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

[Katy M]

I really don't anything about real-life prom and sex.  But, yes, on TV every single guy assumes he's going to havesex. One would assume, since it's so universally prevalent, that parents would be aware of this. But, they always say, it's prom, you can stay out all night.  That will give you extra time for the sex, I guess. 

[ganesh]

17 minutes ago, Katy M said:

But, yes, on TV every single guy assumes he's going to havesex.

My senior prom date and I went to see Lethal Weapon 2 and then went to another friend's house for late night snacks. Then I took her parents to the airport. 

[ganesh]

29 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Rent controlled apartments are very rare these days, larger buildings in Manhattan and some other parts of the city are rent stabilized to some extent.  Yes, many people can afford to stay in their neighborhood but could never afford to move into it.   Equally true of other cities with crazy rents like San Francisco I guess.  

I just listened to a news report on this because there's some municipal ballot measure in SoCal I think to eliminate rent control or something, where they're claiming that it would actually lower rents which is completely ridiculous. One of the people they interviewed had said exactly that - no one like her could move in to the neighborhood today because there's no way they could afford it. Same thing when I lived in the SF Bay Area. 

[Danny Franks]

20 minutes ago, ganesh said:

My senior prom date and I went to see Lethal Weapon 2 and then went to another friend's house for late night snacks. Then I took her parents to the airport. 

... House to yourselves, eh? Eh? Sounds like a romantic teen comedy, to me.

[Glendenning]

Like i said, a lot of prom dresses, especially those with big skirts or underskirts, are very difficult to get off, so trying to have sex might be as difficult or as embarrassing as Felicity Shagwell and Fat Bastard.

[ganesh]

No, I dropped her off and went home to bed at like 6 am. Short version - she had a "boyfriend" in 10th grade that was being a bag about prom and we'd been friends since 7th grade. Casanova over here was like, "so you want to go to the prom or what?" "Yeah, ok."

[Silver Raven]

58 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Rent controlled apartments are very rare these days, larger buildings in Manhattan and some other parts of the city are rent stabilized to some extent.  Yes, many people can afford to stay in their neighborhood but could never afford to move into it.   Equally true of other cities with crazy rents like San Francisco I guess.  

There's a proposition on California's ballot to allow every city to implement rent control.

[ganesh]

Oh that must have been what the news report I was listening to was about then. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

But, yes, on TV every single guy assumes he's going to havesex.

My senior prom date and I went to see Lethal Weapon 2 and then went to another friend's house for late night snacks. Then I took her parents to the airport. 

@ganesh, I knew you had more good points besides turning off the car radio!

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Melissa Glenson said:

Like i said, a lot of prom dresses, especially those with big skirts or underskirts, are very difficult to get off, so trying to have sex might be as difficult or as embarrassing as Felicity Shagwell and Fat Bastard.

They don't actually have to take it off, it's a dress. It lifts up.

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

They don't actually have to take it off, it's a dress. It lifts up.

Even I was thinking that, and I never went to prom (bf was in Nam).

[ganesh]

I turned off the car radio before going to prom. 

[Shannon L.]

I'd hate to be the conductor of a subway train.  I'd be terrified that I'd kill someone given the number of times bad guys are being chased along the rails by the cops, or that I or a passenger would be killed given the number of times they get chased through the cars themselves.

[Anela]

Yesterday evening, the kids in this area did their trick-or-treating. There was a lull, so dad had come upstairs to get something to eat, and was watching for kids through the window. He started to go downstairs, saying another kid was running up the driveway, and what happened next? The kid opened the front door, after knocking, and called out a "hello?" 

Thank goodness the dog wasn't right there, so he didn't get out. 

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, Anela said:

Yesterday evening, the kids in this area did their trick-or-treating. There was a lull, so dad had come upstairs to get something to eat, and was watching for kids through the window. He started to go downstairs, saying another kid was running up the driveway, and what happened next? The kid opened the front door, after knocking, and called out a "hello?" 

