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

[praeceptrix]

53 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

Sorry Praeceptrix, didn't mean to hit a nerve.   

Lawyers portrayal on tv is the WORST.   Mostly because 90% of what attornes do is boring as hell.   We are in our offices drafting documents, reviewing documents or trying to convince our clients of basic realities of the law for the 800th time (no this very specific law cannot be changed for just YOUR case so you can have what you want).    On TV they are in court all the time, while in reality even litigators spend very little time in court.   Only 2% of cases go to trial on TV it is more like 98%.   

The ABSOLUTE WORST at this was the Good Wife.   They would be taking depositions in the middle of trial because something surprised them at trial.   Yeah discovery is loooooong since over and that expert's report that surprised you -- you saw that weeks ago.   Or they file a lawsuit and get to take depositions IMMEDIATELY at a time demanded by the other party.   Just ugh.    

No apologies necessary, Merylinkid! I'm just grateful that my field is not considered entertaining enough for there to be a gazillion fictional portrayals.

I don't know how lawyers and legal professionals avoid tearing their hair out and/or destroying their televisions in frustration. And having to deal with clients whose preconceptions were formed by popular culture? I salute you for your patience!

I wonder if there's a comparison chart of how various professions are misrepresented on TV. That, together with a study of the effects of fictional portrayals on common perceptions, might make a fascinating dissertation topic (assuming it's not already been done). Of course, given that we watch TV to escape from our mundane lives, I suspect there are many people who have no desire to see accurate portrayals. C'est la vie.

[Zella]

I loved The Good Wife, but it drove me batty every time they made a discovery in the middle of trial. It was ridiculous.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Zella

[Katy M]

 

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

and also they and Cory's somewhat older brother Eric managed to be taught in the very same class by Mr. Feeny.

That doesn't really bother me.  I left one elective and one general requirement until senior year and both classes had freshmen in it.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, praeceptrix said:

I don't know how lawyers and legal professionals avoid tearing their hair out and/or destroying their televisions in frustration.

I mostly avoid legal dramas, and ever since the commercial came out several years back I can entertain myself when courtroom scenes pop up in other shows by quoting:  "That's not how it works.  That's not how any of this works."

Law school is never portrayed accurately, either, and for the same reason - it would be quite boring to watch someone do nothing but read and brief for a year.  So on TV, law students do mock trial by week three, and by the end of the season they've, as an intern, freed an innocent person from prison.

[Raja]

22 minutes ago, Bastet said:

 

Law school is never portrayed accurately, either, and for the same reason - it would be quite boring to watch someone do nothing but read and brief for a year.  So on TV, law students do mock trial by week three, and by the end of the season they've, as an intern, freed an innocent person from prison.

I though it was about being chosen for Law Review, the rest of the students might as well as quit and joined the family business.

[kiddo82]

27 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I mostly avoid legal dramas, and ever since the commercial came out several years back I can entertain myself when courtroom scenes pop up in other shows by quoting:  "That's not how it works.  That's not how any of this works."

Law school is never portrayed accurately, either, and for the same reason - it would be quite boring to watch someone do nothing but read and brief for a year.  So on TV, law students do mock trial by week three, and by the end of the season they've, as an intern, freed an innocent person from prison.

Wait. wait. wait. wait.  wait.  Legally Blonde lied to us?

Edited June 14, 2020 by kiddo82

[Shannon L.]

5 hours ago, merylinkid said:

Lawyers portrayal on tv is the WORST.   Mostly because 90% of what attornes do is boring as hell.   We are in our offices drafting documents, reviewing documents or trying to convince our clients of basic realities of the law for the 800th time (no this very specific law cannot be changed for just YOUR case so you can have what you want).    On TV they are in court all the time, while in reality even litigators spend very little time in court.   Only 2% of cases go to trial on TV it is more like 98%.   

I was on a jury and not once did one lawyer yell at the other while the judge pounded on the gavel shouting for order in the court.  In fact, the lawyer for the prosecution acted like the courtroom was the last place he wanted to be.  It was quite disappointing 😉 

[Hiyo]

Quote

Wait. wait. wait. wait.  wait.  Legally Blonde lied to us?

Oh God. Someone please tell me How To Get Away With Murder was at least accurate...

