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

[Raja]

On 3/27/2018 at 12:15 AM, 2727 said:

Seems like when detectives arrive at a crime scene in every single episode of every single police series, some schmo beat cop is standing there to lift the police tape so they can duck under. I guess otherwise our heroes would be left on the perimeter, unable to cross.

I'm ready to hear there's some BTS reason for this; camera setup/angles or whatnot.

They are just missing the cop with a clipboard logging the detective into the crime scene so that a TV Johnnie Cochran can't later say that a TV Detective Furman snuck in to plant evidence.

[andromeda331]

Only on TV do people think people in wheelchairs following an accident are either faking it or really can walk but are too scared or emotional to do so. So they'll leave them alone or put them in a situation to try and force the person to walk again. And it works!  It never turns out to be wrong and the person really is still unable to walk and was just placed in a dangerous situation.

Edited April 14, 2018 by andromeda331

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Only on TV do people think people in wheelchairs following an accident are either faking it or really can walk but are too scared or emotional to do so

This^^ TV trope—and likely others—is probably based on either observations of people who cannot accept the disabilities of loved ones and others (and potentially oneself) or the writers themselves not being able to accept such limitations.
My 90-year-old mother is in the late stages of Parkinson's with other complications and can no longer walk and can now barely talk. My sister believes my mother—who has refused all therapy—could still at least talk if she wanted to. I was even more surprised that one of the nurses thought so too—but then this nurse shared with me that she has a family member who is like my mother both physically and with regards to personality, and, like my sister, the nurse seems to prefer to believe that the crippling effects of age and disease could be staved off with will power.
But, meanwhile, I have also been observing the similar deterioration of a man of the same age who continues to try his hardest to retain functionality, but, sadly, it is in vain. 
So I suspect this trope was at least originally based on these reactions to disability in others.

Edited April 14, 2018 by shapeshifter

[merylinkid]

15 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Only on TV do people think people in wheelchairs following an accident are either faking it or really can walk but are too scared or emotional to do so. So they'll leave them alone or put them in a situation to try and force the person to walk again. And it works!  It never turns out to be wrong and the person really is still unable to walk and was just placed in a dangerous situation.

well to be fair Nellie Olsen WAS faking it to get attention -- and guilt trip Laura.    BTW, if you are on twitter and NOT following Alison Arngrim you are missing out on a hilarious time.   And yes she references this moment on ocassion.

[fishcakes]

13 hours ago, merylinkid said:

well to be fair Nellie Olsen WAS faking it to get attention -- and guilt trip Laura.    BTW, if you are on twitter and NOT following Alison Arngrim you are missing out on a hilarious time.   And yes she references this moment on ocassion.

Also in The Brady Bunch revival in the 1990s, Bobby was supposed to be a paraplegic and in a wheelchair but he heroically stood up pretty much every week. Every time, everyone would be all teary-eyed and, "ooohhhh, Bobby," but you would think at some point, they'd be like, "Eh. You've been able to walk for weeks!"

[shapeshifter]

15 hours ago, merylinkid said:

well to be fair Nellie Olsen WAS faking it to get attention -- and guilt trip Laura.

I'm sure I've seen this ruse (and also fake blindness, etc.) on Matlock, Diagnosis Murder, Perry Mason, and other older shows, but right now all I can find is: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ObfuscatingDisability. I don't think it's used anymore, perhaps because society is now a little more sensitive to how such plot points might offend the disabled.

As recently as 2003, "Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect" portrayed a criminal in a real coma that becomes a convenient alibi, but there's probably a 1960s plot on a another show with a fake coma. I've never followed Soap Operas; do they (or have they in the past) portrayed criminals using fake disabilities as alibis?

[Katy M]

27 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

As recently as 2003, "Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect" portrayed a criminal in a real coma that becomes a convenient alibi, but there's probably a 1960s plot on a another show with a fake coma. I've never followed Soap Operas; do they (or have they in the past) portrayed criminals using fake disabilities as alibis?