Thank goodness the dog wasn't right there, so he didn't get out. 

I once had neighbor kids, actually twice now that I think about it, that had no boundaries.  The first pair were worse, though.  They would just walk into our apartment if we didn't lock the door.  They were 5 and 3, IIRC, and they would walk into our apartment and you know the parents had no idea where they were.  They walked in one time when one of my roommates was taking a bath.  Not into the bathroom, but she came out in a towel, and boom, there they were.

[Anela]

On 10/24/2018 at 10:14 PM, Melissa Glenson said:

I have never been able to understand why so many people expect to have sex after the school formal (prom) like it is something that they deserve and they are entitled to because it isn't.

Socialization and the beauty it encompasses I suppose. Undeserved privilege aside, logistically it strikes me as a bad idea as well. It's a pain in the ass to get those dresses off! Why the hell would anyone have sex THEN? It sounds like a lot of effort.

You've reminded me of that Friends episode, where Rachel talks about her "third date sweater". I was a very shy teenager (and adult), and wasn't keen on going out with anyone at the time, because it seemed like sex was expected by the third date. My teenage self: "Oh, hell no!"

[ganesh]

Wasn't 'third date' from some stupid book in the 90s? 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

Wasn't 'third date' from some stupid book in the 90s? 

I remember talk radio host Tom Leykis got replaced by Chief Daryl Gates shortly after his firing from the LAPD, post Rodney King riots. When Leykis finally returned to the air in LA and  nationwide a couple of years he had his Leykis 101 bit and the theory that she knows before the first date so three strikes and then give up was the one of his basic rules

[ganesh]

No, I'm thinking of a book. 

[Browncoat]

I had heard of the third date rule in the 80s, but it didn’t necessarily mean sex — maybe third base?

[Jacqs]

Actors who are obviously dubbed... like this girl from Monty Python:

[DrSpaceman73]

This is another one I am not sure is true or not in real life, but you see it all the time on TV :

Someone has their house fumigated for bugs so everyone has to leave the house and can't go in for like a day or two.

And of course, they will end up needing to go in to retrieve something, with HILARIOUS results. 

Even Seinfeld did this story.  Was watching it yesterday and made me think of this. 

I don't recall anyone I know ever having to leave their house for it to be fumigated. 

[AuntieL]

I actually  know someone who did this. Her house got infested with bedbugs (thanks to her nephew) and it had to be fumigated. To be fair, the lady is 100 years old and it wasn't safe for her to be around those chemicals so she went to stay with her daughter for a few days. To the best of my knowledge though, no hijinks ensued. 

[Moose135]

Years ago, we had an issue with fleas (carried in by the dog) and used a fogger a time or two.  It was a can that you sat in the middle of the room, set it off, then left the house for 3 or 4 hours for it to do its thing.

[ChromaKelly]

4 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

This is another one I am not sure is true or not in real life, but you see it all the time on TV :

Someone has their house fumigated for bugs so everyone has to leave the house and can't go in for like a day or two.

And of course, they will end up needing to go in to retrieve something, with HILARIOUS results. 

Even Seinfeld did this story.  Was watching it yesterday and made me think of this. 

I don't recall anyone I know ever having to leave their house for it to be fumigated. 

Or someone uses the opportunity to cook meth while the homeowners are gone.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I don't recall anyone I know ever having to leave their house for it to be fumigated. 

You do when it's tented for termites, for about three days.  There are foggers that require you to clear out for several hours.  There's probably stuff in between.

[ganesh]

How else are you going to set up your portable meth lab if you can't get them out of the house. #VamanosPest

[meep.meep]

8 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

This is another one I am not sure is true or not in real life, but you see it all the time on TV :

Someone has their house fumigated for bugs so everyone has to leave the house and can't go in for like a day or two.

And of course, they will end up needing to go in to retrieve something, with HILARIOUS results. 

