# 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:** 6
**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, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/101 "2026-09-23T22:55:25Z")
Yeah, errors in geography bother me, too. In the movie _Elizabethtown,_ Orlando Bloom flies into Kentucky to attend a funeral. The closest airport to Elizabethtown is in Louisville. The movie shows him driving north on I-65, then heading east on I-64 (I grew up around that area and lived there for many years. You can tell the direction he’s traveling by which side of his car certain landmarks are on). But Elizabethtown is _south_ of Louisville by about 45 minutes. ---
**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 23, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/102 "2026-09-23T23:31:00Z")
The movie that prompted my initial geography complaint was “Last Vegas.” The main characters are in a cab traveling from Binion”s (Downtown) to Aria on the Strip. They stall in traffic in front of Bellagio and get out to walk. They proceed to walk north on Las Vegas Blvd. Small problem: Aria is South of Bellagio. Really trivial, but if you know Vegas, it jars. Almost as bad as “Lethal Weapon,” where Mel Gibson starts chasing a bad guy in Van Nuys, turns a corner and is suddenly on Sunset in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/103 "2026-09-24T00:07:13Z")
One that takes me out is the “off-screen cream”, wherein someone steps out into an otherwise-empty street and is immediately creamed by a car / truck / bus. Yet, if you imagine the scene from the driver’s perspective, there was (usually) nothing blocking their view, so they would have had plenty of time to see this person crossing (or intending to cross) the road, and could easily have slowed down. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/104 "2026-09-24T00:07:36Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Our living room couch is not against a wall. Same here. Our living is actually what’s usually called a great room, I guess. It’s about 35 feet across, and if we put the couch against a wall and the TV against the opposite wall, we’d need binoculars to watch TV. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/105 "2026-09-24T00:24:07Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > 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. I’m not ex military so I won’t notice errors in uniforms or weapons. But I’m enough of a military vehicle nerd that something like the fake “Bradleys” in Warfare kind of pull me out of the film a bit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/106 "2026-09-24T00:29:11Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > 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. Yeah in the FBI the two agents with their 9mm are downing all the bad guys while the Swat team runs around firing aimlessly. (Pun intended) > [@FMera](#): > > As a former broadcaster now working in music - i am constantly amazed by the decisions made, to use one song over another. The TV Show Route 66 did not use the Song Route 66. why oh why. > [@LVBoPeep](#): > > For me it is horses whinnying in unrealistic moments. Frau Blucher? > [@Superdude](#): > > Yeah, errors in geography bother me, too. But puleeeze those endless whines about some city that has no _sections_ _called_ “south” (or east or west, etc- so when the song or whatever sez “South Bumfuk”, everyone piles on. ---
**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 24, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/107 "2026-09-24T00:35:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The TV Show Route 66 did not use the Song Route 66. why oh why. Simple. They didn’t want to pay royalties. ---
**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 24, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/108 "2026-09-24T01:16:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But puleeeze those endless whines about some city that has no _sections_ _called_ “south” (or east or west, etc- so when the song or whatever sez “South Bumfuk”, everyone piles on. And it goes on and on and on and on… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/109 "2026-09-24T01:30:22Z")
If they were paying attention. Big _if_ in today’s world. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/110 "2026-09-24T01:40:33Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > For me it is horses whinnying in unrealistic moments. … Not just horses. Any time a cat is shown, we hear a meow; or if a dog appears, we hear a bark. For that matter, trains always blow their whistle, even if they are nowhere near a level crossing. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/111 "2026-09-24T01:48:14Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Not just horses. Any time a cat is shown, we hear a meow; or if a dog appears, we hear a bark. For that matter, trains always blow their whistle, even if they are nowhere near a level crossing. As to dogs, in 60s-70s TV, it seemed every foley artist had to use the same canned plaintitive whine every time a dog was in a scene. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/112 "2026-09-24T02:38:51Z")
When characters use the toilet - especially if they’re vomiting - and don’t flush it. People other than the pregnant character handling a used pregnancy test. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/113 "2026-09-24T05:15:25Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Any time a cat is shown, we hear a meow; or if a dog appears, we hear a bark. And when we see a rat, it squeaks. Rats don’t walk around squeaking. They squeak when they’re in pain or some other kind of distress. A rat that’s walking around squeaking is in serious trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/114 "2026-09-24T08:38:08Z")
And snakes hiss, even species that never hiss, while red-tailed hawks are skilled ventriloquists which live in every single desert everywhere… and of course sewer rats are chubby, glossy, healthy and female. A really trivial one that sometimes gets me- houseplants. Any background houseplants on film are always immaculate- no dead or yellowing leaves, no leggy bits, nothing wonky or uneven, even if the rest of the house is a mess. Occasionally they’re dead, to demonstrate a place has been abandoned or whatever, but nothing in between. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/115 "2026-09-24T09:29:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Frau Blucher? I had to looked that up and that is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Cachalot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/116 "2026-09-24T09:45:23Z")
That’s because the actor doesn’t actually know how to play the guitar. I agree it’s distracting as hell. Related to this is the guitar which is sitting propped against a wall. Usually some cheap off-brand guitar, and there is no indication that anyone in the cast plays guitar. I guess it’s sort of understandable given what happened to the period instrument Martin loaned to the production of The Hateful Eight. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/117 "2026-09-24T10:25:22Z")
> [@Cachalot](#): > > Related to this is the guitar which is sitting propped against a wall. Usually some cheap off-brand guitar, and there is no indication that anyone in the cast plays guitar. This would be an odd detail to take you out of a scene. I know plenty of people who decide on a whim to learn how to play an instrument, but end up just taking one lesson, or trying to teach themselves and then never pick it up again. One thing that takes me out of a scene is when a throw away line in a foreign language is incorrect grammatically and/or badly pronounced. If the speaker is not supposed to be a native speaker I can understand, but when they are supposedly a native speaker, then it jars me, even though it is a clerk at a hotel that is never seen again. Also related is one where the expression used is correct, but incorrect given the context. An example is someone using “Bienvenue” as “you’re welcome” when the setting is in France, given that is the response to Thank You in Quebecois French rather than almost anywhere else where French is spoken (“De rien”). At the end of the day, sometimes it helps me to just see everything on screen as an alternate universe that only happens to be, by an extraordinary coincidence, almost exactly, but not quite entirely, like our own world. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/118 "2026-09-24T11:31:34Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > One that takes me out is the “off-screen cream”, wherein someone steps out into an otherwise-empty street and is immediately creamed by a car / truck / bus. Yet, if you imagine the scene from the driver’s perspective, there was (usually) nothing blocking their view, so they would have had plenty of time to see this person crossing (or intending to cross) the road, and could easily have slowed down. By the same token, the other day I was driving and there were a couple of guys carrying a giant pane of glass across the street with those suction cup holders. It was hard to resist the urge to not just drive through it! ---
**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 24, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/119 "2026-09-24T11:54:33Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > A soldier with a beret spends a day getting it shaved… What? ---
**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:** [September 24, 2026, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/120 "2026-09-24T12:31:39Z")
For me it’s often minutia related to the way military things are portrayed, particularly the USMC. Can’t count the number of shows that have gotten details related to conduct, decorum, and uniforms quite wrong. Things ranging from rendering salutes with the _left_ hand, or with the wrist bent. Uniform violations like wearing a cover (hat) indoors when not under arms, wearing the eagle, globe, and anchor reversed. Rows of campaign ribbons arranged in nonsensical order and including decorations from multiple different branches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=7)