# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/161 "2026-09-25T05:21:49Z")
To take down her underwear, that had to be one powerful jackhammer! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/162 "2026-09-25T11:26:40Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Noticeable if they say “the 95” instead of “I-95.” The only “the” acceptable around here is “_The_ Beltway” - whether around DC or Baltimore. Oh, and “_The_ BW Parkway” between Baltimore and Washington. 😁 ---
**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 25, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/163 "2026-09-25T12:01:53Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Or in an Art Frahm drawing. Great cite; thank you. That’s who I was thinking of, but could not recall the name. ISTM a lot of 1950s/1960s TV used the same cliché’d groceries borrowed from Art’s art. Minus of course, the wardrobe malfunctions. But the men in the audience who had seen his drawings could imagine the rest easily enough. > [@markn\_1](#): > > After seeing the focus of his work, his famous Coppertone ad featuring the dog pulling down the little girl’s swimsuit bottom seems a bit creepier. The fact he used his 3yo daughter as a model is seriously creepy to modern sensibilities. But was probably an innocent thing in more innocent times. Probably. I’m reminded of this bit of stupidity which goes to the idea that childhood nudity has meant different things in different eras. > **[Nirvana Beats Former Baby’s Lawsuit (Again)](https://www.loweringthebar.net/2025/10/nirvana-beats-former-babys-lawsuit-again.html)** > > Please appeal again. ---
**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 25, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/164 "2026-09-25T12:09:04Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Things obviously written by west-coasters who have never been to the east coast. I usually have no qualms whatsoever about cross-ethnic casting, but it takes me right out of a TV show or movie set after 1995 or so when a New York cabbie is portrayed as a white guy with no trace of a foreign accent. (Or, worse, an old-school “Where to, Mac?” accent.) (See also Larry David’s cameo on Seinfeld as a newsstand cashier…) ---
**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 25, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/165 "2026-09-25T13:24:35Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Someone is carrying a bag or two of groceries - typically with a baguette extending upwards from one - and it is very clear that the bags are virtually weightless. And if the person is bumped into or disturbed in such a way that they drop their groceries, there are always a bunch of loose oranges that roll out onto the ground. > [@markn\_1](#): > > Or in an Art Frahm drawing. Clearly we had a long way to go back then in the technology of fabric elastics. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/166 "2026-09-25T14:01:17Z")
In fairness, around Chicago it’s called “The Dan Ryan,” and not I-90 or I-94. Looks like the use of “the” made it to at least the midwest. ---
**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 25, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/167 "2026-09-25T14:16:45Z")
Sometimes, large items sticking out of grocery bags come in handy: [![](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cjmaltby.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F08%2FOpus-Mime-Olive-Loaf.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=6b625d88a22bb5f4f61901448431b2b3d23615b2c60dc7eb90ff73bdc2537144) ](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cjmaltby.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F08%2FOpus-Mime-Olive-Loaf.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=6b625d88a22bb5f4f61901448431b2b3d23615b2c60dc7eb90ff73bdc2537144) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/168 "2026-09-25T14:56:28Z")
I think the difference is that the West Coasters use “the” before numbers as in “the 95” and the rest of the country uses “the” before names. Even on the East Coast , I95 is known as _the_ Cross Bronx Expressway , _the_ New Jersey Turnpike , _the_ New England Thruway. Or just plain “I-95”. Never “the 95”. ---
**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 25, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/169 "2026-09-25T15:43:37Z")
It’s not all west coasters, it’s mostly people from southern California. It’s a well-known shibboleth in California that distinguishes southern from northern Californians. Someone from San Francisco would never refer to “the 80” or “the 101”, while that would be normal usage for someone from Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/170 "2026-09-25T15:49:55Z")
I’m not invested much in sex scenes, but if people are going to do the in-out-in-out, they’ve got to disrobe enough to allow the required body contact. I can’t really think of an example, but it’s not all that uncommon to skip the disrobing part, do some body motions without really removing pants or lingerie for 3 seconds, and that’s the “sex”. I mean if that’s all you’re gonna do, skip the nonsense, just make it implied. Don’t show a thing that can’t really happen. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/171 "2026-09-25T22:10:53Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Or in an Art Frahm drawing. I hate when that happens! Ladies, amirite? > [@markn\_1](#): > > After seeing the focus of his work, his famous Coppertone ad featuring the dog pulling down the little girl’s swimsuit bottom seems a bit creepier. If it makes you feel any better, the linked article indicates he used his daughter for the model of that ad _before_ he started depicting the all-too-relatable problem of women losing their drawers at the grocery store. So they probably weren’t related. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/172 "2026-09-25T22:14:56Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I mean if that’s all you’re gonna do, skip the nonsense, just make it implied. Don’t show a thing that can’t really happen. If you’ll forgive a literary example, if I need to draw a diagram to understand the sex in your romance novel, you’re doing it wrong. I mostly skim these days anyways, but too many times I have found myself thinking, “Wait, how does that even work?” ---
**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:** [September 25, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/173 "2026-09-25T23:42:29Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Clearly we had a long way to go back then in the technology of fabric elastics. In fact we genuinely did. Elastic was kind of new still at that time, and was utter rubbish at its job in the early days, if you had it at all. Socks, for example, mostly did not have any. It’s why suspenders were so common then. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/174 "2026-09-26T00:23:29Z")
Are you saying women lost their drawers back then for real? ---
**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 26, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/175 "2026-09-26T00:34:13Z")
Well, all those women seem to have very little in the way of hips or rump, so there’s not much to hold their knickers up. Their midsection is built about like a tween boy or girl; all straight up & down. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/176 "2026-09-26T00:43:16Z")
I don’t recall actually losing them like in the paintings - but I absolutely remember being happy I was wearing pants when I was a kid because the elastic failed. And they would have been lost if I had been wearing a skirt. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/177 "2026-09-26T00:55:43Z")
My gym socks suffered a similar fate. ---
**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 26, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/178 "2026-09-26T01:27:54Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Are you saying women lost their drawers back then for real? I lost my chonies not two months ago! OK, I wasn’t on the street, I was at work. And there wasn’t anyone around to leer at me, but they did indeed fall down around my ankles when I stood up. I shouldn’t have worn them, knowing the elastic was was going. I texted my sister about it, because it was funny. She thought I couldn’t afford underwear(or something?) and sent me a sixpack of Me Undies. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/179 "2026-09-26T01:56:33Z")
I never realized the stakes were so high around elastic breaking. Taking notes. ---
**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 26, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299/180 "2026-09-26T02:30:54Z")
The important question is, when it happened, were you carrying a bag of groceries with celery poking out of the top? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-takes-you-out-of-a-tv-show-or-movie-that-s-actually-trivial/1033299.md?page=10)