What is the point of Cops, Security or Armed forces in televison

[WoWGoneBad]

So I have a grip after watching the latest episode of Power

What is the point of a Police security or armed force troop if they are nothing but fodder for teh mains.

I get that the mains are the show itself and that they should be smarter faster and whatever, but I mean come on.......... What is the point of having a police force if your patrol cops just drop like flies and do nothing but sit there "Hey I am here shoot me for luls"

I dont mean that the beat cops or armed forces joe shmoes should be 1337 badasses but I mean they should have at least some degree of combat tactics to fight and survive for a few minutes to make it look like the mains at least have to do some work. I see this is some of the superhero shows but in shows like Power or shows/ movies with these people, they jsut sit there saying he shoot me for luls.

It is time for the Red Shirts to retire and give rise to some players that can survive a lil while before biting the bullet

[Drungan]

Guessing that at some point someone did figure out that a shootout between 2 random guards lasting 20 mins was not good screen time and made the main figures kinda *bosses* ... only the main figures runs on after taking several shots, the lesser drops at first bullet.

[Miyagie]

If you power up cops and military you make heros and superheroes useless.
Also extrem powerful cops and military can backfire when they turn against the system.
*Insert IAM THE LAW gif.

[WoWGoneBad]

You're talking about TV shows and movies. They're TV shows and movies guy, not real life.

well DUH!!! thanks for that tip. But still, the shows are based in real life even if it is in television. I dont expect grunts to be spec forces but they should at least be able to duck n cover....

- - - Updated - - -

Guessing that at some point someone did figure out that a shootout between 2 random guards lasting 20 mins was not good screen time and made the main figures kinda *bosses* ... only the main figures runs on after taking several shots, the lesser drops at first bullet.

I dont mean having a long drawn out gun fight, but at least make it look realistic even though it is tv. I like the way Gotham pulls it off from time to time. The cops at least show some sign of duck n cover and pop off 3-5 shots before getting killed. That is all I ask, at least make theses forces look like they got some type of training rather than hey joe here is a gun you are cop..... go stop bad guys

- - - Updated - - -

If you power up cops and military you make heros and superheroes useless.
Also extrem powerful cops and military can backfire when they turn against the system.
*Insert IAM THE LAW gif.

I am not asking for them to be LEET, but show some.... form or combat training.... show that they at least have a brain in their heads than just stand there and die. And if a super hero is sooo super, what is the point of having these forces to begin with? They are useless to the community because they cant stop any crime or big bads.. so what is their purpose other than to die... it is fake tv i get that but seriously, at least make these heroes look like they gotta put some work in

- - - Updated - - -

this was actually pointed out in Luke Cage season 2, when he said to the captian and Misty, "If you would do your jobs I would not have to do it for you"(paraphrase)

This was also pointed out some what in Arrow as well.

[Archon14]

this was actually pointed out in Luke Cage season 2, when he said to the captian and Misty, "If you would do your jobs I would not have to do it for you"(paraphrase)

This was also pointed out some what in Arrow as well.

I think with superhero shows in general, they tend to deal with some sort of organized criminal activity, which is way more than most cops deal with in the real world. Not every major city has a well-organized team of criminals and supervillains, ready with a 5-month plan of taking over the whole city.
And even in those scenarios there is always some sort of a support of that plan from either a corrupt police force, or corrupt high-ranking government officials of that city.

Should probably make us realize that it would actually take a lot for some group to potentially hold an entire city. And even in the real world, the police wouldn't exactly be prepared for something of that scale. That's why we have special forces or even army interventions. But special forces usually tend to tear apart something before it becomes as big of a danger as it tends to appear in those kind of tv shows.

It all starts with the idea that superheroes are actually needed, because the bad is exponentially increased just as the good is. And so we see a rise in crime and villains in general, because you need the hero to be required to make it right, to make the world a better place and all that.

[WoWGoneBad]

You act like it's only the super villains or whatever committing crimes in those shows. There's still your everyday bad guy just like in real life.

Nothing you're bitching about makes any sense.

no it is not 'just' the super villians doing it. It is the regular joe shmuck that is robbing the convience store. It is the Drug Lord who evaded law for years, it is the idiot street slinger who got lucky......


What you do not seem to get is that the cops receive at least basic training in handling situations in these shows otherwise why would the be cops? So where is that training when they are getting nto these situations. They walk into a house knowing there is a gun toting person, they bust the door down, stand in the doorway or 5 seconds and BOOM they are dead

They run into a situation where they know is gun fire.... they run into the building blind and BOOM they are dead.

They see a shoot out in progress, they run into the situation without using available cover and BOOM they are dead.

These are situations where they are trained in how to respond but all they do is run in dumbassedly and BOOM they die. They dont use cover, they dont use tactics, they dont use their brains...... They just run in BOOM dead.

Take the Police Situation in Arrow Season 6 where he stormed the precinct. 50 cops or more in the building, half of them just ran up to a dude they KNOW is an ass kicker and wait for him to beat the shit out of them. Not just one unlucky dumbass bit PLENTY of them. Same thing got Security thugs, they watch their buddies getting ROFLSTOMPED by the superheros and they run up like dumbasses throw a punch and get their asses kicked.