I can't keep track of time for Soaps.  But, on Days of Our Lives Vivian took herbs to make her appear to be in a coma so that she could get up to all kinds of badness. Sami had amnesia and got her memory back and then pretended to still have amnesia.  Not a disability, but pregnancies are faked ALL the time on Soaps.  

Way back when on General Hospital, Tony was blind, got his sight back and then pretended to still be blind, but he wasn't trying to commit crimes. Honestly, I don't really know what his motivation was in that.  I guess to spy on his brother's mortal enemy.  But, nobody thought he was deaf, so I'm not sure how well that worked.

I feel like someone pretended to be in a wheelchair, but I can't for the life of me remember who.

A lot of times someone will pretend to have a fatal illness (or have had one and then be cured and hide it) so that the girl of their dreams will feel bad for them and marry them.

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I feel like someone pretended to be in a wheelchair, but I can't for the life of me remember who.

On General Hospital? A couple of years ago, Sonny couldn't walk after getting shot and after he was able to walk, he pretended for a while that he still couldn't, but I can't remember why now.

[ABay]

My very favorite soap fake invalid moment--Phoebe Tyler (as was) has been pretending she can't walk so her husband won't leave her for Mona, mother of Erica Kane. Phoebe has been exercising every day out by the pool and one day Charles comes home early, catches her doing jumping jacks or something, and without missing a beat she exclaims "Charles! It's a miracle!"

[Picture It. Sicily]

And when the character DOES have paralysis it's always temporary. There will be swelling near the spine, with the doctors saying "we have to wait and see". By the time the VSE is ending,  they are taking their first tentative steps after a few physical therapy montages and by the next ep they're fully recovered. Some shows might have the character with a cane, moving slowly, for the follow up episode, but that's pretty much it.

[Ceindreadh]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm sure I've seen this ruse (and also fake blindness, etc.) on Matlock, Diagnosis Murder, Perry Mason, and other older shows, but right now all I can find is: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ObfuscatingDisability. I don't think it's used anymore, perhaps because society is now a little more sensitive to how such plot points might offend the disabled.

As recently as 2003, "Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect" portrayed a criminal in a real coma that becomes a convenient alibi, but there's probably a 1960s plot on a another show with a fake coma. I've never followed Soap Operas; do they (or have they in the past) portrayed criminals using fake disabilities as alibis?

I seem to remember Elementary in the first or second season having a criminal use drugs to fake a coma so as to give themselves and alibi.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Picture It. Sicily said:

And when the character DOES have paralysis it's always temporary. There will be swelling near the spine, with the doctors saying "we have to wait and see". By the time the VSE is ending,  they are taking their first tentative steps after a few physical therapy montages and by the next ep they're fully recovered. Some shows might have the character with a cane, moving slowly, for the follow up episode, but that's pretty much it.

A recent exception to this was on the last season of Bones in which Hodgins was not miraculously cured of paralysis in his legs, which I found refreshing because for once TV and life were the same.

OTOH, an episode this season of L&O SVU ripped from the headlines the story of a variation on Munchausens in which the mother convinced the public (and IIRC the daughter) that the daughter—among other ailments—could not walk. Still, it no doubt has happened proportionately on TV way more than in real life.

[paulvdb]

The first one that I thought of was on The Flash where Eobard Thawne had taken over Harrison Wells' body (or somehow changed the shape of his own body to look like Harrison Wells; I don't remember the exact details of that) after the real Harrison Wells was killed in a car crash. He pretended to be paralyzed and used a wheel chair, but he would occasionally walk when nobody was around to see him.

[Raja]

Police stations and secret government bases keep walls of  loaded weapons as if on display unlocked ready for anyone to take one.

[Tunia]

When being chased by a person with a gun, you'll always find a tree large enough to hide behind until the potential killer leaves the area.

