# What the hell is going on? Some weird things you've noticed about TV shows. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867 "2000-09-28T14:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/21 "2000-09-28T16:18:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by divemaster \* > \*\*Scene: people are listening to a radio report or watching TV news concerning an event important to the plot. Before the report is over, someone always gets up and turns the TV/radio off! How do they know the reporter isn’t going to say something else important? Real people don’t act like this; they leave the TV/radio on under these circumstances, and just talk over it. \*\* I hate when they do this! Also, someone will get a call from a friend, “Quick, turn on channel 12!”, and they turn it on and lo and behold, the thing they need to see is JUST starting! They never miss the beginning of it. As stolichnaya said, I hate when they all crowd around one side of a table. No one ever sits on that “other” side. On “NewsRadio”, the long staff table was actually slimmer at the end where Dave sat and got wider at the bottom, so we could see all the characters. Whenever someone has a bag of groceries, there is ALWAYS a french baguette and green leafy carrot tops sticking out of the top. ALWAYS!! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/22 "2000-09-28T16:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dietrologia \* > \*\*In soap operas, whenever someone asks a question, there is a minimum of 15 seconds before they get their reply. If someone tried this with me in real life, I’d be, “Uh, did you not hear me or something?” > > In soap operas, people do an inordinate amount of talking to themselves. If I ever overheard one of my friends talking to themselves, I’d suggest they seek help. \*\* I must be living in a soap opera! When I ask my wife anything, she hears me but takes forever to get around to responding. I tease her that we don’t have conversations, we have verbal e-mail. And I talk to myself all the time (and I _do need help_) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/23 "2000-09-28T16:28:03Z")
- - - “We got porn! Free porn!” - Friends - - - “Did you ever notice, like in movies, when people are driving, , , they won’t watch the road , , , , , , , for like a long time?” - Strange Brew - MC ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/24 "2000-09-28T16:29:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*\*. . . Whenever someone has a bag of groceries, there is ALWAYS a french baguette and green leafy carrot tops sticking out of the top. ALWAYS!! \*\* And the only reason anyone ever has a bag of groceries is because they’re going to drop it in the next scene, so the loose oranges can roll away. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/25 "2000-09-28T16:43:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \*As stolichnaya said, I hate when they all crowd around one side of a table. No one ever sits on that “other” side. The worst example of this to me came not on TV, but in the movie “Secrets and Lies”. Brenda Blethyn’s character and the daughter she just met sit on the same side of a diner booth, so you can see their reactions at the same time. It looked so artificial. Until recently, people who were obviously post-coital would get out of bed with at least underpants on. Also in soap operas, gifts are always in easy-open boxes rather than producing that wrapping paper mess. People say “can I get a rain check” when they have to break a plan; I have yet to hear or use that in real life. Not only are apartments huge but so are the bathrooms. Paul and Jamie’s on “Mad About You” was the size of a real NYC apartment. And then when they are having the baby they say, where will put her, maybe we’ll have to give up the spare room (which is filled with junk). SPARE ROOM?? You’re paying like an extra $1000 a month for a junk room?? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/26 "2000-09-28T16:44:12Z")
I would **love** to know what Alica Kramden did all day in that tiny apartment that got her so tired. Must’ve been one helluva bedroom that they never showed us! ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/27 "2000-09-28T17:03:09Z")
Cars rarely have rearview mirrors. People in cars look at each other while talking, and not the road. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/28 "2000-09-28T17:09:22Z")
All birthday and Christmas presents are in boxes with a top that comes off. You never see anyone actually removing wrapping paper. Nobody ever locks their door. If they do lock their door they will be able to unlock it. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/29 "2000-09-28T17:15:25Z")
And no matter the weather, the streets are always wet! Seriously, start watching for it. I assume it photographs better that way, but after a while, I can’t ignore it. Aargh. And dear God, does anyone really just fall asleep for the night right after sex? Am I the only one who actually **washes up** afterwards? Please, say it ain’t so. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/30 "2000-09-28T17:16:23Z")
Keeve, I have been a housewife in a tiny apartment, no tv, and it was exhausting. Ever try to do all your laundry by hand, all the time, including the towels? When i kept house I scrubbed the tile floors once a week and then damp mopped with clear water that took an hour each for the kitchen and bath. I used to make our meals from scratch, no campbell’s soup short cuts. That means making stock from scratch. I used to wash the walls regularly and the windows that I could reach. Before perma-press ironing could take all day. Ironing sheets sucks. Generally it was something like Baking day, laundry day, ironing day, general thorough cleaning day (including windows), mending and sewing day. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/31 "2000-09-28T17:17:56Z")
