(no subject)

I really wish shows/movies about the supernatural handled skepticism better. This is not a huge complaint, just one that almost inevitably sets my eyes rolling. Medium is handling it better than a lot, since they've established that her dreams can be misinterpreted and/or lack specificity or detail a certain amount of questioning of what they mean or being unable to immediately act on her information makes sense. What does not make sense is when the information is met with flat out disbelief and exclamations of it being crazy talk by the people who've worked with her long term.

Look, I am a hard core atheist and skeptic. And while I love me my shows about the supernatural, I don't believe these things exist for real outside of fiction. This is because I don't have evidence that they are true, not because I'm gonna go 'nuh UH' to things I have experienced or seen with my own eyes for crying out loud. I dunno, I just get kind of irritated by the implication that skeptics are just doing so to be contrary or stubborn, and will continue to be so in the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise instead of incorporating new information and acting accordingly. This is actually one of the things I love so much about Fringe, actually. That once it is established crazy ass shit exists, the reaction of characters is no longer to declare that it can't be, and waste time being convinced at every new instance of crazy ass shit, but to work within the fact that they know it is.

Really, supernatural type shows, it's okay...once you've established the rules of your universe we don't need to be convinced anymore and neither do your regular characters. We all know it is true because we've seen it.

(no subject)

Pondering this more, because I am nothing if not obsessive, I am thinking one of the show specific problems dealing with skepticism in the universe of Medium is that it is trying, to some extent, to reflect the real world relationship between psychic consultants and law enforcement. And whether or not you believe these consultants to be accurate or useful, one thing that is certain is that the information they provide is a hell of a lot more vague.

If you imagine that Joe or Lee or Manny are reacting to a statement like, "The killer lives near a railroad tracks, has brown hair, and the body is buried somewhere near water" it starts to make more sense than Allison picking up the phone all "Your killer lives at 123 Psychopath Lane, his name is Killer McStabby, and he buried the body on the east shore of Dumping Ground lake two yards south of the lifeguard on duty sign. Oh, also, bring me to a sketch artist and you'll have a picture of his face in 20 minutes" on a regular basis.

There are times when the information she gives is less detailed or subject to interpretation, but it is always accurate in ways that are objectively provable and highly specific in the end, which is very different than arresting your psycho and there's a railroad track nearby. When it remembers that, and to its credit a great deal of the time it really does and acts accordingly, expressing disbelief doesn't make sense. When it forgets, I'm left sighing very hard. 'Cause tell you what, if I was warned vaguely that I was in danger by a random psychic I probably wouldn't take it all that seriously. Allison tells me I'm in danger and I'm booking a ticket out of town and hiring a personal bodyguard faster than you can say precognition.