TV Tropes: Love 'em or Loathe 'em

[DarkRaichu]

17 minutes ago, magicdog said:

Bond was a member of the Royal Navy so he could have learned many of the skills he uses.  Being a spy I would think they would have many field agents be able to operate a variety of vehicles.

Yep, training for these agents is expensive and time consuming. They should be trained to operate multiple vehicles to increase their chance of escaping any dire situation.

Consider this:
Bad guy: You could have stole 1 of my cars to escape Mr. Bond
007: Who still drive the &^$^%# stick in 2019? DAMN YOU !!!
 

[Bort]

20 minutes ago, DarkRaichu said:

Consider this:
Bad guy: You could have stole 1 of my cars to escape Mr. Bond
007: Who still drive the &^$^%# stick in 2019? DAMN YOU !!!

Ah, that's another thing, the automatic transmission assumption. That's more an American thing. Manual (stick) is the most common transmission type there. Automatic transmissions aren't very prevalent. Don't rent a car in the UK if you can't drive a stick. You'd be screwed.

[ganesh]

My car is a stick. I insisted on it. It took so long to find one and it was shipped from another state. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Automatic transmissions aren't very prevalent. 

That’s actually quickly changing and they are approaching 50/50 for new car purchases when in the mid 00s it was a much smaller share.

Edited May 29, 2019 by biakbiak

[Browncoat]

I just bought a new car, and unfortunately, the one I wanted didn't come in a stick.  It's quite the adjustment, changing to automatic after driving only a stick for more than 30 years!  I don't know if I'll ever stop using the "clutch" when I brake my new car. 

[Joe Hellandback]

33. A  heroic but non macho character will shoot the villain to save the hero but then let the gun dangle from their fingers and exclaim "He's dead?"

[andromeda331]

19 hours ago, Blergh said:

Very good post!

I also hated Parenthood would constantly have plots all the adult family members supposedly on the verge of financial ruin-   yet magically be able to keep living like Croesus.  For example when Adam's recording business venture with Crosby was about to tank but  when Adam's daughter Haddie wanted to go to Cornell. Rather than just tell her she would to have to accept reality and try to find a college they could AFFORD, they told her they'd 'make it work' so they wouldn't have to live with her disappointment.  I mean, if a show is to have plots with characters dealing with the proverbial wolf at the door, then they should depict CONSEQUENCES of what the individual characters must endure to deal with that problem rather than just mope about it but STILL keep indulging in impractical dreams and a well-heeled lifestyle. 

Oh, yeah, they never did explain how they managed to get money for that when they didn't have any. But then they never explained being able to pay Kristina's medical bill and campaign for Mayor.

I also love on that show how no one ever really had to be qualified for anything. Adam and Crosby open a recording studio despite zero experience, Adam had zero experience because his last job was running a shoe business. Kristina has zero experience in politics but decided to run for Mayor, and when that fails decides to open up a school because that's easy too. You certainly don't need experience or anything.  Sarah's a bartender, who then writes a play, she worked at Adam's shoe company for a bit, or then for became apartment manager and photograph. What do you know somehow she's amazing at all of them. Despite zero experience any of that. 

[andromeda331]

Cop shows, detectives, FBI, etc. really should take a look at White Collar on how to write a good supportive spouse. Elizabeth Burke, is wife of Peter Burke, FBI agent. She's completely supportive, helps him and listens to him. When she finds a business card of a woman in his jacket she doesn't freak out or think he's cheating on her, she asks him about it. Peter explains that he flirted with the woman for a case, usually its his criminal consultant that does the flirting but this woman liked Peter. Elizabeth gets all quiet it looks like she's going to cry or get upset, nope she starts laughing at the idea of her husband flirting with the woman. It just cracks her up. Later when he needs to get into the woman's clinic (her doctor partner is the bad guy) Elizabeth coaches him on what to say to get an invite, she coaches him on how to do well at the men's auction when investigating a black widow. Except for one moment in season four she is always supportive. She never nags, gets on him, she understands his job means he's going to be working long hours and get called away a lot. Sometimes she just listens other time she helps like the model party in the second episode she helps Peter and Neal throw or the kid's birthday party another episode which completely makes sense because she's an event planner. I get so tired of the spouse always being a nag, getting upset and having issues with husband/wife job even though they've been together for a really long time so really should be used to it. 

