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

[Danielg342]

20 hours ago, Bethany said:

One of the biggest faux things of all - people having to come in person to tell you something they could easily phone or text.  Of course that would mean less screen time for various characters and no opportunity for snappy repartee.

That's likely why Hollywood does it that way- they're paying those actors a lot of money, so they need to find a way to use them.

When it's a workplace show, it's not so bad because, naturally, those people would be in the same building anyway and even in real life you get people at work who say things to others that could- and probably should- have been E-Mails.

When you're dealing with a family/friend type of show, it's not so realistic. Not because you'd never have family or friends who would rather say things to you in person rather than via text or an E-Mail, but because in real life most of us have friends and family who live so far from each other that it's just not feasible for those types of people to just show up on a whim every now and then.

I mean, for me, other than the fact I live with my brother, my immediate family lives an hour away from me, my best friend is about a half-hour drive away and many of my other friends live similarly as far away. I know the names of one set of neighbours, but I'm not sure I'd call them my friends- they're more like acquaintances. My other neighbours I don't know their names and we barely talk.

So the people in my life who should do the Kramer thing and come unannounced live too far to do that on a regular basis, and those who could be able to do that won't because they have no reason to (as we're not that close).

The only time I ever experienced the phenomenon of a Kramer situation was when I was in university living at the dormitory, but that was a different environment. Even then, the people who came to my door and the people who I saw regularly weren't always my next door neighbours. In fact, they usually lived in a different building. It was still only a brief walk away but they weren't that close to me.

[DrSpaceman73]

16 hours ago, juno said:

So no Kramer then? You can tell him.

Bizzaro Jerry. 

Knock knock knock!

'Who is it?!'

'It's feldman...from across the hall!'

[Kel Varnsen]

23 hours ago, Bethany said:

One of the biggest faux things of all - people having to come in person to tell you something they could easily phone or text.  Of course that would mean less screen time for various characters and no opportunity for snappy repartee.

The stars of a show doing everything themselves is probably the biggest fake thing for me. The cop that discovers the location of the kidnap victim/bomb/terrorist hideout will always drive themselves to that location rather than going on the radio and doing the all units go here thing. And some highly paid specialist doctor will do every bit of patient care themselves, even if they are the only person in the country with their level of expertise.

[Ohiopirate02]

33 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

The stars of a show doing everything themselves is probably the biggest fake thing for me. The cop that discovers the location of the kidnap victim/bomb/terrorist hideout will always drive themselves to that location rather than going on the radio and doing the all units go here thing. And some highly paid specialist doctor will do every bit of patient care themselves, even if they are the only person in the country with their level of expertise.

One thing I like about Chicago Med is they have a secondary character who is a neurosurgeon who wouldn't be caught dead doing every bit of patient care.  He swoops in when the plot calls for him to consult, and disappears just as quickly.  He's a total prick who acts like the smartest guy in the room because he is.  

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

The stars of a show doing everything themselves is probably the biggest fake thing for me. The cop that discovers the location of the kidnap victim/bomb/terrorist hideout will always drive themselves to that location rather than going on the radio and doing the all units go here thing. And some highly paid specialist doctor will do every bit of patient care themselves, even if they are the only person in the country with their level of expertise.

That's one (of the many things) which always bugged me on Grey's Anatomy.  The interns wouldn't have been taking patients to X-Ray, etc.  There's actually staff for that, at least in every hospital in which I've ever been a patient.

[Quof]

2 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

And some highly paid specialist doctor will do every bit of patient care themselves, even if they are the only person in the country with their level of expertise.

I did once hear a geriatrician speaking at a conference say he doesn't always wait for a CCA/PCW to tend to his dementia patients' obvious needs:  "Anyone can respond to a Code Brown. You just need 2 hands and a human heart."  He got a standing O.

[juno]

2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

One thing I like about Chicago Med is they have a secondary character who is a neurosurgeon who wouldn't be caught dead doing every bit of patient care.  He swoops in when the plot calls for him to consult, and disappears just as quickly.  He's a total prick who acts like the smartest guy in the room because he is.  

