A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how Covert Affairs had quickly become my favorite new show of the summer (It probably would have been more fair to tell everyone the only other new show I’m watching this summer is Rookie Blue, so the distinction of best doesn’t mean a whole lot). Despite my sarcasm, I am really enjoying the show. That fact might be missed when folks read this post, so I wanted to open with it.
Don’t get me wrong — unless watching/reading a lot of spy stories makes you an expert, it would be wrong to pass myself off as one. But, since I’m writing this, you can either accept my spy-nerd resume, or, not. There is what I’ll call a Hollywood version of the spy world, one that I’m sure shares things with the real world version, but doesn’t get everything right. Then there’s Covert Affairs. If the show could work its way closer to either version, I’d be a much a happier camper.
At the very least, one could rely on Wikipedia (a dubious step, but work with me). A dead drop is used to facilitate an exchange without the two parties involved actually having to be in the same place at the same time. What it is not is a place where you stash an item that is too hot to be caught with. While “brush pass” was close, I’d think “exchange” would be closer. And how many times did we have to hear about someone being “read in” on something tonight (which seemed to be used correctly). It is like someone read “spy terms” and tried to shoe-horn them into the script.
But like I said, I’m still digging the show (one hopes that it gets an upgraded technical consultant next season, though). The stuff with Auggie played out very well. Until we hear more about more about Ben Mercer, the injured, former operations officer has got an interesting story to follow. His boss’s boss, though, is in for some trouble. Campbell’s relationship with reporter Liza Hearn, whether or not it is just business, is not going to turn out well for him. I doubt he’s the mole (though I’m sure he’s sharing more than he should), but she’s got someone feeding her good stuff, and it is pretty obvious it is his job to close the leak.
Notes & Quotes
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Aug 04, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
Phew this was very hard to read. At first I didn’t understand at all what you were getting at but after three read-throughs I finally understood what you meant.
Basically you think the way the show portrays agency work is off and you have a hard time suspending your disbelief. Maybe you could approach this from the position of the reader next time because boy this was a lot of work :-)
Funny thing is – I totally get that. I have a couple of shows I simply can not watch because the way they are written to me seems “off”. Like you I don’t consider myself an expert in everything (here: the spy world) but there’s the Hollywood way to portray spies and then there’s Tom Clancy… you know, Rainbow Six et cetera.
So would you rather keep watching this and not really enjoy it because the “spy stuff” throws you off or watch “Alias” DVDs because they get it right and “Covert Affairs” doesn’t really? Or maybe just go all the way and try finding a rerun of “Secret Agent Man”? ;-)
*POST AUTHOR*
Dunno, sir, I think the excerpt sets the whole post up fairly straightforwardly:
“Despite how much I like ‘Covert Affairs’, the show really has to work on getting the technical aspects of spy work right.”
Sorry that it was a difficult read.
And no, I’m not going to stop watching it yet. Yes, these things bother me, as you’d expect professionals like this to get the easy details of a specific genre correct. But, considering how bad a show like Mercy got the technical details wrong, on a genre that’s so overdone in TV that they’re are probably books on how to do it.
Yeah you nailed it. I didn’t read the excerpt! Now my comment seems rather silly. Didn’t do it an purpose…
I’ve been reading CC from day one and since they are rather new I never got used to them. Seems I got into the habit of skipping them altogether and start reading right after the image.
Sorry about that. With the excerpt it actually IS much clearer. No. It IS clear what you are talking about.
Great now I really do feel silly.
Ivey, Ivey, Ivey. Though dost protest too much. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I have no real life knowledge of spies. That helps.
I will say that when my sister was in the FBI she refused to watch any show about FBI agents because she said they were a bunch of hooey. The average agent leads a very boring existence. In entertainment they make it seem like constant action. I bring this up because once she quit the job, she was able to just sit back and enjoy it, unreality of it and all.
