How Much Realism To Include

[Comentarista82]

Coke tried to copy it with Mr. Pibb, but that's about as close as you'll get with other 'cokes'

Yes, although Mr Pibb is tons sweeter compared to Dr pepper. I know this because when I was a boy from about 8 to 12, I tried about every soda on the market at the time, and if I was going to have something that tasted like a Dr pepper, I just drank Dr Pepper because Mr Pibb was kind of hard to choke down with that much extra sugar. Now, if somebody really wants to have one of the best root beers bottled that you can find, look for F r o s t i e root beer, get it really cold and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Yes, although Mr Pibb is tons sweeter compared to Dr pepper. I know this because when I was a boy from about 8 to 12, I tried about every soda on the market at the time, and if I was going to have something that tasted like a Dr pepper, I just drank Dr Pepper because Mr Pibb was kind of hard to choke down with that much extra sugar. Now, if somebody really wants to have one of the best root beers bottled that you can find, look for F r o s t i e root beer, get it really cold and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

Love Frostie Root beer.

 

[MrPixel]

Now, if somebody really wants to have one of the best root beers bottled that you can find, look for F r o s t i e root beer,

I've seen it around and I really like root beer, but what's the sweetener? I have an unpleasant reaction to HFCS.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I've seen it around and I really like root beer, but what's the sweetener? I have an unpleasant reaction to HFCS.

CARBONATED WATER, PURE CANE SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, SODIUM BENZOATE (A PRESERVATIVE), CITRIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS

 

[MrPixel]

Grocery store errand tonight! I'll put it at the top of the list!

 

[alohadave]

On the other hand, if you know the layout of San Francisco, the route was impossible. They spliced together scenes from locations that were miles apart. It was completely unrealistic from a geography standpoint, and no one cares.

That's very common. If you watch the Spenser movie on Netflix, it makes zero sense how they drive (to the point where in one scene, the character is driving in one direction on a freeway, and it cuts to driving the opposite direction on the same section of freeway).

Only locals will notice things like that though.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

That's very common. If you watch the Spenser movie on Netflix, it makes zero sense how they drive (to the point where in one scene, the character is driving in one direction on a freeway, and it cuts to driving the opposite direction on the same section of freeway).

Only locals will notice things like that though.

I know, and that's my point. You can waste HOURS "striving for realism" and 99.9% of your audience won't know or care. Most of us balance the hours we spend writing against dozens of other things that command our attention. Is it worth it to spend the time on that level or realism, or are we better served spending that time on something else?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Yes, although Mr Pibb is tons sweeter compared to Dr pepper. I know this because when I was a boy from about 8 to 12, I tried about every soda on the market at the time, and if I was going to have something that tasted like a Dr pepper, I just drank Dr Pepper because Mr Pibb was kind of hard to choke down with that much extra sugar. Now, if somebody really wants to have one of the best root beers bottled that you can find, look for F r o s t i e root beer, get it really cold and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

Henry Weinhard's Rootbeer is AWESOME.
That is all.

 

[Comentarista82]

That's very common. If you watch the Spenser movie on Netflix, it makes zero sense how they drive (to the point where in one scene, the character is driving in one direction on a freeway, and it cuts to driving the opposite direction on the same section of freeway).

Only locals will notice things like that though.

I remember I used to love CSI Miami, and I loved some of the shots that I saw of what I assumed was largely downtown miami. Now I knew that the emerald green building that had the upside down parabola on it was definitely in downtown, and a couple of the other landmarks I knew for sure were.. although I was not from there. But I always thought it was weird that it seemed to be very similar scenes about them going across certain bridges, and I just started to wonder if something was really off. So I did some research, and was able to prove that unfortunately the police headquarters that was supposed to be in Miami was actually being filmed in Santa Barbara California! It was actually some kind of a bank that they used, and while it didn't kill my enthusiasm for the show, I did cancel the drive to Miami precisely because of that reason.

I would just say that if somebody does decide to set a piece in a certain city, that while you don't have to live there to make it come off as feeling real, you can use Google to do some searches in 5 to 7 minutes that include perhaps important landmarks or a couple of eateries and you basically provided enough for people to hang their hats on that probably somebody is not going to try to dig much further than that.

 

[MrPixel]

Henry Weinhard's Rootbeer is AWESOME.

Henry Weinhard's BEER is awesome! (My very first beer was HW's Private Reserve. I was hooked.)

But just try finding either outside of the PNW.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

That's very common. If you watch the Spenser movie on Netflix, it makes zero sense how they drive (to the point where in one scene, the character is driving in one direction on a freeway, and it cuts to driving the opposite direction on the same section of freeway).

Only locals will notice things like that though.

It's a common trope by directors: you know you're definitely in London now because Our Protagonist has driven past Big Ben, St Paul's, a random Tube station, the Eye, Tower Bridge, and a trio of red double-decker buses and a black cab, in an aesthetically-pleasing order that bears no relation to geography.

The audience should recognise at least a couple of the images and get the hint. In NYC you get yellow cabs, Central Park, a brownstone, the Chrysler and Empire State buildings and that famous Manhattan skyline. In SF it'll be the Golden Gate Bridge, a streetcar, that steep zig-zag road and Pier 39. Visual shorthand.

And hilarious for locals. UK TV tends to strive for slightly more realism, so streets 'near' the set will be often roughly in the right area, but films take a lot of liberties. There's the line in Love, Actually where the PM orders a cabbie, "Take me to Wandsworth! The dodgy end!" Sounds of approval from the audience as they went down some plausible streets and crossed the river, followed by a packed auditorium (Friday night, in Wandsworth) yelling in unison, "That's not the dodgy end!" as he stopped in a 'premier residential street'...

 

[alohadave]

So I did some research, and was able to prove that unfortunately the police headquarters that was supposed to be in Miami was actually being filmed in Santa Barbara California!

Lots of TV is filmed in Vancouver BC, so you see exteriors locations from there a lot.

Psych was set in Santa Barbara, and in one episode, they did an exterior scene in an old growth rain forest, of which Santa Barbara being in the middle of a desert, has none of.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

If you ever watched The Glades, it was a fun show, but their knowledge of Florida geography was laughable. A case would have them visiting Kennedy Space center then be in Tampa an hour later.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I've absolutely heard this conversation in Texas:
Can you grab me a Coke?
Sure, what kind?
Pepsi.
Got it.

Then you have Illinois, and Indiana where you get a "Pop".

At least Pepsi is a cola, although not a good one.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

At least Pepsi is a cola, although not a good one.

Yeah, my response to "At least Pepsi is a cola" would be "Barely."

 

[M_K_Babalon]

How much to include, just depends. Does a thing call for it, how specific is it?