Natalie Shobana Ambrose (7 August, 2008- theSun)
GROWING up, my TV time used to be monitored. On top of the unkind cuts of the censorship board, my mother would outlaw many programmes, just so we would not be tempted to imitate the on-screen behaviour of the actors and their often exaggerated roles.
This got me thinking – does TV make real life so outrageously boring that we are compelled to ape it?
I grew up diligently watching LA Law with the family – totally intrigued with the happenings of law firms and court rooms – the power struggles, the personal lives of the characters involved … everything. All of it fascinated me.
I then graduated to Alley McBeal, Law & Order, The Practice and the more recent Boston Legal. Were lawyers really that insane? And were judges that wacky? I wondered.
If you caught an episode of Boston Legal, you might come to the conclusion that anything and everything could happen in the courtrooms of America. I was sure it was very different from what little I knew of Malaysian lawyers and courtroom dramas. I could never imagine Boston Legal with a hint of Alley McBeal in the High Courts of our land – until some transcripts were made public earlier this year and t-shirts of who was on the phone with whom started becoming popular.
And who can forget the three famous comedic words “Correct, Correct, Correct!” that were plastered on the front pages of most newspapers.
There I was thinking that Malaysian lawyers were stern, strict, calm, composed and dry, because that was how they were expected to behave in court, when in reality, it was quite the opposite – almost slapstick!
Another favourite programme I enjoy is the Crime Scene Investigation trinity.
Personally, I would put some of the script writers under psychological observation in a sanatorium for the outrageously troubling storylines, but that is a whole other article on its own.
But I would say kudos to the CSI teams for their almost perfect score in solving cases – even only after a lot of brushing, beaker-swishing, DNA samples and sticky paper finger printing.
Now if only our own CSI unit had an equally large fan base to boast, maybe justice would be served and some of the recent unsolved heinous crimes involving wives, second wives, mistresses, mattresses and such, especially those involving little children, might have been solved sooner and more efficiently. Maybe not within the hour, but at least there would be hope that such unimaginable crimes would be solved – even those involving disappearing private investigators!
The latest treat on TV, I must say, has been Pushing Daisies. For the benefit of those who have not watched the “dramedy” as it is categorised, the plot revolves around Ned, a pie-maker who in simple terms, has the power to bring people back to life just by touching them. Quite like ET – only human.
The series, thus far, always takes Ned to the mortuary where he resurrects the dead – even those who look ghostly and ghastly. And, voila! Within 60 seconds he finds out the WHs of their story – thus solving the mystery.
Now, this got me thinking, again. Imagine if reel life came to life, and Ned could solve all those murder mysteries that seem to pile up in the banks of Malaysian life – which in years to come would become veritable folktales.
How would Ned fare if one day he was to encounter a beauty bombed to pieces? Would he be able to do right by her, protecting, avenging and bringing relief to the sanctity of her life and end up incarcerating the monster(s) who viciously detonated her? Or would the many bone fragments get in the way that even poor Ned would be totally confused and blown out of his mind?
Ahhh! if only television wasn’t filled with such fantasy, then perhaps, a lot of what happens in the world today might be solved and resolved.
Then again, maybe real life imitates the idiot box and we, as society and as individuals pay the price of the subscription. Or, maybe … pay the price of being idiots!
Natalie does live in reality, but sometimes thinks her life is a hotchpotch of West Wing, Brothers & Sisters and The Devil Wears Prada – sadly without the fantastic designer wardrobe.
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