Does anyone else get as upset as I do with the inexcusably sloppy research and writing on TV shows. I’m speaking especially about history, mystery and police procedural shows. There’s a new Jesse Stone movie coming up on Hallmark channel. I’m a fan of both the series as created by Robert B. Parker and with Tom Selleck in the title role. But as I read the TV movie description, my gorge started to rise and I wanted to vomit.
In this day and age of instant internet access to immense amounts of information, there’s no excuse for blunders like saying Jesse Stone is working with the “Massachusetts State Homicide Division.” For many years I worked as a crime and courts reporter in Massachusetts. Then and now, there isn’t any such animal. With only a few exceptions for the biggest Massachusetts cities, homicides are investigated by the various District Attorneys’ offices. Those investigations are handled by Massachusetts State Police Detective Lieutenants who often are hired from the retired ranks of former local police agencies. I’ve never met one who began as a uniformed state trooper: entirely different skill sets.
It took me less than a minute to research and verify my recollections. That means it would have taken a script writer a similar amount of time to be authentic and factual rather than a blathering would-be writer who demonstrates his lack of talent by creating material sans research. Imagine how much better and more plausible TV scripts would be if their creators took even a smidgen of time to learn about what they’re writing?
I’m afraid to watch and see just how many other rudimentary blunders rear their ugly heads during the premier. Should we keep count?
In this day and age of instant internet access to immense amounts of information, there’s no excuse for blunders like saying Jesse Stone is working with the “Massachusetts State Homicide Division.” For many years I worked as a crime and courts reporter in Massachusetts. Then and now, there isn’t any such animal. With only a few exceptions for the biggest Massachusetts cities, homicides are investigated by the various District Attorneys’ offices. Those investigations are handled by Massachusetts State Police Detective Lieutenants who often are hired from the retired ranks of former local police agencies. I’ve never met one who began as a uniformed state trooper: entirely different skill sets.
It took me less than a minute to research and verify my recollections. That means it would have taken a script writer a similar amount of time to be authentic and factual rather than a blathering would-be writer who demonstrates his lack of talent by creating material sans research. Imagine how much better and more plausible TV scripts would be if their creators took even a smidgen of time to learn about what they’re writing?
I’m afraid to watch and see just how many other rudimentary blunders rear their ugly heads during the premier. Should we keep count?