[CoderLady]

1 hour ago, Tunia said:

When being chased by a person with a gun, you'll always find a tree large enough to hide behind until the potential killer leaves the area.

Unless you're a woman. Then you'll make so much noise gasping and panting behind your tree that the killer finds you, or you'll be absolutely silent but the moment you come out of hiding the killer is right there waiting. Can't win.

[Orillia]

When people are visiting, they accept something to drink and only take the smallest of sips if they even drink it at all.

[andromeda331]

On ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 1:50 PM, CoderLady said:

Unless you're a woman. Then you'll make so much noise gasping and panting behind your tree that the killer finds you, or you'll be absolutely silent but the moment you come out of hiding the killer is right there waiting. Can't win.

Or trip while running away from the killer. 

[andromeda331]

On ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 3:15 PM, Orillia said:

When people are visiting, they accept something to drink and only take the smallest of sips if they even drink it at all.

I love how they always have something to offer when people visit even if the visit was unexpected. Always coffee, tea, or something with alcohol.  Do they buy extra coffee, tea and alcohol just in case someone happens to visit? How do they have extra money for that? Or never run out? Especially when they weren't expecting guests. Maybe it was just my house where it was usually 50/50 depending on where we were on the grocery shopping which was every two weeks, prices of drinks at the time and what the grocery budget was for that trip. Also, if a guest asks for specific coffee or tea they always have it. There's a million different teas how do they happen to have chamomile or Jasmine? Or can make a latte or cappuccino. Or maybe we're bad hosts.  

[Nordly Beaumont]

Once, many many years ago, my dad was driving and a bit lost. He pulled into a driveway to turn around and my mom rolled the window down and yelled "Don't put the coffee on! We're not staying - just lost!" We laughed so hard and to this day if I need to pull into a driveway to turn around I yell "Don't put the coffee on!"

If someone on tv orders a club soda or ginger ale, they're probably an alcoholic.

[janie jones]

39 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I love how they always have something to offer when people visit even if the visit was unexpected. Always coffee, tea, or something with alcohol.  Do they buy extra coffee, tea and alcohol just in case someone happens to visit? How do they have extra money for that? Or never run out? Especially when they weren't expecting guests. Maybe it was just my house where it was usually 50/50 depending on where we were on the grocery shopping which was every two weeks, prices of drinks at the time and what the grocery budget was for that trip. Also, if a guest asks for specific coffee or tea they always have it. There's a million different teas how do they happen to have chamomile or Jasmine? Or can make a latte or cappuccino. Or maybe we're bad hosts.  

I'm confused by this.  You don't buy one pot's worth of coffee or tea at a time, so assuming you're a coffee or tea drinker, there will always be "extra," unless you're the sort of person who doesn't buy new container of whatever until you've completely run out.  Even if you're on a tight budget, if you've got any coffee, you've got a can/bag of it, and therefore enough to offer someone. 

In my experience, people tend to have one or the other, if not both.  (I don't really drink alcohol, but I tend to always have some form of it, due to needing it for recipes and people bringing bottles of wine over.)  Whether they have the kind of tea I'd prefer is another matter!

Edited April 30, 2018 by janie jones

[andromeda331]

12 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I'm confused by this.  You don't buy one pot's worth of coffee or tea at a time, so assuming you're a coffee or tea drinker, there will always be "extra," unless you're the sort of person who doesn't buy new container of whatever until you've completely run out.  Even if you're on a tight budget, if you've got any coffee, you've got a can/bag of it, and therefore enough to offer someone. 

In my experience, people tend to have one or the other, if not both.  (I don't really drink alcohol, but I tend to always have some form of it, due to needing it for recipes and people bringing bottles of wine over.)  Whether they have the kind of tea I'd prefer is another matter!

