Author Topic: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol  (Read 1438 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/11/21/ncis-targets-right-wing-group



 by Steve Rosenblum 21 Nov 2013

This week's episode of the CBS drama NCIS: Los Angeles featured an "ultra right wing" terror group complete with a Gadsden Flag, a favorite of the modern Tea Party movement.

Tuesday's episode, entitled Recovery, had the team investigating the apparent drowning of a Navy Lt. Commander at high priced California rehab center.

The investigation revealed that the naval IT specialist had actually been drugged with scopolamine and Vicodin, pumped for intelligence on U.S. Predator drones and dumped in the pool. This led Special Agents Callen, Hanna, Deeks and Blye to a fictitious “ultra right-wing” extremist group that planned to hijack or “spoof” a Predator drone and bomb a Pakistani village.

The fictional Homeland Defense League’s manifesto said that “nation building” is not only wrong, but that the whole of Pakistan should be wiped off the map. It also said that all Pakistanis--including civilians--were legitimate targets. This is the same reasoning that al-Qaeda uses to justify killing innocent civilians with its attacks.

When the agents find the HQ of the extremist, Robert Hayes, in addition to his plans, maps and other operational details they also find a Gadsden flag. This not so subtle reference to the Tea Party was front and center. There are certainly conservatives and Tea Party members who believe that nation building is a mistake and a waste of blood and treasure. There are also those on the right that believe that Islam is anything but a religion of peace, as both Presidents Bush and Obama have claimed on many occasions.

But there is no evidence to support the idea that there are violent “ultra right-wing” extremist groups that plan or even desire to wipe out all Muslims or all Pakistanis. This episode was just a bunch of Hollywood shark-jumping nonsense.

And it followed an episode of NCIS that introduced a new character--an NSA analyst--that went to great pains to inform viewers that the NSA can only spy on Americans after acquiring a warrant.

One has to ponder the motives of the NCIS franchise's writer's team.
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Offline EC

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2013, 04:44:45 pm »
Quote
One has to ponder the motives of the NCIS franchise's writer's team.

To entertain. Simple as that.

Seriously, as a writer and script doctor this sort of article makes me want to scream. You need a villain, either an individual or an organisation. No villain, no conflict. The good guys can't be the good guys without a foil.

Now if it was habitual, sure, that is both propaganda and horribly lazy writing. But as a one off episode? It's fine. Villains come in all shapes and sizes.
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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2013, 01:54:04 pm »
Quote
a new character--an NSA analyst--that went to great pains to inform viewers that the NSA can only spy on Americans after acquiring a warrant.
:silly: Oh stop!

NCIS is just going the way of "Law and Order," which in its last few years consistently depicted conservatives and Christians as fanatics and murderers.
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Offline Lipstick on a Hillary

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2013, 02:00:17 pm »
To entertain. Simple as that.

Seriously, as a writer and script doctor this sort of article makes me want to scream. You need a villain, either an individual or an organisation. No villain, no conflict. The good guys can't be the good guys without a foil.

Now if it was habitual, sure, that is both propaganda and horribly lazy writing. But as a one off episode? It's fine. Villains come in all shapes and sizes.

No, it's NOT as simple as that.   If THIS can happen, Tea Party targeting can happen.

Offline EC

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2013, 02:15:22 pm »
No, it's NOT as simple as that.   If THIS can happen, Tea Party targeting can happen.

Not saying it can't happen or indeed won't happen. I am saying that one swallow does not make summer and one episode does not make a targeting. Don't forget, scripts are written, edited and filmed up to a year before the program makes it on air.

I can, if you wish, ask around - I know a lot of the writing team, having worked as script doctor on two seasons of NCIS. But if you think the Bellisario's are going to carry Obama's water, you are sorely mistaken. The constant theme in all of their productions is respect for the military and a promotion of self reliance and self respect, along with the message "Mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
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Offline EC

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #5 on: November 25, 2013, 07:45:39 pm »
Welp - I asked around and got a response.

That individual episode was first written three years ago, for the original NCIS, but got nudged out by a continuing story arc that was written later on, so got passed on to NCIS:LA. If you watch it carefully, you can tell - it has a completely different tone to most of the LA series, as it was written with the original cast in mind, all of whom have a well defined and developed persona.

My friend says it wasn't an ongoing arc, just a one off. Though she did refuse to comment on external pressures to send out messages in the series - it's more than her job is worth to comment on that, even to a friend. That might raise a few red flags in your mind. Certainly did for me.

On the plus side - I got a job!  :laugh: One of their script doctors was let go, so she put my name forward and I had the contract an hour later.
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Offline PzLdr

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #6 on: November 26, 2013, 08:55:44 pm »
To entertain. Simple as that.

Seriously, as a writer and script doctor this sort of article makes me want to scream. You need a villain, either an individual or an organisation. No villain, no conflict. The good guys can't be the good guys without a foil.

Now if it was habitual, sure, that is both propaganda and horribly lazy writing. But as a one off episode? It's fine. Villains come in all shapes and sizes.

All true. But have you ever noticed that the villain is never an environmentalist, a climate change nut, an anti-war group or a union? Just sayin'... :whistle:
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Offline Cincinnatus

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #7 on: November 26, 2013, 09:04:43 pm »
Exactly: All true. But have you ever noticed that the villain is never an environmentalist, a climate change nut, an anti-war group or a union? Just sayin'
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Offline EC

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #8 on: November 26, 2013, 11:16:21 pm »
All true. But have you ever noticed that the villain is never an environmentalist, a climate change nut, an anti-war group or a union? Just sayin'... :whistle:

Three of the four have been used as villains in NCIS (original - only just getting up to speed with LA.) just don't recall a union villain in a military police procedural! All four have been used as villains in the original CSI.

They have also used survivalists, terrorists (by far the most frequently), disgruntled wives, adulterers, drug barons, crooked politicians, sexual swingers, PTSD sufferers, innocent people (wrong place at wrong time and panicked), scientists both crooked or simply stupid, blackmail victims, children and pure accident.

After 10 years and 11 seasons, they have pretty much used everyone!
« Last Edit: November 26, 2013, 11:17:54 pm by EC »
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Offline Atomic Cow

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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #9 on: November 26, 2013, 11:46:12 pm »
NCIS/NCIS LA have gone up against everything from drug cartels, Muslim terrorists, radical anti-war and environmentalist groups, to "right wing" militias.  Anyone who can be a bad guy on the show eventually is.
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Re: 'NCIS: LA' Features 'Ultra Right Wing' Villains with Tea Party Symbol
« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2013, 12:40:31 am »
NCIS/NCIS LA have gone up against everything from drug cartels, Muslim terrorists, radical anti-war and environmentalist groups, to "right wing" militias.  Anyone who can be a bad guy on the show eventually is.

Keeps it fresh and interesting. CSI eventually became boring because they were limited by location and believability. Sure, they developed back stories which kept it going for a while, but eventually it was - dead body, get the black light, DNA guy and ballistics guy do their job, arrest.

Just getting incredibly hard to provide a believable enemy and a twist after 150 or so episodes. That's one of the reasons NCIS:LA is more secretive. The enemies can be more amorphous.
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