# What takes you out of a TV show or movie that’s actually trivial? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [September 23, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299 "2026-09-23T01:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/81 "2026-09-23T18:54:55Z")
Just once I’d like to see a movie or TV show where the bad guys were actually good shots with their guns. And maybe the cops weren’t all deadeye pistol shooters. And remember King Ezekiel on The Walking Dead? If you’re in a zombie apocalypse with no electricity or running water, you’re not going to have braided hair that hangs past your shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dingbang1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang1)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/82 "2026-09-23T18:59:09Z")
Similarly, suitcases that are obviously empty. A character comes home from a trip carrying two suitcases, maybe even a third tucked under an arm, and it is screamingly obvious that they are empty and feather light just from how the actor is handling them. Unless the actor has Marcel Marceau-level mime skills, you need to put a few sandbags in that luggage to make it look right. ---
**Author:** ![FMera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fmera/32/9857_2.png) [@FMera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FMera)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/83 "2026-09-23T19:05:28Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > mood is better set by a particular tune, even if it is from the wrong time period, As a former broadcaster now working in music - i am constantly amazed by the decisions made, to use one song over another. Often, it’s just a matter of budget, since so many “legacy artists” demand tens of thousanda of dollars per song. Radio can play whatever they want (DMC Act notwithstanding) + pay little beyond performance royalties, but in film, tv, games etc. music is usually an expensive endeavour. ---
**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 23, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/84 "2026-09-23T19:30:18Z")
> [@solost](#): > > In a similar vein, there’s a ‘talking head’ stylistic device in several recent sitcoms where the characters take turns in one-on-one, sit-down short interview segments where they talk directly to the camera. This happens all the time in “documentary” series where “experts” pose rhetorical questions about whatever topic is featured. My usual response is “Why the F are you asking how the Romans/Egyptians/Aztecs got there/performed such feats/screwed up so badly when it’s obvious you’ve been given the answer in advance?” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/85 "2026-09-23T19:51:05Z")
Another thing that I always notice is how whenever characters travel by plane, they always seem to take a non-stop flight to wherever they’re going. Sometimes I can tell myself that the characters had a connection somewhere and they just didn’t show it because it wasn’t important to the story. But in season 3 of Ted Lasso\* they actually showed a shot of Ted’s boarding pass, and IIRC we hear an announcement like “Final boarding call for British Airways flight 123 to Kansas City”, making it clear that he was supposed to be flying non-stop from London Heathrow to Kansas City. There is no way BA or anyone else would offer a long haul transoceanic flight to a such a relatively small city. In reality Ted would have to fly to someplace like O’Hare or DFW and probably get on a little regional jet for the flight over to Kansas City. \*I haven’t seen season 4 yet, so careful with the spoilers. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/86 "2026-09-23T20:02:38Z")
When someone without a heartbeat is brought back to life by a defibrillator. A defibrillator does not restart a completely stopped or flatlined heart. Instead, it stops chaotic electrical activity so the heart can reset to a normal rhythm ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/87 "2026-09-23T20:03:11Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > For example, there may be a scene with the show’s host meeting someone for the first time. They come to the person’s door, the person opens the door, the host says, “Hi, I’m Joe Blow with This is Real Life, can we talk to you for a minute?” but the scene is being filmed with the camera INSIDE the house. As lampooned by Mitchell and Webb: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8GCl1XQB7Jo/hqdefault.jpg "Mitchell and Webb — Changing Meals") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GCl1XQB7Jo) ---
**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 23, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/88 "2026-09-23T20:10:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > When someone without a heartbeat is brought back to life by a defibrillator. A defibrillator does not restart a completely stopped or flatlined heart. Instead, it stops chaotic electrical activity so the heart can reset to a normal rhythm This has long been something that’s driven me crazy too, to the point where, whenever they break out the paddles on a TV show, my wife will say “OK, go ahead and say it, I know you want to…”. I think I’ve seen a couple recent examples of shows getting it right, though, finally. One was an episode of _The Pitt_, where someone suggested using the paddles and a doc said “the heart’s not in a shockable rhythm”. ---
**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 23, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/89 "2026-09-23T20:20:05Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Combat!** _ was filmed in and around MGM’s European Village in Southern California. I could hear the machine gun fire from their set at my house when I was a kid. > [@Smapti](#): > > anyone who doesn’t place their couch directly against the wall is a psychopath. Our living room couch is not against a wall. It’s not quite in the middle of the room, but it gives us more space by floating the sofa away from the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/90 "2026-09-23T20:21:44Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > A biggie that makes me crazy is any show that involves uniformed military folks where uniforms and grooming standards are _sooooo_ wrong. Maybe it’s not obvious to someone who hasn’t been in the military, but I spent enough time on active duty that I cringe. Berets are almost always so, so wrong. A soldier with a beret spends a day getting it shaved and shaped so it looks and fits just the right way. Most show and movie berets look like they just got pulled out of a bag and puffed up. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/91 "2026-09-23T20:30:15Z")
One thing I noticed on the Law & Order shows is they will have a SWAT team ready to raid a house in tactical gear and armed with assault rifles/. And the two cops leading the charge inside are the regular detectives in their standard suits and regular issue handguns. That can’t be a thing in real life? Cause it would seem to make them walking targets. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/92 "2026-09-23T20:32:28Z")
