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

[ratgirlagogo]

Well, here's a famous one - at least in New York.  Sue Simmons, a respected local NBC anchor  for decades, expresses some irritation:

 

[GreekGeek]

For your reading pleasure.

I read a story in Playbill once about an actress who forgot her mic was on when she exited to the rest room, and also got into an argument with another performer that showed she wasn't the sweet innocent she was portraying in the play. The story didn't say who it was though. I would think it was a credit to her acting if she could make people believe that her character never said Such Things (or went to the bathroom).

[Lugal]

On 8/30/2021 at 1:15 PM, Zella said:

We joke about this a lot on the Little House thread, but I laugh my ass off every time the dry towering mountains of California Minnesota are shown.

Like how all those endless ads for Chesapeake Shores always seem to feature the Chesapeake Mountains.

[Blergh]

17 hours ago, Lugal said:

Like how all those endless ads for Chesapeake Shores always seem to feature the Chesapeake Mountains.

I guess they got their ideas from the Pocahontas movie which did all it could to avoid showing how the area was (and is)  a flat and very buggy swamp! 

[andromeda331]

Where exactly were the Garden of Gods on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman? 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I was watching Chicago Med over the weekend, and comparing one of the episodes of that and similar plot points on ER, I can’t imagine that patients and their birthing partners are so disrespectful to OBs in real life.

On ER, there are two staff members who give birth onscreen during the series and both need interventions to, you know, help save their child and instead they spend that time arguing with the OB. Things like ripping out IVs when trying to refuse medication to help a preemie baby mature, insisting on staying awake for a dangerous delivery even when told a general anesthesia is quicker, and bleeding out on the OR table but still trying to refuse a hysterectomy. 

On Chicago Med, Natalie’s birthing coach who’s an ER nurse and whose mother is a midwife is trying to tell the OB that Natalie doesn’t want a C section even when Natalie/the baby are clearly in distress and are arguing with the doctor the entire time. I don’t want kids, but I just can’t imagine treating a doctor like that regardless of my personal opinion of them. The OB is more qualified to decide what to do with a risky delivery more than any ER nurse or doctor ever will be, and if the ER personnel know that much better, then maybe they should work in OB. 

My sister had a baby in June of last year and needed a C-section for way less dire reasons (her labor, which was already being induced, stopped progressing), and she said nothing about she and/or her husband screaming at her OB and trying to refuse the procedure because she wanted her birth to go her way. She just said initially she was disappointed about needing the section but was ultimately relieved that she had the section instead of pushing. 

[DrSpaceman73]

18 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I was watching Chicago Med over the weekend, and comparing one of the episodes of that and similar plot points on ER, I can’t imagine that patients and their birthing partners are so disrespectful to OBs in real life.

On ER, there are two staff members who give birth onscreen during the series and both need interventions to, you know, help save their child and instead they spend that time arguing with the OB. Things like ripping out IVs when trying to refuse medication to help a preemie baby mature, insisting on staying awake for a dangerous delivery even when told a general anesthesia is quicker, and bleeding out on the OR table but still trying to refuse a hysterectomy. 

On Chicago Med, Natalie’s birthing coach who’s an ER nurse and whose mother is a midwife is trying to tell the OB that Natalie doesn’t want a C section even when Natalie/the baby are clearly in distress and are arguing with the doctor the entire time. I don’t want kids, but I just can’t imagine treating a doctor like that regardless of my personal opinion of them. The OB is more qualified to decide what to do with a risky delivery more than any ER nurse or doctor ever will be, and if the ER personnel know that much better, then maybe they should work in OB. 

My sister had a baby in June of last year and needed a C-section for way less dire reasons (her labor, which was already being induced, stopped progressing), and she said nothing about she and/or her husband screaming at her OB and trying to refuse the procedure because she wanted her birth to go her way. She just said initially she was disappointed about needing the section but was ultimately relieved that she had the section instead of pushing. 

