<p>Ok, I know this isn’t college related, but as this is the engineering board, I’ll post it anyway. Think about how many shows there are about doctors, or lawyers, or cops, or managers. There is not ONE fictional drama about engineers on television. I call BS. Sure, one could argue that most people don’t understand what engineers do, but most people don’t understand how neurology works, yet we still have shows about neurosurgeons. One could also say that an engineer’s work is “boring” to most people, but most of the activities on TV are FABRICATED. They are not real. Cops don’t do 90% of the stuff on most cop shows on a daily basis, because most regular cop work would be boring to most people. So why wouldn’t it be hard to create a decent / entertaining show about engineers? I, for one, think the premise of a Silicon Valley tech startup would make an excellent premise for a drama. Your thoughts?</p>
<p>We used to love the show Medium, and the husband on the show was an engineer. We got to see a lot of what he did at work, too. Fascinating stuff.</p>
<p>Breaking Bad is kind of like chemical engineering :)</p>
<p>Probably the closest example I can think of off the top of my head would be Numb3rs. It was still a crime drama but its premise was that mathematicians helped solve the crimes and, compared to most shows, the mathematics was at least somewhat accurate (as opposed to a show like Bones that disregards most actual science).</p>
<p>The real problem is that, to the average person, the average engineer’s job is quite boring. You could do a show on someone starting a company but the show wouldn’t really focus on the engineering side of things because people wouldn’t care; it wouldn’t make for good TV.</p>
<p>The best show for inspiring the STEM side of me is still NOVA.</p>
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<p>And yet the premise of Medium will turn off the majority of engineers and scientists. My wife watches medium and I couldn’t have told you the husband was an engineer because literally the only way I will sit in the room while it is on is if I have my laptop with me or if she is rubbing my head.</p>
<p>Big Bang Theory!!! It’s Hilarious!</p>
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I would have a hard time creating a TV show that was more damning of engineering and scientists.</p>
<p>Yeah, Big Bang Theory really grinds my gears, to be honest. There’s some funny stuff, but considering that it portrays engineers and scientists as socially inept and inherently strange, I wouldn’t call it a show that really inspires people to go into STEM fields.</p>
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<p>I say, that would be a good reason to stay in the room. ;)</p>
<p>Big Bang Theory annoys me on so many levels. I can’t believe they didn’t write in a rotating group of grad students. It seems like there would be a lot of opportunities for great hijinx, but instead they use the same recycled jokes from Two and a Half Men.</p>
<p>I think the problem is that typically engineers don’t interact with people during their jobs. Look at most of the popular shows out there. Lawyer, cops, doctor, teenagers of all varieties at high schools. They all deal heavily on interpersonal relationships. With an engineering show, say, something on failure analysis. How much could you really do about how and why a part failed week in and week out? At that point it would turn into a CSI crime drama, and instead of it revolving around a murder instead it would be something that failed which lead to someone dying.</p>
<p>Big Bang Theory is simply hilarious. I love how the PhD’s in physics talk down to the guy that “only” has an MS in Aerospace Engineering lol. </p>
<p>There’s always Star Trek re-runs.</p>
<p>Numb3rs is awesomeeee!</p>
<p>Thanks for the save…Lookin4ward! The OP only asked for a show about engineers. Didn’t say it had to put them in a positive light. We all know a Walowitz, Sheldon, Leonard and Raj…they’re all lovable in their own way. The genius of the show is putting them in context with the women in their lives, Walowitz’s mother, Penny, Amy, Bernadette, Priya and Leslie. </p>
<p>I did catch some of the Hemy Neuman trial on Tru TV recently…aka Ga Tech Aerospace Engineer commits murder for love interest. That guy was obviously book smart but had no common sense. He was totally manipulated by that woman. Google it if you’re at all curious. The black widow (Andrea Schneidermans) trial is coming up in the near future.</p>
<p>Otherwise, there is the “Rocket City Redneck” reality series which never got off the ground…pun intended. You can suffer through that debacle via you tube. Somewhat of a televised science fair hosted by self-proclaimed rednecks from Huntsville,AL and an epic fail. At least from a marketing standpoint…I found it purely by accident when searching UAH.</p>
<p>I will stick with BBT, How-Its-Made and Science channel. Or like Lookin4ward says…there is always Star Trek.</p>
<p>RacinReaver said what I was going to say, audiences like watching human drama, not “why won’t this machine/program/formula work” drama.</p>
<p>Even in Star Trek, the closest thing to the OP’s dream, the hurdles faced by the engineers and scientists in Star Fleet are ultimately human dramas. Ship system problems threaten lives, machines don’t work because of aliens influence, scientific mysteries have an esoteric alien reason, etc. Even then they get things wrong all of the time: “It didn’t work, try a RECURSIVE ALGORITHM!” and Tuvok not knowing what a resistor was because they’re obsolete but still having dielectrics.</p>
<p>As for Medium, they had that husband doing everything under the sun. Aerospace, solar cells, algorithm analysis, whatever the subplot demanded. Fantastic show though, almost Lynchian but with a DS9-like feel (had a few DS9 writers).</p>
<p>oh yeah, dont forget Myth Busters</p>
<p>These aren’t fictional dramas, but they typically do have some sort of “storyline” to them and portray the engineering and construction sector in a positive (and exciting) light:</p>
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<li>Build It Bigger / Extreme Engineering</li>
<li>Mega Builders</li>
<li>Colossal Construction</li>
<li>Megastructures</li>
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<p>You pick out the exciting portions and you make it interesting. Directors are good at what they do! Take a look at the above shows I listed. They’re typically an hour long so they find 40 minutes worth of exciting moments from a project that can take a few years to complete in reality.</p>
<p>There are a lot of occupations that don’t have shows based on them. Pretty much any desk job is not intriguing enough for most people. </p>
<p>Sent from my ST25a using CC</p>
<p>What I meant by a fictional drama, was that it features engineers, but doesn’t solely focus on their engineering work. For a TV comparison, look at House. It’s a show about a surgeon who works in a hospital, but the show isn’t exclusively about surgery. It features other, dramatic elements, including interpersonal relationships and personal problems, that work well with the medical setting. I never said it can’t have “human drama”; the main character(s) just have to be engineers in an engineering setting.</p>
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<p>Don’t focus on the engineering positions that are desk jobs then. Focus on the field engineers. You don’t think writers can come up with plots centered around an oil rig like they do a hospital?</p>
<p>ken285, thank you, good sir. Exactly my point. <em>Virtual hi-five</em></p>
<p>One thing I like about the Big Bang Theory is how they put women in the roll of scientists. I do believe that though that while they are funny they are also portrayed extremely competent. Good show!</p>
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<p>I think one of the best examples of this you left off your list is Modern Marvels. As one of my friends said, if they can make cheese interesting for an hour, they can do anything.</p>
<p>Another place to look for content is on Youtube. I’ve found a few channels that are pretty good, particularly MinutePhysics, SmarterEveryDay, and 1veritasium ([url=<a href=“http://youtu.be/Iuv6hY6zsd0]this[/url”>http://youtu.be/Iuv6hY6zsd0]this[/url</a>] video in particular is great for “man on the street” style learning).</p>