Comments on: An Open Letter to Television Writers and Producers re:Civilian Consultants http://tacticalip.com/2010/03/04/an-open-letter-to-television-writers-and-producers-recivilian-consultants/ Tactically Relevant. Patently Entertaining. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:19:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jim http://tacticalip.com/2010/03/04/an-open-letter-to-television-writers-and-producers-recivilian-consultants/#comment-175 Jim Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:02:28 +0000 http://tacticalip.com/?p=823#comment-175 You're right, these shows seem to fly fast and loose with regard to following the rights of Americans. All I know is that being a Cop, Lawyer or Doctor must be very glamorous work based on what I see on TV. Oh how I wish I could be a Crime Scene Investigator in Miami, or better yet an out of work spy. You’re right, these shows seem to fly fast and loose with regard to following the rights of Americans. All I know is that being a Cop, Lawyer or Doctor must be very glamorous work based on what I see on TV. Oh how I wish I could be a Crime Scene Investigator in Miami, or better yet an out of work spy.

]]> By: Mac http://tacticalip.com/2010/03/04/an-open-letter-to-television-writers-and-producers-recivilian-consultants/#comment-174 Mac Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:46:40 +0000 http://tacticalip.com/?p=823#comment-174 The cure is "Hire a legal consultant to give input on issues of criminal procedure"? How on earth would that help? I could only be a cure if we lived in a fantasy land where the guys make CSI honestly don't know that their characters aren't following good procedures. But this is the real world and, of course, the guys behind CSI know that perfectly well. So why would hiring a consultant to tell something they already know be of any use at all ? Mac The cure is “Hire a legal consultant to give input on issues of criminal procedure”?

How on earth would that help?

I could only be a cure if we lived in a fantasy land where the guys make CSI honestly don’t know that their characters aren’t following good procedures.

But this is the real world and, of course, the guys behind CSI know that perfectly well.

So why would hiring a consultant to tell something they already know be of any use at all ?

Mac

]]> By: jfischer1975 http://tacticalip.com/2010/03/04/an-open-letter-to-television-writers-and-producers-recivilian-consultants/#comment-171 jfischer1975 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:19:04 +0000 http://tacticalip.com/?p=823#comment-171 <p>Mr. Lofland -- What good is a dead horse if you can't beat on it every now and again?  ;)</p> <p>In all seriousness, though, thanks for your comment.  I realize that an emphasis on verisimilitude is almost never the first priority for movies and television.  It wouldn't be much fun to watch if all they showed was real life.  That said, I appreciate your previous efforts and consider you a brother-in-arms in the fight against grossly inaccurate entertainment outlets.  If nothing else, you've gained a new reader for your blog from this exchange!</p> Mr. Lofland — What good is a dead horse if you can’t beat on it every now and again?  ;)

In all seriousness, though, thanks for your comment.  I realize that an emphasis on verisimilitude is almost never the first priority for movies and television.  It wouldn’t be much fun to watch if all they showed was real life.  That said, I appreciate your previous efforts and consider you a brother-in-arms in the fight against grossly inaccurate entertainment outlets.  If nothing else, you’ve gained a new reader for your blog from this exchange!

]]> By: Lee Lofland http://tacticalip.com/2010/03/04/an-open-letter-to-television-writers-and-producers-recivilian-consultants/#comment-170 Lee Lofland Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:49:22 +0000 http://tacticalip.com/?p=823#comment-170 Jason - You just might be beating a horse that's been dead for years. I've fought this battle for a long time with very little success. I even titled the last chapter in my book (Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide For Writers) CSI Don't Think So. I also write a daily blog called The Graveyard Shift that's dedicated to setting the facts straight regarding police procedure, forensics, and CSI. And, I write a weekly review of shows like Castle where I point out the flaws in police procedure and forensics. I do the reviews in a tongue-in-cheek style, and it's a lot of fun, but I write it with a specific purpose - to help writers know the differences between reality and fiction. Also, I host an event called Writers' Police Academy. The WPA is a hands-on event for writers and anyone else who's interested in learning about police work and investigation. The WPA is held at a real police academy and the workshops are all taught by actual police academy instructors and other police experts from across the country. So you see, I do all this and I still see TV cops racking rounds into their 9mm's. And I still read about smelling cordite in books written by bestselling authors. But, I haven't given up hope that someday TV writers, showrunners, and authors will learn that fiction should be believable, yes, but not absurd. Jason – You just might be beating a horse that’s been dead for years. I’ve fought this battle for a long time with very little success. I even titled the last chapter in my book (Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide For Writers) CSI Don’t Think So. I also write a daily blog called The Graveyard Shift that’s dedicated to setting the facts straight regarding police procedure, forensics, and CSI. And, I write a weekly review of shows like Castle where I point out the flaws in police procedure and forensics. I do the reviews in a tongue-in-cheek style, and it’s a lot of fun, but I write it with a specific purpose – to help writers know the differences between reality and fiction.

Also, I host an event called Writers’ Police Academy. The WPA is a hands-on event for writers and anyone else who’s interested in learning about police work and investigation. The WPA is held at a real police academy and the workshops are all taught by actual police academy instructors and other police experts from across the country.

So you see, I do all this and I still see TV cops racking rounds into their 9mm’s. And I still read about smelling cordite in books written by bestselling authors.

But, I haven’t given up hope that someday TV writers, showrunners, and authors will learn that fiction should be believable, yes, but not absurd.

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