And then when their is a bad outcome, it's all the OBs fault.  And they sue.  Reason why OB malpractice is so high.  

Unfortunately it does happen in real life not just on TV.  My sister is an OB nurse.  

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

And then when their is a bad outcome, it's all the OBs fault.  And they sue.  Reason why OB malpractice is so high.  

Unfortunately it does happen in real life not just on TV.  My sister is an OB nurse.  

It does. UPtv shows every once in awhile One Born Every Minute and there were a lot of people horrible to the OBs. Often the mother of the woman in labor who thinks she's a know it all. There were a few times were the nurses threw out family members because they were being so obnoxious they were upsetting the woman in labor. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

56 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

It does. UPtv shows every once in awhile One Born Every Minute and there were a lot of people horrible to the OBs. Often the mother of the woman in labor who thinks she's a know it all. There were a few times were the nurses threw out family members because they were being so obnoxious they were upsetting the woman in labor. 

That bums me out. I get that labor and delivery can be stressful (especially if you have TV medical drama-like complications), but pushy family members just aren’t qualified and should respect that. This isn’t McDonald’s or a Carnival cruise ship. 

I have anxiety about some medical procedures and had health issues for a while (I’m fine now; just was having recurring issues for no known reason even after bloodwork was done to find the cause), but it never once crossed my mind that I believed it was OK for me to scream at and berate my doctors, my dentist and her staff or the lab techs and nurses. It’s not that hard to communicate why you’re anxious. Any good practitioner will understand and work with you or give tips on how to make your anxiety easier. It’s especially baffling on TV when the medical professionals themselves are in labor and should know why the OB wants to consider certain things. They’re not telling you you should have a C-section for the fun of it. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[KittyMom4]

On 9/7/2021 at 1:43 PM, andromeda331 said:

There were a few times were the nurses threw out family members because they were being so obnoxious they were upsetting the woman in labor. 

This happened when I was giving birth to my 2nd daughter, we heard a lot of yelling and then saw a woman getting escorted out while she muttered under her breath. My husband overheard (I was not paying attention for obvious reasons)  the nurses saying that it was the mother of the baby's father and that the daughter in law didn't want her there because she was trying to direct the labor events. 

[Anela]

Everybody jogs.  The first episode of another series I’d never heard of, and the main character is running.  

[Danielg342]

8 hours ago, Anela said:

Everybody jogs.  The first episode of another series I’d never heard of, and the main character is running.  

Which reminds me of another thing that happens all the time in Hollywood that doesn't happen in real life (as pointed out in Forensics For Dummies): just about every character, when they need to be, are great, long distance runners who never get tired when they're on either side of the chase. Never mind that the perp is a strung-up meth addict who probably hallucinates a treadmill more than they've ever actually been on one or that the hero ingests more calories than steps they take in a day- when they have to run, on a Hollywood show, they can run for miles...and more miles...and more miles after that.

I mean, I get why shows and movies do this- when you have a critical chase scene it would be anticlimactic for it to be over in two seconds because either the hero or the villain passed out due to fatigue. However, it would be nice if writers acknowledged that most people are not marathon runners and factor that in with chase scenes. The easiest solution would be having the villain throw up roadblocks for the heroes or simply finding hiding spots, which shouldn't be hard to do in most settings.

[Zella]

7 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I mean, I get why shows and movies do this- when you have a critical chase scene it would be anticlimactic for it to be over in two seconds because either the hero or the villain passed out due to fatigue. However, it would be nice if writers acknowledged that most people are not marathon runners and factor that in with chase scenes. The easiest solution would be having the villain throw up roadblocks for the heroes or simply finding hiding spots, which shouldn't be hard to do in most settings.

Or they could do what Justified did when they had an old man on oxygen running from a younger but still old man with bad knees. Lean into it and come up with an even better chase scene simply because it's so absurd.

