Faux Life: Things That Happen On TV But Not In Reality

[DoctorAtomic]

I actually did have an Aunt Florence for real. 

[janie jones]

My name is such an unpopular old lady name that I've had actual old ladies with the same name tell me that they thought it was an old lady name when they were young.  (And it's not one of the old lady names that is now trending.)

Edited January 14, 2020 by janie jones

[Zella]

24 minutes ago, janie jones said:

My name is such an unpopular old lady name that I've had actual old ladies with the same name tell me that they thought it was an old lady name when they were young.  (And it's not one of the old lady names that is now trending.)

I'm 30 but have an old lady name because I was named after a grandmother. I've literally never met anyone with my name under the age of 75, and even they're like, "You're young to be one of us!" I also routinely have people tell me things like, "Oh that was my granny's name!" 😂

So, yeah, it certainly happens, and for that reason, I'm much more likely to side-eye an anachronistically modern name in a historical piece rather than an older name in a modern setting. 

[PennyPlain]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I actually did have an Aunt Florence for real. 

I had a great aunt Florence who died recently at the age of 98.  I've never met anyone else with that name.  I guess it's not one of the 'old lady' names that's trendy now. 

I always do a double take if a young character on TV has my name.  It was one of the trendy baby names when I was born but by the late 60s it had pretty much dropped out of sight.  I used to hear it now and then for characters who would have been born in the 70s/80s and figured from that I could tell which generation the writers were from.

 

[biakbiak]

56 minutes ago, janie jones said:

My name is such an unpopular old lady name that I've had actual old ladies with the same name tell me that they thought it was an old lady name when they were young.  (And it's not one of the old lady names that is now trending.)

My grandmother was so pissed when they named the baby on Mad About You, Mabel saying it was a horrible name to give a child. Her name of course was Mable!

[PennyPlain]

8 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

My grandmother was so pissed when they named the baby on Mad About You, Mabel saying it was a horrible name to give a child. Her name of course was Mable!

I always wondered if the writers were trying to see if they could get that name trending.  I don't think that happened!

[ratgirlagogo]

15 minutes ago, PennyPlain said:

24 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

My grandmother was so pissed when they named the baby on Mad About You, Mabel saying it was a horrible name to give a child. Her name of course was Mable!

I always wondered if the writers were trying to see if they could get that name trending.  I don't think that happened!

My grandmother's name was Mabel!  Her actual baptismal name was Julia but back around the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century, apparently Mabel was a hot young girl's name so that's the name she went by.   When my mom and her sisters and brothers were trying to give their mom a hard time they'd call her Julia.  Her parents had tried to get her baptized as Mabel but the priest wouldn't go for it since he said it wasn't a saint's name (which is bullshit- it's yet another variant of Mary) so he baptized her as Julia because that was his mother's name.

Edited January 14, 2020 by ratgirlagogo

[ABay]

13 hours ago, SVNBob said:

https://instantrimshot.com/

 

Which reminds me...has anyone ever seen or heard one of those in reality?

Not sure if this counts as "reality" but every now and then, the drummer on Late Show with Stephen Colbert does a rimshot. Stephen never seems to expect it and remarks on it when it happens.

Edited January 14, 2020 by ABay

[DoctorAtomic]

I think she was actually my great aunt iirc. She had a machine. (I just can't help myself. It gets me into trouble irl.)

[oohboo]

5 hours ago, PennyPlain said:

I always wondered if the writers were trying to see if they could get that name trending.  I don't think that happened!

I actually know a few child Mable/Mabels so it was a little trendy for a bit! 

[Hiyo]

Well, Florence Welch has siblings, so she might become Aunt Flo or already is 😉

[PennyPlain]

Well I am hoping this is a faux thing!  I've not seen the show but am seeing tons of commercials for Prodigal Son.  Are there really that many serial killers roaming the streets?  Maybe I don't want to know the answer to this one!

Edited January 19, 2020 by PennyPlain

[ratgirlagogo]

3 hours ago, PennyPlain said:

Are there really that many serial killers roaming the streets?  

