Saved! New Paramedic Drama on TNT

[Ace844]

:shock: 8) :wink: We can only hope that this dramatic new show 'saved' will include dispatchers who dont send emrgency resources to callers needing them, and EMT's who don't actually treat pts...then that may be like real life!! Well in Detroit in anyway.... :shock: 8) :wink:

out here,

ACE844

[medik8]

If you like it, great. But wait until you see the whole thing before just shooting it down willy nilly.

You said Willy.... :shock: LMAO

As for my take on this...I stand by what I said...however, I might not have been so uptight about it had I not been sleep-deprived and had a bad overall night in the EMS world....including the doc that pissed me off...but we won't go there.... :roll: Besides...he musta been smokin' something...I know I was right...... =;

Later...

xoxoxo :wink:

8

[EMS Solutions]

Maybe this will motivate some people to be more professional. Iron a shirt, shine some shoes etc. I have seen plenty of ems personnel with filthy shoes, untucked shirts, grossly wrinkled pants etc.

[Dustdevil]

And, as a journalist with 25 years of experience, I've not had one person compare or ask about my work in relation to Ted Baxters.

You must sit behind a desk and write short stories for the Readers Digest then. In ten years as a field reporter, I had people make references to Lou Grant several times a week to me, asking me if I was like "Animal" and all the other stereotypical behaviour they had come to believe from watching television. I used to have a whole list of Frequently Asked Stupid Questions that people asked us everyday, and yep... almost all of those questions came from watching television shows and thinking they knew exactly what news journalism was about. And that was over ten years ago. People certainly aren't watching any less television now. And the absurdity of television drama has escalated proportional to the amount of television people watch. So yes, people DO believe the nonsense they watch on television. I have experienced it as a medic, a fireman, a cop, a nurse, and as a journalist. People are stupid.

[Ace844]

You must sit behind a desk and write short stories for the Readers Digest then. In ten years as a field reporter, I had people make references to Lou Grant several times a week to me, asking me if I was like "Animal" and all the other stereotypical behaviour they had come to believe from watching television. I used to have a whole list of Frequently Asked Stupid Questions that people asked us everyday, and yep... almost all of those questions came from watching television shows and thinking they knew exactly what news journalism was about. And that was over ten years ago. People certainly aren't watching any less television now. And the absurdity of television drama has escalated proportional to the amount of television people watch. So yes, people DO believe the nonsense they watch on television. I have experienced it as a medic, a fireman, a cop, a nurse, and as a journalist. People are stupid.

Yet, i bet none of them ever confused you for "Murphy Brown," err..neva mind, maybe they did??? :wink: :wink: 8) LOL!!!

[emtfan]

Dustdevil,

We could go on and on over this one. But I respectfully disagree.

For the record, I don't work at Readers Digest. But I do sit at a desk. I'm the TV Editor for the New York Daily News, so just as you have your experience, I have mine, and like you, I think I've got some insight into the relationship between viewers and the medium.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how folks react when they see a whole episode of Saved.

[Dustdevil]

I think I've got some insight into the relationship between viewers and the medium.

That is something I would honestly be very interested in reading more about. I know there has been a good bit of research in this area. Do you know of any sources for such research? I'd like to see how their theories match up with my experiences, as well as how they came to their conclusions.

Like I said, theories and reality don't always match up. If you have ever been a cop or fireman or medic or nurse, you know that the vast majority of the general public has very little understanding of your profession, yet they all think they know your profession intimately. In fact, journalists fall into this same category. As a journalist, I used to cringe and the retarded questions and statements I heard from my fellow journalists at press conferences. They too all think they completely understand the public safety professions, but they don't. And as a cop, I was appalled at how horribly they misunderstood journalists and the news media too. So I'm not laying blame on anybody here really or accusing you of anything. I'm just saying, people DO believe the crap they see on tv. And if they think they don't, they are fooling themselves.

[Ridryder 911]

Who knows maybe it will be like "Ambulance Girl" .. a piss poor written novel about a poorly middle age burned out chef-critic, house wife that needs to "find herself". Like, that movie, it too will circle the drain as well.

In my past nearly 30 years only a few really represented EMS in a truthful life. Yes, EMS is really pretty boring with a few excitable events. It would not be hard to produce a television with some positive outcome role models, and normalcy. Really, do we have to continue to have ex-druggies, people that are unable to read, emotional distraught personalities ? Yes, like ALL other professions we have our dregs.. but, they usually do not last long.

I do we believe we should start protesting against the show before release. Like the nursing profession, that gets tired of protrayls of "bimbo-prostitute, hand maiden roles. They start protesting prior to release after they hear of poor image and have cause many to be "canned" before release. We should follow route and do the same.

Hopefully, we can ask JEMS, EMS, magazines, NAEMT. NAMESE organizations to pick up on our concern and distaste of even being portrayed as with demeaning attitudes to our profession. E-mail the network with your concern and anger Maybe with enough outcry they will shelf it again. If the will not finding out sponsors of the show and producing enough letters to them, might cause dismay enough to create a concern.

Damn, right I am tired of being portrayed as a low class citizen, that could not "make-it" and carry enough emotional baggage to make everyone feel normal.

Let's stop it before it starts!

R/r 911

[Scaramedic]

I agree with you Dust, again. :wink:

When I was going to Medic school I had several jobs. Since my minor was Journalism I got a job at a major metropolitan newspaper as a copy aid. While I was working there I had many good conversations with the staff, reporters, copy editors, etc. One of those conversations was with one of the police beat reporters who asked me why I wanted to be an "Ambulance Driver." I explained to him my thoughts and asked him why he called us drivers. He stated that's what we do, drive an ambulance. I asked him if he wanted be known as a typist. He got indignant and said no he is a journalist. I countered with well you do type don't you, if you type you should be called a typists. He stuttered that typing was only a small part of his job and that his job entails more than typing. I then explained to him that Paramedics have many more duties than driving an ambulance and that ambulance driver was an antiquated term and should not be used outside of stories by Ernest Hemingway. We finally reached a nice accord and to this day when I see his byline he refers to us a Paramedics.

I recall this because it was stunning to me that a Police beat reporter would still use the term ambulance driver. It is amazing to see and hear the ignorance of the media.

Peace,

Marty

[emtfan]

Okay, for arguments sake, let me throw this out there...Someone else earlier this week, on another thread, suggested EMS have some sort of PR person. Take that a step further. Could there not be some positive that comes out of having a show on about paramedics? Again, it's a question.

Also, I think without seeing the show, it's hard for folks to make judgements about the portrayal.

I have. Yes, he's got a gambling problem, and a commitment problem. But he truely loves being a paramedic. He's being forced by his father to be a doctor, but he doesn't want to do it, he wants to be a medic. He's not portrayed as dumb, nor is his partner, nor are any of the folks around him. He just doesn't button his shirt. The show is shot well.

Now, as for writing the network or protesting. History has shown that in most cases that doesn't stop a show, but give it more media attention, which, of course, drives more viewers. Conversely, writing, with real-life experiences and suggestions, could help guide the writers for future episodes.

Meanwhile, on a general level, based on the comments here, I didn't realize all the smart ones were in EMS, and everyone else was dumb.