 

 

[MargeGunderson]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

Or they could do what Justified did when they had an old man on oxygen running from a younger but still old man with bad knees. Lean into it and come up with an even better chase scene simply because it's so absurd.

 

 

I do love that scene! Justified was awesome at those absurd scenes. My favorite might be the one where two men taser each other and both end up on the floor. 

[Zella]

1 minute ago, MargeGunderson said:

I do love that scene! Justified was awesome at those absurd scenes. My favorite might be the one where two men taser each other and both end up on the floor. 

Bahahaha that is good too! Justified is probably one of the best blends of comedy and action I've ever watched. 

[Bastet]

I've never even heard of the show, but that's now my favorite chase scene.  Hilarious!

[Danielg342]

5 hours ago, Zella said:

Or they could do what Justified did when they had an old man on oxygen running from a younger but still old man with bad knees. Lean into it and come up with an even better chase scene simply because it's so absurd.

That was the best chase scene ever (to quote and agree with the guy who uploaded the video to YouTube). The best part was the sheriff throwing the cuffs at the old man while both were sitting down exhausted on the tarmac.

I also think those guys run just like I do, 'cause like the sheriff I have bad knees.

[Zella]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I've never even heard of the show, but that's now my favorite chase scene.  Hilarious!

I'd never watched it until this summer (though I had had a few people recommend it to me), and it quickly became one of my favorite shows ever. This is going to sound weird, but it really remind me of The Rockford Files. Same blend of odd characters, humor, action, and mystery. But James Garner is Tim Olyphant, and it's set in the hills of Kentucky rather than LA and is more serialized. :) 

1 minute ago, Danielg342 said:

The best part was the sheriff throwing the cuffs at the old man while both were sitting down exhausted on the tarmac.

LOL yes! I also love how Art is bitching at the bad guy about smoking while he dips tobacco. 😂

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Zella

[juno]

On TV if you are at a coffee shop your coffee order is usually complicated and cause customers behind you to sigh and get impatient.

Strangely at home the choice for coffee is almost always black, no milk, no cream, no sugar or my fave cinnamon.

[DrSpaceman73]

8 hours ago, juno said:

On TV if you are at a coffee shop your coffee order is usually complicated and cause customers behind you to sigh and get impatient.

Strangely at home the choice for coffee is almost always black, no milk, no cream, no sugar or my fave cinnamon.

Or if you're a gruff or tough man you always order black coffee.  And get irritated that someone even asks the question of how you like your coffee, of course just black!!!

 

Of course if you're like me and don't like coffee, you're just skipped over entirely on tv.  No one ever says that on tv.  They all drink coffee. 

Edited September 24, 2021 by DrSpaceman73

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Of course if you're like me and don't like coffee, you're just skipped over entirely on tv.  No one ever says that on tv.  They all drink coffee. 

And tea and wine.  Both of which, I hate.

[Moose135]

4 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Or if you're a gruff or tough man you always order black coffee.  And get irritated that someone even asks the question of how you like your coffee, of course just black!!!

I always drink my coffee black. When I'm out and ask for black coffee, I'm often asked "Would you like cream and sugar with that?" I just say no, but in my mind I'm thinking "The absence of cream and sugar are key characteristics of black coffee."

[Browncoat]

[DrSpaceman73]

58 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

 

'like my men'

I was actually thinking of this scene when I wrote my response!!!  

 

 

 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Any word on whether that character had had her growth stunted via childhood java consumption? 

That's what I was always told WHY I couldn't drink coffee until I became an adult. 

[Zella]

I'm another one who doesn't drink coffee and feels underrepresented on TV.

Also anytime something is set in the South, allegedly Southern characters always ask for sweet tea, which is always a huge tell for me that it wasn't written by someone from the South. Of course, sweet tea can be like a religion down here, but it's always been called iced tea by my family and friends and anyone else from the South I've ever been around! The sweetness is assumed, and I don't think anyone else draws attention to it unless they aren't a native or unless they are a fake Southerner in pop culture.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Zella

[Browncoat]

The tea drinkers in my family just order tea when at home in the South-- the iced part and the sweet part are assumed.  I remember once when I was young (this would have been the 70s) and we travelled somewhere that was not the south, and my mother ordered tea.  She got hot, unsweetened tea, and confused the waitress by asking for a glass of ice to go with the tea.  