For me the death blow to this show was a Psychiatrist that was just the opposite. Overly involved himself in cases he should be popping in and out of. The final episode was the ridiculous serial killer involving a student her dad the serial killer and himself. Yep I was out, thanks, too stupid for me.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'll give the other side - I get so many useless emails during the day that by noon I want to strangle everyone. So coming to my office might actually be better. 

Because 95% of the emails are reply-all Thanks! or Good job! from the same two people. 

Of course, I have the rank where is you do come to tell me something, I can then dismiss you. 

[JustHereForFood]

On 5/11/2023 at 1:17 AM, possibilities said:

I want to know which shows have people with tea on them. I'm a big tea person and have lots and lots of them crowding my kitchen, but I can't think of the last time I saw tea on television. I might consider watching the tea shows if I know which they are!

I also found that none of my guests EVER want tea, IRL, however, so if there are tv shows that make tea a staple, I'm inclined to agree it's not a representation of how most people live.

Patrick Jane from Mentalist used to drink tea.

Speaking of tea, people on TV usually leave their bags in the cup. Ugh.

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

Patrick Jane from Mentalist used to drink tea.

Speaking of tea, people on TV usually leave their bags in the cup. Ugh.

Ah, but when was the last US American show depicting an actual tea party- capped off with someone 'reading' everyone else's tea leafs (after they drank the tea, the 'reader' would spin the guests' cups upside-down and check the pattern the leafs made).

IIRC, on The Waltons in the mid- 1970's the heavily  pregnant Mary Ellen Walton Willard had this done by the usually jovial and  gossipy busybody Flossie Brimmer  who chillingly clammed up and refused to say WHAT she'd believed she saw in Mary Ellen's tea cup!

Did that prove the end of tea leaf 'readings' on US American shows?

[janie jones]

On 6/8/2023 at 4:51 PM, Quof said:

Every time you leave your house (work, school, errands) and come back home to your spouse rather than run away, you're restating your commitment to being married.  Why does it require a public proclamation? 

As someone who got married in a courthouse, I could ask that same question of having a public wedding in the first place.

On 6/10/2023 at 3:00 PM, Danielg342 said:

So I'd like to have a crime show that, while still doing cases of the week, at least writes a few cases that the individual characters work on every now and then and don't solve until later in the season or maybe even several seasons later. Those cases don't even have to be exceptional cases with some madman causing chaos on the streets- they can be rather rudimentary cases, for which leads only crop up every now and then and the detective just needs to have the time and patience to finish the case.

It has been probably 15 years since I watched it but I remember Homicide Life on the Street, especially the early seasons, being kind of like that. A good mix of cases of the week, longer term ones, cases that never get solved and ones where the cops "solve" them but for whatever reason the prosecutor can't go to trial.

Plus you'd see even the solved cases on the board. And the Adena Watson case followed Bayliss through the entire show.

On 6/11/2023 at 9:24 AM, Danielg342 said:

Here's another "doesn't happen on TV but happens in real life" moment- when a "major" crime or a very notorious criminal appears, you don't have one investigator or a small team of investigators hunting after the culprit for weeks on end....

Yes, there's usually someone in charge of the investigation as well as someone designated to run point with the media (they may even be the same person) but the truth is, on such an important and urgent case, you don't have just one person looking at it.

That's something else they did on Homicide. Certain kinds of cases were designated as "red balls" and they were all-hands-on deck situations in which everyone dropped what they were doing and assisted.

[possibilities]

Coming home at the end of the day says you're still committed today. It doesn't say anything about the long term. So I'd guess a vow renewal is meant to say something about the future.

I've never been to one, but I'm guessing that's the implication.

I find the wedding industry to be rather gross and offensive, so I'm all for a small, private agreement among partners, but if you have a close-knit and supportive community, I don't suppose there's anything wrong with having everybody celebrate together, either.

[AgathaC]

As we enter summer, I am reminded that we here in the South have no idea about this thing called air conditioning — despite the fact that we live in a place where temps from May through September hang out above 90 degrees with 110% humidity. In other words, we live in Satan’s boiler room. No. Instead we just use old metal fans and walk around perpetually glistening with sweat.