No. Only the minds of lazy Hollywood screenwriters.

[Danielg342]

7 hours ago, PennyPlain said:

Are there really that many serial killers roaming the streets?

Estimates vary- one study put the number at 2000 (!), while the FBI says that 20-50 operate at any one time. I think reality is the chances anyone runs into a serial killer, let alone actually gets killed by one, are drastically low, simply because the chances of being any kind of murder victim are not that high to begin with. This is one of those cases where I firmly put the blame on Hollywood because they're the sole drivers of placing in the public imagination that "anyone could be a victim at any time!", which I think has broad social consequences far beyond an illogical mythos of serial killers (for example, the myth of the "rapist in the bushes" still persists despite the fact it's also an unrealistic fear). Of course, Hollywood couldn't sell its serial killer shows if they didn't make them as dangerous as possible, which is why they continue to paint the picture of inflated danger despite it being patently unrealistic.

[Ohiopirate02]

25 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

Estimates vary- one study put the number at 2000 (!), while the FBI says that 20-50 operate at any one time. I think reality is the chances anyone runs into a serial killer, let alone actually gets killed by one, are drastically low, simply because the chances of being any kind of murder victim are not that high to begin with. This is one of those cases where I firmly put the blame on Hollywood because they're the sole drivers of placing in the public imagination that "anyone could be a victim at any time!", which I think has broad social consequences far beyond an illogical mythos of serial killers (for example, the myth of the "rapist in the bushes" still persists despite the fact it's also an unrealistic fear). Of course, Hollywood couldn't sell its serial killer shows if they didn't make them as dangerous as possible, which is why they continue to paint the picture of inflated danger despite it being patently unrealistic.

While I agree that the amount of actual serial killers is much lower than what Hollywood wants us to believe,  we all know or know someone who knows someone who has been murdered.   I honestly don't have any statistics to back this up, but I have had more than one interaction with a person who ended up murdered in my life.  I have lived my life in 3 states and have come across this in each of them.  And then there was one time when I was drinking with my uncle (by marriage) who proceeded to tell the story about his uncle (by marriage) who was executed by the state of Louisiana for murder.  I know these are just anecdotes, but I am an average woman living in a fairly quiet part of the country.   

[PaulBMA]

There was an episode of "Cold Case" where the killer of the week realizes that his next victim has her child with her in the car and goes "what's SHE doing here?" and later kidnaps the woman when she is alone. In real life - unlike TV and its Infant Immortality trope - the woman's little daughter would have ended up like Seana Tapp or Amanda Dixon.

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

While I agree that the amount of actual serial killers is much lower than what Hollywood wants us to believe,  we all know or know someone who knows someone who has been murdered.   I honestly don't have any statistics to back this up, but I have had more than one interaction with a person who ended up murdered in my life.  I have lived my life in 3 states and have come across this in each of them.  And then there was one time when I was drinking with my uncle (by marriage) who proceeded to tell the story about his uncle (by marriage) who was executed by the state of Louisiana for murder.  I know these are just anecdotes, but I am an average woman living in a fairly quiet part of the country.   

I'm not suggesting that no one should ever take precautions in their lives or to never be aware of dangers, because dangers do exist. Nor will I suggest that everyone's personal safety situation is the same, because a lot of that is dependent on the area someone lives in and even other things like who they live with and their job.

I'll just say that Hollywood greatly exaggerates how dangerous the outside world is. If life was really the way Hollywood depicted it as, you wouldn't be able to step outside of your house because anything and anyone could do something to end your life. Take the bus? It could get hijacked, with the hijacker killing everyone on board. Drive your car? It could explode because someone planted a bomb underneath it. Take a shower? Someone could have poisoned the reservoir, making the water dangerous to use. Walk into a store? Someone could hold it up as soon as you walk in there.

I could go on but the point is Hollywood pushes our perception of danger to absurd and frankly ridiculous levels. A security expert, Bruce Schneier, even has a term for this- the "movie plot threat"- where security coordinators think too much about what terrorists do in movies than what they'd do in reality.