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I was on a jury and not once did one lawyer yell at the other while the judge pounded on the gavel shouting for order in the court.  In fact, the lawyer for the prosecution acted like the courtroom was the last place he wanted to be.  It was quite disappointing 😉 

OK, but surely someone either threatened or bribed you to vote, and steer the rest of the jury, a certain way?  And someone broke down on the stand and confessed, right?  And, at least 2 of the jurors ended up hooking up?  And everyone gasped when the verdict was read, I'm sure.

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I was on a jury and not once did one lawyer yell at the other while the judge pounded on the gavel shouting for order in the court.  In fact, the lawyer for the prosecution acted like the courtroom was the last place he wanted to be.  It was quite disappointing 😉 

I've yet to be on one, but yeah, anytime I'm watching "Dateline" or some show of that sort,, the courtroom trials are pretty tame there much of the time, too. Maybe you'll get the occasional outburst from a grieving family member or an angry defendant, but that's about it. 

Every great once in a while, though, there will be a lawyer on one of those shows pulling out all the dramatics in the courtroom with the way they're telling the story or showing how a victim was murdered or something. All I can think when I watch that is, "You're not auditioning to be on the next Dick Wolf show, buddy, settle down." 

6 hours ago, praeceptrix said:

I don't know how lawyers and legal professionals avoid tearing their hair out and/or destroying their televisions in frustration. And having to deal with clients whose preconceptions were formed by popular culture? I salute you for your patience!

Look at all the people who have to point out that no, investigations do not work as sleekly and as quickly as they do on a show like "CSI". 

[Hiyo]

Quote

I was on a jury

Let me guess, only 2 or 3 of you dominated the discussion of the case, and gave impassioned speeches for or against voting one way or another, while everyone else just sat there silently and occasionally nodded?

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Hiyo said:

Let me guess, only 2 or 3 of you dominated the discussion of the case, and gave impassioned speeches for or against voting one way or another, while everyone else just sat there silently and occasionally nodded?

Most likely one was a know it all, either a private detective or some kind of genius doctor or crime writer who managed to solve the case in the jury room that the police couldn't solve during their entire investigation because of some random comment someone made. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Please. Every jury is all white oldish guys with untucked ties with the top button undone pounding on the table until one Says Something and they all agree. 

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

ever since the commercial came out several years back I can entertain myself when courtroom scenes pop up in other shows by quoting:  "That's not how it works.  That's not how any of this works."

Thank you for reminding me! 

 

ETA: 
However, when my daughter was in court as a reporter for a newspaper 15 years ago, the defendant did manage to smuggle in a shiv and stab the judge in the neck with it, at which point the defendant was shot. 
 

Edited June 15, 2020 by shapeshifter

[Mabinogia]

I still LOVE that commercial. Definitely a classic. 

[merylinkid]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Thank you for reminding me! 

 

ETA: 
However, when my daughter was in court as a reporter for a newspaper 15 years ago, the defendant did manage to smuggle in a shiv and stab the judge in the neck with it, at which point the defendant was shot. 
 

Oh there are ocassionaly moments of excitement.   I had my own Perry Mason moment once.   And notice what the reference is, not real life but a tv show.    But mostly trials are so boring even I have trouble staying awake -- and I am involved in it.

[Haleth]

17 hours ago, Bastet said:

Law school is never portrayed accurately, either, and for the same reason - it would be quite boring to watch someone do nothing but read and brief for a year.  So on TV, law students do mock trial by week three, and by the end of the season they've, as an intern, freed an innocent person from prison.

This is why I only got through a few episodes of How to Get Away with Murder.  Total fantasy.

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, merylinkid said:

Oh there are ocassionaly moments of excitement.   I had my own Perry Mason moment once.   And notice what the reference is, not real life but a tv show.    But mostly trials are so boring even I have trouble staying awake -- and I am involved in it.

That's kind of my worst fear if I get jury duty.  I have so small an attention span.  

[Kel Varnsen]

20 hours ago, Zella said:

I loved The Good Wife, but it drove me batty every time they made a discovery in the middle of trial. It was ridiculous.

What is worse: when the Good Wife did that, or when it would have more than 1 named partner be in court for a trial representing someone?

[BlackberryJam]

TV lawyers never spend time balancing the trust account, reviewing their invoices or entering billable hours. The files they take to court easily fit in a trendy bag or a briefcase. Also, you can handle complex litigation with one file folder of documents. Boxes and wheelie bags are only used for laughs. 

