Strange things

I've been re-watching the O.C. and although I love that show, there are so many things that I find completely odd and unnatural. I don't think it's a phenomenon strictly related to this series but evident in most TV-series, all the most normal everyday activities are either ignored or twisted. Why on earth are we expected to act normal about the weird stuff they do?

Let's take breakfast, for example. Usually they just eat a handful or two of dry cereal straight from the box and that's it. Everybody seems to take a cup of coffee (black, nobody apparently uses milk or sugar) and takes a sip and then leaves the cup. But that's not even the worst part, oh no, the worst part is when they've actually made the effort of setting up a really nice breakfast. Baked pancakes or muffins or whatever. What happens? Everyone gets to the kitchen, glances at the food, claims to be in a hurry or quickly develop a huge, dramatic twist of the events and the pancakes are left on the table. Why, people, why? Breakfast is the best part of the day.

I don't know how the visiting culture is in the U.S, but somehow to me it seems weird that everyone keeps stopping by at each other's places. Isn't it considered rude to show up unannounced? Besides, usually they don't even have anything important to say. Also, it seems to be normal to have no need for planning anything; you might as well drive to work and then back home and then remember you left something at the office and drive back and then come back home and then decide suddenly to make a road trip to the next city and then you come back pretty late at night and all of a sudden you have to pop in to see a friend to apologize for something you did. Seems logical.

Then, birthdays. Years go by, and the birthdays of the main characters aren't even mentioned. Instead, hugely ridiculous commercial festivals like the Valentine's Day gets an entire episode per fictional year. How fair is that?

Moreover, the weirdest thing just happened. A character finds another one dead, and how does he react? A inexplicable look on his face he tries his pulse, sighs deeply and sits down on the bench on which the old guy died sitting. No calls to 911, no rush, no panic. Just a sigh and a long stare at the ocean until the scene changes. What's up with these people?

I get it that TV-series aren't supposed to cover each minute of the characters' lives but still. At least finish your breakfast.