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

[Raja]

5 hours ago, shlbycindyk said:

My husband is a big fan of The Andy Griffith Show and watches it a lot on MeTV.  I've always wondered why Leon's mother let him roam all over Mayberry while eating a peanut butter sandwich.  He couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old! 

That falls more under the world has changed than only on TV. 20 years after I could roam around, at least within bicycle distance my corner of Los Angeles with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The helicopter parents and peanut allergies  were still a few years away

[ratgirlagogo]

On 8/15/2019 at 5:22 PM, Raja said:

peanut allergies  

Jeez, I read that original post and didn't even parse the peanut allergy thing!  Agree that kids were allowed to wander more freely in those time since there were likely to be many adults at home and kind of monitoring the neighborhood action, so to speak.

[auntlada]

37 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Jeez, I read that original post and didn't even parse the peanut allergy thing!  Agree that kids were allowed to wander more freely in those time since there were likely to be many adults at home and kind of monitoring the neighborhood action, so to speak.

Also Mayberry was a really small town. Probably everybody in town knew that kid. If he did the slightest thing wrong or if the slightest thing happened to him, his parents probably knew before he got home.

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, auntlada said:

Also Mayberry was a really small town. Probably everybody in town knew that kid. If he did the slightest thing wrong or if the slightest thing happened to him, his parents probably knew before he got home.

We must keep in mind that Andy Griffith's depiction of Mayberry was that of a close-knit, friendly small town that he would  have liked to have grown up in- not  the one where he actually did grow up! 

[ratgirlagogo]

19 hours ago, auntlada said:

Also Mayberry was a really small town. Probably everybody in town knew that kid. If he did the slightest thing wrong or if the slightest thing happened to him, his parents probably knew before he got home.

Yes, that's very true.  BTW  you can have close-knit neighborhoods in large cities like the one I live in - people who move here from other places often don't realize the extent to which all their neighbors know each other, grew up with each other, and are very aware of what's happening in the area - and that was even truer 60 years ago.

[Shannon L.]

I love this tweet I came across today:

Alex Baze @bazecraze

8h

Are you even trying to solve the case if you don’t shower with one hand on the wall?

[Homily]

I get why doors aren't locked - ease of exit and entry for the actors for the most part - but what kills me is how often people leave their house or apartment and leave the door wide open.  I think I can speak with utter confidence here when I say this does not happen in real life,  Or if it does it only happens once!  

[Shannon L.]

You can't watch a movie without popcorn. Ever. And if you're at home, it has to be served in a glass bowl. 

[Katy M]

Just now, Shannon L. said:

You can't watch a movie without popcorn. Ever. And if you're at home, it has to be served in a glass bowl. 

With the exception of the glass bowl, that is absolutely true. No movies without popcorn.  That's anarchy. 

[Bastet]

24 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

You can't watch a movie without popcorn. Ever. And if you're at home, it has to be served in a glass bowl. 

And if you're with someone, at some point one of you must toss popcorn at the other. 

If you're a male and female couple, you must first have an argument about butter on the popcorn (which may come before or after the argument about which movie to watch).

[Mabinogia]

25 minutes ago, Bastet said:

And if you're with someone, at some point one of you must toss popcorn at the other. 

Which is a waste of good popcorn, but goes along with the paint fight/water fight concept. If two people are tasked with painting something or if they have to wash a car, house, anything requiring using a hose, they MUST break out into a paint or water fight. But why? Do normal people do this? Water, okay, maybe, but if I pay money for paint to paint something, I am not going to waste it by brushing it all over my co-painters face. 

[DoctorAtomic]

The only acceptable water fight on tv was Laverne and Shirley in the dentist's office.

[paulvdb]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

And if you're with someone, at some point one of you must toss popcorn at the other.

Or if it's a potential romantic partner you will both reach for popcorn at the same time and touch each other's hands.

[DoctorAtomic]

I actually saw a commercial last night where people were washing a car and someone got water thrown on them.

[Shannon L.]

CIA agents often chase criminals who have either an explosive or an antidote in a small vial and at some point the criminal will drop the vial causing one of the agents to dive after it and catch it just before it hits the ground.

[Raja]

47 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

CIA agents often chase criminals who have either an explosive or an antidote in a small vial and at some point the criminal will drop the vial causing one of the agents to dive after it and catch it just before it hits the ground.