I get it I know we need to see the heroes n villains in action, and I do enjoy watching those dumbasses get roflstomped. But I would like that some get a punch or two in. But in the end.... fodder.

In Season 6 of arrow I did like that they have a beat cop who actually had some action scenes and he is still around. He even had a gun fight with the Main Villian and survived. I want too see more of that. A beat cop or security grunt actually come up the ranks. Does not need to be against the hero directly, but even indirectly or he knows how to duck n cover and live to fight again.

[Deleted]

So I have a grip after watching the latest episode of Power

What is the point of a Police security or armed force troop if they are nothing but fodder for teh mains.

I get that the mains are the show itself and that they should be smarter faster and whatever, but I mean come on.......... What is the point of having a police force if your patrol cops just drop like flies and do nothing but sit there "Hey I am here shoot me for luls"

I dont mean that the beat cops or armed forces joe shmoes should be 1337 badasses but I mean they should have at least some degree of combat tactics to fight and survive for a few minutes to make it look like the mains at least have to do some work. I see this is some of the superhero shows but in shows like Power or shows/ movies with these people, they jsut sit there saying he shoot me for luls.

It is time for the Red Shirts to retire and give rise to some players that can survive a lil while before biting the bullet

They exist for a narrative purpose, to show the strength and or proficiency of the protagonist and/or villain, the purpose is to show something relatively familiar to the viewer to act as a frame of reference for the power of the actual character.

[Uncle]

It reminds me of My Hero Academia. It is said that 80% of the human population as a quirk. However, only a handful of people (the official heroes) are fighting the super-vilains, understand criminals who have quirks.
Then you have the police, who is as always, inept and is only good to clean after the heroes.

But...

If 80% of the human population as a quirk, so that means that statistically, the police also must be filled by people with quirks? And they must have received a training, like any police officer, and also a quirk training, so...Why exactly do they need heroes to begin with?

[Coombs]

It's just bad writing. They wanted to perpetuate that being a gangster means you can take out cops left and right and have combat skills. Truth is a gangster would have gone for the gone and maybe killed on cop and been shot dead by the other three.

The problem with the show is that they killed the wrong twin.

[Halicia]

something something.... The Wire.

[zenkai]

So I have a grip after watching the latest episode of Power

What is the point of a Police security or armed force troop if they are nothing but fodder for teh mains.

I get that the mains are the show itself and that they should be smarter faster and whatever, but I mean come on.......... What is the point of having a police force if your patrol cops just drop like flies and do nothing but sit there "Hey I am here shoot me for luls"

I dont mean that the beat cops or armed forces joe shmoes should be 1337 badasses but I mean they should have at least some degree of combat tactics to fight and survive for a few minutes to make it look like the mains at least have to do some work. I see this is some of the superhero shows but in shows like Power or shows/ movies with these people, they jsut sit there saying he shoot me for luls.

It is time for the Red Shirts to retire and give rise to some players that can survive a lil while before biting the bullet

Someone has to take control of the scene and mop up after the good guy saves the day.

[WoWGoneBad]

Someone has to take control of the scene and mop up after the good guy saves the day.

yeah, I do enjoy watching the looks on some of the main character faces when the Calvary shows up and the job is done. That is why I loved it when Luke Cage brought that dude to the precinct and said that if they did their job he would not have to lol. I get that there are rules and protocols to follow, I just odnt like how easily they get killed for the sake of the mains looking good.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Seems to be a trope specific to Western media, and it frustrates me to no end to see it. I don't dislike the trope itself; it demonstrates how evil and powerful the bad guy is or how severe the situation is, but when you've seen it for the 200th time, I feel like turning off the TV. Strangely, Japanese anime, manga, and JRPGs seem to make nameless police officers actually competent.

Seirei no Moribito: The soldiers of the empire are actually competent in tracking down and fighting our fugitive protagonists, so much so that the protagonists opt to run away, stay quiet, and avoid confrontations rather than opting for the stereotypical "heroes gather up band of rebels to take down the empire".

My Hero Academia: The police flawlessly raid the villain's hideout and restrain EVERY SINGLE ANTAGONIST including the big bad, forcing the big bad's mentor to get off of his life support and use his power to bail out the villains.

Fullmetal Alchemist: A villain's defenses are worn down by rank-and-file soldiers, and he ultimately defeated by a nameless soldier's lucky shot.

Gundam 00: The militaries of the US, the European Federation, and China task experience commanders with the goal of capturing the protagonists. Even with their ridiculously powerful Gundams, the heroes succumb to the tactics executed by the rank and file mooks, and have to be bailed out several times by a secret group ridiculous even by Gundam's standards.

Code Geass: The protagonist would've straight up lost to the police and the military without convenient plot upgrades and being saved at the last moment.

The Legend of Heroes JRPG series (Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel): The baddies are regularly caught or defeated by police and armed forces. I can count on a single hand the number of times that the police and armed forces are actually defeated by the bad guys, and most of the time it's due to the baddies having either meticulously planned out their encounter with corrupt government assistance.