Television Pet Peeves

I really like NCIS New Orleans. I love Scott Bakula, I love C.C.H. Pounder, I love Lucas Black (creepy child actor grows up and becomes surprisingly hot and speaks with a delicious New Orleans southern drawl) and Daryl Mitchell. The setting is really fun. I watch the original NCIS but for some reason I've never gotten into the Los Angeles one. They're all among the few shows that actually stay on On Demand in their entirety (rather than the earlier episodes disappearing, which I find infuriating), so I usually catch up on a half-dozen episodes all at once when I'm spending the day cooking or cleaning.

So here's the thing about NCIS NO though: Bakula plays Dwayne Pride, the Agent in Charge of the New Orleans office. He is, predictably, a real stand-up guy, a little intense - okay, a lot intense, to the point of self-destructiveness. It's a well-known type (in sad fact, it's making me like the show a little less just thinking about this more closely). I'm getting a little weary, this season, of the storylines hammering heavily on Pride-is-off-the-rails, particularly because it kind of felt like we just had that storyline and just as we were getting back to normal, here we are again.

The other point is, like many mainstream dramas involving law enforcement or medical personnel, friends and family of the main characters are involved in the plot lines way more than is statistically likely. This seems to make the whole question of "why does Pride get over-involved" even more ludicrous - like, duh, he gets over-involved and breaks the rules because it's his best friend's daughter/best man/boyfriend/college pal/ex-husband who's in trouble. Despite the whole notion that it's better to have an objective, detached doctor or police person handling your case, the idea of being looked after by someone who will never, ever give up is irresistibly romantic and dramatic - I get that. But drawing attention to it kind of shakes the fourth wall too much, if you know what I mean.

Also, is anybody really sick of the "I went through something traumatic but I don't need any help, I'm FINE" shtick? Wouldn't it be really refreshing if they would just say "yeah, that was intense, man. I should probably talk to someone BEFORE I alienate all my friends/develop a drinking problem/ cross paths with a murderous criminal in my vulnerable state". Yeah, I know it's unrealistic. I'm just tired of watching the same old pattern.