[Joe Hellandback]

34. An extraordinary number of TV characters will have friends who will hold jobs and careers open for them so they can walk back into them at any time. 

[doesntworkonwood]

13 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Ah, that's another thing, the automatic transmission assumption. That's more an American thing. Manual (stick) is the most common transmission type there. Automatic transmissions aren't very prevalent. Don't rent a car in the UK if you can't drive a stick. You'd be screwed.

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

That’s actually quickly changing and they are approaching 50/50 for new car purchases when in the mid 00s it was a much smaller share.

The thing is the way driving licences work in the UK is that if you have a license for a manual transmission, you can drive a manual and an automatic car. If you have a license for automatic, you can only drive an automatic car. That's why the majority of people learn to drive and pass their test in a manual car and many people's first cars are cheaper used cars which tend to be manual. 

It's not really a stretch at all for Bond to be able to drive a manual car. It would be weirder if he didn't know. 

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, doesntworkonwood said:

It's not really a stretch at all for Bond to be able to drive a manual car. It would be weirder if he didn't know. 

No one is suggesting it’s strange he can drive a manual car they are suggesting it’s weird that Bond can drive any vehicle he comes across from sea craft, plane, helicopter and even space craft!

[ganesh]

5 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I get so tired of the spouse always being a nag, getting upset and having issues with husband/wife job even though they've been together for a really long time so really should be used to it. 

Didn't she go undercover with Neal a couple of times? 

[DrSpaceman]

5 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Cop shows, detectives, FBI, etc. really should take a look at White Collar on how to write a good supportive spouse. Elizabeth Burke, is wife of Peter Burke, FBI agent. She's completely supportive, helps him and listens to him. When she finds a business card of a woman in his jacket she doesn't freak out or think he's cheating on her, she asks him about it. Peter explains that he flirted with the woman for a case, usually its his criminal consultant that does the flirting but this woman liked Peter. Elizabeth gets all quiet it looks like she's going to cry or get upset, nope she starts laughing at the idea of her husband flirting with the woman. It just cracks her up. Later when he needs to get into the woman's clinic (her doctor partner is the bad guy) Elizabeth coaches him on what to say to get an invite, she coaches him on how to do well at the men's auction when investigating a black widow. Except for one moment in season four she is always supportive. She never nags, gets on him, she understands his job means he's going to be working long hours and get called away a lot. Sometimes she just listens other time she helps like the model party in the second episode she helps Peter and Neal throw or the kid's birthday party another episode which completely makes sense because she's an event planner. I get so tired of the spouse always being a nag, getting upset and having issues with husband/wife job even though they've been together for a really long time so really should be used to it. 

I always loved White Collar.  And they were a nice couple. 

It was never the deepest or the best show, but it was always fun and interesting.

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, ganesh said:

Didn't she go undercover with Neal a couple of times? 

Sort of. Neal poses as Peter to an assistant to the client who's event Elizabeth is planning, the client's an ass and assistant tells her he's a bad man. They try to wait for Peter who's late but the assistant keeps getting more nervous and thinking about backing out so Neal decides to pretend to be Peter and the two have to pretend to be married the rest of episode. Peter's not thrilled but he ends up pretending to be Neal. She's really cool when she's kidnapped in one episode she manages to convince the guy watching her that his hand that her dog bite is infected just by talking to him and turning up the heat so he'll leave her alone. 

[kiddo82]

Whenever anyone on TV dies, especially under sudden or tragic circumstances, and their loved ones learn they were harboring some deep, dark secret.  Secret girlfriends.  Secret families.  Secret life of crime/espionage.  Weird fetishes.  I get that it's to create drama but just once I'd love for the dead husband to have actually been a normal Joe.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Same here, kiddo82.

Similarly...

Dead parents, or, more specifically, their surviving kids being obsessed with them, even if they were only infants when they died. Avenging them/uncovering secrets/ idealizing them to the point of lunacy/whatever consumes their every waking moment.

