From Cracked: "5 Things TV Writers Apparently Believe about Smart People"

[kuriadalmatia]

At first, I was kind of miffed that, well, Criminal Minds wasn't mentioned in the opening paragraphs. Numb3rs was, and it has been canceled. So I was all prepared to leave a note about how Criminal Minds was looked over yet again (because, let's face it, this show gets little love from any media or its network

Comments

[autumnsfire]

2 quick things: CM is actually loosely based on the BAU, which requires someone to be pretty intelligent in the first place to get into; and there's an 8 year waiting period to get into it right now (per friend who works in FBI, though not profiling).

Secondly, the little comment about no one using books - both Supernatural and CM use books a lot; or in CM's case, chalkboards to work with information.

Blah. Cracked is usually pretty good, but I call crap on most of that article, though the comment about Gideon being a grade a asshole was correct ;)

[failte_aoife]

Agreed...I can't remember Reid having lots of heureka-moments...just lots of chalk XD

(Also agree on Gideon being...complicated but I wouldn't really put him in the same league as House and Jane)

[borg_princess]

Ugh, Jane, yes! I love the show, but he is such a jerk, it kind of bugs me now and then, when I'm like, 'Would it kill you to NOT piss people off on purpose?' Like in this ep I just watched where he deliberately instigated a fight. I thought it was for a purpose, like solving the case, but nooo, it was just to cause trouble. Ugh.

Gideon was kinda more...oblivious to other people's feelings. Like, I don't think he deliberately strove to provoke reactions, it was just he was so focused on stuff that it'd slip by him, he'd have blinders on, y'know? I forgive that more easily than people like Jane and House. (but I find House hilarious, so yeah...)

re: Gideon being oblivious to other people's feelings

[gsyh]

Yes, it's kinda like he can't function off field, lol for Hotch calling him on it, though not lol considering what happened later. That was early season, when Hotch got Garcia an mp3, cause she's the tech girl...not knowing that she'll like flowers more

[thecowboycliche]

Honestly I think Reid is one of the most "realistic" portrayals of a genius on TV right now. He's not SUPERCOOL, if you know what I mean. But I think he's evolving nicely and that Matthew plays him splendidly.

To the whole article I say "this is TV", but I do agree that not every show needs a genius. It is getting a bit old.

No mention of Big Bang Theory at all? Weird lol.

[trenchcoatedson]

"Honestly I think Reid is one of the most "realistic" portrayals of a genius on TV right now."

IAWTC

[coffeebuddha]

Definitely agreed about Reid. From everything we know about his character and his childhood, he makes perfect sense. Take an extremely gifted child in a bad situation and surround him/her with books, and chances are he/she's going to start reading everything around him/her, if only as a way to escape.

No mention of Big Bang Theory at all? Weird lol.

Not really, if you think about it. The genius characters are in a setting where their educations and skill sets are realistic. Yes, they're young, but the only one who's a 'supergenius' is Sheldon, and it's made fairly clear that he did work his ass off to accomplish that; he obviously has no idea what to do with himself over an extended period of time if he isn't working. None of the characters show any real proficiency in fields outside of the ones they've studied or in subjects that hold personal interest for them. When they act inappropriately, there are consequences for those actions although Sheldon is admittedly given more leeway from the other characters than I'd be willing to

[ms_creant]

This article is basically the most hilarious thing of my Sunday morning.
By way of comparison, we're not certain if anyone involved with Supernatural has ever read a book.

Although: most CM related grievances have already been mentioned, I kind of resent CSI being 'accused' of being full of geniuses. At least with CSI Prime, they're all very average intelligence and have experts they consult and medical journals they research through; that's part of what makes the show so fun.

[elventree]

Completely agree with you about CSI. I (still) love that show, and even if some of the cases aren't completely realistic, I have always felt that every single one of the characters is realistic and believable. Even Grissom wasn't a genius - being good at your job and an expert in your field doesn't make you a genius. After all, he had countless years of experience behind him.

Though Greg is a genius in the field of looking damn good.

[autumnsfire]

CSI (all forms) makes me twitch. More because of the fake science used in it.

I don't know if it's gotten any better in the past few years, but originally I used to screech at the television if it was on and I caught some of it, because ...ughs.

My friend who works as a forensic DNA analyst wants to go and find the writers of that show and beat them over the head with a hammer because that show pisses her off so much :)

[elventree]

Castle? How on earth is Castle a genius?? This article is cracked.

There is also no way on earth that Abby from NCIS could be in her late 20's, considering she has 3 degrees, a PhD, and has been working at NCIS for at LEAST 9 years.

I also can't think of a single genius on the original CSI (though Brass does have genius comedic timing).

Also, Peter Bishop is dead sexy so it doesn't matter.

The article makes a lot of sense though. And it was very funny. Thanks for sharing!

[graciouswings]

Given that the lady who plays Abby is 40 (I have no idea how she does it either) she could easily be mid-thirties in character.

And Spencer...gets forgiven everything because he's so pretty.

[murf1307]

And Spencer... gets forgiven everything because he's so pretty.

YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH. Whenever something happens that could prove detrimental to Reid's reputation, it's the writers' faults.

[elliptic_eye]

In Criminal Minds, the FBI routinely sends out its highly valuable elite profiling team to go and arrest dangerous suspects, which is a bit like using the President of the United States as a test pilot for your experimental wingless aircraft.

Legit lulz.