#tv

spockvarietyhour thesmilingfish
aleshakills

If you are someone who likes to watch a lot of cop shows, I want you to ask yourself a few questions.

Why do all TV cops, even the good ones, hate Internal Affairs? Isn’t the job of Internal Affairs to root out the “bad cops”? Isn’t their job to make sure police follow the rules? Why is that presented as inherently evil or antagonistic? 

Why do all TV cops, even the good ones, hate defense attorneys? Isn’t the defense attorney’s job to protect the rights of all citizens? Isn’t it their job to make sure police follow the law? Isn’t it their job to make sure everyone is treated fairly under the system? Why is that presented as inherently evil or antagonistic? 

Why do all TV cops, even the good ones, get upset when citizens invoke their constitutional rights? Don’t those rights exist to ensure all citizens are treated fairly? Don’t they exist to ensure innocent people are not wrongfully incriminated? Why are citizens who invoke their rights presented as dishonest, untrustworthy, or antagonistic? 

To be clear, I’ve watched Brooklyn 99 and enjoyed it. I was watching Elementary the other day. But even when I watch shows I like, I make a mental note every time a cop lies, breaks the law, subverts someone’s basic rights, or just generally acts like an asshole to the people the are meant to serve and protect. 

How often are they called out on their behavior? How often are they punished for it? How often is it reinforced as correct by the narrative?

When I tell people to be critical of the media they consume that is what I mean. Not simply calling it terrible and moving on, but actually engaging thoughtfully, asking questions, and forming conclusions about what that media is trying to say to you. Then decide whether you want to keep listening, or if it will be better for you in the long run to move on.

rhythmic-idealist

Why do only the guilty people ever invoke their right to an attorney? I would invoke my right to an attorney.

Why are protections of innocent people’s rights only ever framed as “slowing the police down” and preventing them from really catching the bad guy? Why is it that every time an officer has an instinct to break the rules, they’re narratively vindicated?

It’s the same question as “but WHY do her superpowers require her to show so much skin?” A writer put that there.

nurselofwyr

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cop showstvprocedurals
spockvarietyhour

Here’s an overview of what I’m actively (more than 1 ep) watching this week:

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (S2)
Star Wars: Resistance (S2)
Mindhunter (S2)
3% (S1)

I’m not sold yet on 3% and I’ve had 2 false starts with this show. But I’ve finished ep 1 and started the 2nd one. But as with all subbed shows I do have to pay attention to it more.

Terminator remains uneven at best but there’s less than 10 episodes left so trying to barrel through it. 

Star Wars Resistance (which just finished its second and final season) has mediocre written all over it but entertaining enough so far with occasional great bursts (I’m at ep 14 so 5 eps left) . 

Mindhunter is, I would say, solid. I didn’t expect the plotline of Bill Tench’s son to go off like a bomb the way it did. There’s no music moment that quite drew me in like the first season. The overall background arc of the BTK strangler and the more immediate Atlanta one are extremely interesting, especially the later with the racial biases involved.

Last week i finished the first season of The Purge USA and ended up being a lot better than expected (compared to say Jessica Jones S3 or Lost In Space neither of which i was able to get into (especially a shame for lost in space)) I’ll hit Purge s2 eventually; it has a whole new cast including Connor Trineer and Max Martini and finally focuses on the rest of the year in this weirdo usa.

Oh I’ve been doing a non-rewatch-rewatch of New Who from the Eccleston era. the mid-aughts are painful, and the 9th Doctor is underappreciated. I’ve come to appreciate more the first 3 eps, still don’t like the silly comicness of the slitheen, but Father’s Day is still such a good ep. I think in the last couple of weeks I’ve done the first 10?

In the 1 offs Star Trek: Picard was real good this week better than the first episode. The groundwork is already established now we’re building up to something. @kiranerys and I were deeply engrossed.

Doctor Who continues to be some good solid quality, with the return of Jack Harkness. @kiranerys disagrees on who the other Doctor is. fun stuff.

Oh i finally finished Young Indy’s Love Sweet Song. Still doesn’t amount to more than a background show i dip into once a…month? he’s about to go Over There and idk how long wartime Indy will last

Lastly, with @kiranerys this past week we’ve rewatched TNG’s The Measure of a Man, Phantasms, and Allegiance, always some good comfort material. Plus the usual B5 and we’ve got the last Good Place to get to.

I’ve got some upcoming shows to continue once I finish Resistance/Mindhunter/Terminator but haven’t quite settled on what. Plus the usual Walking Dead/Brooklyn 99/Altered Carbon/Westworld III that’s gonna start/come back in the next couple of months.

watchingTVDanny watches