[Katy M]

Whatever you guys do, do NOT watch a trial on a soap opera!!!!  I saw one trial where a potential juror called both the defendant and the victim (murder trial) thugs.  His stepgranddaughter was involved with both those parties and he was still empaneled.  The prosecutor was the victim's father.  AFter the jury was empaneled he came up with some cockamamie story that the victim was an undercover cop making it a capital crime. He wasn't.  The defense attorney objected when a witness confessed to the crime on the stand.  She actually did do it.  But, either way, she wasn't a defense witness and he wasn't questioning her, so there was no reason to object.  It helped his cause and he couldn't accused of suborning perjury.  

[merylinkid]

10 minutes ago, Katy M said:

The defense attorney objected when a witness confessed to the crime on the stand. 

Why on earth would the DEFENSE attorney object to someone else confessing to the crime?   It gets your client off.

ONLY the prosecutor and one jury member were related to the people involved in the crime?   Must have been a bad day in the writer's room.   Usually even if the case takes place in a fairly large town, every single person was involved in the underlying crime/situation somehow.   But are all allowed to participate in the investigation/trial.    

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

Why on earth would the DEFENSE attorney object to someone else confessing to the crime?   It gets your client off.

I'm not really sure why he objected.  I don't even really remember what happened. I do remember later the jury was deliberating because it turned out that one the jurors had been bribed by the defense.  I think he was thrown off and replaced with an alternate.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

Why on earth would the DEFENSE attorney object to someone else confessing to the crime?   It gets your client off.

Probably because the witness is the lawyer's lover.

[Katy M]

25 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Probably because the witness is the lawyer's lover.

She was the defendant's girlfriend, so he might have told him to object.  She was the lawyer's ex-wife's second husband's sister, but I don't think that had anything to do with it.

[Hiyo]

Was it All My Children?

Edited June 15, 2020 by Hiyo

[Katy M]

11 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

Was it All My Children?

General Hospital.

[Moose135]

24 minutes ago, Katy M said:

General Hospital.

So they don't get law or medicine right.

[GreekGeek]

On 6/14/2020 at 8:53 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

Please. Every jury is all white oldish guys with untucked ties with the top button undone pounding on the table until one Says Something and they all agree. 

Or everyone thinks the defendant is guilty except one guy, who then talks the other eleven into changing their votes. Twelve Angry Men was a television play three years before the famous Henry Fonda film, so it totally counts as a television show. And the plot has been ripped off on TV many times, ironically mostly in sitcoms.

 

On 6/14/2020 at 11:52 PM, merylinkid said:

 But mostly trials are so boring even I have trouble staying awake -- and I am involved in it.

I was a juror exactly once. It was a pain and suffering/lost wages lawsuit. The judge was reading a boating magazine!

[Katy M]

37 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Or everyone thinks the defendant is guilty except one guy, who then talks the other eleven into changing their votes. Twelve Angry Men was a television play three years before the famous Henry Fonda film, so it totally counts as a television show. And the plot has been ripped off on TV many times, ironically mostly in sitcoms.

They flipped in 7th Heaven.  11 wanted to acquit and the 12th talked them into a conviction.

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

They flipped in 7th Heaven.  11 wanted to acquit and the 12th talked them into a conviction.

I think it happened in Happy Days, too.  Something about the defendant having been on a motorcycle and Fonzi was the one who knew everything about motorcycles.

No real drama in our jury room, however, it was my attention to detail that, when I pointed out something I thought was important that we'd missed the first time through, had everyone saying "Oh! That changes everything.".  A few changed their mind and those who were unsure came to a conclusion and we came to a decision quickly. Which, in all honesty, was probably the wrong one, but the prosecutor didn't really prove his case--there was reasonable doubt, in our opinion. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Shannon L.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know if anyone watched Amy Schumer, but that's the best Twelve Angry Men parody I've seen. 

[Annber03]

27 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I think it happened in Happy Days, too.  Something about the defendant having been on a motorcycle and Fonzi was the one who knew everything about motorcycles.

Yeah! Something about how this guy couldn't have stolen a woman's purse because the way he was riding a motorcycle would've made it impossible for him to grab it the way the lady claimed he had. 

[Silver Raven]

On 6/15/2020 at 7:02 AM, BlackberryJam said:

TV lawyers never spend time balancing the trust account, reviewing their invoices or entering billable hours. The files they take to court easily fit in a trendy bag or a briefcase. Also, you can handle complex litigation with one file folder of documents. Boxes and wheelie bags are only used for laughs. 