So, that’s my suggestion for you. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. The reality of spy work is probably a lot more boring, and following it would probably have less entertainment value.
Other than that, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! I’m so pleased with the cast – it just all fell together so well. Loving the show!
I don’t want to diminish the acting abilities of any of the actors on this show because it is entertaining and I’m glad to see Peter Gallagher putting in a (so far) solid performance, but this is Spy Tales for the Lifetime Network crowd. Trying to get your Spy fix from it is like trying to get a Science fix from old Wyl E. Coyote cartoons.
This is well acted, fluffy, summer stuff. If you can’t put away your C.I.A. World Factbook and get out your popcorn, then this show definitely isn’t for you.
*POST AUTHOR*
And it very well might not be. I’m going to give it a full summer run before I give up on it.
At the end of the day, though, it is not hard to get these details right. I’m not saying it has to be real-to-life authentic, but a bigger effort needs to be made.
It’s a spy action thriller that uses almost no special effects. It’s a government crime drama that isn’t boring. For what it is, it’s amazing, but you can tell they go out of their way to not bloat their budget…even you mentioned the borrowed stock footage. In addition, their new office that was unveiled in the second episode?….I could swear that it was the old Criminal Minds set.
The bottom line is that in most cases, details cost money. For example, if you want to make sure that the show stayed true to Posse Comitatus, you would have to introduce extra characters in terms of F.B.I., local law enforcement and the subsequent liaisons. They would have to do shoots in different “offices” depending on which agency the scene was in. And so on…
When you consider that this show isn’t for the Tom Clancy crowd, it would be money wasted… and the last thing I would want is for the show to fail because it didn’t fit into the networks budget. That would be senseless.
*POST AUTHOR*
Jennifer, I think you make an excellent point about special effects. Three to four episodes in and there haven’t been many, and they haven’t been missed. I didn’t mention anything about stock footage, just that if they were going to do a sky diving shot over a peninsula, they might have thought to include a river.
(https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=williamsburg,+va&sll=39.333366,-79.118037&sspn=6.125361,10.162354&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Williamsburg,+Virginia&ll=37.270774,-76.700363&spn=0.407629,0.635147&z=11)
My main point is though, when you look at a show like, say Grey’s Anatomy, and the doctors walked in and said, “We need to do open heart surgery because you’ve got a brain tumor,” they wouldn’t get a pass. You’re point about the CIA operating domestically (I know I’m going to get in trouble for this, but Posse Comitatus would be the military used domestically for law enforcement) is well made, but I think they’ve proven in the last two weeks that they can fake Vancouver well enough to look like foreign countries.
And you’re right, consultants are expensive. But I’m sure shows like Royal Pains, White Collar, and Burn Notice, which are all on the same network, have them, so why can’t this show? I know that all of the episodes for the summer are in the can at this point, but hopefully, with their renewal, they’ll have the option of hiring one for Season Two.
I enjoy the show and I thought they had a technical consultant, Valerie Plame. A lot of the detail seems plausible, though I sure a lot of her suggestions would be ignored for artistic reasons.
https://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/07/covert-affairs-how-valerie-plame-helped-doug-liman-make-the-show.html
I want to record a predication, and this seems to be a good place to do it.
I don’t think Auggie is really blind.
It seems such a short sighted plot point to have him blind; it limits his participation. That was my first doubt.
Then in this episode, while taking a lie detector, he claimed to be able to control his emotions and fool the box. He did so by saying “No” to the question, “Are you blind?” Maybe he can’t fool the lie detector, but needed to fool the lie detector examiner.
I’M with Modwild–just relax and enjoy the show. I find it one of the most entertaining of an excellent Summer Cable season. As I have said before, Basic Cable continues to remain excellent. If the network can do half as well with their new shows, we are going to have an outstanding TV season. Also, as I have mentioned before, “Covert” is the only advenure show I can get my wife to watch with me, and she loves it! Believe me, that is a real accomplishment.