# Most Realistic Fictional TV Show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177 "2012-10-18T23:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/1 "2012-10-18T23:45:18Z")
Emphasis on the fictional. So, what show, in your humble opinion, gets it “right” the most? The show can cover any subject, from law, crime, and be any type, drama, comedy, etc. Some aspect of an otherwise unrealistic show can also be “nominated;” for instance, I know an older guy who says “Mad Men” is almost spot on in its depiction of 60’s style, culture, etc. Since neither of us were ad-men in the 60’s, we can’t really speak to the realism of the actions of the characters or its depiction of ad-men or the advertising world of the 60’s. In that vein, I would nominate _The Shield_,\* and _The Wire,_ for their often gritty depiction of inner-city crime, poverty, gang culture, and the near helpless and often callous attitudes of the police and detectives who have to work in that environment. \*Some might disallow _The Shield_ on the basis that no cop could get away with the kind of stuff Vic Mackey pulled, for so long; I would remind them that the in-show time-lapse was only three or four years, not a year-by-year correlation by season. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/2 "2012-10-19T01:28:05Z")
**Battlestar Gallactica.** Everything in it is exactly the way it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/3 "2012-10-19T01:37:30Z")
Scrubs…or so I hear (other then the hi-jinx/world’s most giant doctor/jiggly ball type stuff). ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/4 "2012-10-19T02:05:51Z")
Cop Rock ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/5 "2012-10-19T02:27:47Z")
Seinfeld gets mostly everything right, ie, people are jerks. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/6 "2012-10-19T02:34:48Z")
_That 70s Show_, man. hee hee Pass the Cheetos. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/7 "2012-10-19T02:42:08Z")
_Barney Miller_ was, I’ve heard, considered quite realistic by many law enforcement people. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/8 "2012-10-19T02:46:35Z")
**Parenthood** might be a little more melodramatic than real life, but I’ve always thought it had a really good handle on family dynamics. I come from a large family myself, and some of the arguments between characters on the show very strongly resembled arguments that I’ve had with my siblings or parents. And I know that some people think the overlapping dialogue and multiple conversations being held at once are annoying, but again, get me and my four siblings in a room together, and that’s what it will eventually turn into. I’m a big fan of the show. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/9 "2012-10-19T03:06:14Z")
**Roseanne**. Ignoring the last season it’s probally the most realistic depiction of a white American working class family to ever hit the small screen; at least in sitcom form. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/10 "2012-10-19T03:23:04Z")
While it is in most ways one of the _least_ realistic shows on TV, _Glee_ is sometimes weirdly true to life. I work at a university, and once last fall while I was riding the bus across campus I noticed that the students sitting behind me were talking about _Glee_. Due to the bus noise I could only catch every few words, but it was sounding like one of them was catching the other one up on episodes she’d missed. There was something about a girl named Rachel, a guy who cried a lot, a guy who turned out to be gay, some serious drama over who would land the lead roles in the fall musical, and various ingroup dating and breakups. This went on and on and finally it dawned on me that they weren’t talking about _Glee_ at all. They were theater majors, and this was what their lives were actually like. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/11 "2012-10-19T21:22:47Z")
People in radio loved _WKRP in Cincinnati_, which was a far more realistic depiction of a radio station than, say, the _Mary Tyler Moore_ version of a TV newsroom. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/12 "2012-10-19T21:30:20Z")
As far as TV about TV goes, _The Larry Sanders Show_ is probably as good as it’s got. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/13 "2012-10-19T22:00:55Z")
It’s not only The Wire. Other David Simon show like Treme or Generation Kill are the closest thing to true naturalism in visual media. I guess that a show like Deadwood, while not necessarily historically accurate, did present complex characters with actual personalities. And maybe one of those indie mumblecore shows like Girls could make the list of attempted realism. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/14 "2012-10-19T22:46:33Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > In that vein, I would nominate _The Shield_,\* and _The Wire,_ for their often gritty depiction of inner-city crime, poverty, gang culture, and the near helpless and often callous attitudes of the police and detectives who have to work in that environment. > > \*Some might disallow _The Shield_ on the basis that no cop could get away with the kind of stuff Vic Mackey pulled, for so long; I would remind them that the in-show time-lapse was only three or four years, not a year-by-year correlation by season. I liked the Shield, and while it was certainly more realistic than many other cop shows, like CSI, it still had plenty of unrealistic moments. Sometimes it was unrealistic for the purposes of melodrama, for example: How many serial killers did Dutch get in that 3-4 year period? Vic had a pretty damn high legal kill count, not even including all of his extracurricular murders. Villains like Armadillo or the Armenian foot chopper guy were practically omnipotent when the plot required them to be. There were also plenty of little nit-picky police procedural errors one could point out. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/15 "2012-10-19T22:53:55Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > It’s not only The Wire. Other David Simon show like Treme or Generation Kill are the closest thing to true naturalism in visual media. I’ve seen interviews with the people Generation Kill was based on (some even played themselves) and they all seemed to agree that the miniseries was incredibly realistic. Then again, I’ve also read articles where some of the officers claimed that Generation Kill, while not necessarily inaccurate, was biased and did not show the whole story. The gist of the complaint was that just because a sergeant thinks his officers are making incompetent decisions, doesn’t necessarily make that so because the sergeant doesn’t have access to the all of the information that forms the big picture the way the officers do. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/16 "2012-10-19T23:26:02Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > People in radio loved _WKRP in Cincinnati_, which was a far more realistic depiction of a radio station than, say, the _Mary Tyler Moore_ version of a TV newsroom. When I went to work for a radio station (rock, later changed format to country) in the early 90’s, I was really surprised how very much like _WKRP in Cincinatti_ it actually was. I loved working there. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/17 "2012-10-19T23:42:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Scrubs…or so I hear (other then the hi-jinx/world’s most giant doctor/jiggly ball type stuff). My MD nephew said it was right on the money. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/18 "2012-10-20T00:45:33Z")
Homeland seems to be fairly realistic. The few episodes of The Good Wife that I have seen have been fairly realistic. Southland also seemed pretty true to life. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/19 "2012-10-20T00:57:35Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Homeland seems to be fairly realistic. I love **Homeland** , but you’d really have to stretch to call it “realistic” in a story sense. But I have heard from people in the know that Claire Danes’s portrayal of a character with bipolar disorder is pretty accurate in capturing its highs and lows. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177/20 "2012-10-20T02:14:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Battlestar Gallactica.** Everything in it is exactly the way it happened. Except the glowy Cyclon spines during sex. I don’t think that’s actually the way it happened. I think that was just an effect for the audience. But apart from that, you’re right. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-realistic-fictional-tv-show/638177.md?page=2)