Unless they're like a legal flunky on their first trial, in which case they will carry pounds and pounds of documents with papers flying everywhere, and they will trip and fall, spilling their files everywhere.

 

[BlackberryJam]

23 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Unless they're like a legal flunky on their first trial, in which case they will carry pounds and pounds of documents with papers flying everywhere, and they will trip and fall, spilling their files everywhere.

 

Exhibits will always be a surprise and a GOTCHA moment because no one ever exchanges exhaustive amounts of discovery. 

[kiddo82]

On 6/15/2020 at 10:02 AM, BlackberryJam said:

TV lawyers never spend time balancing the trust account, reviewing their invoices or entering billable hours. The files they take to court easily fit in a trendy bag or a briefcase. Also, you can handle complex litigation with one file folder of documents. Boxes and wheelie bags are only used for laughs. 

There was an episode of SVU once where Novak had to subpoena documents or something from the army and they sent over boxes and boxes of worthless other files for her (or more likely some low level law student) to sift through to get what they needed.  I have no doubt this happens in real life as well.  

[Zella]

4 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

There was an episode of SVU once where Novak had to subpoena documents or something from the army and they sent over boxes and boxes of worthless other files for her (or more likely some low level law student) to sift through to get what they needed.  I have no doubt this happens in real life as well.  

I think that some variation of that pops up in Better Call Saul too. 

[merylinkid]

16 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah! Something about how this guy couldn't have stolen a woman's purse because the way he was riding a motorcycle would've made it impossible for him to grab it the way the lady claimed he had. 

It was an English bike.   The throttle was on the same side as the hand he allegedly used to grab the purse and then speed a way while holding the bag up.   One or the other of those things could happen, not both.   

13 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

There was an episode of SVU once where Novak had to subpoena documents or something from the army and they sent over boxes and boxes of worthless other files for her (or more likely some low level law student) to sift through to get what they needed.  I have no doubt this happens in real life as well.  

Oh and the requested documents (along with the others) are immediately available for production.   Once the court says yeah you gotta produce them, they are delivered by the end of the day.    No arguing with your client that yes you really really really do have to produce ALL your bank statements, not just the ones you happen to keep, and ALL your text messages and emails not just the ones you feel help your case the most.   No asking for extensions of discovery because your client won't produce the documents you requested because "they don't feel they have to."   I had one case where the other side didn't produce anything in a divorce because he felt it was "personal and intrusive."   It's a freaking DIVORCE, it doesn't get more personal than that.

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, merylinkid said:

It was an English bike.   The throttle was on the same side as the hand he allegedly used to grab the purse and then speed a way while holding the bag up.   One or the other of those things could happen, not both.   

That's it! Yes! Thank you :). 

[merylinkid]

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

That's it! Yes! Thank you :). 

Just don't ask me what I had for breakfast yesterday.   The odd things we remember but if I don't leave my keys in the same spot in the same place every time I have to tear the whole place apart looking for them.    Although unlike on tv, it does not look like a hurricane came through.    I do put things away while looking for something.  On tv if yyou are looking for something you tear clothes of the drawer and leave them hanging, overturn things, etc.

[DrSpaceman73]

On Tv if a husband or, typically, wife gives away clothes or something to charity, it will always include a husband's old beat up "lucky" shirt that he may or may not know she is giving away or some hidden money/something valuable that was secretly in the items donated. 

[andromeda331]

On 6/14/2020 at 7:21 PM, shapeshifter said:

Thank you for reminding me! 

 

ETA: 
However, when my daughter was in court as a reporter for a newspaper 15 years ago, the defendant did manage to smuggle in a shiv and stab the judge in the neck with it, at which point the defendant was shot. 
 

I love that commercial! 

[Shannon L.]

It's common for people to buy a ticket for a movie in the middle of the show.  Movie theaters are common destinations for shady deals.  There is always a couple making out at a theater. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Shannon L.

[Blergh]

On 6/19/2020 at 1:57 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

On Tv if a husband or, typically, wife gives away clothes or something to charity, it will always include a husband's old beat up "lucky" shirt that he may or may not know she is giving away or some hidden money/something valuable that was secretly in the items donated. 