I mostly drink water, and have a terrible time getting a glass of water at breakfast when I'm out and about.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, Zella said:

I'm another one who doesn't drink coffee and feels underrepresented on TV.

Also anytime something is set in the South, allegedly Southern characters always ask for sweet tea, which is always a huge tell for me that it wasn't written by someone from the South. Of course, sweet tea can be like a religion down here, but it's always been called iced tea by my family and friends and anyone else from the South I've ever been around! The sweetness is assumed, and I don't think anyone else draws attention to it unless they aren't a native or unless they are a fake Southerner in pop culture.

That really depends on where in The South you are.  Around me, if you ask for tea the only thing assumed is iced.  The next question is sweet or unsweet.  

[DrSpaceman73]

Yeah I hate tea too.  No matter what type.  Tea, coffee, no way. 

Beer I can drink if it's not dark. Wine is ok. But I'm not craving either one. I'm not having either at home by choice on any random night. 

I'm more like George on Seinfeld.  If someone brought ring dings and Pepsi to my party, I'd love it. Prefer mountain dew but it's much closer.

Or I'd be like Liz on 30 rock. 

'i already have a drink.  Do you think he'd buy me mozzarella sticks?'

[Zella]

20 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

That really depends on where in The South you are.  Around me, if you ask for tea the only thing assumed is iced.  The next question is sweet or unsweet.  

I think as people move in from other places, it becomes less of a thing. I used to have to bring my own tea to work parties because the people who ran the business had moved here from Illinois and only bought unsweetened. 

[Danielg342]

12 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Of course if you're like me and don't like coffee, you're just skipped over entirely on tv.  No one ever says that on tv.  They all drink coffee. 

Criminal Minds' Derek Morgan always seemed to have a large Starbucks coffee in his hand, unless he was needed to chase and tackle someone. I guess if you had to run as often as he does, you'd drink a lot of coffee.

On 9/23/2021 at 5:25 PM, Zella said:

LOL yes! I also love how Art is bitching at the bad guy about smoking while he dips tobacco. 😂

"My knees can't handle a chase, so don't even think about it...

...oh s***."

[Lugal]

Also not a coffee drinker, I don't hate it, it's just not my thing.  I do prefer tea (especially since I found imported tea from China) but everyone on TV drinks Earl Grey.  There other kinds of tea out there!  Better tasting ones.

[DoctorAtomic]

I am pleased to report today as I packed my cloth bag (of course) with the groceries, my baggette ended up sticking straight up out of my bag! To which I announced to the cashier. 

[Bastet]

Last time I bought a baguette I bought carrots, too, so just to entertain myself with thoughts of this thread I made sure to arrange the carrots in the bag so their leafy tops were also visible.

Edited September 25, 2021 by Bastet

[DoctorAtomic]

I only wish it was still summer so I could have peaches spill out as I awkwardly bump into my meet cute with a knitter who has an etsy because we both have Subarus. 

[andromeda331]

I'm a weirdo. I don't like coffee or tea. 

[SVNBob]

1 minute ago, andromeda331 said:

I'm a weirdo. I don't like coffee or tea. 

Right there with you.

You good with pop, soda, or coke?  Join my table.

[andromeda331]

21 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

Right there with you.

You good with pop, soda, or coke?  Join my table.

I love pop. Pepsi, coke I have no preference. Its all good. Even now that I'm a diabetic I still sneak sips here and there. I'm happy drinking water too.

[SVNBob]

1 minute ago, andromeda331 said:

I love pop. Pepsi, coke I have no preference.

I brought that up because there are regional names in the US for fizzy, carbonated drinks.

