On another tack, I think television cop shows figure that if
the
background and atmosphere appear realsitic, then the viewer
will accept
an 'unrealistic' plot. In 'The Bill' (a soap-style police
procedural
that goes out three times a week in the UK) the police
station itself
and all the props seem not so much realistic as genuine. Some
of the
'realism' is even boring, i.e. whenever anyone is arrested
the police
read them their rights in full. This seems to distract the
viewer from
whatever sleight-of-hand is going on in the story.
Similarly the dialogue is what the viewer accepts as
realistic, as
everybody speaks in criminal/police/London slang. So we get
someone
saying, 'Shall we give his drum a spin and see if we turn up
any moody
gear?' instead of 'Shall we search his flat for stolen
property?'
-Stephen-
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