The budget, prices at the store and coupons dictated whether my parents were able to buy the big can of coffee and which brand or a smaller can. Smaller can meant it would be gone by the next shopping trip which was two weeks. Which meant less or no coffee to offer any guest who dropped by during the second week. First week yes they'd be able to offer coffee (even though it would meant no coffee for them a lot sooner in the next week). Sometimes other things came up which reduced the grocery budget like unexpected bills or low hours meant the grocery budget was going to be tight. Good sales, coupons and more money in the budget meant they could buy the big can which lasted longer. It also meant a good time to stock up. Bad sales, coupons and less money nope it was whatever they could afford which was the smaller can that wouldn't last two weeks.   

[janie jones]

So then on TV, guests are always stopping by on a well-stocked week, for the same reason that people who aren't filthy rich never wear the same clothes twice.

[Anela]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I love how they always have something to offer when people visit even if the visit was unexpected. Always coffee, tea, or something with alcohol.  Do they buy extra coffee, tea and alcohol just in case someone happens to visit? How do they have extra money for that? Or never run out? Especially when they weren't expecting guests. Maybe it was just my house where it was usually 50/50 depending on where we were on the grocery shopping which was every two weeks, prices of drinks at the time and what the grocery budget was for that trip. Also, if a guest asks for specific coffee or tea they always have it. There's a million different teas how do they happen to have chamomile or Jasmine? Or can make a latte or cappuccino. Or maybe we're bad hosts.  

I have a lot of tea collected. :) I'm an impulse shopper, though. 

They always have really fresh fruit displayed on their counters, too. No brown bananas, or wrinkled oranges, and yet hardly anyone eats them, unless they grab something to take with them. 

[andromeda331]

25 minutes ago, Anela said:

I have a lot of tea collected. :) I'm an impulse shopper, though. 

They always have really fresh fruit displayed on their counters, too. No brown bananas, or wrinkled oranges, and yet hardly anyone eats them, unless they grab something to take with them. 

Ha! That's true! Somehow their fruit always looks fresh and good.  

[selkie]

2 hours ago, janie jones said:

In my experience, people tend to have one or the other, if not both.  (I don't really drink alcohol, but I tend to always have some form of it, due to needing it for recipes and people bringing bottles of wine over.)  Whether they have the kind of tea I'd prefer is another matter!

We're a mixed marriage- I'm a coffee person while my husband is on the tea side. And we generally tend to have a pretty generous stash of each in the pantry. 

[Bort]

See and I don’t drink coffee or tea, so I don’t have those things to offer guests. If someone drops by, I can offer Diet Coke or water and that’s it. 

[shapeshifter]

53 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

See and I don’t drink coffee or tea, so I don’t have those things to offer guests. If someone drops by, I can offer Diet Coke or water and that’s it. 

And that's all any of us can do IRL: Offer what we typically have on hand (if that) or tap water.

But On TV they're kind of caught in a homogeneous society out of some yesteryear—like a modern day Little House on the Prairie community, where every household has the same beverages—even though it might be coconut water and almond milk lattes.

BTW: I usually have lots of teas and soy milk, but crappy coffee and no cow milk—and no soda ever. But there is an old bottle of vodka in the back of the cupboard.

[DearEvette]

One thing I always wondered about beverages on tv is when it comes to liquor.  Admittedly I am not rich, nor do I know any rich people so maybe it is just a rich people thing, but do people IRL keep their brown liquor in nicely cut crystal decanters, with matching crystal whiskey glasses on a silvered wine cart sitting at the ready in the living room?  Or is that an 'only on tv' thing?

I mean we have a cute little wine cart in the dining room, but the booze is still in the bottles they came in from the liquor store (and looking at it, it could really use a good dusting right about now...).  And I keep my vodka in the freezer.  Mostly if we do offer alcohol to a visitor it is typically beer. 