I try to go with the story and _belieeeve_ when someone who’s maybe never been in a real fight thrusts their hands at a guy for an incapacitating knockdown. I likewise try to go with the story and _belieeeve_ when they get across that this bit of gesturing is supposed to be them supposed to be picking a lock or whatever. But the spell is broken when a character is meant to be pickpocketing someone, and the way they show it onscreen is _clearly_ “uh, yeah, the actor had that wallet on him all along; it’s not that he did a convincing job of stealing it, or that he did an unconvincing job of stealing it; he just already had it, and then he revealed it, without actually putting a hand near the guy he walked past; you know what you saw.” ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/93 "2026-09-23T21:03:38Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > > [@Clawdio](#): > > > > Scenes in cars where the driver is mindlessly floating the steering wheel back and forth. > > Scenes where the driver is conversing with the passenger and maintaining eye contact for extended periods of time. The only movie I recall where they crashed was _Mississippi Masala_. Then there’s this… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fkvr1rTkDg0/maxresdefault.jpg "Dumb and Dumber - More likely to get killed on the way to the airport") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkvr1rTkDg0) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/94 "2026-09-23T21:13:29Z")
It was actually supposed to be that the family was being filmed for a documentary - the show just didn’t include or mention the crew. If I remember correctly, the fimmaker was originally going to be a character then then the plans changed. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/95 "2026-09-23T21:23:19Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > > > When a TV show or movie is set in a particular time period, and pop music on the soundtrack is from the wrong time period > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > Oh yes, this! > > Even when they use anachronistic music as an intentional, artistic choice, it sets my teeth on edge. Maybe more so. The only examples I can think of off the top of my head are the movies _Moulin Rouge_ and _A Knight’s Tale_, but it seems like it’s done fairly often. The Brad Pitt film _Moneyball_ featured the song “The Show” by Lenka. The actress who plays Pitt’s daughter, Kerris Dorsey, sang it during her audition. The producers liked her performance so much that they had her singing it in the movie, despite the song being released 6 years after the year the film’s setting. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/96 "2026-09-23T21:23:51Z")
And on a more tragic note: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lfn0QVwZE-A/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AKKAgwIABABGD0gVChlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLC3dZPePYZiBMgaVl05TmHtSRIinQ "Adaptation - the accident") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfn0QVwZE-A) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/97 "2026-09-23T22:03:53Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Scenes that ostensibly take place in New York but were obviously filmed elsewhere. (Looking at you, _Suits_.) The same thing bothered me about Ms Marvel that ostensibly but obviously was not filmed in Jersey City, NJ. JC is a generic enough city that one might not notice if they didn’t specifically know what an NJ Transit bus looks like or that Riverside Drive along the Hudson River is in neighboring Hoboken, not JC and you wouldn’t be driving north on it to take a drivers ed test in JC. ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/98 "2026-09-23T22:28:46Z")
There is a website called TV Tropes, that “catalogs and cross-references recurrent plot devices, archetypes, and tropes” of TV, movies, literature, etc. One of their categories is called “The Mountains of Illinois” listing all of the movies and TV set in places with no mountains to speak of, like Illinois, and yet having mountains clearly visible on the horizon. One thing I see in movies and TV that I hate are characters who leave doors open when they leave a house, and leaving their cars in a parking lot without rolling up their windows or locking the doors. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/99 "2026-09-23T22:37:29Z")
For me it is horses whinnying in unrealistic moments. Horses might occasionally call out to a friend but they don’t whinny all the time. Any time someone rides onto the screen, the gratuitous whinny has to be played. Also, horses just hanging around in the middle of a gunfight instead of running for the hills like any sensible, unhobbled horse would do. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/100 "2026-09-23T22:47:57Z")
Ribbons on a military uniform. Not just if they’re out of order or anachronistic. Even if they’re properly displayed and theoretically possible, I get pulled out if they don’t seem appropriate to the era or rank of the wearer. It might, for example, have been plausible for a senior officer in the USN to only have a row or two of ribbons 40 years ago, but these days? I’d be raising my eyebrows if an O-6 had less than four, possibly unless they were some kind of staff officer who came in at a higher than usual rank and/or a reservist without any deployments. The reverse is also, of course, true. A junior sailor/solder/etc with a chest full of awards in an era when they could not have possibly had the kind of combat service that might justify it (eg: junior sailor clearly on his first enlistment serving circa 1980) or where they have non-combat only service awards that are typically reserved only for senior officers. Takes me right out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=6)