Yes, I know - it happens all the time, but recently NBC seems to have pushed the edge, so to speak. It’s aggravating to the viewers, especially when it’s a favorite show - the promo seems to promise what the actual show rarely delivers. The one that really ticked me off, though, was for Conviction, the new L&O-based show on Fridays at 10 PM. The ad voiceover dramatically states, “…and a witness who can’t talk!” or something like that - when it’s actually a deaf person, who is shown signing in the promo!
Now, I’m not deaf, but isn’t sign language a recognized form of communication? It’s “talking” with the hands. My first thought on just hearing the promo (I wasn’t actually watching the tv) was that something had happened to the witness to silence them. Earlier this week, the promos for L&O: SVU were misleading as well; it looked like Olivia might die.
I realize that the promos number one priority for the networks is to draw viewers to watch their shows, but this blatant bait and switch technique is tired, to say the least. And why make it seem like deaf people who sign can’t “speak?” They could have used a different “hook” there, imo.
“The West Wing” is another NBC show. Several times this season, in the next-week preview, they’ve shown something that’s going to happen next week… but then it doesn’t. Don’t know if they’re more prone to doing that now, given that they’re in their final season.
It looks like you’ve answered your own question. I mean, the way you have placed “talking” and “speaking” in quotation marks indicates that you acknowledge that there’s a difference between regular speech and signing.
It’s something that NBC does a lot. I’ve noticed it with episodes of ER, where the promo hints at a big event for one of the characters and then when we see the same event in the show itself, is something that’s glossed over quickly.