I mean, I'm not saying that protecting yourself from danger isn't important. It's just that Hollywood is a poor guide.

[Anduin]

3 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I'm not suggesting that no one should ever take precautions in their lives or to never be aware of dangers, because dangers do exist. Nor will I suggest that everyone's personal safety situation is the same, because a lot of that is dependent on the area someone lives in and even other things like who they live with and their job.

I'll just say that Hollywood greatly exaggerates how dangerous the outside world is. If life was really the way Hollywood depicted it as, you wouldn't be able to step outside of your house because anything and anyone could do something to end your life.

I live in Australia. If pop culture is to be trusted, I should have died half a dozen ways every day of my life. The reason that trope exists, many of the first white settlers and explorers were unprepared and in some cases actively stupid. That'll kill anyone any place any time.

[andromeda331]

People can wear each other's glasses on TV without any problem. Whether their prescription or reading glasses they have no problem. Everyone has the exact same eye problems. 

[PennyPlain]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

Whether their prescription or reading glasses they have no problem. Everyone has the exact same eye problems. 

If you are a person above a certain age, especially if you never wore glasses before chances are someone else's reading glasses probably will work for you.  At least well enough to read a menu.  Not that I know this from personal experience or anything 🧐

[andromeda331]

13 minutes ago, PennyPlain said:

If you are a person above a certain age, especially if you never wore glasses before chances are someone else's reading glasses probably will work for you.  At least well enough to read a menu.  Not that I know this from personal experience or anything 🧐

LOL! Every time my mom, brother and I would get a new prescription glasses we'd each try them one and every time it was 'how can you even see' and 'how bad are your eyes'. 

[Zella]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

LOL! Every time my mom, brother and I would get a new prescription glasses we'd each try them one and every time it was 'how can you even see' and 'how bad are your eyes'. 

Hahahaha My family does this, and I've been told my glasses are so strong that they make other people dizzy/nauseated. But they work okay for me. 🙂

[ShortyMac]

If a character is into fitness, they are either into yoga, or a runner, outside, or on a treadmill. No one ever hikes, bikes, or lifts weights, etc.

[Broken Ox]

On 1/20/2020 at 1:04 AM, Danielg342 said:

I'm not suggesting that no one should ever take precautions in their lives or to never be aware of dangers, because dangers do exist. Nor will I suggest that everyone's personal safety situation is the same, because a lot of that is dependent on the area someone lives in and even other things like who they live with and their job.

I'm pretty bummed I've yet to stumble across a dead body while out walking.

[Katy M]

10 minutes ago, Broken Ox said:

I'm pretty bummed I've yet to stumble across a dead body while out walking.

I have. Twice.  But, it was a beaver and a raccoon.

On 1/20/2020 at 9:29 AM, andromeda331 said:

LOL! Every time my mom, brother and I would get a new prescription glasses we'd each try them one and every time it was 'how can you even see' and 'how bad are your eyes'. 

I was once sharing a hotel room with my parents and I accidentally put on my dad's glasses in the morning.  I had a moment of panic, because I couldn't see and there was a crack in them. I took them off and looked at them, handed them to my dad and said "I didn't  know you had bifocals."  

[ABay]

The key to finding a body while out walking, I think, is to have a dog. Or be in a group of children playing in the woods.

[kiddo82]

Or a girl or boy scout troop on a nature walk.

[Blergh]

One-shot people who somehow stumble onto murder victims' bodies are almost always inevitably more likable than anyone who was ever connected to the victim- if not the ONLY likable folks in the entire chain-of-events! 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

The key to finding a body while out walking, I think, is to have a dog. Or be in a group of children playing in the woods.

Well, to be fair, I actually do think a dog would, in reality, be helpful in such a situation.

[andromeda331]

Why do people keep fishing at the East River when bodies are always being found there especially by fishing? Does no one in TV land ever read the paper or watch the news? If bodies were constantly turning up at the nearby river I'd stop fishing there and find another place to fish. Also, if that many bodies keep turning up you'd think maybe the cops would set up cameras, stakeout, or get a boat and drag the river every day or at least once in a week. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by andromeda331

[smittykins]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

Or a girl or boy scout troop on a nature walk.

