Guilty Pleasures
I think most of us have guilty pleasures in various entertainment genres. You know, that TV show, or those books, that you really shouldn't like, because they're pretty silly, but you can't help liking anyway?
My primary guilty pleasure right now would be the TV series NCIS. As an actual representation of anything vaguely serious, it's preposterous -- a naval crime investigation unit that of course sees more action in a week than most such units would see in a career, and is populated by a crew of very attractive, or very weird (or both) people who spend more time behaving like teenagers on camp than as professionals of any description.
But it's the very weirdness of the characters that is the show's greatest strength, because the characterisation, while unrealistic, is lots of fun. In particular, the female characters are terrific. American TV has gone through phases where I found many new shows almost impossible to watch simply because I could barely tell the female characters apart. I mean, any heterosexual male will tell you that there's no single, exclusive 'type' of attractive female, thus this great fraud perpetuated on teenage girls in magazines to try and convince them if they don't fit the 'type' no guy will want them. I'd have thought the male response to Gillian Anderson in the X-Files pretty much disproved that idea, when the producers reportedly wanted someone blonder and taller, but the lesson didn't seem to be learned... although I think it's getting better now.
NCIS's female characters also do not exist merely to be someone else's sidekick, or to fill a role as 'the female' -- they pretty much fill their own unique space, and do their own unique thing, which I find rare in these kinds of shows. 'Abby the Goth' is a scene stealer, Ziva the Mossad agent is a nice twist away from the usual 'struggling to cope' portrayal of a hard bitten agent, because she enjoys her work a little too much, and Director Shepard doesn't have much to do, but hey, I've liked Lauren Holly since 'Picket Fences'. The men are also fun, Gibbs is a study in blunt practicality, Dinozo a study in political incorrectness, and Ducky a good old fashioned English gentleman cliche, but an entertaining one.
I think one of the things that makes it work is that being what could be described as more to the right, politically speaking, it manages to escape the orbit of leftist political correctness that occassionally strangles some of the others, like your various 'Law and Order's. The 'Law and Order' shows are more serious, and arguably more realistic, because they're imbued with that very left wing, 'we care so much', 'my gosh look how serious this is' kind of ethic, where all the characters become screwed up psychologically because they empathise with the victims, and it all gets very dark and brooding after a while.
NCIS is light relief by comparison because the characters all mostly love their jobs, but that enables it to have more straight out, 'guilty pleasure' fun. And the characters get to do things you won't see on your 'Law and Order's -- like where a female cop will always be expected to interview a traumatised female crime victim, because of the feminine sensitivities involved. In NCIS, Ziva's the last person to talk to grieving women, because she usually upsets them, makes them cry, and gets along much better with men. In a Law and Order show, this would be considered a deep character flaw, and would inevitably be linked back to some traumatic experience of childhood. In NCIS, it's just funny. Perhaps NCIS is not so much a 'right wing' show as a libertarian one. How else to explain how a girl with tatoos, black mascara and a dog collar works in the forensics lab of a naval investigation agency? The characters get away with stuff that would get most people fired, and Gibbs and Director Shepard's attitude is 'we don't care, so long as it works'. Maybe that's why I like it.
My primary guilty pleasure right now would be the TV series NCIS. As an actual representation of anything vaguely serious, it's preposterous -- a naval crime investigation unit that of course sees more action in a week than most such units would see in a career, and is populated by a crew of very attractive, or very weird (or both) people who spend more time behaving like teenagers on camp than as professionals of any description.
But it's the very weirdness of the characters that is the show's greatest strength, because the characterisation, while unrealistic, is lots of fun. In particular, the female characters are terrific. American TV has gone through phases where I found many new shows almost impossible to watch simply because I could barely tell the female characters apart. I mean, any heterosexual male will tell you that there's no single, exclusive 'type' of attractive female, thus this great fraud perpetuated on teenage girls in magazines to try and convince them if they don't fit the 'type' no guy will want them. I'd have thought the male response to Gillian Anderson in the X-Files pretty much disproved that idea, when the producers reportedly wanted someone blonder and taller, but the lesson didn't seem to be learned... although I think it's getting better now.
NCIS's female characters also do not exist merely to be someone else's sidekick, or to fill a role as 'the female' -- they pretty much fill their own unique space, and do their own unique thing, which I find rare in these kinds of shows. 'Abby the Goth' is a scene stealer, Ziva the Mossad agent is a nice twist away from the usual 'struggling to cope' portrayal of a hard bitten agent, because she enjoys her work a little too much, and Director Shepard doesn't have much to do, but hey, I've liked Lauren Holly since 'Picket Fences'. The men are also fun, Gibbs is a study in blunt practicality, Dinozo a study in political incorrectness, and Ducky a good old fashioned English gentleman cliche, but an entertaining one.
I think one of the things that makes it work is that being what could be described as more to the right, politically speaking, it manages to escape the orbit of leftist political correctness that occassionally strangles some of the others, like your various 'Law and Order's. The 'Law and Order' shows are more serious, and arguably more realistic, because they're imbued with that very left wing, 'we care so much', 'my gosh look how serious this is' kind of ethic, where all the characters become screwed up psychologically because they empathise with the victims, and it all gets very dark and brooding after a while.
NCIS is light relief by comparison because the characters all mostly love their jobs, but that enables it to have more straight out, 'guilty pleasure' fun. And the characters get to do things you won't see on your 'Law and Order's -- like where a female cop will always be expected to interview a traumatised female crime victim, because of the feminine sensitivities involved. In NCIS, Ziva's the last person to talk to grieving women, because she usually upsets them, makes them cry, and gets along much better with men. In a Law and Order show, this would be considered a deep character flaw, and would inevitably be linked back to some traumatic experience of childhood. In NCIS, it's just funny. Perhaps NCIS is not so much a 'right wing' show as a libertarian one. How else to explain how a girl with tatoos, black mascara and a dog collar works in the forensics lab of a naval investigation agency? The characters get away with stuff that would get most people fired, and Gibbs and Director Shepard's attitude is 'we don't care, so long as it works'. Maybe that's why I like it.
1 Comments:
I'm not in the least guilty feeling about loving NCIS. It's rare to find such a well written program, with a director and crew who are committed to quality entertainment, as well as having such a fantastic ensemble cast.
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