New Aspie TV Series?

[Judge]

I just finished watching CBS' "Scorpion" on video on demand.

As I expected, the show never once mentioned the "A" word. But they alluded to autism one too many times IMO. Four Aspies and one NT who is the parent of a presumably Autistic child. There to be a "translator" because the others "don't communicate so well". Now all government agents.

Did anyone see this new tv show?

I'm just not sure how to take this. Enthusiastically or cyncially? It followed "The Big Bang Theory".

 

[Daniel]

Your post piqued my curiosity, so I checked it out.

Except for the lead and the kid, I took them more as genius caricatures than Aspies per se. Like, nowhere near as Aspie as Sheldon Cooper is implied to be. Or Abed from Community. Maybe those are just more richly realized characters--that's probably my objection. These characters just feel like stereotypes. (To be fair, it was just the pilot episode, so there's room for growth.)

I vote for "cynically". But I'm probably biased against CBS procedurals. That, and I'm worn out on the trope of the socially-challenged genius crime-solver. I feel like they're trying to recapture the Gil Grissom magic.

 

[Judge]

I vote for "cynically". But I'm probably biased against CBS procedurals. That, and I'm worn out on the trope of the socially-challenged genius crime-solver. I feel like they're trying to recapture the Gil Grissom magic.

I took them considerably differently than Sheldon Cooper who I do consider to be a comedic caricature. Aspies can be geniuses, even when it is a stereotype. And to some extent virtually all minorities appear to be stereotyped in Hollywood one way or another.

I'm also no more biased against one network than another. They all chase the same audience shares for the same reasons. My real concern is the show's timeslot being right after TBBT. I'm not sure they will ultimately have the same target audience to capitalize from. That's where my real cynicism kicks in. I'm not convinced the audience of the first show will appreciate the second one.

I guess when it comes to Aspies portrayed in television, I'm not expecting overnight miracles depicting them in very ordinary capacities that NT target audiences admittedly might well get bored with. And copying or resembling any character on a competitor network could prove to have some real legal issues.

 

[Ste11aeres]

After watching an advertisement, I'm mostly just curious about whether they can convincingly pull off one of the characters being "one of the five smartest people alive".
Are the people making the show smart enough? You have to be pretty smart yourself to create a good fictional portrayal of smartness.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I took them considerably differently than Sheldon Cooper who I do consider to be a comedic caricature.

The thing with Sheldon is that he is a comedic caricature, but it is pretty obvious-the show's creators made no attempt to hide it- that he is just that, a comedic caricature, as are each of the other characters. That is the style of humor of Big Bang Theory, it is basically having fun by mocking, not real people, but stereotypical caricatures of people.

 

[Judge]

After watching an advertisement, I'm mostly just curious about whether they can convincingly pull off one of the characters being "one of the five smartest people alive".

Hollywood has never been overly concerned with the details. But they would probably relish at a diversion of speculating that Einstein was an Aspie.

I'm just trying to remain positive that this network has created another drama with Aspies as main characters as opposed to another comedy. Time- and ratings will tell what the general public will think.

I am curious (and skeptical) though about claims that the premise of the show is based on reality the government probably may not share in whole or in part.

 

[Judge]

Are the people making the show smart enough? You have to be pretty smart yourself to create a good fictional portrayal of smartness.

I can only say that IMO that's mostly a process of "smoke and mirrors". Not technical accuracy that stands to reflect an unlimited television budget.

The point is to make something appear and sound sophisticated. That doesn't mean that it is. Sometimes they do a good job, and other times they can be laughable. If you can hide or obscure the truth, so much the better.

 

[icesyckel]

Sheldon's a caricature of an aspie, in my mind, and I am hesitant to believe a show following BBT will do better. Same network.

Btw, my biggest issue with Sheldon is his lack of sympathy. AS/ASD can involve a lack of empathy, but a total lack of sympathy and being a general asshole is not part of the diagnostic criteria. He's just a jerk, and people who see him assume other aspies are that way too. I had a friend tell me I couldn't be an aspie b/c I am nothing like Sheldon. That comment both pleased me (b/c Sheldon's an ass I don't want to remind people of) and pissed me off (b/c unlike Sheldon I am an aspie IRL).

 

[Vanilla]

Hmm, while I have yet to watch the show, the trailer didn't inspire my interest. I do agree with you though Judge. I'll have to take a look eventually I think, as I'm curious now that you mention the possibility of multiple aspie characters.

