When TV becomes reality...

Xavi6

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=367940

Woman triggers sea rescue after film confusion
Thursday Jan 17 06:04 AEDT
An elderly woman in Scotland watching a film on television triggered an alert by calling coastguards to alert them to swimmers in distress after confusing drama with real life, an official said overnight.

A Royal Navy helicopter, a lifeboat and a team of coastguards were sent to hunt for the "missing" bathers on Monday after a call from the unidentified woman in Ayr, south-west England.

But officials realised soon afterwards that the woman, who had been watching the 2003 film "Open Water" showing a couple being attacked by sharks while scuba diving, had imagined that the scenes on television were real.

"She was watching a programme on TV and she phoned 999 (the emergency number in Britain) and asked for the coastguard," a local coastguard spokesman said.

"We could hear the screams in the background. She just thought it was a real incident happening in front of her."

He added: "You can't charge her with hoax calls, you just feel sorry for her.

Easily the funniest thing I've read so far this year. Getting some weird looks in the office for my sudden outburst of laughter.

We had a family of spinster and bachelor siblings that used to live beside us, they be in their 100's if they were alive today.When they got their first telly, they made tea for the people inside.True.

tman

Dear god, what a looper!:p
Reminds me of the episode of Father Ted where he's trying to explain the difference between reality and fantasy to Dougal

Good thing she wasn't watching Aliens...

Ah the elderly a constant source of hilarity.

Guy:Incognito

I'm mostly concerned with what the Scots are going to do when they realise England has annexed Ayr, dug it up and moved it to the south west.


Re:the old lady, even thinking the programme was real, what did she think the camera crew that were filmign the two "stranded" bathers were doing? hovering above mocking them and not callign authorities?

Senna

she should really have her tv taken off her. what would happen if she watched Aliens or 28 days later, she'd have a heart attack.

Ruu_Old

We had our own problem a few years ago with that RTE programme, think the name of it was called Fallout. The panic that it caused!

orestes

She was probably one of the same people who went running into the streets to defend against the aliens when Orson Welles' first broadcast War of the Worlds, she seems old enough!

Reku

Ruu wrote: »

We had our own problem a few years ago with that RTE programme, think the name of it was called Fallout. The panic that it caused!

Yup, had some relatives from the country phoning us to find out if we were ok and offering to let us stay with them until things had improved after that one.:o

GhostInTheRuins

I remember being told stories about my great-granny, when my grandad bought her a telly she was convinced people reading the news etc could see her so she used to get dressed up to watch tv.

the dee

I saw a re-run of that recently. Never saw it the first time. Thought it was real for about a minute until I realised that the 'live' news broadcast was taking place in daylight while it was nighttime outside my window. D'oh!

bandit197

Stekelly wrote: »

I'm mostly concerned with what the Scots are going to do when they realise England has annexed Ayr, dug it up and moved it to the south west.

Brilliant:D

gondorff

Stekelly wrote: »

I'm mostly concerned with what the Scots are going to do when they realise England has annexed Ayr, dug it up and moved it to the south west.

Hopefully relinquish Cornwall.

Och aye the noo me'ansome.

MOH

D.T. Jesus wrote: »

I remember being told stories about my great-granny, when my grandad bought her a telly she was convinced people reading the news etc could see her so she used to get dressed up to watch tv.

Yep, some distant relative of mine did that - she fancied the newsreader so she wouldn't let the TV be turned on unless she was dressed up, in case he saw her.

lil minx

oh my god dats hilarious stuff

lil minx

dats a gud one

Sabre0001

From a woman I worked with recently - an elderly relative of hers called her up in a panic one night to say that there had been an accident at Sellafield and then proceeded to call all other relatives. The woman I know then got panicked about Iodine tablets - were they in date, where were they, etc.

Then she got a call from the brother who had twigged what had happened. The relative had flicked onto that documentary about what would happen if there were a disaster at Sellafield and got confused! - Thought it was the news...

Ah...old people, where would we be without them

LouOB

My mother got her first mobile phone about 3 year ago
Starting off she would text me IN CAPITAL LETTERS ALL THE TIME- very annoying but one fine day - out of no where - she suddenly had the power to txt spk

So much so, that i couldnt understand the fecking text message.
Above posters are better but couldnt think of any funny stories only tragic

ScumLord

This happened not so long ago to someone in my town. She wasn't particularly old (40s). There was an American film out a few years ago where they did it like a news report on a massive asteroid hitting earth. She bought it hook line an sinker.

RonMexico

I know of a guy who is a nutcase who threw a plate at the telly because he thought that the weatherman on RTE was winking at his wife all the time.

tman

tman wrote: »

Good thing she wasn't watching Aliens...

By far the most I've laughed on here reading that reply to a very funny but sad story. There are plenty of other films that of could of made this messier. Lord of the Rings or The Matrix could of TURNED bloody. You could imagine her kicking the **** out of all her machinery.

Boom_Bap

Even worse....she could have been watching Wurzel Gummidge

lil minx

well my sis even tho is a gudlookin girl actualy said to me new years eve will it be the first of the thirteenth then tomora? i supose we cnt ave looks and brains

Reku

KaG1888 wrote: »

By far the most I've laughed on here reading that reply to a very funny but sad story. There are plenty of other films that of could of made this messier. Lord of the Rings or The Matrix could of TURNED bloody. You could imagine her kicking the **** out of all her machinery.

Hmm... if we were to slip Maximum Overdrive in her VCR it might prevent this from ever happening again... that and her from ever owning another electrical item.:D

prendy

tman wrote: »

Dear god, what a looper!:p
Reminds me of the episode of Father Ted where he's trying to explain the difference between reality and fantasy to Dougal

Good thing she wasn't watching Aliens...

i thought the same thing when i read it.... dreams...reality!!!

AngryBadger

lil minx wrote: »

well my sis even tho is a gudlookin girl actualy said to me new years eve will it be the first of the thirteenth then tomora? i supose we cnt ave looks and brains

What? Was that even english? Hold on, I think I know the correct response

He dun wear a tomorra maching....hat!

I dun gud?

lil minx

lil minx wrote: »

well my sis even tho is a gudlookin girl actualy said to me new years eve will it be the first of the thirteenth then tomora? i supose we cnt ave looks and brains

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

lostexpectation

really good film that for being made on their weekend by two people