Note: I do understand that some series, like The Walking Dead, get a pass because they’re a unique situation. But so many movies and TV shows are guilty of this.

We are also all either hicks or talk like we wandered out of a Gone With the Wind audition.

I think it’s getting better, but those are things I’ve noticed quite a bit over the years.

[DoctorAtomic]

What?! I'm going to South Carolina, and I expect to be drinking sweet tea on a front porch while we gaze nostalgically at The Old Peach Tree and listen to the sound of the riverboat in the distance. 

Southern Belles best be *glistening* in their sun dresses and speaking in coy tones. 

[Ohiopirate02]

17 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

I think it’s getting better, but those are things I’ve noticed quite a bit over the years.

I do chuckle at the lack of insects in the TV American South.  Nary a skeeter, gnat, fly, chigger, or palmetto bug to be found.  Ditto spiders.

[possibilities]

Will Trent is set in Georgia, and I have never been there so I can't vouch for anybody's accent yea or nay, but in the show's forum, it is frequently noted that Will is the only one with "an accent" and also he's doing it badly.

Also, I didn't know it was in GA until the show told me, and I keep forgetting until some mentions it.

Edited June 20, 2023 by possibilities

[ABay]

This reminds me of a scene from the Drew Carey show where the guys are all pretending to be Kate's relatives and someone asks Oswald why he's the only one with an accent. "I was born on vacation."

[DoctorAtomic]

There better be some fancy hats and old ladies saying "y'all need Jesus" too. 

 

 

[ABay]

Aw, bless your heart.

[Zella]

9 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I do chuckle at the lack of insects in the TV American South.  Nary a skeeter, gnat, fly, chigger, or palmetto bug to be found.  Ditto spiders.

I was talking to someone today about an event we're doing in July, and she asked me "can we get away with giving away cute fly swatters and fans as prizes for one event?" And we concluded that yes we could because it will be July in Arkansas and nobody will turn down a free fly swatter or fan. 😂😂😂😂😂

[Llywela]

I've got one for this thread, although this may be a UK thing, but it occurred to me recently just how often the British soaps do a variant of the 'who's the daddy?' trope in which a couple have a baby, the father names the baby after some beloved dead relative of his, only to later learn that the baby isn't his after all. Bonus points if the child ends up being raised by its real father, merrily going through life named in honour of someone they aren't related to by someone they have little to do with.

I can think of so many examples of this happening in the various soaps. Jack Webster in Corrie (named by Tyrone in honour of Jack Duckworth, then revealed to be Kevin Webster's son) Arthur Fowler in Eastenders (named by Martin Fowler in memory of his dad, then revealed to be Kush's son), Louise Mitchell in Eastenders (named by Mark Fowler in honour of his grandmother, then revealed to be Phil Mitchell's daughter)...and the list goes on and on. Yet I really don't think it is something that happens so frequently in real life!

[Shannon L.]

Law enforcement officers know the area they are in so well that while one is chasing the bad guy, the other one knows exactly where to run to cut them off (which also means they have an uncanny knack of knowing which way the runner will turn at any given time during the chase). 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Shannon L.

[Blergh]

Don't forget that when law enforcement is chasing a suspect and one or the other knocks an innocent bystander down, they always say 'Excuse me! Sorry!' er at least I'd like to think  would do so  in RL.

[DoctorAtomic]

4 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

Law enforcement employees know the area they are in so well that while one is chasing the bad guy, the other one knows exactly where to run to cut them off (which also means they have an uncanny knack of knowing which way the runner will turn at any given time during the chase). 

On The Wire, they had a big scene where Bunny was talking about situational awareness. 

[Raja]

5 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

On The Wire, they had a big scene where Bunny was talking about situational awareness. 

I was going there with the big but that TV now features the special teams and has few cops on their beat 

In the I don't know category of cops and robbers do gangs all have a bunch of women in their bra and panties counting money and loading baggies with drugs?

[DoctorAtomic]

You say this as if you mean you *don't* have women in their bra and panties performing various household tasks. 