I remember on Law and Order a Russian agent used the trope to stall the detectives in chase to make it to safety in his consulate 

[DoctorAtomic]

3 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

CIA agents often chase criminals who have either an explosive or an antidote in a small vial and at some point the criminal will drop the vial causing one of the agents to dive after it and catch it just before it hits the ground.

Only allowable if it's Indy in the opening scene to Temple of Doom. 

[ABay]

That trope is so widespread, it's international! The Spanish show El Internado subverted it by someone doing the classic dive only to have the vial crushed under the foot of one of the characters.

[Shannon L.]

I've been around some fairly wealthy people and I've never seen a multitude of women around the pool wearing high heels with their bathing suits.  Now, there are wealthier people who party harder than those I've been around, so maybe it does happen, but I have to wonder if it's as popular as it is on tv.

[Nordly Beaumont]

On 8/20/2019 at 12:21 PM, Shannon L. said:

You can't watch a movie without popcorn. Ever.

And you can't have a poker game without smoking cigars. Even if it's a non-smoking home, stinky cigars are allowed.

[Homily]

With a few notable exceptions women on TV do not wear "comfy casual" clothes when they are home.  Women may not be vacuuming in heels and pearls anymore but it's still pretty unrealistic to me that women are doing housework or just hanging out in skirts and nylons.  Just no.  I am not the only person I am sure who gets home and off come the "going out of the house" clothes and on go the sweats or  jeans or shorts.

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, Homily said:

With a few notable exceptions women on TV do not wear "comfy casual" clothes when they are home.  Women may not be vacuuming in heels and pearls anymore but it's still pretty unrealistic to me that women are doing housework or just hanging out in skirts and nylons.  Just no.  I am not the only person I am sure who gets home and off come the "going out of the house" clothes and on go the sweats or  jeans or shorts.

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra? It's not necessary to show any boobage, since, as often as not, we do it without even taking off the shirt.

[Mabinogia]

7 minutes ago, Homily said:

I am not the only person I am sure who gets home and off come the "going out of the house" clothes and on go the sweats or  jeans or shorts.

I am in my PJs by 5:10! If I go for a walk later on I will change into something presentable, but if I am in my house I am basically in my PJs, which are really just leggings and a sweatshirt in the winter or knit shorts and a tee in the summer. 

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra? It's not necessary to show any boobage, since, as often as not, we do it without even taking off the shirt.

Considering most TV women seem to have sex in their bra, I'm gonna say no, they leave that sucker on for all activities save showering. lol Basically the complete opposite of most real life women, at least the ones I know. 

[theredhead77]

3 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I've been around some fairly wealthy people and I've never seen a multitude of women around the pool wearing high heels with their bathing suits.  Now, there are wealthier people who party harder than those I've been around, so maybe it does happen, but I have to wonder if it's as popular as it is on tv.

Those scenes are straight out of IRL "pool parties" in Vegas. They are essentially day-clubs and instead of mini skirts it's bikinis or skimpy one-pieces 

[CoderLady]

49 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra? It's not necessary to show any boobage, since, as often as not, we do it without even taking off the shirt.

How timely! There is a new beer commercial -- don't remember the brand since I'm not much of a beer drinker -- featuring a woman getting home, kicking off her shoes (more verisimilitude showing her wearing a Band-Aid on one heel because of a bitey shoe), peeling off her bra through the sleeves of her shirt, then downing a cold one. Finally -- women do all these things, including the beer.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, CoderLady said:

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra?...without even taking off the shirt.

How timely! There is a new beer commercial...featuring a woman getting home, kicking off her shoes (more verisimilitude showing her wearing a Band-Aid on one heel because of a bitey shoe), peeling off her bra through the sleeves of her shirt, then downing a cold one. Finally -- women do all these things, including the beer.

Awesome! I can now rest in peace --although in my apartment it would be followed by having a cup of tea.

Edited August 28, 2019 by shapeshifter

[GaT]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra? It's not necessary to show any boobage, since, as often as not, we do it without even taking off the shirt.

2 hours ago, CoderLady said:

How timely! There is a new beer commercial -- don't remember the brand since I'm not much of a beer drinker -- featuring a woman getting home, kicking off her shoes (more verisimilitude showing her wearing a Band-Aid on one heel because of a bitey shoe), peeling off her bra through the sleeves of her shirt, then downing a cold one. Finally -- women do all these things, including the beer.

