don’t know much about real life post-coitus bedroom scenes but in real life post-coitus dirt road scenes it’s not unusual for the woman to still be wearing her bra. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/78 "2021-02-06T17:27:56Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > IIRC, there was a scene in Dragnet where Joe Friday said something to the effect of, “In my career, I’ve pulled my gun twice and fired it once.” Or something like that. My FIL was a police officer for 36 years. Pulled it once on someone with a knife and never fired it while on duty. ---
**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 6, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/79 "2021-02-06T17:32:12Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > No matter how common any of the characters names are NOBODY is ever going to have the same name as them. That’s both true for a good reason, and not true, simultaneously. On crime show procedurals, with new characters every week, it’s bad enough for me when two characters look vaguely alike. Giving them the same name as someone else in the episode is just a recipe for confusion. On the other hand, Law and Order loves certain names over and over. Alex/Alexandra must be Dick Wolf’s wife or long lost high school sweetheart. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/80 "2021-02-06T17:37:36Z")
Pregnancy test commercials. Always a darling couple teary-eyed with joy, over the moon, seeing a ‘positive’ outcome. “Sweetheart, we’re gonna have a family!” … IRL its a lot of 15 year olds in the school lavatory, teary-eyed all right, seeing the same thing. “Oh, shit!” [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=3) [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=5)