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Is there a manual for making police dramas?
Condor7
Posts: 423
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I think there must be, as for years a lot of them (DCI Banks at the moment) use the same techniques. I think the rule book must look something like this.......
Rule 1. When you want to question someone and you see them at a distance, shout out their name very loudly, to give them time to run, hence providing some action to liven up the show.
Rule 2. When a member of the public is being interviewed, even if someone they know reasonably well has just been murdered, get the member of the public to keep on doing whatever they were doing before the police arrive, i.e. carry on stacking shelves, or laying out a table, or if walking keep walking while they try to interview them.
Rule 3. If something very bad is going to happen make sure everyone before hand is really really happy.
Rule 4. If going to a home or location where a baddie is, make sure the police car has it's lights going and siren blaring so the baddie has time to get away.
You get the idea, we must have seen these techniques a hundred times over the years, cannot someone come along and think for themselves and produce a police drama that breaks the mould a little bit?
Rule 1. When you want to question someone and you see them at a distance, shout out their name very loudly, to give them time to run, hence providing some action to liven up the show.
Rule 2. When a member of the public is being interviewed, even if someone they know reasonably well has just been murdered, get the member of the public to keep on doing whatever they were doing before the police arrive, i.e. carry on stacking shelves, or laying out a table, or if walking keep walking while they try to interview them.
Rule 3. If something very bad is going to happen make sure everyone before hand is really really happy.
Rule 4. If going to a home or location where a baddie is, make sure the police car has it's lights going and siren blaring so the baddie has time to get away.
You get the idea, we must have seen these techniques a hundred times over the years, cannot someone come along and think for themselves and produce a police drama that breaks the mould a little bit?
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That should do it.
He also views lawyers as little better than criminals
In general, they're not.
And the sidekick will invariably be of the opposite sex to create sexual 'will-they won't-they' tension. And the female will be down-trodden and disrespected by her laughing, chauvinistic colleagues, but still solve all the crimes single-handed.
Ah!
You've given some excellent definitions of what I described as "The Pantomime Factor," which I added (amongst many others, including my "Laws of Television"), to "Urban Dictionary," seven years ago.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The+Pantomime+Factor&defid=3195441
In 'real life' he would appear to be a rather unattractive, quite grubby character, but in the police series, he will always appeal to the most attractive, intelligent women.
The Wire was the last police-type show I saw & I enjoyed it very much.
Once at the station, ignore any requests to be released ... you can keep them there as long as you want.
You must drive a 30 year old heap of rust, with a large dog in the back.
And, despite drinking and smoking, you must run ... and be seen to run. .. five miles every morning.
Over hear it will be a clapped out Volvo or similar.
In the states, even a basic dectective not on great wages will drive a classic Mustang or Pontiac etc.
To interview criminals you have to be a senior officer, preferably a Superintendent.( In real life, these people never go near a criminal )
Our hero will be able to solve complex murder cases entirely on their own, with the occasional assistance of a plodding sidekick.
Which sidekick gets things explained to them, for the actual benefit of slower viewers.
Does any detective apart from Columbo drive a heap of rust with a dog in it, his Car wasn't a heap of rust anyway, California car.
Female detective with husband and family, Cagney of Cagney and Lacey fame.
This thread needs a laughter track or something.
I think most could work out the OP was just having a bit of fun with this.
The lack of a daft juvenile smiley, might have thrown a few.
It's for "amusement only."
Grouchy people should just scroll down and ignore it.
I'm sure that was meant as a joke.
Actually, Jones in Midsomer murders, was sometimes portrayed as a bit thick, in a few episodes, so I guess he's a candidate, but curiously, often in the following episode he was back to his normal self.
I thought quite low ranking officers often did the interviews and much of the investigation now? Obviously if it is a major crime it will be someone more experienced though from what an ex police friend has told me in the past, the senior officers tend to show up when there is some 'glory' for their CVs. The ordinary plod seem to hate the senior officers more than the criminals!
Yes, Cagney is certainly an exception having no family, but Lacey's made up for that. Jane Tennison was another exception (but then Prime Suspect was far more than just a by the numbers detective series).
I think you might be taking this thread a bit too seriously. ;-)
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Better?
Yes!
But isn't that the same in many industries?
The phrases, "Praise for the non-participants," and "The punishing of the innocent," are in common usage.
"Give us a clue,"
Doh!
(Sorry)