# 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:** 7
**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 6, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/121 "2021-02-06T20:44:23Z")
Detectives who gather all the suspects in one room and then name the killer. Bonus points for the killer bolting away and greeted by a couple uniformed officers posted outside the door. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/122 "2021-02-06T20:47:59Z")
> [@TheCuse](#): > > Sorry. Didn’t mean to. I had a brain fart. It’s cool. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/123 "2021-02-06T20:57:48Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Detectives who gather all the suspects in one room and then name the killer. Bonus points for the killer bolting away and greeted by a couple uniformed officers posted outside the door Totally unrealistic…unless the detective is Nero Wolfe. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/124 "2021-02-06T21:01:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Three quarters of police officers never fire their gun outside of training in their entire career. Yep. Three uncles. Two cousins. All police officers. All of them made it to retirement without ever firing a shot. And they were all very happy about that. ---
**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, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/125 "2021-02-06T21:10:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Detectives who gather all the suspects in one room and then name the killer. Bonus points for the killer bolting away and greeted by a couple uniformed officers posted outside the door. For that matter, how often do murder-mystery-style murders actually happen in real life? ---
**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 6, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/126 "2021-02-06T21:14:16Z")
… Or Hercule Poirot. Or any of the CDIs on _ **Death in Paradise** _. Or… ---
**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 6, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/127 "2021-02-06T21:18:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Detectives who gather all the suspects in one room and then name the killer. Well, what else is there to do when the storm cuts off the mountaintop mansion that you and twenty other eccentric guests have been invited to? You can’t ask the anonymous host, no one’s ever heard of him, and anyone who wanders off from the group gets killed in a manner oddly appropriate to their darkest secret… But I’ve only had that happen three or four times. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/128 "2021-02-06T21:23:07Z")
> [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > > [@GuanoLad](#): > > > > And surprise rattlesnakes > > You must not hike much. I don’t live where there are rattlesnakes\*, but I do go walking in snake territory a lot and have only spotted them a couple of times. Most snakes are hiding, sleeping, or too small to worry about. \*_Australia may be famous for its deadly snakes, but they aren’t a common sight unless you go looking for them_ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/129 "2021-02-06T21:23:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > People who have middle level jobs living in massive apartments with great views of New York. Yeah, right. Hey, they exist! In Jersey City, NJ. Along a similar theme: A company hiring and training dozens of investment bankers, doctors, rescue parajumpers or whatever, only to keep a handful at the end of their “probation” period. Some “make or break” sales pitch or presentation where the outcome is either “promotion to Senior Vice President Managing Partner” or “fired”. A group of friends (often in New York City) who spend every waking non-working minute together for years at a time. What’s interesting is how every so often they throw a party and there will be a hundred people in the background, even though we rarely see these characters interact with anyone else besides each other. Like where did all these randoms come from? ---
**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:** [February 6, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/130 "2021-02-06T21:58:29Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > bombs in cars, happens all the time in cop shows, but very rare in reality It happened here in [Phoenix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bolles) but it is noteworthy just for that reason. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/131 "2021-02-06T22:09:38Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > No matter how urgent, or non-urgent, the matter is, my neighbours have never tried to just walk into my house or apartment. A friend of mine lived just a couple blocks from his in-laws and they did just that for about the first six months. Then they walked in on him and his wife as they were busy on the couch… ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/132 "2021-02-06T22:18:23Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > All cop shows and movies, but most egregiously Law and Order, seem to solve all their crimes by asking bar staff, “Did you see this guy last night? Who was he with? What time did they leave? Where were they headed?” Seriously? This does not ever happen in real life. Similarly: “Where were you the night of the murder?” - No one ever responds, “Which night was that?” “Where were you last Tuesday night?” and everyone _instantly_ knows the answer. I’d have to think about where I was even yesterday. Well, not during Covid; then it’s the bedroom or the living room, but 1+ years ago. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/133 "2021-02-06T22:26:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > the password was the word “open.” “Speak friend and enter.” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/134 "2021-02-06T22:53:54Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > No matter how urgent, or non-urgent, the matter is, my neighbours have never tried to just walk into my house or apartment. One of my friends did this to me once. (We lived in a city where it was normal to leave your front door unlocked.) When he showed up in the kitchen unannounced, taking me completely by surprise, I asked, “What do you think this is, a sitcom?” He never did it again. ---
**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, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/135 "2021-02-06T22:55:46Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Some “make or break” sales pitch or presentation where the outcome is either “promotion to Senior Vice President Managing Partner” or “fired”. Someone once noted (I think that it might have been a video on Cracked) that there’s one business where these kinds of make-or-break pitch/presentations are common; the television/movie business. The people writing scripts are just applying the normal practice of their business to other fields without realizing these things generally don’t happen in those fields. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/136 "2021-02-06T23:06:40Z")
Yeah that makes sense. That’s probably why they would think Will Smith’s character would be the only intern out of 50 to get hired at the end of their internship. Sort of like 50 actors interviewing for a single role. In reality, hiring 50 interns so that 49 can go use the experience to work for your competitors is a terrible hiring practice. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/137 "2021-02-06T23:22:17Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > For that matter, how often do murder-mystery-style murders actually happen in real life? Even Inspector Cramer and Nero Wolfe agreed that the Police were better at handling most murders. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/138 "2021-02-06T23:33:49Z")
I liked that scene in “Big Fat Greek Wedding” where the patriarch (Michael Constantine) introduces the groom’s parents to three different relatives, “and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick”. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/139 "2021-02-06T23:35:51Z")
I worked in the DoD for 34 years, and the only people I ever heard this from were asshole civilians. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/140 "2021-02-07T00:33:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > Detectives who gather all the suspects in one room and then name the killer. Bonus points for the killer bolting away and greeted by a couple uniformed officers posted outside the door > > Totally unrealistic…unless the detective is Nero Wolfe. Or Columbo. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > I worked in the DoD for 34 years, and the only people I ever heard this from were asshole civilians. In a life emulating fiction kind of way, I had an XO (who was just on the edge of crazy) sometimes finish off with a very curt, “this is a lawful order.” [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=6) [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=8)