Everyone at one point or another watched a TV show (or a movie) and said: "That can only happen on TV!" We even have a saying in French to explain that something is so far-fetched that it can't be real. It roughly translates as "This is set up by the movie guy." The Have Happy Fun Time blog came up with the "Top 25 Things that Only Happen in Movies." But, as you'll see, that list also works for TV series.Here are some of my favorites from the list:
- It is always possible to find a parking spot directly outside or opposite the building you are visiting.
- All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red digital displays so you know exactly when they are going to explode.
- The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.
- Cars never need fuel (unless they're involved in a pursuit).
- If being chased through a city, you can usually take cover in a passing St. Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year.
- The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. Nobody will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to other parts of the building undetected.
When I watch TV series that feature cop chases, I'm always amazed at how people on the streets do not react (or rarely react) to what is happening. Also, characters can go days, if not months, without going to the bathroom! If you have other fun items to add to the list, comment below to share the fun!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-04-2008 @ 12:00PM
Galley said...
They actually did the ventilation system one on Mythbusters. Hint: thin sheet metal will not support your weight.
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2-05-2008 @ 12:22AM
Mike said...
More than half of these are from Roger Ebert and he should get credit. Plagiarism is plagiarism
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2-04-2008 @ 12:26PM
Boomstick said...
The streets are always wet in a car chase. Even if it's in the middle of a drought in Southern California.
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2-04-2008 @ 12:29PM
Lenny said...
This isn't much and I suppose it happens in the "real world" sometimes, but I've noticed that people on TV and in the movies never seem to say "goodbye" at the end of a phone call. Both parties seem to psychically know when the conversation is over and they hang up in a dramatic fashion.
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2-04-2008 @ 12:30PM
Boomstick said...
It's typically queued by the music. :P
2-04-2008 @ 5:02PM
bcarter3 said...
That only works in the 555 area code.
2-04-2008 @ 6:51PM
Seth said...
good point - also, a LOT of people answer their phones with 'yeah' or with their last name, when they don't even know who it is.
2-04-2008 @ 12:29PM
Boomstick said...
What's even worse than showing a full grown man crawling around in a ventilation system only designed to hold a couple pounds of weight at each connection point is when they climb into the space above the acoustical ceiling tiles and crawl around above a ceiling that was only designed to hold a couple of pounds at each connection point.
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2-04-2008 @ 12:33PM
kip said...
Shooting the locking mechanism on a door will either cause the door to be permanently open, or permanently locked.
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2-04-2008 @ 1:13PM
Paul said...
I'm sure quite a lot of things are due to timing - on a 22 minute sitcom you wouldn't want to waste precious comedy time on someone going to the John.
And other things are simple storytelling tricks - a cityscape is just a cityscape through a window but if you can see the Eiffel Tower then the viewer instantly knows it's Paris. And where's the tension if you don't know when the bomb will go off?
I'm not deriding the article per se, it's just a bit of a cliché. Which, ironically, is what the article is about.
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2-04-2008 @ 1:17PM
Mack Swift said...
A character, while running and holding a gun, will eject the spent clip, insert a loaded clip, and load the chamber; all perfectly and all without breaking the stride in their run.
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2-04-2008 @ 1:37PM
Magnetite2 said...
No one ever gets out of a car and locks it - even on the 'meanest' streets.
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2-04-2008 @ 2:15PM
Liz Lacy said...
Happy Fun Time Blog "borrowed" that list. It's been circulating on the internet in some form for a loooong time. Usually it's called "things I learned from the movies" or something like that.
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2-04-2008 @ 2:30PM
horsenbuggy said...
Two comments:
1. Stargate Atlantis recently did a nice twist on the bomb thing. When the station went haywire, the self-destruct mechanism was triggered but the crew had no idea how long the countdown was set for. That would have been a great tension-adding device if we didn't already know that TPTB would NEVER blow up Atlantis with all the crew in the city. (I guess their cred is kinda ruined, though, because one of the scientists, a small guy, climbed through the ventilation tubes to get to the power core to turn it off.)
2. There is a scene in the second Bridget Jones were Mark Darcy tells her that he's going to the loo and then he's coming back for them to have a conversation. I thought that was a really weird scene. It kinda took me out of the story. I thought, "Why is he announcing that he's going to the bathroom and *then* they're going to have a serious talk?" It turned out to be a plot device. While he's in the loo, another woman calls and leaves a message on his answering machine which Brig overhears. That call becomes a point of contention between the two characters. So, I guess characters only go to the bathroom when it advances the plot.
3. Most characters, no matter how poor, don't bother to get change from anyone - cabbies, hot dog vendors, at the coffee shop, etc. They almost always say, "Keep the change." All TV vendors/cabbies should make sure their total prices are 1 cent over the dollar to maximize their profits from these generous suckers.
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2-04-2008 @ 2:37PM
SpaceVenus said...
People on TV never change their clothes or remove shoes when entering homes. Does everyone sit on their bed in knee-high boots?
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2-04-2008 @ 2:57PM
annacsmith08 said...
Let's see... where to begin? First of all, the reason we don't see characters go to the bathroom - unless it's a key story point - is because it's NOT a key story point. If we saw every character go to the bathroom, the the show would be way longer than time allows. Same thing goes for getting fuel, and paying for cabs. We usually see characters exit the cab from the street anyway. Could it be possible that they paid while still in the car, yet we just did not see it? There's also another reason these things happen only in TV and movies - it's because it's more interesting than real life. It's not supposed to be real, just entertaining. No one wants to see people paying for cabs, taking bathroom breaks, and getting fuel unless it's important to the story being told. I mean, if I'm telling a story to someone, I never mention these things. And we see the Eiffel Tower so the viewers know the setting is Paris. And as far as that spaceship thing goes, that wouldn't happen anyway - why even put that on the list? In fact, why even have a list at all? This was dumb.
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2-04-2008 @ 3:02PM
GigG said...
Why do we never see Jack go to the bathroom on 24?
Because nothing escapes Jack Bauer.
2-04-2008 @ 4:55PM
Nathaniel said...
Whoa, calm down! Yes, we all realize why TV works this way. This list points these things out blatantly for humorous effect!
2-04-2008 @ 3:31PM
Suetu said...
(a) The dog never dies.
(b) In bedroom scenes, men have sheets that reach their waist, but women have L-shaped sheets that come up to their chests.
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2-04-2008 @ 8:37PM
Tribble said...
I love the sheet trick--and all the couple who go to bed in their underwear.
My husband notes that people on tv make dates for "later" without ever specifying the logistics. I suppose the ESP works for that, too, like it does for people hanging up the phone with no goodbyes. Out here in viewerland, we have to go through the "by the west door at 8" "or would 8:30 be better for you?" routine.