True story:  For a service project, a Girl Scout troop was cleaning up the edge of a lake across the street from my old apartment building and found a body that had washed up. 😱

Edited January 21, 2020 by smittykins

[Danielg342]

15 hours ago, Broken Ox said:

I'm pretty bummed I've yet to stumble across a dead body while out walking.

I mean, if you're a stunt driver, you have a higher risk of death than a data entry worker.

Although if you want to talk about bummed, I've been a janitor for eight years. I should have recovered at least a few dead bodies in my time- after all, even in reality people use dumpsters for bodies all the time- but the closest I ever got was finding a bone. Of a chicken wing someone had for lunch.

Oh well.

[Hiyo]

Apparently, small British towns and villages in the countryside may appear charming and idyllic, but if British detective shows are anything to go by, they are actually places full of sex, corruption, deception, and murder...lots and lots of murder.

[Anduin]

57 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

Apparently, small British towns and villages in the countryside may appear charming and idyllic, but if British detective shows are anything to go by, they are actually places full of sex, corruption, deception, and murder...lots and lots of murder.

But the rent is really low and there's always places available!

[Blergh]

5 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Apparently, small British towns and villages in the countryside may appear charming and idyllic, but if British detective shows are anything to go by, they are actually places full of sex, corruption, deception, and murder...lots and lots of murder.

Luckily, only the town of Cabot Cove, Maine seemed to have echoed that phenomenon on this side of the Pond at least until Mrs. Fletcher's Manhattan neighborhood somehow had the same thing happen. 

[PennyPlain]

Someone spinning an off the cuff lie that is so very obviously a lie to us as viewers but is swallowed hook, line and sinker, by the people s/he is lying to - no one challenges it. No one tumbles to the raised eyebrow, the stuttering halting speech, the long pauses while the person tries to think of something to say?

Edited January 22, 2020 by PennyPlain

[Danielg342]

15 hours ago, Anduin said:

But the rent is really low and there's always places available!

Murder does wonders for the vacancy rate...

[Zella]

16 hours ago, Blergh said:

Luckily, only the town of Cabot Cove, Maine seemed to have echoed that phenomenon on this side of the Pond at least until Mrs. Fletcher's Manhattan neighborhood somehow had the same thing happen. 

I've always maintained that Jessica Fletcher was the world's most prolific serial killer. It was the only way I could explain how murder seemed to follow her wherever she went.  😂🤣😂

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Zella said:

I've always maintained that Jessica Fletcher was the world's most prolific serial killer. It was the only way I could explain how murder seemed to follow her wherever she went.  😂🤣😂

I love that theory. 

[Zella]

7 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I love that theory. 

It sure livened up the season of Murder She Wrote that I watched a few years ago. 😆

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 1/22/2020 at 8:17 AM, Blergh said:

Luckily, only the town of Cabot Cove, Maine seemed to have echoed that phenomenon on this side of the Pond at least until Mrs. Fletcher's Manhattan neighborhood somehow had the same thing happen. 

12 hours ago, Zella said:

I've always maintained that Jessica Fletcher was the world's most prolific serial killer. It was the only way I could explain how murder seemed to follow her wherever she went.  😂🤣😂

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I love that theory. 

 

 

THEM'S be Fightin' Woirds!!!!!

[Bort]

There’s a whole thing on the Murder She Wrote serial killer theory. 

My mother sews, one day I will get her to make me something out of this fabric.

[Zella]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

There’s a whole thing on the Murder She Wrote serial killer theory. 

My mother sews, one day I will get her to make me something out of this fabric.

Bahahahaha I have found my tribe! 😂

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

There’s a whole thing on the Murder She Wrote serial killer theory.

