They’re just trying to do their job, but on just about any TV show or movie they’re portrayed as the bad guy. They’re always out to get our heroes, trying to get them fired, and even worse – there’s not much they can do about it. Who am I talking about? Why, the agents of Internal Affairs.
Think about it. The only real time I remember the IAD guy being the “good guy” was in “The Corruptor”, and even then Marky Mark was really the “good bad guy”. Or something like that.
Aside from that, IAD people seem to come in two types – the guy you know about who is out to get you for no real reason whatsoever (exception – ‘CSI: Miami’ where the guy is jealous that Horatio got the CSI job. Yes, forensics rates higher than the IAD), or they guy who comes in undercover but finds out that he’s actually being used by others to get to department X (see: Spenser on ’24’).
Now, why is it that they need to have this sort of internal conflict within a procedural? The answer – because it’s the kind of conflict we can relate to. We can’t relate to taking a look at dead bodies, but we CAN relate to those people that would dare to question our day-to-day duties. Think of “Office Space” – the two Bills were essentially doing the same thing as an IAD officer: taking a look at what you did and assessing whether that was good enough. Because humans by nature are an egotistical lot, it’s a big blow to find out that we’re not needed, and our anger is often directed at those that precipitate that process (in my case it’s directed at a former VP of a company that no longer exists).
Now, the IAD in Real Life may not actually be as portrayed in the fantasy land we call entertainment, but one thing is for certain – we can count on writers of procedural/cop dramas to continue using them to help us connect with the protagonists.
IP Linkage:
– Josh has a lot of random thoughts, plus a lot of links in The Weekly Pulse. He also doesn’t know it yet, but he’ll probably be recapping AI for a week when I go on vacation.
– Jim gives props to Bryce for calling out Trump.
The Week In Hindsight:
Wednesday:
‘Lost’ (CTV) – Finally got around to watching this, and it was good stuff, constantly making you think that maybe Gale was who he said he was, and showing us why Locke is now so adamant about everything. I can’t say I blame Helen for leaving him though.
Thursday:
‘Survivor: Panama – Exile Island’ (Global, CBS) – Well, it’s finally back and the episode didn’t disappoint, although some of the competitors were disappointing. First off, Austin gets “dumbass of the week” for trying to look weak during Hang Tough and then saying at Tribal Council that he was trying to look weak on purpose. Second, Terry is close behind with his “We can guarantee you Final Six” gambit, which was ballsy but also dumb seeing as he didn’t exactly have the numbers to back him up. And in the previews, he apparently tips his hand about the Immunity Talisman. WTF?
Meanwhile, Cirie looks more brilliant with each episode not so much because she’s getting smarter, but everyone else seems to be getting dumber.
Oh, and that Immunity Necklace? I’m pretty sure I saw some women wearing that when I went out to Mink Nightclub a couple of Saturdays ago.
‘My Name is Earl’ (NBC) – Did Malcolm Kelley get hired to an exclusive contract with NBC or something? Because we haven’t seen him on ‘Lost’ this season, yet he’s guest starring here and on ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’. Good episode though.
‘The Office’ (NBC) – As we delve deeper into what makes Michael tick, we see that he just wants to be loved – is that so wrong? And B.J. Novak gave us another brilliant look as he puts the pieces together about Dwight and Angela, which still creeps ME out.
Friday:
140-126. This could only happen when “Captain Canada”, Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns are in town to play the Raptors. Entertaining game, as we saw two styles of play – the Suns passing the ball and getting some easy open looks, and Mike James hogging the ball for T.O., dishing off only as a last resort.
‘Numb3rs’ (Global, CBS) – OK, first Navi Rawat, now Olivia D’Abo? This would never happen to a real
Saturday:
The wife and I watched “The Constant Gardener”, and my God what a boring piece of crap this was. The back panel promised a “suspense/thriller” and frankly, we were neither held in suspense nor were we thrilled. It was then that my wife mentioned that John le Carré novels are often slow and monotonous, which probably would’ve helped had I known that at the beginning. In any case, this is strike two with respect to my friend’s taste in movies, as he’d previously lent us the Gawd-awful Schumacher-directed “Phantom of the Opera”.
