Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Script This

Having worked in both ER's and on ambulances, I absolutely, unequivocally hate hospital and ambulance shows on tv (except Scrubs, that show is more realistic than ER ever was).

I also hate rubber neckers at accident scenes. Tragedy is not entertainment. Get that through your head.

I'm now discovering that I have the same visceral reaction with police and court shows on tv.

My daughter and I were flipping through channels awhile back and she landed on some police drama that, every single minute, seemed to spell out our own life in excruciating detail. First she would sigh heavily, then I would sigh heavily. Finally we both burst out in exasperation and fought for the remote to change the channel.

Tragedy is not entertainment.

Television writers need to realize some facts:

These things do not resolve themselves in sixty minutes, fifty if you count commercials.

Pedophiles do not always look like pedophiles.

Pedophiles can manipulate many people into protecting them. How about convincing a teen rape victim who is now an adult that he really is a sweet guy? Yeah, write that into a television show and people will be throwing up their dinners, but that's a part of STBX's story.

Pedophiles are better liars than any politician.

As long as a pedophile can play the "I'm a victim" card, they will always have someone on their side.





This is not entertaining.

1 comment:

Shelly said...

I've never been a fan of ER, but I do like the shows that I refer to as The Fantasy Neurology Shows, meaning, shows like House, (the very short-lived) 3 Pounds, etc. where the doctor (neurologist) appears to actually give a shit about the diagnosis, is curious, and wants to actually solve their problem. It is a departure from reality, in which all doctors poo-poo you because you're a woman, and say you must be depressed, not noting the fact that the reason you might be depressed is because you've had a headache every day for a couple of years and can't get any doctors to believe you, much less treat you with anything other than anti-depressants.

By the way? Anti-depressants don't actually cure 'real' headaches. I'm sure Dr. Gregory House knows this, which is why he is my personal fantasy hero.