I am still griping about TV screenplays--back to detective shows. So many detective shows use a formula. The standard formula has the detectives question several suspects. It will appear that one of the suspects questioned is guilty. However, later the suspect’s prints or DNA do not match the evidence or their alibi checks out. Near the end of the show, the screen writer(s) reveals that the killer is one of the suspects previously questioned but assumed to be innocent. Usually, it is the suspect that looked the most innocent. I would think that by now all detectives would know that the suspect that looks the guiltiest is never the killer.
Episodes also upset me where the killer takes a hostage. The detective confronts the killer who holds a gun to the head of the hostage. As long time TV viewers, we all know that if the detective shoots the killer between the eyes, the killer would die instantly and could not shoot the hostage. I guess the detectives that lay down their weapons are poor shots. Usually, the detective does not know the hostage and is not related to the hostage. The detective should merely say, “Go ahead and kill the hostage and I will kill you. Nobody will know how it went down. Your choice.” I could add, "Make my day."
Occasionally, the screenwriter has the hero do something completely out of character. I saw a recent episode of Person of Interest. The hero seldom kills anyone but rather shoots him or her in the leg, although I have not seen him shoot a woman. However, in this episode, the person of interest is poisoned and has only 24 hours to live. (spoiler alert) Our hero helps the victim hunt down the killer and poison him in revenge. Even if justified, that is murder. Why did the writer have the protagonist murder someone when in previous episodes the writer went to great lengths to avoid murder? The whole idea that a doctor, the first victim, would want to spend his last 24 hours seeking revenge is absurd. The doctor could have sent out an e-mail to the police explaining what happened and then spend the rest of his time getting ready to die: setting out his will, printing out all his passwords, finding his insurance policies, and leaving all his keys out with a farewell note. Hopefully, he will remember to delete all the porn from his computer.
Episodes also upset me where the killer takes a hostage. The detective confronts the killer who holds a gun to the head of the hostage. As long time TV viewers, we all know that if the detective shoots the killer between the eyes, the killer would die instantly and could not shoot the hostage. I guess the detectives that lay down their weapons are poor shots. Usually, the detective does not know the hostage and is not related to the hostage. The detective should merely say, “Go ahead and kill the hostage and I will kill you. Nobody will know how it went down. Your choice.” I could add, "Make my day."
Occasionally, the screenwriter has the hero do something completely out of character. I saw a recent episode of Person of Interest. The hero seldom kills anyone but rather shoots him or her in the leg, although I have not seen him shoot a woman. However, in this episode, the person of interest is poisoned and has only 24 hours to live. (spoiler alert) Our hero helps the victim hunt down the killer and poison him in revenge. Even if justified, that is murder. Why did the writer have the protagonist murder someone when in previous episodes the writer went to great lengths to avoid murder? The whole idea that a doctor, the first victim, would want to spend his last 24 hours seeking revenge is absurd. The doctor could have sent out an e-mail to the police explaining what happened and then spend the rest of his time getting ready to die: setting out his will, printing out all his passwords, finding his insurance policies, and leaving all his keys out with a farewell note. Hopefully, he will remember to delete all the porn from his computer.
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