TV VS. Reality: Are Jobs in Television Sitcoms and Dramas Painted like Real Life?

Many television shows are set in the workplace. But, how do these fiction jobs and scenarios square up with real life? A few years ago, I chatted with a real-life crime lab tech and a talk-show host to find out how their jobs measured up with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Fraiser.

CSI

CBS's huge hit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a slick crime drama focusing on crime scene investigation by the night forensics team in the Las Vegas police department's Criminalistics Bureau. The team of sleuths, headed by bug-loving Gil Grissom (William Peterson), relentlessly analyzes every detail of the crime scene, no matter how seemingly irrelevant or even grotesque, and prove that with science on their side, they will ultimately solve the case.

I found a local crime lab forensic scientist, Sandra Singer, to talk with us about the show, reality and what her and Grissom have in common.

Singer, who is a huge CSI fan and even videotapes missed episodes, claims the crime show to be quite realistic, with a little poetic license of course. She did note however that department protocol varies state to state, and in Pennsylvania, the crime scene investigators are not sworn police officers, don't carry guns and don't usually work in the field. Rather, the police officers collect the evidence and bring it to the labs for forensic scientists like Singer to analyze, and help nab the bad guys.

Singer says the tests performed by CSI's on the show would be what the Wyoming, Pennsylvania barracks crew would use as well. She also says the writers have the technical and scientific terms, as well as forensic jargon down to a science. That could be because a 15-year LA Country forensic scientist is paid well to review every script for credibility.

Singer does have one small gripe to shed light on. "When they use alternative light sources such as black lights and special glasses, that has to be done in the dark," Singer said. "On the show, the sometimes perform this test in the day. Things don't fluoresce in daylight."

Aside from that little nitpick, CSI makes for a very realistic and fascinating drama. No wonder so many millions are hooked.

Now, let's compare the two:

Gil Grissom, CSI Supervisor, Las Vegas Nevada

-BS in Biology from UCLA
-Science Geek
-Specializes in Entomology (insects)
-Very well read, and in fact, quotes Shakespeare and famed poets when cracking the case
-Deals better with dead people
-Unwinds on roller coasters

Sandra Singer, Forensic Scientist Supervisor, Crime Lab, PA State Police, Wyoming, PA

-BA in Chemistry from King's College, Masters in Forensic Science from George Washington University
-Science Geek
-Specializes in Serology (bodily fluids) "I don't like bugs!"
-Just states the facts
-Does quite well with living people
-Unwinds at rock concerts

FRASIER

This brilliant Cheers spin-off was said to in fact be the only successful television spin-off. That could be because rather than just taking an actor to a new show, NBC grabbed a character we all knew and loved, psychiatrist Frasier Crane, and returned him to his native Seattle, where he hosts a call-in radio show, lives with cranky father and is bothered by his fussy brother. The show boasts polished scripts, intelligent humor and makes for, as TV Guide calls it an 'elegant sitcom.' But does it measure up to real talk radio?

Fraiser has a lot in common with local talk show personality, Kevin Lynn, who hosted a call in show on the WILK Network weekdays from 9:00-11:45. While Lynn has 20 years worth of television and radio broadcasting experience, neither he nor Fraiser actually studied to be on the radio. Fraiser was first a doctor, and Lynn, a tennis pro/Yale tennis coach. So, should an athlete or a doctor helping the mentally ill really have an open mic?

"Fraiser and I are more alike than we appear. I believe it is a huge advantage to go into this business having been good at something else. It gives you confidence, and a reservoir of knowledge about how things are done successfully in another field," Lynn said.

Lynn noted another common bond the two share. "Being self-absorbed and self-centered like Fraiser is probably an advantage. After all, he's a radio host, right? People know him. If you are going to be a local personality, you'd better have the personality for it!"

Let's compare the two:

Fraiser Crane, ficticious radio talk show host, KACL-AM, Seattle

-Judgemental, pompous and narcissistic
-Never takes his own advice
-Likes to stir up problems in his love life, or the life of his famil
-Enjoys fine wine
-Hangs out at the coffee house (or, when he's in Boston, you know where to find him
-Genuinely tries to do the right thing

Kevin Lynn, Radio talk show host, WILK-AM, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

-Competitive, profane and needling
-"I don't have to give advice. The world is better off that way."
-Likes to stir up controversy on current issues on air
-Like imported draft beer and Rumpleminz
-Hangs out at Grotto Pizza in Harvey's Lake, Pa.
-Genuinely tries to do the right thing too...but life ain't a ½ hour ling sitcom!