Let me be clear, I'm not trying to downplay the tragedy of losing a parent, especially when you're young. By all means, feel the pain and mourn. That said, plenty of people are able to move on and live full, productive lives without nursing an unhealthy obsession with their dead mommy and/or daddy.

There are way too many reasons why I stopped watching This is Us, but one of them was the Pearson kids' refusal to move on from Jack's death. I agree it was tragic, and of course they'll always miss him (they should)... but you've lived more of your lives without him than with him! What is this, a du Maurier novel? Get on with your lives! Actively keeping Jack's specter around will not bring him back! He is never coming back! He's dead! He's gone!

I wish more characters took a page from Danielle from Ever After: We see Danielle lamenting never knowing her mother exactly once... and that's it. Life goes on, so has she.

[methodwriter85]

On 5/25/2019 at 2:47 PM, Homily said:

Not even rent, owning.  Shows like Married With Children that have a not particularly successful shoe salesman (and it's a one income family at that) living next door to a banker.  Mmmkay.  

See, though, this I thought was believable, because Peggy and Al probably got their house in the early 70's when prices were low (remember, the reason why suburbia came into existence in the first place was that it was cheaper), and Steve/Marcy got their house in the 80's when prices in that neighborhood had probably gone up. It also was pretty clear that the Bundys had never updated their house from when it was probably built or last updated in the 70's when Kelly and Bud were born. It's also possible that Al might have originally had a better job in manufacturing or something in the 70's that either went bye-bye when the 80's began or injured him in some way that he had to go into retail.

But yeah, point remains. Remember the massive mansion that the OG Party of 5 family lived because apparently one restaurant did THAT well?

[Joe Hellandback]

34. A disproportionate number of families will only have one child, unless their siblings have some role to play in the plot they won't exist. 

35. A surprising number of loner heroes who have dedicated their lives to their career and never had time for a family will have a secret love child whom they never knew about/orphan pop up in their later life making them less tragically lonely (and having their cake and eating it). 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Joe Hellandback

[Jacqs]

Christmas-themed episodes where they overly femme the main little girl character(s)

Take this screen capture of Ellen Hamilton Latzen (as Michelle) in Family Ties, in velvet dress, floppy collar, and white pantyhose.

Ellen's mom told me that the costumers insisted on that outfit. All she could say was "who dresses their kid like that to go to the mall?"

[janie jones]

Some people dress their kids up for the photo op with Santa, not just to go shopping.

[Melina22]

I saw one today that always annoys me. When people on TV take pills, they usually take them without water. Sometimes they literally crunch them like they're mints. Who does this?? 

Meanwhile if people on TV eat supper, they always sit at a table where there's always a big bowl of salad, a bowl of mashed potatoes, some kind of meat, and the adults have wine in wine glasses. No one eats over the sink or watching TV. Or has Kraft Dinner, apparently.

On the other hand, at a bar everyone either drinks beer out of a bottle, or straight whisky or vodka, occasionally with ice. They toss it back without cringing, and generally it has no discernable effect. 

[auntlada]

25 minutes ago, janie jones said:

Some people dress their kids up for the photo op with Santa, not just to go shopping.

I always do. We always dress up for formal-type photos.

[Bastet]

47 minutes ago, janie jones said:

Some people dress their kids up for the photo op with Santa, not just to go shopping.

Exactly - they weren't being dressed that way to go to the mall, they were being dressed that way to get their photo taken, which happened to be in the mall (same with kids on their way to the Sears portrait studio).  Many girls were dressed in those fluffy, frilly, velvety frocks (with stockings and Mary Janes) for holiday photos at the time that Family Ties episode aired; the first time the screencap was posted, I think someone said she had a portrait of herself in the same dress.

[Homily]

38 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

I saw one today that always annoys me. When people on TV take pills, they usually take them without water. Sometimes they literally crunch them like they're mints. Who does this?? 

Also almost invariably they drink coffee black.  Sure I know people who do drink coffee black but not nearly as many as who take it with milk or cream.  

39 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

Meanwhile if people on TV eat supper, they always sit at a table where there's always a big bowl of salad, a bowl of mashed potatoes, some kind of meat, and the adults have wine in wine glasses.