Yeah, that's been around for a very long time, and how could it not be?  The per capita homicide rate in her quaint little town is exponentially higher than that of the most notorious cities in America, and then everywhere she travels to visit a friend or one of her numerous family members, someone also turns up killed.  Clearly she was using I'm a sweet old widow* writing mysteries as a cover for researching the means, motives, and methods of homicide and how to frame innocent dupes so thoroughly they confess to crimes they did not commit in the hopes of obtaining leniency from the DA.

*One must wonder what really happened to Mr. Fletcher!

[GaT]

I posted this comment 5 years ago in the Murder, She Wrote thread, & since it seems relevant, I'm going to copy it over to here:

Quote

 

This show is on late night on the Hallmark Channel, so if I have nothing else to watch, I put it on. Last night they showed the 2 part episode "Mirror, Mirror" & I LMAO when this conversation happened:

Sheriff Mort Metzger: Mrs Fletcher! Can I see you for a minute? [pause] I said, do me a favor, please, and tell me what goes on in this town!
Jessica Fletcher: I'm sorry, but...
Sheriff Mort Metzger: I've been here one year, this is my fifth murder. What is this, the death capital of Maine? On a per capita basis this place makes the south Bronx look like Sunnybrook farms!
Jessica Fletcher: But I assure you Sheriff...
Sheriff Mort Metzger: I mean, is that why Tupper quit? He couldn't take it anymore? Somebody really should've warned me, Mrs. Fletcher. Now, perfect strangers are coming to Cabot Cove to die! I mean look at this guy! You don't know him, I don't know him. He has no ID, we don't know the first thing about this guy.

I always thought it was funny that nobody ever mentioned the high death count in Cabot Cove, I'm glad someone finally said something LOL

 

 

[Danielg342]

I didn't really watch much of Murder, She Wrote, but my mother and my grandmother (who have both sadly passed) loved the show. So I'm intrigued by the Jessica Fletcher murder theory, so much so I wrote a short fic where she gets arrested.

I also found this article from the Waterford Whisperer out of Ireland:

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2011/09/25/suspected-serial-killer-jessica-fletcher-arrested-at-east-cork-home/

I guess Jessica is too easy to figure out.

[DoctorAtomic]

Psych had a similar line when a new police chief took over (Anthony Michael Hall). He made a crack about what was going on because there had been a hundred something murders in the last 6 years. 

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

I posted this comment 5 years ago in the Murder, She Wrote thread, & since it seems relevant, I'm going to copy it over to here:

 

 

7 hours ago, GaT said:

This show is on late night on the Hallmark Channel, so if I have nothing else to watch, I put it on. Last night they showed the 2 part episode "Mirror, Mirror" & I LMAO when this conversation happened:

Sheriff Mort Metzger: Mrs Fletcher! Can I see you for a minute? [pause] I said, do me a favor, please, and tell me what goes on in this town!
Jessica Fletcher: I'm sorry, but...
Sheriff Mort Metzger: I've been here one year, this is my fifth murder. What is this, the death capital of Maine? On a per capita basis this place makes the south Bronx look like Sunnybrook farms!
Jessica Fletcher: But I assure you Sheriff...
Sheriff Mort Metzger: I mean, is that why Tupper quit? He couldn't take it anymore? Somebody really should've warned me, Mrs. Fletcher. Now, perfect strangers are coming to Cabot Cove to die! I mean look at this guy! You don't know him, I don't know him. He has no ID, we don't know the first thing about this guy.

I always thought it was funny that nobody ever mentioned the high death count in Cabot Cove, I'm glad someone finally said something LOL

He should have asked if anyone had ever actually heard from Sheriff Tupper since he left town.

[Guest]

Hey everyone!

The topic in this thread is Faux Things That Happen on TV But Not in Reality. Please let's circle back to that. Thanks!

 

 

[PennyPlain]

Couples on TV having sex in public places and no one notices!  I don't mean public in the sense of the middle of the sidewalk, but I've lost count of the times they have 'encounters' in dressing rooms, public bathrooms, a curtained off hospital bed etc.  and it's  like they are in a little bubble of total privacy.  Well unless it suits the plot for them to get ccaught of course!  Which is a way more realistic consequence!