Executive Producer of TV's "Law and Order" on crime/justice

TV producer, Rene Balcer, says defending his show's "real estate" on American prime time television has been like "herding cats" (he has got through 93 episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent and about 400 episodes of Law and Order regardless). LA-based but Canadian-born Balcer says anxiety and fear help creativity so he doesn't shy away from the battle (afterall, he began his career as a combat camera man during the 1973 Yom Kippur war so he has been inured to stress from the start).

In this interview Balcer talks about how his shows tackle the fallout of 9/11 and how "fear" has become big business in America. Balcer says themes reminiscent of the detention at Guantanamo Bay of Australian David Hicks have found a place in some of the plots he has explored throughout Law and Order's long life. He talks about how the show has tackled legal issues such as the Material Witness Warrant that is part of the police powers provided by America's Patriot Act. The actual boundaries of freedom for screenwriters in the USA are explored as well as the interplay between real-life law makers and the fictional plots.

Balcer also talks about the Fox series, 24, contrasting the way Balcer's own TV series deal with issues of terrorism and politics. Balcer's view is that the way 24 appears to condone torture as an effective way to produce valuable intelligence results is offensive to him. He describes the repercussions this may have for Americans in an increasingly troubled "real life" world. Finally he talks about the troubling role of the screenwriter in an era when people may vote for a politician or take action in real life, because his or her views or behavior are aligned with those of someone like 24's hero, Jack Bauer.

Rene Balcer's awards include the Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Teleplay, three Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America, the Peabody Award, two Silver Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association, and the Golden Laurel Award from the Producers Guild of America. He has many other television credits apart from Law and Order, ranging from ground breaking (and Award winning) pilots through to writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Media
• Entertainment
• Technology
• Law
• Justice
• war
• terrorism

[shimauma42]

" Mr. Balcer refers to the war on terrorism as so-called, and claims that cultural misunderstandings lead to labeling innocent people as terrorists."

How about the "cultural misunderstanding" that leftards like this have no idea about real life. How about the fact that the terrorists would kill him too if he was in/on/near one of their targets. What a firking scumbag....This is why I don't watch regular TV anymore. Thank goodness for Firefly DVD's. gorram purplebellies.

[eastsackevster]

commercial and TV shows. we dont need to be strobe lighting to death and 30 camera shot changes every 10 seconds, that just makes us change the channel, yes ask around lots of people are pissed at this

[fidelio1980]

It's pretty sad that people will hear a comment questioning whether the "war on terror" is actually a war on terror, and conclude that the person speaking was denying that terrorism is out there.

[newbeginxyz]

Quite frankly the world could care less about this nobody butt hole and his comments on the world.

[Darusdei]

@shimauma42, it so funny how some of you yanks get so worked up about a tv show producer...

[bloodrunsclear]

'This is all highly controversial material'

Okay, that was the biggest laugh I've gotten out of anything related to television recently :D

[eastsackevster]

stop with all the light flashing and rapid muilti camera changes good GOD its gone overboard cant even hardly watch tv anymore!

Its called the Starbucks affect, people that produce commercials are jacked up on high octaine coffee so they think everyone likes what they like. get on the decafe people

cant say dont like then turn the channel its everwhere!  only PBS and QVC dont, thats it!