Even Seinfeld did this story.  Was watching it yesterday and made me think of this. 

I don't recall anyone I know ever having to leave their house for it to be fumigated. 

I have had to do just that.  Found termites, had to have the house fogged.  What would you have done?

[Tanichka]

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I have had to do just that.  Found termites, had to have the house fogged.  What would you have done?

Yes, I’ve had to leave also.  You can’t stay when they’re fogging!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Tanichka said:

 

4 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I have had to do just that.  Found termites, had to have the house fogged.  What would you have done?

Yes, I’ve had to leave also.  You can’t stay when they’re fogging!

 

I wonder if the use of tenting depends in part upon things like local regulations. In the high desert mountains of northernmost California they did not tent for "carpenter ants." The spray residue made me nauseated. When they spray my mother's apartment for ants in Florida, I won't let them do it until I've left the building (for several months). They never tent my daughter's NYC apartment when they spray for cockroaches —which is probably why they come back—but I doubt even tenting an entire city block would be sufficient to permanently eradicate them.

ETA: So no meth labs or jewel thieves have ever had the tenting opportunity in our abodes.

Edited October 30, 2018 by shapeshifter

[meep.meep]

The use of tenting depends entirely on the species that is being addressed.  Dry wood termites burrow into the structure of a building.  The entire structure needs to be encased in order to make sure the insects are all exposed to the fumigant.  It's expensive and no one would choose it if there was a different approach.

The fumigant used for termites wouldn't make you nauseated - it would kill you.

[Jacqs]

Other prom tropes on TV that irritate me:

Prom dresses on teen and tween sitcoms that are supposed to be expensive and impressive but look a lot lower budget then the average prom dress does in reality.

Tomboys that decide to wear a dress and lipstick and jewelry and perfume to the prom. 

[paulvdb]

7 hours ago, JacquelineAppleton said:

Tomboys that decide to wear a dress and lipstick and jewelry and perfume to the prom.

And the boys suddenly noticing that the tomboy is hot when she's all dressed up. Usually that was already very obvious so it seems unrealistic that boys never noticed that.

[Jacqs]

57 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

And the boys suddenly noticing that the tomboy is hot when she's all dressed up. Usually that was already very obvious so it seems unrealistic that boys never noticed that.

@paulvdb Exactly. Tomboys can have an extremely feminine figure ("not square, but curvy") and still be tomboys.

[lucindabelle]

People flush pills down the sink or toilet to signify they aren't going to take them, rather than just putting the cap on and putting pills in a drawer. Witness Toby on "This Is Us" and loads of women deciding to get pregnant.

In real life, most people have leftover antibiotics (what for, I don't know, zombie apocalypse maybe); pain meds, etc.

[Blergh]

4 minutes ago, lucindabelle said:

People flush pills down the sink or toilet to signify they aren't going to take them, rather than just putting the cap on and putting pills in a drawer. Witness Toby on "This Is Us" and loads of women deciding to get pregnant.

In real life, most people have leftover antibiotics (what for, I don't know, zombie apocalypse maybe); pain meds, etc.

Considering the fact that most communities' drinking water has at least trace amounts of pharmaceuticals detected within, there must SOME folks who flush those things down the drain or toilet since I don't think anyone's deliberately putting those chemicals into the waters (though this does raise the question of how clean and filtered IS the drinking water). 

[HazelEyes4325]

2 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Considering the fact that most communities' drinking water has at least trace amounts of pharmaceuticals detected within, there must SOME folks who flush those things down the drain or toilet since I don't think anyone's deliberately putting those chemicals into the waters (though this does raise the question of how clean and filtered IS the drinking water). 

Yes!  Flushing pills down the toilet has some real consequences! And, if chemicals in your water don't scare you, flushing a large number of pills at once can cause plumbing issues and NO ONE wants that!

