TV Dramas: A Reflection of Reality?

With the sun's reflection gleaming off his sunglasses, Caine stumbles upon the missing girl in question and casually proposes to her, "What do you say we sit here and get found together?"

John Butts, the N.C. chief medical examiner, said such scenes in CBS's "CSI" and other television dramas about forensic science are ridiculous.

"Nobody does things that way," Butts said.

In addition to performing autopsies, Butts oversees all of North Carolina's death investigations.

"In general a lot people are involved (in investigations), but often in drama one or two people are doing everything," he said.

Butts said he does, however, approve of documentary series such as "Cold Case Files," which appears on the A&E network.

"They help to inform the public better in regard to (medical examination's) particular services."

Elsewhere in TV land, Jack McCoy, who NBC's Web site refers to as a "charismatic and tough Executive Assistant D.A.," delivers an incisive final argument against a defense lawyer on trial for murder in the criminal justice drama "Law & Order."

UNC Professor Arnold Loewy, who teaches courses on criminal law, said he finds such scenes to be biased against defense attorneys -- a misrepresentation Loewy said is common on "Law & Order."

In comparison, he finds ABC's "The Practice," another criminal justice drama, to be more balanced because it shows the highs and lows of defense and prosecution.

"One of the differences (between the shows) is that 'Law & Order' tries not to be morally ambiguous, whereas 'The Practice' does," Loewy said.

"Most of the populace is uncomfortable with moral ambiguity."

Loewy said he believes this trend is the reason "Law & Order" typically writes criminal defense lawyers as loathsome characters. "The audience is supposed to perceive (what they do) as morally questionable behavior."

But Loewy said he has been pleased by the accuracy of "The Practice," specifically concerning its references to real cases. Conversely, he said he has found several inaccuracies in "Law & Order."

"With their attorneys present, suspects answer things they would never answer in reality," he said. "They need to have a deal chiseled in stone in real life."

As for the sharp conversations between lawyers on the shows, Loewy said he feels it's overdone.

"I'm sure that people who don't have lines written for them will stumble over their words more often," he said.

Although Loewy thinks courtroom depictions on television are less than accurate, Brad Anglemyer, a fourth-year student at UNC's medical school, said emergency room portrayals on "ER" are generally realistic.

He has been working in the emergency room at UNC Hospitals for the past year, delivering babies and treating patients.

Anglemyer said that he has watched "ER" for a long time and that the unrelenting action on medical dramas belies the sporadic nature of activity in real emergency rooms.

"Some of the events they depict are accurate, but the feel of the emergency room isn't there," he said. "If a person's seriously ill, we don't let the children come in and watch something bad happen to Dad."

Technically, Anglemyer finds there to be inaccuracies in the show's doctors performing tasks that doctors wouldn't normally do in real life. But he said "ER" is as close to reality as a television drama can get.

"In general the medical shows put the profession in a positive light," Anglemyer said. "It makes people appreciate the work and effort that goes into it."

Though his fiancee often watches them, Anglemyer refuses to watch any of the reality medical shows that appear on stations such as The Learning Channel. "I do that 80 hours a week," he said. "Coming home and watching it isn't at the top of my list."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.