Television Discussion Thread

i saw one episode (and wasn't really paying attnetion) but I read that the show left out a lot of the prosecution's evidence?

petey wrote:i saw one episode (and wasn't really paying attnetion) but I read that the show left out a lot of the prosecution's evidence?

The source for the recent stories about how the show left out evidence in favor of the prosecution is the Special Prosecutor of the case himself, Ken Kratz. After the documentary started airing on Netflix, he went to outlets like People Magazine (http://www.people.com/article/steven-avery-prosecutor-ken-kratz-says-netflix-series-forgot-key-evidence) and highlighted things he felt were left out. The elements he highlighted were a mix of things that were actually already in the documentary (but cast in a different light by Kratz), minor pieces of evidence that supported arguments that were already in the doc, and lots of circumstantial or speculative evidence he couldn't get introduced in court. News outlets have been reporting this ad nauseam because it allows them to claim "balance".

The prosecution's arguments were fairly clear from the documentary and, I think, one could reasonably conclude that Avery was guilty just on the arguments presented in the doc. But you'd have to be paying careful attention. The emotional arc of the 10 episodes was clearly slanted in Steven's favor. They didn't underline or drive home the prosecution's arguments as forcefully as they did the defense's, but they were represented. The narrative literally followed Steven, his family, and the trial from his perspective, because those are the only people with incentives to give the directors unfettered access. Upon first glance you could claim a narrative bias. But the presentation of evidence is reasonably fair on both sides.

Hey Jasper I thought you were gone forever. Welcome back.

jasperness wrote:I am somewhat curious what you Illinois types think about Wisconsinites

With a shrug, if we think about them at all.

Don't know anything about this specific part of Wisconsin. Seemed a lot like the non-Chicagoland portion of Illinois.

Also, hi.

That would be a condescending shrug, too. Just to be clear.

reuben wrote:Hey Jasper I thought you were gone forever.  Welcome back.

I was in the sense that I hadn't thought about the place in awhile and had no intentions of "coming back". But I'm still on the Internet and Andrew Unterberger can bring people together.

Pinkerton and I are Snapchat friends, I think.

this dude gives me such an intellectual hard on



he's the type of professor whose office hours I'd actually attend

Really? He just seemed like maybe an interesting but cool Dad to me actually. I watched the whole show. I thought it was fun to watch but that's kind of it.

There's something that's very appealing about having an understated intelligence and confidence in this age of bravado and certitude. He is also literally a law professor, which is why I made a reference in that direction.

Most professors I know do not have much of a bravado though. Just saying...

Definitely in your camp here, Jasper. Found the show compelling, frustrating, and the best commentary on our legal system since Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line. Whether Avery & Dassey are innocent isn't the point - or at least not the whole point - but the fairness of their trials is certainly up for debate. If that even.

I read an interview yesterday where Dean Strang said the volume of emails he gets about the show has decreased and he still tries to respond to most of them. I think I'm going to send him an email this weekend and try to get a response myself. I'm curious what his take on the classic "give some wisdom for someone considering starting out in law today" might be.

I used to hate true crime with a passion when I was younger, but I'm totally turned around after this and Serial. I need to watch The Thin Blue Line and Paradise Lost and all the other classics.

At this point I've actually read so much about Making a Murderer that I'm pushing back against the "whether Avery and Dassey are innocent isn't the point!" It's not the most socially salient point. The filmmakers make it clear they are more interested in systemic injustice and using this as a case study in real processes. And it's definitely important to discourage people from being asshole Internet sleuths and dragging names through the mud and doxxing people. But I think the whodunnit aspect is essential to the enduring interest in the show. People's notion that they could "crack the case" if they could just discover the right piece of evidence is what has people still doing records requests in Manitowoc. But the fact of the matter is the right piece of evidence doesn't exist, because the police never collected it. And more information will never get us closer to the truth of what happened. The truth is lost, and that foolhardy search for truth that does not exist is what compels us. Social media connects people who are obsessed with looking for the truth and gives them a platform.

Me? I just like pop culture phenomena

Every weekend I forget The Bachelor is going to air on Monday, then I remember and it warms my heart

Poz'd.

so netflix is making another 2 seasons of FLCL

Huh.

Better Call Saul is the best shit ever.

I dunno Ramsey Bolton was already a despicable character so I'm not sure what Game of Thrones was trying to establish last night.

Six Feet Under marathon on HBO this weekend is killing me. My favorite show of all time. Can't wait to cry like a fucking baby during the finale.

"Semi-literate fuck machine."

An all time show.

God, I don't know if I can ever watch the finale again.

shit man, i almost cried when i showed wife the hbo trailer 4 the whole 6FU series they have on hbogo right now (she's never seen it). couple hours later one of my old roommates texts a friend and i who watch the whole series together years ago "HBO just had on the last episode of 6FU. I still cried at the end."

Deeply disappointed in the animated segment of Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt. How do U fail at making Ellie Kemper look like a cartoon.

Between Papa Roach and Marshall Mathers LP deep cuts, this new season of Orange is the New Black's music director is resurrecting parts of my psyche left buried in the early aughts.

Also, it's gonna be real irritating if Piper becomes the blonde Walt White of used frilly undergarments.