People on TV need a very good excuse to convince them to go to a supermarket. Either they're hosting a dinner party and need some snacks, or they're cooking a Thanksgiving meal for 200 people. TV characters will never just go grocery shopping to have food in the house. That's a dumb waste of time. The only time they eat something that's not in a restaurant or coffee shop is when they order pizza, anyway.

Okay, so you're in the supermarket. What a huge, confusing place this is. How are you ever going to find all the things on your list? Are the aisles always so big? This is just impossible. Let's try and follow this woman, she looks like she knows what she's doing. Just copy whatever she's taking. And maybe kidnap her to cook your meal for you, too. As you stroll around, don't forget to look up at the aisles with an amazed look, as if you've landed in a foreign planet that has 16 kinds of salad dressing.

Forget shopping for milk. Everyone knows the real reason TV characters go to the supermarket is to run into their old ex. People from your past always hang around in the supermarket. Usually with their entire families.Those poor kids, having to be dragged shopping every single time just in case daddy's ex girlfriend is there looking for some soy sauce, and he has to have solid proof he's moved on.

Walking through supermarket aisles isn't anything like walking around in the real world. it's so much more complicated. There's no way you could maneuver yourself without hitting a shelf and dropping everything on it to the floor. Especially if it's one of those pyramids of soup cans they stack up on top of each other. When was the last time a TV character went shopping without hearing the phrase "Cleanup on aisle 4"?

While you're here, you might as well pick up that super embarrassing medicine you need. Oh, it doesn't have a price tag? Of couse it doesn't. Now you'll have to go and ask the clerk, who will obviously announce it loudly on speaker for everyone to hear. Because that's something they do apparently. Don't forget to time it with your ex being there, too. She needs to know you have explosive diarrhea. 

Oh, TV supermarkets. They always have just one last turkey, don't they? So what if it's thanksgiving. No one will want to buy a turkey, will they? Better just stack up on the one and let the costumers fight over it hilariously. If physical humor isn't your strength, you can always try and trade it for something, with humorous results. "How's the turkey, honey"? your wife will ask at dinner. "So good. Totally worth giving up my favorite pair of jeans", you will reply -- panning down to reveal you're sitting at the table in your underwear.

Let's admit it, the main reason to show a TV character buying groceries is to have an easy look inside their life. Want to pass your character off as lonely? Give them a bag full of lean cuisines. Are they responsible and healthy? Have their bag stick out with lettuce heads and a french baguette. There's no better way to visually explain an entire personality then by shooting a quick grocery shopping scene. Plus, a big bag of food is a great prop to drop down shockingly on the floor when something interesting happens.