And they almost always sit down to a full breakfast.  Living in suburb land the way I do this is absolutely not my reality and I always find myself envious of these people who can take time to cook and eat breakfast before heading off to work.  I leave the house at 6.30 and the best I usually manage is a banana in the car on the way into town!

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Homily said:

And they almost always sit down to a full breakfast.  Living in suburb land the way I do this is absolutely not my reality and I always find myself envious of these people who can take time to cook and eat breakfast before heading off to work.  I leave the house at 6.30 and the best I usually manage is a banana in the car on the way into town!

My mom comments on that a lot whenever we see a show with a family sitting down for breakfast together. She's always like, "What time are these people getting up?" or "What time does school start for these kids?" 

[Homily]

1 minute ago, Annber03 said:

My mom comments on that a lot whenever we see a show with a family sitting down for breakfast together. She's always like, "What time are these people getting up?" or "What time does school start for these kids?" 

I'm the same!  I love the way they're all showered, dressed, made up and fully capable of holding a conversation as they sit down to their eggs and bacon.  Clearly none of them commute or start work at 7.30 the way I do!

[Dr.OO7]

7 minutes ago, Homily said:

Also almost invariably they drink coffee black.  Sure I know people who do drink coffee black but not nearly as many as who take it with milk or cream. 

And it's always coffee. Nobody hates it? Nobody drinks tea?

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Homily said:

I'm the same!  I love the way they're all showered, dressed, made up and fully capable of holding a conversation as they sit down to their eggs and bacon.  Clearly none of them commute or start work at 7.30 the way I do!

LOL, same :D. We especially get a kick out of it when it's a show that features a family with lots of kids, like the Bradys. Getting that many children up and ready like that in the morning, rarely ever having that one kid who needs to be called to, like, four or five times before they finally even get out of bed, everyone manages to use the bathroom to brush their teeth and get ready and all that in time (I know sometimes they do their routines at night before bed, but still...), and they're all ready and raring to go to school? Sure, okay. That never happened in my house when I was a kid, and my mom only had myself and my sister to deal with :p!

[Mabinogia]

2 minutes ago, Camille said:

And it's always coffee. Nobody hates it? Nobody drinks tea?

I personally hate coffee so yeah, the fact that everyone on TV drinks coffee all the time is annoying. 

And I agree with all the full breakfast on a weekday stuff. I am lucky if I can finish my V8 before I have to run out the door for work. I suppose I could get up an hour earlier and make myself pancakes, bacon, eggs, a glass of OJ and a cup of (in my case) tea, sit, read the paper, make some phone calls (I live alone so I can't do the whole meaningful conversation thing they seem to do) before heading out...but why the fork would I? I just have a yogurt when I get to work like a person who doesn't want to get up at four in the morning. 

[Annber03]

Just now, Mabinogia said:

And I agree with all the full breakfast on a weekday stuff. I am lucky if I can finish my V8 before I have to run out the door for work. I suppose I could get up an hour earlier and make myself pancakes, bacon, eggs, a glass of OJ and a cup of (in my case) tea, sit, read the paper, make some phone calls (I live alone so I can't do the whole meaningful conversation thing they seem to do) before heading out...but why the fork would I? I just have a yogurt when I get to work like a person who doesn't want to get up at four in the morning. 

I think about that whenever I see a woman/young girl on TV who's got some really fancy hairstyle going on. Sure, it may look cool and nice, but I always wind up thinking, "What time did she have to get up to get that done?"

To say nothing of the fact how so many of these women seem to know how to perfectly style their own hair. A cute ponytail or a quick little braid or something simple like that is one thing, but some of these hairstyles you see look almost professional. For me, as long as my hair doesn't look like I stuck my finger in an electric socket and seems reasonably put together, that's good enough. 

[Bastet]

17 minutes ago, Camille said:

And it's always coffee. Nobody hates it?

As someone who doesn't like coffee (like the smell, but hate the taste), that's the one that always sticks out at me: Seemingly everyone on TV drinks coffee.  I understand that a large percentage of Americans start every day with coffee, but just among my close friends and family, there are three of us who don't drink it at all.  We're not that rare, certainly not as rare as on TV.

