History Main / HollywoodJehovahsWitness

Yeah, there happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true [[ArchangelMichael nature of Christ]], the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will rebuild earth into [[{{Arcadia}} a paradise]]. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they are politically neutral.

* May also believe in not having jobs/not believe in the Bible/not believe in Jesus/not believe in having any medicine at all, depending on how much particular writer DidNotDoTheResearch

* In the pilot episode of ''Series/LieToMe'', the family of a Jehovah's Witness kid accused of murder use religious idoms that are seldom expressed in the JW world except in parody or sarcasm, such as "praying for your soul." Also, the JW child is afraid of being sent to Hell. Major DidNotDoTheResearch: Jehovah's Witnesses [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism#Jehovah.27s_Witnesses don't believe in Hell]].

* On the first episode of ''MockTheWeek'''s seventh season, the cast commented on MichaelJackson's death [[CrossesTheLineTwice in their usual style]]. They noted that being a Jehovah's Witness was possibly the least weird thing about Jackson and pondered whether, when he went to meetings, ''they'' pretended to be out and that he did look like someone who wouldn't have a blood transfusion.

* In ''{{Scrubs}}'', [[strike:DrJerk]] Dr Cox had to treat a patient who needed a blood transfusion for a straightforward treatment but was a Jehovah's Witness. In order to keep his jerk credentials, Cox refuses to find another harder way of helping her which clashes with his normal attitude of always trying to keep the patients he can, alive. He later goes on to help her, on the condition that she (and everyone else present) refuse to let anyone know he helped her, on pain of death. Turk's mother was stated to be a Jehovah's Witness as well.

* In an episode of ''TheSimpsons'', a pair of Witnesses about to call at a house stop and decide that they should "go out and get real jobs". Given that Witnesses don't get paid for knocking on doors, this leaves the question of how these particular Witnesses were getting by if they currently had no jobs.
** If they were Special Pioneers, they ''were'' getting paid (albeit a very small amount; usually less than $1000/month in USA) to knock on doors full-time, making the joke perfectly reasonable.
*** Very unlikely to be Special Pioneers working on suburban areas in mainland America.

Yeah, there happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true nature of Christ, the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will rebuild earth into [[{{Arcadia}} a paradise]]. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they are politically neutral.

If not, perhaps you would be interested in some literature? You'll find we're a lot more straightforward than a lot of RealLife religions; not much in the way of intricate doctrine, regular ritualistic practises or nuanced internal culture. All you need to do is pull out the occasional peripheral oddball belief, some crazed eschatological spouting (that's TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt) and indeed lots and lots of KnockingOnHeathensDoors. However, [[InformedAttribute you only have to pull these out when most convenient to the plot]].

If not, perhaps you would be interested in some literature? You'll find we're a lot more straightforward than a lot of RealLife religions; not much in the way of intricate doctrine, regular ritualistic practises or nuanced internal culture. All you need to do is pull out the occasional peripheral oddball belief, some crazed eschatological spouting (that's TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt) and indeed lots and lots of [=~Knocking On Heathens' Door~=]s. However, [[InformedAttribute you only have to pull these out when most convenient to the plot]].

* In an early episode of ''BabylonFive'' Dr. Franklin found himself working on a case concerning the offspring of some alien Space [[strike:Amish]] Jehovah's Witnesses, who refused surgery that would save their son's life at the cost (so they believed) of his soul. The doctor performed the procedure anyway and saved the boy's life, only for the parents to kill him because in their eyes he wasn't their son anymore.

* Painfully played straight on the third season Christmas episode of ''{{Community}}''. Given that it's Christmas - the only time Troy's religion is ever mentioned - the issue of celebration is raised. Despite his supposed beliefs, all it takes for Troy essentially turn away from his faith is for Abed to suggest that he could pretend to celebrate for the purpose of destroying Christmas from the inside. Cue Troy in Christmas sweater, singing carols etc.

