THE DOCTOR IS IN
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LAS VEGAS- Hello America, and how is the world treating you?
To Stephen, who asked me for my opinion on the cable show "Covert Affairs."
The new cable show on USA network "Covert Affairs" shouldn't even last the season. This show was supposed to be put on air and assembled by the people that did the Jason Bourne Identity and other Bourne movies but this punky show falls far short of the great work done in the Bourne movies
The network continually hyped the fact about the Bourne connection when referring to Covert Affairs. Disappointing? You bet. After watching a few episodes of this fluff piece that goes nowhere I would say that Covert Affairs is more like an afternoon soap.
This show portrays a director of the CIA,in a situation with his wife (who is for all intent and purposes) in charge of a special section inside the CIA. Talk about nepotism, this takes the cake. The wife is mad because her husband, the director will not share information with her and the director is attempting to have a spousal relationship that may or may not affect the CIA. Then we have the "rookie" female CIA agent handling all of the CIA's operations who is most always (through flashbacks)thinking about her lost love.
The scenarios set up as CIA operations is silly , unrealistic and does not even come close to what the writers and producers did with the excellent work on the Bourne projects. In fact, a few of the so-called operations were played out in the USA and the Washington, DC area. Hey writers and producers, the CIA doesn't do domestic operations. Question? Where is the CIA operations that are supposed to be happening around the world and where is the CIA teams that are completing the operations?
One panty-waist female operative,a wife and husband and a blind analyst doesn't make for a compelling CIA storyline. Any first year writer could set those four people in any setting such as a restaurant, business office, a bar or tavern or even a barbershop and have the same outcome. All this show does is play around with interactions of four people and their emotional trial and tribulations. Soapy, You bet.
Suggestion: If these people that put together such great work with the Bourne projects actually put together different operations that even resembled CIA work and each week utilized stories of CIA operations taking place around the world using the effects that were demonstrated in the Bourne projects they would have a hit show. But this make believe, no substance, shallow show evolving around about four or five people in the CIA is a sad attempt at intelligence operations. The writers and producers should take a hint from the old "Mission Impossible" television shows. In those shows the agents had a specific mission around the world each week and the agents used state of the art technology and expertise that was available during those times and the government agents completed their missions without silly, unrealistic personal interactions within the agency.
Again, if these writers and producers doing "Covert Affairs" want to do a soap opera television show using four or five people they should use a soap opera or comedy sitcom setting and don't pan the show off as a good crime or intelligence agency and/or spy program.
My view: On of a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 being best, I would rate "Covert Affairs" as a 2. Out of five(5) stars my rating for "Covert Affairs" would draw (one star). This program should be canceled. It's lame, stale, unrealistic and as solid as water running through a sieve. The caliber of the show only demonstrates that the writers and producers have a clear lack of understanding as to what makes up a good "spy show." - And, that's my opinion. Make your own decisions. You decide.
Bradley W. Kuhns, Ph.D., O.M.D.
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Dr. Kuhns can be reached by e-mail at:
bradleykuhns@gmail.com
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