A Thing That Will Make You Go "Hmmm?"

Why do people in television shows stop by their friends houses without warning when, in reality, this never happens?

I've been pondering this thought for a while, and it has finally come to fully rest at the peak of my left frontal lobe.

There used to be a time when stopping by without warning could be accepted as a norm. You'd go to the mall, and you'd have a friend who live a minute away, while you had a 15-minute drive home. You'd pay a surprise visit, and see how they were, and it would be all good.

This happened on the Cosby Show (Kenny, Peter or Justine), Full House (Kimmy Gibbler), Living Single (Maxine Shaw, Overton or Kyle), Beverly Hills 90210 (Dillon, while Brenda was sleeping with some other dude - just a joke, but it seemed like a potentially good plot).

But it was understandble. Then we didn't have the techonology we do now - the cell phone, the two-way pager, e-mail, instant messaging, GPS tracking systems and what not. I mean, if you need to get a hold of someone before you stop by there house, and you can't get them, that pretty much means they don't want to be bothered with you.

Now, knocking on somebody's door unannounced is akin to a man trying to undress a woman who is uninterested - it's something you just don't do.

If you're a reddot, thanks Malaika, with nothing but the trenchcoat and your birthday suit, and you ring my doorbell, I won't have one problem - less I be in a relationship, then I might have to make a decision. But if you're a nodot - i just made it up - I'd look at you like you're crazy for about 2.4 seconds before I say "do you want to call me and let me know you're on your way after I close this door in your face?"

No, I'm not really that harsh, but you will get the "What the fuck were you thinking?" look - you know, the glare Nina gave Darius in Love Jones when he showed up at her door unannounced and she hadn't even given up the digits, let alone the address - and then I'll act like stuff is cool.

So, in the mold of making a sitcom plausible, and not just for the jokes, why haven't script writers followed suit? Have some tact, pick up the phone before you come through with all of your baggage and issues and unload them on me.

I'm talking about Seinfeld and Girlfriends, and several others (It probably happens in Desperate Housewives, but I refuse to watch it). It happned in The 40-Year-Old (Vagina) - read two posts below if you don't get this. Sure, on Girlfriends, Joan's girls have keys to her place, and it seems like they all have lived there at some point. But when you don't live there, wouldn't it be appropriate to call first instead of just barging in like its your house?

What she decides that she wants to "rub her a lil booty?"

There's only one person I just dropped in on without a phone call, wildcat-squared. In college, If I wanted to see her, I'd call before I was on my way. She may not answer, and I might drop by anyway because I knew if i wanted to see my friend, who kept a book in her face and is about to be mad paid, that's what I had to do.

But that proved to be a special circumstance. I would never do that to anyone else for fear I might catch them at a bad time, i.e. in the middle of some tryst. Not even my girl. I mean, could you imagine me walking in on my woman with another man?

I would smoothly start singing and acting out the lyrics to "Shit. Damn. Motherfucker." by D'Angelo.

Think about it. Things would have turned out a whole lot better in Unfaithful had ole girl's husband called before he went over to the house where the man she had an affair with lived. Dude would have lived had he called first, that's all I'm saying.