DNA swabs will cripple Law and Order ... hourlong shows become eight-minute Webisodes

In DNA Ruling, a Cruel Blow to Scriptwriters

Excerpt:

Here is the plot of a generic hourlong police/court drama in the mold of “Law & Order” and its imitators from any time in the last two decades:

¶Minute 1: A crime is committed.

¶Minutes 2-5: An obvious suspect is detained.

¶Minutes 6-55: The suspect’s lawyer and the authorities do a lengthy dance over DNA evidence collection and admissibility, which eventually results in the discovery of a previous offense.

¶Minutes 56-60: The suspect either is convicted of the new crime or he turns out to be a red herring, whereupon a minor character is revealed to be the culprit.

If the real-life police are now taking cheek swabs and matching suspects to a database only seconds after they are initially detained, those hourlong shows become eight-minute Webisodes, and a lot of writers and actors are out of work. The Supreme Court has not merely changed the rules of crime-fighting; it has changed the rules of television.

Comment: That would the the original cast in the image above!