What things do you see all the time on TV or in Films?

[Whining Civvy]

Sooooo, in 2 or 300 years time space ships will have warp drive and all sorts of fancy gizmos and the weaponry, computer power and the detectors and sensors that go with it will be so much further advanced than what we have now (unless you’re a conspiraloon who believes ‘they’ have an alien space ship hidden in a secret base) which is radar and missiles which allows stand off and shooting at the enemy many miles away.

And yet the protagonists Star Wars and Star Trek and similar films need to throw their fighter spacecraft around zapping each other in almost visual range as if they’re in a WW1 dogfight.

Unless of course the weapons and sensor race will have effectively cancelled each other out and they have to resort to Battle of Britain tactics.

You aren't the only one to have noticed that. I always did wonder why the Star Wars pilots didn't just attack from the rear of those star destroyers and fire into the large, undefended, glowing engine exhausts. Or aim at the knee of those walking dog things. Or why the defenders on the ice planet put their base on a nice, flat arctic plain ideally suited to the Empire's attacking forces instead of, for example, literally any other type of terrain. The goodies monumental incompetence is matched only by that of the baddies.

 

[CaptainRidiculous]

Sooooo, in 2 or 300 years time space ships will have warp drive and all sorts of fancy gizmos and the weaponry, computer power and the detectors and sensors that go with it will be so much further advanced than what we have now (unless you’re a conspiraloon who believes ‘they’ have an alien space ship hidden in a secret base) which is radar and missiles which allows stand off and shooting at the enemy many miles away.

And yet the protagonists Star Wars and Star Trek and similar films need to throw their fighter spacecraft around zapping each other in almost visual range as if they’re in a WW1 dogfight.

Unless of course the weapons and sensor race will have effectively cancelled each other out and they have to resort to Battle of Britain tactics.

Probably because all the major space battles are modelled on twelve o'clock high, Dambusters, six three three, BoB etc.
Some interesting mash ups on Youtube

 

[theinventor]

In sci-fi movies sound apparently travels through a vacuum.

Whoooooooomm. Pew pew.

ISTR in Earthlight (Arthur C Clarke) there's some unpleasantness on the Moon involving parties lobbing nukes at each other. It's remarked that the whole battle is remarkably quiet and, with no atmosphere to convey the blast, the weapons are somewhat ineffective.
I'm guessing that doesn't make good cinema.

 

[syrup]

You aren't the only one to have noticed that. I always did wonder why the Star Wars pilots didn't just attack from the rear of those star destroyers and fire into the large, undefended, glowing engine exhausts. Or aim at the knee of those walking dog things. Or why the defenders on the ice planet put their base on a nice, flat arctic plain ideally suited to the Empire's attacking forces instead of, for example, literally any other type of terrain. The goodies monumental incompetence is matched only by that of the baddies.

When you've travelled 80 light years into deep space and find the Logistics guys have left the heat seeking missiles at home?
You can build a death star but equip your troops with old German Machine guns and a dodgy British SMG

 

[Zemlyak]

You aren't the only one to have noticed that. I always did wonder why the Star Wars pilots didn't just attack from the rear of those star destroyers and fire into the large, undefended, glowing engine exhausts. Or aim at the knee of those walking dog things. Or why the defenders on the ice planet put their base on a nice, flat arctic plain ideally suited to the Empire's attacking forces instead of, for example, literally any other type of terrain. The goodies monumental incompetence is matched only by that of the baddies.

Probably because all the major space battles are modelled on twelve o'clock high, Dambusters, six three three, BoB etc.
Some interesting mash ups on Youtube

‘Why the flip don’t they just do xxxxxx ?’ When we watch these films will always be with us. We can see the faults and we more or less know it’s done for dramatic effect and making a story. Whether it works depends on whether you ‘buy into’ the film and suspend disbelief. And enjoy the film for what it is.

StarTrek was on last Saturday as a double bill and whilst they’re well made after a few minutes of the first one had to give up. I just couldn’t be bothered. In addition to ‘why the flip don’t they just do. Xxxx?’ That kept popping up in my head, that the supposedly trained crew in a uniformed service with a rank structure seem to act like they’ve joined a debating society started to grate.

 

[Nimbus]

Strangely, in such close combat, the energy-weapon beams usually miss, or cause so little damage that only the cockpit fills with smoke, enabling the pilot time to view the photograph of, and send love to his Mrs by Interstellar TightBeam, before dying horribly, if quickly. I feel that more work needs to be done on target acquisition.

As there’s nothing in space to stop them, energy beams from such weapons will continue to travel across the universe until some random alien minding his own business cops it....

Edit: there’s no need to get close to the bad guys, just stand well back and aim off a couple of light years.

 

[syrup]

As there’s nothing in space to stop them, energy beams from such weapons will continue to travel across the universe until some random alien minding his own business cops it....