[Anela]

21 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

One thing I always wondered about beverages on tv is when it comes to liquor.  Admittedly I am not rich, nor do I know any rich people so maybe it is just a rich people thing, but do people IRL keep their brown liquor in nicely cut crystal decanters, with matching crystal whiskey glasses on a silvered wine cart sitting at the ready in the living room?  Or is that an 'only on tv' thing?

I mean we have a cute little wine cart in the dining room, but the booze is still in the bottles they came in from the liquor store (and looking at it, it could really use a good dusting right about now...).  And I keep my vodka in the freezer.  Mostly if we do offer alcohol to a visitor it is typically beer. 

We don't, but we rarely drink, or have company. We also don't have a lot of money - I don't know how much all of that would cost. 

[ganesh]

My parents have a nice hutch for booze and glasses, etc., and there's some whisky in a decanter but otherwise it's in the bottles. 

[ChromaKelly]

Back when I used to watch soaps, all the rich people - both at home and in the office- had these glass water pitchers and accompanying glasses just sitting out. Who does that? They also have tea/coffee service sets.
I think with people having Kuerigs (although I don't have one) it's a little easier to offer a variety of coffee or teas to a guest. I have a regular old coffee maker, so we'd have to sit there awkwardly while the coffee maker does its thing. I also don't really have much in the way of cold beverages except water, seltzer, and juice boxes. My booze is not in fancy decanters, sorry to say.
 

[merylinkid]

I know people who have the decanters.    But yeah, the booze is sitting around in a not sealed container.   AND it's another thing to dust.

[Tunia]

19 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I love how they always have something to offer when people visit even if the visit was unexpected.

LOL - This reminds me of the crossover King of Queens episode where Marie Barrone stops at Doug and Carrie's house to pick up Raymond, and Carrie has nothing to offer the thirsty Marie.  "Dear, you should always have a little gingerale on hand if someone stops in."  Marie then goes on to show Carrie the proper way to clean her counter tiles, and ends up finishing the job as Carrie sits back and watches.

[Katy M]

Just now, Tunia said:

LOL - This reminds me of the crossover King of Queens episode where Marie Barrone stops at Doug and Carrie's house to pick up Raymond, and Carrie has nothing to offer the thirsty Marie.  "Dear, you should always have a little gingerale on hand if someone stops in."  Marie then goes on to show Carrie the proper way to clean her counter tiles, and ends up finishing the job as Carrie sits back and watches.

I love that episode.  She shows up unannounced and CArrie is clearly busy cleaning as she has the whole kitchen taken apart.  Then she reprimands Carrie for not hosting her properly. So, I cackled with glee as Carrie pretty much conned her into cleaning her house.  Deborah should have taken some lessons.

[vibeology]

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

One thing I always wondered about beverages on tv is when it comes to liquor.  Admittedly I am not rich, nor do I know any rich people so maybe it is just a rich people thing, but do people IRL keep their brown liquor in nicely cut crystal decanters, with matching crystal whiskey glasses on a silvered wine cart sitting at the ready in the living room?  Or is that an 'only on tv' thing?

I mean we have a cute little wine cart in the dining room, but the booze is still in the bottles they came in from the liquor store (and looking at it, it could really use a good dusting right about now...).  And I keep my vodka in the freezer.  Mostly if we do offer alcohol to a visitor it is typically beer. 

I do not own a decanter because I am poor, but my parents have two (both wedding gifts) and I've only ever seen my mom fill one before a party where she knew a few guests drank whiskey. At the end of the night, the whiskey in the decanter got funneled back into the original bottle. Probably not the way rich people would do it.

[Orillia]

And when someone holds their cup out to be filled , the pourer barely pours enough to fill the bottom of the cup

[auntlada]

2 hours ago, merylinkid said:

I know people who have the decanters.    But yeah, the booze is sitting around in a not sealed container.   AND it's another thing to dust.

That's why they have maids and housekeepers.