As for sit-down breakfast, my mom made me eat that before school when I was a kid.  It was awful.  When I was finally old enough for her to believe it wasn't simply because I hate mornings and wanted to maximize my sleep time, but also that I am nauseated by food for the first hour, at least, I'm awake, she started sending me off to school with something to eat during our morning "nutrition" break instead.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Bastet

[Dr.OO7]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

As someone who doesn't like coffee (like the smell, but hate the taste), that's the one that always sticks out at me: Seemingly everyone on TV drinks coffee.  I understand that a large percentage of Americans start every day with coffee, but just among my close friends and family, there are three of us who don't drink it at all.  We're not that rare, certainly not as rare as on TV.

Same here. That's why that trope annoys me.

[Annber03]

I like coffee, but yeah, it's not something I drink every morning. I pretty much only have it if I'm really tired and need something quick to get me feeling a little more alert. Either that, or it's a really cold day and I want something warm. 

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

As for sit-down breakfast, my mom made me eat that before school when I was a kid.  It was awful.  When I was finally old enough for her to believe it wasn't simply because I hate mornings and wanted to maximize my sleep time, but that I am nauseated by food for the first hour, at least, I'm awake she started sending me off to school with something to eat during our morning "nutrition" break instead.

Yep, that's me as well. Some mornings I'm really hungry for a proper breakfast, others, it takes me a bit before I'm awake enough to really feel like eating something. In those cases, something quick and easy will be more than enough to tide me over until lunch. 

[andromeda331]

My dad used to make breakfast for when were growing up. Usually cereal, bagels, etc. From time to time pancakes or French toast. But the funny thing is when he did that he always made enough for the entire week. He always figured if he was going to the effort to he might as well make enough for the whole week. We'd just heat them up every morning until we ran out. It wasn't all the time. But no one on TV ever does that. The mom or dad (usually Mom) makes everything every single day.

Its refreshing to watch week day mornings on the Middle with Frankie and Mike yelling at the kids the whole time to get up and get dressed, one episode throwing a frozen pancake in the microwave or throwing the kids whatever they could find. They were always running late, kids who didn't want to get out of bed Frankie picking up Axl's mattress to dump him out-they flash back to her telling him several times that morning to get up starting out nicely and getting angrier the later it gets. That's more about how it really goes on weekdays. 

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, andromeda331 said:

My dad used to make breakfast for when were growing up. Usually cereal, bagels, etc. From time to time pancakes or French toast. But the funny thing is when he did that he always made enough for the entire week. He always figured if he was going to the effort to he might as well make enough for the whole week. We'd just heat them up every morning until we ran out. It wasn't all the time. But no one on TV ever does that. The mom or dad (usually Mom) makes everything every single day.

Your dad's a smart man. Great idea. 

I love that description of "The Middle", especially the part about picking up the mattress to wake up Axl :D. That definitely sounds familiar. I've heard so many good things about that show over the years-really should check it out sometime. 

[Melina22]

39 minutes ago, Homily said:

Also almost invariably they drink coffee black.  Sure I know people who do drink coffee black but not nearly as many as who take it with milk or cream

You're right! 

40 minutes ago, Homily said:

And they almost always sit down to a full breakfast. 

Which no one ever eats! They grab a sip of OJ or a piece of toast and dash out the door, saying they don't have time to eat! 

[Melina22]

13 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Its refreshing to watch week day mornings on the Middle with Frankie and Mike yelling at the kids the whole time to get up and get dressed, one episode throwing a frozen pancake in the microwave or throwing the kids whatever they could find

Yes, The Middle and Roseanne were great for this. Sooooo much more like the life of actual humans. (Or am I revealing too much about my family?) 😁

[andromeda331]

4 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Your dad's a smart man. Great idea. 

I love that description of "The Middle", especially the part about picking up the mattress to wake up Axl :D. That definitely sounds familiar. I've heard so many good things about that show over the years-really should check it out sometime. 