* Averted on ''{{Community}}''. In "Religious Studies" (the first-season ChristmasEpisode), Troy is revealed to be a Jehovah's Witness and as such doesn't celebrate Christmas. However, you couldn't tell that he was a Jehovah's Witness if he didn't say so. He does have a crazy and uber-religious and very strict grandma, but that's not so much a trope about Jehovah's Witnesses as it is a trope about black culture in the United States; she could have just as easily been a Baptist or Methodist.

** Although YourMileageMayVary, it's arguable that it is more than mocked, and isn't particularly indulged. The mother character is absolutely horrible, as a direct result of being a Jehovah's Witness, and the idiot boyfriend who converts is subject to some pretty evil venom regarding his intelligence, hygiene and willpower. Coming from such a restrictive background directly leads to her low self-esteem.

* In the pilot episode of LieToMe, the JW kid accused of murder's family use religious idoms that are seldom expressed in the JW world, such as "praying for your soul" except in parody or sarcasm. The JW child is afraid of being sent to Hell. Major DidNotDoTheResearch. Jehovah's Witnesses [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism#Jehovah.27s_Witnesses don't believe in hell]].

* May also may believe in not having jobs/not believe in the Bible/not believe in Jesus/not believe in having any medicine at all, depending on how much particular writer DidNotDoTheResearch

* In the pilot episode of LieToMe, the JW kid accused of murder's family use religious idoms that are seldom expressed in the JW world, such as "praying for your soul" except in parody or sarcasm. The JW child is afraid of being sent to Hell.Major DidNotDoTheResearch. Jehovah's Witnesses donot believe in hell.

Yeah, there happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true nature of Christ, the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will rebuild earth into [[{{Arcadia}} a paradise]]. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they keep to a policy of separateness, especially politically, which ends up furthering the shallow view of them.

* In the pilot episode of LieToMe, the JW kid accused of murder's family use religious idoms that are seldom expressed in the JW world, such as "praying for your soul" except in parody or sarcasm. The JW child is afraid of being sent to Hell. The closest thing to JW hell is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism Annihilation]](Which Jehovahs Witnesses simply refer to the idea as "Being Destroyed Before Armageddon). Major DidNotDoTheResearch

** Very unlikely to be Special Pioneers working on suburban areas in mainland America.
*** In another episode of The Simpsons, Marge emotes her desperation for human interaction by saying "The other day two Jehovah's Witnesses came to the house. I wouldn't let them leave. They snuck out when I went to make lemonade.".

Yeah, there happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true nature of Christ, the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will live in [[{{Arcadia}} paradise on earth]]. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they keep to a policy of separateness, especially politically, which ends up furthering the shallow view of them.

* In the pilot episode of "Lie To Me", the JW kid accused of murder's family use religious idoms that are seldom expressed in the JW world, such as "praying for your soul" except in parody or sarcasm. The JW child is afraid of being sent to Hell. The closest thing to JW hell is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism Annihilation]](Which Jehovahs Witnesses simply refer to the idea as "Being Destroyed Before Armageddon). Major DidNotDoTheResearch

Yeah, there happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true nature of Christ, the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will live in paradise on earth. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they keep to a policy of separateness, especially politically, which ends up furthering the shallow view of them.

Yeah, there's happens to be this other RealLife religion with a similar name but they've got all this extra junk about the true nature of Christ, the method of Salvation, organisational structure and all those other things that you can't fit into a 42 minute hour. Now those guys believe that only 144,000 will go to heaven, yes, but that's not what most of them are aiming for: other good people will live in paradise on earth. They do indeed believe that blood is sacred and thus they reject blood tranfusions. However, the real life ones have committees trained to point out the alternatives to blood transfusion, even having had heart surgery performed without transfusions without lowering mortality rates - but that wouldn't make for such an interesting moral dilemma in MedicalDrama. Despite the evangelical side, they keep to a policy of separateness, especially politically, which ends up furthering the shallow view of them.

* We often also may not believe in having jobs/not believe in the Bible/not believe in Jesus/not believe in having any medicine at all depending on how much particular writer DidNotDoTheResearch

* The world is about to end

*** In another episode of The Simpsons, Marge emotes her desperation for human interaction by saying "The other day two Jehovah's Witnesses came to the house I wouldn't let them leave. They snuck out when I went to make lemonade.".