# People in TV/Movies/Books/etc who were bad at their jobs. (Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094 "2019-03-13T20:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/101 "2024-11-21T02:47:58Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And I don’t mean “comically bad” (Barney Fife) or “used as a gag” bad (Ron Swanson/George Constanza) It’s a gag that Ron doesn’t care about his work, or that he does the absolute minimum necessary, but he wasn’t bad at it. He let Leslie do all the work and she was amazing at it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/102 "2024-11-21T02:48:11Z")
Hasn’t it been done, perhaps more than once, that suave superspy Bond is Bond’s narcissistic fantasy of himself? When in fact viewed from without he’s actually a semi-incompetent who prevails by a combination of luck, getting rescued and being recklessly bullheaded? Similar to the multiple incarnations of Sherlock Holmes as a bumbler in cases really being solved by Dr. Watson. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/103 "2024-11-21T12:01:51Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Hasn’t it been done, perhaps more than once, that suave superspy Bond is Bond’s narcissistic fantasy of himself? When in fact viewed from without he’s actually a semi-incompetent who prevails by a combination of luck, getting rescued and being recklessly bullheaded? I haven’t actually encountered that, but Fleming himself has admitted that Bond, like himself, was a gambler. You can see too frequently in his stories that Bond takes absurd chances in the hope of a long shot coming in, and it frequently does. Bond, in other words, is a secret agent who trusts to Luck, rather than to the quiet and cautious plodding of a good agent. It makes for interesting stories, but that sort of thing tends to produce agents that don’t live long. Most people haven’t caught on to the fact that Bond spends a lot of his pretty meager salary on a good apartment, a fast car, luxurious items, and expensive travel because he really doesn’t expect to live very long. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/104 "2024-11-21T12:09:45Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Creed Bratton. I don’t think he actually did anything. Hey, he spent a lot of time in cults, both as a leader, and a follower! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/105 "2024-11-21T15:40:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fleming himself has admitted that Bond, like himself, was a gambler. You can see too frequently in his stories that Bond takes absurd chances in the hope of a long shot coming in, and it frequently does. Bond, in other words, is a secret agent who trusts to Luck, rather than to the quiet and cautious plodding of a good agent. It makes for interesting stories, but that sort of thing tends to produce agents that don’t live long. I understand Fleming’s career was during WW2, when the demands of the war tended to make espionage a do-or-die endeavor. Not like the years or decades of maneuvering in the Cold War like John le Carré’s character Smiley. Bond is the sort of agent you want when you think there’s a 50% chance of nuclear war breaking out in the next six weeks if steps are not immediately taken. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/106 "2024-11-21T15:46:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > because he really doesn’t expect to live very long. If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself. -Mickey Mantle, and maybe James Bond, too ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/107 "2024-11-21T17:18:20Z")
Steve Sloan from Diagnosis Murder. A detective who invariably arrests the wrong person early in the episode and the crime is later solved by his father, a doctor and amateur sleuth. Guess his detective school tuition was wasted. Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara, from Batman. Incapable of handling any criminal activity by themselves. First sign of trouble, get on the Batphone and take the rest of the day off. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/108 "2024-11-21T17:42:13Z")
Virtually every lieutenant/commander in charge of a fictional homicide or major crimes unit in books, TV or movies is portrayed as inept or at best a marginally useful hindrance to the work done by _real_ detectives. Example: Lieutenant Harvey Pounds, who runs into conflict with Detective Harry Bosch in at least one Michael Connelly novel, Inspector Todd in _Beverly Hills Cop_ who’s just there to get angry at Axel Foley, virtually everyone who supervises Dirty Harry etc. \*exception: Anita Van Buren in _Law & Order_, although she’s mostly known for telling detectives “go and investigate this”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/109 "2024-11-21T21:44:36Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I understand Fleming’s career was during WW2, when the demands of the war tended to make espionage a do-or-die endeavor. Yep. in T_he Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare_ the characters were real (the action was not) but altho many of the characters were awarded medals and such, IIRC few got out of WW2 alive, just the woman. Deadly. > **[Operation Postmaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Postmaster)** > > 1939 > 1940 > 1941 > 1942 > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Virtually every lieutenant/commander in charge of a fictional homicide or major crimes unit in books, TV or movies is portrayed as inept or at best a marginally useful hindrance to the work done by _real_ detectives. Inspector Cramer is very competent. But yeah. Also nearly every Admiral (other than the ToS crew) in Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/110 "2024-11-22T06:31:01Z")
