6 Dumb Things TV Characters Do

I love watching TV. Really! And, yes, I certainly understand that this is fiction, and there are some things that happen for dramatic reasons, or to move the plot along, or whatever. However, frequently the characters do things that are so very dumb, that, well, their actions can become the target of satire and snark in other shows!

I have made a list of what I consider to be the dumbest moves made by characters on TV. A couple of them overlap a little, but I made them separate categories because I felt they were different enough to warrant their own section.

I enjoy watching crime shows, including the ones that take a more humorous track in their concept and storytelling. While in general the more serious crime procedurals do not fall into this category, the others do.

For instance, I love Psych, but let’s face it; they frequently find themselves actually pursuing dangerous criminal types, without having any training. And, they certainly do not carry weapons, except for the occasional bat, golf club, or catcher’s mitt. Shawn is very good at talking his way out of a sticky situation, and Gus and Shawn are both very fast runners and good at evading bullets, but at some point, their luck has to run out.

Another good example is the new series, The Finder. Walter does not carry a weapon, although in some instances he is a weapon, and the same is true of his colleague, Leo. And yet, despite that, they seem to end up in pursuit of dangerous criminals that carry not only weapons, but are not the least bit hesitant to use them.

Imagine this scenario: the bomb will explode in one minute, and yet the hero or heroine takes 30 seconds to have a prolonged smooch or lingering gazes with their love interest. If the bomb is truly that close to exploding, or the end of the world is that close, or whatever the imminent threat is, does the kiss really matter? Either they both live or both die, and there is plenty of time for kissing after the world is saved. or they are both dead and it is irrelevant. My point is, urgency is urgent.

We saw this often in Chuck, once Sarah and Chuck finally declared their love for each other, and it has also occurred in Fringe with Peter and Olivia.

How many times have we seen romances that are supposed to be secret exposed because the couple cannot wait to find a private place to kiss? I guess they are supposed to be so caught up in the moment that they cannot think clearly, but really?

This happened recently on Once Upon a Time. Mary Margaret and David ended up kissing on a sidewalk, in plain sight of anyone who happened to come by, and gee, look at that, the Mayor was in the neighborhood! She sure gets around. Yes, I know this was necessary to move the plot forward, but it would have been more believable if perhaps they were in a more secluded location and the Mayor still saw them.

This happens on crime and non-crime shows alike. Someone is being pursued or threatened, for whatever reason. The hero takes them to a room, and tells them to not leave, under any circumstances, and then leaves to find the bad guys. Lo and behold, a strange noise, or something unusual happens, and the person told not to leave is out of there! We all know how this ends, right?

I can think of several instances of this on Supernatural. The person is left in a circle of salt, and told not to leave the circle, or in a room with the windows and doors protected by salt. Panic, leave, repeat. Oh, yeah, forgot to add, gruesome death.

This is actually a corollary to the previous one. A person is left in a room and told to not open the door for anyone. There’s a knock on the door, and bad things ensue.

For instance, this happened on NCIS, when Tim was helping protect Abby and had to go to his car to retrieve a toothbrush. He told her to not open the door, forgot his car keys so knocked, she opened the door, he reprimanding her when she did open it, then a short while later there is another knock, she again opens the door, and it’s the guy who was threatening her.

Hero types use this diversion all the time. The troops of the evil characters are guarding their hideout, technology, warehouse, hostage, etc. Suddenly there is an explosion. Panic ensues, and the troops invariably run toward the source of the explosion. Always! Of course, this means the captive hero is able to escape, or the facility is infiltrated, and whatever was being guarded is taken. Good for the heroes, bad for the villains!

There was actually a humorous exchange between the two geniuses of the Stargate franchise, Rodney and Daniel, regarding this tactic.

Rodney: Okay, uh – the, uh, power relay station – we create a massive explosion.
Daniel: I never got how that made a good diversion.
Rodney: What?
Daniel: You want to clear the device control room of bad guys, right?
Rodney: Yes.
Daniel: So, why would you assume that if there’s a massive explosion people would go running towards it?
Rodney: Well, I would.
Daniel: I rest my case.
Rodney: Oh, I’m sorry! You know, I’m a good person. I would want to save people from the fire, maybe figure out what was going on?
Daniel: Well I, au contraire, would order more guards to protect the one room I thought the person blowing things up probably wants to get to.
Rodney: Explosion diversions are the very cornerstone of diversions!

So there they are, my 6 favorite dumb things characters do! What do you think of them? Do you have any to add to this list? Please let me know in the comment section below!