It's Coors Light

[shapeshifter]

17 minutes ago, GaT said:

It's Coors Light

"The official beer of being done wearing a bra"

Hah!

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't like Coors Light but that is a brilliant ad. 

[Shannon L.]

19 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Those scenes are straight out of IRL "pool parties" in Vegas. They are essentially day-clubs and instead of mini skirts it's bikinis or skimpy one-pieces 

Ah.  Well, that does sound like something they'd do in Vegas. 

[kiddo82]

22 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Has anyone on TV ever been shown coming home and, as soon as possible, taking off her bra? It's not necessary to show any boobage, since, as often as not, we do it without even taking off the shirt.

Patty and Selma on the Simpsons were shown to do this.  They cut their bras off with hedge clippers.

[Stats Queen]

On 8/28/2019 at 5:57 PM, kiddo82 said:

Patty and Selma on the Simpsons were shown to do this.  They cut their bras off with hedge clippers.

I can relate - thanks so much Grandma Rohrer for passing that down to me 

[Blergh]

It's odd that unless a character is expressly a counterculture type, destitute and/or lives in a tropic setting, rarely   are bare feet seen outside of beds or bathrooms on TV! 

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

It's odd that unless a character is expressly a counterculture type, destitute and/or lives in a tropic setting, rarely   are bare feet seen outside of beds or bathrooms on TV! 

Now I'm wondering why. 

• Hazardous sets with nails from last minute carpentry  or shards of broken glass left from a scene with breaking of windows or mirrors 
• Really dirty floors with spilled drinks, fake blood, etc. 
• Insurance company or union regulations 
• Concern about offending some audience segments 

[Bastet]

Set floors are pretty dirty; when a character is barefoot (and I agree far more real people than TV characters go barefoot at home), if there's a moment that the bottom of her/his feet are visible for some reason, there will inevitably be internet chatter about how dirty they were.  Well, yes.  They're walking on a floor that has equipment rolled across it constantly.

[methodwriter85]

In romantic Christmas movies, small towns are always depicted as bustling, quaint little villages with pretty downtowns and charming architecture, not rundown hellholes where everybody has to shop at Walmart if they can't get it online, drug use is rampant, and there's a dead mall dating from about the 1970's still hanging on because it's got the only movie theater in town.

You only see THAT kind of small town in gritty dramas or gritty comedy dramas.

The Stars Hollow kind of small town is in reality a really, really expensive bedroom community.

The shows that depict suburbs are usually a bit closer to reality, except all the houses are immaculately kept up and you never do see these people go to strip malls or big box stores even though that would pretty much be their lives.

Edited August 31, 2019 by methodwriter85

[kiddo82]

20 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

In romantic Christmas movies, small towns are always depicted as bustling, quaint little villages with pretty downtowns and charming architecture, not rundown hellholes where everybody has to shop at Walmart if they can't get it online, drug use is rampant, and there's a dead mall dating from about the 1970's still hanging on because it's got the only movie theater in town.

Every small town has a town square with a gazebo and a locally owned and sourced market where everybody shops.  No chain stores.  They all have elaborate histories which the children will reenact every year on Founder's Day.  Bonus points if said town is on the East Coast and the town history involves a revolutionary war battle or Washington once stopped there for a beer or something.  And despite the fact that all we hear about is how small and close knit the town is, it has its own hospital, mall, newspaper, high school, university, independent league baseball team, Hell Mouth (okay, so that's just the one small town) etc.  There is also usually a chapel with a steeple that is some denomination of Christianity without ever really being specified.  And no one ever leaves said small town for work, school, or errands.  No one just happens to work in an office that's a twenty minute car ride or gets bused to a school outside the district.  (Rory Gilmore being the lone exception).  Every town has a town general practitioner and a town dentist that everybody goes to.  And of course a town jeweler so it's big gossip when the former high school quarterback who now works at the town's City Hall with the civil engineers and is still with his high school sweetheart (who is a teacher at the town grammar school.  She teaches second grade) is seen ring shopping there.  There's a town coffee spot, bar, or restaurant that no one ever deviates from and no one just goes to Wendy's or Subway or simply tries something different that's half an hour away.  It's not that far, people.  And every small town has a rival small town and they are both super insulated from each other.  Hell, when I go for a run, I probably pass over 3 or 4 different town borders but towns on TV exist in their own vacuum.  Maybe it's because I did grow up in a larger urban area and we did get bused to Catholic school so i had friends in high school from all over.  We were all literally coming from different places.  As I became an adult, it wasn't a big deal to me to commute to work, doctor's appointments, social gatherings, etc.  I have a friend however, who is married to her high school sweetheart and who lives and works in the same exact place she grew up in.  I know this isn't crazy uncommon but what really makes me laugh is when I am in her neck of the woods with her we run into people she knows all the time.  It's apparently not just her and her husband that never left, it's ALL of them.