[Zella]

7 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

On The Wire, they had a big scene where Bunny was talking about situational awareness. 

They also have that scene where there's complete chaos finding a crime scene because the road signs were reversed. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You say this as if you mean you *don't* have women in their bra and panties performing various household tasks. 

Well, women on TV *do* have sex with their bras on, so.....

[Lugal]

20 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You say this as if you mean you *don't* have women in their bra and panties performing various household tasks.

I assumed that was because they got tired of doing all the household tasks in their Sunday dresses and pearls back in the 50's.

[Mabinogia]

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You say this as if you mean you *don't* have women in their bra and panties performing various household tasks. 

Full disclosure, it's been so hot here these past few days that when I got home from grocery shopping I stripped down to my bra and knickers before putting my food away, though, since I don't live in a tv show, they weren't a sexy, lacy set or cute underoos, just some big ol' briefs and a nude bra. lol

[DoctorAtomic]

That's why I installed a privacy fence. 

[Leeds]

On 6/10/2023 at 7:11 PM, Mabinogia said:

My favorite is when the lab tech makes their breakthrough and rather than just telling the Lead Detective "here is the evidence you needed" they explain the steps they took and what it all means. I get that it is to fill the audience in, but I always laugh because I'm like, 1) the detective, unless they are new, probably already knows the procedural info you are giving for the audiences benefit and 2) they don't really have time to sit around and listen to you brag about how you found the answer, just give them the answer so they can go arrest the bad guy already. 

Tech: "hey, Detective, so I ran the spectrometer fancy pants analytic machiney and got nothing, so I did an ultraviolet dodad test and it came back with something really wild, so then I took that and read a book about sharks to learn that this bit of dust was actually a chip off a great white's tooth. So I called the guys down at SeaWorld and they said that there was no way that could be a bit of shark tooth so decided to check with Steven Speilberg, cause he made Jaws, and I found out that this chip is actually from Bruce, the shark they used for filming, and that means that it was someone from the crew that must have done it!" 

Cop: "you could have just said it was a synthetic shark's tooth from a movie set"

Tech: "Well, yeah, but this is the only screen time I get and, well, the audience likes all this techy nonsense, so..."

 

I see you've met Abby from NCIS.

On 6/11/2023 at 12:41 PM, Bastet said:

Very true, but in this case I'll take it over the realism -- this trend of showing text messages on screen rather than having characters converse is hell on my terrible eyes.

Drives me nuts -- I have poor eyesight and am usually wearing the "wrong" glasses to read anything on-screen, especially since my TV is 10" x 19" (yes, believe it or not, some of us still have titchy TVs).

[proserpina65]

On 7/7/2023 at 9:29 PM, Zella said:

They also have that scene where there's complete chaos finding a crime scene because the road signs were reversed. 

Apparently that has actually happened in Baltimore.  And I'd totally believe it happening in Pennsylvania because their road signs are all kinds of stupid.

[Zella]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Apparently that has actually happened in Baltimore.  

That wouldn't surprise me! I read David Simon's book Homicide a year or two ago, and there were a lot of scenes pretty directly lifted for The Wire. I can't remember if the sign switching was in there or not but definitely makes sense. 

[meep.meep]

But now since everyone has maps on their phones and satnav in their cars, switching the physical signs wouldn't be likely to cause the same problem.

[Ohiopirate02]

24 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

But now since everyone has maps on their phones and satnav in their cars, switching the physical signs wouldn't be likely to cause the same problem.

I've travelled enough with Google Maps to know Google is not always correct.  Just last week it had me make a left instead of a right in a residential neighborhood.  And I have lost my signal while driving before and not in areas where you think this would happen.  

[DoctorAtomic]

Especially on mountain roads. 

[meep.meep]

There are so many mountain roads in downtown Baltimore.....

[Cobalt Stargazer]

6 hours ago, meep.meep said:

There are so many mountain roads in downtown Baltimore.....

That's why they have Big Fun.

[Zella]

Google Maps can be pretty terrible in rural Arkansas too. If I had a dollar for every time someone ventured onto my dead-end dirt road because Google Maps has told them it is a throughway, I'd be a wealthy woman. 