Its a good show. So much is more what its really like raising teenagers and kids. Their kids so act like kids. One episode they make a deal not to get on the kids so much if they do what their suppose to do like homework, chores and stuff. That goes well for about a day or two be for going wrong. Or one early episode Frankie takes 15 minutes in the bathroom at work for a break turning off her cellphone, she feels great only to turn on her cellphone to a bunch of messages from her kids of things that had gone wrong and the co-worker who suggested she take the 15 break makes a disaster with the coffee pot.  The mattress scene was really funny. We start out seeing Frankie going in and picking up the mattress. Then they go back and show 1st going in and very nicely waking Axl up, then coming in again, and again yelling by the third time, she sprays him with water another time, before finally picking up the mattress ticked off because he missed the bus and now she has to drive him to school. 

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

Yes, The Middle and Roseanne were great for this. Sooooo much more like the life of actual humans. (Or am I revealing too much about my family?) 😁

I saw so much of my family and my friends' families in "Roseanne". Going back to the discussion about finances, I remember there was one episode where Roseanne and Dan were having a discussion about some money issues, and I actually looked at the TV in shock because hand to God, my parents had had the exact same conversation the week before. We're talking practically word for word and everything. I remember thinking, "Okay, who's bugging our house?" :p. 

ETA; LOL, @andromeda331, that sounds awesome. I know some channel's shown reruns of that show, so yeah, I'll start looking out for those :). 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Annber03

[andromeda331]

16 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

Yes, The Middle and Roseanne were great for this. Sooooo much more like the life of actual humans. (Or am I revealing too much about my family?) 😁

If you are then so am I. I love those shows because they showed the normal side, less then perfect. Week day mornings are crazy in a family, siblings not getting along, kids who act like kids and not perfect people. I lean a little more towards the Middle because it was more similar to mine then Roseanne. Mike listing all the things that've gone wrong with their house and remarking in their house God doesn't working in mysterious ways I know my parents have thought that way at times. Sue trying to get into stuff but not good at anything was refreshing to the teens who are perfect at everything. Axl a lazy teenager, Brick quiet but has social issues. The show reminds me so much of so many different kids I went to school with, families, and some times my own families. They have money problems. And their money problems rarely get fixed. I love that they don't play lip service to it. You see it throughout so many episodes. One episode Frankie accidently buys eye cream that she thought was 20 but ended up being 200. She and Mike both end up having to get second jobs to make up that amount. One of the reasons their so on Axl and his football is for the scholarship, they know they can't pay for college. In both shows its mixture of crap (aka life) happening, bad decisions or things just don't work out.

Edited June 1, 2019 by andromeda331

[Mabinogia]

44 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

To say nothing of the fact how so many of these women seem to know how to perfectly style their own hair. A cute ponytail or a quick little braid or something simple like that is one thing, but some of these hairstyles you see look almost professional. For me, as long as my hair doesn't look like I stuck my finger in an electric socket and seems reasonably put together, that's good enough. 

I am fortunate to have very fine, straight hair. Some days I don't even comb it in the morning. If I do I wear it down, if I don't it usually ends up in a ponytail or a bun, sometimes I braid it on the train if I'm feeling really fancy. I did try curling it in the morning once, took too long, never tried that again. The people I work with will just have to take me as I am. 

I used to work in NYC, lived along the shore in CT. My commute every day was 3 1/2 hours each way. I am NOT a morning person so I learned how to get ready really fast (night showerer). I got up at 6AM and left my house at 6:10. That habit is still with me even though my commute is now a much more manageable 20 minutes. I just get up later now. lol

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I am fortunate to have very fine, straight hair. Some days I don't even comb it in the morning. If I do I wear it down, if I don't it usually ends up in a ponytail or a bun, sometimes I braid it on the train if I'm feeling really fancy. I did try curling it in the morning once, took too long, never tried that again. The people I work with will just have to take me as I am. 

Lucky you indeed. I have thick, curly hair. It can be tough to deal with sometimes-and when I was younger I used to have it long (past my shoulders), which made it even more of a hassle. Nowadays shoulder-length at most works for me, and even then, the most I tend to do is comb it and put it in a ponytail on occasion. 