The US Military in Independence Day. Disregarding everything leading up to it, during the final battle their plan is to literally fire a bunch of small missiles at the heavily protected sides of a spaceship that’s miles long? And it’s only when almost all their missiles are gone they finally decided to hit the aliens glowing weakpoint? I forgot where I read it but a single nuclear cruise missile fired at the right time would have won the battle every single time. Hell a conventional cruise missile could have also done the trick if they were just willing to wait. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/111 "2024-11-22T13:23:35Z")
Hell, point some 155mm artillery at it and go wild. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/112 "2024-11-22T15:07:41Z")
My wife and I watch a lot of Brit police procedurals. There are a couple things we can count on in every series, sometimes in every episode: 1. There will be a meeting where the DCI will take 45 seconds to recap the situation and then say, “We have to check out so-and-so.” The meeting breaks up without any of the dozen or so officers in attendance actually being given a specific assignment. They all just wander away. It’s easy to picture four or five of them showing up at the same witness’s house saying, “What? I thought I was supposed to be doing this interview.” 2. One or more officers will have an affair with a witness, another officer, or even the main suspect. They even talk about how wrong it is, but that doesn’t seem to make a bit of difference. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/113 "2024-11-22T15:31:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Herb was a loser. Who occasionally got a client. Reminds me of Michael Scott. Just when you’re thinking “Why would this guy be allowed to work in a paper company?”, he bails Dunder-Mifflin out by cold-calling MegaCorp Intl, Inc. and talking them into a multi-year exclusive contract. > [@blondebear](#): > > Creed Bratton. I don’t think he actually did anything. Well, high schoolers recognized him as The Fake I.D. Guy… But a couple times he was worried that someone would ask him what he did there. “I think it’s Quality. I’m going to look up jobs with ‘quality’ in the title…” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/114 "2024-11-22T15:49:30Z")
He certainly was quick to confirm Michael’s claim that he did something. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/115 "2024-11-22T21:32:46Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > My wife and I watch a lot of Brit police procedurals. There are a couple things we can count on in every series, sometimes in every episode: Also - the DCI has usually lost his wife, usually tragically. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/116 "2024-11-22T23:24:57Z")
_The Godfather_: Paulie, Fabrizio and of course Fredo. Not sure about Carlo. He helped with setting up Sonny but I’m not sure what other “job” was needed from him after that. He certainly failed the family. Tessio was good at his job, but he wanted a better job and failed at that. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/117 "2024-11-23T04:21:26Z")
Good point! Also, we’ve seen more than a couple episodes where the female DI is talking with her female DCI about how poorly something that has happened will reflect on women in the department. “It will make it so much more difficult for women to be recognized and promoted!” My wife and I want to yell at the screen, “Wait a minute! You’re a woman! Your boss is a woman! Half the DCs in your team are women! And, finally, your ME is a woman! Women seem to have done just fine in your station so far.” ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/118 "2024-11-23T04:52:29Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > My wife and I watch a lot of Brit police procedurals. This reminds me that the inspectors of Kembleford always arrest the wrong person for the crime until Father Brown exonerates them by catching the real criminal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094/119 "2024-11-23T21:37:20Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > This reminds me that the inspectors of Kembleford always arrest the wrong person for the crime until Father Brown exonerates them by catching the real criminal. Yeah, sadly that became the shows 'thing"- happened nearly every episode. Mark Williams was great however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-tv-movies-books-etc-who-were-bad-at-their-jobs-spoilers/831094.md?page=5)