Edited September 1, 2019 by kiddo82

[methodwriter85]

I grew up on the East Coast, so yeah, towns just aren't isolated self-contained units like the way they are on T.V., especially in suburban areas which are just a series of developments mixed with strip malls and some schools and office parks. I somewhat experienced that Stars Hallow type of town when I lived in a small university town in the Appalachian area that was somewhat isolated, but it had a dying mall, was struggling to keep businesses in their downtown, and it couldn't keep young people there because there wasn't much for employment beyond the hospital and the university. Although it did have a pretty strong sense of pride as well as a cool "It's a Wonderful Life" festival. (Jimmy Stewart spent his childhood in this town.)

Edited September 1, 2019 by methodwriter85

[jenniferhartwell]

I'll just copy my email about the movie Pleasantville that i sent to someone:

It's been some years since i saw the movie Pleasantville but the 1990s girl's decision to (temporarily) stay in the sitcom universe still seems foolish. It's still 1958 America, she's still a female in that time period and if she does return to the real world, her education is 40 years out of date and no 1998 institution would honor her degree from a fictional version of Eisenhower-era America.

I was also imagining modern people trapped in the world of a fifties sitcom. Forget a teenage girl being told to study for her “MRS” (I.e. towards getting a husband) - your average female pre-teen would go nuts at the restrictions on a pre-teen female child in the Father Knows Best fifties world. they won’t appreciate not being able to wear trousers or shorts to school in this world or being expected to wear huge hair bows and being told to play with dolls when they want to play AFL or NRL

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, jenniferhartwell said:

I'll just copy my email about the movie Pleasantville that i sent to someone:

It's been some years since i saw the movie Pleasantville but the 1990s girl's decision to (temporarily) stay in the sitcom universe still seems foolish. It's still 1958 America, she's still a female in that time period and if she does return to the real world, her education is 40 years out of date and no 1998 institution would honor her degree from a fictional version of Eisenhower-era America.

I was also imagining modern people trapped in the world of a fifties sitcom. Forget a teenage girl being told to study for her “MRS” (I.e. towards getting a husband) - your average female pre-teen would go nuts at the restrictions on a pre-teen female child in the Father Knows Best fifties world. they won’t appreciate not being able to wear trousers or shorts to school in this world or being expected to wear huge hair bows and being told to play with dolls when they want to play AFL or NRL

Are you an Aussie? I'm guessing by the football codes you reference. 🙂

[jenniferhartwell]

Yes, I'm an Aussie, Grew up in Melbourne's outer east.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, jenniferhartwell said:

I'll just copy my email about the movie Pleasantville that i sent to someone:

It's been some years since i saw the movie Pleasantville but the 1990s girl's decision to (temporarily) stay in the sitcom universe still seems foolish. It's still 1958 America, she's still a female in that time period and if she does return to the real world, her education is 40 years out of date and no 1998 institution would honor her degree from a fictional version of Eisenhower-era America.

I was also imagining modern people trapped in the world of a fifties sitcom. Forget a teenage girl being told to study for her “MRS” (I.e. towards getting a husband) - your average female pre-teen would go nuts at the restrictions on a pre-teen female child in the Father Knows Best fifties world. they won’t appreciate not being able to wear trousers or shorts to school in this world or being expected to wear huge hair bows and being told to play with dolls when they want to play AFL or NRL

Yeah, that still doesn't make any sense. She's still in 1958 and in a TV show. She should have returned with her brother having changed like he had and gone to college. 

[jenniferhartwell]

Yeah, that was the only part of the movie that really grated with me… I did kind of wonder how her twin brother explained that one to the rest of the family. Also, you’d think that people would raise eyebrows when she showed up with her “Class of ‘58″ high school diploma or whatever. And what if the show got canceled by the network? Would that leave her in limbo or something?

