For years, Law and Order has been one of the few really great shows out there (along with Top Chef). Anyone else like it?
Or rather, does anyone else STILL like it? This year's season premiered with an episode about torture ordered by the Bush Administration, with Sam Waterston uttering the line 'it's about time someone prosecuted them.' Thanks for your subtlety. MESSAGE: someone needs to go after the last administration.
Last night featured back-to-back episodes. The first one featured a subplot about the police chief suffering through chemo treatments. Her son and husband encourage marijuana use to get through it, and she resists, citing her role as police chief. But she clearly succumbs, as her own superior at the Department takes her aside later and tells her he smells pot on her-and passes her some breath mints and a card with how to discreetly get more pot. MESSAGE: marijuana must be legalized.
The topper, though, was last night's second episode. A woman is killed because she stumbles on to the truth about an expensive drug with few actual benefits but that is a cash cow for big pharma. So big pharma becomes a pinata for all of the actors, with Sam Waterston uttering another gem: 'and this is why we can't get a health care plan passed in this country.' MESSAGE: insurance companies evil and the roadblock to progress.
I don't know how the last episode turned out, because we turned off the TV at the healthcare plan comment, and I sent a note to NBC saying we were done watching this show until they dropped the political agenda. I'm longing for the Fred Thompson/Jerry Ohrbach episodes and wondering why I can't even enjoy a favorite TV show with some sort of point being made.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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7 comments:
I don't watch the show, Sally, but I get your agitation. You see this stuff all the time in other shows/movies.
Couldn't agree more, Sally. But you're wasting your time writing to the NewBamaCo network. Given that we are reminded no less than every 5 minutes, for nearly 5 minutes duration, who is funding these shows, it may be more productive to notify the corporate sponsors that if they continue to use their profit margins to further this kind of social compost, you'll do your part to reduce that margin.
Switch to Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The police leads are too immersed in their own weirdness to engage in politics. Plus, they usually leave off the prosecutors altogether.
If we are to espouse freedom of speech, then we must espouse it for all mediums of communication, Law and Order included.
To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes attributed to Voltaire “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it."
Smoothfur, I get what you're saying, but it's not as if there aren't plenty of political commentary shows out there. If that's what interested me at the hour L&O is on, I'd watch Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow. We should be able to watch a drama program without the obvious political statements.
And the networks should be allowed to show such shows of both types. We just don't have to tune in to them, nor, when a good show starts straying into the political commentary arena, do we have to continue doing business with their sponsors. At least, not while there is still a shred of capitalism left we don't.
Yup Sally, yup.
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