"That"

Something that has majorly bugged me in script writing is the use of the word "that" when "the" would suffice.

(Bad guy runs off with a briefcase MacGuffin.)
Movie Star: Let's go get that briefcase!

I know it's technically permissible. In English, it denotes the selection of a particular object - however, in spoken English, especially in television and movies, it is inserted into situations that sound unnatural. Oh, that briefcase? I had no idea which briefcase it was until you said it was that one! Often, the object being referred to is not in sight (so the speaker cannot point to it), and often it is not the object of the previous person's statement (so the speaker cannot argue that the object is a clear antecedent). And always, it seems, the object is one of a kind, and would never be confused with another object of the same kind in the context of the scene.

There is no reason for using the word that in these situations. It is redundant, clunky, and it knocks my right out of my suspension of disbelief. The actor is destined to fail to make bad writing seem natural. Maybe overstating that in a sentence is a part of some linguistic pattern elsewhere in the world, but not in any American dialogue I have ever heard.

While we're at it, I'd like to tell you about how much I hate the phrase "Hang on!" used in EVERY wild ride in a TV show or movie throughout history...but I'll stop now.

Hacks.