Is it really possible for a spaceship to stand still and turn off all engines and just be idle in one exact spot in space like it happens in particular famous tv series etc? Wouldn’t the ship just continue floating away/moving on its own until you turn the engines back on?
In: 6
An important portion of your question is about *storytelling* in a visual medium. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceIsAnOcean and the articles Space Sailing, Space is Air, and Space Friction linked there.
Most of the other comments address the physics of inertia in spaceflight. A lot of famous film and TV science fiction is also classified under [space opera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera). There are shows that try to be more realistic with the physics of space. From a storytelling perspective, viewers and filmmakers were both more familiar with the tropes of sea and air travel. Hence why engines are continuously running outside of atmosphere.
Even in water, **station keeping** is needed to maintain position relative to something. [Orbital stationkeeping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_station-keeping) refers to the maneuvers needed to maintain a position in orbit or with another spacecraft.
Further reading:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_control_system
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_rendezvous
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