Reality Is Intruding

into my illusions again.{see editor's addition at end of blog, please} Flo was talking about Grey's Anatomy and an inconsistency in one of their medical scenes. She and Ambulance Driver and Dragon -from DragonWatch were discussing how they get ticked when a medical TeeVee show or movie lets "Drama" overrule reality. I won't go over the same ground, just go read her blog about GA, including the comments, I'll wait. OK, now, wasn't that fun?

MY pet peeve, on a related subject, is the "Magic Ammunition" and the bottomless magazine that is only found in Hollywood. You shooters know what I mean. Those of you unfamiliar with the world of firearms may need a little explanation.
When a person is shot with a handgun, they don't fly backwards 5' or 3' or even 1'. I promise. Not even with a .45 caliber; not with a 9mm or a 10mm handgun. Sometimes class, in the REAL world, they will stagger and then drop. But they will not FLY BACKWARDS through the air when shot with a handgun.

Also, semi-automatic handguns have "magazines" not "clips" that contain cartridges, not bullets. Bullets are a component of a cartridge.
Magazines, depending on the handgun for which they are designed, have varying capacities. In my limited experience, this can be as few as 5 to as many as 17, IIRC. {Unless we are talking about the Glock extenders or a Browning Hi-Power extender, but those are somewhat bulky and not practical for concealed carry} If an additional cartridge is in the firing chamber, this would give the shooter a total of 18 rounds before the slide locks back and s/he needs to insert a new magazine in order to begin shooting again.
So when you see a shooter fire more than 18 rounds from a handgun...they have one of those bottomless magazines found only in Hollywood. It's just plain insulting to the millions of gun owners and shooters when a director ignores this fact for the sake of dramatic effect.

When the Dearly Beloved, who taught me all this "gun stuff", and I watch a movie or TeeVee show that contains these inconsistencies, or has characters, who should KNOW better, using incorrect terminology, we immediately go into Shooting Science Theater mode: we start making fun of the characters and their ignorance and their fantasy weaponry. Oh, yeah! It's sooo much fun. Kinda like Will Smith in Independence Day when he enthuses, "I gotta git me one of these!" We want handgun ammunition that will blow our foes not only to kingdom come, but back 5'; we want a magazine that will never run out of ammunition like that. Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Added Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.:
I wish I had thought to put this in when I was writing the first time, BUT thanks to the wonders of the editing feature, I can say it now...
Actors, I don't care what the Director tells you; and I don't care HOW the gang bangers do it; keep your finger OFF the TRIGGER until you are ready to shoot, dang it!!! That's the way REAL shooters do it, so please for the sake of realism, keep your pointer finger alongside the slide, or even on the trigger guard until you are ready to pull the damn thing. Don't know what a slide or trigger guard IS? Ask your prop person, or your tech adviser, they will be more than happy to tell you, I'm sure.