"Pop" is used in the Midwest and West.  "Soda" is the term mainly used in New England and in California, so it's the term used most on TV as well, even if the show is set in the Midwest.

And in the South, people use "coke" regardless of the actual brand name.  Which leads to perfectly normal exchanges like: "You want a coke?"  "Sure. I'll have a Sprite."

[andromeda331]

3 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

I brought that up because there are regional names in the US for fizzy, carbonated drinks.

"Pop" is used in the Midwest and West.  "Soda" is the term mainly used in New England and in California, so it's the term used most on TV as well, even if the show is set in the Midwest.

And in the South, people use "coke" regardless of the actual brand name.  Which leads to perfectly normal exchanges like: "You want a coke?"  "Sure. I'll have a Sprite."

I figured as much. I live in the west so I use pop most of the time. Although for awhile when Gilmore Girls was on I occasional used soda. Coke makes sense for the South since they have the Coca-Cola down there in Atlanta. My family and I went on the tour while in Atlanta. I think I still have the t-shirt I got from there.

[Anduin]

In Australia, we call it soft drink. As opposed to hard drink, which I suppose is alcohol. It really is odd how while we all use the same language, there are so many regional variations for the same thing.

[ABay]

A map of pop v. soda. The dividing line in mid NYS seems accurate to me. https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps/

[Cupcake04]

5 minutes ago, ABay said:

A map of pop v. soda. The dividing line in mid NYS seems accurate to me. https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps/

LOL. I was just gonna say it is POP in WNY.

[andromeda331]

In Gilmore Girls Rory and Dean talk about pop vs soda in early episode of season one. Dean asks if she wants a pop and Rory laughs. He says in Chicago they call it pop. Rory tells him in Connecticut its soda. 

[Madding crowd]

I grew up in Milwaukee and live in Chicago and have never met one person who used the word pop for soft drinks. Everyone I know in WI and IL say soda. 

[Bookish Jen]

23 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I grew up in Milwaukee and live in Chicago and have never met one person who used the word pop for soft drinks. Everyone I know in WI and IL say soda. 

I'm from Milwaukee, but I lived in Chicago for several years. And I always got made fun of for calling it soda, not pop. 

[Raja]

On 9/26/2021 at 2:02 PM, Madding crowd said:

I grew up in Milwaukee and live in Chicago and have never met one person who used the word pop for soft drinks. Everyone I know in WI and IL say soda. 

 

57 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

I'm from Milwaukee, but I lived in Chicago for several years. And I always got made fun of for calling it soda, not pop. 

My immediate thought is that you two have different ethnic backgrounds. Coming from a defacto segregated Los Angeles my experience was world's apart from those west of La Cienega. It would be like 8 Mile in Detroit 

[Zella]

Maybe it's somewhat generational too? I had a professor who was from around the Wisconsin/Illinois border, and I distinctly remember her using the word pop. She would probably be in her 60s, going on 70s. It stood out to me because it's not really something I heard elsewhere. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Zella

[DrSpaceman73]

I think the soda/pop debate is one of the most irrelevant 'debates' out there. 

For one I dont think most people call it either one anymore.  They name whatever drink it is, ie coke, Pepsi, mountain dew, etc or use coke as a genetic term for all of it. 

Also I don't think it's very regional even just more family specific.  You hear all terms in all places.  

Edited September 27, 2021 by DrSpaceman73

[Raja]

48 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I think the soda/pop debate is one of the most irrelevant 'debates' out there. 

For one I dont think most people call it either one anymore.  They name whatever drink it is, ie coke, Pepsi, mountain dew, etc or use coke as a genetic term for all of it. 

Also I don't think it's very regional even just more family specific.  You hear all terms in all places.  

Could be, the influences of TV and global communications turn regional differences to mush. I know when the American birthday song finally made it to public domain and started showing up on TV and movies many local birthday parties around the world started to have their local songs supplemented by the American melody.