# You get to fix one of your pet peeves about shows and movies... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460 "2016-07-21T02:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 21, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/21 "2016-07-21T10:25:21Z")
Characters must actually talk to each other and work out problems instead of letting them fester or having misapprehensions go unchecked. I know a lot of dramas and comedies wouldn’t work without that premise. Figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/22 "2016-07-21T11:06:46Z")
Make sure at least some corporate execs are good guys. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/23 "2016-07-21T11:33:52Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Characters must actually talk to each other and work out problems instead of letting them fester or having misapprehensions go unchecked. I know a lot of dramas and comedies wouldn’t work without that premise. Figure it out. In other words, no more saying “It’s complicated”? 😉 Mine would be, people using computers must use them in a realistic manner. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/24 "2016-07-21T12:20:22Z")
TV series opening credits would be different each episode; maybe the same song, but a different artist. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/25 "2016-07-21T12:24:51Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Breaking the rules of the OP here, but I thought of another one I’d do instead. Don’t hire 2 people with very similar faces, hair styling and build for the same movie and dress them similarly. Make one of them dye their hair, cut it differently or have them have different clothing styles. I don’t want to spend the first hour of the film thinking “wait isn’t that the guy who…” As a Good Liberal, I’m glad to see diverse casting. As a consumer of entertainment, that same diversity can make for more interesting productions. Too many shows have several almost indistinguishable good looking dark haired white guys. (There was historical reason for this in _Downton Abbey_, when it was noted that all Lady Mary’s swains looked alike; they put blonde streaks in Poor Matthew’s hair to make him stand out. _Writing_ to distinguish the different characters? Not from Lord Fellowes.) Actresses also tend be young, white, slim & have the same long hair. At least hair color varies. Sometimes a character is The Edgy One–give the guy some facial hair & let him wear a hat! I’ve never watched _NCIS_ but know there’s an Edgy Young Chick in the cast; does she _always_ dress that way? I like casts that include different ages, body types, races & degrees of beauty. Let’s have more character actors with interesting faces! Yes, casts will include disproportionate numbers of good looking people; but why must they resemble the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog? ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/26 "2016-07-21T12:35:10Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > I’d like to see phone users wait at least 15 - 20 seconds before someone answers. 🙂 And make them say ‘Goodbye’ rather than just hanging up rudely and continuing their conversation with the other character in the room. This is really common and I always imagine the person on the other end of the line staring at the handset saying ‘At least say thanks/ bye, a\*\*hole!’ Actually all of the above. I can’t pick one. I was going to say the musical instruments and the ‘walk with me’ conversations too. Another one, on a more serious note, is genuinely crying children. I think I got this from my mother. She always winced when she saw a frightened or crying toddler on screen exclaiming ‘That child is really upset! How did they make him/ her cry? Disgraceful!’ etc. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/27 "2016-07-21T12:38:04Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > you will have full systems that at least will look like their hooked up and sound effects will be taken from a real game on that system > > No more kids holding a x box 360 controller with a ps2 box that’s running some free/public domain flash game while using the sound effects from Atari pac man … Or, when they’re holding the controller, they aren’t just moving the sticks and pushing the buttons all willy-nilly. You don’t play video games by just randomly hitting buttons and moving the joysticks. Well, unless you’re playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2…but we aren’t counting that… ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/28 "2016-07-21T12:39:37Z")
Sorry, one more. Put heavy things in suitcases to make them hard to carry. Actors swinging suitcases around blithely as if they were as light as a feather destroys the illusion rather. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/29 "2016-07-21T12:59:30Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > 🙂 And make them say ‘Goodbye’ rather than just hanging up rudely and continuing their conversation with the other character in the room. This is really common and I always imagine the person on the other end of the line staring at the handset saying ‘At least say thanks/ bye, a\*\*hole!’ This always bugged me when watching X-Files. Another X-Files: One character would walk away/ignore the other one who was calling out their name. Scully: “Mulder! _Mulder!_” Mulder: - - - - - - - -\> Okay, fuck you, dude! ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/30 "2016-07-21T13:16:28Z")
