Magic Antidote: Difference between revisions
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In Fiction land, antidotes and vaccines work almost instantly. The fever goes down, color returns, heartbeat and "life signs" stabilize, the characters open their eyes, etc. Furthermore, to build dramatic tension, the poisoned character is usually given a very precise... um... [[Exact Time to Failure|deadline to take the antidote]], and only manages to get the antidote right before death. This isn't how it works in [[Real Life]], as the damage the poison does still needs to be healed. It has [[No Ontological Inertia|ontological inertia]]... The time it take for poisons to kill tends to be quite variable, and usually, the time at which the body has sustained so much damage that death is inevitable, even with an antidote, comes much earlier than death itself.
Also, shows are a [[You Keep Using That Word|tad liberal with the word "vaccine"]]. A vaccine is a means of teaching your immune system how to attack a particular disease-causing agent. They contain pieces of the bacteria or viruses or an inactivated version of it, and so are unable to cause the disease; but since they "look" the same to the immune system, it learns what they are like, and prepares the tools to fight them. If the real thing ever comes along, the response will be fast and strong and squelch the disease before it ever gets started. Vaccines only work against something caused by a pathogen, like a virus, and won't work against diseases which are due to genetic defects, bad diet, and so on. Most of the time, it's a preventative measure, but there are a few vaccines that can be taken after infection (since the diseases in question stay dormant long enough for the body to develop a defense). Long story short, a vaccine wouldn't be very effective once a character's symptoms develop, let alone in the 11th hour right before said character is about to die from the disease as this trope describes.▼
Antidotes are even worse. Fictional antidotes are benevolent drugs that exactly reverse the effects of a poison. They may even visibly reverse their ravages, such as [[Tainted Veins]]. In [[Real Life]] there are only two drugs that reverse each other's
▲Also, shows are a [[You Keep Using That Word|tad liberal with the word "vaccine"]]. A vaccine is a means of teaching your immune system how to attack a particular disease-causing agent. They contain pieces of the bacteria or viruses or an inactivated version of it, and so are unable to cause the disease; but since they "look" the same to the immune system, it learns what they are like, and prepares the tools to fight them. If the real thing ever comes along, the response will be fast and strong and squelch the disease before it ever gets started. Vaccines only work against something caused by a pathogen, like a virus, and won't work against diseases which are due to genetic defects, bad diet, and so on. Most of the time, it's a preventative measure, but there are a few vaccines that can be taken after infection (since the diseases in question stay dormant long enough for the body to develop a defense).
Sometimes, writers will try to excuse this by suggesting that the recently-cured hero's drive and inner strength is enough to restore them temporarily
▲Antidotes are even worse. Fictional antidotes are benevolent drugs that exactly reverse the effects of a poison. They may even visibly reverse their ravages, such as [[Tainted Veins]]. In [[Real Life]] there are only two drugs that reverse each other's effects—and they are both deadly poisons. Antidotes are various drugs that help counteract some effects of a poison.
▲Sometimes, writers will try to excuse this by suggesting that the recently-cured hero's drive and inner strength is enough to restore them temporarily, but, we are assured, they're going to have to spend some time in the hospital right after the end credits roll. The very real prospect of liver or other internal organ damage is rarely even hinted at.
▲If worst comes to worst, [[Hand Wave]] it with [[The Power of Love]].
Compare to [[Instant Sedation]]. See also [[CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable]].
Almost always the finale of [[Find the Cure]] episodes.
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