Actually, I’ve known several profs who were barely restrained versions of Dr. Hathaway. I knew several "Kent"s, too, as well as a double Ph.D. who worked in the Chemistry glass lab who could have passed for Lazlo. Speaking of Real Genius, I’ll point out that most of the jargon was actually technically consistent with cutting edge laser technology of the day (even if the laser itself and some of the other science was exaggerated) and the lab actually looked like a university research lab with lashed-together equipment and junk piled in the corners. No professor would have a research lab staffed with only undergraduate seniors and one incoming freshman. And however much of a genius Mitch might be, he’s still going to be cleaning optics, post-processing data, and otherwise earning his chops before getting to actually play a major role. Still, a pretty fair rendition of university life at an engineering and science school.
There is no t.v. show that really accurately portrays my profession, but The Pentagon Wars comes close sometimes, especially when the board of generals keeps shifting the requirements for the Bradley FV over and over, turning it from a fast troop transport to a heavily armed but grossly underarmored monstrosity. Jones: Where am I supposed to put the extra ammo?
Col. Robert Laurel Smith: I don’t know.
Jones: You’ve already got 30,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition, now he wants to add 30-millimeter shells?
Col. Robert Laurel Smith: The general wants his ammo.
Jones: He can’t have his ammo, not unless he runs alongside this thing carrying it.
That’s about right.
The 2000 film The Dish, while dramatized, is a pretty accurate representation of the mundanities and petty egos of technical operations.
Stranger