[shapeshifter]

I suppose On TV they use decanters to serve whiskey because it signals to the viewers that it's whiskey and not, say, apple juice--although the prop probably is apple juice--which is kind of interesting because, if the group here is any indication, most viewers only know about whiskey in decanters from seeing them On TV, LOL.

[meep.meep]

I've never seen them used in real life.  They're not as common on TV anymore either.

[ganesh]

Maybe they can't show an actual brand of whisky on tv so that's why. 

[SVNBob]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I suppose On TV they use decanters to serve whiskey because it signals to the viewers that it's whiskey and not, say, apple juice--although the prop probably is apple juice--which is kind of interesting because, if the group here is any indication, most viewers only know about whiskey in decanters from seeing them On TV, LOL.

 

5 hours ago, ganesh said:

Maybe they can't show an actual brand of whisky on tv so that's why. 

I'd say it's a combination of both of these reasons.  The decanter is a non-branded sign of alcohol that isn't beer or wine.

[janie jones]

21 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

Back when I used to watch soaps, all the rich people - both at home and in the office- had these glass water pitchers and accompanying glasses just sitting out. Who does that? They also have tea/coffee service sets.
 

And ice buckets.  What a waste, having to replenish the stupid ice bucket multiple times a day.

[ganesh]

Nowadays all the fridges have built in ice makers anyway. 

[ChromaKelly]

People on TV also drink a lot more straight liquor than people IRL. Drinking vodka, whiskey, or rum right out of the bottle (to show they are losing it/upset) or doing shots at a bar, with the requisite "keep it coming" or "just leave the bottle". I'm kind of a wimp, I've never been much of a doing straight shots person.

[shoregirl]

1 hour ago, ChromaKelly said:

People on TV also drink a lot more straight liquor than people IRL. Drinking vodka, whiskey, or rum right out of the bottle (to show they are losing it/upset) or doing shots at a bar, with the requisite "keep it coming" or "just leave the bottle". I'm kind of a wimp, I've never been much of a doing straight shots person.

You mean you don't do that?!? 

I wonder what the cost of a almost full bottle of liquor would be at  a regular neighborhood bar .I know what bottle service in a club for a bottle would be and its insane.

[ChromaKelly]

4 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

You mean you don't do that?!? 

I wonder what the cost of a almost full bottle of liquor would be at  a regular neighborhood bar .I know what bottle service in a club for a bottle would be and its insane.

I've wondered that too. Do they charge the cost of how many shots are in the bottle? Or is there even a price for an entire bottle of vodka at a bar? 

[ganesh]

I'd be surprised if a local bar would just let someone buy a bottle. You charge by the shot, you're going to lose money on the sale because you probably don't really know how many shots are left.

[Mittengirl]

Would it even be legal to sell liquor by the bottle?  Servers, and the establishment itself, can be held liable for over serving, so even if it were legal in some areas I would think it would go against management policy.

 

Not a drinker, so I have no clue - if you buy a bottle of wine (Champagne) at a restaurant, can you take home what you don’t consume at the table?   So when your date storms out in a huff you can take it home and drown your sorrows.

[Katy M]

15 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I'd be surprised if a local bar would just let someone buy a bottle. You charge by the shot, you're going to lose money on the sale because you probably don't really know how many shots are left.

If a bar were to sell a bottle, they would sell an unopened bottle, and they would make sure they were still making a profit.  Not as much as per shot, but you generally sell things "cheaper" when you sell in large quantities.

 

3 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Not a drinker, so I have no clue - if you buy a bottle of wine (Champagne) at a restaurant, can you take home what you don’t consume at the table?   So when your date storms out in a huff you can take it home and drown your sorrows.

I think it depends on local laws and the state liquor licensing agreements.  I know there was a sign posted at one restaurant here that had patio seating and they said due to local laws you could not consumer wine or beer outside.  So, I'm thinking here you probably can't take an opened unfinished bottle of wine out with you. (of course you could always sneak it out. It's not stealing, you did pay for it).