 

[Judge]

Hmm, while I have yet to watch the show, the trailer didn't inspire my interest. I do agree with you though Judge. I'll have to take a look eventually I think, as I'm curious now that you mention the possibility of multiple aspie characters.

As far as the overall plot goes, it's the same old formula television uses for dramas. Without the Aspie characters it's just another cop show to me. If they don't develop the characters, I'll likely lose interest in the show. But I don't represent the demographic the network is counting on either for the ratings.

Personally I just don't see it as a good bet for network programming to gamble on the same audience who like TBBT liking this show as well. We shall see...

 

[Cerulean]

One the one hand it was nice to watch a bunch of people with similar problems to my own being successful and using their differences as an asset, but it was also kinda cheesy. Oh well- I usually don't care much for pilots so will probably watch a couple more and see if it picks up. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't last long.

 

[clg114]

The way I see it, the show isn't very realistic. But is a TV show, made for the masses. It has to get good ratings or it will get canceled. It's just like the reality shows with their inserted drama. It has to appeal to the largest amount of viewers as possible. That being said, I liked the show and my wife loves it. She thinks it's strange to see people who act like me on TV.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I had a friend tell me I couldn't be an aspie b/c I am nothing like Sheldon. That comment both pleased me (b/c Sheldon's an ass I don't want to remind people of) and pissed me off (b/c unlike Sheldon I am an aspie IRL).

While I agree with Sheldon being a fictional Aspie, I cannot understand how anyone with common sense could possibly think Aspies in real life are anything like him!

 

[Shawn D]

Did anyone else find it annoying that the climax of the episode was completely unnecessary? They needed to reduce the speed differential between the laptop and the airplane, so what did they decide to do? Drive a sports car under the plane at 200 mph and hook the laptop to the plane's system via a cable. My question is, if they had the runway space to drive a car beneath the plane flying precariously low to the ground, then why couldn't they just land the plane and THEN get the software?

 

[Judge]

Did anyone else find it annoying that the climax of the episode was completely unnecessary? They needed to reduce the speed differential between the laptop and the airplane, so what did they decide to do? Drive a sports car under the plane at 200 mph and hook the laptop to the plane's system via a cable. My question is, if they had the runway space to drive a car beneath the plane flying precariously low to the ground, then why couldn't they just land the plane and THEN get the software?

Oh hell...the whole scene was preposterous. HOLLYWOOD...it is what it is and always has been.

 

[Shawn D]

Oh hell...the whole scene was preposterous. HOLLYWOOD...it is what it is and always has been.

For a show that's supposed to be about smart people, it's pretty stupid.

 

[Judge]

For a show that's supposed to be about smart people, it's pretty stupid.

You should hear medical professionals talk about medical television shows.

It's an old story. Network programming's response: Most people won't know the difference. That they crave escapism- not reality.

I've seen a lifetime of continuity errors in entertainment. But there lies the crux of the matter. It's entertainment- not a documentary.

 

[Ereth]

My question is, if they had the runway space to drive a car beneath the plane flying precariously low to the ground, then why couldn't they just land the plane and THEN get the software?

I just watched this because my dad recorded it for me (I guess he was reminded of me), and actually, the plan was spot-on.

It wasn't one passenger plane that was in danger of crashing. They had to save fifty-six passenger planes or let them be shot out of the sky to minimize ground casualties. There was no time to land the single plane and run the software to the team! The necessary debugged copy of the software, whatever it does, allowed the planes to land safely at LAX. All the planes needed it to be sent to the guy at the computer ASAP. Successfully landing one plane wouldn't have been enough.

So it was the opposite of unnecessary.

 

[The Penguin]

Sheldon's a caricature of an aspie, in my mind, and I am hesitant to believe a show following BBT will do better. Same network.

Btw, my biggest issue with Sheldon is his lack of sympathy. AS/ASD can involve a lack of empathy, but a total lack of sympathy and being a general asshole is not part of the diagnostic criteria. He's just a jerk, and people who see him assume other aspies are that way too. I had a friend tell me I couldn't be an aspie b/c I am nothing like Sheldon. That comment both pleased me (b/c Sheldon's an ass I don't want to remind people of) and pissed me off (b/c unlike Sheldon I am an aspie IRL).

You know I feel like punching the Sheldon person in the face. I just can't stand him.

 

[Ereth]

You know I feel like punching the Sheldon person in the face. I just can't stand him.

Be upset with the writers, not the actor.