# When \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in a movie/on TV, we know that \_\_\_\_\_ will happen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830 "2018-04-04T20:32:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/81 "2018-04-06T13:37:45Z")
When the hero finally gets the bad guy at gunpoint, the bad guy inevitably will say “do it…DO IT!” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/82 "2018-04-06T13:50:21Z")
The same group of children and the same teacher will be there through every school year. Nobody ever moves away or dies, and the teacher gets promoted along with the children. Every class has a brilliant, nerdy kid who nobody likes, but who hangs out with the cool kids. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/83 "2018-04-06T16:47:30Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > When you spot a familiar face (known character actor, for example) on a weekly show, that person will be the bad guy, no matter how unlikely. That’s the one I came into the thread to mention. It’s annoying as hell! ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/84 "2018-04-06T17:03:16Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > When a woman. disguised as a man or not, takes off her motorcycle or other helmet, her long hair will float out beautifully, as if just washed and blown dry and styled. It will never be sweaty, matted, helmet hair. Actually, I’ve seen Danica Patrick do that after a race. That woman is just gorgeous no matter what she does. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/85 "2018-04-06T17:21:57Z")
Whenever anyone goes to search on the computer, they will find the information they need immediately, no matter how obscure it is. I guess this is similar to the “Whenever anyone turns on the radio or TV. the exact news story they are looking for will just be beginning.” Only on the computer it’s more unlikely, and more annoying. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/86 "2018-04-06T17:36:30Z")
If the hero definitely needs to drive to an address in a major city, there will always be a parking space right in front. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/87 "2018-04-06T17:42:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > When there is a cremation urn in a comedy, it will get spilled on the floor. Unless it’s the Big Lebowski. In which case the ashes will be in a coffee can and get blown in the face. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/u44D3qKKGPU/hqdefault.jpg "The Big Lebowski - Ashes Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u44D3qKKGPU) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/88 "2018-04-06T17:48:25Z")
If one of the regular actors on a TV cop show runs into an old friend or ex girlfriend/boyfriend we have never heard of before, the ex/old friend will either be killed or be a bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/89 "2018-04-06T18:19:08Z")
When a civilian female, other than the heroine, encounters an unexpected corpse she will scream with great enthusiasm. If there is something pointy sticking out from a wall, someone will be impaled on it. Usually from the back. If a previously unknown person is predominately framed in a scene with the heroes/villains without an obvious reason, they will later be revealed as an agent for the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/90 "2018-04-06T18:29:37Z")
At their lowest point, the hero and his friends will encounter an unexpected ally or allies against the big bad who seem that they will solve all their problems. This ally will turn out to actually be the big bad himself, or working with him, and will betray the good guys just as they are on the point of victory. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/91 "2018-04-06T18:31:58Z")
if the shady-looking suspect asks for a lawyer, he’ll be guilty or the lawyer that comes will tell him to incriminate himself. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/92 "2018-04-06T18:57:03Z")
When one of the characters tells the group “I’ll catch up with you guys later. I just want to go one last round/lap/run.” it never ends well for that person. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/93 "2018-04-06T19:13:43Z")
If there’s a guillotine lurking in the corner of the set, the story will climax with a fight between the hero and the villain, and the villain will end up falling into it and dying in a particularly gruesome manner. (Funny how the guillotine is _always_ left open with the blade raised…) The same applies to any other means of grisly death in the background, like live wires or a vat of acid. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/94 "2018-04-06T19:13:45Z")
When someone calls on the phone and says, “You have to see what’s on the news!”, not only do they turn to the correct channel without knowing which one it is, but it is turned on just as they are mentioning the fact being referenced, which should have been mentioned in the news story already. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The same group of children and the same teacher will be there through every school year. Nobody ever moves away or dies, and the teacher gets promoted along with the children. The Andy Griffith Show referenced this, sort of. In one episode, Barney uses some sort of “wishing kit” and Opie gets three wishes, the first two of which came true, and his third wish is, “I wish Miss Crump (his teacher, and Andy’s girlfriend) would…no, pa says it’s impossible.” Everybody thinks he wished that she would marry Andy, so finally, he does propose, but she turns him down, and he says to Barney, “You see? That thing doesn’t work!”, to which Opie responds, “That wasn’t my wish - I wished that she would still be my teacher next year,” and Helen then says, “I got a note from the school; I’m teaching the sixth grade (Opie’s new grade) next year!” ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/95 "2018-04-06T19:30:08Z")
If the villain is captured half-way into the work that’s because either he wanted to be captured to gain access to the heroes HQ or because he has someone important deep on the inside who will turn turncoat for him to get out. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/96 "2018-04-06T19:35:53Z")
Oh yeah. If ever someone has to meet the hero in person to deliver information that they can’t discuss on the phone, they always wind up too dead to make it to the meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/97 "2018-04-06T20:04:54Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > When there is a cremation urn in a comedy, it will get spilled on the floor. > [@Cardigan](#): > > Unless it’s the Big Lebowski. In which case the ashes will be in a coffee can and get blown in the face. Or they will somehow be ingested by someone. (Chekhov’s cremains?) > [@terentii](#): > > If there’s a guillotine lurking in the corner of the set, the story will climax with a fight between the hero and the villain, and the villain will end up falling into it and dying in a particularly gruesome manner. (Funny how the guillotine is _always_ left open with the blade raised…) Chekhov’s guillotine? > [@Projammer](#): > > If there is something pointy sticking out from a wall, someone will be impaled on it. Usually from the back. Chekhov’s pointy thing? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/98 "2018-04-06T20:10:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > When a plan is explained in detail, it will go awry. When it is not explained beforehand, it will work as planned. I first heard that one applied to Fred’s plans on Scooby Doo. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/99 "2018-04-06T20:12:27Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > If there is a car chase in an urban setting, somebody is going to crash into a fruit cart. > > In a rural setting, substitute “hay wagon” for “fruit cart.” Every Asian movie contains scenes with a fish tank. If the movie has action, guns, gangsters, kung-fu, cops, angry boyfriends, or histrionic girlfriends, those fish will end up on the floor amongst broken glass and water. If the movie is a comedy, the fish are still somewhat in peril. I’ve been known to shout out “fish tank!” upon the inevitable sighting in every Asian movie. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830/100 "2018-04-06T20:19:20Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > If ever someone has to meet the hero in person to deliver information that they can’t discuss on the phone, they always wind up too dead to make it to the meeting. I listen to a lot of detective novels, and three times in the past month I’ve said out loud “Don’t wait til he can meet you\*, make him tell you NOW!” \*at the spooky deserted parking lot/factory/woods/park… Oh, and a corollary to the guillotine set-up: ANY environment full of menace will show up at the climax of the action. If the apparently-harmless scientist gives the heroine a tour of his creepy lab, or the hunky-but-mysterious guy she meets gives her a tour of the catwalk-laden power plant he works in, she WILL end up emperilled. Tied to a lab table, or hanging from that catwalk over a 5000-watt generator. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-____________-in-a-movie-on-tv-we-know-that-_____-will-happen/811830.md?page=6)