Scorpion

Sorry, I loathed it. Turned it off after less than ten minutes. The science in the first episode was so horrendously stupid-bad I would rather file my teeth down than watch it. And I only really caught the aviation-related badness. I've seen people ranting just as much about the IT-related stupidity it contained that I didn't stick around long enough to see.

I really liked it, too. It was about as hand-wavey as usually required for this kind of thing, and the "geniuses" are a bit generic / stereotyped, but it's early. This seems to be aiming for character-driven, so hopefully it sticks with that direction.

I do take issue with how they seem to be conflating "genius" and apparent ASD. "Ralph" is more than a genius, as presented. He's likely Autistic, maybe even a savant, but they're acting as though his behavior is common / universal to everyone with a high IQ. And I really don't like that the justification for Ralph suddenly speaking to a stranger is that "he recognizes one of his own." If common interest was going to be the determining factor in verbal communication, Ralph would have been speaking during (or after) his cafe-chess match. And it would have been to Sylvester, not Walter.

Which brings up another point - why does every genius on TV have an old fashioned / genius / nerdy name? It's not like parents know their kids' IQs are going to hit 200 before they're born. We need a genius with a trendy name. Something that people hear in connection with "genius" and burst out laughing because they can't believe someone with *that* name is smart. "Why yes, my name is Bubba and I have an IQ of 220. What's your point?"

I am enjoying it. The first episode was a bit nuts with the car thing and the airplane, but I like the characters.

I especially like the waitress (now "social handler") and her son. It's a nice balance here. There is also a lot of potential for character-building. I hope we get into some backstory of each member.

The level of trite stereotypes, overt melodrama, and bad science is just too high. One has to draw the line somewhere.

Yeah, forget the science in this one. But I'm liking the characters.

This one *could* go the Xena route. Totally ridiculous plotlines, but having characters you care about.

Maybe.

I hope.

Yeah, I don't watch 99% of network television for "good science" or "brand new, non-stereotype material."

It's kind of like walking into a biker bar and expecting to find my granny's knitting circle. You go because there are bikers and you know there are bikers and if you find something that's enough to draw you in every week, great. If not, you move on.

There is a point where the science gets too stupid of the plot to make any sense.

And revealing one character has a sick sister and the other has a dead child in the same episode is eye rolly.

I think a story about geniuses solving science problems is granny's knitting circle. You should be able to expect remedial level science and tech accuracy.

If the story was about baseball players and they all used cricket bats people would protest. But no one feels the need to even nail the germ theory of disease on TV.

I don't know if the science is bad or not. So, a non-issue for me.

veinglory said:

If the story was about baseball players and they all used cricket bats people would protest. But no one feels the need to even nail the germ theory of disease on TV.

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I point again to Xena. One episode involved a duel taking place while walking on the heads of people standing in a barn.

Umm... yeah.

Yet I feel no need to defend my fan status for that show.

Give me something to latch onto, and I can forgive everything else.

I totally get what your saying. I'm laughing at the science here. Stand up through the sunroof of a car doing 170+ miles per hour? Oh. Emm. Gee. And passing a network cable from a plane to said car. Yep.

And yet, I have that hour mapped out next week. 'Cause I like these folks. May not last. But I'm in for now.

robjvargas said:

I point again to Xena. One episode involved a duel taking place while walking on the heads of people standing in a barn.

Umm... yeah.

Yet I feel no need to defend my fan status for that show.

Give me something to latch onto, and I can forgive everything else.

I totally get what your saying. I'm laughing at the science here. Stand up through the sunroof of a car doing 170+ miles per hour? Oh. Emm. Gee. And passing a network cable from a plane to said car. Yep.

And yet, I have that hour mapped out next week. 'Cause I like these folks. May not last. But I'm in for now.

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Agree. And everyone will bring their own sense of narrative fidelity to a story: e.g. what is SO unbelievable that one simply can't watch anymore.

For me, I've stopped watching shows because of how utterly craptastic and stupid the women are (in terms of being written/portrayed). So, I can't poo-poo anyone who has the same issue with science or whatnot. Different strokes, yo!

Meh - science is different from baseball. Most people get the basic dynamics for a ballgame, whereas science is more of a blank or a vague idea. You can hand-wave "interior" rules of physics to meet the show's requirements the same way you could take someone who had never seen a baseball game, tell him it was played with cricket bats and boxing gloves, and he'd have no reason not to follow along unless he disliked the rest of the story.

With this one, the characters are the story; science is set-dressing. To me, as long as the characters' parts are interesting, I'll keep watching. (Big Bang meets Leverage is pretty spot on. Leverage isn't exactly textbook in the mechanics, either, but it's a lot of fun.)

I put this show into the category of things like Independence Day. I didn't go see that one because I wanted to know how the nerds created and uploaded a computer virus from a laptop to an alien spaceship. I went to watch the good guys fight the aliens and see outer space thingies go ka-boom! It satisfied the criteria I cared about, so I was willing to live with the laughing skull popping up on the alien computer screen.

Cyia said:

Meh - science is different from baseball. Most people get the basic dynamics for a ballgame, whereas science is more of a blank or a vague idea.

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That's a depressing problem that threatens our civilization's continued existence.

Trying to figure out whether or not that was a tongue-in-cheek insult.

Manuel Royal said:

That's a depressing problem that threatens our civilization's continued existence.

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Really? We expect proper science from a TV show?

Someone go tell the folks filming Star Wars to hang it up. Or get some proper Newtonian physics into the plot.

I don't think Manuel was referring to the level of science-fact on TV, but rather the fact that more people understand a game than take an interest in basic science.

CrastersBabies said:

Trying to figure out whether or not that was a tongue-in-cheek insult.

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Neither tongue-in-cheek nor an insult, my zombie baby friend..

Cyia said:

I don't think Manuel was referring to the level of science-fact on TV, but rather the fact that more people understand a game than take an interest in basic science.

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That's correct; thank you. I should have been more clear.

LOL! I thought that read "my zombie baby fIEnd" at first. (Both "fiend" and "friend" make me happy.)

I got ya! That's why I asked instead of assuming. You're usually very forthright in your clarifying, which I appreciate! (hugs)

Vince524 said:

I've seen 2 episodes. Loving it so far. It's kind of like Big Bang Terory meets Leverage. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop with Walter and Paige.

What does anyone else think?

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Haven't even heard of it. What's "Leverage?"

Shadow_Ferret said:

Haven't even heard of it. What's "Leverage?"

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Not a bad TV show at all. I like it better than Blacklist, although James Spader all by himself outshines them both.

Leverage is awesome!

Blacklist? James Spader?

I'm beginning to realize I live in a cave.

Ack! You've never seen that one, either? I'm not sure if it's on Netflix, but if so - get over there and binge watch. Season 2 just started!

I can't binge watch. I get bored after a couple of episodes and need to get fresh air.