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Original poster

Realities that don't exist in TV land

306 replies

QueSyrahSyrah · 16/04/2023 08:12

Inspired by the ongoing curtains thread, what realities of the world do you consistently see ignored in TV and Film?

I'll start; Car Insurance. We've been watching a show recently where the characters are forever borrowing or swapping cars with family and friends. Vanishingly unlikely that everyone has open all-driver insurance (unless that's a more common thing in America maybe?).

OP posts:
Kanaloa · 16/04/2023 09:11

GobbieMaggie · 16/04/2023 09:03

If you hit somebody over the head hard enough to render them unconscious then you will have almost certainly inflicted a serious , probably fatal , head injury. Few will recover, shake their head and complain of a head ache without the attention of some highly qualified and experienced medical professionals.

Also just one punch can cause extensive facial injury that will require expert medical and dental treatment. It can also cause blindness , permanent scarring and even a fatal blood clot.

Also bone fractures don’t always heal properly. I’ve treated amputees that were the result of that.

In the same vein, CPR doesn’t really involve pushing someone’s chest a few times and then they cough a bit/spit up some water and sit up talking as good as new.

PussBilledDuckyPlait · 16/04/2023 09:15

gogohmm · 16/04/2023 08:55

Wearing bras in bed! Who does that?

Me, and others with enormous, flappy boobs that would otherwise keep getting caught under their arms.

I'm suspecting the women you see on TV don't have those kind of boobs, though.

Dropzonefourpleaseben · 16/04/2023 09:15

Characters waking up one day feeling unwell and trotting off to see the doctor half an hour later. The test results will be ready tomorrow. Treatment starts next week. All clear (or not) in a fortnight.

ComeOnThenFanny · 16/04/2023 09:15

LunaNorth · 16/04/2023 08:58

Having sex standing up with no difficulty whatsoever.

No, ‘Just hitch up a bit there…hang on…up a bit…no…THAT’S NOT MY FANNY…oh fuck it, let’s get into bed…’

😂😂 so true

reesewithoutaspoon · 16/04/2023 09:17

Sex in the shower. One of you ends up freezing and as Sarah Millican said, after a while its goes from sexy to just washing.

Charlottewebsbabies · 16/04/2023 09:19

We where talking about this the other day

Couple (say) have one child

For whatever reason,the programme ends (say friends)

If they ever did a follow on show,Monica and chandler would have the twins,Ross and Rachel would only have emma and Susan and Carol would never have used a sperm doner and had another baby

Or only fools and horses-raquel and Derek don't want another-thats made clear due to a lack of space and money but if they ever did a follow on,rodney and cassandra will only ever have joan-no more babies for them!

But in real life,all these couples most likely would have gone on to have at least one more baby-maybe more than one

Does nobody in TV land have anymore babies that didn't appear in the show when it was being shown on TV?

And don't get me started on every birth wherever starts having contractions,waters break,somewhere inconvenient-never while just sitting on the sofa,she's sat on her arse and out pops the baby

All in the space of ten minutes

icanneverthinkofnc · 16/04/2023 09:19

GobbieMaggie · 16/04/2023 09:03

If you hit somebody over the head hard enough to render them unconscious then you will have almost certainly inflicted a serious , probably fatal , head injury. Few will recover, shake their head and complain of a head ache without the attention of some highly qualified and experienced medical professionals.

Also just one punch can cause extensive facial injury that will require expert medical and dental treatment. It can also cause blindness , permanent scarring and even a fatal blood clot.

Also bone fractures don’t always heal properly. I’ve treated amputees that were the result of that.

Cobra Kai 🤣

Whataretheodds · 16/04/2023 09:20

gogohmm · 16/04/2023 08:55

Wearing bras in bed! Who does that?

Me

Newnamenewname109870 · 16/04/2023 09:20

Babies sleep by themselves and are always napping. If it’s a show about kids then they sleeptrain and it works. And they have to deal with ‘crying’ for half an hour, not like 5 hours straight. Anything to do with kids really. People get pregnant immediately.

BuddyandTinsel · 16/04/2023 09:22

Cakencookieobsessed · 16/04/2023 08:31

They never pay for drinks at the bar. And they never need childcare. If there's a storyline not including their child, the child just won't exist for a while.

In the 80s Tracy Barlow seemed to spend years "upstairs listening to records" 😂

PussBilledDuckyPlait · 16/04/2023 09:22

Or only fools and horses-raquel and Derek don't want another-thats made clear due to a lack of space and money but if they ever did a follow on,rodney and cassandra will only ever have joan-no more babies for them!

