Unpopular opinion: the show was kinda cool. Not because it's very realistic, but because it had really good writing. Well except for the computer science, but that much is obvious.
I remember reading somewhere that TV show writers/producers are well aware of this and it’s kind of a sport to get the most ridiculous hacking scene in.
Real hacking would be kind of boring to show, it would just be a guy staring at a screen for hours on end and occasionally typing something.
Well except for the computer science, but that much is obvious.
And that's never good. But as a computer scientist, I am of the opinion that the real thing is rarely as compelling as The Imitation Game, and even that was about people more than math/science. I'm on board with writers having fun with this stuff because it sort of challenges us to do better out in the world.
For instance, Hackers was not a wildly-off-target take on what computing was like. Rather it's what we wanted computing to look like.
I choose to believe that the NCIS has developed a technique with which two users can controll a computer at the same time through the same keyboard.
And that they are using an advanced operating system which UI is based solely on the technique pop-up ads in the 2000s used.
Boomer humor at its most basic. "Them young 'uns think they're so smart, but they just got schooled...that's why you gotta respect yer elders!" Right, because unplugging a single node is going to save the network servers. I've literally only seen this clip of the show, but that blatant pandering to boomers told me all I needed to know. Also, fuck 12.
Same appeal as all the other decent hospital/cop shows of the time. Just because some of the tech scenes were did poorly on purpose doesn't mean the rest of it is equally bad. The cast, dialogue and plot were fine. Not sopranos or whatever, but definitely not "drivel". Not everything needs to be super serious all the time.
Edit: lul, the guy actually questioned his father's intelligence because they enjoyed NCIS. What sort of person judges others for their taste in art/hobbies? Jfc.
Was it like those people that enjoy watching interviews/documentaries with serial killers or was it more like those people that write them love letters?
Janitors assist cops by keeping precincts.clean, are they bastards? How about the it guys that keep the servers and workstations running, are they bastards?
Hopefully this helps you understand the absurdity of what you are advocating.
If you like that character just go watch some Nina Hagen music videos instead.
She was the inspiration for the character, she's the original punk opera prodigy, she's crazy and she was once a strong contender to be the german voice of marge simpson.
Smack Jack, So Bad, Naturträne, Imma Lauter are all tracks I still listen to a lot. Her recent cover of 16 Tons is great too.
Lmao idk if "most" even holds up in fiction. Even the "good" cops in fiction tend to perform illegal searches, abuse suspects, break the law in countless ways to get the bad guys. How many times have we seen the "good guys" stymied by their inability to search a home but one turns to the other and sarcastically says "oh I think I heard someone scream for help lol" kicks down the door?
Sometimes they have a conscience but I'd call very few fictional cops "good"
I'm pretty sure they shoot innocents a lot less. But I'm in it for the entertainment, not because they follow the law.
Interestingly, in Elementary they call out your issue of always finding probable cause to enter a home. They end up in court over it. It's still basically hand waved off with them asking if they are being called liars and if they have proof. But they aren't even cops, they are consultants, so I'm not sure probable cause even applies. Seems more likely they shouldn't be able to do shit unless they suspicion of imminent danger.
That’s “okay”, though, because we, the viewers, often know that the suspect is guilty. The cops still come off as good (and smart, with good intuition as well) because we know for certain that they’re doing the “right” thing.
As a society, we don't want to teach people that it is EVER acceptable for the authorities to break rules/laws. They already have power. Why should they go free after breaking the rules meant to control their reach? At the least, they should get charged and go to trial by jury. Ideally, those juries should then convict in all but the most benign cases.
I remember at least a couple old shows had the good old 'sheriff' or whatever break some rule and then had to pay for it. And they did, and good guys accept that despite meaning well, they had done wrong and should have followed the law.
If you ask society at large to accept that breaking the rules is ok THIS time because this time is special and our guy is working for Team Good, then our society starts to allow that in all kinds of stupid real-life situations and you end up with criminal cops, politicians, and all manner of officials. Worse, you might end up with random citizens who think it is ok to break the law just because their leader tells them to.
You nailed it. That’s why I put “okay” in quotes. Those laws exist for a reason, and lionizing cops who break the law only teaches the public to accept that lawbreakers are okay if they’re on Team Good.
Unfortunately, what the government calls “good” and what you and I call “good” are often different things.
This is why I loved the Nero Wolfe tv show so much; they taught valuable lessons (like don’t let a cop in without a warrant and be wary of the FBI) and the cops were much more realistic, even if still more or less good guys.
Fictional cops rarely have any ethics. Quite famously, they ignore people civil rights or liberties when they "know" that person is guilty.
It's like the male lead of a shitty romance novel acting super creepy, abusive, and rapey, but it's okay because it's fiction and they always luck out and the woman is into it.
Which is why most cop shows function as authoritarian propaganda. They show an idealist fairy tale version that nonetheless creates this aspirational image of cops in mainstream culture. It gives cover to the true cop culture. Just like villains in movies are always just a bad apple that is corrupt and once eliminated all is well, when in real world the rules of the system is what breeds corruption. It's not meant to be, but it acts as authoritarian propaganda.
I love cop shows, they are my guilty pleasure, but one needs to be aware that this is fairy tale.
Which is why most cop shows function as authoritarian propaganda.
Exactly!! I mean why else do you think Law & Order:SVU has been on the air for like fucking 30 seasons? Its not because of Ice-T's incredible acting ability, thats for sure...