Quote

I used to work in NYC, lived along the shore in CT. My commute every day was 3 1/2 hours each way. I am NOT a morning person so I learned how to get ready really fast (night showerer). I got up at 6AM and left my house at 6:10. That habit is still with me even though my commute is now a much more manageable 20 minutes. I just get up later now. lol

Nice! Yeah, that's another thing a lot of these shows never seem to take into account-many of them are set in or near big cities, where there's going to be a time-consuming commute. And yet this doesn't ever seem to be an issue for many characters. Not unless it needs to be part of a specific plot point, at least. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Annber03

[Melina22]

19 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Then they go back and show 1st going in and very nicely waking Axl up, then coming in again, and again yelling by the third time, she sprays him with water 

My 4 girls still laugh about how if they didn't get up, I'd stand over them holding a glass of water. If they still refused to get up. I would slowly start pouring it on them. Don't report me. It worked and I never had to do it more than once per child. 😁

[Mabinogia]

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, that's another thing a lot of these shows never seem to take into account-many of them are set in or near big cities, where there's going to be a time-consuming commute. And yet this doesn't ever seem to be an issue for many characters. Not unless it needs to be part of a specific plot point, at least.

True. They are always lingering around in the morning, home right away in the evening, until that one episode where they have to be late for some reason and then the show remembers they commute to and from work and suddenly their train is delayed, the train we have never before heard them talk about, the train we've never seen them on, or rushing to catch as they sit and scarf down their morning pancakes. And after that ep, their train/commute is never heard from again, and they one again take their time leaving in the morning and are home right away in the evening. lol 

[Dr.OO7]

12 hours ago, Jacqs said:

she could say was "who dresses their kid like that to go to the mall?"

EVERYBODY on TV almost always seems to be ridiculously and elaborately overdressed for whatever it is they're doing.

[andromeda331]

4 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

My 4 girls still laugh about how if they didn't get up, I'd stand over them holding a glass of water. If they still refused to get up. I would slowly start pouring it on them. Don't report me. It worked and I never had to do it more than once per child. 😁

I wouldn't never. I was one of those teens who waited as long as I could before getting up every morning for school. I calculated down to the second how much time I needed to get dressed, eat and go the bathroom to the bare minimum. I hated getting up early in the mornings. 

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, Camille said:

EVERYBODY on TV almost always seems to be ridiculously and elaborately overdressed for whatever it is they're doing.

Another thing my mom always got a kick out of-seeing people dressed in fancy clothes when they're having their meals in the evening, or moms (especially in the older shows from the '50s and '60s and that) walking around in skirts or dresses no matter what they were doing. My mom will often say, "I don't ever remember my mom walking around in skirts or dresses every single day. She was always wearing slacks." 

(She does remember her parents making her and her siblings get all dressed up when going to family reunions, though, which she never understood, LOL.)

[kiddo82]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

As someone who doesn't like coffee (like the smell, but hate the taste), that's the one that always sticks out at me: Seemingly everyone on TV drinks coffee.  I understand that a large percentage of Americans start every day with coffee, but just among my close friends and family, there are three of us who don't drink it at all.  We're not that rare, certainly not as rare as on TV.

Same here.  I don't care for coffee either but I do like the smell.  Of close family/friends (not counting work friends because they all seemingly drink it) I'd say it's probably an even split as to who drinks coffee and who doesn't.  What's really interesting to me is that neither me nor my sisters drink it but both of my parents do routinely.  I do drink tea but at night.

[Melina22]

Just now, kiddo82 said:

What's really interesting to me is that neither me nor my sisters drink it but both of my parents do routinely.  I do drink tea but at night.

I've noticed that young people are more likely to drink cola in the morning than coffee. Older people are more likely to drink tea or coffee.

I'm not sure if I know even one person who doesn't drink something caffeinated in the morning, although I know there are people out there who don't. I admire their discipline. I tried for years to quit coffee and eventually decided to quit quitting. It was bigger than I was. 

[kiddo82]

4 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

I've noticed that young people are more likely to drink cola in the morning than coffee. Older people are more likely to drink tea or coffee.

I'm not sure if I know even one person who doesn't drink something caffeinated in the morning, although I know there are people out there who don't. I admire their discipline. I tried for years to quit coffee and eventually decided to quit quitting. It was bigger than I was. 

I drink water or juice in the morning.  Or nothing.  But since I never got into the caffeine habit in high school/college I've never had to quit so it's not so much about discipline.  I just never cared for it.  Not really a cola drinker either.  Trust me, I do have other vices though.

Edited June 2, 2019 by kiddo82