Do sitcom writers do any research whatsoever?
05-29-03, 02:58 PM
#1
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Do sitcom writers do any research whatsoever?
So I'm watching Coach (don't ask why... I was just flipping channels) and caught it in the middle. Apparently, Hayden is getting married to that curly haired girl and he buys a house behind her back and then changes his mind when he realizes that she wouldn't want that. The real estate agent tells him he can't get his deposit back because deposits are non-refundable... WRONG. Then he says "what if I just sell it to someone else?" She says that it is a hard house to see because it was a 'Murder House' - as in people were murdered there. Hayden freaks out... "Why didn't you tell me?" The real estate agent says "nobody wanted it when I said it was a murder house, so I stopped telling people" - that's completely illegal for a real estate agent to lie about a property. Real Estate agents are bound by full disclosure... if the keep anything from the buyer - like the pipes rattle a bit when you use the kitchen sink or the toilet runs or whatever - it could void the contract. That's why there's an escrow period - so the buyer can have an inspection done on the home.
Then when asked why she lied, the real estate agent said "well, because nobody was going to buy a murder house and I'm trying to win a trip." Win a trip? A house with a $7000 deposit is gonna be more expensive than something a real estate agent trying to win a trip is going to be selling. Fools. This is why I don't watch much TV.
Then when asked why she lied, the real estate agent said "well, because nobody was going to buy a murder house and I'm trying to win a trip." Win a trip? A house with a $7000 deposit is gonna be more expensive than something a real estate agent trying to win a trip is going to be selling. Fools. This is why I don't watch much TV.
05-29-03, 03:48 PM
#4
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You mean there's TV that's not based in reality? That Matlock and Perry Mason could have never won all those cases?
Say it ain't so das... say it ain't so.
Say it ain't so das... say it ain't so.
05-29-03, 04:33 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Yeah, it seems like television is the only media that contains any stupidity...
I saw Armeggedon the other day and they actually had oil drillers becoming astronauts in order to blow up an asteroid. Fools. That's why I don't watch movies...
I saw Armeggedon the other day and they actually had oil drillers becoming astronauts in order to blow up an asteroid. Fools. That's why I don't watch movies...
Last edited by slop101; 05-29-03 at 04:39 PM.
05-29-03, 04:45 PM
#7
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Thankfully we have video games: the ONLY media to reflect real life. For example, it's a well known fact that you can run over hundreds of pedestrians, shoot down cops, and blow up ambulances...and the only thing it takes to erase your criminal record is driving through a floating badge in an alleyway.
05-29-03, 09:56 PM
#9
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If Jack Bauer can survive a crashlanding, be tortured and shot and still be able to save the day, why the hell is this Coach guy whining? He should take a cue from Bauer's playbook and just suck it up while shooting wildly at the real estate agent.
05-29-03, 11:52 PM
#10
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally posted by Pac-Rat
You mean there's TV that's not based in reality? That Matlock and Perry Mason could have never won all those cases?
Say it ain't so das... say it ain't so.
You mean there's TV that's not based in reality? That Matlock and Perry Mason could have never won all those cases?
Say it ain't so das... say it ain't so.
05-30-03, 10:04 AM
#12
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by k_lodge
Probably the same real estate agent who sold him his first house with Jo Beth Wiliams...on an Indian Burial Ground.
Probably the same real estate agent who sold him his first house with Jo Beth Wiliams...on an Indian Burial Ground.
"But you didn't move the bodies, did you? YOU. DIDN'T. MOVE. THE. BODIES!"
05-30-03, 03:13 PM
#13
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Thread Starter
Originally posted by k_lodge
Probably the same real estate agent who sold him his first house with Jo Beth Wiliams...on an Indian Burial Ground.
Probably the same real estate agent who sold him his first house with Jo Beth Wiliams...on an Indian Burial Ground.
good call. maybe my beef isn't with sitcom writers...
05-30-03, 05:00 PM
#14
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Re: Do sitcom writers do any research whatsoever?
Originally posted by Trigger
This is why I don't watch much TV.
This is why I don't watch much TV.
IIRC she ended up giving Ned Flanders back his $10,000 deposit after the place was trashed by Homer and Chief Wiggum's cars.
D'oh!
05-30-03, 10:55 PM
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Re: Re: Do sitcom writers do any research whatsoever?
Originally posted by benedict
And don't forget that Simpson's ep where Marge was a realtor and had to sell a murder house.
IIRC she ended up giving Ned Flanders back his $10,000 deposit after the place was trashed by Homer and Chief Wiggum's cars.
D'oh!
And don't forget that Simpson's ep where Marge was a realtor and had to sell a murder house.
IIRC she ended up giving Ned Flanders back his $10,000 deposit after the place was trashed by Homer and Chief Wiggum's cars.
D'oh!
"I'd call it rustic"
"That house is on fire!"
"Motivated Seller"
06-01-03, 02:37 AM
#17
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Believe it or not, sometimes things that happen in film and/or television might NOT be able to happen in the real world. I know, it's hard to understand, but when you are a little older you'll know what the grown ups mean.