If you need a “smart person” or a “geek” or “the character to whom nobody is ever romantically attracted” just put glasses on 'em. Start with a conventionally pretty actor or actress, add eyeglasses, and BOOM! Ugly! Let’s try that again: No glasses = pretty. Glasses = BOOM! Ugly! And much more intelligent, all of a sudden. hi-ho, hi-ho, to IMHO we go…(the sound of dwarves whistling)…? ---
**Author:** ![Wrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@Wrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrath)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/32 "2000-09-28T17:18:48Z")
People (thieves/bad guy) can always break into a house, silently, completely undetected or without raising suspicions of neighbors, regardless of locked doors/windows, etc., but manage to always forget to close the window they came in/left from. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/33 "2000-09-28T17:20:00Z")
1 Almost universally, haggling over a price takes place on paper. No one says out loud how much they’re willing to pay for a car. They write down a figure and slide it across the desk. The salesman counters by sliding another slip of paper across the desk. The Simpsons did a great play on this when Mr Burns tries to settle a lawsuit.“I’m going to write down a figure that I think you’ll find more than fair.”. The paper he slides over to Homer is covered by a large zero. 2 Unpopular people wear ugly clothes and glasses. When they get a make over, it’s revealed that they have model physiques. The best example of this is Love Potion #9. Sandra Bullock starts the film as a shy scientist in frumpy clothes, large glasses and her hair in a bun. This is supposed to convince us that men find her unnattractive? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/34 "2000-09-28T17:20:12Z")
Everyone in soap opera in perfectly fine living in a world that has no artificial lighting of any king. They NEVER turn on any lights in their houses even though the rooms have all of the ambience of a dungeon. It really depresses me and spooks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Wrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@Wrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrath)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/35 "2000-09-28T17:23:46Z")
Iee wrote: * * * Ironing sheets sucks. * * * My how times have changed. People actually ironed sheets? And washed walls? ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/36 "2000-09-28T17:27:16Z")
**stoli:** > [@](#): > > In a porn film, you watch him get in, turn the keys, drive all the way there, turn off the engine, and exit the vehicle. That’s because it’s considered “foreplay.” 😃 When a guy is at home planning a fishing trip, he will don his fishing hat, waders, and fishing vest and carry a pole around with him, even though the actual trip isn’t for another month and a half. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/37 "2000-09-28T17:40:31Z")
Never fails. The husband is just a dope. Thanks to the wife, everybody learns their lesson. Where did this start? Was it with the Cosby Show? That’s my first recollection of the dad being a total ass and the wife being portrayed as the genius. When TV was just getting rolling, Dad was a source of knowledge; now he is an idiot. Mom was smart too. Everbody Loves Raymond. Why? He is an ass (according to every episode). King of Queens. I don’t think so. Should be renamed: “I’m a Fat Dope, My Bitch Wife Knows Everything” Tim Taylor, Home Improvement, was/is a dope. The wife set his butt straight every show. It goes on and on. I believe it started with that jack-ass Bill Cosby who really was afraid of that Rashad bitch that played his wife. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/38 "2000-09-28T17:57:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wrath \* > \*\*Iee wrote: > > * * * > > Ironing sheets sucks. > > * * * > > My how times have changed. People actually ironed sheets? And washed walls? \*\* Yes, as recently as 1990. Recently, I was appalled that hubby did not iron the sheets when he made the bed in the spare room when were expecting a house guest. I did not have time left to do it myself when I noticed. On tv either the character has one outfit and wears it all the time, or they never wear the same clothes twice. If they do wear the same items, it is always in the same outfit. No mix and match. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/39 "2000-09-28T17:59:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magdalene \* > \*\*If you need a “smart person” or a “geek” or “the character to whom nobody is ever romantically attracted” just put glasses on 'em. Start with a conventionally pretty actor or actress, add eyeglasses, and BOOM! Ugly! Let’s try that again: No glasses = pretty. Glasses = BOOM! Ugly! > > And much more intelligent, all of a sudden. > > \*\* And when geeky, ugly people take off their glasses and become beautiful, they can still see. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867/40 "2000-09-28T18:05:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Never fails. The husband is just a dope. You know, I’ve been thinking about this and I honestly cannot come up with an example of a TV husband with 1/10th of a brain. That trend bugs me too. Also, sitcom characters could crack the funniest joke in the world and all of the other characters will just sit there stone-faced or maybe, just maybe, crack a little smile. Nobody ever busts out laughing unless it’s the last line spoken in a show and it’s a really crappy pun that nobody should be laughing at in the first place. Bizarre… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-some-weird-things-youve-noticed-about-tv-shows/34867.md?page=3)