[shlbycindyk]

I've noticed a few TV shows where a girl is dating a rich guy and, just for fun, he whisks her away to either Paris or Rome for dinner.  I always wonder if these same girls always carry their passports with them, just in case, or do the passport requirements not exist in TV Land?  

My husband said he wants Italian for dinner on Friday so now I'm wondering if I should get my passport renewed or will it just be our same old table at Pizza Hut.

[andromeda331]

8 hours ago, meep.meep said:

There are so many mountain roads in downtown Baltimore.....

I live in a large city and Google maps has gotten directions to a restaurant and doctor's office wrong.

13 minutes ago, shlbycindyk said:

I've noticed a few TV shows where a girl is dating a rich guy and, just for fun, he whisks her away to either Paris or Rome for dinner.  I always wonder if these same girls always carry their passports with them, just in case, or do the passport requirements not exist in TV Land?  

My husband said he wants Italian for dinner on Friday so now I'm wondering if I should get my passport renewed or will it just be our same old table at Pizza Hut.

Where can I find someone like that?

[andromeda331]

@shlbycindyk mentioned being wisked off to Paris or Rome for dinner what's also funny is like on Night Court Dan's date says she craving French food and Christine says all the restaurants are closed. His date says not in Paris. But the show is set in New York City. Really? All the French restaurants in New York City are closed? I find that hard to believe. An episode of NCIS has Kate and her rich date going to New York City for dessert apparently all the restaurants in DC are closed at two in the morning.

 

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I've travelled enough with Google Maps to know Google is not always correct.  Just last week it had me make a left instead of a right in a residential neighborhood.  And I have lost my signal while driving before and not in areas where you think this would happen.  

I live on a street that isn't on google maps.  Man, if I had a nickel for every time a delivery person had to call for directions...  Yes, there really is a street there!

[Raja]

6 hours ago, shlbycindyk said:

My husband said he wants Italian for dinner on Friday so now I'm wondering if I should get my passport renewed or will it just be our same old table at Pizza Hut.

By the time you get there like the old commercial said "she'll be hungry and tired"

[proserpina65]

8 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

@shlbycindyk mentioned being wisked off to Paris or Rome for dinner what's also funny is like on Night Court Dan's date says she craving French food and Christine says all the restaurants are closed. His date says not in Paris. But the show is set in New York City. Really? All the French restaurants in New York City are closed? I find that hard to believe. An episode of NCIS has Kate and her rich date going to New York City for dessert apparently all the restaurants in DC are closed at two in the morning.

 

The greasy spoons would probably still be open, but most restaurants in DC are closed at two in the morning.  Hell, most bars in the DC area close at 2.

[Lugal]

10 hours ago, shlbycindyk said:

I've noticed a few TV shows where a girl is dating a rich guy and, just for fun, he whisks her away to either Paris or Rome for dinner.  I always wonder if these same girls always carry their passports with them, just in case, or do the passport requirements not exist in TV Land?  

And there's never a timing issue, like: "I'm taking you out to Paris!  It's 7 AM now, so with the flight time and the different time zone, we need to leave right away to get there for dinner!"

[Cobalt Stargazer]

3 hours ago, Lugal said:

And there's never a timing issue, like: "I'm taking you out to Paris!  It's 7 AM now, so with the flight time and the different time zone, we need to leave right away to get there for dinner!"

That's because it only takes fifteen or twenty minutes to get there. Especially if Jack Bauer is flying the plane.

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The greasy spoons would probably still be open, but most restaurants in DC are closed at two in the morning.  Hell, most bars in the DC area close at 2.

Really? I would have thought DC would have a lot of bars and restaurants opened past two in the morning.

[Ohiopirate02]

3 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Really? I would have thought DC would have a lot of bars and restaurants opened past two in the morning.

DC really is not an all-hours city like NYC or New Orleans or Vegas.  Two in the morning sounds right for last call there.  Both Virginia and Maryland stop serving then, and you do not want to be still serving after your surrounding areas stop.