The “aside”

If you read my Monday blog, you’ll know that I’ve been watching Psych religiously recently, because I’m completely obsessed. I can’t help it. It’s so funny. BUT. That said. I’ve noticed that they do something a lot in this show that totally would not fly in real life. I call it the “Televised aside”, which is most often exemplified by the line “can I talk to you for a minute?”

See, on stage, actors often make use of the “aside” to make comments directly to the audience utilizing a character’s inner dialog that otherwise couldn’t have been represented. But on TV, they usually don’t stop the continuity of the show for the actors to make comments about a scene. So they use the “can I talk to you for a minute?” line to another character to draw them out of a scene and then use that opportunity to make notes on the current situation that can only be noted during this temporary suspension from the current scene.

Whew. That was complicated. Anyways, Psych uses this device a lot. So much, in fact, that it’s starting to bother me. Think… when was the last time you drew someone aside from a group or a conversation and then reentered that same group or conversation as if nothing had changed? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never used it. Ever. I honestly can’t imagine a reality-based situation in which I would have to.

Because when you draw someone away, it’s really suspicious. In TV it’s like the scene the people are drawn away from doesn’t change at all, as if everyone not currently on camera just freezes in place, like a stage aside. But that’s not how real life works. In real life, the person not included from the huddle spends that time wondering what the huddle could be about and why the huddle was completely necessary at that particular moment. And it’s also kind of rude, if you think about it, but every time the two main characters in Psych need to confer, the person they’re talking to is always very gracious and un-suspicious of them. Which is totally not how it would go down in the real world.

What other things do you notice in TV shows or movies that totally wouldn’t fly in real life?