VIDEO: Prime-time cop shows love video games

Matt Hawkins Contributing Writer, Video Games

As my compadre Will Brinson recently demonstrated, there’s something about video games & prime-time crime drams that go together like peanut butter & grape jelly. Though there is a legit connection; shows like CSi & SVU love taking something that their viewers know nothing about (like cell phones, the internet, plus games of course) and turn it into some big, bad scary thing. With often hilarious results.

Remember: the average age of a prime time television viewer, basically anyone who watches NBC, CBS, ABC, and the rest is in the 60s. And what 64 year old grandmother knows enough about Second Life to realize how completely bonkers and off the mark CSI:NY’s take on it truly is? Check out this “chase scene” from the show…

Later on, Gary Sinese comes close to cornering his virtual suspect, but has to engage in a life or death duel before going forward. So his far more cyber space-savvy comes to the rescue with… a calculator?

The best part, obviously, is how there is zero explanation given since the writer have zero idea what the hell they’re dealing with. I thought CSI was all about explaining things with a meticulous attention to detail?

See, I don’t bother with CSI, cuz I’m a Law & Order person, SVU to be exact, and nothing can top the time they also played around with Second Life, which they called Another You. Unfortunately, NBC Universal does a great job keeping their stuff off of YouTube, so I can’t find a single clip of the hijinks that the associated episode contains. But for all of you with Netflix Instant (and at this point, who the hell does not have an account), simply scope out the second episode from season, called “Avatar”. Basically, some creepy child pedo kidnaps a chick, based purely upon her Another You avatar’s resemblance of a chick that he kidnapped many years ago, a crime that he got away with. Who, btw, is still missing, but the SVU gang manages to track her down due to him recreating her whereabouts in the game. Some might recall this being the episode in which a girl is raped by her sister’s boyfriend while he was sleepwalking in the first five minutes, something that they NEVER bother to address once the virtual reality stuff kick in. Lulz.

BTW, for those who haven’t heard, a Law & Order game was recently announced, but it’s about the new LA show, not SVU. Whatever. No Fin & Munch, no buys. There’s also a long line of CSI games, all of them utterly unremarkable.

Back to why SVU is awesome, one main reason is Ice T, whom many folks know is a hardcore gamer himself. Screw Metacritic, just wait for his two cents on whatever the hot game is at the moment via his Twitter. I just wish he did more videos…

LOLWUT: Gary Sinise uses Second Life to fight crime [Destructoid]

What'd you think of this?

Cast My Vote

Other Stories You Might LIke

comment on this story

blog comments powered by Disqus