Intelligence

CBS premiered a new show this week: Intelligence. It premiered on Tuesday at 9:00 (after NCIS), but its regular time slot will be Mondays at 10:00.

Here is the trailer if you missed it (or didn't and are interested):


Let me start with the things that I like about this show.  Josh Holloway (from Lost) is back on TV. That alone calls for an "oh boy" or "woot woot" or maybe just deep sighs. Ever since Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA is tracking your personal information via phone calls, emails, and such, unless you live in complete denial you now have confirmation that the government is spying on you. Television series (and movies) are merely keeping current with the times. Given that the NSA is so busy spying on us, is it outlandish to think that our government would do something like this?  In my opinion, the show and its premise are completely realistic. If they could figure out HOW to do it, they most certainly WOULD. And they may have figured out how... if they had, it would be a Super Duper Top Secret Way Above Most Everyone's Clearance.

What else do I like? The big and little screen are the only places that I can believe for a short while that our government is still on the side of right. At least sometimes. Holloway's character, Gabriel, appears to be True Blue. He served three tours overseas fighting for this country. His wife worked for the CIA and was deeply undercover when her op went wrong and most evidence indicates she switched sides. Gabriel is determined to find her and the truth. He is determined to find the truth and doesn't just accept what appears to be true. And based on what you saw in the trailer (and the pilot), the Chinese are going to have their own upgraded version of Gabriel, so we can expect international intrigue. I fully expect this show to be Gabriel, using all of the tech in his head, to be focused on the bad guys. Isn't the world nice when there are White Hats and Black Hats?

What I don't like... Even though I would like to suspend my disbelief and accept that our government would only put this tech in a person for the purest of purposes, I have this problem. Ever since Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA is tracking your personal information via phone calls, emails, and such, unless you live in complete denial you now have confirmation that the government is spying on you. So, this show is an In Your Face Reminder that our government, if it doesn't already have this technology, is most likely working Fast and Furious to get it. And, as we all know, real life and TV rarely show much resemblance to one another. So, I very much doubt that we will see this show use the tech the way that our actual government would if they had it.

So, my question is this... are shows like this one designed to make us complacent about the idea of the government putting tech in people's heads? Will it be easier to roll out this information after this show has paved the way? Is the government using TV to make the things that they do go down easier? Are they trying to convince The People that they really are wearing a White Hat when they read our emails, listen to our phone calls, and track our movements?