Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Worst Detective Show Plot?

I love mystery shows and detective series, but sooner or later they always use the same plot device for one episode that I can’t stand. You know the one, and they all do it: it’s the one where the detective hero of the show gets framed for a murder and he/she has to prove his/her innocence. And in every single one of these, the entire police department turns against him/her, with some resident detective we’re supposed to hate trying their best to railroad our hero. And we know it won’t work from the start, because most of these shows are named after their detective hero. So what, are they going to end the show on this ignominious note and have their heroic character get framed, railroaded, found guilty, convicted and executed (or put in prison for life with all the other murderers he/she helped put away); or worse yet, do that and continue the show and let the jerk character we’ve been conditioned to detest take over the show, and keep using the show’s title, named after the previous hero guy, just to rub it in that they’ve ruined the show by screwing over the hero and the audience? No, they’re obviously not going to do that, so the whole show is just a time-wasting exercise in annoying futility, torturing us for our loyalty and affection for the character, as if they’re seeking to punish us for being fans of the show. Well, it’s lazy, and it’s lame, and it’s boring, because every damn show does it at some point. (I have to wonder how often this happens to real detectives. I’d say, um, maybe never?) And, on top of it all, it’s abusive to the audience. And every time this episode comes along, I just have to groan. I wish they’d just stop doing this altogether.