Celluloid peeve: the cold oven

It happened again Tuesday, this time on my current favorite network drama, This Is Us. Preteen Kevin has a meltdown because Jack didn’t turn on the oven in which his son wanted to roast Cornish hens for his parents’ anniversary, so Kevin opens it to find raw poultry.

Do no screenwriters cook? If an oven isn’t preheated, it’s obvious when you open the door to put the food inside. Once food has been cooking for a while, an aroma builds in the room. If you don’t smell anything, there’s an obvious problem. When you are an experienced cook, you hardly need a timer because your nose tells you when the food is done.

The cold oven trope happens all the time, especially in films and TV shows set at Thanksgiving. Stick a fork in it, it’s been done enough!

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