And, as a PSA, if you need to get rid of medicines (OTC or prescription), check with your local police department.  Many have "drug drop off days" where they will take unused medications of any type off your hands and dispose of them properly.  And it really is quite easy..you drive up, you hand them whatever, and you drive off.  No questions asked.

[ChromaKelly]

8 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Considering the fact that most communities' drinking water has at least trace amounts of pharmaceuticals detected within, there must SOME folks who flush those things down the drain or toilet since I don't think anyone's deliberately putting those chemicals into the waters (though this does raise the question of how clean and filtered IS the drinking water). 

I read that it's also from people's urine.  Bleh.

[lucindabelle]

I just think that I WANT TO GET PREGNANT SO FLUSHING thing is just a silly way to show, visually, an internal decision. Prescriptions are hard to come by and most people keep their pills.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, lucindabelle said:

People flush pills down the sink or toilet to signify they aren't going to take them, rather than just putting the cap on and putting pills in a drawer. Witness Toby on "This Is Us" and loads of women deciding to get pregnant.

In real life, most people have leftover antibiotics (what for, I don't know, zombie apocalypse maybe); pain meds, etc.

However normally that scene is to signify dealing with an addiction issue, not just he is done with medication for now. It is no different then pouring out all the booze in the house, only in that case you can be sure a relapse is coming.

[paulvdb]

This probably doesn't happen as often in real life as it happens on tv: you're sitting in a classroom, your new teacher walks in and it turns out he's the guy you hooked up with last night.

[ganesh]

That most certainly does not happen in my classroom. 

[lucindabelle]

11 hours ago, Raja said:

However normally that scene is to signify dealing with an addiction issue, not just he is done with medication for now. It is no different then pouring out all the booze in the house, only in that case you can be sure a relapse is coming.

Toby did it with his antidepressants. Not an addiction issue. 

And I was referring to the scene I’ve seen countless times of women pouring birth control pills down the sink. 

[Jacqs]

11 hours ago, paulvdb said:

This probably doesn't happen as often in real life as it happens on tv: you're sitting in a classroom, your new teacher walks in and it turns out he's the guy you hooked up with last night.

University classroom, right? I don't *think* they'd have a teenager teaching a high school class...

[paulvdb]

Nope, high school. The teacher is an adult, usually early or mid 20s and the student is usually under 18. She lies about her age or the teacher just assumes she's older because they're in a club or bar where you have to be over 21 to get in. Although in that case she technically still lied about her age because she used a fake ID to get into that place.

Ezra and Aria on Pretty Little Liars are one example but there have been other shows.

[ganesh]

4 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Ezra and Aria on Pretty Little Liars are one example but there have been other shows.

Do either of them wear a red coat? Because one of the trick-or-treaters tonight showed up in a red coat and said she was dressing up from the show.

[scarynikki12]

Red Coat is a character from the show whose identity wasn't revealed for several seasons.

[Jacqs]

there's only 15 years difference between Holly Marie Combs and Lucy Hale. And Lucy Hale stopped passing for a teenager a looong time ago...

[meep.meep]

On 10/31/2018 at 9:03 PM, lucindabelle said:

Toby did it with his antidepressants. Not an addiction issue. 

And I was referring to the scene I’ve seen countless times of women pouring birth control pills down the sink. 

I've seen that too!  And that leads to another "seen only on TV, not in real life" - women get their birth control pills in a bottle, not in a month-supply blister pack.  Imagine if you had to push out 28 pills just to triumphantly flush them down the toilet.

[Dr.OO7]

On 10/25/2018 at 3:49 PM, Shannon L. said:

I'd hate to be the conductor of a subway train.  I'd be terrified that I'd kill someone given the number of times bad guys are being chased along the rails by the cops, or that I or a passenger would be killed given the number of times they get chased through the cars themselves.

Sadly, this isn't completely untrue. A lot of train conductors have killed someone, either by the person deciding to kill themselves or them accidentally falling on to the tracks.