There are so, so many things TV and movie productions habitually get wrong. Sometimes it is simply for time. I try to let time things slide (such as wasting 20 seconds of screen time waiting for a phone to be answered, or turning on a TV and having to wait for it to boot up and find the proper channel). Often it’s for drama (TV and movie characters have more coincidental happenings in an hour than most people have in a decade). But the one thing that gets to me every time (and I say this as someone who has never owned a firearm and hasn’t held one since basic training back when Daddy Bush was in charge) is how all shows handle guns. Whether it is constantly racking shotguns or pistols to “show you mean business” or the never-ending clips that only run out of bullets except when dramatically necessary (especially with automagic\* weapons) or the noise (more specifically, the lack thereof) or any of the other things they get wrong, it suspends my disbelief more often than any other thing. So if I could fix one thing, it would be gun-play in TV and movie productions. \*not a misspelling ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/31 "2016-07-21T13:16:30Z")
No one shall be seen or heard vomiting. We’ve discussed this here before. I don’t understand what it’s supposed to add; I can’t remember the last time I witnessed someone throwing up IRL, nor have I ever lost my cookies in response to bad news or fear. So it’s not only gross but unrealistic. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/32 "2016-07-21T13:29:03Z")
Nobody should be able to hack a computer unless they can do it like it’s done in real life. Ditto knocking people out. Yes, Leverage, I’m coming for Hardison and Spencer. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/33 "2016-07-21T13:30:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Roles must be played by actors who really are the age of their characters. > > No more “youthful” looking 30 year old actors playing high school students!!! I’m ok with this, actually. I want younger kids to play them too, but I’d rather have those younger kids a) in a normal high school and b) away from Hollywood. Minor things in movies? I’d like women to act as sensibly as the men do, that is, no screaming for ten seconds or more when confronted with a body. When was the last time you heard a man scream like that at a dead body, unless for comedy? And on the other token I’d like to see the men show a little more normal emotion. When you’re just an accountant you are not MANLY MANLY MANLY, you will scream and freak like anyone else if a body falls out of your closet. ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/34 "2016-07-21T14:31:16Z")
I’d eliminate the following: \*Our heroes are in a desperate situation. “Wait a minute. I know something that just might work!” Cut to new location. “This is the Plot-A-Tron 5000 device. Let me NOW explain my idea.”\* So they drove all the way across town in dead silence so he could explain his brilliant plan only when they got there? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/35 "2016-07-21T14:40:02Z")
Tires do not make the same screeching sounds on dirt that they do on asphalt. Just stop it. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/36 "2016-07-21T14:44:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Ditto knocking people out. > > Yes, Leverage, I’m coming for Hardison and Spencer. Came here to post about these movie knockouts. Hate 'em. Just strike someone in the back of the head with your gun, and they’re out for exactly the amount of time you need to further the plot. Then they wake up, rub their head and continue on as if nothing had happened. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/37 "2016-07-21T14:53:37Z")
Yeah, I can’t stomach movie knockouts anymore. There’s some movie where the lead character gets knocked out 4-5 times, and all I keep thinking is how much permanent brain damage he is going to have by the end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/38 "2016-07-21T15:16:59Z")
Shocking flatlines. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/39 "2016-07-21T15:26:20Z")
No more empty (and free!) parking spaces precisely in front of the building you’re going to. Because fuck you, movie and television people; if I have to circle the block three times to find a place to park and then spend five minutes trying to find change for the meter, so do you. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460/40 "2016-07-21T15:32:36Z")
Cocking for effect. In fact, I would insist that there be a firearms expert on any scene involving guns, and that his direction be followed _to the letter_. But the cocking thing: guy pulls a gun and surprised other guy. They have the obligatory conversation, and the second guy starts to make a move. Guy with the gun then cocks the gun to show he means business. Also, the racking noise that accompanies any sort of firearm, even those without a slide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-fix-one-of-your-pet-peeves-about-shows-and-movies/760460.md?page=3)