Maybe academia has contributed to to the devaluation of “Science”. I myself have a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. IIRC, the difference between an Arts degree and a Science degree in the same field was … maybe taking two more core courses and two less elective non-PS courses. And if there’s one thing I did learn, it’s that politics is not a science, and the study of it science in a pretty loose sense.
And let us recall that, aside from this contemporary bashing of science, EVERYBODY proclaimed that science was solidly in their corner. Eventually, there was a term coined for it – “junk science”. People called upon science like they called upon gods, and perhaps since people couldn’t tell the difference between junk and legitimate science, they began to discredit all of it. And if you think science is ultimately used as bullshit to support anything you want it to, what’s the point of learning anything about it?
In brief: no, Babylon 5 doesn’t get any better, it will always be just what it is, caught on film like a fly in amber. It’s up to each person to decide, in the quiet turning of their considered conscience, whether or not they like what it is (with, albeit, a rather rocky first season).
My father was a psychophysiologist (PhD in psychology–he did research mostly, taught university courses and wrote text books), and was appalled by TV psychologists–the Dr. Phil type, although Dr. Joyce Brothers was the archetype. Bob Newhart’s portrayal, on the other hand, left my dad in stitches, not because of the portrayal of the profession, but because he was a big fan of Newhart’s humor.
I watch Grey’s Anatomy because I got sucked into the story lines. But OHMY it’s unrealistic! Doctors who have time to sit and chat, grope each other constantly (we’ve named one character, “Take off his shirt” because that’s almost the ONLY thing he does!), combined with wide hallways, lack of clutter, and organization…
I WANT to like Body of Proof, but the HUGE autopsy suites with floor to ceiling windows, single patient assignments and complete analysis done by finding a single hair push me to the point beyond belief.
I could only watch one episode of Prison Break before the absurdities drove me away.
When I worked overnight armed security at a few local Perkins restaurants, one night a full bus of convention visitors descended on the place. Now there were only three people working there at the time (2am). Me, the waiter, and the cook. The waiter ran out to the bus before anyone could get off and told them that there was just NO WAY he and the lone cook could handle the 50+ people on the bus, and directed them to other places he knew nearby who would have more than one waiter and one cook on duty.
It took a fair amount of convincing. Those people wanted off the bus and they wanted food NOW, which became the waiter’s selling point. One guy cooking for all of you means a long wait. Go somewhere else, PLEASE.
Writers were the first thing I thought of when reading the subject line, but for a completely different reason.
Shows like One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl have characters who are successful authors…all before the age of 25. The average age at the publication of an author’s first novel is somewhere in the mid-30s! Yes, sure, some people are successful authors before they can legally drink, but it’s not nearly as common as on TV.
Call them: either they’ve got a backlog bigger than the Rocky Mountains or someone forgot to forward your results. I’ve actually run that specific analysis manually and it’s a matter of minutes; one hour if they’re going through the whole kit and double-checking every step.
Engineers are either “generic body-shaped lump with pocket protector” or someone who is superb in every single engineering specialty; in the case of English-language media, they’ll also have handymanship (I think it’s because in English an “engineer” can be both “someone with an Engineering degree” and “someone who works with engines”). The same dude will design every single part of a complex machine (car, robot, plane, weapon…) and be able to build it all, preferably in his garage.
I remember the whole kerfluffle vividly, it is one of the reasons I stopped participating in the conversations with certain people. I do remember making a few comments about prima donnas that got me in a bit of hot water.
<as an aside, I very much enjoyed B-5>
On Fraser the physical therapist lived in his home, and did the family dishes. I don’t do dishes, and feel like I am barely home enough to “live” in my own home. Physical therapists don’t treat people continuously for 4+ years, either.
Was Daphne an actual PT? I was under the impression that she started out as a home health aide, and they eventually hired her as a housekeeper who could still help Dad with his therapy/exercises.
If JMS is talking about writers who do it for them money, then I think he should consider the situation in which he declared he wasn’t going to turn B5 into a franchise and then subsequently brought out the Crusade spin off and that dreadful pilot for the Legend of the Rangers.