Sunday:
‘Cold Case’ (CTV, ABC)
‘Iron Chef America’ (Food Network Canada) – Add me to the growing legion of viewers wondering “why is Cat Cora an Iron Chef?”
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (CTV, ABC) – I think I’m starting to enjoy the scenes with Torres more than any other woman on the show, with the possible exception of Bailey. On the flipside, I still think Yang is a horrible character played by a mediocre actress. BTW, I thought Chris O’Donnell looked like crap with that beard thingies he had, but my wife thought that he actually looked BETTER than he had previously.
Monday:
‘Prison Break’ (Global, Fox) – You can see how hard they tried with the ‘Lost’-style flashbacks, although all the principals (besides D.B. Cooper and Abruzzi) not incarcerated 3 years ago (not to mention all having the exact same hairstyles they do at Fox River) seems to be a bit of a stretch. Anyways, the flashback was more about Michael and how he goes from cold-hearted architect to caring architect of his brother’s escape.
’24’ (Global, Fox), Romo and Rob’s recap right here – It would be what in wrestling terms known as a “Russo Swerve” – a swerve for the sake of swerving despite the fact that none was needed and that it makes absolutely no sense given what has happened previously. Logan manufactures a situation that allows nerve gas to be released on the general public, threatens the Russian President, and causes chaos in Los Angeles? To what end? So that he can come in, save the day, and get reelected? Seems like a bit of a stretch for a guy who up until now has been a dipshit lame duck since he took Office last season. Although I suppose we might as well go all the way and retcon Logan as the force behind Keeler getting acclaimed (presumably) as President and then Air Force One getting shot down so that he (Logan) could take over as President.
‘Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares’ (Food Network Canada) – My wife didn’t want to watch this, so while I was in the shower she switched to
‘The Apprentice’ (Global, NBC) – Donald Trump is predictable. From the start of the Boardroom you could tell he was setting up Bryce to be fired, and in the Final Boardroom didn’t even bother discussing Lenny or Lee, dismissing them with a flimsy “well, they didn’t do anything, so how can I fire them?” argument. Look, I’m all for Lee following the doctrines of his religion and all, but it’s a COMPETITION, and if you don’t think you can deal with what’s been laid out for you (and you can’t deny ignorance – this is the sixth iteration of the show), don’t apply.
Back to the Final Boardroom, to focus on the task and say “well, the jingle was good but the lyrics and melody were poor” is saying nothing at all, since YOU’RE CONTRADICTING YOURSELF IN THE SAME SENTENCE. And since you’re focusing on task, why wouldn’t you fire those that contributed nothing over those that tried and came up short? Aren’t you then just rewarding those that do nothing? It’s all about Trump’s ego at this point, and frankly a move to L.A. isn’t about to change anything with this sinking ship of a show.
Tuesday:
Thankfully, they moved ‘The Amazing Race’ to Wednesday so I have a chance to relax a bit on Tuesdays.
‘American Idol’ (CTV, Fox) – Again, another underwhelming show, as the competitors were knocked way out of their comfort zone and fell back to the old standby of singing ballads. No huge cheats this time around (remember the guy who sang Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”) so I’m not entirely disliking the episode. Still, they need to stop with the use of country. Maybe go the Canadian Idol route and have some classic rock or something.
‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ (CTV) – A double shot of this piqued my interest as I looked for how they would disguise Mariska Hagritay’s pregnancy. In the first episode (a repeat, I think), they did very well, shooting her from the boobs up. In the second, not so well. She’s wearing a parka while everyone else is dressed in springtime gear?
Wednesday:
‘Lost’ (CTV)
‘The Amazing Race’ (CTV, CBS) – The two-team Race continues as the Bong Squad continue to lead the pack.
‘American Idol’ (CTV, FOX)
‘Iron Chef America’ (Food Network Canada)
‘Good Eats’ (Food Network Canada)
Bits and Pieces:
Got four comics this week:
– New Excalibur continues to suprise me as Claremont continues to write this title well.
– Transformers: Beast Wars surprises me because IDW hasn’t been forced to change the name to “Transformers: Beasties” in Canada…
– Infinite Crisis gave us a tragic parallel to Crisis, and really you need to sit down to read it.
– The OMAC Project Special manages to squeeze in a Douglas Adams reference, plus sets up the “Checkmate” ongoing.
That’s it for this week.
