... in front of the tube and so, so many questions
Why.....
... can't the bad guys hit anything with a machine gun while the good guys take them down with one shot?
... does every law enforcement officer have to put up with a threatening boss?
... is almost every new police department supervisor black and usually a woman?
... are all husbands doofuses in sitcoms and commercials?
... does a camera shutter sound like a cannon going off and how many pictures of one thing do they need anyway?
... is almost every police officer in trouble with internal affairs?
... do so many police guys and their families eventually become crime victims? Does this happen often in real life?
... does every new sitcom have to deal with young people sorting out love interests?
... how do women crime scene investigators and police detectives manage to walk over soggy ground in high-heeled shoes or even run after perps in them
... is every suspect called a "perp" and every victim called a "vic?" I get the idea one writer heard those words used and decided every cop in every city in the country uses the very same words. And then every writer on every cop show picked them up and now that's all they are called. "Castle" had a great episode addressing this. He used the word perp and two cops asked why do you writers all call them perps. Then every time they encountered each other for the rest of the episode, the cops offered up synonyms. It was a great running gag.
And speaking of "Castle," it is one show that has been good on the originality side. Particularly cool are the poker games with real crime writers. But, as the 2011 season approached i was a little worried. The detective precinct captain was killed in the last episode of the previous season. The first hint of things going south was when Detective Beckett was shot in that same episode. That was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but who would ever have believed they would kill off Beckett? The whole situation meant some changes in the paradigm. A few days before the first episode was scheduled to broadcast this fall, I told a friend of my fears and offered to bet on the new situation. I said I hoped the show didn't fall into cliche but I was afraid the new supervisor would try to get rid of Castle and be tough on Beckett. I said if they really went the whole way into cliche the new captain would be a woman and most likely black. I also suggested that the new black woman precinct captain would get a call from Castle's friend the mayor telling her to let him stay and that she would resent it. Honestly this was a bet I wanted to lose. Besides the show remaining strongly original, I would get to have dinner with a wonderful friend. But guess what. First of all she wouldn't take the bet, but worse, has anyone seen the first episode of "Castle" this year? Every damn one of those things happened. It was pleasant to see in the second episode the captain was already softening toward Castle. Though probably unrealistic at least it allows the writers to get out of that cliche quickly. When i used to write editorials I realized I was only criticizing and maybe I should look for alternatives at least and solutions at best. How about this? Precinct captain is older than Beckett. Suppose she took a shine to Castle and competed with Beckett for his attention, or maybe even more, she sees a writer who has a connection to the mayor as a person who can publicize her actions as a way to gain favor, publicity and and help promote her career aspirations. Either of those situations would give the writers some new avenues to explore as plot twists rather than repeat old ones of conflict between cop and supervisor. (HInt, hint: I am here and keeping an eye out for interesting work. Call me. And i didn't make a hand motion of a phone to my ear and mouth those words.)
Did you envy all the dancers who had all the nerve?
Lyric quotes from Crosby Stills and Nash
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