Rodney and Cassandra struggled to conceive - Rodney was getting worn out trying to keep up with the timetable of having sex in Cassandra's fertile windows - so it wouldn't be that surprising if they didn't have another child.

icanneverthinkofnc · 16/04/2023 09:24

Oh, and talking of Cobra kai, becoming a black belt standard in 6 weeks. Even the least coordinated character learns in time for the tournament or crucial fight.
A credible black belt takes 7 years plus. there are a lot of 'mc'd' clubs that say 3 years'

notprincehamlet · 16/04/2023 09:24

Someone working part time in the corner shop gets a mortgage to buy a zone 2 flat. Someone decides to 'move away' and five minutes later they're getting into a taxi with a single suitcase, no plan, no money ... and they haven't even read the meters or emptied the bins! And no one ever gets hiccups!

Kanaloa · 16/04/2023 09:24

I suppose Gavin & Stacey would be a bit of an outlier there. When we go back for the follow up Smithy and Nessa still only have Neil the baby, but Gavin and Stacey have children we didn’t see conceived in the show! I can’t think of any others off the top of my head though.

Schnooze · 16/04/2023 09:25

Carrying supposedly heavy suitcases with no difficulty whatsoever. Obviously an empty suitcase.

aftersunandlays · 16/04/2023 09:27

When there is a family argument it's guaranteed one of them (usually a teen) will slam down their fork and storm off, closely followed by the sound of a bedroom door slamming. In real life I don't think anyone in my family would leave their food for the sake of a dramatic exit and if they did, they would have been dragged back to take their plate to the kitchen.

Kanaloa · 16/04/2023 09:27

icanneverthinkofnc · 16/04/2023 09:24

Oh, and talking of Cobra kai, becoming a black belt standard in 6 weeks. Even the least coordinated character learns in time for the tournament or crucial fight.
A credible black belt takes 7 years plus. there are a lot of 'mc'd' clubs that say 3 years'

In the original Karate Kid he steals the black belt from someone’s bag. I always imagine Cobra Kai was something similar. We never see them examined for belts, do we? And they go straight from white to black, no other colours in between!

Although if we’re starting on Cobra Kai… I mean at one point Hawk removes a motorbike helmet and his hair is somehow entirely intact in huge spikes. And Miguel is a finalist in a huge karate competition about two months after he got out of a wheelchair with a broken spine.

bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza · 16/04/2023 09:27

The L shape bedding after they have had adult fun and cuddling woman is completely under and man has it at the waist.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 16/04/2023 09:28

Has anyone in Star Trek or Star Wars ever had to go to the loo?

Cinpple · 16/04/2023 09:29

No one ever needs to worry about walking their dog, letting it out for a pee etc. In After Life Ricky Gervais has the most convenient dog ever who is happy to be left alone the whole time he's at work, plus I think sometimes he's late back or goes to therapy in the way? Poor thing must be alone for 10 hours at a time!

icanneverthinkofnc · 16/04/2023 09:33

Kanaloa · 16/04/2023 09:27

In the original Karate Kid he steals the black belt from someone’s bag. I always imagine Cobra Kai was something similar. We never see them examined for belts, do we? And they go straight from white to black, no other colours in between!

Although if we’re starting on Cobra Kai… I mean at one point Hawk removes a motorbike helmet and his hair is somehow entirely intact in huge spikes. And Miguel is a finalist in a huge karate competition about two months after he got out of a wheelchair with a broken spine.

Show quote history

In the original, Mr Migagi says in Okinawa belts are to hold up trousers , they nick the belt to get in the competition. Daniel has done some karate before, but gets to black belt standard in less than 2 months..Oct-Dec..

In Cobra Kai, total beginners apart from Demetri are there in less than a few months. Devon wears a black belt at the competition, having trained for 6 weeks..

Fuck me, I've just re-read that I'm a karate kid/ cobra kai nerd! 😂🥋

Grimeduster · 16/04/2023 09:34

LunaNorth · 16/04/2023 08:36

The onset of labour.

Women go from going about their business to crowning in thirty seconds flat, screaming all the while.

No ‘is this it?’ niggles in TV land!

The labour scene in The Last of Us was hilarious. The women was in active labour, paused to quickly fight a monster, then looked down to find a 3 month old baby had popped out of her without her knowledge! Landed perfectly on its back with the cord arranged neatly.

MrsSkylerWhite · 16/04/2023 09:35

People like DI Frost chase fit, young perpetrators for miles without stopping for breath 😁

notprincehamlet · 16/04/2023 09:36

Has anyone in Star Trek or Star Wars ever had to go to the loo?
Does the Starship Enterprise even have toilets??

BuddyandTinsel · 16/04/2023 09:37

Apocalyptic TV series like the walking dead and the last of us.

I can't be the only one that thinks most people wouldn't keep going on for years after everything went to shit.

"Right guys, there's possibly some food we can scavenge if we walk for days starving and dehydrated while fighting off flesh eating entities. Again"

Maybe I'm just lazy and defeatist but I'd be like "you go, I'll just die here. Everything's been fucking shit for long enough".