[selkie]

22 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

 Bonus points if said town is on the East Coast and the town history involves a revolutionary war battle or Washington once stopped there for a beer or something.  

I am reminded of the scene in Homicide:LOTS when the detectives who own the bar are told they need to get approval from some sort of Baltimore historic preservation committee before doing very necessary work on the building because Washington might have peed in the latrine there. 

[DoctorAtomic]

On 8/31/2019 at 10:06 PM, kiddo82 said:

Every small town has a town square with a gazebo and a locally owned and sourced market where everybody shops.  No chain stores.  They all have elaborate histories which the children will reenact every year on Founder's Day.  Bonus points if said town is on the East Coast and the town history involves a revolutionary war battle or Washington once stopped there for a beer or something.  And despite the fact that all we hear about is how small and close knit the town is, it has its own hospital, mall, newspaper, high school, university, independent league baseball team, Hell Mouth (okay, so that's just the one small town) etc.  There is also usually a chapel with a steeple that is some denomination of Christianity without ever really being specified.  And no one ever leaves said small town for work, school, or errands.  No one just happens to work in an office that's a twenty minute car ride or gets bused to a school outside the district.  (Rory Gilmore being the lone exception).  Every town has a town general practitioner and a town dentist that everybody goes to.  And of course a town jeweler so it's big gossip when the former high school quarterback who now works at the town's City Hall with the civil engineers and is still with his high school sweetheart (who is a teacher at the town grammar school.  She teaches second grade) is seen ring shopping there.  There's a town coffee spot, bar, or restaurant that no one ever deviates from and no one just goes to Wendy's or Subway or simply tries something different that's half an hour away.  It's not that far, people.  And every small town has a rival small town and they are both super insulated from each other.  Hell, when I go for a run, I probably pass over 3 or 4 different town borders but towns on TV exist in their own vacuum.  Maybe it's because I did grow up in a larger urban area and we did get bused to Catholic school so i had friends in high school from all over.  We were all literally coming from different places.  As I became an adult, it wasn't a big deal to me to commute to work, doctor's appointments, social gatherings, etc.  I have a friend however, who is married to her high school sweetheart and who lives and works in the same exact place she grew up in.  I know this isn't crazy uncommon but what really makes me laugh is when I am in her neck of the woods with her we run into people she knows all the time.  It's apparently not just her and her husband that never left, it's ALL of them.

That is actually close to my town. And it's New England to boot. We had HS graduation in the town gazebo right across from the steeple. We didn't have founder's day but did have parades on Memorial Day and Veterans Day where I had to play taps in front of the whole town.

[Shannon L.]

Not everyone who doesn't have a big Thanksgiving dinner or doesn't decorate like crazy for Christmas (and doesn't really enjoy what little they do) is lonely, sad or depressed.  Some of us just hate the all the fuss and extra time that goes into it. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Kids always create a volcano for a science fair.  They overfill the volcano and it explodes all over the place.  Hilarity ensues.  They often win the science fair with their volcano. And all they have is the papier mache volcano; there is no exhibit that goes with it explaining how volcanos are formed, etc. 

[DoctorAtomic]

36 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

Not everyone who doesn't have a big Thanksgiving dinner or doesn't decorate like crazy for Christmas (and doesn't really enjoy what little they do) is lonely, sad or depressed.  Some of us just hate the all the fuss and extra time that goes into it. 

People feel bad for me because I'm alone on Thanksgiving. I make turkey tacos, play video games, drink, watch football, and hang out with my pets. Not seeing any problem here. 

[jenniferhartwell]

A number of shows written by 40+ aged writers but supposedly set in modern times have kids fiddling with short-wave radio sets, even though it's not 1989 and there is no Radio Berlin International from the GDR.

[Homily]

41 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

Not everyone who doesn't have a big Thanksgiving dinner or doesn't decorate like crazy for Christmas (and doesn't really enjoy what little they do) is lonely, sad or depressed.  Some of us just hate the all the fuss and extra time that goes into it. 

To add to this, a lot of us who enjoy Christmas are not whipping up the decorations in time for American thanksgiving!  Not having your house Christmas ready in November doesn't make you a Scrooge!