# 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:** 85
**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:** [April 19, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1682 "2022-04-19T15:19:29Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Detective: But what about this lady? > > Bartender: Never seen her. Also… Detective: But what about this lady? Bartender: I don’t know…memory ain’t too good lately… Detective: Will Andrew Jackson jog your memory? (slides $20 across bar) Bartender: Ohhhh, THAT lady! Yeah, I remember her now, sure… ---
**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:** [April 19, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1683 "2022-04-19T15:48:37Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nTh9qpzhunE/maxresdefault.jpg "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (9/10) Movie CLIP - Maybe This'll Help (1988) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTh9qpzhunE) ---
**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:** [April 19, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1684 "2022-04-19T16:31:57Z")
This was done really well in an Ellery Queen episode. No bartender remembered the suspect when they saw his picture and the suspect couldn’t remember what bar he was in - so no alibi. The suspect was in disguise because he was a socialite and didn’t want anyone to recognize him getting drunk in a dive bar. The police didn’t take that into account when showing the picture … but Ellery did. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1685 "2022-04-19T18:27:36Z")
What’s truly remarkable is how well the witness did on cross: D.A.: Couldn’t it have been another night? Witness: Could’ve been, but it wasn’t. How many nights does my granddaughter have a birthday? D.A.: But to remember _one man_ after all this time… Witness: I have a charity box on my bar…he shoves a ten-spot for it. That makes me remember him: nobody ever gave me a ten-spot for charity before. D.A.: Maybe you don’t remember what time he left! Witness: It was eleven o’clock on the dot! I go out at eleven every night to get the papers. We left together. IANAL (I just work for one) but having a witness _that_ prepared would be a defense attorney’s wet dream. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1686 "2022-04-24T20:46:13Z")
One memorable exchange for me was, “I’m looking for Angelo Caporelli.” “Naw, I don’t know him.” “He walks with a limp.” “Oh-h! Angie the Crip! Yeah, I know him!” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1687 "2022-04-24T23:47:40Z")
And you can always pick up a suspect / terrorist / gangster / whatever at his favorite bar or club. Because he is always there every night, all night. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1688 "2022-04-25T11:26:15Z")
A bar or restaurant getting quiet when a certain person walks in the door. I can see it getting _louder_, but not dead still. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1689 "2022-04-25T20:18:18Z")
Cars careening over the guardrails and burst into flames as they plunge down the mountainside ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1690 "2022-04-25T20:31:54Z")
Overdone car wrecks on ‘CHIPs’ used to make me and my friends groan and scoff. Two cars traveling in the same direction. One car, doing all of about 15 mph, after “careening” into another car going about 13 mph, rolls over onto its roof or its side, then promptly bursts into flames. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1691 "2022-04-26T07:05:24Z")
Not extremely common, but an oft-used sitcom plot device is a school play or a TV advertisement in which some part of the cast becomes involved in the acting, scriptwriting or direction. Hey, look at that: The show’s writers didn’t have to look very far for inspiration. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1692 "2022-04-26T12:57:17Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Not extremely common, but an oft-used sitcom plot device is a school play or a TV advertisement in which some part of the cast becomes involved in the acting, scriptwriting or direction. Hey, look at that: The show’s writers didn’t have to look very far for inspiration I think that’s what is known as a ‘[bottle episode](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BottleEpisode)’, the term of which I learned from the show ‘Community’, when the entire show took place in that study room and Abed asked “is this a bottle episode”? It’s a one-off in which the plot is minimal and the action takes place in one location, often the main standing set. It saves money and gives the writers a bit of a breather. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1693 "2022-04-26T13:58:54Z")
Does anybody do the “Let’s put on a show!” plot any more? Ordinary people always turn out to be immensely talented when they need to raise money for a good cause, help a friend out of a jam, or fill in for a cancelled act. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1694 "2022-04-26T14:45:34Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Cars careening over the guardrails and burst into flames as they plunge down the mountainside Actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that one. I think it became generally known that it doesn’t ever happen (or extremely rarely), and it stopped being used (except for fuel tankers). ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1695 "2022-04-26T16:53:01Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I think that’s what is known as a ‘[bottle episode](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BottleEpisode) No, I don’t think it has anything to do with saving money. In the examples I’ve seen, there were considerably more actors than the regular cast, the sets weren’t the ones usually used and they were fairly elaborate. For one thing, you have to get other actors to play the scripted actors, technical crew and/or audience, and, obviously, a school play or TV advertisement isn’t going to take place in the dwelling, workplace or whatever where the show usually takes place. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1696 "2022-04-26T16:59:50Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > No, I don’t think it has anything to do with saving money. In the examples I’ve seen, there were considerably more actors than the regular cast, the sets weren’t the ones usually used and they were fairly elaborate. Yeah, I reread your post and it looks like I misunderstood what you were describing. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1697 "2022-04-26T17:13:42Z")
Georgette (Georgia Engle), Ted Baxter’s wife on Mary Tyler Moore, did a Bob Fosse-ish number ‘Steam Heat’ for some event - everyone’s jaw dropped! And Betty White on Golden Girls did some nice dancing (though i don’t think it was her doing those cartwheels at the dance marathon). ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1698 "2022-04-26T17:21:22Z")
“Steam Heat” was great. Georgette volunteered to dance as the entertainment at an awards ceremony, IIRC. _ **MTM** _ also parodied the “Let’s put on a show!” theme when Mary suggested they help Ted out with his Famous Broadcasters’ School after his partner skipped town. Lou Grant nailed it by saying (to the best of my recollection) “Sure! Murray can write the script, Mary can make the costumes, and my dad will let us use his barn!” ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1699 "2022-04-26T17:44:02Z")
Heh, it’s not just Fosse-ish. Bob Fosse did the choreography for _Pajama Game_ that _Steam Heat_ came from. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1700 "2022-04-26T17:54:06Z")
Right! I should have known, I love me some Bob Fosse numbers. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1701 "2022-04-26T18:09:40Z")
Yeah, me, too. I’m a big fan of both Fosse and Verdon. I knew Gwen Verdon was born and grew up in Culver City, and I can’t remember how I found out, but I discovered the address of the house she grew up in. It’s still there! A little Spanish adobe style house whose street is now facing the 405. It was kinda cool. [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=84) [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=86)