# 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:** 99
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1962 "2022-09-03T17:46:11Z")
But isn’t there usually a branch or root growing out of the side of the cliff in which one can grab and then hang until rescued? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1963 "2022-09-03T17:50:14Z")
No, it’s always death in Film Noir. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1964 "2022-09-03T21:42:43Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > And the post-sex stuff is even stranger with the naked (bra-less) woman sitting in bed with the sheets up to her clavicle. I mean, I’ve already seen them, so she can’t be hiding them from me, and there’s no one else here so who exactly is she displaying this modesty for? Again, my conclusion (in the movies) is this one severely fucked-up couple to be treating this odd behavior as normal. I’ve even seen _men_ doing this pulling the sheet up to the armpits thing. It’s weird. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1965 "2022-09-03T21:49:37Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I’ve even seen _men_ doing this pulling the sheet up to the armpits thing. OK, but its ubiquity in films is what gets me. Once in a great while, in a very cold room, etc. I might use a sheet to keep me warm, but in movies the lengths lovers go to in order to hide their bodies from someone they just had sex with is nutty. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1966 "2022-09-03T22:45:27Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > And the post-sex stuff is even stranger with the naked (bra-less) woman sitting in bed with the sheets up to her clavicle. I mean, I’ve already seen them, so she can’t be hiding them from me, and there’s no one else here so who exactly is she displaying this modesty for? Either that or she’s cold and using the sheet/blanket for warmth… but yeah, it’s a bit weird. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1967 "2022-09-04T00:39:48Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > yeah, it’s a bit weird. Mostly, it takes me out of the movie. “Hey, why the hell is she covering up her breasts from the guy she just–oh, yeah, because it’s a movie!” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1968 "2022-09-05T12:08:09Z")
I saw two mystery TV shows almost back-to-back where the murder took place while the person was performing on a stage. I thought of several other cases. They were bands playing a concert, an actor in a play or even a beauty pageant (Miss Congeniality). ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1969 "2022-09-05T13:09:46Z")
Electrocuted while holding the microphone? I think that was done on _ **Monk** _ and one of the _ **CSI** _ series. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1970 "2022-09-05T14:46:16Z")
Les Harvey would disagree. As would Luyan Lopes de Aguiar and Keith Relf, although they were guitar and not mic. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1971 "2022-09-05T16:20:33Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > I saw two mystery TV shows almost back-to-back where the murder took place while the person was performing on a stage. I thought of several other cases. They were bands playing a concert, an actor in a play or even a beauty pageant (Miss Congeniality). I recently watched an early episode of Murdoch Mysteries, a show that takes place around the start of the 20th century and mixes fictionalized history with murder mysteries. There was supposed to be a public demo of the “dangers” of A/C power by electrocuting a dog, Edison-style, but the person who flipped the switch got fried instead. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1972 "2022-09-05T17:18:04Z")
There’s an onstage murder on _Monk_, but I think it was poisoning. There’s one on _Murder, She Wrote_, and I think it might even be the pilot. Yes, I’m sure people have really died onstage-- there’s at least one graphic suicide on air of a news anchor, and some 70s talk show, like Merv Griffin, had a guest pass away quietly of heart failure on air-- or, at least in front of a live audience, albeit, I have a vague memory that back then these shows aired live. The title of the thread is ALMOST never happens. I have a cousin who is a Chicago States’ Attorney (what Illinois calls “district attorneys”), who told me that _Law & Order: TOS_ is realistic within each episode, for the most part. What isn’t realistic is that each case is a “once in a career” kind of thing. No one would have case after case like that. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1973 "2022-09-05T17:20:33Z")
I thought that happened on Dick Cavett. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1974 "2022-09-05T17:29:06Z")
Dick Cavett wasn’t in any way _like_ Merv Griffin? I was about 7 when they were on. They looked a lot alike to me. It’s not as though I said “like Jerry Springer.” ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1975 "2022-09-05T17:41:51Z")
Yes, it was on Dick Cavett’s show. I remember Dick being interviewed another time by someone else (Merv Griffin, I think), where he was asked what his worst or most embarrassing moment was. Cavett replied “I think it was having someone die on stage.” Everybody laughed until he explained he wasn’t talking about a comic bombing during his routine. IIRC, the person who expired was there to talk about living a healthy life and keeled over pretty much in midsentence. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1976 "2022-09-05T17:42:18Z")
Merv Griffin - Daytime TV Dick Cavett - Prime Time/Late Night TV The difference between the two is like…wait for it…night & day. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1977 "2022-09-05T17:57:00Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Not that I have witnessed it myself, but I’ve heard nudity was not uncommon in the annual Bay to Breakers race before the ban. And Marshall’s Beach was known as the city’s unofficial nude beach. My parents walked the B2B a few years ago (maybe 10?) and did see some naked runners. They were more impressed by the ones who dressed up like salmon and ran the race in the opposite direction. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1978 "2022-09-05T18:22:21Z")
Apparently the Merv Griffin show was a daytime show from 1962-1963. The syndicated version, which started in 1965 , was intended to be a nighttime show although some stations showed it during the day. In any event, I don’t think daytime and nighttime talk shows were nearly as different in the 70s as they are today - they mostly had celebrity interviews and musical acts both in the daytime and at night. Dick Cavett might have been different from the other shows - but the Merv Griffin show was not terribly different from the Mike Douglas show. ( Daytime TV talk shows became very different after Phil Donahue started doing hour-long shows focused on a single topic and others followed) ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1979 "2022-09-05T18:25:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Electrocuted while holding the microphone? I think that was done on _ **Monk** _ and one of the _ **CSI** _ series. A _Midsommer_ too. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1980 "2022-09-05T18:27:15Z")
And _Phantom of the Paradise_, although a swinging neon lightning bolt was also a contributing factor. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1981 "2022-09-06T02:53:33Z")
For a time in the late '60s and early '70s, Merv Griffin had a late-night show with Arthur Treacher as his announcer sidekick. There was a three-way late-night competition between Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon in _ **The Tonight Show** _ on NBC, Joey Bishop and Regis Philbin on ABC, and Griffin and Treacher on CBS. Carson’s show was by far the one most popular and longest lasting. [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=98) [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=100)