10 cliché, unrealistic, mundane TV-character habits
By Kenny Herzog
Special to MSN TV
We all know and cherish the timeless slogan "It's not TV. It's HBO." And
while that might be an accurate boast, it still doesn't mean HBO is real life.
Unless, a la her "Sex and the City" alter ... more
ego Carrie Bradshaw, Candace Bushnell made an actual habit of keeping underwear
on during intimate relations. But that familiar discrepancy is just one example
of art on the small screen not quite reflecting everyday human behavior.
It's long been accepted that television protagonists and villains find
themselves doing unimaginable things amid implausible circumstances. How else
could we have, say, "The Six Million Dollar Man" or, for that matter, "Revenge"? But in ways
that recently appointed best sitcom ever "Seinfeld" could probably appreciate,
it's the mundane details of interpersonal encounters and personal habits that so
often get misrepresented on scripted series. Perhaps that's why we've turned so
dedicatedly toward reality, although most of us would concur that "Real
Housewives" and "The Real World" have long since failed to portray the
ordinariness of common people. Which is why we'd like to put the onus back on
network screenwriters to not only stretch the limits of their imagination, but
stay attuned to the finer points that connect us in one way or other to who we
see on TV. To that end, below are 10 cliché things that otherwise grounded
television characters do and say that make us feel like they're from another
planet.
Bing: 'Revenge' | Watch clips and more
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"Revenge" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
(ABC)
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