Implausible medical storylines in TV shows

DownSouth · 26 Sep 2014

Paul Sidorczuk said:
I am told that in the "Emmerdale" TV series, a woman in her 30's was stuck on the side of her head with a hammer that had been wielded with great force by someone turning to face her and that she seemed totally prone. Later scenes showed a wide blood smear where she had been dragged along the floor before being locked in the boot of a car. When the boot was subsequently opened, the woman then was not only able to strike her attacker, run away at speed in a straight line and later to speak in a normal tone with the normal speech pattern unimpaired.

Is it possible for such an attack as described to have no seemingly side effects to the brain that would allow a woman to run as described and then to engage in normal conversation ? I know that there are forum members with certain medical knowledge and I suppose that the script writers would surely have consulted medical consultants to the programme to check on such matters.

I have two words to say on the plausibility of this: Michael Schumacher.

She might not be so fine a little further (anywhere from 2-30 hours later) down the track though. Indeed, one thing that medics do whenever there is a suspected head injury is not let the person go to sleep until they've been properly diagnosed or cleared purely because an awake person is far easier to observe.

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GarethJohn · 28 Sep 2014

Why can one Bullet kill a Copper/Soldier dressed head to toe in body armour , yet hundreds fired by expert marksmen only scratch the main character and even when the enter the body can be pulled out with a knife without leaving any injuries?

Implausible stories and have been around ever since humans had the ability to tell them and what makes them worth watching.

Johnuk123 · 28 Sep 2014

If every tv programme or film was forensically accurate nobody would be interested, and by and large they would be boring.

People want excitement and escapism.

Greenback · 28 Sep 2014

Yes, that's a large element of what drama is. The difficulty, if there is one, is making sure that the audience is happy to suspend their disbelief without their bubble being burst by something that is just too ridiculous to be true.

I suppose that's where science fiction comes in...but as most TV drama is based around communities, hospitals and crime, I'll avoid going into that area!

12CSVT · 29 Sep 2014

ralphchadkirk said:
Really? After a particular misleading organ donation storyline in Holby City, a number of people asked to be removed from the donation register. NHSBT complained to the BBC about it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23575817

This wouldn't have exactly encouraged people to be organ donors.
WARNING : contains lots of (fake) blood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o

Xenophon PCDGS · 29 Sep 2014

GarethJohn said:
Implausible stories and have been around ever since humans had the ability to tell them and what makes them worth watching.

One would hope that as time went by, the human brain would have evolved to make such implausible story lines less plausible......then "Big Brother", "The Jeremy Kyle Show" and other such dumbed-down trivialities were foisted upon the viewing public by those broadcasting organisations who see there is much to be gained by this gambit.

GarethJohn · 29 Sep 2014

Paul Sidorczuk said:
One would hope that as time went by, the human brain would have evolved to make such implausible story lines less plausible......then "Big Brother", "The Jeremy Kyle Show" and other such dumbed-down trivialities were foisted upon the viewing public by those broadcasting organisations who see there is much to be gained by this gambit.

What on earth are you on about? What has Big Brother got to do with Medical story lines? Or is it just a rant about nothing in particular?

ExRes · 29 Sep 2014

GarethJohn said:
What on earth are you on about? What has Big Brother got to do with Medical story lines? Or is it just a rant about nothing in particular?

I think the poster may be making the point that TV programmes are made in a way that the viewer is considered to be so dumb and brainless that they will believe anything that's served up

Xenophon PCDGS · 29 Sep 2014

ExRes said:
I think the poster may be making the point that TV programmes are made in a way that the viewer is considered to be so dumb and brainless that they will believe anything that's served up

Well done for being mentally incisive enough in the understanding of the comparison that I had attempted to make, rather than rushing to answer without considering this particular matter.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

GarethJohn said:
What on earth are you on about? What has Big Brother got to do with Medical story lines? Or is it just a rant about nothing in particular?

I endeavoured to make a comparative reference to "dumbed down illogical trivialities" contained within storylines that cater for those of the televiewership fraternity without any relative degree of cognitive thinking ability, which appear to be offered up by those charged with broadcasting in their usual patronising manner. Unfortunately, that particular attitude is one that is being particularly abhorrent to my personal sensibilities.

If I have to make a "rant", to use your phraseology, I do so with a point that has been deeply and thoughtfully considered, which in this particular case is the matter so referred to in the paragraph above.

Xenophon PCDGS · 14 Oct 2014

Johnuk123 said:
If every tv programme or film was forensically accurate nobody would be interested, and by and large they would be boring.

People want excitement and escapism.

Well, not having seen the original "Emmerdale" programme that saw a woman in her late 30's make medical history by having seemingly no side effects from being struck a vicious heavy blow to the side of her head after a short period after the time of the attack, my son visited me last evening and his wife watched another episode of this programme which ended with the self-same woman being struck on the back of her head with what looked to be part of a thick tree bough and rendered unconscious again. Will a cup of "Yorkshire Tea" bring the unfortunate woman back to life again with no side effects? We will have to wait and see....

Butts · 14 Oct 2014

Paul Sidorczuk said:
Well, not having seen the original "Emmerdale" programme that saw a woman in her late 30's make medical history by having seemingly no side effects from being struck a vicious heavy blow to the side of her head after a short period after the time of the attack, my son visited me last evening and his wife watched another episode of this programme which ended with the self-same woman being struck on the back of her head with what looked to be part of a thick tree bough and rendered unconscious again. Will a cup of "Yorkshire Tea" bring the unfortunate woman back to life again with no side effects? We will have to wait and see....

I suspect you are a "closet Emmerdale fan" - I have been "out" for 30 years

Xenophon PCDGS · 15 Oct 2014

I will own up to watching the episode last night, purely out of seeing how the scriptwriters would approach the matter of a woman in her 30's who was first struck a very heavy blow with a hammer one week to the side of her head and rendered unconscious and then seemingly recovering with no noticeable side-effects then a matter of a week later, was struck a heavy blow to the back of the head (which in normal terms would surely have caused more damage to the brain in the region of the previous trauma) with a thick tree bough, again being rendered unconscious.

"Wonder-Woman" was then locked in a metal shipping container and chained by the leg, but the cumulative effects of not one but two head traumas seemed not to affect her ability to move or to speak.

Perhaps the scriptwriters should be invited to submit a thesis for publication in "The Lancet"...

Howardh · 15 Oct 2014

Minilad said:
Women are actually robots designed to confuse men. So yes. They can do anything they want

And cats are robots designed by women for the very purpose of spying on men and reporting back.

Jonny · 19 Oct 2014

Last night's Doctor Who dropped a slight clanger (among others) in having a flattened map of the human arterial system but describing it as a "nervous system) - at about the 15 minute mark.

Implausible medical storylines in TV shows

DownSouth

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