HijiNKS and Smart People on TV

[nialla42]

HijiNKS Ensue: "Everybody shut the hell up forever. I found the remote. Ooh, 'Top Chef' is on." Trust me, in context, it's funny. ;)

Cracked: 5 Things TV Writers Apparently Believe About Smart People

Snurched from janedavitt, and definitely worth a read. Though it doesn't seem to pick up on what I think the real reason for having so many "super smart"

Comments

[superbadgirl]

Actually, I think the degree of "smartness" in SPN degraded the further along they went with the big mytharc of the show, so that even when they had a one-off MotW episode they relied more on a quick-fix instead of giving those wonderful layers.

I, frankly, miss them having to work for it instead of running and shooting at whatever goes bump in the night.

[nialla42]

I guess with any show, there's a mix of evolution and de-evolution. There's still a lot of the original elements in the show, but they've been reduced or increased. Same ingredients and basic recipe, different chef, different results.

I'm still really whining over the repeated "Sam's bad. Born bad, always bad, no matter how good he seemed before" combined with "Dean is right, always right, no matter how many times he's been wrong."

[lunachickk]

I'd also like to point out that the scene where Bobby breaks into the library for a book in "Weekend At Bobby's" on SPN is one of my favorites.

[nialla42]

I liked that scene too, but my reality check kicked in when an alarm didn't go off. Even my rinky dink library has an alarm. I had to repeat "silent alarm" to myself to cover for it.

[strix_an_stones]

The Cracked article was fun, but according to it a lot of people I know (including myself apparently) really don't exist. Not that I'm calling myself a master of anything, but I have more than one degree, and before my auto accident was fluent in mutliple languages. Now I'm stuck in that I can read and understand (sometimes) those spoken languages but it is hit and miss, depending on how well my head wants to cooperate. I'm 39, but I do know and understand that prior to my TBI some things came easier but not so much faster as to qualify for TV Land. Yes, I'm in Mensa Land IQ wise, but I don't think that really matters. My grandfather spoke six languages and he was just a high school graduate, some people have different predispositions for learning certain things. Like the old question: would Mozart have been a musical genius if no one ever put him in front of a piano

[nialla42]

I think the idea was such people do exist, but are vastly overrepresented in TV shows simply to be an easy way to get out of difficult writing. Sort of like the oft used magic internet that will give the exact answers Our Heroes need in mere moments, or DNA results before the end of an episode.

It's all to get an episode done in under 45 minutes and not a reflection of reality. Not even "reality TV" reflects reality. ;)

I would definitely like some imports. Considering the number of medical people I've seen in recent years who are of Indian, Asian or African extraction, there should be a lot more color represented onscreen.

[aizjanika]

Which is kind of sad, because I definitely remember episodes in the first season of Supernatural where they went to local libraries and courthouses to look up information about whatever they were hunting,

I remember that, too. I preferred it when they spent time researching--when even Dean spent time researching. I think the show did go through a dumbing down, but especially the character of Dean. Sadly, most people see it as the show it is now, which I think is sad, but the show it is now is not *my* show. But now I think maybe it never was, since my view of the characters was so completely different from that of pretty much everyone else. *g*

I have noticed this on other shows, too, and I vote for your reason: lazy writing. On some shows it works better than others, though.

I am not a fan of the asshole genius either, but I take exception to this article classifying Monk as an asshole genius, though. Um...no. He was mentally ill and the people around him generally treated him horribly. Yes, he was a complete jerk sometimes,

[nialla42]

I'm still watching Supernatural because I like the characters, yet I find myself wanting the characters to come back, even though they're on the screen. It's not that the characters have "grown" but they've changed and become repetitive due to a plot point.

I'm hoping now that they've finally gotten the Big Deal With Sam done, we'll get to see some forward momentum. I found myself liking the episode featuring Bobby and Rufus the most so far, and from what I've seen, it was one of the top-rated episodes, so maybe TPTB will take the hint.

[aizjanika]

I stopped watching at least 2 seasons ago, maybe more. I'm not sure. *g* I couldn't stand when they turned Dean into a sex-crazed, sexist jerk. lol I know most people saw him that way all along, but I never did until they began writing him that way in season 3. I think I still watched at least some of season 4, but I *hated* Dean and didn't like Sam much anymore either

[nialla42]

I do think Supernatural is an interesting case of when TPTB listen to fans too much, which is pretty rare. There's way too many "inside jokes" that would probably be over the heads of the general viewer.

It's one thing for fans to get meta and run with wild speculation that makes no real sense, but we've seen both onscreen with Supernatural.

Rufus is another hunter who's appeared a few times. This season, they had an episode where we didn't see Dean and Sam much, but Bobby and Rufus doing a pretty funny "Cranky Old Hunters" thing. As things originally were set up, I could have easily seen Sam and Dean ending up like them, but adding in the Apocalypse storyline changed both the characters and the show drastically and I can't quite see it anymore. At this point, I'd rather watch Bobby and Rufus in a "Cranky Old Hunters" spinoff.

[justalurkr]

Evolution of research on Supernatural:
Dad's Journal
Libraries
Newspapers
Interviews
Internet
WTF that's what Bobby's for

[nialla42]

+1