The space equivalent of THAT Rifle.
Misses a target on the 25 meter range at Aldershot, Alderon 3 mysteriously explodes 7 hours later
It's all starting to make sense now..........

 

[Cromarty]

‘Why the flip don’t they just do xxxxxx ?’ When we watch these films will always be with us. We can see the faults and we more or less know it’s done for dramatic effect and making a story. Whether it works depends on whether you ‘buy into’ the film and suspend disbelief. And enjoy the film for what it is.

StarTrek was on last Saturday as a double bill and whilst they’re well made after a few minutes of the first one had to give up. I just couldn’t be bothered. In addition to ‘why the flip don’t they just do. Xxxx?’ That kept popping up in my head, that the supposedly trained crew in a uniformed service with a rank structure seem to act like they’ve joined a debating society started to grate.

With the Captain on the bridge other people issue critical orders at random. The helmsman just gets up to join an away team without a handover to the replacement.

 

[Zemlyak]

With the Captain on the bridge other people issue critical orders at random. The helmsman just gets up to join an away team without a handover to the replacement.

Yes, that kind of thing. And another plot device is it’s Captain Kirk who always seems to be on the shore party to a hazardous or unknown planet usually with Spock, Bones and other high rankers and indispensable crew members. The security always seem to get zapped though.

 

[A signaller]

Apart from everyone who feels the need to mention they are Italian or Irish. At least the Jews might actually be Jewish unlike the others who have never set foot in Italy or Ireland.

I'm Jewish ( non practicing) and have never set foot in Israel, and never ever announce the fact in mixed company, why would i........... I was born in England...i'm English,.............. my birth religion is of no consequence.

You are confusing religion with country's of origin, two different topics.

 

[NSP]

Wallander remake. Ken's questioning a ferry captain where someone sees a MoB incident but the muster reveals no-one missing. Captain says, "We followed standard procedure: cut engines, perform a Wilsons Turn, take a roll-call of the passengers and crew."

Erm... It's a Williamson Turn and if you cut the engines you can't perform one.

 

[Cromarty]

I'm Jewish ( non practicing) and have never set foot in Israel, and never ever announce the fact in mixed company, why would i........... I was born in England...i'm English,.............. my birth religion is of no consequence.

You are confusing religion with country's of origin, two different topics.

No I'm not. You were born in England and are English. Americans born in America aren't American, they are Irish, Italian or whatever. And most

I'm Jewish ( non practicing) and have never set foot in Israel, and never ever announce the fact in mixed company, why would i........... I was born in England...i'm English,.............. my birth religion is of no consequence.

You are confusing religion with country's of origin, two different topics.

And someones ethnicity is of consequence? An American who has never been to Ireland, Italy or wherever identifying as such is the same as someone claiming membership of a religion. Neither has anything to do with reality. There are plenty of US cop shows where they mention that they are catholic every second scene.

 

[CaptainRidiculous]

No I'm not. You were born in England and are English. Americans born in America aren't American, they are Irish, Italian or whatever.

Are you an Angle, a saxon, a Jute, a pict, a roman, Breton, Hugenot? Viking?
How far back does your twisted logic extend?

 

[Cromarty]

Are you an Angle, a saxon, a Jute, a pict, a roman, Breton, Hugenot? Viking?
How far back does your twisted logic extend?

It's not twisted logic. It was in response to someone claiming that American cops in TV/movies have to mention they are Jews. I likened that to every American cop in TV/movies has to mention they are Italian, Irish, etc. They also mention over and over they are catholic. Religion or ethnicity don't bother me.

Claiming you're Irish without ever going there or being unable to remember the last member of your family to be born there is ridiculous. As is believing in a made up deity.

If you wish to get bent up about it, carry on.

 

[kiwidoug]

"Achtung Spitfeur"
"Got in himmel these Englanders fight like madmen"

Ahh, the memories.....

Fixed FOC

 

[Stovepipe]

Wallander remake. Ken's questioning a ferry captain where someone sees a MoB incident but the muster reveals no-one missing. Captain says, "We followed standard procedure: cut engines, perform a Wilsons Turn, take a roll-call of the passengers and crew."

Erm... It's a Williamson Turn and if you cut the engines you can't perform one.

The aeronautical equivalent of a procedure turn.

 

[TAFKA]

Have a bit of an argument or a scuffle in your home and someone has a fall, hits their head and dies? Don't bother calling the police and explaining it was an accident, much better to dismember the corpse and dispose of the parts and evidence.

For the purposes of spoiler avoidance I'm not going to mention any BBC drama where they double down on this one.

 

[Joker62]

"Achtung Spitfeuer"
"Got in himmel these Englanders fight like madmen"

Ahh, the memories.....

Fixed FOC

And proper fixed!

 

[Snowy.]

In TV and Films.. well obviously too many black/brown/Asian people on screen which is disproportionate to the actual population..

 

[smartascarrots]

Too many ******* Polacks in the Battle of Britain RAF, way out of proportion to their actual numbers.