Those fighter jets had to have been pretty low for their sonic booms to shake stuff on the ground and set off car alarms -- very different from the way loud, but still far-off-sounding booms of my childhood -- so I can understand why you would've been scared!

You're right about movies and TV failing to show anything resembling real reactions, but it seems to me the events are usually just the set-ups for their stupid, contrived, soap opera style dramas, anyway.