PLAUSIBILITY
Anybody who wants to have any cred around the office water cooler probably should know the goings-on of at least one of these three TV shows: Heroes, 24 or Lost. In a nutshell, the shows chronicle the lives and times of genetic anomalies with superpowers (think X-Men), the baddest man on the planet (think Jack Bauer; think only about Jack Bauer when you hear those words) and a group of accidental tourists who are having a lousy time in a tropical paradise.
These shows are pure escapist fun, but at some point the inevitable questions of plausibility -- however faint -- assert themselves. How much of this has sufficiently believable roots that it can maintain its hold on us? Well, I'm here to tell you what sounds reasonable in each show, and what has the merit of Joey the Acidhead's ravings.
Heroes
A lot more believable than you might think at first glance. Let's face it, a lot of what is being touted on this show as enormous evolutionary leaps forward is pretty pedestrian stuff. So far, our heroes have been a hot chick who can talk a guy into doing anything (whoa!), another hot chick with incredible mood swings (never seen that before! Suck it, Darwin!) a powerful politician who flies about the country recklessly indulging his libido and a teenage girl who insists on showing off her injuries, which turn out to be nothing at all, really. The villain in this world is a sinister nerd who keeps getting what he wants by pretending to be somebody else. I'm looking real hard, and I can't see anything here that is new under the sun. OK, so there's some unassisted flying by a couple of characters. And one guy can crack open a skull with just a wag of a finger, but, hey, I ran into plenty of assistant principals who had similar skills when it came time to enforce the school code. So I say this show is not that many area codes away from a normal day for the rest of us.
24
Let's see, in the Bauer-verse the United States has suffered about 20,000 deaths from terrorist attacks, yet there has been no overthrow of the government. Granted, most of the deaths have taken place in Southern California, so maybe the rest of the country thought the carnage was part of some TV drama or game show. But it still beggars belief to imagine that Americans would react to persistent WMD threats with calm, steely resolve and faith in leaders. The hero is Jack Bauer, whose badassness I have previously discussed, and he's a totally implausible character. No mere mortal can hope to be Jack Bauer. Like, he never takes a sick day! For instance, he gets stabbed in the shoulder during a torture session this season, and apparently all he needs is a bandage and ibuprofen to get over it. No neurosurgery, no months of rehab. I mean, c'mon! There are people out there who would take a sick day if they have a hangnail. About the only thing that's really plausible on 24 is the drinking on the job and the bureaucratic ineptitude. (How many times has CTU's security been breached? Apparently, all you need to get a CTU password is a note from your mother and a photo of the president.)
Lost
Totally implausible for one reason: these people have been castaways for at least a couple of months now, and they haven't gone all Donner Party. I'd believe the show if there was more cannibalism.
Anybody who wants to have any cred around the office water cooler probably should know the goings-on of at least one of these three TV shows: Heroes, 24 or Lost. In a nutshell, the shows chronicle the lives and times of genetic anomalies with superpowers (think X-Men), the baddest man on the planet (think Jack Bauer; think only about Jack Bauer when you hear those words) and a group of accidental tourists who are having a lousy time in a tropical paradise.
These shows are pure escapist fun, but at some point the inevitable questions of plausibility -- however faint -- assert themselves. How much of this has sufficiently believable roots that it can maintain its hold on us? Well, I'm here to tell you what sounds reasonable in each show, and what has the merit of Joey the Acidhead's ravings.
Heroes
A lot more believable than you might think at first glance. Let's face it, a lot of what is being touted on this show as enormous evolutionary leaps forward is pretty pedestrian stuff. So far, our heroes have been a hot chick who can talk a guy into doing anything (whoa!), another hot chick with incredible mood swings (never seen that before! Suck it, Darwin!) a powerful politician who flies about the country recklessly indulging his libido and a teenage girl who insists on showing off her injuries, which turn out to be nothing at all, really. The villain in this world is a sinister nerd who keeps getting what he wants by pretending to be somebody else. I'm looking real hard, and I can't see anything here that is new under the sun. OK, so there's some unassisted flying by a couple of characters. And one guy can crack open a skull with just a wag of a finger, but, hey, I ran into plenty of assistant principals who had similar skills when it came time to enforce the school code. So I say this show is not that many area codes away from a normal day for the rest of us.
24
Let's see, in the Bauer-verse the United States has suffered about 20,000 deaths from terrorist attacks, yet there has been no overthrow of the government. Granted, most of the deaths have taken place in Southern California, so maybe the rest of the country thought the carnage was part of some TV drama or game show. But it still beggars belief to imagine that Americans would react to persistent WMD threats with calm, steely resolve and faith in leaders. The hero is Jack Bauer, whose badassness I have previously discussed, and he's a totally implausible character. No mere mortal can hope to be Jack Bauer. Like, he never takes a sick day! For instance, he gets stabbed in the shoulder during a torture session this season, and apparently all he needs is a bandage and ibuprofen to get over it. No neurosurgery, no months of rehab. I mean, c'mon! There are people out there who would take a sick day if they have a hangnail. About the only thing that's really plausible on 24 is the drinking on the job and the bureaucratic ineptitude. (How many times has CTU's security been breached? Apparently, all you need to get a CTU password is a note from your mother and a photo of the president.)
Lost
Totally implausible for one reason: these people have been castaways for at least a couple of months now, and they haven't gone all Donner Party. I'd believe the show if there was more cannibalism.
posted by John Parnell at 9:32 AM
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