It was ALREADY unreal for Lucy Ricardo to have done it in the 1950's when she had Ricky's pajamas washed by a laundromat- . When they found out there was some lucky ticket in the pocket, she wound up going through the whole wash and dry cycles of the machines and using      dollar left over from the battered ticket's windfall after having to compensate the laundromat for the damage done by her getting washed and dried! A very funny physical sequence done to perfection by one of the best comediennes of the ages but by NO means real even back then! 

[PepSinger]

On 6/13/2020 at 11:59 AM, praeceptrix said:

I'm sure that everyone who watches fictional portrayals of their careers gets frustrated, especially those in the medical and legal fields. I have yet to see anything remotely close to my experiences as a college professor (or student, for that matter).

The only show I can think of that realistically portrayed college is Felicity. Living in dorms freshman/sophomore year; off campus apartments; shitty apartments; working jobs to have spending money; dealing with the pains of registering for classes; internships, etc... I don't know why it's so difficult to portray college accurately. Maybe it's because each show insists on starting with high school versus college?

[DoctorAtomic]

College I think might be harder on TV than high school because there's not really a common denominator. High school is more of a closed system with known quantities for the most part. Although, my high school was small so we didn't those tv problems. Hard for the jock to make fun of the band geek when you're both of those people. Or where to sit at lunch when you've known just about everyone since you were 4.

College widely varies. A public state school in the mid west is going to be different than a small private New England college. 

However, it's not impossible and I don't think it's really that hard. You don't have to make it as broad as possible. 

[DearEvette]

I have worked in Higher Ed all my professional life.  From an elite Ivy, to a big public division I school with enrollment of 20,000, an HBCU, and even a tiny Jesuit college with an enrollment of 2500.  Currently I am at a tony liberal arts private with an enrollment of 7,000.  Each school I worked at had a very distinct culture and personality that made them feel different from each other. 

But there are some hard similarities among them all: faculty politics, the tension between publishing, teaching and tenure, byzantine Administrative policies, the high stakes  around raising money and how donors and legacies are treated. 

For students it is dorm life, finding your tribe, adjustment issues, registration stress, finals stress, money, learning how to adult without parental supervision 24/7, and navigating fresh social situations that don't occur in high school e.g.Greek Life and exposure to and having to live closely among people/cultures  who are wildly different from you.

TV does tend to treat college like 13th grade.  It really, really isn't. I think some shows have gotten pieces of it correct. 

A Different World -- the only network show that is set in an HBCU and included stuff like ROTC and the specificity of Black Greek organizations, pledging in Black PanHel is really different than in traditionally white Greek systems.

Dear White People specifically looks at minority student population in a PWI Ivy.  Especially the activist sub-pop,  But it does a good job of looking at minority LGBTQ pop as well. It conveys the feel of college well.

Greek was of course micro-focused on life amongst the fraternity and sorority set.  Some of the stuff was ridic, but it got a lot of the social culture correct.

Grownish is set at a big LA state college.  The first season nailed  the social aspects of a certain type of Freshmen.  The ones that come to school, get in with a social set immediately and lose their damn minds with partying.  It fails on a lot of other fronts,  But this season it did a good job of depicting a senior facing the reality of graduating with crippling loan debt and no real job prospect.

Hellcats is focused on Athletics mostly the cheer team.  It does a good job with some financial aspects of going to school and the necessity of using athletics as a financial solution.  Also touches on economics and social and cultural disparities - very lightly, but not inaccurately.

The Quad - on BET - Terribad.  Just terrible.  I saw three episodes and not one single ounce of realism.  None.  Zero.

How To Get Away With Murder - not really a college show, but still, Law School.  The only thing it gets right is how a big auditorium style classroom looks.  LOL.

[bluphoenix451]

7 hours ago, DearEvette said:

How To Get Away With Murder - not really a college show, but still, Law School.  The only thing it gets right is how a big auditorium style classroom looks.  LOL.

They filmed the first episode on my college campus (then used a set afterwards), so maybe the lucked into realism by just using the real thing. 🙂

[DoctorAtomic]

There was some college movie with Freddie Prinz that filmed when I was at Berkeley. It was awful but fun to see all the places on campus. 

[Blergh]

A few years back, a movie filmed in the medical center library attached to the hospital where I work. Irony of course is that there are fewer and fewer medical tomes being printed these days with virtually everything online (and I never even found out if that movie ever was released).